JPH0862919A - Waste toner collecting device, toner container having waste toner collecting section, and image forming apparatus having the container - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Even if the container is mounted in the lateral direction of the container by effectively utilizing the wall surface of the toner storage unit and the wall surface of the toner collection unit, the positioning and mounting / removal of the container can be facilitated with high accuracy. To provide an invention. [Structure] One side wall surface of the toner accommodating portion is formed in a concave slope shape, and the other side surface of the waste toner collecting portion is formed in a convex slope shape, and the concave slope surface and the convex slope surface are formed substantially parallel to each other along a container attaching / detaching direction. At the same time, a blade body, which is connected to the rotary shaft and is elastically deformable in the rotation direction, is provided in the recovery space, and a toner scraping member is provided on the front side of the blade body, and the scraping member is a scraping member. Is characterized in that the outlet side space facing the roller peripheral surface can be scraped off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an invention of an image forming apparatus which is applied as a facsimile machine, a printer, a copying machine or a composite machine of these, and which forms an image using powder toner, and particularly As a toner container integrally formed with a toner recovery unit for storing waste toner, a toner recovery device having a toner recovery unit independent of the container either integrally or separately, and an image forming apparatus including any of these It relates to the invention to be applied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus applied as a facsimile, a printer or a copying machine, a photoconductor drum or a belt-shaped photoconductor is used, and a latent image written on the photoconductor by an exposing means is developed. After forming a toner image by means of a toner image, the toner image is transferred onto a recording paper via a photoconductor, for example, an indirect toner image recording system such as an electrophotographic device or an electrostatic recording device, or a toner carrying roller and recording paper are inserted. A matrix-shaped mesh electrode is placed between the back electrode and
A toner jet type direct recording method is also known in which a toner image is directly fly-adhered from the toner carrying roller side to the recording paper side while controlling the energization of the mesh electrode in correspondence with image information.

In this type of recording system, for example, an electrophotographic apparatus, residual toner (hereinafter referred to as waste toner) adhering to the photosensitive drum after the toner image transfer is scraped off using a cleaning blade and then conveyed. The toner is guided to the collection container arranged on the drum shaft end side via the means. Also in the toner jet type, the residual toner adhering to the mesh electrode is removed by using electrostatic, fluid or mechanical cleaning means, and then introduced into a recovery container.

The collection container needs to be replaced every time the number of printed sheets is changed. However, since the collection container replacement time is not generally displayed on the display screen or the like, it is not known that the toner is erroneously full. Continuation of printing may cause internal contamination due to overflow. In order to eliminate such a drawback, it is possible to increase the volume of the recovery container, but disposing a large-capacity toner recovery container in a limited place in the machine has a large design restriction. At the same time, it goes against the demand for smaller devices.

Therefore, a toner recovery container (hereinafter, a cartridge provided with a recovery container is referred to as a toner container) is provided integrally with a toner cartridge for replenishing toner in the developing device. Various types of devices have been proposed in which the collection container can be automatically replaced each time it is replaced (JP-A-2-33168).
other). Then, as a container shape of this kind, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-33168, a toner cartridge formed in a cylindrical shape is partitioned by a partition wall, and the toner cartridge for replenishment is accommodated in the longitudinal direction end side through the partition wall. A technique of forming a waste toner collecting portion, or as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-88423, a toner replenishing container and a collecting container having a toner conveying portion are individually manufactured, and both are integrated through a connecting shaft. There is a known technology that is configured as a kit.

However, in all of the above-mentioned techniques, the direction of attachment / detachment to / from the apparatus main body is the axial direction of the photosensitive drum, in other words, the longitudinal direction of the toner container, so the operating space for replacing the container is necessarily large. Not only that, but in particular, since the waste toner collecting portion is attached to the end of the toner storage portion in the longitudinal direction of the container, the total length of the container becomes unnecessarily long. For this reason, in a printer or the like which does not have a restriction to attach the document placing table, the upper surface of the device facing the document unit is configured to be openable, and is arranged along the lateral direction of the container from the upper surface side, in other words, orthogonal to the photosensitive drum axis. A technology is being studied that is configured to be detachable along the direction. However, with such a configuration, the guide width becomes shorter than in the case where the container is detached in the longitudinal direction, and the container cannot be mounted on the developing container side with high accuracy.

Since the residual toner is not uniformly charged due to an electrostatic latent image, bias, corona discharge during transfer, etc., the residual toner is not evenly accumulated in the collecting container. In addition to being unevenly distributed in the vicinity of the inlet opening, cross-linking or the like occurs due to the charging of the toner, so that the bulk density is further reduced. For this reason, even when the recovery container is set to have a full time that is consistent with the replacement time of the toner container that has been formed, residual toner overflows in the recovery container before the replacement time is reached, causing contamination inside the machine. It may cause.

For this reason, in the prior art, there is also a mechanism in which a stirring blade is provided in the collection container in order to prevent uneven distribution and cross-linking of the waste toner, but the entire space for simply collecting the waste toner is present. Rotating the stirring blade not only leads to an increase in axial power, but also the toner stirred by the stirring may be scattered to the outside from the toner input port. For this reason, the applicant first arranged an elliptical conveying roller in the vicinity of the toner receiving opening in the toner storage chamber, and forcibly removes the residual toner introduced from the toner receiving port by rotating the conveying roller. We have proposed a technology that allows it to be transported to the accommodation room (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-29320).

However, in the above technique, the carrying force of the carrying roller is large, but the carrying amount sent by the carrying roller is small. Therefore, the accommodation chamber is divided into the preliminary chamber and the accumulating chamber via the mylar. The residual toner introduced into the spare chamber from the toner receiving port is forcibly transported into the stacking chamber by the rotation of the transport roller.However, even if such a configuration is adopted, the toner remains on the stacking chamber inlet side. It is inevitable to accumulate, and the invalid space also increases accordingly.

In some cases, it may be preferable that the fresh toner stored in the toner storage portion is gradually charged with stirring with a stirring blade instead of being charged all at once because of the capacity of the developing container hopper side. As described above on the part side as well, it is necessary to provide a stirring blade in order to prevent uneven distribution and cross-linking of the waste toner and to achieve efficient collection, but with such a configuration, the supply toner storage via the partition wall In the technique in which the waste toner collecting portion is formed on the end side in the longitudinal direction of the portion, since the rotation shaft penetrates through the partition wall, if the portion is not efficiently sealed, the shaft power increases, and Causes the waste toner to be mixed into the collection container side.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional technique, the present invention makes it possible to use the wall surface of the toner storage portion and the wall surface of the toner recovery portion effectively to mount the container accurately even when the container is mounted in the lateral direction of the container. An object of the present invention is to provide an invention whose positioning is easy. Another object of the present invention is to provide an invention that facilitates easy attachment / detachment of a toner container. Another object of the present invention is to reduce the shaft power in an apparatus having a structure in which the rotating shaft penetrates the agitating blade in the partition wall and to effectively seal the part. Further, another object of the present invention is to provide an invention in which the manufacturing cost of the toner container is reduced, the toner container is downsized, and the handling is facilitated.

Further, another object of the present invention is that the axial power does not become large even if the stirring blade is arranged in the waste toner collecting container, and the structure is complicated even when the conveying roller is arranged. Another object of the present invention is to provide an invention capable of efficiently storing waste toner in a container while avoiding the above. Another object of the present invention is to provide an invention in which the substantial storage volume ratio of the waste toner is increased, whereby the size of the recovery container and the entire apparatus can be easily reduced.

[0013]

The first aspect of the present invention is provided with a toner container in which a waste toner collecting portion is formed on a longitudinal end side of a replenishment toner storage portion via a partition wall, and the container is a short container. It is applied to an image forming apparatus that is detachably attached to the toner receiving section on the apparatus main body side along the hand direction, and is characterized in that the shapes of the replenishment toner storage section and the waste toner recovery section are different. A concave slanted surface for inclining the one side wall surface of the replenishment toner accommodating portion in which the toner supply port is formed toward the bottom along the attachment / detachment direction in a substantially linear manner;
Preferably, it is formed on a downward sloping side surface sloping downward toward the bottom of the container, and the side wall of the waste toner collecting portion, in which the collection port is opened, faces downward in a substantially straight line from the upper end to the lateral direction outward. This is because it is formed as a convex inclined surface that inclines in a vertical direction, and the concave inclined surface and the convex inclined surface are formed substantially parallel to each other along the container attaching and detaching direction.

Further, it is preferable that a position regulating guide parallel to the attaching / detaching direction is provided at a predetermined position of the container, and the guide can be attached / detached while being fitted with the regulating guide provided on the apparatus main body side. A shutter member for opening and closing the toner supply port is provided on the concave slope, and an engaging portion formed on the shutter member when the toner container is attached to the apparatus main body side engages with an engaging portion on the apparatus main body side. Therefore, it is preferable that the shutter member can be opened in association with the mounting operation. Further, the toner container is composed of a main body in which a waste toner recovery section is formed in a replenishment toner storage section through a partition wall, and a lid section for covering the main body, and an elastic force is applied between the main body and the lid section. It is preferable that the cushion member is disposed and sealed. Further, the toner container is constituted by a main body in which a waste toner collecting section is formed in a replenishment toner storage section through a partition wall, and a lid section for covering the main body, and the main body and the lid section are made of a synthetic resin containing calcium carbonate. It is preferable to form by molding.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a conveying roller is provided on the inlet side of the collecting space facing the waste toner collecting port, and the residual toner dropped from the toner collecting port is rotated by the rotation of the conveying roller. In a waste toner collecting device configured to be conveyed downstream in a rotation direction, a blade body that is connected to a rotation shaft and is elastically deformable in a rotation direction is provided in the collection space, and a front side of the blade body is provided. The waste toner conveyed to the outlet space side by the conveying roller is extended to the outlet side space facing the roller peripheral surface or to the position where the roller peripheral surface can be in surface contact, and the waste toner is conveyed by the rotation of the blade body. It can be transported to the inner side of the collection space.

