JP6218506B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner storage container that stores toner, and an image forming apparatus that can pack and transport the toner storage container in an apparatus main body.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an invention relating to a container having a discharge port for discharging toner and a shutter for preventing discharge of toner from the discharge port. In this configuration, the shutter opens the discharge port at the same time that the container is mounted on the apparatus main body.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 is connected to a toner discharge unit that discharges toner, a shutter that prevents toner from being discharged from the discharge port, and a toner conveyance unit that is driven when the operation of the apparatus main body starts. And a sealing member that prevents toner from being discharged. In this configuration, when the driving of the apparatus main body is started, the sealing member opens the discharge port, and before the driving of the apparatus main body is started, the sealing member seals the discharge port.

JP 2005-284244 A JP 2005-189423 A

  However, when the container is packaged and shipped in the apparatus main body for the purpose of reducing the packing size inside the apparatus main body and reducing the packaging material of the container, the following problems arise.

  For example, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, in order to cause toner to be replenished to the developing device or the replenishing section during transportation and cause a malfunction of the developer or toner scattering, the container is packed in the apparatus main body. The shipping form is difficult.

  Further, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, since the sealing member is provided separately from the shutter at the connection portion, the sealing structure of the connection portion becomes complicated, and the toner may leak due to insufficient sealing. There was sex.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which a container can be packaged and shipped in an apparatus main body, and leakage and scattering of toner can be suppressed more than ever. .

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material using toner, and is mounted on the apparatus main body, a drive source, and a mounting portion of the apparatus main body. A toner bottle that contains toner, and has a discharge unit that discharges the stored toner, and is rotationally driven by a driving force supplied from the drive source; and the discharge unit is provided in the toner bottle. A shutter member movable between a shielding position where the toner is shielded and an open position where the discharge portion is opened; and the driving force provided in the toner bottle with the toner bottle attached to the mounting portion. Is provided in the apparatus main body, and the toner bottle is engaged with the bottle gear in a state where the toner bottle is attached to the attachment portion, and is driven to rotate as the bottle gear rotates. A first drive gear, a second drive gear provided in the apparatus main body, meshed with the bottle gear in a state in which the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, and driven to rotate in accordance with the rotation operation of the bottle gear; And the toner main body is engaged with the shutter member in a state where the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, and the toner is rotated along with the rotation of the first driving gear and the second driving gear. An engagement member that moves relative to the bottle, and the engagement member rotates the first drive gear and the second drive gear when the toner bottle is attached to the attachment portion. The shutter member can be moved relative to the toner bottle so as to move from the shielding position to the open position in accordance with the operation.

  According to the present invention, the container can be packaged and shipped in the apparatus main body, and the leakage and scattering of the toner can be suppressed as compared with the conventional case.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a color image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system. It is sectional drawing of a storage container. It is an expanded view of a groove part. It is an upper perspective view of the inside of the apparatus main body. It is a right view inside an apparatus main body. It is a block diagram which shows the control condition of CPU. It is an upper view of the state in which the storage container is installed in the apparatus main body. It is a top view of the state which excluded the container and the drive device from the state of FIG. It is a top view of a cancellation | release apparatus. It is sectional drawing of a cancellation | release apparatus. It is a top view which shows the state which attached the shutter with respect to the state of FIG. It is a back view of a storage container. It is a perspective view of a slide gear.

<About image forming apparatus>
An image forming apparatus 200 according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a color image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system. The image forming apparatus 200 forms an image by a so-called intermediate transfer tandem system in which four color image forming units are arranged side by side on an intermediate transfer belt 7. Device. The intermediate transfer tandem system has become a mainstream structure in recent years because it can cope with high productivity and transport of various media. In FIG. 1, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is the front-rear direction of the apparatus.

