Patent Grant
7706699
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a toner container detachably attached to the main body of an image forming apparatus to supply toner to be used in the image forming process, and the image forming apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional image forming apparatuses using an electrophotographic system such as copying machines, printers, facsimiles, or multifunction products provided with these functions, a cylindrical toner container for supplying toner to a developing device is known (see, for example, Patent document 1).
In Patent document 1 and the like, a toner container (toner bottle) replaceably installed in a toner-container holder (bottle holder) of the main body of the image forming apparatus mainly includes a container body and a held portion (cap portion). A spiral-shaped projection is provided along the inner circumferential surface of the container body, and the toner contained in the container body is conveyed toward an opening through rotation of the container body. The held portion communicates with the opening of the container body, and it is non-rotatably held by the toner-container holder, i.e., it does not rotate with the container body. The toner output from the opening of the container body is discharged from a toner outlet provided in the held portion. Thereafter, the toner discharged from the toner outlet of the held portion is supplied to the developing device.
The toner container configured in the above manner can reduce toner stain upon replacement of the toner container as compared with toner containers (see, for example, Patent document 2) each of which has no held portion and directly supplies toner from the opening of the container body to the developing device. More specifically, because the toner outlet of the held portion is opened or closed in synchronization with part of attachment/detachment operation (rotating operation) of the toner container, such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet can be suppressed. Further, the toner outlet is formed downwardly in the lower part of the toner container in the vertical direction, and when the toner container is getting empty, the amount of toner near the toner outlet can be reduced due to the drop by its own weight. Therefore, the toner stain in the toner outlet upon replacement of the toner container is reduced.
More specifically, in Patent document 1 and the like, when the toner container is to be attached to the toner-container holder in the main body of the apparatus, at first, a main-body cover (stack portion) is opened upwardly and the toner-container holder is exposed. Then, the toner container is placed on the toner-container holder from the upper side thereof. Thereafter, a handle integrally provided to the held portion is held, so that the held portion is rotated (rotating operation). With this operation, an engaging portion formed in the end face of the held portion is engaged with a positioning member of an apparatus body, and the position of the toner container in the toner-container holder is fixed. Furthermore, the toner outlet provided in the held portion is moved to the lower part in response to the rotation of the held portion, and a shutter opens the toner outlet downwardly so as to resist the biasing force of a spring.
On the other hand, Patent document 3 or the like discloses a toner storage container (toner container) having a bag container and a cap member. A toner outlet of the cap member is opened/closed in synchronization with a partial operation (rotating operation of an open/close folder) of the attachment/detachment operation of the main body provided a screw pump, for the purpose of reducing toner stain (toner scatter) occurring upon the attachment/detachment operation.
More specifically, when the toner storage container is attached to the apparatus body, at first, an open/close holder (open/close folder) is rotated around a hinge and the upper side of the open/close holder is exposed. Then, the toner storage container is set in the open/close holder. Thereafter, the open/close holder with the toner storage container set therein is rotated (rotating operation) around the hinge. With this operation, an engaging portion provided on both side faces of a cap member so as to sandwich the toner outlet is engaged with a positioning member of the apparatus body, and the position of the toner-container holder in the apparatus body is fixed. Furthermore, a plug member (shutter member) is pushed by a nozzle (toner conveying pipe) in response to the rotation of the open/close holder so as to resist the biasing force of a spring, to open the toner outlet sealed by a packing (G seal).
In the toner storage container described in Patent document 3 or the like, the plug member is pushed by the nozzle (toner conveying pipe) in synchronization with the opening operation of the open/close holder to open the toner outlet sealed by the packing. It can thereby be expected to obtain the effect of reducing the occurrence of toner stain.
However, there is a disadvantage such that the toner amount of the toner storage container cannot be increased, which leads to an increase in the replacement frequency of the toner storage container. More specifically, the toner storage container has a bag container which contains toner and is provided along the vertical direction as its longitudinal direction. Therefore, if the toner amount is desired to be increased, the height of the toner storage container is inevitably increased. This causes the height of the open/close holder to be increased, to affect the layout in the height of the whole image forming apparatus. Therefore, the toner amount of the toner storage container cannot be increased so much, and the replacement frequency thereby increases more as compared with the toner containers (of which longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction) according to Patent document 1 and the like.
In conventional image forming apparatuses using an electrophotographic system such as copying machines, printers, facsimiles, or multifunction products provided with these functions, a cylindrical toner bottle for supplying toner to a developing device is known (see, for example, Patent document 4).
In Patent document 4 or the like, a toner bottle replaceably provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus mainly includes a bottle body (container body) and a case (container supply unit). A spiral-shaped projection is provided in the inner circumferential surface of the bottle body, and the toner contained in the bottle body is conveyed toward an opening through rotation of the bottle body. The case communicates with the opening of the bottle body, and is held by the main body of the image forming apparatus without following the rotation of the bottle body. The toner discharged from the opening of the bottle body is discharged from the toner outlet (toner supply port) provided in the case. Thereafter, the toner discharged from the toner outlet of the case is supplied to the developing device.
The toner bottle configured in the above manner allows improvement of the operability/workability for the user to replace toner bottles, as compared with the toner bottle (see, for example, Patent document 5) which has no case provided therein and directly supplies the toner from the opening of the bottle body to the developing device. More specifically, because the toner outlet of the case is opened/closed in synchronization with attachment/detachment operation of the toner bottle, such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet can be suppressed.
On the other hand, Patent document 4 discloses a technology for a toner bottle including a bottle body and a case, in which to prevent such a failure as toner leakage from a gap between the bottle body and the case, a seal member (seal) for sealing a gap between mutually opposite areas of the bottle body and the case is provided around the opening of the bottle body. Further, another technology of using a concave-shaped seal member is disclosed.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-287404
Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-338758
Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-161371
Patent document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-214669
Patent document 5: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-233248
Each of the toner containers (toner container including a container body and a held portion) disclosed in Patent document 1 or the like has features such that there is less toner stain upon replacement of the toner containers and the replacement frequency can be reduced because the toner amount in the toner container can be increased.
However, when the user, the seller, the distributor, and the manufacturer stock the toner containers (which are not yet used before being set in the image forming apparatus), and if the toner container is stood on a horizontal plane (an arbitrary plane for placing) with the held portion directed vertically downward, the toner on the side of the held portion may sometimes be aggregated.
In other words, when the held portion is directed downward, the toner is deposited on the side of the held portion by its own weight, which may lead to toner aggregation. If the toner container with the toner aggregated on the side of the held portion is set in the image forming apparatus, the toner is insufficiently discharged from the toner outlet, which also causes the toner not to be supplied sufficiently to the developing device. Furthermore, if a toner lump is produced caused by the toner aggregation, this may cause a failure in toner conveyance or an abnormal image.
These problems quite often occur especially when the toner container with the held portion directed vertically downward is left standing for a long time or under high-temperature and high-humidity environments.
The present invention has been achieved to solve at least the conventional problems, and it is an object to provide a toner container and an image forming apparatus in which toner is never aggregated on the side of its held portion when the toner container is stocked.
Each of the toner containers disclosed in Patent document 1 or so has less toner stain in the toner outlet as compared with that in Patent document 2 or so, and therefore, it can be expected to obtain the effect of preventing such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet. However, the toner containers in Patent document 1 or so are disadvantages in terms of operability/workability upon its attachment/detachment (replacement).
A first disadvantage is such that the attachment/detachment operation to/from the toner-container holder is implemented with a plurality of operations. More specifically, the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container includes the plurality of operations such as an operation of opening/closing the main-body cover, an operation of placing/removing the toner container on/from the toner-container holder, and an operation of rotating the held portion.
A second disadvantage is such that it is difficult for the user to check that the operation is performed properly nearly until the completion of the attachment operation. More specifically, the user cannot feel certain that the operation is correct at the point in time when the operation of opening the main-body cover and the operation of placing the toner container on the toner-container holder are complete. Thereafter, by rotating the held portion to fix the position of the held portion, the user gains a click feeling of the held portion, and feels certain that no erroneous operation is done.
A third disadvantage is such that the upper side of the toner-container holder is restricted in terms of layout. More specifically, to place the toner container on the toner-container holder from the upper side, the operation of opening/closing the main-body cover in the vertical direction is needed. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure space required for layout to open/close the main-body cover and place/remove the toner container. This causes reduction in operability/workability in attachment and detachment of the toner container when a scanner (document reader) or the like is provided above the toner-container holder.
On the other hand, in the toner storage container described in Patent document 3 or the like, the plug member is pushed by the nozzle in response to the opening operation of the open/close holder, to open the toner outlet sealed by the packing. Therefore, the effect of reducing occurrence of toner stain can be expected. However, the toner storage container according to Patent document 3 or the like also has some disadvantages in terms of operability/workability upon its attachment/detachment.
A first disadvantage is such that the toner amount of the toner storage container cannot be increased and the frequency of replacement of the toner storage container therefore increases. The toner storage container has a longitudinal bag container for containing toner. The bag container is arranged so that it stands vertically. Therefore, if the capacity of the bag container is to be increased, the height of the toner storage container needs to be increased. This causes the height of the open/close holder to be increased, to affect the layout in the height of the whole image forming apparatus. Therefore, the toner amount of the toner storage container cannot be increased so much, and the replacement frequency increases thereby as compared with the toner containers (in which the horizontal direction is set as the longitudinal direction) according to Patent document 1 and the like.
A second disadvantage is such that it is difficult for the user to feel certain that no erroneous operation is done. More specifically, because the plug member opens/closes the toner outlet in synchronization with the open/close operation of the open/close holder, it is difficult for the user to feel if the toner outlet is actually opened or closed because the user does not touch the toner storage container during the operation.
The present invention has been achieved to solve at least the conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a toner container with high operability/workability during its replacement and capable of reliably reducing occurrence of toner stain, and an image forming apparatus including the same.
Because there has been the increasing awareness for protection of environmental resources, high recycling rates (easiness of recycling) are required for toner containers. More specifically, it is demanded that the toner container is configured to be easily filled with toner when it is newly produced, and that in addition to this feature, the toner container is configured to be easily filled with toner when it is recycled without main members of the container being disassembled.
The toner bottle described in Patent document 4 may sometimes has some advantages such that the operability/workability upon the replacement is improved as compared with that of Patent document 5, but also has some disadvantages such that toner may be leaked from a gap between the bottle body and the case after the time elapsed.
More specifically, the seal member, such as polyurethane foam bonded to an area of the case side which faces the opening, slidably contacts the opening of the rotating bottle body, to prevent leakage of the toner from the gap between the case and the bottle body. On the other hand, by rotating the bottle body which is held improperly as compared with the case which is firmly held by a holding portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus, the bottle body rotates while slightly vibrating in its radial direction (the direction orthogonal to the rotating-axis direction). Such vibrations in the radial direction of the bottle body are repeated over time, the sealing capability of the seal member gradually deteriorates. In other words, the opening is radially vibrated again and again, a deformed shape of the seal member having elasticity (shape to seal the gap) is not fixed, and the restoring force thereof deteriorates, which results in occurrence of a gap in the space which should be sealed. And the toner is leaked from the gap to the outside of the toner bottle. If the toner is leaked to the outside of the toner bottle in this manner, the toner is wasted, and the inside of the image forming apparatus is contaminated with the toner.
These problems are not negligible particularly for large-capacity toner bottles produced to reduce the running cost. In other words, to rotate such a toner bottle that the filling amount of toner is increased and the weight of the toner bottle is thereby increased, a large driving force is required. Therefore, the amount of vibration in the radial direction of the opening increases associated with an increase in the torque, uneven rotation, vibration of the bottle body. Furthermore, the operation time (life) of the toner bottle having the large capacity is increased according to the toner amount increased, which causes the time for which the vibration of the opening is affected on the seal member to be increased.
On the other hand, Patent document 4 or the like discloses a technology for forming a concave-shaped seal member with which the gap between the bottle body and the case is sealed. However, even if the seal member with elasticity is formed into the concave shape, this shape does not help control the radial vibration of the opening. The effect of directly resolving the problems cannot thereby be expected.
The present invention has been achieved to solve at least the conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a toner bottle with high operability/workability during its replacement and without toner leakage over time even if it is increased in capacity, and an image forming apparatus using the same.
It is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve the problems in the conventional technology.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a toner container detachably attached to a toner-container holder of a main body of an image forming apparatus, includes a longitudinal container body for containing toner, the container body having a first end and a second end distal to the first end in a length direction of the container body; a held portion attached to the first end of the container body and configured to be detachably attached to the toner-container holder, the held portion including a toner outlet for discharging the toner contained in the container body; and an electric component that electrically communicates with a component in the main body to detect whether the toner container is operatively set in the toner-container holder, the electric component being attached to the held portion such that when the held portion is attached to the toner-container holder the electric component is located above the toner outlet with respect to a vertical direction.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a toner container detachably attached to a toner-container holder of a main body of an image forming apparatus, includes a longitudinal container body for containing toner, the container body having a first end and a second end distal to the first end in a length direction of the container body; a held portion that is attached to the first end of the container body and configured to be detachably attached to the toner-container holder, the held portion including a toner outlet for discharging the toner contained in the container body; and an engaging portion that attached to the held portion, and that engages with a positioning member that is provided in the toner-container holder.
The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 92F(1)-92F(3) show a gear which is used with the toner bottle of
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, the same or an equivalent portion is assigned with the same reference letter or numeral, and explanation of the overlapping portions are simplified or omitted if not necessary.
A first embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
Referring to
The other three imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K have almost the same configuration as the imaging unit 6Y corresponding to yellow, except different toner colors to be used, and images corresponding to the respective toner colors are formed. Hereinafter, explanation of the other three imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K is omitted, and only the imaging unit 6Y for yellow is explained below.
Referring to
Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position of facing the developing device 5Y, where the electrostatic latent image is developed and a yellow toner image is formed (developing process). Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position of facing the intermediate transfer belt 8 and a primary-transfer bias roller 9Y, where the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1Y is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 (primary transfer process). At this time, a slight amount of non-transferred toner remains on the photosensitive drum 1Y.
Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position of facing the cleaning unit 2Y, where the non-transferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1Y is mechanically collected by a cleaning blade 2a (cleaning process). The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y finally reaches a position of facing the decharger (not shown), where the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 1Y is removed.
The imaging processes are performed on the other imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K in the same manner as those of the yellow imaging unit 6Y. In other words, the laser light L based on image information is radiated from the exposing device 7 provided in the lower side of the imaging unit toward each photosensitive drum of the imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K. More specifically, the exposing device 7 emits the laser light L from its light source, and radiates the laser light L onto the photosensitive drum through a plurality of optical elements while scanning the laser light L by a polygon mirror which is rotated. Then, respective color toner images formed on the photosensitive drums through the developing process are superposedly transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 8. In this manner, a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.
Referring to
The four primary-transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the photosensitive drum 1Y and photosensitive drums 1M, 1C, and 1K, to form each primary transfer nip. And the transfer bias inverse to the polarity of toner is applied to the primary-transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K. Then, the intermediate transfer belt 8 moves along the arrow direction and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nips of the primary-transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K. In this manner, the toner images for the colors on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are sequentially superposed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 to perform primary transfer.
Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the toner images for the colors superposedly transferred reaches the position of facing a secondary transfer roller 19. At this position, the secondary-transfer backup roller 12 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the secondary transfer roller 19 to form a secondary transfer nip. The four-color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 are transferred to a transferred material P such as a transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, non-transferred toner which has not been transferred to the transferred material P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 8.
Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 reaches the position of the intermediate-transfer cleaning unit 10, where the non-transferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is collected. In this manner, a series of the transfer process performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is completed.
The transferred material P conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed thereto from a paper feed unit 26 provided in the lower side of the apparatus body 100 through a paper feed roller 27 and a registration roller pair 28. More specifically, the transferred material P such as transfer paper is stored in plurality in the paper feed unit 26. When the paper feed roller 27 is made to rotate in the counterclockwise of
The transferred material P conveyed to the registration roller pair 28 once stops at the position of a roller nip between the registration roller pair 28 that stops its rotation. Then, the registration roller pair 28 is rotated in synchronization with the color images on the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the transferred material P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this manner, a desired color image is transferred to the transferred material P.
The transferred material P with the color image transferred at the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of a fixing unit 20, where the color image transferred to the surface of the transferred material P is fixed on the transferred material P under heat and pressure by a fixing roller and a pushing roller. Thereafter, the transferred material P is ejected to the outside the apparatus through rollers of a paper-discharge roller pair 29. The transferred material P ejected to the outside the apparatus by the paper-discharge roller pair 29 is sequentially stacked on the stack portion 30, as an output image. In this manner, a series of the imaging forming processes in the image forming apparatus is completed.
The configuration and the operation of the developing device in the imaging unit are explained in further detail below with reference to
The developing device 5Y configured in the above manner operates as follows. The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y rotates in the arrow direction of
The developer G in the developing device 5Y is controlled so that the proportion (toner density) of the toner in the developer is in a predetermined range. More specifically, the toner contained in the toner container 132Y is supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y through a toner supply device 59 (see
Thereafter, the toner supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y circulates (movement in the vertical direction on the paper of
The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the arrow direction (counterclockwise) of
The toner supply device 59 that leads the toner contained in the toner container 132Y (agent storage container) to the developing device 5Y is explained in detail below with reference to
Referring to
More specifically, the toner container 132Y is set in the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, and a nozzle 70 of the toner-container holder 31 is connected to a held portion 134Y (cap) of the toner container 132Y. A plug member 34d (open/close member) of the toner container 132Y opens the toner outlet (supply port) of the held portion 34Y in this state. This allows the toner contained in a container body 133Y of the toner container 132Y to be conveyed into the nozzle 70 through the toner outlet.