Further, it is preferable that the waste toner collecting device has a structure in which the elastic coefficient of the front side of the blade body is made higher than that of the base side of the blade body so that the waste toner conveyed to the outlet space side can be scraped off. . Further, it is preferable that the waste toner collecting device is configured by providing a thin layer member having a friction coefficient larger than that of the blade body on the front side of the blade body. In the waste toner collecting device, the blade body located in the lower area of the recovery port is rotated without providing the blade body on the rotary shaft of the area located on the partition wall side at least separated from the lower area of the recovery port of the recovery section. It is preferable that the residual toner can be moved to the partition wall side by the operation. Further, it is preferable that the waste toner collecting device is configured by connecting both of them by using a conduction system set so that the rotation speed of the blade body becomes smaller than the rotation speed of the conveying roller.
Further, in the waste toner collecting device, at least a main part of a gear train forming the conduction system is arranged in a collecting space, and tooth flank shapes of adjacent gears of the gear train arranged in the collecting space are mutually different. It is preferable to form them in the same shape so that they can be engaged with each other with a play. Further, it is preferable that the waste toner collecting device is configured by arranging at least a main part of a gear train forming the conduction system outside a collecting space and covering the gear train with a removable cover.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a toner container in which a waste toner collecting portion is formed on a longitudinal end side of a replenishment toner storing portion via a partition wall, the toner storing portion and the waste toner are disposed via the partition wall. An elastically deformable blade body is provided on a rotary shaft penetrating between the collecting units, and the blade body is curved by a predetermined amount so that the inner wall surfaces of the toner storage unit and the waste toner collecting unit can be rubbed respectively. A seal member is provided on the upper surface of the partition wall to seal between the lid member and the seal member, and a part of the seal member is hung down to the rotary shaft penetrating portion to function as a rotary shaft seal portion. Further, the residual toner is removed by the rotating operation of the blade body located in the lower area of the recovery port without providing the blade body on the rotary shaft of the area located on the side of the partition wall at least deviated from the lower area of the recovery port of the recovery section. It is preferable to be configured to be movable to the side.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner container in which a waste toner collecting portion is formed on a longitudinal end side of a replenishment toner storing portion via a partition wall, and the toner storing portion and the waste toner are disposed via the partition wall. An elastically deformable blade body is provided on a rotary shaft penetrating between the collecting portions, and the blade body is curved by a predetermined amount so that the inner wall surfaces of the toner storing portion and the waste toner collecting portion can be rubbed with each other. The thin film body having a central hole into which the rotary shaft is fitted is positioned coaxially with the rotary shaft on the partition wall in a state where the inner edge portion of the central hole presses and seals the outer peripheral portion of the rotary shaft, and the thin film is formed. The body was made to function as the seal portion of the rotating shaft.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the one side wall surface of the replenishment toner storage portion, in which the toner supply port is formed, is inclined substantially linearly toward the bottom along the attachment / detachment direction, preferably the container bottom portion. Is formed on the downward sloping side surface sloping downward toward the upper end, and the side wall of the waste toner collecting portion where the recovery port is opened is slanted downward in a substantially straight line from the upper end to the lateral direction outward. Since it is formed on an inclined surface, and the concave slope and the convex slope are formed substantially parallel to each other along the container attachment / detachment direction,
Even when the container is mounted in the lateral direction, the above two slopes function as the loading guide faces up and down, and since the slopes are long, the guide face width can be made long and accurate, and A toner container can be easily loaded and
Position accuracy is also improved.

Also, the presence of the slope allows the user to understand the charging direction at a glance, and there is no room for erroneous mounting. Therefore, the slopes may be used directly as the position regulation guides, but the position regulation guides may be separately provided in combination with the slopes, or the slopes merely function as charging guides. In this case, the regulation guide may be provided adjacent to the inclined surface, or may be provided on the end surface in the container longitudinal direction.

A shutter member for opening and closing the toner supply port is provided on the concave slope, and an engaging portion formed on the shutter member when the toner container is mounted on the apparatus main body side is engaged with the apparatus main body side. When the shutter member is configured to be openable in conjunction with the mounting operation in association with the mounting operation, an independent opening / closing operation of the shutter becomes unnecessary.

Further, if a cushion member having an elastic force is arranged and sealed between the main body in which the waste toner collecting section is formed in the replenishment toner storing section through the partition wall and the lid section for covering the main body, Even if a gap is generated between the main body and the lid due to strain or the like, the cushion is inflated to completely fill the gap between the main body and the lid. Further, when the main body and the lid are molded of calcium carbonate-containing synthetic resin, the calories burned at the time of incineration are low, and the generation of harmful gas can be suppressed, which is environmentally friendly.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a conveying roller preferably having a substantially oval cross section is arranged on the inlet side of the collecting space facing the waste toner collecting port, and the toner is dropped from the toner collecting port by the rotation of the conveying roller. The invention relates to a waste toner collecting device configured to be able to convey the residual toner to the downstream side in the roller rotation direction in the collecting space. In this case, it does not matter whether the collecting device is formed integrally with the toner container. Further, although the conveying roller preferably has an elliptical cross section, it is not limited to this and may be formed, for example, in a water wheel shape, a star shape, or a plate shape.

Further, a blade body which is connected to the rotary shaft and is elastically deformable in the rotation direction is provided in the recovery space, and the tip side of the blade body is extended to the outlet side space facing the roller peripheral surface. Alternatively, the roller peripheral surface is extended to a position where surface contact is possible, and the waste toner conveyed to the outlet space side by the conveying roller can be conveyed to the inner side of the collecting space by rotation of the blade body. Then, by carrying out the primary conveyance by the stacking position and the subsequent secondary conveyance by the stirring blade, only the advantage that the conveying force of the conveying roller is large and the point that the stirring blade can convey to a long distance are provided. In this way, the disadvantages of each transfer roller, which are the disadvantages of each, are small, and the problem that the shaft power is large when the stirring blade has a large transfer force is eliminated. One in which the.

Further, since the elastic coefficient of the tip side of the blade body is higher than that of the base side of the blade body, the waste toner conveyed to the outlet space side can be scraped off. The front side of the blade body may be thickened, but it is preferable to provide a thin layer member having a larger friction coefficient than the blade body.

Further, the tip side of the blade body may be present on the outlet side of the roller peripheral surface, but preferably, the peripheral surface of the roller is rubbed by being configured to be in surface contact with the roller peripheral surface. On the other hand, the waste toner accumulated on the roller peripheral surface and its vicinity can be reliably captured, and the above-described action can be achieved more smoothly. The thin layer member having a friction coefficient larger than that of the blade body is preferably formed of, for example, sponge, suede leather, or raised cloth. Further, the residual toner is removed by the rotating operation of the blade body located in the lower area of the recovery port without providing the blade body on the rotary shaft of the area located on the side of the partition wall at least deviated from the lower area of the recovery port of the recovery section. If it is configured to be movable to the side, the axial power of the rotary blade can be reduced.

When the rotation speed of the blade body is set to be smaller than the rotation speed of the conveying roller, the conveying amount of the blade body is larger than that of the conveying roller, and on the other hand, compared with the axial torque of the conveying roller. Since the axial torque of the carrying roller is large, it is possible to balance the carrying amounts of the both and to reduce the axial torque, thereby making it possible to reliably carry the waste toner. In this case, the driving force may be applied by independent conductive systems, but it is preferable to connect the two by one conductive system to simplify the structure.

On the other hand, if the gears are arranged in the collecting space, the toner enters the meshing surface and a rocking phenomenon occurs. Therefore, in the present invention, at least the main part of the gear train is arranged in the collection space, and the tooth flanks of adjacent gears of the gear train arranged in the collection space are formed to be unequal to each other and have play. It is configured so that it can be engaged. As a result,
Even if the toner enters the meshing surface, since the teeth are engaged with each other with a backlash, the locking phenomenon does not occur, and the toner works by removing the toner from the meshing surface by rubbing the facing tooth surfaces.

If at least the main part of the gear train constituting the transmission system is arranged outside the recovery space and the gear train is covered with a removable cover, the locking phenomenon is eliminated without being affected by the toner. be able to. In addition, since it is covered with a removable cover, the gear is prevented from colliding with the guide etc. of the main body of the device and being damaged at the time of mounting and demounting the container, and when a malfunction of the gear occurs. The cover can be removed and replaced.

The third aspect of the present invention is applied to a toner container in which a waste toner collecting portion is formed on the end side in the longitudinal direction of the replenishment toner storage portion via a partition wall, and the toner container is stored via the partition wall. Is provided with an elastically deformable blade body on a rotary shaft penetrating between the toner storage section and the waste toner collecting section, and the blade body is curved by a predetermined amount so that the inner wall surfaces of the toner storing section and the waste toner collecting section can be rubbed with each other. At the same time, a seal member is provided on the upper surface of the partition wall to seal between the cover member and the lid, and a part of the seal member is hung down to the rotary shaft penetrating portion to function as a rotary shaft seal portion. It is a thing.