<Recording material transport process>
The recording material S is stored on the storage 10 so as to be stacked, and is fed in accordance with the image formation timing by a feeding roller 61 employing a frictional separation method. The recording material S sent out by the feeding roller 61 passes through the transport path and is transported to the registration roller 62. After the skew correction and timing correction are performed in the registration roller 62, the recording material S is sent to the secondary transfer portion T2. The secondary transfer portion T2 is a transfer nip portion formed by the opposing secondary transfer inner roller 8 and secondary transfer outer roller 9, and applies a predetermined pressure and an electrostatic load bias on the recording material S. The toner image is adsorbed to the toner.

<Image creation process>
A process for forming an image sent to the secondary transfer portion T2 at the same timing as the conveyance process of the recording material S to the secondary transfer portion T2 described above will be described. The image forming units Pa to Pd mainly include photosensitive drums 1a to 1d, charging devices 2a to 2d, exposure devices 3a to 3d, developing devices 100a to 100d, developing containers 101a to 101d, primary transfer rollers 5a to 5d, and It is composed of photoconductor cleaners 6a to 6d.

  The exposure devices 3a to 3d are preliminarily charged by the charging devices 2a to 2d in advance, and are sent to the photosensitive drums 1a to 1d, which are rotationally driven by a development driving device (not shown), based on the image information signals sent. Is driven, and an electrostatic image is formed through the diffraction means as appropriate.

  Next, the electrostatic images formed on the photosensitive drums 1a to 1d are developed as toner images through toner development by the developing devices 100a to 100d. Thereafter, predetermined pressure and electrostatic load bias are applied by the primary transfer rollers 5 a to 5 d, and the toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 7. Finally, the transfer residual toner slightly remaining on the photoconductor drums 1a to 1d is collected by the photoconductor cleaners 6a to 6d and prepared for the next image forming process again.

  When the amount of toner in the developing devices 100a to 100d decreases, toner is supplied from the corresponding storage containers (toner storage containers) Ta to Td (Tb to Td have the same shape as Ta). At this time, the replenishing devices 70a to 70d (70b to 70d have the same shape as 70a and are therefore abbreviated as 70. Note that 70b to 70d are omitted in FIG. 1. The suffix corresponds to the suffix of the developing device). Performs toner replenishment while synchronizing driving with the corresponding developing devices 100a to 100d. The replenishment operation will be described later.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the storage containers Ta to Td (see FIG. 1) are respectively stored and held by holding members TMa to TMd suspended between the front side plate 500 and the rear side plate 600, and the holding members TMa to TMd are front sides. It is suspended independently between the side plate 500 and the rear side plate 600. Further, the development driving device is fastened and installed on the rear side plate 600.

  In the case of FIG. 1, the image forming units Pa to Pd described above exist in four sets of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk). However, the number of colors is not limited to four, and the color arrangement order is not limited to this. Further, a two-component developer obtained by mixing a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier in advance is accommodated in the developing containers 101a to 101d. However, the developer container 101a to 101d may be a single-component developer containing only a magnetic toner or a non-magnetic toner. In the present embodiment, a description will be given of a case where a two-component developer (initial agent) is accommodated.

  Next, the intermediate transfer belt 7 will be described with reference to FIG. The intermediate transfer belt 7 is installed on an intermediate transfer belt frame (not shown), and is stretched by a secondary transfer inner roller 8, a tension roller 17, and a secondary transfer upstream roller 18 that also serve as drive transmission means to the intermediate transfer belt 7. When the secondary transfer inner roller 8 is driven in the direction of the arrow R8, the intermediate transfer belt 7 is driven in the direction of the arrow R7. The intermediate transfer belt 7 is an endless belt.

  The image forming process of each color processed in parallel by the image forming units Pa to Pd of Y, M, C, and Bk is performed at the timing of sequentially superimposing on the upstream color toner image primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 7. Is called. As a result, a full-color toner image is finally formed on the intermediate transfer belt 7 and conveyed to the secondary transfer portion T2. The untransferred toner after passing through the secondary transfer portion T2 is collected by the transfer cleaner device 11.