On the other hand, the other end of the nozzle 70 is connected to one end of a tube 71 as a conveyor tube (71). The tube 71 is made of flexible material excellent in toner resistance, and the other end thereof is connected to a screw pump 60 (Mohno pump) of the toner supply device 59. The tube 71 being the conveyor tube (71) is formed so that its internal diameter is 4 to 10 mm. The material of the tube 71 is allowed to use a rubber material such as polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, and silicone, and a resin material such as polyethylene, and nylon. Such a flexible tube 71 is used to enhance flexibility in layout of the toner supply path, thus downsizing of the image forming apparatus.
The screw pump 60 is a suction-type uniaxial eccentric screw pump, and includes a rotor 61, a stator 62, a suction port 63, a universal joint 64, and a motor 66. The rotor 61, the stator 62, and the universal joint 64 are accommodated in a casing (not shown). The stator 62 is a female screw member made of an elastic material such as rubber, and a spiral-shaped groove with double pitch is formed along the inside of the stator 62. The rotor 61 is a male screw member in which an axis made of a rigid material such as metal is spirally formed, and is rotatably inserted in the stator 62. One end of the rotor 61 is rotatably joined to the motor 66 through the universal joint 64. In the first embodiment, the spiral direction (turning direction) and the rotational direction of the rotor 61 are set so as to match the spiral direction (turning direction) and the rotational direction of the projection 33b formed in the container body 133Y of the toner container 132Y.
The screw pump 60 configured in the above manner generates suction force at the suction port 63 (air in the tube 71 is sent out to generate a negative pressure in the tube 71) by rotating the rotor 61 of the stator 62 by the motor 66 in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveying direction). This allows the toner in the toner container 132Y with the air to be sucked to the suction port 63 through the tube 71. The toner sucked to the suction port 63 is sent into a gap between the stator 62 and the rotor 61 and is fed to the other end side along the rotation of the rotor 61. The toner fed is discharged from a feed port 67 of the screw pump 60, to be supplied to the developing device 5Y through the toner conveying pipe 43Y (movement in the arrow direction indicated by a dotted line in
The toner container is explained below with reference to
As shown in
The head of the container body 133Y includes a gear 33c integrally rotating with the container body 133Y, and an opening A (see
The gear 33c is engaged with a drive gear (not shown) of a drive unit provided in the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, to rotate the container body 133Y around a rotating axis (indicated by a chain line of
Referring to
In the first embodiment, the container body 133Y of the toner container 132Y is made to rotate in the counterclockwise viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveying direction. Moreover, the spiral direction (turning direction) of the projection 33b in the container body 133Y is set to a rightward direction. With this setting, the rotation of the container body 133Y causes a spiral air flow spiraling in clockwise to be created in the toner container 132Y (the same direction as the rotational direction of the spiral air flow created in the screw pump 60).
Referring to
The held portion 134Y communicates with the container body 133Y through the opening A, and discharges the toner discharged from the opening A, from the toner outlet B (movement along the arrow direction indicated by the dotted line of
The held portion 134Y does not follow the rotation of the container body 133Y, but is held in a non-rotating manner by a holding portion 73 (see
In the first embodiment, the engaging portion 34g as the assist element is provided in the upper side in the vertical direction with respect to the toner outlet B (or plug member 34d). With this configuration above, even if the toner scatters from the toner outlet B to the outside of the toner container 132Y, the scattered toner hardly reaches the position of the engaging portion 34g (or the positioning member 31c). It is therefore possible to reduce a failure in engagement between the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c because of the engaging portion 34g (or the positioning member 31c) becoming stained with the scattered toner.
In the first embodiment, the engaging portion 34g being the assist element is provided in an upper side higher than the toner outlet B in the vertical direction and comparatively closer to the toner outlet B. More specifically, the engaging portion 34g is provided in an upper side higher than the toner outlet B in the vertical direction and in a lower side lower than the ID chip 35 (information recorded chip) in the vertical direction. With this configuration, even if there is large rattle between the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c, or even if the held portion 134Y is deformed due to environmental changes, the nozzle 70 and the plug member 34d are hardly displaced, and such a failure that the nozzle 70 does not push the plug member 34d can be reduced.
The cap cover 34b of the held portion 134Y is bonded to the circumferential surface of the cap main portion 34a. A claw 34b1 is provided at the front of the cap cover 34b. The claw 34b1 is engaged with an engaging member formed in the head of the container body 133Y, and the container body 133Y is thereby held relatively rotatably with respect to the held portion 134Y. To smoothly rotate the container body 33Y, the claw 34b1 of the held portion 134Y and the engaging member of the container body 133Y are engaged with each other by maintaining appropriate clearance therebetween.
A seal member 37 is adhered to the surface of the held portion 134Y that faces a front end 33a around the opening A of the container body 133Y. The seal member 37 is used for sealing the gap which is around the opening A and is between the surfaces of the container body 133Y and the held portion 134Y that mutually face each other, and is made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam.
The holder 34c is provided in the lower side of the held portion 134Y. Provided in the holder 134c is the plug member 34d (shutter) as the open/close member for opening/closing the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 132Y. The packing 34e such as G seal is provided on the both sides of the plug member 34d to prevent toner leakage from near the plug member 34d. Although it is not shown in the figure, by setting the toner container 132Y in the toner-container holder 31, a lever (biasing member) for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction of closing the toner outlet B is engaged with the right side of the plug member 34d. Furthermore, the engaging portion between the holder 34c and the cap 34a is provided with the packing such as the O-ring to prevent toner leakage from both of the gaps.
The ID chip 35 of the held portion 134Y is configured to face a communication circuit 74 (terminal) of the toner-container holder 31 with a predetermined distance therebetween, in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 132Y to the toner-container holder 31. The ID chip (electronic component) 35 may be an IC chip processed to a tag or a label used by, for example, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification: non-contact automatic recognizing technology using radio waves). More specifically, the ID chip 35 is provided on a protrusion portion 34a1 of the held portion 134Y that protrudes in the direction (i.e., in the direction shown by the arrow in
The ID chip 35 previously stores various types of information related to the toner container 132Y. On the other hand, the communication circuit 74 of the toner-container holder 31 exchanges the information by radio with the ID chip 35 while the toner container 132Y is set in the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to a controller 75 (see
The ID chip 35 stores information regarding toner such as toner colors, serial numbers of toner (production lot), and dates of toner production, and information regarding recycling of the toner container 132Y such as number of times of recycling, dates of recycling, and recycling manufacturers. The ID chip 35 stores information regarding the toner container. When the toner container 132Y is set in the toner-container holder 31, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 of the apparatus body 100 through the electric circuit 74. The apparatus body 100 is optimally controlled based on these pieces of information. For example, if the toner color is different from the toner color that should be set in the toner-container holder, the operation of the toner supply device 59 can be stopped, or imaging conditions can be changed according to the serial number or the recycling manufacturer.
In this manner, the ID chip 35 serves as an assist element to electrically assist (assist on the software side) the attachment operation (or the attachment/detachment operation) of the toner container 132Y to the toner-container holder 31. The expression “to electrically assist the attachment operation of the toner container to the toner-container holder” in this application indicates the communication operation performed to detect (detection of setting) whether the toner container is operatively set in the toner-container holder, upon being set or thereafter. Therefore, communication of information on the toner container which is not directly related to the attachment operation indicates that it is not the one “to electrically assist the attachment operation”.
In the first embodiment, the ID chip 35 being the assist element is provided in the upper side vertically with respect to the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d). Furthermore, the ID chip 35 is provided on the protrusion portion 34a1 protruded from the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d), which is surrounded by the wall portion 34a2. Therefore, even if the toner scatters from the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d) to the outside of the toner container 132Y, the scattered toner hardly reaches the position of the ID chip 35 (or the communication circuit 74). In other words, such trouble as communication trouble between the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 and leakage caused by the ID chip 35 (or the communication circuit 74) becoming stained with the scattered toner can be reduced.
Provided in the holder 34c of the held portion 134Y are the sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2 for sliding along the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment to/from the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, a first sliding portion 34c1 is a flat portion formed so as to be parallel with a sliding face 31a (which is an upward surface; see
Referring to
More specifically, as shown in
Likewise, referring to
In this manner, the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n provided in the held portion 134Y serve as assist elements to mechanically assist the attachment operation of the toner container 132Y to the toner-container holder 31. In the first embodiment, the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n being assist elements are provided in the upper side vertically with respect to the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d). Therefore, even if the toner scatters from the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d) to the outside of the toner container 132Y, the scattered toner hardly reaches the position of the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n (or the fitting member). In other words, such trouble as fitting trouble between the concave portion 34m or the convex portion 34n and the fitting member caused by the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n (or the fitting member) becoming stained with the scattered toner can be reduced.
In the first embodiment, as toner contained in the toner container 132Y, spherical toner having an average sphericity of 0.90 or more is used. The spherical toner is excellent in fluidity because of its shape, and therefore, the toner can be efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71. The sphericity of a toner particle is defined by the following equation.
Sphericity=(Circumferential length of circle having the same area as project area of a particle)/(Circumferential length of a projected image of the particle)
Therefore, when the sphericity is 1.00, the toner particle is perfectly spherical. The average sphericity of toner can be measured by a typical equipment such as Flow Particle Image Analyzer “FPIA-2100” (Manufactured by Toa-Iyo Electric, Co. Ltd.).
The configuration of the toner-container holder 31 is explained below with reference to
The holding portion 73 holds the held portions of the toner containers 132Y, 132M, 132C, and 132K each in the non-rotating manner. The holding portion 73 includes sliding faces contacting the holder 34c, and a contact face contacting a part of the cap cover 34b. Provided in the sliding faces (side faces) of the holding portion 73 are the positioning members 31c for positioning in synchronization with the attachment operation of the held portion 34Y (see
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 132Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is explained below with reference to
When the toner container 132Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, the main-body cover (not shown) provided on the front face (the near side on the paper of
At this time, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner-container holder 31 at the head side of the toner container 132Y, and while sliding, the toner container 132Y is pushed into the toner-container holder 31 with good balance by the user gripping the gripper 33d on the rear side of the toner container 132Y.
Thereafter, when the holder 34c of the toner container 132Y reaches the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 31, positioning of the held portion 134Y is started while the second sliding portions 34c2 are sliding along the sliding faces (side faces) in addition to the sliding of the first sliding portion 34c1 along the sliding face 31a. More specifically, the engaging portions 34g (assist elements) of the held portion 134Y and the positioning members 31c of the toner-container holder 31 start to be engaged with each other.
Thereafter, when the attachment operation of the toner container 132Y is further progressed, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner outlet B while the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged with each other (the state as shown in
Then, referring to
When the toner container 132Y is to be taken out (removed) from the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse of the attachment. In this case, the nozzle 70 also separates from the holder 34c in synchronization with the operation such that the toner container 132Y separates from the holding portion 73, and the plug member 34d is moved to the position of closing the toner outlet B by the biasing force of the levers (biasing members). In this manner, the detachment operation of the toner container 132Y is completed by one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 132Y slides along the sliding face 31a.
The toner container 132Y according to the first embodiment includes the held portion 134Y with the toner outlet B provided vertically downward, and the toner outlet B is provided in the lower side lower than the opening A in the vertical direction. And after the plug member 34d is surely positioned in synchronization with the attachment operation, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 to open the toner outlet B sealed by the packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner stain in the toner outlet B, and such trouble that the user's hands become stained with the toner by touching the toner outlet B is prevented. Moreover, even if the toner is leaked from the toner outlet B, the toner stain in those, such as the ID chip 35, the engaging portion 34g, the concave portion 34m, and the convex portion 34n, is reduced to enable maintenance of their respective functions, because the ID chip 35, the engaging portion 34g, the concave portion 34m, and the convex portion 34n which serve as the assist elements are provided in the upper side in the vertical direction with respect to the toner outlet B (direction in which the toner leaked flies against gravity).
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 132Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is performed by one action associated with sliding of the sliding portion 34c1, and therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 132Y is improved. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34c1 in the bottom of the held portion 34Y, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a while supporting the toner container 132Y. Moreover, the attachment operation of the toner container 132Y is performed by starting to slide the sliding portion 34c1 while the user directly grips the gripper 33d, starting positioning of the held portion 134Y together with biasing by the arm pairs 80, starting insertion of the nozzle 70, and finishing the positioning of the held portion 134Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection to the drive unit as soon as the sliding is finished. Therefore, the user gains a click feeling when the held portion 134Y is positioned at the same time when the sliding of the held portion 134Y (attachment operation by one action) is progressed, and feels certain that no erroneous operation occurs in the attachment operation.
Furthermore, the toner container 132Y is not set in the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the attachment/detachment is performed from the front face of the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100), thus, enhancing the flexibility of layout for the upper side of the toner-container holder 31. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is disposed right above the toner-container holder, the operability/workability upon attachment/detachment of the toner container 132Y does not deteriorate. Moreover, the flexibility of layout for the engagement position D between the gear 33c of the toner container 132Y and the drive gear 31g of the apparatus body 100 is also enhanced. The toner container 132Y is set in the apparatus body 100 with its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, and therefore, the toner capacity of the toner container 132Y is increased to enable reduction in the replacement frequency without any effect on the layout in the height direction of the whole image forming apparatus 100.
As explained above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, the assist elements (ID chip 35, engaging portion 34g, concave portion 34m, and convex portion 34n) for mechanically or electrically assist the attachment operation to the toner-container holder 31 are provided in the upper side in the vertical direction with respect to the toner outlet B. Therefore, even if the toner scatters from the toner outlet B to the outside, the scattered toner hardly reaches the positions of the assist elements (ID chip 35, engaging portion 34g, concave portion 34m, and convex portion 34n). Consequently, the operability upon the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 132Y can be improved without reduction in the functions of the assist elements (ID chip 35, engaging portion 34g, concave portion 34m, and convex portion 34n). The “assist element” in the toner container 132Y is not limited to the ID chip 35, the engaging portion 34g, the concave portion 34m, and the convex portion 34n, and therefore, the present invention is applicable to any “assist element” on which scattered toner is desired not to be deposited.
The configuration of the most characteristic toner container in the first embodiment is explained below with reference to
More specifically, the toner container 132Y according to the first embodiment is configured so that the area of the contact area (protrusion portion 34a1) of the held portion 134Y, which contacts the horizontal plane H, is made smaller than the area of the project plane (the area of the cross section orthogonal to the rotating axis) of the container body 133Y projected to the horizontal plane H in such a manner that the held portion 134Y is directed vertically downward (state of
As previously explained, the wall portion 34a2 is formed around the protrusion portion 34a1, and the ID chip 35 (electronic component), of which periphery is covered with the wall portion 34a2, is provided on the protrusion portion 34a1 so as not to be directly contacted with the horizontal plane H. Therefore, the contact area contacting the horizontal plane is strictly the wall portion 34a2 of the protrusion portion 34a1.
The ID chip 35 provided on the protrusion portion 34a1 also serves as the standing inhibiting unit for inhibiting the toner container 132Y from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 134Y directed vertically downward. In other words, because the ID chip 35 is an electronic component to communicate with the communication circuit of the apparatus body 100, it looks weak for shock. Therefore, there is a psychological effect that the user will hesitate to stand the toner container 132Y on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 134Y directed vertically downward, by providing the ID chip 35 on the area of the held portion which faces the horizontal plane H (when the held portion 134Y is directed vertically downward).
Furthermore, the toner container 132Y according to the first embodiment is configured so that the center (geometrical center of gravity of the area of the contact area) of the contact area (protrusion portion 34a1) of the held portion 134Y which contacts the horizontal plane H is displaced with respect to the center (rotating axis of the container body 133Y) of the project plane of the container body 133Y, which is projected to the horizontal plane H, in such a manner that the held portion 134Y is directed vertically downward (state of
Furthermore, in the toner container 132Y according to the first embodiment, the seal 37 being an elastic element provided between the container body 133Y and the held portion 134Y serves as the standing inhibiting unit. In other words, by interposing the seal 37, which is flexible, between the container body 133Y and the held portion 134Y, the container body 133Y is unsteady and becomes easily unstable even if the toner container 132Y is tried to be properly stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 134Y directed vertically downward (state of
The toner container 132Y according to the first embodiment is configured so that it can be laid on the horizontal plane with its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction (which is the same posture as that when it is attached to the apparatus body 100). More specifically, the bottom of the holder 34c provided in the held portion 134Y is formed into a flat face, so that the toner container 132Y can be laid on the horizontal plane with this face downward. With the configuration above, the user does not try to stand the toner container 132Y thereon with the held portion 134Y directed downward with respect to the container body 133Y, but naturally lays the toner container 132Y thereon with the longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction.
As explained so far, the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is provided with the standing inhibiting unit in the held portion 134Y to inhibit the toner container 132Y from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 134Y directed vertically downward with respect to the container body 133Y. Consequently, it is possible to prevent toner aggregation in the side of the held portion 134Y during stock of the toner container 132Y. Therefore, the toner is discharged from the toner outlet B of the toner container 132Y set in the main body of the image forming apparatus 100, which can prevent such a failure as occurrence of a failure in toner supply to the developing device 5Y or as occurrence of an abnormal image.
A package 40 for packing the toner container 132Y is explained in detail below with reference to
The package 40 according to the first embodiment is configured so as not to be stood on the horizontal plane with the longitudinal direction of the toner container packed therein as the vertical direction. More specifically, the end face of the package 40 in the longitudinal direction is formed into an angular head 40a. Based on the configuration above, the package 40 with the toner container 132Y stored therein is prevented from being stood thereon with the held portion 134Y directed vertically downward, which makes it possible to reliably prevent toner aggregation in the side of the held portion 134Y during the stock of the toner container 132Y. In the first embodiment, however, the end face of the package 40 in the longitudinal direction is formed into the angular head 40a, but it may be formed into a slope or a sphere. In this case also, the same effect as explained above can be obtained.