Therefore, since the seal member of the partition wall functions as the seal portion of the rotary shaft, the portion can be efficiently sealed with a simple structure. In this case, it is preferable to use a string-like leather packing, a sponge body, or a resin body as the seal member. It should be noted that, without providing a blade body on the rotary shaft of the area located on the partition wall side at least deviated from the lower area of the recovery port of the recovery section, the residual toner is removed by the rotating operation of the blade body located in the lower area of the recovery port. When it is configured to be movable to the side, the waste toner can be smoothly accumulated on the partition wall side while reducing the load of the waste toner from the collection container side on the partition wall side. As a result, since the blade does not rotate near the partition wall, it is possible to smoothly collect the waste toner while avoiding pressure on the partition wall side.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the rotary shaft penetrating between the toner storing section and the waste toner collecting section through a partition wall formed between the replenishing toner storing section and the waste toner collecting section is elastically deformable. The blade body is curved by a predetermined amount so that the inner wall surfaces of the toner storage portion and the waste toner collection portion can be rubbed with each other, and a thin film body having a central hole into which the rotary shaft is fitted is formed on the inner edge portion of the central hole. In the state of pressing and sealing the outer peripheral portion of the rotary shaft, the rotary shaft is positioned coaxially with the rotary shaft, and the thin film body is configured to function as a seal portion of the rotary shaft. Since the seal member functions as the seal portion of the rotary shaft, the portion can be efficiently sealed with a simple structure.

[0033]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto, but are merely examples, unless otherwise specified. Not too much.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 show the main structure of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, mainly around the developing unit, where 1 is the developing unit and 2 is the container mounting portion 11 above the developing unit 1. Arrow direction (container lateral direction)
A toner container 3 made of a synthetic resin containing calcium carbonate, which is detachably attached along with, is a photosensitive drum which faces the developing sleeve 14 and rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the cleaning blade 4a is attached along the rotating direction. The waste toner recovery mechanism 4, the charging mechanism 5, the LED unit 6, the developing sleeve 14, and the transfer roller 7 are provided, and the L
After the latent image corresponding to the image information is written on the photosensitive drum 3 by the ED unit 6, the toner image is attached by the developing unit 1, and then by the transfer roller 7, the resist image (not shown) is synchronized with the image start end. After the toner image is transferred onto the recording paper fed from the roller side, the image is fixed by a fixing roller (not shown) and the paper is ejected. Incidentally, the developing unit 1, the photosensitive drum 3, the toner collecting mechanism 4, the charging mechanism 5, and the LE.
The process means such as the D unit 6 may be integrated into a unit.

Next, the process means will be described.
The structure of the waste toner collecting mechanism 4 will be described focusing on its operation. After the toner image is transferred, the residual toner adhering to the photosensitive drum 3 is removed by the cleaning blade 4a. Then, the removed toner is sent into the collecting chamber by the elliptical roller 4b whose upper surface is sealed by the mylar 4d, and then sent to the transport belt mechanism 60 on the drum shaft end side by the screw roller 4c shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the conveyor belt mechanism 60 includes a rubber-like endless belt body 61 in which partition walls 61a are erected at appropriate intervals inside an elliptical belt container 62 that is erected obliquely upward. Of the screw roller 4c.
The waste toner sent to the bottom of the belt container 62 by
Utilizing the gap between the partition walls 61a of the belt body 61, the belt body 61 is conveyed to the upper discharge opening 68 side along the circulation of the belt body 61, and the collecting port 35 on the waste toner collecting section 30 side facing the discharge opening 68. It is thrown into the recovery unit 30.

As will be described later, the toner collecting section 30 is divided and formed on the end side in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 2 made of a low-pollution resin material via the partition wall 10, and its shape and internal structure will be described in detail later. . As shown in FIG. 2, the charging mechanism 5 includes a magnet roller 5a, a pre-charging plate 5b made of a magnetic material, a group 5c of magnetically charged particles housed in a space around them, and a rear surface of the photosensitive drum. The back magnetic pole 3a is used to uniformly charge the photoconductor drum 3 while applying a charging bias through the charged magnetic particles carried on the magnet roller 5a and the charging plate 5b using the back magnetic pole. Is configured. As is well known, the LED unit 6 includes an LED head array that controls lighting of the LED element array based on the upper side of the image, and a SELFOC lens that forms an optical output from the array.

The developing unit 1 contains a two-component developer consisting of carrier and toner (hereinafter referred to as "T / C"),
In order to maintain the T / C storage portion 13 for charging the toner and the T / C amount in the T / C storage portion 13 within a certain ratio range,
A hopper 12 for replenishing toner is appropriately provided in the storage portion, and a container mounting portion 11 for mounting a toner container 2 for supplying toner to the hopper 12 is formed above these space portions. The T / C storage section 1
A developing sleeve 14 containing a fixed magnet assembly (not shown) and an agitating roller 13a for uniformly mixing T / C are housed in the inside 3. A magnet roller 13c that rotates concentrically is included. Further, in the hopper 12, a stirring roller 12a in which a mylar is continuously provided and a toner amount detection sensor in the T / C storage unit 13 are used to reduce the toner amount every time the toner amount in the T / C storage unit 13 decreases. It comprises a toner replenishing roller 12b for replenishing toner from the replenishing port 12c.

A container mounting mechanism, which will be described in detail later, and a shutter opening / closing mechanism of the hopper 12 are mounted on the container mounting portion 11. The toner container 2 is formed of a low-pollution resin material containing calcium carbonate. As shown in FIG. 1, the toner container 2 for replenishment is provided along the longitudinal direction, and the partition wall 10 is disposed on the longitudinal end side thereof. The toner collecting unit 30 is formed.

Next, the structure of the replenishment toner storage portion 20 side will be described. 4 and 5 are views seen from the back surface of FIG. As is clear from the short-side cross sections shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the storage portion 20 is linearly formed obliquely from a position where the side wall 20c in the lateral direction of the center bottom portion 20d is slightly hung from the upper end. A rectangular toner supply opening 25 is provided at a position slightly raised from the central bottom portion 20d of the one side wall 20c by being concavely formed to have the linear concave slope shape. On the other hand, the other side wall surface 20a has the concave slope 20c from the upper surface side end.
The lower short section 20 of the other side wall 20a is formed in a linearly inclined manner at a slightly steeper angle and further reaches the bottom surface.
The shape of e is formed into an arc surface.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the toner accommodating portion 20 penetrates through the partition wall 10 along the longitudinal direction to the collecting portion 30 and is rotatably supported by the end walls on both ends thereof. The shaft 21 is attached and the toner storage unit 2
0 A Mylar-shaped blade body 22 that extends in the radial direction over the entire length and is elastically deformable in the rotation direction is continuously provided, and the length of the blade body 22 is curved by the rotation while the toner storage unit 20 is being curved.
Set the length so that the inner wall surface can be rubbed. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the mounting position of the rotary shaft 21 is set to one side wall 2
0c on the side wall 20a on the other side of the stirring blade body 22 located on the side facing the supply opening 25 with the bottom portion 20d interposed therebetween.
Is formed so as to be slightly larger than the bending amount of the container center vertical line toward the supply opening 25 side, and the short side wall 20a located on the side facing the supply opening 25 with the bottom portion 20d interposed therebetween is short. The cross-sectional shape of the hand is positioned slightly below the horizontal line of the center of the container as the amount of curvature of the stirring blade body 22 gradually increases toward the bottom portion 20d. Incidentally, 22a and 22b (FIG. 1) are cuts into three stirring blades 22A, 22B and 22C in accordance with the supply opening 25, and the supply opening 25 is provided at the tip of the stirring blade 22B.
A projecting portion 22Ba having a width shorter than the opening 25 'limited by the opening limiting member 52e provided therein is formed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the supply opening 25 has a side wall 20 which is slightly raised from the container bottom portion 20d (FIG. 4).
At a position slightly closer to the end wall side than the central portion in the longitudinal direction of c,
The opening length of the toner storage portion 20 is about 1/4 of the length of the toner storage portion 20. The opening 25 'formed by the opening limiting member 52e has a length of about 1/50 ( The opening length is about 3 to 5 mm). Further, when the rotary shaft 21 is projected to the outside from the end wall, the shaft gear 26 is attached to the protruding portion, and the container 2 is attached to the container attaching portion 11 on the developing unit 1 side,
Rotational force is transmitted to the shaft gear 26 via the relay gear 27, and while rotating from the bottom portion 20d toward the supply opening 25 side as shown by the arrow, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), the supply opening 25, Toner is supplied to the hopper 12 on the side of the developing unit 1 through 25 'and the toner receiving opening 44.

The toner supplied to the hopper 12 is rotated by the stirring roller 12a in the hopper 12, and the toner amount detection sensor 13 in the T / C storage portion 13 is rotated.
The toner replenishing roller 12b rotates every time the amount of toner in the T / C storage unit 13 decreases based on b.
2c (FIG. 2), the toner is supplied to the T / C storage portion 13, and the toner amount in the T / C storage portion 13 can be maintained within a certain width. At this time, the toner replenishment from the toner storage portion 20 of the container 2 must be dropped into the hopper 12 quickly, so that it is possible to continuously rotate the stirring blade 22 using the power from the drive system of the apparatus main body. good.

As shown in FIG. 1, the relay gear 27 and the shaft gear 26, which are axially supported on the end side in the longitudinal direction of the container, are prevented from accidentally abutting against other equipment and being damaged when the container is mounted. For this purpose, a protective cover 28 which is integral with the lid A formed of a synthetic resin containing calcium carbonate is attached, and a rib parallel to the one side wall 20c of the container is provided on the outer wall side of the protective cover 28 if necessary. A charging guide 29 is provided. The guide 29 is fitted into a guide groove (not shown) of the apparatus main body when the container is attached. In addition, the opening width of the toner supply opening 25 in the container longitudinal direction is 1/25 or less of the length of the toner storage portion 20, preferably 1/50 as described above.
It is preferable to set it to about (3 to 5 mm). Further, since the toner supply opening 25 'is formed small, the toner is gradually supplied to the hopper 12 without being supplied all at once, and even if the hopper 12 is full, the toner is idle in the container. However, the toner is not packed in the hopper and the drive mechanism in the hopper is not locked. or,
Friction applied to the tip of the blade body 22 because the lateral cross section of the toner storage section 20 along the rotation direction of the blade body 22 is asymmetric and the rotary shaft 21 of the blade body 22 is displaced from the center of the storage section. The resistance and the axial torque also fluctuate along the rotation direction, and even if the toner is unevenly distributed on both longitudinal ends due to the rotation of the blade body 22, the toner can be discharged from the opening 25 'and uniformly supplied.