<Process after secondary transfer>
As described above, the timings of the recording material S and the full-color toner image coincide with each other in the secondary transfer portion T2 through the transport process and the image forming process described above, and the secondary transfer is performed. Thereafter, the recording material S is conveyed to the fixing device 13. The fixing device 13 melts and fixes the toner image on the recording material S by applying a predetermined pressure and heat to the passing recording material S in a fixing nip formed by opposing rollers.

  Accordingly, the fixing device 13 includes a heater serving as a heat source, and is controlled so that an optimum temperature is always maintained. The recording material S thus image-fixed is selected to be discharged onto the paper discharge tray 63, or when it is necessary to form a double-sided image, the recording material S is transported to a reverse conveying device (not shown).

<Container T>
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the storage containers Ta to Td (hereinafter referred to as “TM” since each of the holding members has a common shape and hereinafter referred to as “TM”) are held using the holding members TMa to TMd. explain.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the storage container T for storing toner has a toner storage portion 20 formed in a hollow cylindrical shape and having an internal space for storing toner (indicated as toner in FIG. 2). Have. Further, the storage container T has a flange portion 21 (also referred to as a non-rotating portion) on one end side in the longitudinal direction (developer transport direction) of the toner storage portion 20. Further, the toner storage portion 20 is configured to be rotatable relative to the flange portion 21.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the flange portion 21 is provided with a hollow discharge portion 21 h for temporarily storing the toner conveyed from the toner storage portion 20. At the bottom of the discharge portion 21h, there is formed a small discharge port 21a that allows the toner to be discharged out of the storage container T, that is, for supplying the toner to the supply device 70 (see FIG. 1). Furthermore, a shutter 4 for opening and closing the discharge port 21 a is provided inside the flange portion 21. The shutter 4 serving as “sealing means” seals the toner discharge port 21 a formed in the container T. The operation of the shutter 4 will be described later.

  The pump unit 20b of this example functions as an intake / exhaust mechanism that alternately performs intake and exhaust operations via the discharge port 21a. As shown in FIG. 2B, the pump part 20b is provided between the discharge part 21h and the cylindrical part 20k, and is connected and fixed to the cylindrical part 20k. That is, the pump part 20b can rotate integrally with the cylindrical part 20k. Further, the pump unit 20b of this example is configured to be able to store toner therein.

  In this example, as the pump portion 20b, a resin variable volume pump (bellows pump) whose volume is variable with reciprocating motion (the arrows ω and γ indicate the moving direction of the pump portion 20b) is adopted. doing. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), a bellows-like pump is employed, and a plurality of “mountain folds” and “valley folds” are periodically and alternately formed. Has been.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2B, the pump portion 20 b is connected to the discharge portion 21 h in a state where the end portion on the discharge portion 21 h side compresses the ring-shaped seal member 27 provided on the inner surface of the flange portion 21. On the other hand, it is fixed so as to be relatively rotatable.

  The receiving container T is provided with a gear portion 20a. The gear portion 20a is fixed to one end side in the longitudinal direction of the pump portion 20b. That is, the gear part 20a, the pump part 20b, and the cylindrical part 20k are configured to be integrally rotatable.

  Therefore, the rotational driving force input to the gear part 20a is transmitted to the cylindrical part 20k (conveying part 20c) via the pump part 20b.

  On the other hand, on the inner peripheral surface of the flange portion 21, a groove portion 21b that functions as a driven portion into which the cam projection 20d is fitted is formed over the entire circumference. The groove 21b will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the arrow A indicates the rotation direction of the cylindrical portion 20k (the movement direction of the cam projection 20d), the arrow B indicates the extension direction of the pump portion 20b, and the arrow C indicates the compression direction of the pump portion 20b.

  Further, the angle formed by the groove 21c with respect to the rotation direction A of the cylindrical portion 20k is α, and the angle formed by the groove 21d is β. Further, let L be the amplitude in the expansion and contraction directions B and C of the pump portion 20b of the groove portion 21b (= extension length of the pump portion 20b).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 in which the groove portion 21b is developed, the groove portion 21c is inclined from the cylindrical portion 20k side to the discharge portion 21h side, and the groove portion is inclined from the discharge portion 21h side to the cylindrical portion 20k side. 21d are alternately connected to each other. In this example, α = β is set.