The packing density (packing volume/whole volume) of toner contained in the container body 133Y of the toner container 132Y is preferably set to 0.7 or less (more preferably 0.6 or less). If the packing density of the toner exceeds 0.7, toner conveying capability with the projection 33b is reduced even if the container body 133Y is rotated. As a result, the toner cannot be conveyed to the held portion 134Y, which results in reduction in the toner amount to be discharged from the toner outlet B. However, if the packing density of the toner exceeds 0.6, a lump may easily occur in the toner having been conveyed to the held portion 134Y even if the packing density is 0.7 or less. When the toner is discharge by using a screw pump, the toner discharge capability may deteriorate because toner lumps may get into the toner outlet B. Thus, it is more preferable that the packing density of the toner be set to 0.6 or less.
A manufacturing method of recycling the toner container 132Y is explained below. The toner container 132Y according to the first embodiment can be reused by subjecting used products (toner containers with no toner after used in the image forming apparatus) to a recycling process.
More specifically, there are two manufacturing methods of recycling toner containers as follows. According to a first manufacturing method of recycling, a removal process is first provided to remove the held portion 134Y from the container body 133Y of the toner container 132Y recovered. Thereafter, a filling process is provided to fill the inside of the container body 133Y with toner (or two-component developer). Lastly, a fixing process is provided to fix the held portion 134Y to the container body 133Y. According to a second manufacturing method of recycling, a machining process is first provided to form a through hole in a part (e.g., gripper 33d) of the container body 133Y. Then, a filling process is provided to fill the inside of the container body 133Y with toner through the through hole. Lastly, a sealing process is provided to seal the through hole (e.g., the process of bonding the seal member to the through hole). By recycling the toner container 132Y in this manner, environment resources can be effectively used.
As explained above, the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment is provided with the protrusion portion 34a1 being the standing inhibiting unit in the held portion 134Y to inhibit the toner container 132Y from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 134Y directed vertically downward with respect to the container body 133Y. Consequently, it is possible to prevent toner aggregation in the side of the held portion 134Y during stock of the toner container 132Y. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the gripper 33d of the container body 133Y causes a psychological effect to be produced. The psychological effect due to the gripper 33d causes the user to prevent the toner container 132Y from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the container body 133Y directed vertically downward with respect to the held portion 134Y. Therefore, the toner is prevented from being aggregated in the side of the gripper 33d (rear end side) of the container body 133Y, and this causes the user to automatically lay the toner container 132Y on the horizontal plane H with the longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, as described above.
In the first embodiment, only the toner is contained in each container body of the toner containers 132Y, 132M, 132C, and 132K, but in the case of the image forming apparatus that supplies two-component developer containing toner and carrier to each developing device, the two-component developer can also be contained in each container body of the toner containers 132Y, 132M, 132C, and 132K. Even in this case, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.
In the first embodiment, the projection 33b is integrally formed in the inner circumferential surface of the container body 133Y, and the container body 133Y is made to rotate. On the other hand, a coil or a screw may also be rotatably held inside the container body 133Y, and the container body 133Y is not rotated but the coil or the screw can be rotated by the gear 33c. In this case also, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.
In the first embodiment, the suction-type screw pump 60 for sending air to the inside of the tube 71 is provided in the toner supply device. At the same time, a discharge-type screw pump for sending air to the inside of the tube 71 can also be provided in the toner supply device. Even in these cases, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.
A second embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
Referring to
The ID chip 35 of the held portion 234Y is configured so as to come in contact with or separate from the communication circuit 74 (connection terminal) of the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 232Y to/from the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, the ID chip 35 is provided on a location which is the plane of the held portion 234Y orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction (the arrow direction of
As explained above, the ID chip 35 comes in contact with the communication circuit 74 provided in the apparatus body 100 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation (linear operation) of the toner container 232Y by one action, and this improves contact performance between the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74. More specifically, the surface of the ID chip 35 comes in contact linearly with the communication circuit 74 fixed in the apparatus body 100 (toner-container holder 31), and this prevents, before occurring, such a failure that the ID chip 35 comes in contact unevenly with the communication circuit 74 to cause contact failure, or that part of the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 is worn out to give damage to some components.
In the second embodiment, the ID chip 35 is provided in the held portion 234Y so as to be located in the upper side higher than the position where the plug member 34d is provided (upper side in the posture when the toner container 232Y is set in the toner-container holder 31). Because the ID chip 35 is provided in the vertically upper side higher than the plug member 34d, even if the toner in the toner container 232Y is leaked from near the plug member 34d, such a failure that the toner is adhered to the ID chip 35 to cause an erroneous operation is reduced.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 232Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is explained below with reference to
When the toner container 232Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, the main-body cover (not shown) provided on the front face (the near side on the paper of
At this time, the first sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner-container holder 31 at the head side of the toner container 232Y, and while sliding, the toner container 232Y is pushed into the toner-container holder 31 with good balance by the user gripping the gripper 33d on the rear side of the toner container 232Y.
Referring to
Then, the attachment operation of the toner container 232Y is further progressed, and the plug member 34d starts to open the toner outlet B while the engaging portions 34g and the positioning members 31c are engaged with each other. That is, the front end of the nozzle 70 is inserted into the hole of the holder 34c, and at the same time, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70. As shown in
As explained above, in the second embodiment, the connection operation between the ID chip 35 of the toner container 232Y and the communication circuit 74 of the toner-container holder 31 is completed by one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 232Y slides along the sliding face 31a. More specifically, while the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 232Y is caused to be sliding along the sliding face 31a, the positioning operation of the held portion 234Y (toner container 232Y) is started in synchronization with the sliding, and then, the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 is started, and finally, the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 are connected to each other. With this connection, the surface of the ID chip 35 positioned comes in contact with the communication circuit 74 fixed in the apparatus body 100 (toner-container holder 31), and this prevents such a failure, before occurring, that the ID chip 35 comes in contact unevenly with the communication circuit 74 to cause contact failure, or that part of the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 is worn out associated with their contacting/separating operation, to give damage to some components.
Movement of the nozzle 70 to the inside or to the outside of the holder 34c and movement of the plug member 34d to the inside or to the outside of the holder 34c are performed when both of the members slidably contact the lip of the packing 34e of the holder 34c. Therefore, such a failure that toner is leaked from the holder 34c due to insertion or removal of the nozzle 70 is prevented.
When the toner container 232Y is to be taken out (removed) from the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse of the attachment. In this case, the nozzle 70 also separates from the holder 34c in synchronization with the operation such that the toner container 232Y separates from the holding portion 73, and the plug member 34d is moved to the position for closing the toner outlet B by the biasing force of the compression spring 34f. At the same time, the ID chip 35 also separates from the communication circuit 74. In this manner, the detachment operation of the ID chip 35 from the communication circuit 74 and the detachment operation of the toner container 232Y are completed by one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 232Y slides along the sliding face 31a.
The toner container 232Y according to the second embodiment includes the held portion 234Y with the toner outlet B provided in the lower side in the direction of gravity, and after the plug member 34d is surely positioned in synchronization with the attachment operation, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70, to open the toner outlet B sealed with the packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner stain in the toner outlet B, and such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet B is prevented.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 232Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is performed by one action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34c1, and therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 232Y is improved. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34c1 in the bottom of the held portion 234Y, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a while supporting the toner container 232Y. Furthermore, the attachment operation of the toner container 232Y is performed by starting to slide the sliding portion 34c1 while the user directly grips the gripper 33d, starting positioning of the held portion 234Y while sliding, starting insertion of the nozzle 70, and finishing the positioning of the held portion 234Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection of the ID chip 35 as soon as the sliding is finished. Therefore, the user gains a click feeling when the held portion 234Y is positioned at the same time when the sliding of the held portion 234Y (attachment operation by one action) is progressed, and feels certain that no erroneous operation occurs in the attachment operation.
Furthermore, the toner container 232Y is not set in the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the attachment/detachment is performed from the front face of the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100), thus, enhancing the flexibility of layout for the upper side of the toner-container holder 31. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is disposed right above the toner-container holder, the operability/workability upon attachment/detachment of the toner container 232Y does not deteriorate. The toner container 232Y is set in the apparatus body 100 with the longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, and therefore, the toner capacity of the toner container 232Y is increased without any effect on the layout in the height direction of the whole image forming apparatus 100, which allows reduction in the replacement frequency.
As explained above, the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment is provided with the standing inhibiting unit in the held portion 234Y for inhibiting the toner container 232Y from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 234Y directed vertically downward with respect to the container body 233Y. Consequently, it is possible to prevent toner aggregation in the side of the held portion 234Y during stock of the toner container 232Y. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the ID chip 35 storing information for the toner container 232Y is provided in the held portion 234Y so as to come in contact with and separate from the communication circuit 74 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 232Y to/from the toner-container holder 31. Therefore, the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 are surely and smoothly contacted with and separated from each other. This allows improvement of the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 232Y even on the software side in addition to the hardware side, and the occurrence of toner stain is surely reduced.
A third embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
A rotating axis 180Y is integrally formed with the gear 33c, and the spiral-shaped coil 181Y is connected to the rotating axis 180Y. One end of the rotating axis 180Y is supported by a bearing portion 34a4 of the held portion 334Y. The coil 181Y is extended from the opening A over the rear end (bottom) in the container body 333Y. The gear 33c rotates around the container body 333Y to rotate the rotating axis 180Y and the coil 181Y.
Therefore, the toner contained in the container body 333Y is conveyed toward the opening A by the toner conveying force of the coil 181Y. Because the outer diameter of the coil 181Y is smaller than the internal diameter of the container body 333Y, the toner conveying force can be exerted on the toner near the rotational central axis which is far from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 333Y. Furthermore, the coil 181Y is comparatively flexible in shape and only one end thereof is supported, thus, the position is swaying during rotation. This can totally exert the toner conveying force from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 333Y over the rotational central axis. Therefore, even if the large amount of toner is contained in the container body 333Y and toner aggregation occurs therein due to environmental changes or “being left too long”, the aggregation state is weakened by the toner conveying force due to the coil 181Y, and reduction in the toner amount to be discharged can thereby be prevented.
The toner container 332Y according to the third embodiment, similarly to those of the embodiments, is also provided with the standing inhibiting unit for inhibiting the toner container 332Y from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 334Y directed vertically downward with respect to the container body 333Y.
As explained above, in the third embodiment, similarly to the embodiments, the toner container 332Y is inhibited from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 334Y directed vertically downward with respect to the container body 333Y, and this allows prevention of toner aggregation in the side of the held portion 334Y during stock of the toner container 332Y. Although the coil 181Y is used as the conveyor member in the third embodiment, a screw can also be used as the conveyor member. In this case, the same effect as that of the third embodiment can also be obtained.
A fourth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
A threaded rod 183Y is integrally formed with the gear 33c, and the plate member 184Y is provided on the threaded rod 183Y. More specifically, a male screw portion 183Ya of the threaded rod 183Y is screwed with a female screw portion 184Ya in the plate member 184Y (see
Referring to
In this manner, the toner contained in the container body 433Y is conveyed to the opening A side by the toner conveying force of the plate member 184Y. Here, the outer diameter of the plate member 184Y is formed so as to be slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the container body 433Y, and the toner conveying force can be exerted on even the toner near the rotational central axis A which is far from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 433Y. Therefore, even if the large amount of toner is contained in the container body 433Y and toner aggregation occurs therein due to environmental changes or “being left too long”, the aggregation state is weakened by the toner conveying force due to the plate member 184Y, and reduction in the toner amount to be discharged can thereby be prevented.
The toner container 432Y according to the fourth embodiment, similarly to those of the embodiments, is also provided with the standing inhibiting unit for inhibiting the toner container 432Y from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 434Y directed vertically downward with respect to the container body 433Y.
As explained above, in the fourth embodiment, similarly to the embodiments, the toner container 432Y is inhibited from being stood on the horizontal plane H with the held portion 434Y directed vertically downward with respect to the container body 433Y, and this allows prevention of toner aggregation in the side of the held portion 434Y during stock of the toner container 432Y.
A fifth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below. The configuration and the operation of the overall image forming apparatus are the same as those of FIG. 1 to
The toner container is explained below with reference to
As shown in
The gear 33c is engaged with the drive gear 31g of the drive unit provided in the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, to rotate the container body 533Y around its rotating axis (indicated by a chain line of
In the fifth embodiment, the toner container 532Y and the apparatus body 100 are configured so that the held portion 534Y (or the container body 533Y) is biased downwardly by the force applied from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c when the drive gear 31g rotates in the direction indicated by W of
Based on the configuration above, component force Rv acting downward in the vertical direction is produced in force R such that the drive gear 31g vertically acts on a gear surface of the gear 33c (component force Rh acting in the horizontal direction is also produced). The held portion 534Y is biased vertically downward by the component force Rv acting vertically downward, to bring the sliding portion 34c1, which serves as the contact portion, into contact with the bottom of the holding portion of the toner-container holder 31 (sliding portion 34c1 undergoes the reaction of the component force Rv). Furthermore, the held portion 534Y is horizontally biased by the component force Rh acting horizontally, to bring the sliding portions 34c2, which serve as contact portions, into contact with the respective side faces of the holding portion of the toner-container holder 31 (sliding portions 34c2 undergo the reaction of the component force Rh). Therefore, even if rotation and non-rotation of the drive gear 31g are repeatedly performed (toner supply operation), the held portion 534Y does not largely and vertically move, and the seal capability for the nozzle 70 communicating with the toner outlet B is thereby maintained, thus preventing toner scattering from near the toner outlet B. However, if the engagement position D is not in the range X, the component force Rv acting vertically downward is not produced, or is small even if produced, and hence, the effect cannot be obtained.
Referring to
In the fifth embodiment, the container body 533Y of the toner container 532Y is made to rotate in the counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveying direction. Moreover, the spiral direction (turning direction) of the projection 33b in the container body 533Y is set to a rightward direction. This setting and the rotation of the container body 533Y cause a spiral air flow spiraling in clockwise to be created in the toner container 532Y (the same direction as the rotational direction of the spiral air flow created in the screw pump 60).
Referring to
The held portion 534Y communicates with the container body 533Y through the opening A, and discharges the toner discharged from the opening A, from the toner outlet B (movement along the arrow direction indicated by the dotted line of
The held portion 534Y does not follow the rotation of the container body 533Y, but is held in the non-rotating manner by the holding portion 73 (see
The seal member 37 is bonded to the area of the held portion 534Y that faces the front end 33a around the opening A of the container body 533Y. The seal 37 is used to seal the gap which is around the opening A and is between the areas of the container body 533Y and the held portion 534Y that mutually face each other, and is made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam.
The holder 34c is provided in the lower side of the held portion 534Y. Provided in the holder 34c is the plug member 34d (shutter) as the open/close member for opening/closing the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 532Y. The packing 34e such as G seal is provided on both sides of the plug member 34d to prevent toner leakage from near the plug member 34d. By setting the toner container 532Y in the toner-container holder 31, a lever (biasing member) for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction of closing the toner outlet B is engaged with the right side of the plug member 34d, although this is not shown in the figure. Furthermore, the packing such as an O-ring is provided in the engaging portion between the holder 34c and the cap 34a, to prevent toner leakage from both of the gaps.
The ID chip 35 of the held portion 534Y is configured to face the communication circuit 74 of the toner-container holder 31 with a predetermined distance therebetween, in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 532Y to the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, the ID chip 35 is provided on the protrusion portion 34a1 of the held portion 534Y which is protruded in the direction of the attachment to the toner-container holder 31 (the arrow direction of
The ID chip 35 previously stores various types of information related to the toner container 532Y. On the other hand, the communication circuit 74 of the toner-container holder 31 exchanges the information by radio with the ID chip 35 while the toner container 532Y is set in the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 (see
The ID chip 35 stores information regarding toner such as a toner color, a serial number of toner (production lot), and a date of toner production, and information regarding recycling of the toner container 532Y such as the number of times of recycling, dates of recycling, and recycling manufacturers. When the toner container 532Y is set in the toner-container holder 31, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 of the apparatus body 100 through the communication circuit 74. The apparatus body 100 is optimally controlled based on these pieces of information. For example, if the toner color is different from the toner color that should be set in the toner-container holder, the operation of the toner supply device can be stopped, or imaging conditions can be changed according to the serial number or the recycling manufacturer.
Provided in the holder 34c of the held portion 534Y are the sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2 for sliding along the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation to/from the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, the first sliding portion 34c1 is a flat portion formed so as to be parallel with the sliding face 31a (which is an upward face; see
Referring to
More specifically, as shown in
Likewise, referring to
In the fifth embodiment, as toner contained in the toner containers 532Y, 532M, 532C, and 532K, toner formed so that the following relations hold is used, where Dv(μm) is volume average particle size and Dn(μm) is number average particle size.
3≦Dv≦8 (1)
1.00≦Dv/Dn≦1.40 (2)
Therefore, toner particles are selected according to an image pattern in the developing process and excellent image quality is thereby maintained, and satisfactory developing capability is maintained even if the toner is stirred for a long time in the developing device. Moreover, the toner can be efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71. The volume average particle size and the number average particle size of toner can be measured by using a typical device such as a Coulter Counter type particle size distribution measuring device “Coulter Counter-TA-II” (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited) or “Coulter Multisizer II” (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited).
Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment, as toner contained in the toner containers 532Y, 532M, 532C, and 532K, substantially spherical toner is used, the toner being formed so that a shape factor SF-1 is in a range of 100 to 180 and a shape factor SF-2 is in a range of 100 to 180. This allows suppression of reduction in cleaning performance while high transfer efficiency is maintained. Moreover, the toner can be efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71. Herein, the shape factor SF-1 indicates the sphericity of a toner particle, and it is determined by the following equation.
SF−1=(M2/S)×(100π/4)
In the equation, M is the maximum particle size (the largest particle size in uneven particle sizes) in a project plane of the toner particle, and S is a project area of the toner particle. Therefore, the toner particle whose shape factor SF-1 is 100 is perfectly spherical, and the degree of sphericity lowers as it becomes greater than 100.
The shape factor SF-2 indicates the irregularities of a toner particle, and it is determined by the following equation.
SF−2=(N2/S)×(100/4π)
In the equation, N is a circumferential length in the project plane of the toner particle, and S is the project area of the toner particle. Therefore, the toner particle whose shape factor SF-2 is 100 has no irregularities, and the irregularities become larger as it becomes greater than 100. The shape factor SF-1 and the shape factor SF-2 are obtained by photographing a toner particle by a scanning electron microscope “S-800” (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) and analyzing the photograph of the toner particle obtained, by an image analyzer “LUSEX3” (manufactured by Nireco Corp.).
The configuration of the toner-container holder 31 is the same as that explained with reference to
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 532Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is explained below with reference to
When the toner container 532Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, the main-body cover (not shown) provided on the front face (the near side on the paper of
At this time, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner-container holder 31 at the head side of the toner container 532Y, and while sliding, the toner container 532Y is pushed into the toner-container holder 31 with good balance by the user gripping the gripper 33d on the rear side of the toner container 532Y.
Thereafter, when the holder 34c of the toner container 532Y reaches the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 31, positioning of the held portion 534Y is started while the second sliding portions 34c2 are sliding along the sliding faces (side faces) in addition to the sliding of the first sliding portion 34c1 along the sliding face 31a. More specifically, the engaging portions 34g of the held portion 534Y and the positioning members 31c of the toner-container holder 31 start to be engaged with each other.
Thereafter, when the attachment operation of the toner container 532Y is further progressed, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner outlet B while the engaging portions 34g and the positioning members 31c are engaged with each other (the state as shown in
Then, referring to
When the toner container 532Y is taken out (removed) from the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse of the attachment. In this case, the nozzle 70 also separates from the holder 34c in synchronization with the operation such that the toner container 532Y separates from the holding portion 73, and the plug member 34d is moved to the position for closing the toner outlet B by the biasing force of the lever (biasing member). In this manner, the detachment operation of the toner container 532Y is completed by one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 532Y slides along the sliding face 31a.
The toner container 532Y according to the fifth embodiment includes the held portion 534Y with the toner outlet B provided vertically downward, and the toner outlet B is provided in the lower side lower than the opening A in the vertical direction. And after the plug member 34d is surely positioned in synchronization with the attachment operation, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70, to open the toner outlet B sealed with the packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner stain in the toner outlet B, and such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet B is prevented.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 532Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is performed by one action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34c1, and therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 532Y is improved. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34c1 in the bottom of the held portion 534Y, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a while supporting the toner container 532Y. Furthermore, the attachment operation of the toner container 532Y is performed by starting to slide the sliding portion 34c1 while the user directly grips the gripper 33d, starting positioning of the held portion 534Y while being biased by the arm pairs 80, starting insertion of the nozzle 70, and finishing the positioning of the held portion 534Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection to the drive unit as soon as the sliding is finished. Therefore, the user gains a click feeling when the held portion 534Y is positioned at the same time when the sliding of the held portion 534Y (attachment operation by one action) is progressed, and feels certain that no erroneous operation occurs in the attachment operation.
Furthermore, the toner container 532Y is not set in the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the attachment/detachment is performed from the front face of the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100), thus, enhancing the flexibility of layout for the upper side of the toner-container holder 31. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is disposed right above the toner supply device, the operability/workability upon attachment/detachment of the toner container 532Y does not deteriorate. The flexibility of layout for the engagement position D between the gear 33c of the toner container 532Y and the drive gear 31g of the apparatus body 100 is also enhanced. The toner container 532Y is set in the apparatus body 100 with the longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, and therefore, the toner capacity of the toner container 532Y is increased without any effect on the layout in the height direction of the whole image forming apparatus 100, which allows reduction in the replacement frequency.
As explained above, the image forming apparatus according to the fifth embodiment is configured so that the held portion 534Y is biased downward by the force applied from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c when the drive gear 31g rotates. Therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 532Y is high, and such trouble that the toner scatters from the toner container 532Y can be prevented even if the toner supply operation is repeated.
In the fifth embodiment, only the toner is contained in each container body of the toner containers 532Y, 532M, 532C, and 532K, but in the case of the image forming apparatus that supplies two-component developer (developer for replenishment) containing toner and carrier to each developing device, the two-component developer can also be contained in each container body of the toner containers 532Y, 532M, 532C, and 532K. Even in this case, the same effect as that of the fifth embodiment can be obtained.
A two-component developing device in this case is assumed as a developing device configured as follows. This developing device is based on a system of performing image formation while the state of toner concentration of 3 to 15 wt %, preferably 5 to 10 wt % is always maintained in the developing device, the toner concentration being a weight ratio of the toner to the two-component developer, and of supplying a developer for replenishment contained with carrier which does not deteriorate when toner is supplied by the amount of toner having been used for the image formation, to prolong the life of the developer.
This developing device includes an excessive-developer discharging mechanism for discharging some developer, which becomes excessive due to supply thereof from part of a conveyor path of the developing device, to the outside of the developing device. And with this action, the amount of developer in the developing device can be made constant.
Carrier concentration being a weight ratio of carrier in the developer for replenishment is preferably 3 wt % to 20 wt % from the viewpoint of compatibility between maintenance of a developer life and a replacement interval of the toner container to be prolonged.
In the fifth embodiment, the projection 33b is integrally formed in the inner circumferential surface of the container body 533Y, and the container body 533Y is made to rotate. On the other hand, a coil or a screw may also be rotatably held inside the container body 533Y, and the container body 533Y is not rotated but the coil or the screw can be rotated by the gear 33c. In this case also, the same effect as that of the fifth embodiment can be obtained if the held portion 534Y is biased downward by the force which the gear 33c rotating the coil or the screw undergoes when the drive gear 31g rotates.
In the fifth embodiment, the suction-type screw pump 60 for sending air to the inside of the tube 71 is provided in the toner supply device. At the same time, a discharge-type screw pump for sending air to the inside of the tube 71 can also be provided in the toner supply device. Furthermore, a diaphragm-type air pump can be provided instead of the screw pump. Even in these cases, the same effect as that of the fifth embodiment can be obtained if the held portion 534Y is biased downward by the force applied from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c when the drive gear 31g rotates.
A sixth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
Explanation is given with reference to
The ID chip 35 as an electronic component (storage unit) is configured so as to directly contact the communication circuit 74 of the apparatus body. The ID chip 35 of the held portion 634Y is configured so as to come in contact with or separate from the communication circuit 74 (connection terminal) of the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 632Y to/from the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, the ID chip 35 is provided on a location which is the plane of the held portion 634Y orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction (the arrow direction of
In this manner, the ID chip 35 comes in contact with the communication circuit 74 provided in the apparatus body 100 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation (linear operation) of the toner container 632Y by one action, and this improves contact performance between the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74. More specifically, the surface of the ID chip 35 comes in contact linearly with the communication circuit 74 fixed in the apparatus body 100 (toner-container holder 31), and this prevents, before occurring, such a failure that the ID chip 35 comes in contact unevenly with the communication circuit 74 to cause contact failure, or that part of the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 is worn out to give damage to some components.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 632Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is explained below with reference to
Provided in the toner-container holder 31 are four toner-container holders corresponding to the four toner containers 632Y, 632M, 632C, and 632K, respectively. Each of the four toner-container holders includes the sliding faces 31a and 31b along which the sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2 of the held portion slide; the holding portion 73 for fixing the position of the holder 34c of the held portion; the nozzle 70 (toner conveying pipe); the drive unit (where the drive gear 31g is provided) for transmitting a rotational driving force to a container body; and the communication circuit 74. The holding portion 73 includes the sliding faces 31a and 31b contacting the holder 34c, and the contact area (not shown) contacting a part of the cap cover 34b. Provided in the sliding face 31b (side face) of the holding portion 73 is the positioning member 31c for positioning in synchronization with the attachment operation of the held portion. The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extended along the attachment/detachment direction of the toner container.
When the toner container 632Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, the main-body cover (not shown) provided on the front face (the near side on the paper of
At this time, the first sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner-container holder 31 at the head side of the toner container 632Y, and while sliding, the toner container 632Y is pushed into the toner-container holder 31 with sufficient balance by the user gripping the gripper 33d on the rear side of the toner container 632Y.
Referring to
Thereafter, when the attachment operation of the toner container 632Y is further progressed, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner outlet B while the engaging portions 34g and the positioning members 31c are engaged with each other. More specifically, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 associated with insertion of the front end of the nozzle 70 into the hole of the holder 34c. Then, as shown in
As explained above, in the sixth embodiment, the positioning operation of the held portion 634Y (toner container 632Y) is started in synchronization with one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 632Y slides along the sliding face 31a, and then, the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 is started, and finally, the engagement of the gear 33c with the drive gear 31g is completed. The nozzle 70 is preferentially inserted into the held portion 634Y at a location apart from the engagement position D of the gear 33c, and this can prevent such a failure that an unexpected external force, produced when the nozzle 70 does not come in contact with the plug member 34d, may be applied to the nozzle 70 to be deformed. In other words, if the connection of the gear 33c is preferentially performed near the held portion 634Y rather than the insertion of the nozzle 70 into the held portion 634Y, the toner container 632Y may be displaced caused by inappropriate engagement between the drive gear 31g and the gear 33c, which may cause the position where the nozzle 70 should be inserted to be displaced.
Movement of the nozzle 70 to the inside or the outside of the holder 34c and movement of the plug member 34d to the inside or the outside of the holder 34c are performed when both of the members slidably contact the lip of the packing 34e of the holder 34c. Therefore, such a failure that toner is leaked from the holder 34c due to insertion or removal of the nozzle 70 is prevented.
When the toner container 632Y is taken out (removed) from the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse of the attachment. At this time, the nozzle 70 also separates from the holder 34c in synchronization with the operation of the toner container 632Y separating from the holding portion 73, and the plug member 34d moves to the position for closing the toner outlet B by the biasing force of the compression spring 34f. In this manner, the detachment operation of the toner container 632Y is completed by one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 632Y slides along the sliding face 31a.
The toner container 632Y according to the sixth embodiment includes the held portion 634Y with the toner outlet B provided vertically downward, and the toner outlet B is provided in the lower side lower than the opening A. And after the plug member 34d is surely positioned in synchronization with the attachment operation, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 to open the toner outlet B sealed with the packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner stain in the toner outlet B, and such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet B is prevented.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 632Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is performed by one action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34c1, and therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 632Y is improved. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34c1 in the bottom of the held portion 634Y, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a while supporting the toner container 632Y. Moreover, the attachment operation of the toner container 632Y is performed by starting to slide the sliding portion 34c1 while the user directly grips the gripper 33d, starting positioning of the held portion 634Y associated with the sliding, starting insertion of the nozzle 70, and finishing the positioning of the held portion 634Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection to the drive unit as soon as the sliding is finished. Therefore, the user gains a click feeling when the held portion 634Y is positioned at the same time when the sliding of the held portion 634Y (attachment operation by one action) is progressed, and feels certain that no erroneous operation occurs in the attachment operation.
Further, the toner container 632Y is not set in the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the attachment/detachment is performed from the front face of the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100), thus, enhancing the flexibility of layout for the upper side of the toner-container holder 31. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is disposed right above the toner-container holder, the operability/workability upon attachment/detachment of the toner container 632Y does not deteriorate. Furthermore, the flexibility of layout for the engagement position D between the gear 33c of the toner container 632Y and the drive gear 31g of the apparatus body 100 is enhanced. The toner container 632Y is set in the apparatus body 100 with its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, and therefore, the toner capacity of the toner container 632Y is increased without any effect on the layout in the height direction of the whole image forming apparatus 100, which allows reduction in the replacement frequency.
Referring to
Further, in the toner container 632Y according to the sixth embodiment, the toner outlet B is provided in a more rear side (left side of
As explained above, in the image forming apparatus according to the sixth embodiment, similarly to the fifth embodiment, the gear 33c of the container body 633Y is provided so that the gear 33c is engaged with the drive gear 31g of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 at the position opposite in the vertical direction to the toner outlet B of the held portion 634Y via the opening A of the container body 633Y. Therefore, the operation such that the toner outlet B is opened or closed and the operation such that the gear 33c comes in contact with or separates from the drive gear 31g can be smoothly and surely performed in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 632Y. This allows improvement of the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 632Y, and reliable reduction in the occurrence of toner stain. Furthermore, in the sixth embodiment, similarly to the fifth embodiment, the toner outlet B of the held portion 634Y is provided in a more rear side than the container body 633Y in the attachment direction, and hence, the toner outlet B can be smoothly and reliably opened/closed in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 632Y. This allows improvement of the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 632Y, and reliable reduction in the occurrence of toner stain. Furthermore, in the sixth embodiment, similarly to the fifth embodiment, the toner outlet B of the held portion 634Y is provided in a lower side lower than the opening A of the container body 633Y in the vertical direction, and hence, the toner can be smoothly and reliably discharged from the toner outlet B which is opened in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 632Y. This allows improvement of the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 632Y, and reliable reduction in the occurrence of toner stain.
A seventh embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
The rotating axis 180Y is integrally formed with the gear 33c, and the spiral-shaped coil 181Y is connected to the rotating axis 180Y. One end of the rotating axis 180Y is supported by the bearing portion 34a4 of the held portion 734Y. The coil 181Y is extended from the opening A over the rear end (bottom) inside the container body 733Y. The gear 33c rotates around the container body 733Y to rotate the rotating axis 180Y and the coil 181Y.
Therefore, the toner contained in the container body 733Y is conveyed toward the opening A by the toner conveying force of the coil 181Y. Because the outer diameter of the coil 181Y is smaller than the internal diameter of the container body 733Y, the toner conveying force can be exerted on the toner near the rotational central axis which is far from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 733Y. Furthermore, the coil 181Y is comparatively flexible in shape and is supported only at one end thereof, thus, the position is swaying during rotation. This can totally exert the toner conveying force from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 733Y over the rotational central axis. Therefore, even if the large amount of toner is contained in the container body 733Y and toner aggregation occurs therein due to environmental changes or “being left too long”, the aggregation status is weakened by the toner conveying force due to the coil 181Y, and reduction in the toner amount to be discharged can thereby be prevented.
Similarly to the embodiments, the toner container 732Y according to the seventh embodiment is also configured so that the held portion 734Y is biased downward by the force applied from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c when the drive gear 31g rotates. Furthermore, the gear 33c of the container body 733Y is provided so that the gear 33c is engaged with the drive gear 31g of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 at the position opposite in the vertical direction to the toner outlet B of the held portion 734Y via the opening A of the container body 733Y. Further, the toner outlet B of the held portion 734Y is provided in a more rear side than the container body 733Y in the attachment direction. Furthermore, the toner outlet B of the held portion 734Y is provided in a lower side lower than the opening A of the container body 733Y in the vertical direction.
As explained above, in the seventh embodiment, similarly to the embodiments, the operability/workability upon the replacement of the toner container 732Y is improved, and the occurrence of toner stain can be surely reduced. The coil 181Y is used as the conveyor member in the seventh embodiment, but a screw can also be used as the conveyor member. In this case also, the same effect as that of the seventh embodiment can be obtained.
An eighth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
The threaded rod 183Y is integrally formed with the gear 33c, and the plate member 184Y is provided on the threaded rod 183Y. More specifically, the male screw portion 183Ya of the threaded rod 183Y is screwed with a female screw portion 184Ya in the plate member 184Y (see
Referring to
In this manner, the toner contained in the container body 833Y is conveyed to the opening A side by the toner conveying force of the plate member 184Y. Here, the outer diameter of the plate member 184Y is formed so as to be slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the container body 833Y, and the toner conveying force can be exerted on the toner near the rotational central axis A which is far from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 833Y. Therefore, even if the large amount of toner is contained in the container body 833Y and toner aggregation occurs therein due to environmental changes or “being left too long”, the aggregation status is weakened by the toner conveying force due to the plate member 184Y, and reduction in the toner amount to be discharged can thereby be prevented.
Similarly to the embodiments, the toner container 832Y according to the eighth embodiment is also configured so that the held portion 834Y is biased downward by the force applied from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c when the drive gear 31g rotates. Furthermore, the gear 33c of the container body 833Y is provided so that the gear 33c is engaged with the drive gear 31g of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 at the position opposite in the vertical direction to the toner outlet B of the held portion 834Y via the opening A of the container body 833Y. Further, the toner outlet B of the held portion 834Y is provided in a more rear side than the container body 833Y in the attachment direction. Furthermore, the toner outlet B of the held portion 834Y is provided in a lower side lower than the opening A of the container body 833Y in the vertical direction.
As explained above, in the eighth embodiment, similarly to the embodiments, the operability/workability upon the replacement of the toner container 832Y is improved, and the occurrence of toner stain can be surely reduced.
