JP7107213B2 - Developer container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a developer container and an image forming apparatus, and is suitable for application to, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (so-called printer).

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus, a toner image is formed using toner by an image forming section while conveying a sheet of paper along a conveying path formed in a housing, transferred onto the sheet of paper, and then onto the sheet of paper by a fixing section. 2. Description of the Related Art It is widely used to form an image (that is, perform a printing process) by applying heat or pressure to fix a toner image.

In this image forming apparatus, it is necessary to appropriately replenish the toner that is consumed each time an image is formed. However, since the toner is in the form of powder, if it is handled as it is, there is a possibility that it will adhere to the operator's hands and surroundings and stain them. Therefore, in many image forming apparatuses, a toner cartridge, which is a container containing powdery toner, is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body, and the toner can be easily removed by replacing the toner cartridge. It is ready to be replenished.

The toner cartridge has an opened toner supply port, and when attached to the apparatus main body, the toner is supplied by connecting the toner supply port to the toner receiving port of the apparatus main body. When the toner cartridge is detached from the apparatus main body, the toner supply port is separated from the toner receiving port of the apparatus main body, and the toner supply port is closed by a predetermined shutter to prevent toner from leaking to the outside. ing.

Further, as an image forming apparatus, the shutter is slid to open the toner supply port in conjunction with the operation of loading the toner cartridge into the apparatus main body, and in conjunction with the operation of pulling out the toner cartridge from the apparatus main body, A technique has been proposed in which a shutter is slid to close a toner supply port (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100003).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-102385 (FIGS. 7 and 16 to 19, etc.)

By the way, some toner cartridges have a toner supply port and a shutter for opening and closing the toner supply port on the bottom surface, thereby supplying toner to the apparatus body using gravity. This toner cartridge may be placed on a desk or the like after being removed from the apparatus main body. At this time, there is a possibility that the shutter that closes the toner supply port on the bottom surface of the toner cartridge will come into contact with the desk.

However, in such a toner cartridge, when the shutter is slid to close the toner supply port, toner may adhere to the outer surface of the shutter. For this reason, when the toner cartridge is placed on a desk or the like, there is a possibility that the place (that is, the desk or the like) on which the toner cartridge is placed may be stained with toner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and proposes a developer container and an image forming apparatus capable of preventing contamination due to adhesion of developer.

In order to solve this problem, the developer container of the present invention includes a housing formed along the longitudinal direction, a container provided inside the housing for containing the developer, and a longitudinal direction of the housing. A supply port provided on the supply side, which is one side along the path, to communicate the inside of the container with the outside of the container, a shutter for opening and closing the supply port, and a shutter provided on the opposite side of the supply port with respect to the center of gravity in the longitudinal direction. a contact portion on the opposite side that contacts the mounting surface when the housing is placed on the mounting surface with the supply port facing the predetermined mounting surface; and a supply port facing the center of gravity in the longitudinal direction. provided on the same side as the supply side, protrudes farther than the shutter from the supply side surface, and contacts the mounting surface when the housing is mounted on the mounting surface with the supply port facing the mounting surface The opposite side contact part and the supply side contact part are in contact with the mounting surface at three or more contact points, and a plane passing through all the contact points closes the supply port. so that the length from the supply side to the farthest part of the supply side abutment is longer than the length from the supply side to the farthest part of the opposite side abutment did.
Further, in the developer container of the present invention, a housing formed along the longitudinal direction, a container provided inside the housing for containing the developer, and one side surface of the housing along the longitudinal direction A supply port that communicates the inside of the container with the outside of the container, a shutter that opens and closes the supply port, and a shutter that opens and closes the supply port. and a contact portion on the opposite side that contacts the mounting surface when the container is placed on the mounting surface with the opening facing the mounting surface, and a contact portion provided on the same side as the supply port with respect to the center of gravity in the longitudinal direction. a supply-side abutting portion projecting farther than the shutter from the supply side surface and coming into contact with the mounting surface when the housing is mounted on the mounting surface with the supply port facing the mounting surface; is provided, and the opposite side contact portion and the supply side contact portion contact the mounting surface at three or more contact points, and a plane passing through all the contact points extends from the shutter that closes the supply port It is an erroneous loading prevention pin which is separated and has a supply side abutting portion attached to one or more locations among attachment members provided at a plurality of locations, each of which is determined according to the color of the developer. I made it

Further , in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, there are provided a loading section in which the developer containing body described above is loaded, and an image forming apparatus for forming a developer image using the developer supplied from the developer containing body loaded in the loading section. A forming part is provided.

In the present invention, the supply side contact portion and the opposite side contact portion are provided on the supply side surface, and the length from the supply side surface to the farthest portion of the supply side contact portion is set to the length of the opposite side contact portion from the supply side surface. Longer than the length to the farthest point. Thus, in the present invention, the developer container is placed on the mounting surface such as a desk so that the supply port faces the mounting surface, such as a desk, in a state in which the developer adheres to the shutter that closes the supply port. Even in the case where the supply side contact portion and the opposite side contact portion are in contact with the placement surface . As a result, according to the present invention, the shutter can be kept separated from the mounting surface, and the developer can be prevented from adhering to the mounting surface.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a developer container and an image forming apparatus capable of preventing contamination due to adhesion of developer.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming unit; FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing attachment and detachment of a toner cartridge in the image forming apparatus; FIG. It is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the loading unit. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a toner cartridge; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a toner cartridge; FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the toner cartridge; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing loading of a toner cartridge into an individual loading section; FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between cartridge-side pin positions and main body-side pin positions; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing placement of a toner cartridge on a placement surface; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a toner cartridge according to another embodiment;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form (it is mentioned as embodiment below) for implementing invention is demonstrated using drawing.

[1. Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
As shown in the left side view of FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is a color electrophotographic printer, and prints a desired color image on a sheet of paper P. As shown in FIG. In this image forming apparatus 1, various parts are arranged inside a housing 2 formed in a substantially box shape. In the following description, the right end portion in FIG. 1 is defined as the front of the image forming apparatus 1, and the up-down direction, left-right direction, and front-rear direction are defined when viewed facing the front.

The image forming apparatus 1 is configured to be entirely controlled by a control section 5 provided in the housing 2 . The control unit 5 is mainly composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown), and reads and executes a predetermined program from a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, etc. (not shown) to perform various processes related to printing. I do. The control unit 5 also has a storage unit such as a RAM (random access memory), a hard disk drive, a flash memory, etc., and stores various information in this storage unit.

On the front side of the upper surface of the housing 2, there is a display unit 7, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, which displays information by characters, images, etc. based on the control of the control unit 5, direction buttons, an OK button, and a cancel button. An operation unit 8, which is a combination of a plurality of operation buttons such as buttons, receives an operation instruction from the user and notifies the control unit 5 of the operation instruction.

At the bottom of the housing 2 (FIG. 1), there is provided a paper feed cassette 10 that accommodates paper P, which is a leaf-shaped recording medium. The paper feed cassette 10 is formed, for example, in the shape of a hollow rectangular parallelepiped, and has an open upper surface. Incidentally, the paper P is a so-called cut paper that is cut into A4 size, for example.