  Therefore, in this example, the cam projection 20d and the groove portion 21b function as a drive transmission mechanism to the pump portion 20b. That is, the cam projection 20d and the groove portion 21b convert the rotational driving force received by the gear portion 20a into a force in the direction in which the pump portion 20b is reciprocated (force in the direction of the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 20k). Functions as a mechanism for transmitting the pressure to the pump unit 20b.

<Supply configuration>
Next, a replenishment configuration for discharging toner from the container T will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a top perspective view of the inside of the apparatus main body 200A, and FIG. 5 is a right side view of the inside of the apparatus main body 200A. A container T is detachably accommodated in a holding member TM stretched between the front side plate 500 and the rear side plate 600.

  The rear plate 600 is provided with driving devices Da to Dd (Da to Dd are the same shape and hence referred to as D) (replenishment driving device). A driving device D (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 described later) that is a “driving means” that transmits driving force to the container T transmits a motor 80 (bottle driving motor) and the driving force of the motor 80 at a reduced speed. For this purpose, a gear 41, a gear 42, and a gear member 43 are provided. A gear 41 is attached to the shaft of the motor 80, and the first stage 42 a of the two-stage gear 42 is engaged with the gear 41. The gear 43a of the gear member 43 is engaged with the second stage 42b of the two-stage gear 42. A gear portion 20 a provided on the outer periphery of the container T is engaged with the gear 43 b of the gear member 43.

  Thus, the driving force of the motor 80 is transmitted to the gear 41, the gear 42, the gear member 43, and the gear portion 20a. Since the container T is driven by driving the gear portion 20a, the toner replenishing operation of the container T can be performed.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control status of the CPU 50. As shown in FIG. 6, when receiving the image information and installation information of the recording material S to be output, the CPU 50 transmits the rotation timing and rotation time of the motor 80. Thereby, a predetermined amount of toner is stably sent from the container T into the replenishing device 70.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the replenishing device 70 (the replenishing devices are 70 a to 70 d, but because of the same shape, hereinafter referred to as 70) is a screw that is drivingly connected to the housing portion 71, the transport motor 90, and the gear train 73. 72 etc. The toner can be stored in the storage portion 71, and the transport motor 90 rotates in synchronization with a development drive device (not shown), so that the toner sent into the replenishing device 70 is transported to the development device 100. Then, the above-described image forming operation is performed.

<Opening / closing configuration of shutter 4>
Next, the opening / closing configuration of the shutter 4 of the container T having the characteristic configuration of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. This configuration realizes a configuration in which toner is not supplied from the storage container T (toner does not leak) even when the storage container T is attached to the apparatus main body 200A when the image forming apparatus 200 is shipped. Specifically, when the apparatus is shipped, the position of the slider 30 (see FIG. 9) is set to a position different from that during normal use, so that the sliding amount of the shutter 4 is controlled when the receiving container T is mounted. The container T is sealed. Details are described below.

  FIG. 7 is a top view of a state where the container T is installed in the apparatus main body 200A. FIG. 8 is a top view of the state where the container T and the driving device D are removed from the state of FIG. FIG. 9 is a top view of the release device 300, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the release device 300. FIG. 11 is a top view showing a state in which the shutter 4 is attached to the state of FIG. FIGS. 7A to 10A and FIGS. 7B to 10B are detailed views of the respective parts in the same state. FIG. 12 is a rear view of the storage container T. FIG.

  7A corresponds to a top view before moving the claw 30a (see FIG. 9) of the release device 300 for the shutter 4, and FIG. 7B shows the claw 30a (for the release device 300 for the shutter 4). 9 corresponds to the top view after moving in the arrow S2 direction. The release device 300 for the shutter 4 includes a slide gear 44 and a worm gear 45 that slides in the slide gear 44 as the slide gear 44 rotates. Note that the worm gear 45 does not rotate, but is only fixed to the slider 30 and slid in the S2 direction.