A ninth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
A toner supply device 59 that leads the toner contained in a toner container 932Y to the developing device 5Y is explained in detail below with reference to
More specifically, the toner container 932Y is set in the toner-container holder 931 of the apparatus body 100 (see
On the other hand, the other end of the nozzle 70 is connected to one end of the tube 71 as a conveyor tube. The tube 71 is made of a flexible material excellent in toner resistance, and the other end thereof is connected to the screw pump 60 (Mohno pump) of the toner supply device. The tube 71 being the conveyor tube is formed so that its internal diameter is 4 to 10 mm. The material of the tube 71 is allowed to use a rubber material such as polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, and silicone, and a resin material such as polyethylene, and nylon. Such a flexible tube 71 is used to enhance flexibility of layout for the toner supply path, thus, downsizing the image forming apparatus.
The screw pump 60 is a suction-type uniaxial eccentric screw pump, and includes a rotor 61, a stator 62, a suction port 63, a universal joint 64, and a motor 66. The rotor 61, the stator 62, and the universal joint 64 are accommodated in a case (not shown). The stator 62 is a female screw member made of an elastic material such as rubber, and a spiral-shaped groove with double pitch is formed inside the stator 62. The rotor 61 is a male screw member in which an axis made of a rigid material such as metal is spirally formed, and is rotatably inserted in the stator 62. One end of the rotor 61 is rotatably joined to the motor 66 through the universal joint 64. In the ninth embodiment, the spiral direction (turning direction) and the rotational direction of the rotor 61 are set so as to match the spiral direction (turning direction) and the rotational direction of the projection 33b formed in the container body 933Y of the toner container 932Y.
The screw pump 60 configured in the above manner generates suction force at the suction port 63 (air in the tube 71 is sent out to generate a negative pressure in the tube 71) by rotating the rotor 61 of the stator 62 by the motor 66 in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveying direction). This allows the toner in the toner container 932Y with the air to be sucked to the suction port 63 through the tube 71. The toner sucked to the suction port 63 is sent into a gap between the stator 62 and the rotor 61, and is fed to the other end side of the screw pump 60 along the rotation of the rotor 61. The toner fed is discharged from a feed port 67 of the screw pump 60, to be supplied to the developing device 5Y through the toner conveying pipe 43Y (movement in the arrow direction indicated by a dotted line in
In this manner, the suction force due to the screw pump 60 is used in the ninth embodiment, and the bore of the nozzle 70 (or the plug member 34d) can thereby be formed comparatively small, and the toner discharged from the toner outlet B of the toner container 932Y can be sufficiently transferred to the outside without being scattered. In the ninth embodiment, the rotor 61 of the screw pump 60 is made to rotate in the counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveying direction. The spiral direction (turning direction) of the rotor 61 is set to be a rightward direction. This setting and the rotation of the rotor 61 cause a spiral air flow spiraling in clockwise to be created in the screw pump 60.
As shown in
The toner container is explained below with reference to
As shown in
The gear 33c is engaged with the drive gear 31g of the drive unit provided in the toner-container holder 931 of the apparatus body 100, to rotate the container body 933Y around its rotating axis (indicated by a chain line of
In the ninth embodiment, the toner container 932Y and the apparatus body 100 are configured so that the held portion 934Y (or the container body 933Y) is biased downwardly by the force applied from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c when the drive gear 31g rotates in the arrow direction of
Referring to
The gripper 33d is formed so as to be point symmetry with respect to the center of the rear end face of the container body 933Y (which is the center of rotation and the position of almost gravity center) when viewed from the attachment/detachment direction. More specifically, the gripper 33d is formed into a substantial circle when viewed from the attachment/detachment direction. This form allows the posture of the gripper 33d with respect to the user, who performs the attachment/detachment operation, to be always fixed irrespective of any posture (rotation angle) of the container body 933Y in the rotational direction. In the ninth embodiment, the shape of the gripper 33d is the substantial circle when viewed from the attachment/detachment direction, but the shape of the gripper 33d may also be a gear shape or a petal shape when viewed from the attachment/detachment direction.
Moreover, the gripper 33d is formed so that its project plane orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction does not exceed the project plane of the container body 933Y orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction. This form allows smooth attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 932Y to the toner-container holder 931 without the gripper 33d being an obstacle (the gripper 33d is not caught by the toner-container holder 931). Furthermore, an attachment port provided in the toner-container holder 931 can be set to a minimum necessary size according to the size of the container body 933Y and the held portion 934Y.
The gripper 33d is formed on the rear end face of the container body 933Y and on the central axis of rotation of the container body 933Y (position being an almost center of gravity). The container body 933Y is thereby smoothly rotated. In other words, if the gripper 33d is disposed in a position displaced from the central axis of rotation, the rotational inertia force due to the gripper 33d unevenly acts on the container body 933Y.
The spiral-shaped projection 33b is provided in the inner circumferential surface of the container body 933Y (spiral-shaped groove when viewed from the outer circumferential side) The spiral-shaped projection 33b is used to discharge the toner from the opening A by rotating the container body 933Y in a predetermined direction. The container body 933Y configured in this manner together with the gripper 33d can be manufactured by blow molding after the gear 33c provided on its circumferential surface is formed by injection molding.
The container body 933Y configured in this manner is supported by the support member 78, provided in the toner-container holder 931, at two points which are in an obliquely lower side of a rear position 33Ya of the container body 933Y in the attachment direction while the toner container 932Y is set in the toner-container holder 931 (see
Here, the projection 33b is not formed in the area 33Ya (where the container body 933Y contacts the support member 78) where the container body 933Y is supported by the support member 78 when the toner container 932Y is set in the toner-container holder 931 (see
The toner container 932Y according to the ninth embodiment has the stirring member 33f rotating together with the container body 933Y provided in the opening A. The stirring member 33f is a rod-shaped member which is extended from the space in the held portion 934Y toward the container body 933Y and is provided at an angle to the rotating axis (indicated by the chain line in
In the ninth embodiment, the container body 933Y of the toner container 932Y is made to rotate in the counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveying direction. Moreover, the spiral direction (turning direction) of the projection 33b in the container body 933Y is set to a rightward direction. This setting and the rotation of the container body 933Y cause a spiral air flow spiraling in clockwise to be created in the toner container 932Y (the same direction as the rotational direction of the spiral air flow created in the screw pump 60).
Referring to
The held portion 934Y communicates with the container body 933Y through the opening A, and discharges the toner discharged from the opening A, from the toner outlet B (movement along the arrow direction indicated by the dotted line of
The held portion 934Y does not follow the rotation of the container body 933Y, but is held in the non-rotating manner by the holding portion 73 (see
The seal 37 is adhered to the area of the held portion 934Y that faces the front end 33a around the opening A of the container body 933Y. The seal 37 is used for sealing the gap which is around the opening A and is between the areas of the container body 933Y and the held portion 934Y that mutually face each other, and is made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam.
The holder 34c is provided in the lower side of the held portion 934Y. Provided in the holder 34c is the plug member 34d (shutter) as the open/close member for opening/closing the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 932Y. More specifically, the plug member 34d is movably provided in the holder 34c in the horizontal direction of
The packing 34e such as G seal is provided on the both sides of the plug member 34d to prevent toner leakage from near the plug member 34d. The lip portion of the packing 34e is in slidably contact with the outer circumferential surface of the plug member 34d and with the outer circumferential surface of the nozzle 70 which is in tight contact with the end face of the plug member 34d and relatively moves, and hence, the high sealing capability can be maintained even if the toner outlet B is opened or closed.
Furthermore, packing such as an O-ring is provided in the engaging portion between the holder 34c and the cap 34a, to prevent toner leakage from both of the gaps. The toner container 932Y is set in the toner-container holder 931, and then the claw member 76 (see
The ID chip 35 of the held portion 934Y is configured to face the communication circuit 74 of the toner-container holder 931 with a predetermined distance therebetween, in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 932Y to the toner-container holder 931. More specifically, the ID chip 35 is provided on the protrusion portion 34a1 of the held portion 934Y which is protruded in the direction (the arrow direction of
The ID chip 35 previously stores various types of information related to the toner container 932Y. On the other hand, the communication circuit 74 of the toner-container holder 931 exchanges the information by radio with the ID chip 35 while the toner container 932Y is set in the toner-container holder 931. More specifically, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 (see
The ID chip 35 stores information regarding toner such as a toner color, a serial number of toner (production lot), and a date of toner production, and information regarding recycling of the toner container 932Y such as number of times of recycling, dates of recycling, and recycling manufacturers. When the toner container 932Y is set in the toner-container holder 931, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 of the apparatus body 100 through the communication circuit 74. The apparatus body 100 is optimally controlled based on these pieces of information. For example, if the toner color is different from the toner color that should be set in the toner-container holder, the operation of the toner supply device can be stopped, or imaging conditions can be changed according to the serial number or the recycling manufacturer.
Provided in the holder 34c of the held portion 934Y are the sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2 for sliding along the toner-container holder 931 following the attachment/detachment operation to/from the toner-container holder 931. More specifically, the first sliding portion 34c1 is a flat portion formed so as to be parallel with the sliding face 31a (upward face; see
Referring to
More specifically, as shown in
Likewise, referring to
In the ninth embodiment, as toner contained in the toner containers 932Y, 932M, 932C, and 932K, toner formed so that the following relations hold is used, where Dv(μm) is volume average particle size and Dn(μm) is number average particle size:
3≦Dv≦8 (1)
1.00≦Dv/Dn≦1.40 (2)
Therefore, toner particles are selected according to an image pattern in the developing process and excellent image quality is maintained, and satisfactory developing capability is maintained even if the toner is stirred for a long time in the developing device. Moreover, the toner can be efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71. The volume average particle size and the number average particle size of toner can be measured by using a typical device such as the Coulter Counter type particle size distribution measuring device: Coulter Counter-TA-II (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited) or Coulter Multisizer II (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited).
Furthermore, in the ninth embodiment, as toner contained in the toner containers 932Y, 932M, 932C, and 932K, substantially spherical toner is used, the toner being formed so that the shape factor SF-1 is in a range of 100 to 180 and the shape factor SF-2 is in a range of 100 to 180. This allows suppression of reduction in cleaning performance while high transfer efficiency is maintained. Moreover, the toner can be efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71. Herein, the shape factor SF-1 indicates the sphericity of a toner particle, and it is determined by the following equation.
SF−1=(M2/S)×(100π/4)
In the equation, M is the maximum particle size (the largest particle size in uneven particle sizes) in a project plane of the toner particle, and S is a project area of the toner particle. Therefore, the toner particle whose shape factor SF-1 is 100 is perfectly spherical, and the degree of sphericity lowers as it becomes greater than 100.
The shape factor SF-2 indicates the irregularities of a toner particle, and it is determined by the following equation.
SF−2=(N2/S)×(100/4π)
In the equation, N is a circumferential length in the project plane of the toner particle, and S is the project area of the toner particle. Therefore, the toner particle whose shape factor SF-2 is 100 has no irregularities, and the irregularities become larger as it becomes greater than 100. The shape factor SF-1 and the shape factor SF-2 are obtained by photographing a toner particle by a scanning electron microscope “S-800” (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) and analyzing the photograph of the toner particle obtained, by an image analyzer “LUSEX3” (manufactured by Nireco Corp.).
The configuration of the toner-container holder 931 is explained below with reference to
The holding portion 73 holds the held portions of the toner containers 932Y, 932M, 932C, and 932K each in the non-rotating manner. The holding portion 73 includes sliding faces contacting each holder 34c, and a contact area contacting a part of the cap cover 34b. Provided in the sliding faces (side faces) of the holding portion 73 are the positioning members 31c for positioning in synchronization with the attachment operation of the held portion 934Y (see
Provided in the sliding face (bottom) of the holding portion 73 is the claw member 76 for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction in which the toner outlet B is closed in synchronization with the detachment operation of the held portion 934Y (see
Furthermore, the communication circuit 74 and the fitting member 31d are provided on the plate of the holding portion 73 in its rear side. The nozzle 70 as shown in
Referring to
The arm pairs 80 configured in the above manner serve as a biasing member for biasing the held portion 934Y (toner container 932Y) toward the holding portion 73 (biasing it toward the direction of the arrow Q of
The support member 78 is provided near the attachment port for the toner container 932Y in the toner-container holder 931. The toner container 932Y is supported by the support member 78 at two points which are in its obliquely lower side in the rear position 33Ya of the toner container 932Y while the toner container 932Y is set in the toner-container holder 931. And, the held portion 934Y of the toner container 932Y is held by the holding portion 73 in the non-rotating manner, and the container body 933Y is rotated when the toner is supplied while the container body 933Y of the toner container 932Y is rotatably supported by the support member 78 at the two points. The container body 933Y is thereby rotated with good balance and low vibration to reduce the load upon the rotation, and the toner scattering from the toner container 932Y can reliably be reduced.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 932Y to/from the toner-container holder 931 is explained below with reference to
When the toner container 932Y is attached to the toner-container holder 931 of the apparatus body 100, at first, the main-body cover 110 (see
At this time, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner-container holder 931 at the head side of the toner container 932Y, and while sliding, the toner container 932Y is pushed into the toner-container holder 931 with good balance by the user gripping the gripper 33d on the rear side in the attachment direction of the toner container 932Y.
Then, referring to
Here, the held portion 934Y (sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2) is configured so as not to come in contact with the support member 78 when it is attached/detached to/from the toner-container holder 931. More specifically, referring to
Thereafter, when the holder 34c of the toner container 932Y reaches the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 931, positioning of the held portion 934Y is started while the second sliding portions 34c2 are sliding along the sliding faces (side faces) in addition to the sliding of the first sliding portion 34c1 along the sliding face 31a. More specifically, the engaging portion 34g of the held portion 934Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner-container holder 931 start to be engaged with each other. During this time, the arm pairs 80 bias the held portion 934Y of the toner container 932Y toward the holding portion 73 (biasing in the direction of the arrow Q). Furthermore, during this time, the claw member 76 provided in the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 931 is retracted to the position that does not obstruct the attachment of the held portion 934Y (which is rotation in the direction of the arrow R1 around the rotating spindle 76a). That is, the claw member 76 is pushed down by the sliding portion 34c1 in the direction of resisting the biasing force of the plate spring.
Thereafter, when the attachment operation of the toner container 932Y is further progressed, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner outlet B while the engaging portions 34g and the positioning members 31c are engaged with each other (the state as shown in
The state as shown in
At this time, the held portion 934Y of the toner container 932Y is biased by the arm pairs 80, serving as the biasing member, toward the holding portion 73 (biasing in the direction of the arrow Q). More specifically, referring to
Then, referring to
At this time, referring to
In this manner, because the arm pairs 80 provided in the rear side of the apparatus body 100 reliably prevent the toner container 932Y from slipping off in the attachment/detachment direction, there is no need to install the mechanism, which prevents slip-off of the toner container 932Y in the attachment/detachment direction, near (the near side to the apparatus body 100) the gripper 33d of the toner container 932Y set in the toner-container holder 931. This enables to ensure a sufficient space required for the attachment/detachment operation, near the gripper 33d of the toner container 932Y set in the apparatus body 100. Furthermore, the appearance near the gripper 33d of the toner container 932Y set in the apparatus body 100 can thereby be improved.
When the held portion 934Y further moves to the position of W2 in
In this manner, in the ninth embodiment, the speed of opening the toner outlet B of the toner container 932Y is mechanically determined by the arm pairs 80 without being determined based on the user's operation speed (the speed of pushing the toner container). Therefore, the time for which the sealing capability in the held portion 934Y is degraded is not made extremely long, but made short almost constantly at any time, and toner scattered from near the toner outlet B is thereby reduced.
On the other hand, when the toner container 932Y is to be taken out (removed) from the toner-container holder 931 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse of the attachment. At first, the plug member 34d is biased by the claw member 76 while the position of the plug member 34d in the holding portion 73 is fixed by the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76, in synchronization with separation of the toner container 932Y from the holding portion 73 (detachment operation) by the user gripping the gripper 33d, to close the toner outlet B (movement from the state of
As explained above, in the image forming apparatus according to the ninth embodiment, the attachment operation and the detachment operation of the toner container 932Y are completed by one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door 110) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 932Y slides along the sliding face 31a, performed while the user grips the gripper 33d. The toner container 932Y according to the ninth embodiment includes the held portion 934Y with the toner outlet B provided vertically downward, and the toner outlet B (or the plug member 34d) is provided in the lower side lower than the opening A in the vertical direction. And after the plug member 34d is surely positioned in synchronization with the attachment operation, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70, to open the toner outlet B sealed with the packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner stain in the toner outlet B, and such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet B is prevented.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 932Y to/from the toner-container holder 931 is performed by one action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34c1, and therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 932Y is improved. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34c1 in the bottom of the held portion 934Y, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a while supporting the toner container 932Y. Furthermore, the attachment operation of the toner container 932Y is performed by starting to slide the sliding portion 34c1 while the user directly grips the gripper 33d, starting positioning of the held portion 934Y together with the biasing by the arm pairs 80, starting insertion of the nozzle 70, and finishing the positioning of the held portion 934Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection to the drive unit as soon as the sliding is finished. Therefore, the user gains a click feeling when the held portion 934Y is positioned at the same time when the sliding of the held portion 934Y (attachment operation by one action) is progressed, and feels certain that no erroneous operation occurs in the attachment operation.
Furthermore, the toner container 932Y is not set in the toner-container holder 931 (apparatus body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the attachment/detachment is performed from the front face of the toner-container holder 931 (apparatus body 100), thus, enhancing the flexibility of layout for the upper side of the toner-container holder 931. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is disposed right above the toner supply device, the operability/workability upon attachment/detachment of the toner container 932Y does not deteriorate. Furthermore, the flexibility of the layout for the engagement position D between the gear 33c of the toner container 932Y and the drive gear 31g of the apparatus body 100 is enhanced. Because the toner container 932Y is set in the apparatus body 100 with its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, the toner capacity of the toner container 932Y is increased without any effect on the layout in the height direction of the whole image forming apparatus 100, which allows reduction in the replacement frequency.