A paper delivery section 11 is provided in the upper front portion of the paper feed cassette 10 . The paper delivery unit 11 is composed of a plurality of rollers, a paper feed motor (not shown), and the like. The paper delivery unit 11 rotates the rollers appropriately to separate only the uppermost one of the papers P stored in the paper feed cassette 10 from the other papers P and delivers it obliquely forward and upward.

A lower conveying section 12 for conveying the sheet P is provided on the front side or above the sheet feeding section 11 . The lower transport section 12 is composed of a transport guide that guides the paper P, a transport roller pair that transmits a driving force to the paper P, and the like. The lower conveying section 12 advances the sheet P delivered from the sheet feeding section 11 forward and upward, then advances it along the conveying path W such that it is folded back obliquely upward, and delivers it to the middle conveying section 13 on the rear side. .

A conveyor belt 14, which is an endless belt, is stretched around pulleys arranged on the front side and the rear side of the middle conveying section 13, respectively. The upper portion of the conveying belt 14 forms a conveying path W along an oblique direction connecting the lower front side and the upper rear side. When the pulleys are rotated by a driving force from a motor (not shown), the conveying belt 14 runs such that the upper portion advances backward. That is, when the sheet P is sent out from the lower conveying section 12, the middle conveying section 13 puts it on the upper portion of the conveying belt 14, and conveys it along the conveying path W in the rear obliquely upward direction.

Four image forming units 15K, 15C, 15M, and 15Y (hereinafter collectively referred to as image forming units 15) are arranged in an oblique direction from the lower front side to the upper rear side above the middle conveying section 13. ) are placed. Each image forming unit 15 corresponds to each color of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y), but has the same configuration except for the corresponding colors.

A toner conveying section 16 is arranged above the image forming unit 15 . Further, four toner cartridges 17K, 17Y, 17M and 17C (hereinafter collectively referred to as toner cartridges 17) are arranged in the horizontal direction in the front portion on the upper side of the toner conveying portion 16. As shown in FIG. . Each toner cartridge 17 contains the same black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) toners as the corresponding colors of the image forming units 15 (details will be described later). do).

The toner conveying portion 16 is mainly composed of a tubular member, and connects the toner cartridges 17 and the image forming units 15 of corresponding colors. The toner conveying section 16 conveys toner from the toner cartridge 17 to the image forming unit 15 under the control of the control section 5 .

The image forming unit 15 as an image forming section is roughly divided into an image forming body section 31 and an LED head 33 as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. The LED head 33 has a large number of LED elements aligned in the horizontal direction (hereinafter also referred to as the main scanning direction), and lights or extinguishes each LED element in a light emission pattern based on the control of the control unit 5. .

A supply roller 34 , a developing roller 35 , a developing blade 36 , a photosensitive drum 37 , a charging roller 38 and a cleaning blade 39 are incorporated in the image forming body 31 . Among them, the supply roller 34 , the developing roller 35 , the photosensitive drum 37 and the charging roller 38 are all formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the left-right direction, and are rotatably supported by the image forming body portion 31 .

At least the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the supply roller 34 is made of a sponge-like material, and the front and lower portions of the peripheral surface of the supply roller 34 are brought into contact with the upper and rear portions of the peripheral surface of the developing roller 35 . The developing roller 35 has a front lower portion of the peripheral side thereof in contact with an upper rear portion of the peripheral side of the photosensitive drum 37 . The developing blade 36 is formed in the shape of an elongated thin plate, and the longitudinal direction of the developing blade 36 extends along the left-right direction, and the vicinity of one long side of the developing blade 36 is brought into contact with the upper portion of the peripheral side surface of the developing roller 35 .

The photoreceptor drum 37 as an image carrier is configured such that the peripheral surface thereof can be charged. The charging roller 38 is configured to be charged, and has a lower rear portion of its peripheral side surface in contact with an upper front portion of its peripheral side surface of the photosensitive drum 37 . The cleaning blade 39 is formed in the shape of an elongated thin plate.

The photosensitive drum 37 is brought into contact with the conveying belt 14 in the vicinity of its lower end. A transfer roller 18 is provided below the photosensitive drum 37 at a position sandwiching the conveying belt 14 . The transfer roller 18 is formed in a cylindrical shape along the left-right direction like the supply roller 34 and the like, is rotatably supported, and is further biased upward.

The image forming unit 15 rotates the supply roller 34, the developing roller 35, and the charging roller 38 of the image forming main body 31 in the direction of arrow R1 by being supplied with a driving force from a motor (not shown), and rotates the photosensitive drum 37. Rotate in the direction of arrow R2. Also, the transfer roller 18 rotates in the direction of the arrow R1 by being similarly supplied with a driving force. Further, the image forming body portion 31 is supplied with toner from the toner cartridge 17 (FIG. 1) through the toner conveying portion 16 .

A predetermined bias voltage is applied to the supply roller 34, and the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 17 is supplied to the developing roller 35 to adhere to the surface of the developing roller 35. The developing roller 35 is charged negatively. The developing roller 35 is also applied with a predetermined bias voltage, and the developing blade 36 scrapes off part of the toner adhering to the surface to form a uniform thin layer of toner, which is applied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 37 . abut on.

The charging roller 38 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 37 by contacting the upper front portion of the photosensitive drum 37 while a predetermined bias voltage is applied. The LED head 33 illuminates each LED element in a pattern corresponding to each color component of the image data, thereby irradiating light corresponding to the image data near the upper end of the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 37 . As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the upper portion of the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 37 . Further, as the photoreceptor drum 37 rotates, toner adheres to a portion corresponding to the electrostatic latent image from the developing roller 35 in the rear upper portion of the photosensitive drum 37, and a toner image is developed as a developer image. to reach

The transfer roller 18 is urged against the photosensitive drum 37 from below the conveying belt 14 with a predetermined bias voltage applied thereto. A toner image is transferred from 37 to the paper P.

In this manner, each image forming unit 15 forms a toner image corresponding to each color component of the image to be printed on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 37 and transfers it onto the paper P in sequence. As a result, the toner images of the respective colors are successively transferred onto the sheet of paper P in an overlapping state.

A fixing section 20 is arranged behind the middle conveying section 13 ( FIG. 1 ) and the image forming unit 15 . In the fixing section 20, a heating roller 21 and a pressure roller 22 are arranged below and above the transport path W, respectively. The heating roller 21 is heated by a built-in heater and rotates its circumferential side in the direction of arrow R1. The pressure roller 22 is pressed against the heating roller 21, and rotates its circumferential side in the direction of arrow R2.

The fixing unit 20 heats the heating roller 21 and then rotates the heating roller 21 and the pressure roller 22 to continue the sheet P conveyed along the conveying path W to the conveying path W. The toner image is fixed by applying heat and pressure to the paper P while conveying it obliquely upward along the rear.

For convenience of explanation, hereinafter, of the conveying path W, the linear portion along the upper portion of the conveying belt 14 and the fixing section 20, that is, the portion inclined so as to rise as it proceeds in the rearward direction will be referred to as a middle inclined portion. It is also called a transport path WS. The medium-inclined transport path WS has an inclination angle of about 10 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction.