  The housing container T includes the gear 43b of the gear member 43 that is the drive input unit of the driving device D, the gear unit 20a that is the drive input unit of the storage container T, and the slide gear 44 that is the drive input unit of the release device 300. It arrange | positions in the same position with respect to the direction inserted or separated with respect to 200 A of main bodies. As will be described later, the driving force transmitted from the driving device D that transmits the driving force to the storage container T to the storage container T causes the toner in the storage container T to be discharged and the sealing by the shutter 4 to be released. Used for both.

  In the process from FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B, when the gear portion 20a of the container T rotates, the slide gear 44 that meshes with the gear portion 20a rotates, and as the slide gear 44 rotates, the slide gear 44 rotates. Inside, the worm gear 45 moves in the direction of arrow S2. As will be described later, the worm gear 45 moves in the arrow S2 direction, and the claw 30a for releasing the sealing of the shutter 4 moves in the arrow S2 direction.

  8A corresponds to a top view before moving the claw 30a (see FIG. 9) of the release device 300 of the shutter 4, and FIG. 8B shows the claw 30a of the release device 300 of the shutter 4. 9 corresponds to the top view after moving in the arrow S2 direction. The release device 300 for the shutter 4 includes a claw 30a. On the other hand, holding member TM has opening Ma, fixed part M1, and fixed part M2 in order in the direction of arrow S2. In FIG. 8A, the claw 30a is inserted into the fixed portion M1, and in FIG. 8B, the claw 30a is inserted into the fixed portion M2. The fixing portions M1 and M2 are formed by openings into which the claws 30a are inserted.

  9A corresponds to a top view before moving the claw 30a (see FIG. 9) of the release device 300 for the shutter 4, and FIG. 9B shows the claw 30a (for the release device 300 for the shutter 4). 9 corresponds to the top view after moving in the arrow S2 direction. It can be understood that the claw 30a moves in the arrow S2 direction as the worm gear 45 moves in the arrow S2 direction. The release device 300 has a slider 30. The slider 30 is provided with the above-described one claw 30a and two limiting portions 30X. The restriction part 30X includes a restraining part 30b and a suppressing part 30c. FIG. 10 corresponds to the cross-sectional view of FIG. The restraining portion 30b is formed to be recessed outward as viewed from the claw 30a.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the positional relationship between “the communication port 4a formed in the shutter 4 of the storage container T” and “the discharge port 21a formed in the flange portion 21 of the storage container T” is In a non-installed state where T is not installed in the apparatus main body 200A, it is set so as not to overlap. Therefore, the shutter 4 seals the discharge port 21a so that the toner in the container T does not leak to the outside. At this time, the shutter 4 is in the first position K1 before the container T is inserted into the apparatus main body 200A of the image forming apparatus 200.

  When the storage container T is inserted into the apparatus main body 200A, the shutter 4 reaches the set position at the back of the apparatus main body 200A in the storage container T when the storage container T is inserted to a certain position. . In FIG. 12, the arrow J1 direction is the insertion direction, and the arrow J2 direction is the separation direction. At this position, the locking portion 4b of the shutter 4 of the container T is engaged with the stopping portion 30b of the slider 30 of the release device 300 (engaged as shown in FIG. 11). At this time, since the claw 30a is locked by the fixing portion M1 provided on the holding member TM (see FIG. 8A), the slider 30 is restricted from moving in the insertion direction of the storage container T.

  When the container T is further inserted into the apparatus main body 200A, the locking portion 4b of the shutter 4 slides by a predetermined amount in the arrow S1 direction with respect to the flange portion 21, and the state shown in FIG.

  When the image forming apparatus 200 is transferred or shipped, the container T is in the state shown in FIG. 12B. At this time, the discharge port 21a and the communication port 4a remain in a position where they do not overlap. For this reason, the toner does not leak from the storage container T even during transfer and shipment. FIGS. 7A, 8A, 9A, and 10A show the state at this time. Here, the discharge port 21a is located at a position coaxial with the opening Ma that is provided in the holding member TM and forms a path connected to the accommodating portion 71. At this time, the shutter 4 is in the second position K2 when the container T is inserted into the apparatus main body 200A.