As explained above, in the image forming apparatus according to the ninth embodiment, when the toner container 932Y is attached/detached to/from the toner-container holder 931, the plug member 34d of the held portion 934Y opens/closes the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation along the longitudinal direction of the container body 933Y while the user grips the gripper 33d provided in the rear side of the container body 933Y. Therefore, the open/close operation of the toner outlet B is reliably and smoothly performed together with the attachment/detachment operation. Thus, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 932Y is improved, and the occurrence of toner stain is surely reduced.
In the image forming apparatus according to the ninth embodiment, the toner container 932Y is configured in such a manner that the toner container 932Y is attached to the toner-container holder 931 along the longitudinal direction of the container body 933Y so that the held portion 934Y of the toner container 932Y is located as the head of the container body 933Y in the attachment direction and the container body 933Y is supported by the support member 78 of the toner-container holder 931 at the rear side position in the attachment direction. The posture of the whole toner container 932Y is thereby stabled even upon the attachment/detachment operation and upon toner supply, and the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 932Y is improved, to surely reduce the occurrence of toner stain.
In the ninth embodiment, the toner-container holder 931 is configured so that the arm pairs 80 (biasing member) bias the toner container 932Y toward the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 931 in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 932Y. This allows reliable reduction in occurrence of toner scatter no matter how the user operates for replacement of the toner container 932Y, without reducing the toner amount to be discharged from the toner container 932Y and the operability upon the replacement.
In the ninth embodiment, only the toner is contained in each container body of the toner containers 932Y, 932M, 932C, and 932K, but in the case of the image forming apparatus that supplies two-component developer containing toner and carrier to each developing device, the two-component developer can also be contained in each container body of the toner containers 932Y, 932M, 932C, and 932K. Even in this case, the same effect as that of the ninth embodiment can be obtained.
In the ninth embodiment, the projection 33b is integrally formed in the inner circumferential surface of the container body 933Y, and the container body 933Y is made to rotate. On the other hand, a coil or a screw may also be rotatably held inside the container body 933Y, and the container body 933Y is not rotated but the coil or the screw can be rotated by the gear 33c. In this case also, the same effect as that of the ninth embodiment can be obtained.
In the ninth embodiment, the suction-type screw pump 60 for sending air to the inside of the tube 71 is provided in the toner supply device. At the same time, a discharge-type screw pump for sending air to the inside of the tube 71 can also be provided in the toner supply device. Furthermore, a diaphragm-type air pump can also be used as a pump connected to the tube 71. Even when these pumps are used, the same effect as that of the ninth embodiment can be obtained.
A tenth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
Referring to
The ID chip 35 of the held portion 1034Y is configured so as to come in contact with or separate from the communication circuit 74 (connection terminal) of the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 1032Y to/from the toner-container holder 31. More specifically, the ID chip 35 is provided on a location which is the plane of the held portion 1034Y orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction (the arrow direction of
In this manner, the ID chip 35 comes in contact with the communication circuit 74 provided in the apparatus body 100 in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation (linear operation) of the toner container 1032Y performed by one action, and this improves contact performance between the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74. More specifically, the surface of the ID chip 35 comes in contact linearly with the communication circuit 74 fixed in the apparatus body 100 (toner-container holder 31), and this prevents, before occurring, such a failure that the ID chip 35 comes in contact unevenly with the communication circuit 74 to cause contact failure, or that part of the ID chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 is worn out to give damage to some components.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 1032Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is explained below with reference to
Provided in the toner-container holder 31 are four toner-container holders corresponding to four toner containers 1032Y, 1032M, 1032C, and 1032K, respectively. Each of the four toner containers includes the sliding faces 31a and 31b along which the sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2 of the held portion 1034Y slide; the holding portion 73 for fixing the position of the holder 34c of the held portion 1034Y; the nozzle (toner conveying pipe) 70; the drive unit (where the drive gear 31g is provided) for transmitting a rotational driving force to a container body 1033Y; and the communication circuit 74. The holding portion 73 includes the sliding faces 31a and 31b contacting the holder 34c, and the contact area (not shown) contacting a part of the cap cover 34b. Provided in the sliding face 31b (side face) of the holding portion 73 is the positioning member 31c for positioning in synchronization with the attachment operation of the held portion 1034Y. The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extended along the attachment/detachment direction of the toner container 1032Y.
When the toner container 1032Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, the main-body cover 110 (see
At this time, the first sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a of the toner-container holder 31 at the head side of the toner container 1032Y, and while sliding, the toner container 1032Y is pushed into the toner-container holder 31 with good balance by the user gripping the gripper 33d on the rear side of the toner container 1032Y.
Referring to
Then, the attachment operation of the toner container 1032Y is further progressed, and the plug member 34d starts to open the toner outlet B while the engaging portions 34g and the positioning members 31c are engaged with each other. In other words, the front end of the nozzle 70 is inserted into the hole of the holder 34c, and at the same time, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70. As shown in
In this manner, in the tenth embodiment, the positioning operation of the held portion 1034Y (toner container 1032Y) is started in synchronization with one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body cover 110) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 1032Y slides along the sliding face 31a, and then, the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 is started, and finally, the engagement of the gear 33c with the drive gear 31g is completed. The nozzle 70 is preferentially inserted into the held portion 1034Y at a location apart from the engagement position D of the gear 33c, and this can prevent such a failure that an unexpected external force, produced when the nozzle 70 does not come in contact with the plug member 34d, may be applied to the nozzle 70 to deform the nozzle 70. In other words, if the connection of the gear 33c is preferentially performed rather than the insertion of the nozzle 70 into the held portion 1034Y, the toner container 1032Y may be displaced caused by inappropriate engagement between the drive gear 31g and the gear 33c, which may cause the position where the nozzle 70 is inserted to be displaced.
Movement of the nozzle 70 to the inside or to the outside of the holder 34c and movement of the plug member 34d to the inside or to the outside of the holder 34c are performed when both of the members slidably contact the lip of the packing 34e of the holder 34c. Therefore, such a failure that toner is leaked from the holder 34c due to insertion or removal of the nozzle 70 is prevented.
When the toner container 1032Y is to be taken out (removed) from the toner-container holder 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse of the attachment. In other words, the user holds the gripper 33d and pulls the toner container 1032Y toward the user's side. In this case, the nozzle 70 also separates from the holder 34c in synchronization with the operation such that the toner container 1032Y separates from the holding portion 73, and the plug member 34d is moved to the position for closing the toner outlet B by the biasing force of the compression spring 34f. In this manner, the detachment operation of the toner container 1032Y is completed by one action (except the open/close operation of the main-body door 110) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 1032Y slides along the sliding face 31a.
The toner container 1032Y according to the tenth embodiment includes the held portion 1034Y with the toner outlet B provided vertically downward, and the toner outlet B is provided in the lower side lower than the opening A in the vertical direction. And after the plug member 34d is surely positioned in synchronization with the attachment operation, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70, to open the toner outlet B sealed with the packing 34e. Therefore, there is less toner stain in the toner outlet B, and such trouble that the user's hands become stained with toner by touching the toner outlet B is prevented.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 1032Y to/from the toner-container holder 31 is performed by one action associated with the sliding of the sliding portion 34c1, and therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 1032Y is improved. Particularly, by providing the sliding portion 34c1 in the bottom of the held portion 1034Y, the sliding portion 34c1 slides along the sliding face 31a while supporting the toner container 1032Y. Furthermore, the attachment operation of the toner container 1032Y is performed by starting to slide the sliding portion 34c1 while the user directly grips the gripper 33d, starting positioning of the held portion 1034Y while sliding, starting insertion of the nozzle 70, and finishing the positioning of the held portion 1034Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection to the drive unit as soon as the sliding is finished. With these operations, the user gains a click feeling when the held portion 1034Y is positioned at the same time when the sliding of the held portion 1034Y (attachment operation by one action) is progressed, and feels certain that no erroneous operation occurs in the attachment operation.
Furthermore, the toner container 1032Y is not set in the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100) from the upper side thereof, but the attachment/detachment is performed from the front face of the toner-container holder 31 (apparatus body 100), thus, enhancing the flexibility of layout for the upper side of the toner-container holder 31. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is disposed right above the toner-container holder, the operability/workability upon attachment/detachment of the toner container 1032Y does not deteriorate. The flexibility of the layout for the engagement position D between the gear 33c of the toner container 1032Y and the drive gear 31g of the apparatus body 100 is also enhanced. Because the toner container 1032Y is set in the apparatus body 100 with its longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, the toner capacity of the toner container 1032Y is increased without any effect on the layout in the height direction of the whole image forming apparatus 100, which allows reduction in the replacement frequency.
A manufacturing process when the toner container 1032Y is recycled is explained below with reference to
Referring to
As explained above, in the tenth embodiment, similarly to the ninth embodiment, because the gripper 33d is provided in the opposite side in the longitudinal direction to the position where the opening A is formed, the attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 1032Y can be smoothly and reliably performed while the user holds the gripper 33d, and the manufacturing work of the toner container 1032Y can efficiently be performed by using the gripper 33d. Thus, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner container 1032Y and its manufacture is improved, and the occurrence of toner stain can be surely reduced.
An eleventh embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
The rotating axis 180Y is integrally formed with the gear 33c, and the spiral-shaped coil 181Y is connected to the rotating axis 180Y. One end of the rotating axis 180Y is supported by the bearing portion 34a4 of the held portion 1134Y. The coil 181Y is extended from the opening A over the rear end (bottom) inside the container body 1133Y. The gear 33c rotates around the container body 1133Y to rotate the rotating axis 180Y and the coil 181Y.
Therefore, the toner contained in the container body 1133Y is conveyed toward the opening A by the toner conveying force of the coil 181Y. Because the outer diameter of the coil 181Y is smaller than the internal diameter of the container body 1133Y, the toner conveying force can be exerted on the toner near the rotational central axis which is far from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 1133Y. Furthermore, the coil 181Y is comparatively flexible in shape and only one end thereof is supported, thus, the position is swaying during rotation. This can totally exert the toner conveying force from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 1133Y over the rotational central axis. Therefore, even if the large amount of toner is contained in the container body 1133Y and toner aggregation occurs therein due to environmental changes or “being left too long”, the aggregation state is weakened by the toner conveying force due to the coil 181Y, and reduction in the toner amount to be discharged can thereby be prevented.
The toner container 1132Y according to the eleventh embodiment, similarly to those of the embodiments, is also provided with the gripper 33d in the opposite side in the longitudinal direction to the position where the opening A is formed. When the toner container 1132Y is attached/detached to/from the toner-container holder 31, the plug member 34d of the held portion 1134Y opens/closes the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation performed along the longitudinal direction of the container body 1133Y while the user is holding the gripper 33d provided in the rear side of the container body 1133Y. Moreover, the toner container 1132Y is configured so that the held portion 1134Y of the toner container 1132Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container body 1133Y so as to be located as the head of the container body 1133Y in the attachment direction, and so that the container body 1133Y is supported by the support member 78 of the toner-container holder 31 at the rear position in the attachment direction of the container body 1133Y. Furthermore, the toner-container holder 31 is configured so that the toner container 1132Y is biased by the arm pairs 80 (biasing member) toward the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 1132Y.
As explained above, in the eleventh embodiment, similarly to the embodiments, the operability/workability upon replacement and manufacture of the toner container 1132Y is increased, and the occurrence of toner stain can be surely reduced. Although the coil 181Y is used as the conveyor member in the eleventh embodiment, a screw can also be used as the conveyor member. In this case, the same effect as that of the eleventh embodiment can also be obtained.
A twelfth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
The threaded rod 183Y is integrally formed with the gear 33c, and the plate member 184Y is provided on the threaded rod 183Y. More specifically, the male screw portion 183Ya of the threaded rod 183Y is screwed with the female screw portion 184Ya in the plate member 184Y (see
Referring to
In this manner, the toner contained in the container body 1233Y is conveyed to the side of the opening A by the toner conveying force of the plate member 184Y. Here, the outer diameter of the plate member 184Y is formed so as to be slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the container body 1233Y, and the toner conveying force can be exerted on the toner near the rotational central axis A which is far from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 1233Y. Therefore, even if the large amount of toner is contained in the container body 1233Y and toner aggregation occurs therein due to environmental changes or “being left too long”, the aggregation state is weakened by the toner conveying force due to the plate member 184Y, and reduction in the toner amount to be discharged can thereby be prevented.
The toner container 1232Y according to the twelfth embodiment, similarly to those of the embodiments, is also provided with the gripper 33d in the opposite side in the longitudinal direction to the position where the opening A is formed. When the toner container 1232Y is attached/detached to/from the toner-container holder 31, the plug member 34d of the held portion 1234Y opens/closes the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation performed along the longitudinal direction of the container body 1233Y while the user is holding the gripper 33d provided in the rear side of the container body 1233Y. Moreover, the toner container 1232Y is configured so that the held portion 1234Y of the toner container 1232Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container body 1233Y so as to be located as the head of the container body 1233Y in the attachment direction, and so that the container body 1233Y is supported by the support member 78 of the toner-container holder 31 at the rear position in the attachment direction of the container body 1233Y. Furthermore, the toner-container holder 31 is configured so that the toner container 1232Y is biased by the arm pairs 80 (biasing member) toward the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 1232Y.
As explained above, in the twelfth embodiment, similarly to the embodiments, the operability/workability upon replacement and manufacture of the toner container 1232Y is increased, and the occurrence of toner stain can be surely reduced.
A thirteenth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
The toner container 1332Y according to the thirteenth embodiment, similarly to those of the embodiments, is also provided with the gripper 1333d in the opposite side in the longitudinal direction to the position where the opening A is formed. When the toner container 1332Y is attached/detached to/from the toner-container holder 31, the plug member 34d of the held portion 1334Y opens/closes the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation performed along the longitudinal direction of the container body 1333Y while the user is holding the gripper 1333d provided in the rear side of the container body 1333Y. Moreover, the toner container 1332Y is configured so that the held portion 1334Y of the toner container 1332Y is attached to the toner-container holder 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container body 1333Y so as to be located as the head of the container body 1333Y in the attachment direction, and so that the container body 1333Y is supported by the support member 78 of the toner-container holder 31 at the rear position in the attachment direction of the container body 1333Y. Furthermore, the toner-container holder 31 is configured so that the toner container 1332Y is biased by the arm pairs 80 (biasing member) toward the holding portion 73 of the toner-container holder 31 in synchronization with the attachment operation of the toner container 1332Y.
As explained above, in the thirteenth embodiment, similarly to the embodiments, the operability/workability upon replacement and manufacture of the toner container is increased, and the occurrence of toner stain can be surely reduced.
A fourteenth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
Referring to
The other three imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K have almost the same configuration as the imaging unit 6Y corresponding to yellow, except different toner colors to be used, and images corresponding to the respective toner colors are formed. Hereinafter, explanation of the other three imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K is omitted, and only the imaging unit 6Y for yellow is explained below.
Referring to
Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches the position facing the developing device 5Y, where the electrostatic latent image is developed and a yellow toner image is formed (developing process). Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches the position facing the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the primary-transfer bias roller 9Y, where the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1Y is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 (primary transfer process). At this time, a slight amount of non-transferred toner remains on the photosensitive drum 1Y.
Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches the position facing the cleaning unit 2Y, where the non-transferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1Y is mechanically collected by the cleaning blade 2a (cleaning process). The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y finally reaches the position facing the decharger (not shown), where the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 1Y is removed. In this manner, the series of imaging processes on the photosensitive drum 1Y is completed.
The imaging processes are performed on the other imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K in the same manner as those of the yellow imaging unit 6Y. In other words, the laser light L based on image information is radiated from the exposing device 7 provided in the lower side of the imaging unit toward each photosensitive drum of the imaging units 6M, 6C, and 6K. More specifically, the exposing device 7 emits the laser light L from its light source, and radiates the laser light L onto the photosensitive drum through a plurality of optical elements while scanning the laser light L by a polygon mirror which is rotated.
Then, respective color toner images formed on the photosensitive drums through the developing process are superposedly transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 8. In this manner, a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.
Referring to
The four primary-transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K, to form each primary transfer nip. And the transfer bias inverse to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary-transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K. Then, the intermediate transfer belt 8 moves along the arrow direction and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nips of the primary-transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K. In this manner, the toner images of the colors on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are sequentially superposed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 to perform primary transfer.
Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the toner images of the colors superposedly transferred reaches the position facing the secondary transfer roller 19. At this position, the secondary-transfer backup roller 12 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the secondary transfer roller 19 to form a secondary transfer nip. The four-color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 are transferred to the transferred material P such as a transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, non-transferred toner which has not been transferred to the transferred material P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 8.
Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 reaches the position of the intermediate-transfer cleaning unit 10, where the non-transferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is collected. In this manner, a series of the transfer process performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is completed.
The transferred material P conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed thereto from the paper feed unit 26 provided in the lower side of the apparatus body 200 through the paper feed roller 27 and the registration roller pair 28. More specifically, a plurality of the transferred materials P such as transfer paper are stored in the paper feed unit 26. When the paper feed roller 27 is made to rotate in the counterclockwise of
The transferred material P conveyed to the registration roller pair 28 once stops at the position of a roller nip between the registration roller pair 28 that stops its rotation. Then, the registration roller pair 28 is rotated in synchronization with the color images on the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the transferred material P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this manner, a desired color image is transferred to the transferred material P.