An upper conveying section 23 is arranged behind or above the fixing section 20 . The upper transport section 23, like the lower transport section 12, includes a transport guide that guides the paper P, a pair of transport rollers that transmit driving force to the paper P, and the like. The upper conveying section 23 advances the sheet P delivered from the fixing section 20 along the conveying path W such that it is advanced rearward and upward and then folded back in an obliquely forward and upward direction. It is placed on the placement tray 25 . The loading tray 25 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 2, and the vicinity of the discharge port 24 is scooped downward, and is inclined so as to gradually rise as it advances forward.

A double-sided conveying section 26 is arranged below the upper conveying section 23 , the fixing section 20 and the middle conveying section 13 . The double-sided conveying section 26, like the lower conveying section 12 and the like, includes a conveying guide for guiding the paper P, a pair of conveying rollers for transmitting driving force to the paper P, and the like. When the sheet P is delivered by a switching device provided in the upper transport section 23, the double-sided transport section 26 transports the sheet P downward or forward while appropriately switching the transport direction and transport path of the sheet P, It is handed over to the lower conveying section 12 . Thereby, the double-sided conveying part 26 can convey the paper P again by the middle conveying part 13 or the like in a state in which the paper surface is reversed from the attitude in which the paper P was first conveyed by the middle conveying part 13 or the like.

Thus, the image forming apparatus 1 conveys the paper P along the conveying path W, consumes the toner contained in the toner cartridge 17, forms a toner image with the image forming unit 15, and transfers the toner image to the paper P. After that, the image is fixed by the fixing unit 20 to perform the printing process.

By the way, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a front cover 3 on the front portion of the housing 2 . The front cover 3 occupies a central portion of the front surface of the housing 2 excluding about 10% of the upper side and about 20% of the lower side. A front cover rotating shaft 3X is provided on the rear side near the lower end of the front cover 3. As shown in FIG. The front cover rotating shaft 3X supports the front cover 3 so as to rotate the front cover 3 with respect to the housing 2 about a center axis extending in the left-right direction.

Therefore, in the closed state shown in FIG. 3A, the front cover 3 closes the front portion of the housing 2 and shields the inside of the housing 2 from the outside. On the other hand, in the open state shown in FIG. 3B, the front cover 3 can open the front portion of the housing 2 to allow the inside to communicate with the outside.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 (FIG. 1), the toner cartridge 17 is detachably attached to the loading section 4 . As shown in a schematic perspective view in FIG. 4, the loading section 4 is formed with four individual loading sections 40 (40C, 40M, 40Y and 40K) along the left-right direction. By the way, each individual loading section 40 is configured in substantially the same way, although the corresponding colors are different. Each individual loading unit 40 is loaded with each toner cartridge 17 of a corresponding color.

The individual loading section 40 is provided with a lower loading guide 41, a left loading guide 42 and a right loading guide 43 on the lower, left and right sides, respectively. A space surrounded by the lower loading guide 41, the left loading guide 42, and the right loading guide 43 is a loading space 44 for loading the toner cartridge 17 therein.

The lower loading guide 41 has a substantially flat upper surface. A rib or the like for guiding the toner cartridge 17 is appropriately formed on the lower loading guide 41, and a toner receiving section 45 is arranged on the rear left side, and a shutter opening/closing section 46 is provided on the front side of the toner receiving section 45. It is Further, the lower loading guide 41 is provided with an erroneous loading prevention portion 50 at the center or right side on the front side of the center in the front-rear direction.

The toner receiving portion 45 is a portion for receiving toner from the toner cartridge 17, and is formed with a toner receiving port 48 penetrating vertically, and a contact member 49 is arranged so as to surround the toner receiving port 48. It is The contact member 49 is made of a sponge-like resin material and can be easily deformed. The shutter opening/closing part 46 has a claw-shaped part 46A that stands upward, supports the claw-shaped part 46A so as to be able to swing vertically, and biases the claw-shaped part 46A upward. .

The erroneous loading prevention portion 50 is provided with six pin standing holes 51 . The pin standing holes 51 are arranged in a so-called zigzag pattern, in which the positions in the front-rear direction are alternately different, although they are generally aligned in the left-right direction. In other words, the pin standing holes 51 have different positions in the left-right direction.

The pin erecting hole 51 is recessed downward with respect to the upper surface of the lower loading guide 41 and is formed in a square shape when viewed from above. A mounting projection 52 is erected upward from the bottom of each pin erection hole 51 . The mounting protrusion 52 has a columnar shape with a central axis along the vertical direction, is relatively short in the vertical direction, and has a top surface lower than the top surface of the lower loading guide 41 .

Further, erroneous loading prevention pins 53 are attached to any of the three attachment projections 52, respectively. The erroneous loading prevention pin 53 is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the vertical direction as a whole. It is about 1.5 to 3 times the length in the left-right direction and the front-rear direction. A circular mounting hole (not shown) is formed in the lower surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 53 . The diameter of this mounting hole is equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the mounting projection 52 .

Incidentally, in the loading section 4 , the mounting position of the erroneous loading prevention pin 53 in the erroneous loading prevention section 50 is different for each color of the individual loading section 40 . For convenience of explanation, the lateral position of the erroneous loading prevention portion 50 at which the erroneous loading prevention pin 53 is attached is hereinafter referred to as the main body side pin position.

The left loading guide 42 has a substantially flat right side surface (that is, the side surface on the side of the loading space 44), but is appropriately provided with ribs, rails, steps, or the like. The loading left guide 42 guides the toner cartridge 17 so as to move in the longitudinal direction by means of ribs or the like, and also defines the vertical position of the toner cartridge 17 in the loading space 44 . The right loading guide 43 is formed substantially bilaterally symmetrical with the left loading guide 42, and like the left loading guide 42, guides the toner cartridge 17 in the loading space 44 and defines its position in the vertical direction.

In the image forming apparatus 1, when the front cover 3 is opened (FIG. 3(B)), each toner cartridge 17 is pulled forward and obliquely downward. The toner cartridge 17 is removed from the individual loading section 40 .

In the image forming apparatus 1, when the front cover 3 is opened and the toner cartridge 17 is not loaded in the individual loading section 40 of the loading section 4 (FIG. 3C), the image forming apparatus 1 corresponds to the individual loading section 40. When the color toner cartridge 17 is pushed rearward and obliquely upward, the toner cartridge 17 is loaded into the individual loading section 40 .

[2. Configuration of Toner Cartridge]
As shown in a perspective view in FIG. 5 and a bottom view in FIG. 6, the toner cartridge 17 as a developer containing body is configured around a housing 60 surrounding the outer periphery. The housing 60 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the front-rear direction as a whole, and the housing lower surface 60L, which is the lower side surface of the housing 60, is formed substantially flat, that is, substantially planar. As shown in FIG. 6, the housing lower surface 60L as the supply side surface has a rectangular shape that is longer in the front-rear direction than in the left-right direction. For convenience of explanation, the point that is the center of the housing bottom surface 60L in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is hereinafter referred to as a housing bottom surface center point 60LC. Further, hereinafter, the front-rear direction and the left-right direction on the housing lower surface 60L are referred to as the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, respectively. Then, the housing lower surface 60L can be regarded as one side surface of the housing 60 along the longitudinal direction.

Projections, grooves, and the like are appropriately formed on the left and right side surfaces of the housing 60 . Further, the housing 60 has a shape in which a part of the rear upper side is cut off when viewed from the left-right direction. Incidentally, the housing 60 is made of a predetermined resin material and manufactured by a technique such as injection molding.