Further, according to the present embodiment, in the other side wall 20a of the blade body 22, as the curved amount of the stirring blade body 22 gradually increases toward the bottom surface, and the stirring is performed at the position of the bottom portion 20d. Since the blade is formed so that the urging force is maximized, the sufficiently accumulated curvature is opened toward the supply opening 25 side, and the so-called toner scraping effect is extremely large, and the bottom of the container is extremely large. 20
The toner accumulated in d can be smoothly and easily discharged from the supply port. Then, by discharging the toner accumulated in the container bottom portion 20d, the toner flows into the container bottom portion 20d from the left and right in the longitudinal direction. Further, since the amount of curvature of the stirring blade body 22 on one side wall 20c of the supply opening 25 is larger than that of the other side wall 20a, the stirring force as well as the toner scraping force is large in the portion from the bottom portion 20d to the supply opening 25. As a result, it becomes easier to move the toner in the longitudinal direction toward the toner opening 25, and smooth stirring becomes possible. Further, even when the toner in the toner storage portion 20 runs low, the toner is collected in the opening 25 through which the toner is discharged in order to rotate the stirring blade member 22 repeatedly and supply the toner little by little through the opening 25 '. As a result, almost all the toner is supplied to the hopper 12 without being accumulated at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the container. In addition, since the opening 25 'has a short width and the toner is solidified (caking) and bridges in the width direction, the protruding portion 22Ba of the stirring blade 22 has the opening 25'.
The protrusion 22Ba does not break the caking and the toner supply is not obstructed because the protrusion 22Ba rotates and enters.

Next, the shape of the toner collecting portion 30 side will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the toner collecting portion 30 is formed to have a substantially square cross section deeper than the toner storing portion 20, and is provided on the side of the other side wall 20 a opposite to the supply opening 25 in the longitudinal direction. , A trapezoidal space 30b whose upper surface is obliquely cut is extended, and an inclined surface on the upper surface side of the trapezoidal space 30b, that is, an inclined surface 39 which inclines downward from the upper edge end is referred to as the concave inclined surface 20c. The recovery port 35 is formed on a linear slanted surface in a parallel direction, and the recovery port 35 is opened on the slanted surface.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, a fitting guide 80 of the conveyor belt mechanism is attached to the upper surface side of the recovery port 35, and the inclined surface 39 is attached to the side surface of the guide 80.
A slit groove 81 is formed in parallel with the slit groove 81, and a rib-shaped regulation guide provided on the side wall surface of the container of the conveyor belt mechanism can be fitted into the slit groove 81. The fitting guide 8 shown in FIG.
0 and the belt container 62 are made larger than the actual shape to clarify the configuration.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, 30d on the partition wall 10 side of the recovery space 30a is raised in a stepped manner to form a toner accumulation space. A transport roller 31 made of a hard resin having an elliptical cross section is disposed on the front side of the trapezoidal space 30b below the recovery port 35 of the recovery space 30a, and the outlet side peripheral surface of the transport roller 31 is located below the partition wall. 30c is provided so that it can face the toner recovery space 30a through the opening 31a on the lower end side.

On the other hand, the rotary shaft 21 penetrating the recovery space 30a is provided with a blade body 32 which is elastically deformable in the rotation direction and extends in the radial direction. The rotary shaft 21 located in the toner accumulation space located on the partition wall 10 side outside the area below the recovery port 35 of the recovery section 30 can be rubbed only in a so-called rectangular space without providing a blade body. Feather body 3
2 is provided.

The vane body 32 has a trapezoidal space 30.
A strip-shaped blade 32b is formed at a position corresponding to b, and a wide blade 32a is formed on one side of the strip-shaped blade 32b through a slit 32c, and the front side of the strip-shaped blade 32b is conveyed. A thin layer member having a friction coefficient larger than that of the blade body is provided at a portion of the roller 31 that extends to a predetermined length so as to be slidable on the outlet side peripheral surface and comes into surface contact with the roller peripheral surface on the front side of the blade body 32b. For example, a thin sponge layer 34 is attached,
While the sponge layer 34 rubs the peripheral surface of the roller outlet side by surface contact or is brought close to the peripheral surface of the outlet, waste toner accumulated on the peripheral surface of the roller 31 and around the opening around the roller 31 is surely secured. It is configured to catch and send it to the side of the collection space 30a. Then, the waste toner sent to the collection space 30a side is sent to the deposition space 30d on the partition wall 10 side while being agitated by the wider blade 32a. Moreover, since the blades are not provided in the deposition space 30d located on the partition wall 10 side, only the stacking is performed without stirring, and the stacking can be performed at a high density.

The upper surface of the partition wall 10 has a slit groove 102.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, a sponge-like string-shaped sealing member 101 for sealing the gap with the lid 2A is interposed in the slit groove 102, and the slit groove 102 is provided on the rotary shaft. The penetrating portion 21 is made to hang down like a tongue, and is made to hang down along the slit groove in the shape of a thin U-shape in the central portion of the seal member 101 to function as the seal portion of the rotary shaft 21.

Further, the recovery space 3 on the shaft end side of the rotary shaft 21.
On the inner wall surface side of 0a, a gear train 33 that connects the rotating shaft 21 and the conveying rollers is arranged. The gear train 33 is formed of a speed-up gear, and is set so that the rotation speed of the blade body 32 becomes smaller than the rotation speed of the transport roller 31.

Further, adjacent gears 33a, 3 of the gear train 33
The tooth surface shape of 3b is not formed in the same shape as shown in FIG. 11 (B), but as shown in FIG. 11 (A), one side is thinned to narrow the mountain width (widen the valley width). Take them and make them unequal to each other, and hold them to engage with each other. For example, when the gear diameter is 30φ, the clearance on one side of the meshing surface is usually 0.1 mm (see B), but in the case of this embodiment, it is set to 0.4 to 0.5 mm. In addition, 3 in FIG.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a position regulating rib formed on the end surface 37 in the longitudinal direction of the container, and the toner storage portion 2 in which the toner supply opening 25 is formed.
The guide 36 extends in parallel with the 0-side concave slope 20c, and is configured such that the guide 36 can be attached and detached while being fitted into a regulation guide groove (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body side.

According to such an embodiment, the gear train 33
However, since it is located inside the end wall of the collecting portion 30, it is possible to eliminate the risk of the gear train 33 colliding with a guide or the like on the apparatus main body side when the container is mounted, and it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the adjacent gear 33
Since the tooth surface shapes of a and 33b are formed to be unequal to each other, even if the toner enters the clearance between the meshing surfaces, it rotates while scooping out the toner, so that the locking phenomenon can be completely eliminated.

Next, the mounting mechanism of the toner container 2 and the shutter member will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the container mounting portion 11 on the upper surface side of the developing unit 1 is fixed in position and unmounted when the container 2 is mounted.
A lock / release lever member 15 is swingably supported by a shaft 18. The lever member 15 extends obliquely upward along the unit inclined surface 19 from the shaft support portion of the shaft 18 provided on the lower surface side, and the lock lever portion 15b provided with the claw portion 15a at the tip thereof and the shaft support portion It is composed of an operation lever portion 15c that is raised in an L shape, and the operation lever portion is configured to be swingable.

On the other hand, FIG.
As shown in (B), a rectangular cylindrical fitting guide 80 whose inner shape matches the sectional shape of the belt container 62 on the apparatus main body side is mounted on the inclined surface 39 on which the discharged toner receiving port 35 is formed. A slit groove 81 is formed in the fitting guide in parallel with the inclined surface 39. A shutter member is provided on the inclined surface 39 by a regulation guide (not shown) so that the toner receiving port 35 can be opened and closed along the surface of the inclined surface 39, and a projection 69a is provided on the upper surface of the shutter plate 69.
To provide.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7B, on the side of the discharged toner carrying mechanism, the discharging opening 68 of the belt container 62 is provided.
A shutter member 66 that opens and closes is disposed via a sponge layer 66a, and is stretched by an elastic spring 67 in the direction in which the shutter member 66 is closed.
The shutter plate 6 has a claw 65a that engages with the projection 69a of the shutter plate 69 on the toner receiving port 35 side to open and close the projection.
9 It is provided at the tip of a plate piece 65 that extends elastically and swingably in the direction of separation.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the concave slope 20 of the container is formed on the extension line of the slope 19 on the developing unit 1 side.
When the container 2 is mounted on the side of the developing unit 1 in the state where c is matched, first, the fitting guide 80 causes the belt container 6 to move.
2 is fitted on the outer periphery (see FIG. 7B), the tip projection 69a of the container 62 engages with the projection 69a of the shutter plate 69, and pushes up the shutter plate 69 to open the toner receiving port 35. At the same time, the edge surface of the lower end of the toner collecting unit 30 and the upper edge of the shutter member 66 on the side of the belt container 62 are engaged with each other to cause the elastic spring 6 to move.
The shutter member 66 is pushed down against 7 and the discharge opening 6
While opening 8, the tip projection 65a on the container side rides on the projection 69a of the shutter plate 69 and stops. The shutter plate 69 is locked by the tip projection 65a and fixed in position at the upper end of the sponge layer 66a.