Then, the transferred material P with the color image transferred at the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the fixing unit 20, where the color image transferred to the surface of the transferred material P is fixed on the transferred material P under heat and pressure by a fixing roller and a pushing roller. Thereafter, the transferred material P is ejected to the outside of the apparatus through between the paper-discharge roller pair 29. The transferred materials P ejected to the outside of the apparatus by the paper-discharge roller pair 29 are sequentially stacked on the stack portion 30, as output images. In this manner, a series of the imaging processes in the image forming apparatus is completed.
The configuration and the operation of the developing device in the imaging unit are explained in further detail below with reference to
The developing device 5Y configured in the above manner operates as follows. The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y rotates in the arrow direction of
The developer G in the developing device 5Y is controlled so that the proportion (toner density) of the toner in the developer is in a predetermined range. More specifically, the toner contained in the toner bottle 1632Y is supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y through the toner supply portions 43Y, 60, 70, and 71 according to toner consumption in the developing device 5Y. It is noted that the configuration and the operation of the toner bottle 1632Y are explained in detail later.
Thereafter, the toner supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y circulates (movement in the vertical direction on the paper of
The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the arrow direction of
The toner supply portions 43Y, 60, 70, and 71 that guide the toner contained in the toner bottle 1632Y set in the bottle holder 1631 to the developing device 5Y is explained in detail below with reference to
The toner supply portions supply the toner in the toner bottle 1632Y set in the bottle holder 1631 of the apparatus body 200 into the developing device 5Y as necessary according to toner consumption in the developing device 5Y. More specifically, the toner bottle 1632Y is set in the bottle holder 1631 of the apparatus body 200, and the toner conveying pipe 70 (nozzle) of the bottle holder 1631 is connected to a case 1634Y of the toner bottle 1632Y. At this time, the shutter 34d (open/close member) of the toner bottle 1632Y opens the toner outlet of the case 1634Y. This allows the toner contained in the bottle body 1633Y of the toner bottle 1632Y to be conveyed into the toner conveying pipe 70 through the toner outlet.
On the other hand, the other end of the toner conveying pipe 70 is connected to one end of the tube 71. The tube 71 is made of a flexible rubber material having a low affinity for toner, and the other end thereof is connected to the powder pump 60 (screw pump) of the toner supply portion. The powder pump 60 includes the rotor 61, the stator 62, the suction port 63, the universal joint 64, and the motor 66. The rotor 61 is formed so that a shaft made of a metal material is spirally formed. The one end of the rotor 61 is rotatably connected to the motor 66 through the universal joint 64. The stator 62 is made of a rubber material, and a hole thereof is formed so that its oval cross-section is spirally formed. The rotor 61 is inserted into the hole of the stator 62.
The powder pump 60 configured in the above manner causes the motor 66 to rotate the rotor 61 in the stator 62 to suck the toner in the toner bottle 1632Y to the suction port 63 through the tube 71. The toner sucked to the suction port 63 is sent into a gap between the stator 62 and the rotor 61 and fed to the other end along the rotation of the rotor 61. The toner fed is discharged from the feed port 67 of the powder pump 60, to be supplied to the developing device 5Y through the toner conveying pipe 43Y (movement in the arrow direction indicated by a dotted line in
The toner bottle characteristic in the fourteenth embodiment is explained below with reference to
As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
The cap cover 34b of the case 1634Y is bonded to the circumferential surface of the cap 34a. The claw 34b1 is provided at the front of the cap cover 34b. The claw 34b1 is engaged with an engaging member formed in the head of the bottle body 1633Y, and the bottle body 1633Y is thereby held relatively rotatably with respect to the case 1634Y. To smoothly rotate the bottle body 1633Y, the claw 34b1 of the case 1634Y and the engaging member of the bottle body 1633Y are engaged with each other by maintaining appropriate clearance therebetween.
The shutter holder 34c is provided in the lower side of the case 1634Y. Provided in the shutter holder 34c is the shutter 34d (plug) as the open/close member for opening/closing the toner outlet B in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner bottle 1632Y. The packing 34e is provided on the both sides of the shutter 34d to prevent toner leakage from near the shutter 34d. A compression spring for biasing the shutter 34d in the direction of closing the toner outlet B is provided in the right side of the shutter 34d.
The case 1634Y includes an adhesive area 34a3 for bonding the seal 37 thereto as a seal member. The adhesive area 34a3 is an area (one of opposite areas) which faces the front end 33a (the other one of the opposite areas) around the opening A of the bottle body 1633Y, and is formed at the front of the cap 34a. The seal 37 being the seal member is used to seal the gap which is around the opening A and is between the front end 33a of the bottle body 1633Y and the adhesive area 34a3 of the case 1634Y that mutually face each other, and is made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam.
The adhesive area 34a3 with the seal 37 adhered serves as a control portion for controlling vibration in the radial direction of the opening A. More specifically, the adhesive area 34a3 of the case 1634Y is formed so as not to be parallel with the front end 33a of the bottle body 1633Y which faces this adhesive area. To be more specific, the adhesive area 34a3 is not a plane substantially vertical with respect to the direction of the rotating axis of the bottle body 1633Y but is tapered. Furthermore, the area of the adhesive area 34a3 as one of the opposite areas is formed so as to be larger than the area of the front end 33a being the other opposite area.
Based on the configuration above, even if the front end 33a (opening A) is about to vibrate in the radial direction (direction orthogonal to the rotating axis) associated with the rotation of the bottle body 1633Y, the adhesive area 34a3 with the seal 37 adhered controls this movement. For example, even if the front end 33a is going to move upward in
The vibration in the radial direction of the opening A of the bottle body 1633Y is prevented, and a deformed shape (shape to seal the gap) of the seal 37 having elasticity is thereby fixed, to allow stable maintenance of the sealing capability of the seal 37 over time without reduction in its restoring force. In other words, such trouble that some clearance occurs in a seal region of the seal 37 due to the vibration in the radial direction of the opening A is prevented. As a result, toner leakage from the seal 37 is suppressed to prevent, before occurring, waste of toner and toner contamination in the main body of the image forming apparatus 200 associated with the toner leakage.
The attachment/detachment operation of the toner bottle 1632Y to/from the bottle holder 1631 is explained below with reference to
The bottle holder 1631 includes four bottle holders corresponding to the four toner bottles 1632Y, 1632M, 1632C, and 1632K, respectively. Each of the bottle holders includes the holding portion 73 for fixing the position of the shutter holder 34c of the case 1634Y, the toner conveying pipe 70, and the drive unit (not shown) for transmitting the rotational drive force to the bottle body 1633Y.
When the toner bottle 1632Y is attached to the bottle holder 1631 of the apparatus body 200, at first, the main-body cover (not shown) provided on the front face (the near side on the paper of
When the toner bottle 1632Y is to be taken out of the bottle holder 1631 of the apparatus body 200, the operation is performed in the reverse of the attachment. In this case, the toner conveying pipe 70 also separates from the shutter 34d in synchronization with the operation such that the toner bottle 1632Y separates from the holding portion 73, and the shutter 34d is moved to the position for closing the toner outlet B by the biasing force of the compression spring.
As explained above, the fourteenth embodiment is provided with the adhesive area 34a3 for controlling, together with the seal 37, the vibration in the radial direction of the opening A of the bottle body. Therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner bottle is improved, and toner leakage (toner scatter) which may occur with time can be prevented even if a large amount of toner is contained in the toner bottle.
In the fourteenth embodiment, only the toner is contained in each bottle body of the toner bottles 1632Y, 1632M, 1632C, and 1632K, but in the case of the image forming apparatus that supplies two-component developer containing toner and carrier to each developing device, the two-component developer can also be contained in each bottle body of the toner bottles 1632Y, 1632M, 1632C, and 1632K. Even in this case, by providing the adhesive area 34a3 for controlling, together with the seal 37, the vibration in the radial direction of the opening A of the bottle body, it is possible to prevent leakage of the developer from the toner bottle.
In the fourteenth embodiment, the control portion 34a3 is provided on the side of the case 1634Y, but the control portion can also be provided on the side of the bottle body 1633Y. Furthermore, the seal 37 can also be adhered to the front end 33a of the bottle body 1633Y. Even in these cases, the same effect as that of the fourteenth embodiment can be obtained.
A fifteenth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
More specifically, the adhesive area 34a3 formed into the V shape is formed so as not to be parallel with the front end 33a of the bottle body 1733Y which faces this adhesive area, and so as to be larger than the area of the front end 33a. Based on the configuration above, the adhesive area 34a3 with the seal 37 adhered thereto controls the movement of the front end 33a (opening A) which is about to vibrate in the radial direction following the rotation of the bottle body 1733Y. For example, even if the front end 33a is about to move upward in
The vibration in the radial direction of the opening A is controlled in this manner, to thereby enable stable maintenance of the sealing capability of the seal 37 even after time passes. As a result, toner leakage from the seal 37 is suppressed to prevent, before occurring, waste of toner and toner contamination in the main body of the image forming apparatus 200 associated with the toner leakage.
As explained above, the fifteenth embodiment is also provided with the adhesive area 34a3 for controlling, together with the seal 37, the vibration in the radial direction of the opening A of the bottle body 1733Y. Therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner bottle 1732Y is improved, and toner leakage (toner scatter) which may occur with time can be prevented even if a large amount of toner is contained in the toner bottle 1732Y.
A sixteenth embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail below with reference to
As shown in
More specifically, the adhesive area 34a3 formed into the taper is formed so as not to be parallel with the front end 33a of the bottle body 1833Y which faces this adhesive area, and so as to be larger than the area of the front end 33a. Based on the configuration above, the adhesive area 34a3 with the seal 37 adhered thereto controls the movement of the front end 33a (opening A) even if it is about to vibrate in the radial direction following the rotation of the bottle body 1833Y. For example, even if the front end 33a is about to move upward in
The vibration in the radial direction of the opening A is controlled in this manner, to thereby enable stable maintenance of the sealing capability of the seal 37 even after time passes. As a result, the toner leakage from the seal 37 is suppressed to prevent, before occurring, waste of toner and toner contamination in the main body of the image forming apparatus 200 associated with the toner leakage.
As explained above, the sixteenth embodiment is also provided with the adhesive area 34a3 for controlling, together with the seal 37, the vibration in the radial direction of the opening A of the bottle body 1833Y. Therefore, the operability/workability upon replacement of the toner bottle 1832Y is improved, and toner leakage (toner scatter) which may occur with time can be prevented even if a large amount of toner is contained in the toner bottle 1832Y.
A seventeenth embodiment is explained below with reference to
The groove 34p opened downwardly is formed at two positions which are in a path of the claw member 76. These grooves allow the claws of the claw member 76 to move into or move back along the respective grooves 34p during the attachment/detachment operation. A corner portion 34p1, against which the claw member 76 butts, and a wall surface 34c3 (a part of the sliding portion 34c1) are provided at the rear end of the groove 34p. Specifically, the wall surface 34c3 is used when the claw member 76 changes its posture after butting against the corner portion 34p1 and moves while the claws of the claw member 76 are in contact with the wall surface 34c3.
Similarly to the configuration of the ninth embodiment, the plug member 4734d of
The backside 34c7 of the wall surface 34c3 has two storage portions 34q, one on each side of the plug member 4734d, as shown in
Further, the effect due to provision of the second protrusion portion 4734d2 is explained below with respect to
The configuration of the holder 34c formed with another component different from the held portion 4734Y is explained in detail below with reference to
The configuration of the holder 34c and the components disposed therein are explained below with reference to
Further, plate member 34c9 that is concave-shaped in cross section extends in the axis direction of the nozzle hole 340n from the holder 34c. This plate member 34c9 is configured to be moved by being sandwiched by the two second protrusions 34d2 of the plug member 34d, and to prevent the plug member 34d from rotating.
The effect of the pressing support member 34s is explained below. To set the holder 34c in the held portion 4734Y from the lower side, the held portion 4734Y needs to have an arch-shaped space as explained above. In this case, if the pressing support member 34s is not provided, there is no member for pressing the packing 34e2 in the lower side of the periphery thereof. If there is no such member, the packing 34e2 may curl up due to friction caused by the sliding operation of the plug member 4734d, which leads to failure in toner conveyance and causes toner scatter. Therefore, by providing the pressing support member 34s, the whole periphery of the packing 34e2 can also be pressed, similarly to the packing 34e1.
The relationship between the positioning operation of the held portion 4734Y and the operation of the claw member 76 is explained below. The claw member 76 receives an upward force (force in the R2 direction of
In other words, there is a case where the claw member 76 is engaged with the sliding portion 34c1 provided on the undersurface of the held portion 4734Y before the positioning members 31c of the toner-container holder 31 are engaged with the engaging portions 34g of the held portion 4734Y. In this case, if the upward force is strong, the engaging portions 34g, with which the positioning members 31c of the holding portion 73 on the main body of the image forming apparatus are engaged, are turned obliquely upward, and the positioning members 31c are inserted into the engaging portions 34g in that state. It is also possible for the positioning members 31c to fail to engage with the engaging portions 34g. In either situation, the positioning members 31c are not properly engaged with the engaging portions 34g, which causes a failure in the attachment.
In order to prevent improper mounting due to movement or rotation of the held portion 4734Y, according to ninth embodiment, the relative positions of the positioning members 31c and the claw member 76 are arranged so that during the mounting process, the positioning members engage with the engaging portions 34g before the claw member 76 is engaged with or pushes upwarwardly on the held portion 4734Y. Alternatively, the spring 77 which pushes up on the claw member 76 can be selected so that it has less bias on the claw member 76. Such a smaller amount of bias or spring strength will reduce or eliminate the issue of the rotation or lifting of the held portion 4734Y. When the toner container, or cap or held portion thereof initially contacts the claw member 76, the weaker spring will allow the claw member 76 to move and not change the orientation or angle of the toner container.
Alternative ways of keeping the toner container from rotating upwardly so that container can be properly mounted include mounting a stopping or blocking device above the toner container or above the cap of the toner container within the image forming device to keep the toner container stable during mounting. The stopping device could be a flat and horizontal blocking device, for example. Alternatively, a rounded stopping device which corresponds to the shape of the cap can be installed within the image forming device to keep the toner container from raising or rotating upwardly.
Additionally or alternatively, the cap can be molded, machined, cut, or otherwise constructed so that it has gutters, channels, grooves or slots on the under-face, as illustrated in
In the seventeenth embodiment, two grooves 34p into which the claw member 76 can enter are formed on the plane that faces the nozzle 70 upon the attachment of the held portion 4734Y. Consequently, the connection to the held portion is performed in such a manner that the positioning members 31c first start to engage the engaging portions 34g. Then, the claw member 76 contacts the held portion and exerts an upward pressure thereon. The interaction of the positioning members 31c and engaging portions 34g prevent upward movement of the container or held portion, and thus during insertion, the claw member 76 is pushed downward so as not to obstruct the attachment, and thereafter, the claw member 76 engages the plug member 4734d, and the nozzle 70 comes in contact with the plug member 4734d slightly afterward. The effect of the grooves 34p is explained below with reference to
In
Thereafter, in
Then, as shown in
At this time, however, the nozzle 70 does not yet contact the plug member 4734d. Therefore, the plug member 4734d is still in the closed position, and the protrusion portion 4734d1 and the second protrusion portions 4734d2 are also stored in the storage portions 34q. Accordingly, the claw member 76 does not push the protrusion portion 4734d1 before the nozzle 70 contacts the plug member 4734d. Thus, the erroneous-operation preventing function of the storage portions 34q is fulfilled.
Lastly, as shown in
The plug member 4734d is held and fixed, at the state of
Another feature of the invention which may be applied to any of the embodiments is explained below with reference to
As shown in
The toner containers 32Y, 32M, and 32C for the other three colors have two convex portions each. Each upper-side end face of the convex portions of the toner containers is formed so as to be in a plane concentric with each container body of the toner containers, and each lower-side convex portion is formed into a cuboid. The caps or held portions are formed so that the widths of the upper-side convex portions in the vertical direction are different from one another, and that the widths of the lower-side convex portions in the vertical direction are also different from one another. In other words, the height of a space between the upper-side convex portion and the lower-side convex portion of one toner container is different from that of the others.
For the black toner container 32K, the single convex portion or projection is designated by 34nK, for the yellow toner container 32Y, the two convex portions or projections are designated by 34nY1 and 34nY2, for the cyan toner container 32C, the two convex portions or projections are designated by 34nC1 and 34nC2, and for the magenta toner container 32M, the two convex portions or projections are designated by 34nM1 and 34nM2.
In
Preventing the wrong color toner from being inserted into the image forming device prevents the contamination of the image forming apparatus, prevents avoidable service calls, and results in properly formed images. In this embodiment, the dimensions of the toner container including the held portion 34K are set in order to prevent improper mounting by restricting the held portion 34K from passing through the improper opening of the enclosure plate. The length of the convex portion or protrusion 34nK along the axis of rotation of the storage volume is designated by 140K. The length between the leading edge of the convex portion 34nK and the front of the cylindrical portion 34wK is 142K. The length of the cap cover 34bK is designated by 144K. As illustrated in
The perspective view of the toner container set forth in
The four openings in
A perspective view of the plate 910 is shown in
According to an embodiment of the invention, the radius 914 of the holes 912 in the plate 910 are 32.5 mm for the cyan, magenta, and yellow holes, and 35.5 mm for the black hole in the plate 910. Also according to the preferred commercial embodiment, the radius of the cyan, magenta, and yellow container body or bottle is 31.5 mm and the radius of the black container body or bottle is 34.5 mm. Since black toner is generally consumed at a higher rate than the other colors, it is preferable for the black container to hold more toner. The present inventors have found that by setting the various dimensions of the frame to be 2 mm larger than the corresponding dimensions of the bottle and/or the cap, the toner container can be properly inserted into its corresponding opening in the image forming apparatus, while preventing the wrong color toner bottle from being inserted into a non-corresponding potion. However, as long as the relative sizes of the frame openings and the toner containers appropriately prevent a container from being inserted at an improper position, the differences between the toner container size and frame may be changed, as desired.