  When the apparatus main body 200A is installed, the toner can be discharged from the container T by operating the release device 300. Hereinafter, the release device 300 will be described. The release device 300 that is “release means” releases the sealing of the shutter 4 using the driving force transmitted from the drive device D to the container T. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the release device 300 includes a claw 30a, a slider 30 provided with a restraining portion 30b, a restraining portion 30c, two slide gears 44, and a worm gear 45, and a holding member TM. Installed.

  The worm gear 45 is fixed to the slider 30 and moves together during operation. The slide gear 44 is rotatable with respect to the worm gear 45 and has a coaxial fitting relationship. When the slide gear 44 is rotated, the worm gear 45 can be moved in the thrust direction of the slide gear 44 by a protrusion 46 (see FIG. 13) provided therein. Is possible. Here, as shown to Fig.7 (a), the slide gear 44 is provided in the position which meshes with the gear part 20a.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the worm gear 45, the slider 30 and the claw 30a are rotated by the gear portion 20a driven and input from the motor 80 in a predetermined time based on the installation information, and the drive is transmitted to the slide gear 44. The protrusion 46 reaches the end of the worm gear 45. Then, the worm gear 45 finishes moving by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow S2, and the claw 30a moves to the fixing portion M2 and is locked (see FIG. 11). Therefore, the slider 30 is again restricted from moving in the insertion direction of the container T.

  Moreover, since the suppressing part 30c hits against the abutting part M3 (see FIG. 11), movement of the slider 30 in the removing direction of the storage container T is also restricted. That is, the movement of the slider 30 is completely restricted, and thereafter, the slider 30 does not move even when the container T is inserted or removed or the motor 80 is driven (normal position of the slider 30). In addition to the above-described abutting portion M3, the holding member TM is formed with a receiving portion M10 that receives the limiting portion 30X, and the limiting portion 30X is between the abutting portion M3 and the receiving portion M10 (see FIG. 11). Can be moved.

  The states at this time are as shown in FIGS. 7B, 8B, 9B, 10B, 11, and 12C. At this stage, the discharge port 21a, the communication port 4a, and the opening Ma overlap on the same axis, and thereafter, the toner can be supplied from the container T by operating the motor 80. At this time, the shutter 4 is in a third position K3 (see FIG. 12C) that is reached when the driving device D is driven, and toner can be ejected when the shutter 4 is in the third position K3. Thus, the shutter 4 is movable between the first position K1, the second position K2, and the third position K3.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the slider 30 is moved to the regular position so that the communication port 4a and the opening Ma communicate with each other. Therefore, after the slider 30 has moved to the regular position, the container T is attached and detached. As a result, the shutter 4 is opened and closed.

  Specifically, when the main body is not inserted, the shutter 4 is moved from the state shown in FIG. 12A by the movement amount X1 + X2 along with the insertion, and the state shown in FIG. The toner can be replenished. The releasing device 300 releases the sealing of the shutter 4 only when the driving device D is driven for the first time. The shutter 4 is attached to the storage container T, and when the storage container T is inserted into the apparatus main body 200A of the image forming apparatus 200, the direction in which the shutter 4 is inserted (the direction of the arrow J1) is reversed (the direction of the arrow S1). And slide in the direction of arrow S2). Further, when the container T is separated from the apparatus main body 200A, the shutter 4 slides in the opposite direction (the direction of the arrow J2) (the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow S1 or the direction of the arrow S2).

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the second embodiment will be described. Among the configurations of the second embodiment, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment will be described below using the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 6, the worm gear 45, the slider 30 and the claw 30a are rotated when the gear portion 20a driven and inputted from the motor 80 rotates at a predetermined time and the drive is transmitted to the slide gear 44 based on the installation information. The pump unit 20b starts to expand and contract.