On the other hand, even on the toner storage section 20 side, by mounting the container 2 on the developing unit 1 side with the concave inclined surface 20c of the container 2 aligned with the extension line of the inclined surface 19 on the developing unit 1 side, The shutter member on the side of the storage section 20 is also opened, but its constituent action will be described later.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the concave sloped surface 20c of the container is pulled down obliquely along the sloped surface 19 on the unit side, first the claw portion 15a of the lock lever portion 15b comes into contact with the lever. The lock lever portion 15 is mounted at a predetermined position at the same time as the lock lever portion 15 is swung in the direction of retracting from the inclined surface 19 against the elastic force of the elastic spring 16.
The claw portion 15a of b is engaged with the engagement concave portion 201 of the toner storage portion 20. At this time, the elastic spring 16 biased to the operation lever 15 side is engaged and fixed, but it becomes difficult to fix the position accurately and surely only by the biasing force of the one elastic spring 16. Therefore, in this embodiment, the elastic spring 43 of the shutter member 40 on the developing unit 1 side is effectively used.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, at the time of mounting, the elastic member 43 engages with the shutter member 40 on the side of the developing unit 1 which will be described later in the direction of closing the toner receiving opening 44, and the elastic spring 43 Since the biasing force is applied in the closing direction, the biasing force is strongest at the position where the toner receiving port 44 is opened, while the claw portion 15a of the lock lever portion is directed downward along the inclined surface 19 in FIG. In other words, since the elastic spring 43 is locked in the direction against the urging direction, the toner container 2 can be accurately moved.
Positioning and fixing can be achieved. That is, the pulling force of both the elastic spring 16 biased to the operation lever portion 15 side and the elastic spring 43 of the shutter member 40 can be used, and the pulling directions are different, so that the shutter member is further changed. Since the elastic spring of (2) biases in the closing direction, the biasing force is the strongest at the open position where the container 2 is fixed and the secure fixing is possible.

When the container 2 shown in FIG. 3 is fixed at a predetermined position, the unit-side drive gear 17 meshes with the container-side relay gear 27, and as shown in FIG. An installation base 70 whose bottom surface is the developing unit 1 side
A linear spring 73 protruding from the slit opening 71 provided above
By pressing the, the container mounting sensor 75 fixed on the substrate 72 by the downward displacement of the linear spring 73.
It is possible to instruct the control circuit side (not shown) that the device has been mounted with high accuracy by pressing. Incidentally, the linear spring 73
Is rotatably supported by the shaft 76, so that it easily swings to the left and right.
Therefore, a pair of protrusions 74 are hung on both sides of the switch pressing position of the linear spring 73 on the lower surface of the installation table 71, and the left and right swings of the linear spring 73 are prevented by the protrusions 74, and the repetition accuracy is high. The sensor 75 can be pressed.

Returning to the original state, when the toner container 2 is taken out, as shown in FIG. 3B, the operating lever portion 15c of the lock lever 15 is tilted counterclockwise so that the claw portion 15a of the lock lever 15 is released. The engagement from the engagement recess 201 is released, and at the same time when the engagement is released, the elastic spring 43 (FIG. 4) of the shutter member automatically moves upward along the inclined slope. The engaging concave portion 201 forms a locking surface along a direction facing the biasing direction of the elastic spring 43, in other words, a direction orthogonal to the inclined surface 19.

On the side of the belt transport mechanism 60, on the other hand, a shutter member 66 for opening and closing the discharge opening 68 of the belt container 62 is provided via a sponge layer 66a, and the tip projection 65a of the belt container 62 is projected on the shutter plate 69. Since the container 69a is engaged and engaged (FIG. 6), the upward movement of the container follows the movement of the container to push down the shutter plate 69 to open the toner receiving port 35 and at the same time the elastic spring 67 ( The shutter member 66 on the side of the belt container 62 is automatically closed by the urging force of FIG. 7), and the toner container 2 can be taken out with both shutter members on the side of the belt container 62 and the discharged toner collecting unit 30 closed.

Next, the shutter mechanism on the toner storage portion 20 side of the container will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. First, the container mounting portion 11 on the upper surface side of the developing unit 1 has an inclined surface 19 parallel to the concave inclined surface 20c of the side wall 20c having the supply port of the toner storage portion 20.
Is formed on the upper surface side of the developing unit 1 and the inclined surface 1
9 is formed at a position corresponding to the hopper 12 to form a toner receiving opening 44 (FIG. 4), and shutter members 40 and 50 are provided on the concave slope 20c on the container side and the receiving opening 44 on the developing unit 1 side, respectively. Install.

The shutter member 50 on the container 2 side is formed of an elastically deformable resin body, and is attached to the concave slope 20c and has a supply opening 25 formed therein, and a shutter mounting plate 52 provided on the mounting plate 52. A shutter plate 51 that opens and closes the supply opening 25 by moving in the short side direction of the cartridge along a regulation guide 58, which will be described later, and a planar configuration of the shutter plate and the shutter mounting plate will be described below. 8A and 8B are views of the shutter mounting plates 52 and 42 seen from above the toner container 2.
10C is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.
FIG. 8B is a view of these as viewed from the hopper 12 side, that is, the opposite direction of FIG. 8.

In these drawings, first, the shutter mounting plate 52 on the container 2 side is provided with a pair of restriction grooves 58b for moving the shutter plate 51 in the opening / closing direction (container lateral direction) while restricting the position of the shutter plate 51 in the longitudinal direction of the shutter plate 51. A pair of restricting grooves 58a are formed on both sides of the restricting groove 58b, and a pair of restricting grooves 58c are formed outside the restricting groove 58a (see FIG. 8C). Is configured so that the guide wall 423a of the shutter mounting plate 42 on the developing unit 1 side can be inserted therein, while the lower edge 58b is provided with a guide edge 51a formed by bending the side end of the shutter plate 51 into an L-shaped cross section. It is configured to be possible. In addition, the central edge portion 5 on the lower end side
2d is formed in a stepped shape (FIG. 10), and the upper end of the shutter plate 41 on the unit side can be engaged.

A lock member 53 for locking the shutter plate 51 at the closed position is installed in the guide groove 58c. In the lock member 53, the base end side rectangular portion 53c is fitted into the recess of the mounting plate 52, and the lock member 5 is centered on the base end side 53c.
The tip side of 3 is configured to be capable of swinging outward, and a convex piece 53b that horizontally projects the inside of its middle abdominal portion toward the rectangular concave portion 51b side provided on the guide edge 51a of the shutter plate 51. (FIG. 9), a wedge-shaped piece 53a that is forcibly swung outward by the insertion of the end portion 423d of the engaging plate 42 on the developing unit 1 side is provided on the front side thereof.

On the other hand, in the shutter plate 51, the L-shaped guide edge 51a provided on the side end side as described above and the side wall of the guide edge 51a are concavely formed in a rectangular shape, and the lock member 53 is formed.
The concave portion 51b with which the convex piece 53b is engaged is provided. In the figure, reference numeral 519 is a projection piece that engages with the recessed groove 529 on the shutter mounting plate 52 side and regulates the push-down position (closed position) of the shutter plate 51, and is provided at the upper end of the shutter plate 51.
Reference numeral 528 is a projection piece that engages with the H-shaped groove 518 on the shutter plate 51 side and restricts the push-up position (closed position) of the shutter plate 51, and is provided on the upper end of the shutter mounting plate 52.

On the other hand, the shutter member 4 on the developing unit 1 side
0 is also formed of an elastically deformable resin body, and is fitted and fixed in the mounting hole 451 of the inclined surface 19 via the shaft-shaped insertion portion 423c shown in FIG.
4 is formed, and a shutter plate 4 that moves in the lateral direction of the container along a regulation guide 423b provided on the mounting plate 42 to open and close the supply opening 25.
It consists of 1. Then, the plane configuration of the shutter mounting plate 42 will be described with reference to FIG. 8B. The shutter mounting plate 42 is provided with a square engagement plate 423 through a square gate-shaped slit split 424. An oscillating plate 421 located on the outer peripheral side of the oscillating plate 421, and an engaging claw 422a that engages with the upper end of the shutter plate 51 on the container 2 side is launched at the center of the tip of the oscillating plate 421. After the opening of the shutter 51, the shutter plate 51 is released through the engaging claw 422a.
Of the rocking plate 421 is provided with a cam projection 422b projecting from the left and right corners of the tip of the swing plate 421. When the shutter plate 51 is opened, the cam projection 422b contacts the lower end of the shutter mounting plate 52. The oscillating plate 421 can be retracted to the rear side of the shutter mounting plate 52.

The engaging plate 423 is formed with an L-shaped guide wall 423a at its side end so that the guide wall 423a can be inserted into the groove 58a provided at the lower end of the container shutter mounting plate 52. Further, a concave groove 423b having a U-shaped cross section is formed inside the L-shaped guide wall 423a facing the shutter plate 41 of the developing unit, and the guide wall 41a of the shutter plate 41 is fitted into the concave groove 423b. The shutter plate 41 is configured to be movable up and down by being combined with each other, and projections provided on both side ends of the shutter plate 41 are engaged with elastic springs locked to the upper end side of the swing plate to form a shutter plate. 51 is configured to be movable along the lateral direction of the toner receiving opening 25. A step portion 4235 is provided on the upper edge of the toner receiving opening 44 of the engagement plate, and the shutter plate 5 on the container 1 side is provided.
It is configured to be engageable with the lower end of 1.

According to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the container 2 is placed on the developing unit 1 side with the concave slope 20c of the container being aligned with the extension line of the inclined surface 19 on the developing unit 1 side. First, the lower edge 52f of the shutter mounting plate 52 on the container 2 side (see FIG.
3C) comes into contact with the cam projection 422b of the rocking plate 421 and moves further while retracting the rocking plate 421 to the rear side of the shutter mounting plate 52, the groove 58a provided in the shutter mounting plate 52. The L-shaped guide wall 423a at the side end of the engaging plate 423 is inserted into the engaging plate 423 and further inserted, so that the wedge-shaped piece 53a provided on the front side of the lock member 53 contacts the tip corner R of the engaging plate 423. Spread while contacting (Fig. 9
(See (a)), the convex piece 53b engaged with the concave portion 51b of the guide edge 51a of the shutter plate 51 is disengaged, and then the lower end of the container side shutter plate 51 is engaged with the engaging plate 4.
The shutter plate 51 is pressed by the step 4235 of 23 to open the shutter plate 51.