A front surface 60F, which is a side surface on the front side of the housing 60, is formed substantially flat, and a grip portion 61 is provided on the upper portion thereof. The grip portion 61 has a shape like a hollow rectangular parallelepiped with an open bottom surface. When the toner cartridge 17 is loaded in the loading unit 4 (FIG. 3(B)), the grip portion 61 is pushed forward by a fingertip or the like of an operator who is trying to remove the toner cartridge 17. It is assumed to be used in such a way that it is pulled.

In the housing 60, the housing lower surface 60L and the front surface 60F are joined so as to be substantially orthogonal, and the housing lower surface front end 60LF, which is the front end portion of the housing lower surface 60L, is formed in a straight line along the left-right direction. It is

As shown in the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 7, a housing space 62 is formed inside the housing 60 . The storage space 62 is a space whose periphery is generally closed, and stores therein toner as a developer. Incidentally, in the toner cartridge 17, when the toner is stored in the storage space 62 and the lower surface 60L of the housing is in a substantially horizontal posture, the toner is distributed substantially uniformly. It is positioned almost at the center, that is, almost directly above the center point 60LC of the lower surface of the housing.

Incidentally, as shown in the schematic side view of FIG. 1, when the toner cartridge 17 is loaded in the loading section 4 (hereinafter referred to as the mounting posture), the housing lower surface 60L of the housing 60 is horizontal. Instead, it is inclined so that the rear side is higher than the front side. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 17 is loaded in the loading section 4 , the toner stored in the storage space 62 is unevenly distributed toward the front side due to the action of gravity.

A toner carrier 63 and a toner agitator 64 are provided in the housing space 62 (FIG. 7). The toner transport body 63 as a transport member has a helical member attached around an elongated central axis extending in the front-rear direction, and is supported by the housing 60 so as to be rotatable about the central axis. The toner agitator 64 has a shape of an elongated rod-shaped member that is appropriately bent, and is rotatably supported by the housing 60 at its front and rear ends.

A drive transmission unit 65 is provided behind the housing space 62 in the toner cartridge 17 . A plurality of rotatable gears or the like are incorporated in the drive transmission unit 65 in a state of being appropriately meshed, and the front end portions of the toner conveying member 63 and the toner agitating member 64 are respectively attached to some of the gears. . The drive transmission portion 65 is a driving portion (not shown) provided behind the loading portion 4 in the housing 2 when the toner cartridge 17 is loaded in the loading portion 4 (FIG. 1) of the housing 2. A driving force is transmitted from the motor 6) to rotate the toner conveying member 63 and the toner agitating member 64 through internal gears.

A toner supply section 70 is formed on the rear left side of the housing lower surface 60L (FIG. 6) of the housing 60, and an erroneous loading prevention device is formed in the center or right side of the rear side, that is, on the right side of the toner supply section. A section 80 is provided. From another point of view, in the toner cartridge 17, the erroneous loading prevention unit 80 is located at the lower surface 60L of the housing relative to the center point 60LC of the lower surface of the housing, which roughly corresponds to the center of gravity, in the longitudinal direction (that is, the front-rear direction). 70 is provided on the rear side, and the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing is positioned on the front side, which is the side opposite to the toner supply section 70. As shown in FIG.

The toner supply portion 70 includes a toner supply port 71 , a contact member 72 , a slide rail 73 , a rear stopper 74 , a front stopper 75 , a shutter 76 and a lock portion 77 . The toner supply port 71 is a hole vertically penetrating the lower surface 60L of the housing, and communicates the space inside the housing space 62 with the outside space. Therefore, the toner cartridge 17 can supply the toner stored in the storage space 62 to the outside through the toner supply port 71 . The contact member 72 is made of a sponge-like material like the contact member 49 (FIG. 4) provided in the individual loading unit 40, and is attached to the lower surface 60L of the housing so as to surround the toner supply port 71. installed.

The slide rail 73 is formed in the shape of an elongated rod extending in the front-rear direction, and extends from the left side and the right side of the toner supply port 71 on the bottom surface 60L of the housing to the bottom surface 60L of the housing from slightly behind the toner supply hole. It is installed over approximately the center in the front-rear direction. The left side of the left slide rail 73 and the right side of the right slide rail 73 are formed with thin linear grooves (not shown) extending in the front-rear direction.

The rear stopper 74 has a predetermined three-dimensional shape, is provided behind the toner supply port 71 on the housing bottom surface 60L, that is, near the rear end of the slide rail 73, and protrudes downward from the housing bottom surface 60L. The front stopper 75 is provided near the front end of the slide rail 73 on the lower surface 60L of the housing, and protrudes downward from the lower surface 60L of the housing.

The shutter 76 is manufactured by appropriately cutting and bending a thin metal plate, and is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction and short in the left-right direction as a whole. A longitudinal length L76 of the shutter 76 is larger (longer) than a length L72, which is the longitudinal length of the contact member 72, and smaller (shorter) than a length L73, which is the longitudinal length of the slide rail 73. . Incidentally, the length L76 of the shutter 76 is approximately equal to the value obtained by subtracting the length L62 of the contact member 72 from the length L73 of the slide rail 73 .

The shutter 76 has its left and right portions bent upward, and the vicinity of each tip thereof bent inward (that is, in a direction to approach each other). It fits into a formed groove (not shown). As a result, the shutter 76 is restricted from laterally and vertically displaced with respect to the lower surface 60L of the housing, and is brought into a state in which the left and right tip portions can slide along the slide rails 73 along the slide rails 73. can be moved (slid) in the front-rear direction.

When the shutter 76 moves rearward, it stops at a position where the vicinity of the rear end thereof abuts against the rear stopper 74 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 7). At this time, the shutter 76 closes the toner supply port 71 and the upper surface of the shutter 76 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the contact member 72 . As a result, the shutter 76 can prevent the toner stored in the storage space 62 from leaking to the outside. Hereinafter, such a state of the shutter 76 will be referred to as a closed state.

On the other hand, when the shutter 76 moves forward, it stops at a position where the vicinity of its front end is brought into contact with the front stopper 75 (not shown). At this time, the shutter 76 opens the toner supply port 71 so that the toner stored in the storage space 62 can be supplied to the outside. Hereinafter, such a state of the shutter 76 is called an open state.

Further, since the lower surface of the shutter 76 is positioned below the lower surface of the slide rail 73 , it is positioned below the housing lower surface 60</b>L of the housing 60 . For convenience of explanation, the distance from the housing bottom surface 60L to the bottom surface of the shutter 76 is assumed to be a length H76.

The lock portion 77 has a relatively small three-dimensional shape protruding downward from the lower surface 60L of the housing, is configured to be vertically swingable, and is biased downward. On the other hand, the shutter 76 is provided with lock holes 76H1 and 76H2, which are relatively small holes penetrating vertically. The lock holes 76H1 and 76H2 are respectively provided at locations directly below the lock portion 77 when the shutter 76 is in the closed state and the open state.