  Here, as the pump unit 20b expands and contracts, the toner in the vicinity of the pump unit 20b flows, and the umbrella density is lowered by loosening the toner that has been pressed and hardened by vibration during transportation (toner tapped). The toner flow reaches the discharge port 21a in the vicinity of the pump unit 20b and also decreases the density of the toner umbrella near the discharge port 21a.

  The lowered umbrella density of the toner reaches the normal use of the container T, and stabilizes the toner replenishment amount after the shutter 4 is opened. If the toner is discharged from the discharge port 21a without flowing the toner, the umbrella density (replenishment amount) reaches about four times that in normal use, and if the toner flows into the developing device 100 as it is, the toner due to excessive toner. An image defect may occur due to scattering or uneven density.

  In order to start this, a pump unit 20b, which is a “stirring means” capable of stirring the toner, is disposed inside the container T, and the pump unit 20b releases the toner after stirring the toner inside the container T. The device 300 releases the seal of the shutter 4. Here, the pump unit 20b is mechanically the same as the discharging unit that discharges the toner and works in conjunction with the operation of the discharging unit. However, the agitation unit may be different in structure from the toner discharging unit.

  With the configuration of the first embodiment or the second embodiment described above, the shutter 4 is opened and closed only by shipment (transfer) in a state where the storage container T is mounted and packaged in the apparatus main body 200A, and after installation, the attachment and detachment of the storage container T. In addition, toner scattering can be suppressed.

4 Shutter (sealing means)
21a Discharge port 200 Image forming apparatus 300 Release device (release means)
D Drive device (drive means)
T container

Claims (4)

  An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material using toner,
  The device body;
  A driving source;
  A toner bottle that can be mounted on the mounting portion of the apparatus main body, has a discharge portion that stores toner and discharges the stored toner, and is rotationally driven by a driving force supplied from the driving source;
  A shutter member provided on the toner bottle and movable between a shielding position where the discharge portion is shielded and an open position where the discharge portion is opened;
  A bottle gear which is provided in the toner bottle and receives the driving force in a state where the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion;
  A first drive gear that is provided in the apparatus main body, meshes with the bottle gear in a state where the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, and is rotationally driven in accordance with the rotation operation of the bottle gear;
  A second drive gear provided in the apparatus main body, meshed with the bottle gear in a state in which the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, and driven to rotate in accordance with the rotation operation of the bottle gear;
  The toner bottle is provided in the apparatus main body and engages with the shutter member in a state in which the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, and the toner bottle is rotated along with the rotation operation of the first drive gear and the second drive gear. An engaging member that moves relative to
  With
  In a state where the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, the engagement member is configured such that the shutter member is moved from the shield position to the open position in accordance with the rotation operation of the first drive gear and the second drive gear. An image forming apparatus capable of moving relative to the toner bottle to move up to   In a state where the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, the engagement member is configured such that the shutter member is moved from the open position to the shielding position in accordance with the rotation operation of the first drive gear and the second drive gear. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein relative movement with respect to the toner bottle is restricted so as to move up to a distance.   A guide unit that is provided in the apparatus main body, guides the toner bottle in a first direction in which the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, and guides the toner bottle in a second direction in which the toner bottle is detached from the mounting portion; Prepared,
  When the toner bottle is guided in the second direction by the guide unit from the state in which the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, the shutter bottle moves relative to the engagement member. And moving from the open position to the shield position,
  When the toner bottle is guided in the first direction by the guide unit from a state in which the toner bottle is not attached to the attachment portion, the shutter bottle is relative to the engagement member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus moves from the shielding position to the open position in accordance with the movement.   A worm gear provided on the apparatus main body, fixed to the engagement member, and slidably moved along with the rotation of the first drive gear and the second drive gear;
  In a state where the toner bottle is mounted on the mounting portion, the engaging member slides integrally with the worm gear along with the rotation operation of the first drive gear and the second drive gear, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus moves relative to the toner bottle.

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