On the other hand, at the same time when the shutter plate 51 is opened, the engaging step 52d at the lower end of the mounting plate 52 on the container 2 side pushes the upper end of the shutter plate 41 on the unit 1 side so that the respective shutter plates 51, 41 perform the mounting operation. The openings 25 and 44 are opened while the openings are overlapped with each other. Then, when the openings 25 and 44 are completely aligned with each other, the engaging claw 422a of the swing plate 421 is moved to the container 2
The upper edge 51c of the shutter plate 51 on the side is engaged (see FIG. 13).
(See (A)).

Further, in this embodiment, since the shutter mounting plate 52 on the unit 1 side is fitted and fixed in the mounting hole 451 of the inclined surface 19 via the shaft-shaped insertion portion 423c, the mounting plate is attached. 42 can be slightly swung in a plane parallel to the toner receiving surface 44, and as a result, the swing plate 42 can be swung.
Even if there is an assembly error between the engagement claw 422a of No. 1 and the shutter plate 41 on the container 1 side, or a slight displacement occurs during mounting, this is absorbed and the shutter plate 4 is accurately and surely.
1 can be fixed at the open position. Moreover, since the swing of the mounting plate 42 is in the plane parallel to the opening surface, even if the openings are aligned with each other, it is possible to easily adhere to each other without forming a void.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, by pulling the operating lever portion 15c toward the front, the engagement with the claw portion 15a is released, and the elastic spring 4 pulling the shutter plate 41 is released.
The toner container 2 moves diagonally upward along the inclined surface 19 by the elastic force of 3. Since the shutter plate 51 on the toner container 2 side is locked by the engaging claw 422a of the swing plate 421, the shutter plate 51 is moved to the left side of FIG. The opening 25 on the second side is closed.

Simultaneously with the movement of the shutter plate 51 in the closing direction, the shutter plate 41 on the unit 1 side engaged with the lower end of the shutter mounting plate 52 on the container 2 side also moves in the closing direction by the urging force of the elastic spring 43. In addition, a lock member 53 provided on the shutter mounting plate 52 on the container 2 side
Is released from contact with the tip corner portion 423d of the engaging plate 423, and at the same time, the elastic force of the lock member 53 returns to the guide edge 51a side of the shutter plate 51, and the convex piece 53b thereof. Is a recessed portion 51b of the guide edge 51a.
To lock the shutter plate 51. At this time, the inclined surface 52a of the shutter mounting plate 52 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
As shown in (C), since the shutter mounting plate 54 rides on the cam protrusion 422b, the toner container 2 can be easily taken out from the apparatus main body side.

After that, the regulating groove 5 of the shutter mounting plate 52
The tip 423d of the engaging plate 423 is pulled out from the 8a, and the toner container 2 is taken out from the apparatus main body side. Therefore,
After the container 2 is taken out from the apparatus main body side, the shutter member 51 is always locked at the closed position by the lock member 53, so that the lock member 53 does not operate erroneously in a normal moving operation, and Prepare shutter plate 5
Completely eliminates the fear of opening 1. Moreover, since the lock member 53 is housed on the opening / closing guide of the shutter member without protruding to the outside, the shutter member is not accidentally opened during the normal moving operation. or,
Since the lock member 53 is automatically and forcibly released in association with the container mounting operation, the container mounting operation can be simplified and the unlocking forgetting can be completely prevented.

Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 14 is a plan view of the toner container and the discharged toner carrying mechanism of the second embodiment. The substantial difference from FIG. 1 is that
In the partition wall 10 of the toner storage unit 20 and the waste toner collecting unit 30, a seal structure of a rotary shaft 21 having a blade body 22 and a gear train that connects the rotary shaft 21 and a conveying roller 31 that sends the waste toner into the collecting space. 33 is a positional relationship in which 33 is provided, and structures relating to the differences will be described below. In FIG. 14, a rotary shaft 21 'to which a stirring blade 22' is fixed is provided with a partition wall 10 'interposed between a toner storage portion 20' and a waste toner collecting portion 30 ', as shown in an enlarged view of part (B) F. A donut-shaped thin film film 91 coaxially fitted to the through hole 10'a is rotatably fitted in the through hole 10'a opened in the partition wall surface 10'b on the toner storage portion 20 'side. A double-sided tape 90 is used for attachment, and the central hole of the film body 91 has a diameter of 0.
Since it is opened small in the range of 01 to 0.5 mm,
The rotary shaft 21 'fitted in the central hole has an inner edge 91 of the hole.
It is rotatably arranged in a state of being pressed and sealed by a.

Since the seal structure of the present embodiment is constructed as described above, a donut-shaped film body is attached coaxially with the through hole, and the donut-shaped center hole and the through hole are passed through by the rotary shaft. In such a simple structure, the through hole 10'a
The waste toner entering from the gap is completely blocked by the inner edge 91a of the film body 91. Further, the unused toner for supply in the toner storage portion 20 'is prevented from leaking to the waste toner collecting portion 30' by the inner edge 91a of the film body 91.

In FIG. 14, a gear train 33 for transmitting a rotational force from the rotary shaft 21 'to the transport roller 31 of the waste toner is provided on the longitudinal end surface 37' of the container. These gears are coupled to the rotary shaft or the transport roller, respectively, so that they can rotate integrally with the rotary shaft or the transport roller, for example, by coupling them with an oval hole or an oval hole and a shaft tip portion fitted to them. The intermediate gear which is interposed between the gears has a hole in the center thereof, and a rotary shaft portion standing on the end face 37 'is inserted into the hole so that the intermediate gear is rotatably arranged on the end face 37' to prevent the gears from coming off. In order to do so, those gears 33 are covered with a gear cover 370 from above the end surface 37 '.

This cover structure is disclosed in FIGS. 15 (A) and 15 (B). In these figures, a slanted wall edge 37 'on the upper left hand of the longitudinal end surface 37' of the container is shown.
c and a wall edge 37'd that is diagonally erected at a lower right corner that is parallel to and diagonally intersects with c, a space is formed in a substantially rhombus shape, and as shown in (B), a wall edge 37'c is formed. Has two openings 37'b, 37'b, and the wall edge 3
Two openings 37'a and 37'a are similarly formed in 7'd. The gear cover 370 that fits and covers the rhombus-shaped space hangs the edge portion that surrounds the periphery of the substantially rhombus-shaped space to a height substantially the same as the height of the wall edges 37'c and 37'd. A position regulating rib 36 'that fits with a regulating guide groove (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body side is formed on the upper surface of the outside so as to stand up, and the left side edge 370c is engaged with the opening 37'b. Protrusions 370b, 370b
However, the right side edge 370d is provided with protrusions 370a and 370a that engage with the opening 37'a. Since the gear train of the present embodiment is arranged outside the waste toner collecting portion in this manner, toner does not enter between the teeth of the gears even if the clearance between the meshing surfaces described above is not taken, No locking phenomenon will occur.

Next, a second embodiment of the sealing structure between the toner container body and the lid will be described. 16B is a view of the toner container main body as seen from above, and FIG. 16A is an AA line of FIG.
It is a line sectional view. The toner container 2 includes a toner container body 20 'made of a synthetic resin containing calcium carbonate and a lid body 2 made of a synthetic resin containing calcium carbonate in the same manner as the toner container body 20'.
A sealing member 97 having elasticity is sandwiched between A and the engaging portion 20'f on the toner container main body side and the locking claw 2 on the lid side.
It is configured by locking Aa. Toner container body 2
The seal member 97 molded in the same outer shape as the upper surface opening of 0'is attached to the upper edge 20'g of the toner container main body 20 'with an adhesive or a double-sided tape, and then the main body 20' of the lid 2A. It is pressed by being locked to. By this pressing, the inner surface of the lid 2A and the upper edge 2 of the main body
Even if a gap is generated between the lid and the toner container 0'g, the gap is filled by the seal member 97, and the lid and the upper edge of the toner container are completely sealed. As a result, since the toner container main body and the lid are completely sealed, there is no need for expensive equipment for performing ultrasonic welding or vibration welding as in the past, and complete sealing can be performed with a simple configuration. Since the toner container 2 is made of a synthetic resin containing calcium carbonate, it has a low calorific value when incinerated and can suppress the generation of harmful gas, which is good for the environment. Further, the seal member is preferably urethane foam, non-woven fabric, paper, felt, rubber-based sponge, etc. Among them, PP-based sponge which does not generate harmful gas or offensive odor when incinerated is good for the environment.

Next, the second shutter mounting plate on the apparatus main body side
An example will be described. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view in which the shutter mounting plate on the apparatus body side according to the second embodiment is attached to the apparatus body side,
FIG. 18 is a view seen from above in FIG. 17, and FIG. 19 is a sectional view of a shutter mounting plate on the apparatus main body side according to the second embodiment. The difference between the shutter mounting plate 42 on the apparatus body side of the first embodiment and the shutter mounting plate 42 'on the apparatus body side of the second embodiment is that the shutter mounting plate 42 of the second embodiment is as shown in FIG. ′ Is the engaging plate 4 of the insertion portions 423′c and 423′e which are inserted into and engaged with the mounting hole 451 on the apparatus body side.
The protrusion length from 23 'is longer in the second embodiment, and a cushion 120 formed of urethane sponge and having an opening 120a is attached to the toner receiving opening 44 side of the apparatus main body side. It is a point.