When the shutter 76 is in the closed state (FIG. 5, etc.), the lock portion 77 enters the lock hole 76H1 due to the action of the downward biasing force, thereby suppressing the movement of the shutter 76 in the front-rear direction. Maintain the occlusion. Further, when the shutter 76 is in the open state, the lock portion 77 enters into the lock hole 76H2 due to the action of the downward biasing force, and also suppresses the movement of the shutter 76 in the front-rear direction to prevent the shutter 76 from moving in the open state. to maintain Incidentally, when an upward external force is applied to the lock portion 77 and the lock portion 77 is displaced above the lock hole 76H1 or 76H2, the shutter 76 is allowed to be displaced in the front-rear direction.

The erroneous loading prevention portion 80 is formed with two pin standing grooves 81A and 81B. The pin standing groove 81A is a rectangular groove that is long in the left-right direction and short in the front-rear direction, and is recessed upward from the lower surface 60L of the housing. Mounting projections 82 are erected at a plurality of locations, specifically six locations, aligned in the left-right direction on the upper base of the pin erecting groove 81A. The mounting projection 82 has a configuration in which the mounting projection 52 of the individual loading portion 40 (FIG. 4) is vertically inverted, and has a columnar shape with a central axis along the vertical direction. The bottom surface of the mounting projection 82 is located above the housing bottom surface 60L of the housing 60 .

The pin erecting groove 81B is positioned in front of the pin erecting groove 81A, and is configured in substantially the same manner as the pin erecting groove 81A. ing. Incidentally, the positions of the mounting protrusions 82 in the pin standing groove 81B in the left-right direction are the same as the positions in the left-right direction of any one of the mounting protrusions 82 in the pin standing groove 81A (FIG. 6).

Further, erroneous loading prevention pins 83 are attached to any three attachment protrusions 82 whose positions in the left-right direction are different from each other. The erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is configured in the same manner as the erroneous loading prevention pin 53 attached to the attachment projection 52 in the individual loading portion 40, and is attached to the attachment projection 82 upside down from the case of the individual loading portion 40. .

Incidentally, in the toner cartridge 17, the position at which the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is attached in the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 is different for each color of the stored toner. For convenience of explanation, the lateral position of the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 at which the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is attached is hereinafter referred to as the cartridge side pin position.

Also, in the toner cartridge 17, as shown in FIG. is doing. In other words, in the toner cartridge 17, the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 protrudes farther than the shutter 76 when viewed from the bottom surface 60L of the housing. That is, the length H83, which is the distance from the housing bottom surface 60L to the bottom surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83, is longer than the length H76 of the shutter .

Here, the length of each portion of the toner cartridge 17 in the front-rear direction is defined. Specifically, the length from the housing lower surface front end 60LF, which is the front end of the housing lower surface 60L, to the shutter lower surface front end 76LF, which is the front end of the lower surface of the shutter 76, is defined as F76, and The length from the front end 60LF of the bottom surface of the housing to the front end of the bottom surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is defined as F83. As is clear from FIG. 7, the length F83 is longer than the length F76.

Further, on the lower surface 60L of the housing of the toner cartridge 17, the erroneous loading prevention unit 80 is provided in the vicinity of the toner supply port 71 and the contact member 72 in the front-rear direction, specifically inside the range where the contact member 72 is arranged. are placed.

[3. Attachment and Detachment of Toner Cartridge to/from Loading Portion]
Next, attachment and detachment of the toner cartridge 17 with respect to the loading section 4 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 3C, it is assumed that the toner cartridge 17 is loaded by the user of the image forming apparatus 1 into the individual loading section 40 in which the toner cartridge 17 is not yet loaded. Incidentally, the shutter 76 (see FIG. 5, etc.) of the toner cartridge 17 is closed in advance.

First, while the toner cartridge 17 is held by the user, the front-rear direction of the toner cartridge 17 is substantially aligned with the housing 2 , and the vertical and horizontal positions of the toner cartridge 17 are substantially aligned with the individual loading section 40 . Subsequently, the toner cartridge 17 is displaced in the rearward direction orthogonal to the left-right direction, which is the main scanning direction in the image forming apparatus 1, and inserted into the loading space 44 of the individual loading unit 40 from the rear end side. go.

At this time, the toner cartridge 17 is configured such that the ribs and projections formed on the left and right side surfaces of the housing 60 (FIG. 5 etc.) correspond to the grooves formed in the left loading guide 42 and the right loading guide 43 of the individual loading section 40 . The horizontal position and the vertical position are generally determined by appropriately engaging with the projections and the like and being guided.

Further, as the toner cartridge 17 is displaced rearward and inserted into the loading space 44, as shown in a schematic side view of FIG. It reaches the vicinity of the erroneous loading prevention pin 53 of the erroneous loading prevention portion 50 in the loading section 40 .

Here, in the image forming apparatus 1, when the color of the toner cartridge 17 and the color of the individual loading unit 40 match, each pin position is selected so that the cartridge side pin position and the main body side pin position are all different. ing. In addition to this, in the image forming apparatus 1, when the color of the toner cartridge 17 and the color of the individual loading unit 40 are different, the cartridge side pin position and the main body side pin position match at least one location. .

In the image forming apparatus 1, when the color of the toner cartridge 17 and the color of the individual loading unit 40 match, as schematically shown in FIG. All the pin positions are different. That is, the position of each erroneous loading prevention pin 83 in the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 of the toner cartridge 17 is different from the position of any erroneous loading prevention pin 53 in the erroneous loading prevention portion 50 of the individual loading portion 40 . In this case, the toner cartridge 17 can be further inserted into the loading space 44 because the erroneous loading prevention pins 83 do not interfere with the erroneous loading prevention pins 53 .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the color of the toner cartridge 17 and the color of the individual loading section 40 are different, at least one of the cartridge side pin position and the main body side pin position in the horizontal direction is parts match. That is, the position of each erroneous loading prevention pin 83 in the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 of the toner cartridge 17 is at least partially the same as the position of any erroneous loading prevention pin 53 in the erroneous loading prevention portion 50 of the individual loading portion 40 . I am doing it. In this case, the toner cartridge 17 cannot be inserted further into the loading space 44 because the erroneous loading prevention pins 83 interfere with the erroneous loading prevention pins 53 . Hereinafter, such loading of the toner cartridges 17 into the individual loading units 40 of different colors is referred to as erroneous loading.

In this way, in the image forming apparatus 1, the toner cartridge 17 is individually loaded only when the colors of the toner cartridge 17 and the individual loading unit 40 match due to the erroneous loading prevention unit 80 of the toner cartridge 17 and the erroneous loading prevention unit 50 of the individual loading unit 40. The part 40 can be loaded.

When the color of the toner cartridge 17 matches the color of the individual loading section 40 (FIG. 9A), the toner cartridge 17 is further inserted into the loading space 44 of the individual loading section 40 . At this time, in the toner cartridge 17, the claw-shaped portion 46A (FIG. 4) of the shutter opening/closing portion 46 pushes the lock portion 77 (FIG. 5, etc.) upward to release the engagement between the lock portion 77 and the shutter 76. Furthermore, a part of the lower loading guide 41 is engaged with the shutter 76 .

Accordingly, as the toner cartridge 17 moves backward, the shutter 76 is relatively moved forward, and when the toner cartridge 17 is completely loaded, the shutter 76 is opened. and Also, at this time, the toner cartridge 17 brings the contact member 72 (FIG. 6, etc.) into close contact with the contact member 49 (FIG. 4) of the individual loading unit 40 .