Various dimensions of the components of the invention have been provided herein, but those dimensions in relationships to each other are not required by the invention, unless specifically recited in the claims. Further, the invention includes a changing of any of the dimensions, for example, by increasing or decreasing any of the dimensions by 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, or 35%, or any value in between, for example. Further, the dimensions and the relative relations can be changed even more, if desired, as long as the system functions in the desired manner.
Various dimensions and relations may be utilized in order to prevent the wrong color toner from being used in an improper position in the image forming apparatus. For example, for the cyan, yellow, and magenta color toner containers, there are two projections. When viewed in the vertical direction, the thickness of the projections (reference number 130 minus 132, and 134 minus 136) are configured such that a sum of a thickness of the two projections in the vertical direction is less than or equal to a radius of the cylindrical-shaped portion of the cap. Further, an outer edge of at least one of the projections has a minimum distance from a center of the cylindrical-shaped portion which is greater than a larger radius of a cylindrical-shaped portion of any other toner container used in the machine. Additionally, the container may be arranged such that a distance from the center of the cylindrical-shaped cap portion to an outer edge of each of the two projections is at least 15%, 25%, or 35% greater than the radius of the cylindrical-shaped portion. Further, for any embodiments of the invention, the invention includes both an empty toner container, and the toner container filled with toner and/or a mixture of toner and other components such as developer, agitating or mixing particles, charging particles, or any desired feature.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the projection on the exterior of the cap or held portion is configured such that a distance from a center of the cylindrical-shaped cap portion to an outer edge of the projection is at least 15% greater than a radius of a cylindrical-shaped portion. Moreover, a distance from a center of the cylindrical-shaped cap portion to an outer edge of projection on the cap is at least 15%, 25%, or 35% greater than a radius of the cylindrical-shaped portion. Moreover, the cap may include a second projection, and the distance from a center of the cylindrical-shaped cap portion to an outer edge of the second projection is at least 15% greater than the radius of the cylindrical-shaped portion. Moreover, a distance from a center of the cylindrical-shaped cap portion to an outer edge of each of the two projections may be arranged to be 25% or 35% greater than the radius of the cylindrical-shaped portion.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a thickness in the vertical direction of a first projection plus the thickness in the vertical direction of a second projection for each of the three containers is within 30%, 20%, 10%, or is even the same as a predetermined number. Thus, while the various projections of the cyan, yellow, and magenta toner containers are different, a sum of their thicknesses may be the same as each other, or within a predetermined tolerance.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, there are least two toner containers used with the invention, each toner container having two projections. The thickness of the projection in the vertical direction of the first projection of the first toner container corresponds to the thickness in the vertical direction of the second or lower projection of the second container, and the same holds true for the upper projection of the second container and the lower projection of the first container. Moreover, these dimensions may vary by 30%, 20%, 10%, or be set to exactly the same.
Such features correspond to the magenta and yellow bottles disclosed herein.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the projection on the exterior of the cap corresponds to a particular color toner and the length of the projection along a line parallel to the axis of rotation of the toner bottle is within 25%, 15%, or 5% of a distance from the axis of rotation to an outer edge of the projection.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the projection of the cap of the toner container is arranged such that the toner container can only be inserted through a plate having an opening which corresponds to the shape of the projection. Further, the opening of the plate corresponds to a circumferential shape of the container. Moreover, there may be two projections, and these two projections correspond to the holes in the plate.
Further, the invention includes an image forming apparatus containing the toner containers and the plate having various features as described above.
The toner bottle of the present embodiment is provided with two toner guiding portions 95Y near the gear opening 33ci, and each toner guiding portion 95Y serves to move the toner from inside the toner bottle beyond the raised portion to the toner outlet when the bottle is rotated. The toner guiding portion 95Y is provided in the container to cause the toner inside the toner bottle to be moved to the toner outlet beyond the small-diameter portion of the bottle gear by rotation of the toner bottle. The toner guiding portions 95Y may be manufactured in any desired manner. For example, they may be integrally formed with the bottle or formed separately. The toner guiding portions 95Y may be formed together, and further formed to a ring which fits inside the mouth of the bottle 32Y in order to securely hold the toner guiding portions 95Y.
The construction of the bottle causes the toner to be scooped upwardly. Alternatively to or in addition to the scooping, the toner may be pushed forward and upward by grooves, such as the grooves 33b. A toner guiding inner wall 950Y is near the gear opening 33ci and the wall in toner bottle 32Y pushes out the toner, or allows the toner to slide thereon and to the toner guiding portions 95Y.
Features and descriptions of any one of the bottles shown in
It is desirable that the bottle gear 33c is formed so that its gear teeth do not project too much from the peripheral surface of the toner bottle 32Y. This is also desirable for device miniaturization. In addition, it is desirable for stabilization of the toner supply that the bottle gear 33c is provided near the toner outlet. For this reason, even if the diameter of the opening is smaller than the inner diameter of the toner bottle 32Y in the position of the bottle gear 33c, it is desirable for the toner to smoothly pass through the raised portion of the inner wall of the toner bottle.
From the grooves 33b, the toner is pushed to toner scoops T1 and T2, also referred to as toner conveyance devices or raised portions. The toner scoops T1 and T2 are raised outwardly, located at the shoulder portion of the bottle, and scoop or convey toner upwardly as the container is rotated.
Toner guiding inner walls 950Y are respectively formed along on each of inner wall surfaces of each of the raised portions T1 and T2. While
FIGS. 92F(1)-92F(3) show the gear 33c which is secured to the base 33i of the bottle 32 shown in
FIG. 92F(1) shows a bottom view of the gear 33c. The bottom of the gear is the portion of the gear which first slips over the mouth of the bottle 32Y when the gear 33c is mounted to the bottle 32Y. FIG. 92F(2) shows a cross-section view of the gear 33c along the line 92F(2)-92F(2) of FIG. 92F(1). The left side of FIG. 92F(2) is the bottom of the gear 33c, and the right side is the top of the gear 33c. FIG. 92F(3) is a perspective view showing the top of the gear 33c. In FIG. 92F(3), one of the two notches 33cn is visible in the bottom portion of the gear.
The tabs 33ct and base portion 33i, while being part of this embodiment, are optional. Moreover, a gear such as the gear disclosed in other embodiments may be integrally formed with the bottle which would eliminate the need for the base 33i and separate gear 33c, and the tabs 33ct and notches 33cn which connect the gear 33c to the base 33i. While two notches 33cn and two tabs 33ct are used with this emobodiment, any number of notches/tabs may be used. Moreover, notches and tabs are not required to mount the gear to the bottle/base, and any other suitable and/or conventional structure can be used to secure the gear. For example, a press fit, a key/notch structure, and/or screws can be used to secure the gear to the bottle. The bottle of 92A-92E may be used with the held portion or cap 34K, 34Y, 34M, or 34C of this invention, may be used with any type of cap, or may be used without any cap.
The toner container according to this embodiment has the gripper 133d separately formed from the toner bottle, as shown in
Moreover, a decal, seal, label, or other indicia 1335 (representing 1335K, 1335Y, 1335C, and 1335M of
It is obvious that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and that the embodiments can be changed as necessary, other than the suggestion in the embodiments, within the scope of the technological idea of the present invention. Furthermore, each number, position, and shape of the components are not limited by the embodiments, and therefore, these can be changed to those which are appropriate for implementation of the present invention.
The invention includes the assist element provided in the held portion to mechanically or electrically assist the attachment operation to the toner-container holder, and the assist element is provided in the upper side in the vertical direction with respect to the toner outlet.
The assist element is an electronic component that stores information related to the toner container.
The electronic component performs non-contact communication with the communication circuit provided in the toner-container holder while the held portion is held in the toner-container holder.
The electronic component is attached to the toner-container holder so as to be located more forward than the toner outlet.
The held portion includes the protrusion portion protruding in the direction of the attachment to the toner-container holder, and the electronic component is provided on the plane which is the protrusion portion and is orthogonal to the attachment direction.
The protrusion portion includes the wall portion covering around the electronic component.
The electronic component stores at least one of the information related to toner contained in the container body and the information related to recycling.
The assist element is an engaging portion engaged with the positioning member provided in the toner-container holder.
The engaging portion is engaged with the positioning member in synchronization with the attachment operation to the toner-container holder.
The engaging portion is provided near the toner outlet.
The assist element is the convex portion or the concave portion provided in a different position according to the type of toner container.
The convex portion or the concave portion is fitted with the fitting member provided in the toner-container holder when the attachment operation to the toner-container holder is correct.
The convex portion or the concave portion is provided in a different location according to a color of toner contained in the container body.
The package for packing the toner container is configured so as not to be stood on the horizontal plane with the longitudinal direction of the toner container packed therein as the vertical direction.
The end face of the package in the longitudinal direction is formed into any one of a slope, a sphere, and an angular head.
The manufacturing method for recycling the toner container includes the removal process for removing the held portion from the container body, the filling process for filling the inside of the container body with toner or developer after the removal process, and the fixing process for fixing the held portion to the container body after the filling process.
The other manufacturing method of recycling the toner container includes the machining process for forming a through hole in the container body, the filling process for filing the inside of the container body with toner or developer through the through hole, and the sealing process for sealing the through hole after the filling process.
The toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening and that has the gear engaged with the drive gear in the main body of the image forming apparatus; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and that is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, in which the held portion is biased downwardly by the force applied from the drive gear to the gear when the drive gear rotates.
The gear of the container body and the drive gear are engaged with each other in any position in a range from the uppermost portion of the gear to a position thereof turning ¼ rotation.
The held portion includes the contact portion biased downwardly by the force applied to the gear to contact the toner-container holder.
The held portion includes the sliding portion sliding along the toner-container holder in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation to/from the toner-container holder, and the contact portion is the sliding portion.
The toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening and has the gear engaged with the drive gear in the main body of the image forming apparatus; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, in which the gear is disposed so as to be engaged with the drive gear at the position on the opposite side in the vertical direction to the toner outlet through the opening.
The toner outlet is provided in the lower side with respect to the opening in the vertical direction, and the gear is provided so as to be engaged with the drive gear in the upper side with respect to the opening in the vertical direction.
The toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, in which the toner outlet of the held portion is provided in a more rear side than the container body in the direction of the attachment to the toner-container holder.
The toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, in which the toner outlet of the held portion is provided in a lower side lower than the opening of the container body in the vertical direction.
The held portion is attached to the toner-container holder so as to be located as the head of the container body.
The opening is provided at the position so as to be head of the container body upon the attachment operation to the toner-container holder.
The gear, to which the rotational drive force is transmitted from the main body of the image forming apparatus, is provided on the circumferential surface of the container body and near the opening.
The container body conveys the toner contained therein toward the opening in synchronization with the rotation of the gear by the rotational drive force transmitted thereto.
The container body includes a conveyor member for conveying the toner contained therein toward the opening in synchronization with the rotation of the gear by the rotational drive force transmitted thereto.
The toner is formed so that the following relations hold,
3≦Dv≦8
1.00≦Dv/Dn≦1.40
where Dv(μm) is volume average particle size and Dn(μm) is number average particle size.
The toner is formed so that the shape factor SF-1 is in a range of 100 to 180 and the shape factor SF-2 is in a range of 100 to 180.
In the image forming apparatus, the toner container is detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus.
The toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, in which the container body is attached to the toner-container holder along the longitudinal direction of the container body so that the held portion is located as the head of the container body in the attachment direction, the held portion includes the open/close member for opening/closing the toner outlet in synchronization with the attachment/detachment operation to/from the toner-container holder, and the container body includes the gripper in the rear side in the attachment direction.
The gripper is provided in the rear end face of the container body.
The gripper is formed so as to be point symmetry with respect to the center of the rear end face when viewed from the attachment/detachment direction.
The gripper is formed so that the project plane thereof orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction does not exceed the project plane of the container body orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction.
The container body includes the spiral-shaped projection in the inner circumferential surface, is rotatable, and conveys the toner contained therein toward the opening in synchronization with its rotation, while the gripper is formed on the rotational central axis of the container body.
The toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, in which the container body includes the gripper provided on the opposite side in the longitudinal direction to the position where the opening is provided.
The toner container is attached to the toner-container holder so that the held portion is located as the head of the container body and the gripper is in the rear end of the container body.
The gripper has a hole communicating with the inside of the container body.
The gripper has a seal member for sealing the hole.
The gripper includes a hook portion for hanging the container body on the filling machine when the container body is filled with toner through the hole.
The toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, in which the toner container is attached to the toner-container holder along the longitudinal direction of the container body so that the held portion is located as the head of the container body in its attachment direction, and the container body is supported by the support member of the toner-container holder at a position on the rear side in the attachment direction.
The container body is attached to the toner-container holder with the longitudinal direction of the container body as the horizontal direction, and the support member supports the container body at two points which are in an obliquely lower side of the container body.
The held portion does not touch the support member when the attachment/detachment is performed to/from the toner-container holder.
The project plane of the held portion orthogonal to the attachment/detachment direction does not exceed the project plane of the container body in the attachment/detachment direction near the support member.
The container body includes the spiral-shaped projection in the inner circumferential surface, is rotatable, and conveys the toner contained therein toward the opening in synchronization with its rotation, while the container body has no projection in a region where it is rotatably supported by the support member.
The plug member relatively moves along the attachment/detachment direction of the held portion to open/close the toner outlet.
The plug member is provided in the lower side of the opening.
The held portion has packing slidably contacting the outer circumferential surfaces of the plug member and the nozzle.
The toner outlet is provided in a more rear side than the container body in the direction of the attachment to the toner-container holder.
The container body includes the gear on the circumferential surface of the container body and near the opening.
The method of manufacturing the toner container detachably provided in the toner-container holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus is such that the toner container includes the container body that discharges the toner contained therein from the opening; and the held portion that discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container body, from the toner outlet and is held by the toner-container holder in the non-rotating manner, the container body includes the gripper provided on the opposite side in the longitudinal direction to the position where the opening is provided, and the method includes the machining process of forming a hole in the gripper so that the hole communicates with the inside of the container body; and the filling process of filling the container body with toner through the hole.
The method of manufacturing the toner container further includes the sealing process of sealing the hole after the filling process.
In the filling process, the toner container is hung on the filling machine using the hook portion of the gripper.
The toner bottle detachable provided in the bottle holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus includes the bottle body that is rotatable and conveys the toner contained therein toward the opening in synchronization with its rotation; the case that communicates with the bottle body through the opening, discharges the toner discharged from the opening, from the toner outlet, and is held by the bottle holder without following the rotation of the bottle body; the seal member that seals a gap which is around the opening and is between mutually opposite areas of the bottle body and the case; and the control portion for controlling, together with the seal member, the vibration in the radial direction of the opening.
The mutually opposite areas of the bottle body and the case are formed so as not to be parallel with each other, and are formed so that the area of one of the opposite areas is larger than the area of the other opposite area. The control portion is one of the opposite areas formed in the case or the bottle body, and controls, together with the seal member, the movement of the other opposite area in its radial direction.
One of the opposite areas is tapered.
One of the opposite areas is formed into a V shape.
The seal member is adhered to the control portion.
In the image forming apparatus, the toner bottle is detachably attached to the bottle holder of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the bottle holder includes the holding portion for fixing the position of the case, and the drive unit for rotating the bottle body.
Because the present invention includes the standing inhibiting unit for inhibiting the toner container from being stood on the horizontal plane with the held portion directed vertically downward with respect to the container body, the present invention can provide the toner container and the image forming apparatus which prevent toner aggregation on the side of the held portion during stock of the toner container.
Although the invention has been described with respect to a specific embodiment for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-129866 | Apr 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-179200 | Jun 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-180082 | Jun 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-180153 | Jun 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-181371 | Jun 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-191090 | Jun 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-198355 | Jul 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-223438 | Aug 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-302636 | Oct 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-311112 | Oct 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-311787 | Oct 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-315311 | Oct 2005 | JP | national |
| 2005-346038 | Nov 2005 | JP | national |
| 2006-021362 | Jan 2006 | JP | national |
| 2006-026258 | Feb 2006 | JP | national |
| 2006-029859 | Feb 2006 | JP | national |
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/850,675, filed Oct. 11, 2006 and entitled “Toner Container and Image Forming Device” which is incorporated herein by reference. The inventions in this application are related to the inventions disclosed in the following Japanese patent applications: 2005-129866 filed Apr. 27, 2005, 2005-179200 filed Jun. 20, 2005, 2005-180082 filed Jun. 21, 2005, 2005-180153 filed Jun. 21, 2005, 2005-181371 filed Jun. 22, 2005, 2005-191090 filed Jun. 30, 2005, 2005-198355 filed Jul. 7, 2005, 2005-223438 filed Aug. 1, 2005, 2005-302636 filed Oct. 18, 2005, 2005-311112 filed Oct. 26, 2005, 2005-311787 filed Oct. 26, 2005, 2005-315311 filed Oct. 28, 2005, 2005-346038 filed Nov. 30, 2005, 2006-021362 filed Jan. 30, 2006, 2006-026258 filed Feb. 2, 2006, and 2006-029859 filed Feb. 7, 2006, and PCT patent application PCT/JP2006/308820 filed Apr. 27, 2006, each of which is incorporated herein by reference and may be utilized with any embodiment or feature disclosed herein.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | PCT/JP2006/308820 | Apr 2006 | US |
| Child | 11567601 | US |