The shutter mounting plate 4 thus configured
The lower end 42'a of the 2'is provided at the lower end of the inclined surface 19 on the apparatus main body side so as to open toward the upper side of the inclined surface.
11, the insertion portions 423'c and 423'e are inserted into the attachment holes 451 of the locking portion 113 extending above the inclined surface 19, and the attachment portions 423'c are used to attach the attachment holes 45.
When locked inside 1, the shutter mounting plate 42 'exerts a force in a direction away from the toner receiving opening 44 on the main body side due to the tension of the cushion 120, and as shown in FIG.
It is attached to the device body. At this time, since the inserting portion 423'c is longer than the inserting portion 423 of the shutter mounting plate 42 of the first embodiment, the distance between the engaging plate 423 'and the inclined surface 19 where the toner receiving opening 44 is formed is not larger than that. The vicinity of the stepped portion 4235 ′ is higher than the vicinity of the engaging portion 111, that is, the cushion 120 is pressed more near the engaging portion 111 than near the stepped portion 4235 ′. Therefore, the upper surface of the engagement plate 423 ′ locked to the locking portion 111 is not parallel to the inclined surface 19 but has an angle opened upward from the inclined surface 19, and The shutter plate 41 and the guide wall 423'a inserted into the regulation groove 58a provided in the shutter mounting plate 52 on the toner container side also open upward from the inclined surface 19.

The shutter mounting plate 42 'is structured such that the stepped portion 4235' can swing about the locking portion 111 in the direction of the inclined surface 19 (Z direction), whereby the shutter mounting plate 52 and the shutter mounting plate 52 are formed. When the shutter mounting plates 42 'are united with each other and the fitted shutter mounting plates are fixed to the respective main body sides, the guide plate is forcibly inserted into the restriction groove and the mechanism is damaged. However, at that time, the shutter mounting plate 42 ″ on the apparatus main body side swings in the direction of the inclined surface 19 and the guide plate of the shutter mounting plate 42 ″ slides in the regulating groove of the shutter mounting plate on the toner container side during the swing. The guide plates will be gradually accepted, and the guide plate will be smoothly inserted into the regulation groove. On the other hand, referring to FIG.
Locking portions 112a and 112b are provided which make contact with the 3'a and limit the lateral movement of the engaging plate 423 '. The mounting hole 451 is also opened with a slight margin in the left-right direction from the insertion portions 423'c and 423'e of the engaging plate 423 '. Therefore, when the toner container is inserted and the shutter mounting plate 52 and the engagement plate 423 'are united, the shutter container is moved to the left and right to be slightly aligned.

The operation when the shutter mounting plate 42 'on the main body side and the shutter mounting plate 52 on the toner container side thus constructed are united will be described. Position regulating ribs 36 ′ and rib-shaped charging guides 29 are provided at both ends of the toner container 2 in the longitudinal direction. In FIG. 20, when the toner container 2 is inserted into the developing unit 1, first, the lower edge 52f of the shutter mounting plate 52 is moved to the shutter mounting plate 42 '.
Of the cam projection 422 '. Then, the toner container 2 includes the position regulating rib 36 ′ and the rib-shaped charging guide 29.
Is lowered by being guided by a regulation guide groove provided on the apparatus main body side (not shown), and the shutter is lowered by lowering the cam projection 422'b by the lower edge 52f of the shutter mounting plate 52 provided on the toner container 2. The mounting plate 42 'moves down against the tension of the cushion 120.

When the toner container 2 is further lowered, the shutter mounting plate 42 'is lowered like an imaginary line, and finally locked at a position parallel to the inclined surface 19 on the main body side as shown in FIG. Claw portion 15a of the lever portion 15 (Fig. 3)
Locked by. On the other hand, as for the guide wall 423'a of the shutter mounting plate 42 'fitted in the restriction groove 58a of the shutter mounting plate 52 mounted on the toner container 2, the left and right tips 423'd and 423'd thereof are shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, since the tip portion is obliquely cut in the shape of a plane C, the tip portion is shortened across the toner receiving opening 44, so that the shutter mounting plate 52 of the toner container 2 is mounted at the left and right positions. Even if it is slightly displaced, it is possible to catch the restriction groove 58a and fit it into the groove 58a.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the shutter mounting plate 42 'on the apparatus main body side is attached to the toner receiving opening 44 provided on the apparatus main body side so as to be able to move toward and away from the toner receiving opening 44. Therefore, the positions of the shutter mounting plate 52 of the toner container 2 and the shutter mounting plate 42 'mounted on the device main body side with respect to the regulation guide groove on the main body side of the device may differ due to manufacturing and assembling errors of individual parts. In this case, if the shutter mounting plates 52 and 42 'are fixed to the respective main bodies at that time, there is a case where the engaging portions of the two are too far apart from each other due to the above-mentioned error or the like. However, on the contrary, even if the engaging parts of both are too close to each other and the two parts do not move smoothly, the position of the position relative to the restriction guide groove on the device body side It is adjustable.

Further, the opening 25 of the shutter mounting plate 52 mounted on the toner supply opening 25 of the toner container body.
Mounting position with respect to the toner receiving opening 44 of the apparatus main body
The mounting position of the shutter mounting plate 42 'mounted on the opening 44 with respect to the opening 44 varies in the longitudinal direction of the toner container or the main body of the apparatus due to errors in manufacturing and assembling individual parts, and the shutter mounting plates 52 and 42'. Is fixed to each main body, the engaging portions of the two may be too far apart from each other due to the above-mentioned error, or the engaging portions of the two may be too close to each other, There is a risk that the two will not move smoothly due to conflict. Therefore, in this embodiment, the shutter mounting plate 42 'on the apparatus main body side is mounted so as to be swingable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the toner receiving opening 44 provided on the apparatus main body side. The position adjustment is possible with respect to the shutter mounting plate 42 'when united with the shutter 52.

Next, the seal structure of the bearing portion of the toner stirring blade rotating shaft of the developing device applied to the image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 21 shows the seal structure of the bearing portion of the developing device applied to the present invention. (B) is an enlarged perspective view of a portion A of (A), and (C) is an explanatory view. In these drawings, a hole 20 ″ g is formed in the outer side wall 20 ″ f of the toner storage portion 20 ″ of the developing device 100, and a stirring shaft 21 ″ is provided with a fin 94 for stirring the developer (toner). A bearing 95 having a fitting hole at the center is arranged concentrically with the hole 20 ″ g so that the toner does not go around the stirring shaft 21 ″ and the bearing 95 of the developing device 100. A sealing member 910 made of, for example, a polyester film is attached to the inner surface of the side surface 20 ″ e by using a double-sided tape 90 on the inner surface of the developing device 100, and the stirring shaft 21 ″ is inserted into the inner hole 910a of the sealing member 910 to seal Member 91
The seal member 910 bends by a small amount of the hole diameter of 0, and the inner edge 910b of the inner hole 910a presses and seals against the outer diameter of the stirring shaft 21 ″. It has a structure that prevents leakage.

The above seal structure will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 22. The outer side wall 20 "of the toner storage portion 20" is described.
The seal member 9 is concentric with the center hole of the bearing 95 arranged at f.
The sealing member 910 is attached to the inner wall 20 ″ e with the double-sided tape 90 by aligning the inner holes 910a of the ten. The tip portion 2 of the stirring shaft 21 ″ in the toner storage portion 20 ″.
When 1 ″ a is fitted into the inner hole 910a of the seal member 910, the inner edge 910b of the seal member 910 presses the outer diameter of the stirring shaft 21 ″ so as to be in close contact with the inner edge 910b.

FIG. 23 shows another embodiment of the seal structure of the bearing portion. In the figure, the inner hole 910a of the seal member 910 is aligned with the center hole of the bearing 95 arranged on the outer side wall 20 ″ f of the toner storage portion 20 ″, and the inner wall 20 ″ of the seal member 910 is attached by the double-sided tape 90. Then, the gear 96 having a rotatable shaft portion 96a in the center hole of the bearing 95 and a fitting recess 210a into which the rotating shaft portion 96a is fitted and integrally integrated are provided at the tip. And a rotating shaft part 96 of the gear 96.
a is inserted into the bearing 95, and the shaft portion 96a is inserted into the seal member 91.
No. 0 inner hole 910a and the toner storage portion 2
It is fitted into the concave portion 210a of the stirring shaft 210 inside 0 ". Then, the inner edge 910b of the seal member 910 presses and closely contacts the outer diameter of the rotating shaft portion 96a of the gear 96 as shown in (B).

The difference between the inner diameter of the seal member and the outer diameter of the stirring shaft is preferably 1 mm or less. The thickness of the seal member is preferably 20 μm to 0.5 mm. If the seal member is a member having elasticity,
Resin, rubber, or leather can be used, but polyester or polyethylene film is used, and the thickness is 1
0 μ to 250 μ is desirable.

As described above, in this embodiment, the seal member is a thin film body having a hole having an inner diameter smaller than the shaft diameter of the stirring member rotating shaft, and the stirring rotating shaft is inserted into the hole of the thin film member. At times, a portion of the thin film body having a small inner diameter is bent in the axial direction and comes into close contact with the outer periphery of the shaft. That is, only the portion corresponding to the difference between the inner diameter of the thin film body and the outer diameter of the shaft bends and comes into close contact with the shaft.
Therefore, since it cannot be pressed with such a large force, the load at that portion does not generate a large torque due to the thin thickness of the thin film body, and neither wear nor abnormal noise occurs.
Since the airtightness is high with a simple structure, the developer does not accumulate in the bearing hole of the stirring member that transmits the driving force from the outside of the developing device and the rotating shaft, and the stirring driving force is not affected.
The developer does not leak out of the machine through the gap.