Thus, in the image forming apparatus 1, when the toner cartridge 17 is completely loaded (mounted) in the appropriate individual loading unit 40 (that is, the colors match each other) (FIG. 3B), the toner supply port 71 ( 5 etc.) is connected to the toner receiving port 48 (FIG. 4). Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 1 can supply the toner in the toner cartridge 17 to the image forming unit 15 via the toner conveying section 16 (FIG. 1).

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 1, in a state where the toner cartridge 17 is loaded in the individual loading section 40 (FIGS. 1 and 3B, etc.), the toner cartridge 17 is moved forward through the grip section 61 and the like. When a force is applied, the toner cartridge 17 moves forward and is separated from the individual loading section 40 .

At this time, the toner cartridge 17 engages the shutter 76 with a part of the lower loading guide 41 in the individual loading section 40 . As a result, as the toner cartridge 17 moves forward, the shutter 76 moves backward relative to the housing 60, and eventually the toner supply port 71 is closed.

At this time, the rear end portion of the shutter 76 slides against the lower surface of the contact member 72 , so that the toner supply port 71 is closed while scraping off part of the toner adhering to the contact member 72 . Accordingly, in the toner cartridge 17, the toner TN may adhere to the vicinity of the rear end of the lower surface of the shutter 76, as indicated by diagonal lines in FIG.

By the way, the toner cartridge 17 detached from the housing 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 is placed on a placement surface S such as the top surface of a desk or the floor, as shown in FIG. 10A, for example. At this time, the toner cartridge 17 is in a state in which the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing is brought into contact with the mounting surface S on the front side, and the vicinity of the front end of the lower surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is brought into contact with the mounting surface S on the rear side. Become. That is, the toner cartridge 17 does not have the lower surface 60L of the housing parallel to the mounting surface S, and the lower surface 60L of the housing is inclined with respect to the mounting surface S to some extent.

In other words, in the toner cartridge 17, the toner supply port 71 and the shutter 76 that closes the toner supply port 71 and the shutter 76 for closing the toner supply port 71 are opposed to the mounting surface S. They are separated. As a result, the toner cartridge 17 can prevent the mounting surface S from being contaminated with the toner adhering to the lower surface of the shutter 76 .

From another point of view, since the toner cartridge 17 has the whole range of the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing on the front side in contact with the placement surface S, there are a plurality of locations on the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing, that is, left and right. It can be considered that the mounting surface S is in contact with the mounting surface S at a plurality of points separated in the direction (hereinafter also referred to as contact points). In addition, in the toner cartridge 17, an imaginary plane (mounting surface S), this plane is away from the shutter 76 .

Here, in the toner cartridge 17, the condition regarding the length of each part for separating the shutter 76 from the placement surface S will be described with reference to FIG. 10(B) corresponding to FIG. 10(A). FIG. 10(B) schematically shows relative lengths and the like of each part in FIG. 10(A).

In FIG. 10B, if the inclination angle of the housing lower surface 60L with respect to the mounting surface S is α, the length H83 of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is obtained by using the length F83 and the inclination angle α as follows. (1) can be expressed as in the formula.

H83=F83.tanα (1)

When the equation (1) is rearranged with respect to tanα, the following equation (2) is obtained.

tanα=H83/F83 (2)

Next, the length D from the housing bottom surface 60L to the placement surface S at a position corresponding to the front end of the shutter 76, that is, at a location on the housing bottom surface 60L that is separated from the housing bottom surface front end 60LF by a length F76, is: By using similarity, it can be expressed as the following equation (3).

D=F76.tanα (3)

By substituting the formula (2) into the formula (3) and rearranging, the following formula (4) is obtained.

D=H83・(F76/F83) ……(4)

Here, the condition for not contacting all parts of the shutter 76 with the mounting surface S, that is, the condition for contacting only the housing lower surface front end 60LF of the housing 60 and the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 with the mounting surface S The condition is that length H76 is shorter than length D. That is, the condition required for the length H76 can be expressed as the following formula (5) by using the formula (4).

H76<H83・(F76/F83) ……(5)

By arranging this formula (5) with respect to the length H83, the following formula (6) is obtained.

H83>H76・(F83/F76) ……(6)

Therefore, in the toner cartridge 17, the lengths F76, H76, F83 and H83 are appropriately selected so as to satisfy the formula (6).

[4. effects, etc.]
In the above configuration, the toner cartridge 17 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with the toner supply port 71 of the toner supply portion 70 on the front side of the housing lower surface 60L of the housing 60, and the toner supply port 71 is It is opened and closed by a shutter 76 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 7). Further, the toner cartridge 17 is provided with the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 near the front end of the lower surface 60L of the housing, and the length H83, which is the distance from the lower surface 60L of the housing to the lower surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83, is set to the lower surface 60L of the housing. to the lower surface of the shutter 76 (FIG. 7).

Therefore, the toner cartridge 17 can position the bottom surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 below the bottom surface of the closed shutter 76 in the vicinity of the rear end of the shutter 76 (FIG. 7). As a result, when the toner cartridge 17 is taken out of the housing 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 and placed on the placement surface S, the lower surface of the shutter 76 near the rear end is prevented from coming into contact with the placement surface S. It can definitely be prevented. That is, even if toner adheres to the vicinity of the rear end of the lower surface of the shutter 76, the toner cartridge 17 can prevent the mounting surface S from being soiled by the toner adhering thereto.

In addition to this, the toner cartridge 17 has lengths F76 and F83 based on the front end 60LF of the bottom surface of the housing and lengths H76 and H83 based on the bottom surface 60L of the housing, so as to satisfy formula (6) described above. (FIGS. 7 and 10).

Therefore, when the toner cartridge 17 is mounted on the mounting surface S with the toner supply port 71 facing downward, that is, with the toner supply port 71 facing the mounting surface S, the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 and the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing can be reliably brought into contact with the mounting surface S, that is, the shutter 76 can be kept separated from the mounting surface S. As a result, even if toner adheres to the front portion of the lower surface of the shutter 76, the toner cartridge 17 is capable of bringing the shutter 76 into contact with the mounting surface S, i.e., causing the toner to adhere to the mounting surface S. It is possible to prevent the soiling from occurring.

From another point of view, since the toner cartridge 17 has a shape elongated in the front-rear direction, in order to supply the toner stored in the storage space 62 from one toner supply port 71, it is necessary to It becomes necessary to convey the toner along the front-rear direction, which is the longitudinal direction, by the toner conveying body 63 . Then, in the toner cartridge 17, the location where the toner supply port 71 is provided is preferably the vicinity of the front end or the vicinity of the rear end, which are ends in the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, in the loading section 4 of the image forming apparatus 1 , the toner receiving port 48 is provided near the front end or the rear end in the individual loading section 40 .

Here, if the toner receiving port 48 is provided in the vicinity of the front end in the individual loading unit 40, if the toner leaks from the toner receiving port 48, the toner immediately spills out of the housing 2, There is a risk of polluting the surroundings. On the other hand, if the toner receiving port 48 is provided near the rear end in the vicinity of the front end in the individual loading section 40 , even if toner leaks from the toner receiving port 48 , the peripheral portion of the toner receiving port 48 in the lower loading guide 41 will not be discharged. , the toner can be received, and the possibility of the toner spilling out of the housing 2 and staining the surroundings can be greatly reduced. For this reason, it is desirable that the toner supply port 71 be arranged near the rear end of the toner cartridge 17 .

On the other hand, in the toner cartridge 17, it is possible to select various locations as the installation location of the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 on the housing lower surface 60L. In the image forming apparatus 1, as described above, when the user or the like loads the toner cartridges 17 into the individual loading units 40 of different colors, the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 of the toner cartridge 17 and the erroneous loading prevention of the individual loading unit 40 are connected. Further insertion of the toner cartridge 17 is prevented by interference with the pin 53 .

That is, if an image forming apparatus is provided with an erroneous loading prevention section on the front side of the lower surface of the housing of the toner cartridge, the erroneous loading prevention section is activated when most of the toner cartridge is inserted into the individual loading section. It reaches the vicinity of the erroneous loading prevention portion of the individual loading portion and allows the user to recognize whether or not the combination of colors is correct. Further, even in an image forming apparatus in which the erroneous loading prevention section is arranged on the rear surface of the toner cartridge and the erroneous loading prevention section is arranged on the rear side of the individual loading section, similarly, most of the toner cartridges are individual. At the stage of being inserted into the loading section, the user is made to recognize whether the combination of colors is correct. In these image forming apparatuses, in the case of erroneous loading, the user is instructed to move the toner cartridge forward by a large distance, pull it out completely from the individual loading section, and reload it into the individual loading section of the correct color. You will be forced to do troublesome work.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the erroneous loading prevention section 80 is arranged near the rear end of the lower surface 60L of the housing (FIG. 5, etc.). At an early stage, the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 of the toner cartridge 17 and the erroneous loading prevention pin 53 of the individual loading section 40 are caused to interfere with each other, so that the user can be made aware of the erroneous loading.

As described above, in the toner cartridge 17, the toner supply port 71 and the erroneous loading prevention unit 80 are arranged near the rear end, which are essentially independent matters, on the lower surface 60L of the housing. Each of these has a great effect. Then, in the toner cartridge 17, both are combined, and based on the relationship with the lengths F76, H76, etc. of the shutter 76, the length from the housing bottom surface 60L to the bottom surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 so as to satisfy the expression (6) H83 (FIGS. 7 and 10(B)) was set appropriately. As a result, when the toner cartridge 17 is placed on the placement surface S, the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 acts as if it were a "foot" protruding downward from the housing lower surface 60L, and the lower surface of the shutter 76 is placed thereon. It can be pulled away from the placement surface S.

From another point of view, since the length H83 of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 provided in the vicinity of the rear end of the toner cartridge 17 is sufficiently large (long), the housing can be The shutter 76 can be pulled away from the mounting surface S while the housing lower surface front end 60LF, which is a part of the lower surface 60L, is brought into contact with the mounting surface S (FIG. 10(B)).

Here, in the erroneous loading prevention section 80, erroneous loading prevention pins 83 are attached only to three mounting protrusions 82 selected for each toner color. For this reason, in the erroneous loading prevention portion 80, there is a case where one erroneous loading prevention pin 83 or the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 at a location relatively close to the lateral direction comes into contact with the mounting surface S due to the selected mounting projection 82. be. In such a case, the toner cartridge 17 (FIG. 10A) placed on the placement surface S has less stability in the left-right direction on the rear side, and thus may tilt left or right. .

However, in the toner cartridge 17, the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing (FIG. 5, etc.) is brought into contact with the mounting surface S on the front side. This is because, on the front side of the toner cartridge 17, the vicinity of the left end and the vicinity of the right end of the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing, that is, two or more locations sufficiently spaced apart in the left-right direction are in contact with the mounting surface S, respectively. can be considered to exist.

For this reason, the toner cartridge 17 is placed on the mounting surface S by the erroneous loading prevention pin 83, the vicinity of the left end of the housing bottom front end 60LF, and the vicinity of the right end of the housing bottom front end 60LF, which are sufficiently separated from each other. Since they are in contact with each other, their posture on the mounting surface S can be stabilized. As a result, the toner cartridge 17 can be prevented from overturning to the right or left on the mounting surface S and from rattling on the mounting surface S. It can be prevented from falling on the placing surface S and causing stains.

In the toner cartridge 17, the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 is arranged within the range of the toner supply port 71 in the front-rear direction on the lower surface 60L of the housing (FIG. 6). As a result, even if the toner leaking from the toner supply port 71 adheres to the vicinity of the toner supply port 71 on the lower surface 60L of the housing, i. Since the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is erected, it is possible to reliably prevent the toner from adhering to the mounting surface S. In addition to this, in the toner cartridge 17, when the shutter 76 closes the toner supply port 71, there is a possibility that toner adheres to the vicinity of the rear end. 80 (FIG. 6). Accordingly, since the toner cartridge 17 also has the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 erected, it is possible to reliably prevent the toner on the shutter 76 from adhering to the mounting surface S.

Furthermore, when the toner cartridge 17 is placed on the placement surface S, the lower surface 60L of the housing is not horizontal due to the presence of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83, but is inclined such that the rear side is raised and the front side is lowered. Posture (Fig. 10). As a result, in the toner cartridge 17, the toner stored in the storage space 62 (FIG. 7) is distributed slightly rearward due to the action of gravity, and as a result, the center of gravity is slightly rearward.

When the user loads the toner cartridge 17 into the individual loading section 40, the toner cartridge 17 is inserted from the rear side (FIG. 3(C)). Therefore, when the user grips the toner cartridge 17, the user can omit the trouble of changing the grip by gripping the grip portion 61 at the front end and gripping the front portion of the housing 60. FIG. At this time, when the toner cartridge 17 is placed on the placement surface S, the center of gravity of the toner cartridge 17 is positioned slightly rearward. can be handled.

According to the above configuration, the toner cartridge 17 of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with the toner supply port 71 of the toner supply section 70 on the front side of the housing lower surface 60L of the housing 60, and the toner supply port 71 is closed by the shutter 76. In addition to opening and closing, an erroneous loading prevention section 80 is provided. In the toner cartridge 17, the length H83 from the housing bottom surface 60L to the bottom surface of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is made longer than the length H76 from the housing bottom surface 60L to the bottom surface of the shutter . As a result, when the toner cartridge 17 is removed from the housing 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 and placed on the placement surface S with the toner supply port 71 facing downward, the toner adhering to the lower surface of the shutter 76 is placed on the toner cartridge 17 . It is possible to prevent contact with the placing surface S and staining it.