[0094]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately position the container even when the container is mounted in the lateral direction of the container by effectively utilizing the wall surface of the toner storage portion and the wall surface of the toner recovery portion. Not only can the toner container 2 be attached and removed easily with high accuracy. Further, according to the present invention, the axial power does not become large even if the stirring blade is arranged in the waste toner collecting container, and even when the conveying roller is arranged, the structure is efficiently avoided while avoiding the complication of the structure. The waste toner can be stored in the container, and the substantial storage volume ratio of the waste toner can be increased, whereby the collection container and the entire apparatus can be easily miniaturized.
Further, according to the present invention, in the device in which the rotating shaft 21 penetrates the stirring blade in the partition wall 10, the shaft power is reduced together with the effective sealing of the part, and the efficiency in the waste toner collecting space is improved. Enables good waste toner accumulation. Further, according to the present invention, the manufacturing cost of the toner container 2 can be reduced, the size thereof can be reduced, and the handling thereof can be facilitated.
It has various remarkable effects.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a toner container and a discharged toner conveying mechanism according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a state before the toner container is attached to the developing unit side or after the toner container is removed from the developing unit side as viewed from the direction E in FIGS. 1 and 14, and particularly shows the configuration of the process means on the photosensitive drum side.

FIG. 3 is an operation diagram of FIG. 2, in which (A) shows a state in which the toner container is attached to the developing unit side, and (B) shows a state immediately before the toner container is ejected.

FIG. 4 shows a state of the toner container seen from the direction D in FIG. 1 before being attached to the developing unit side or after the toner container is removed from the developing unit side. The shutter configuration of is shown.

5A and 5B are views showing the state immediately before mounting the toner container on the developing unit side, and FIG. 5B shows the state after mounting.

FIG. 6A shows a sectional structure of a toner recovery unit equipped with a belt conveying mechanism, and particularly corresponds to a sectional view taken along line B of FIGS. 1 and 14. (B) is a layout view seen from the bottom side of the linear spring shown in (A).

7A is a side view of the toner collecting portion on the side of the end face in the longitudinal direction, and FIG. 7B is a sectional view of the toner collecting portion before the belt conveying mechanism is mounted, and particularly, FIG. It corresponds to a line sectional view.

8A and 8B respectively show a shutter member for opening and closing the supply opening of the toner storage portion and the toner receiving opening of the developing unit, and FIG. 8A is a plan view of the shutter member 50 seen from above. 7B is a plan view of the shutter member 40 seen from above, and FIG. 9C is a sectional view taken along the line AA of the shutter member that opens and closes the supply opening of the toner storage portion.

9A is an operation diagram showing the shutter member of FIG. 8 during opening, and FIG. 9B is a sectional view taken along line BB of the shutter member for opening and closing the supply opening of the toner receiving opening of the developing unit.

10A and 10B respectively show a shutter member for opening and closing the supply opening of the toner storage portion and the toner receiving opening of the developing unit, and FIG. 10A is a plan view of the shutter member 50 seen from the developing unit side. , (B) are plan views of the shutter member 40 as viewed from the developing unit side.

11A and 11B show the shapes of the meshing surfaces of the rotary shaft on the collecting section side and the transmission gear of the conveying roller, FIG. 11A showing the present embodiment, and FIG. 11B showing the prior art.

12 is a cross-sectional view of the partition wall portion of FIG. 1 and corresponds to a cross section taken along line CC.

FIG. 13 is an operation diagram of a shutter mounting plate on the toner container side.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the toner container and the discharged toner conveying mechanism according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a detailed view of the gear cover viewed from the direction A in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a second embodiment showing a sealing structure between the toner container body and the lid.

FIG. 17 shows a state before the toner container is attached to the developing unit side or after the toner container is removed from the developing unit side as viewed from the direction D in FIG. The shutter configuration of is shown.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the shutter mounting plate on the apparatus body side as seen from above in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a sectional view of a shutter mounting plate of the apparatus body according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an operation diagram of FIG. 17, where (A) shows a state immediately before mounting the toner container on the developing unit side, and (B) shows a state after mounting.

FIG. 21 shows a seal structure of a bearing portion of a developing device applied to the present invention. (B) is an enlarged perspective view of part A of (A),
(C) is an explanatory view.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of fitting the stirring shaft into the seal member.

FIG. 23 shows another embodiment of the seal structure for the bearing portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Developing Unit 2 Toner Container 2A Lid 10 Partition Wall 11 Toner Receiving Section 15 Holding Member (Lock / Release Lever Member) 20 Toner Storage Section 20c One Side Wall (Concave Slope) 21 Rotating Shaft 25 Toner Supply Port 29 Toner Opening Port Side wall 30 Waste toner collecting section 30a Collection space 30b Collection space inlet side 31 Conveying roller 32 Blade body 34 Toner scraping member 33 Gear train constituting a transmission system 40 Shutter member 43 Elastic members 58, 423b, Opening / closing guide of shutter member 53 lock member 69 shutter member 101 seal member 201 holding surface 423, 52d engaging portion

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A toner container comprising a waste toner collecting portion formed through a partition wall at the end of the replenishment toner storage portion in the longitudinal direction, and the toner container is provided on the apparatus main body side along the lateral direction of the container. In an image forming apparatus detachably attached to a toner receiving portion, one side wall surface of the toner storage portion in which a toner supply port is formed is formed into a concave slanted surface which is inclined in a substantially straight line toward a bottom portion along an attaching / detaching direction. At the same time, the side wall of the waste toner collecting portion, in which the recovery port is opened, is formed into a convex slope that is inclined in a substantially straight line outward in the lateral direction from the upper end, and the concave slope and the convex slope are formed into a container. An image forming apparatus characterized by being formed substantially parallel to each other in the attachment / detachment direction. 2. The container is provided with a position regulating guide parallel to the attaching / detaching direction at a predetermined position of the container, and the guide is detachable while being fitted with a regulating guide provided on the apparatus main body side. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. 3. A shutter member for opening and closing the toner supply port is provided on the concave slope, and an engaging portion formed on the shutter member when the toner container is attached to the apparatus main body side is engaged with the apparatus main body side. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shutter member is configured to be capable of being opened in association with a mounting operation in association with a mounting operation. 4. A main body in which a waste toner collecting section is formed through a partition wall in a toner storage section for replenishing the toner container,
The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is configured by a lid portion that covers the main body, and a cushion member having an elastic force is disposed between the main body and the lid portion to seal the main body. 5. A main body in which a waste toner collecting section is formed through a partition wall in a toner storing section for replenishing the toner container,
2. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is configured with a lid portion that covers the main body, and the main body and the lid portion are molded with a synthetic resin containing calcium carbonate. 6. A conveyance roller is disposed on the side of the collection space inlet facing the waste toner collection port, and the rotation of the conveyance roller causes the conveyance roller to rotate.
In a waste toner collecting device configured to be able to convey the residual toner dropped from the toner collecting port to the downstream side in the roller rotation direction in the collection space, the waste toner collection device is connected to the rotation shaft in the collection space and elastically deforms in the rotation direction. With the possible blade body, the front side of the blade body is extended to the outlet side space facing the roller peripheral surface or the roller peripheral surface to a position where surface contact can be made, and the transfer roller is directed to the outlet space side. A waste toner collecting device characterized in that the carried waste toner can be carried to the inner side of the collecting space by rotation of the blade body. 7. The front side of the blade body has a higher elastic coefficient than the base side of the blade body so that the waste toner conveyed to the outlet space side can be scraped off. The waste toner recovery device described. 8. The waste toner collecting device according to claim 6, wherein a thin layer member having a friction coefficient larger than that of the blade body is provided on the front side of the blade body. 9. The residual toner is provided by the rotation operation of the blade body located in the lower area of the recovery port without providing the blade body on the rotary shaft of the area located on the side of the partition wall which is at least deviated from the lower area of the recovery port of the recovery section. 7. The waste toner collecting device according to claim 6, wherein the waste toner collecting device is configured to be movable toward the partition wall. 10. The waste toner collecting device according to claim 6, wherein the two are connected by using a conduction system which is set so that the rotation speed of the blade body becomes smaller than the rotation speed of the conveying roller. 11. At least a main part of a gear train constituting the transmission system is arranged in a collection space, and tooth flanks of adjacent gears of the gear train arranged in the collection space are formed to be unequal to each other. 11. The waste toner collecting device according to claim 10, wherein the waste toner collecting device is configured to be capable of engaging with a backlash. 12. The waste toner recovery system according to claim 10, wherein at least a main part of the gear train forming the conduction system is arranged outside the recovery space, and the gear train is covered with a removable cover. apparatus. 13. A toner container in which a waste toner collecting portion is formed on the end side in the longitudinal direction of a replenishment toner storing portion via a partition wall, wherein the toner storing portion and the waste toner collecting portion are connected via the partition wall. An elastically deformable blade body is provided on the rotating shaft passing therethrough, and the blade body is curved by a predetermined amount so that the inner wall surfaces of the toner storage portion and the waste toner collecting portion can be rubbed with each other, and the upper surface of the partition wall is also provided. A toner container, wherein a seal member for sealing between the lid member and the lid is disposed, and a part of the seal member is hung down to the rotary shaft penetrating portion to function as a rotary shaft seal portion. 14. The residual toner is provided by the rotating operation of the blade body located in the lower area of the recovery port without providing the blade body on the rotary shaft of the area located on the side of the partition wall at least separated from the lower area of the recovery port of the recovery section. 14. The toner container according to claim 13, wherein the toner container is configured to be movable toward the partition wall. 15. A toner container in which a waste toner collecting portion is formed on the end side in the longitudinal direction of the replenishment toner storing portion via a partition wall, wherein the toner storing portion and the waste toner collecting portion are connected via the partition wall. An elastically deformable blade body is provided on the penetrating rotary shaft, and the blade body is curved by a predetermined amount so that the inner wall surfaces of the toner storage portion and the waste toner collecting portion can be rubbed with each other. In a state in which the inner edge portion of the central hole presses and seals the outer peripheral portion of the rotary shaft, the thin film body having the central hole is positioned coaxially with the rotary shaft on the partition wall, and the thin film body of the rotary shaft. A toner container that functions as a seal.