[5. Other embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, when the toner cartridge 17 is placed on the placement surface S, the vicinity of the lower end of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 arranged in the vicinity of the rear end of the housing lower surface 60L is placed on the placement surface S. The case of making contact with S has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another member may be erected in the vicinity of the rear end of the housing lower surface 60L, and the vicinity of the lower end of this member may be brought into contact with the mounting surface S. The point is that the lower surface of the shutter 76 can be separated from the mounting surface S by bringing a member provided near the toner supply port 71 into contact with the mounting surface S. FIG.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the toner supply section 70 is provided on the left side and the erroneous loading prevention section 80 is provided on the center or right side in the vicinity of the rear end of the lower surface 60L of the housing (FIG. 6, etc.). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 11 corresponding to FIG. , and erroneous loading prevention units 180L and 180R may be arranged on both left and right sides thereof. Both of the erroneous loading prevention portions 180L and 180R are configured such that the length of the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 in the left-right direction is shortened by half. In this case, by providing at least one erroneous loading prevention pin 83 in each of the erroneous loading prevention portions 180L and 180R, the stability in the left-right direction can be enhanced. Along with this, the front end 160LF of the lower surface of the housing does not necessarily need to contact the mounting surface S over the entire range in the left-right direction, and may contact the mounting surface S at least at one point. Furthermore, in this case, for example, the housing 160 may be formed in a cylindrical shape along the front-rear direction, and the housing lower surface 160L may be the peripheral side surface of the cylinder.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the case where the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 is arranged inside the range in which the contact member 72 is arranged in the front-rear direction has been described (FIG. 6). However, the present invention is not limited to this. The erroneous loading prevention section 80 may be arranged at a location sufficiently close to the port 71 .

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the lengths F83 and H83 of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 and the lengths F76 and H76 of the shutter 76 are set so as to satisfy the above equation (6). said about However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the length H83 may be set longer than the length H76, although the expression (6) is not satisfied. In this case, although there is a possibility that the vicinity of the front end portion of the shutter 76 contacts the mounting surface S, at least the vicinity of the rear end portion of the shutter 76 contacts the mounting surface S to allow the toner to adhere. can be prevented.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the toner cartridge 17 is mounted on the mounting surface S, the case where the entire range of the housing lower surface front end 60LF is brought into contact with the mounting surface S has been described (FIGS. 5 and 5). Figure 10). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, only a portion of the housing lower surface front end 60LF may be brought into contact with the mounting surface S. In this case, it is desirable that two or more portions of the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing abut on the mounting surface S, which are separated in the left-right direction. Furthermore, in this case, in the left-right direction, if at least the left and right portions of the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 are in contact with the placement surface S, the stability can be enhanced.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the case where the housing lower surface 60L is configured in a planar shape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other shapes such as curving or bending the lower surface 60L of the housing may be used. In this case, it suffices if the housing lower surface front end 60LF can abut on the mounting surface S at two or more points separated in the left-right direction.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the shutter 76 that slides in the front-rear direction along the lower surface 60L of the housing of the toner cartridge 17 is provided, and the toner supply port 71 is opened and closed by sliding the shutter 76 ( Figure 6, etc.). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a shutter that slides in the left-right direction or oblique direction along the lower surface 60L of the housing of the toner cartridge 17 may be provided, and the toner supply port 71 may be opened and closed by sliding the shutter. good. Alternatively, for example, a fan-shaped plate-shaped shutter may be provided rotatably with respect to the lower surface of the housing lower surface 60L, and the toner supply port 71 may be opened and closed by rotating the shutter. That is, the shutter may be provided so as to be displaceable or rotatable with respect to the lower surface of the housing lower surface 60L, and the toner supply port 71 may be opened and closed by the shutter. In this case, when the toner cartridge 17 is placed on the mounting surface S, the toner adhering to the shutter is removed from the mounting surface S by keeping the shutter separated from the mounting surface S. It is sufficient if it can be prevented from adhering to the

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 of the toner cartridge 17 is provided with two pin standing grooves 81A and 81B, of which the pin standing groove 81A is provided with six mounting projections 82, Also, the case where the mounting protrusions 82 are provided at three locations in the pin erecting groove 81B has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. can be Further, the positions of the mounting protrusions 82 in the front-rear direction are not limited to the same position, and may be different from each other, such as in a zigzag pattern, like the erroneous loading prevention portion 50 of the individual loading portion 40 .

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the three erroneous loading prevention pins 83 are attached to the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 of the toner cartridge 17 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or less or four or more erroneous loading prevention pins 83 may be attached. The same applies to the number of erroneous loading prevention pins 53 attached to the erroneous loading prevention portion 50 of the individual loading portion 40 .

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 is configured in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other three-dimensional shapes such as a columnar shape and a hexagonal columnar shape may be used. In short, it is possible to prevent the toner cartridge 17 from being loaded into the individual loading unit 40 of the wrong color, and when the toner cartridge 17 is placed on the mounting surface S, the vicinity of the lower end thereof is placed on the mounting surface S. It is sufficient if it can be brought into contact with S.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, in the erroneous loading prevention portion 80 of the toner cartridge 17, the pin standing groove 81A and the plurality of mounting protrusions 82 are formed in the housing lower surface 60L, and the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 formed separately is formed. The case of attachment to the attachment projection 82 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the housing 60 including the housing lower surface 60L and the erroneous loading prevention pins 83 may be integrally manufactured together. The same applies to the erroneous loading prevention section 50 of the individual loading section 40 .

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the toner cartridge 17 is inserted facing the front of the housing 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 toward the rear, that is, along the direction intersecting the left-right direction, which is the main scanning direction. (Fig. 3(C)). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the toner cartridge 17 may be inserted from the left side or the right side of the housing 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 along the horizontal direction, which is the main scanning direction.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with the image forming units 15 for four colors and the four toner cartridges 17 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image forming apparatus 1 may be provided with image forming units 15 of three or less colors or five or more colors, and the same number of toner cartridges 17 may be provided.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the present invention is applied to the image forming apparatus 1 which is a single-function printer (that is, SFP). However, the present invention is not limited to this. / Printer). The present invention may also be applied to various devices capable of forming images by electrophotography, such as facsimile machines and copiers.

Furthermore, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and other embodiments. That is, the scope of the present invention also extends to embodiments obtained by arbitrarily combining a part or all of the above-described embodiment with other embodiments described above, and embodiments obtained by extracting a part thereof. be.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the housing 60 as the housing, the housing space 62 as the housing portion, the toner supply port 71 as the supply port, the shutter 76 as the shutter, and the contact portion on the opposite side. The case where the toner cartridge 17 as the developer accommodating body is configured by the front end 60LF of the lower surface of the housing and the erroneous loading prevention pin 83 as the contact portion on the supply side has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the developer container is constituted by a casing, a container, a supply port, a shutter, an opposite-side contact portion, and a supply-side contact portion having various configurations. You can

The present invention can be used, for example, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image using a developer.

1 image forming apparatus 4 loading section 15 image forming unit 16 toner conveying section 17 toner cartridge 40 individual loading section 41 lower loading guide 42 Loading left guide 43 Loading right guide 44 Loading space 45 Toner receiving portion 46 Shutter opening/closing portion 46A Claw-shaped portion 48 Toner receiving port 49 Adhering member , 50... erroneous loading prevention portion, 52... mounting projection, 53... erroneous loading prevention pin, 60... housing, 60L... bottom surface of housing, 60LC... center point of bottom surface of housing, 60LF... housing Front end of lower surface 62 Housing space 63 Toner carrier 70 Toner supply unit 71 Toner supply port 72 Adhesion member 76 Shutter 76LF Front end of shutter lower surface 80 .

Claims (10)

a housing formed along the longitudinal direction;
an accommodating portion provided inside the housing for accommodating a developer;
a supply port provided on a supply side surface, which is one side surface along the longitudinal direction of the housing, for communicating between the inside of the housing portion and the outside of the housing portion;
a shutter for opening and closing the supply port;
It is provided on the side opposite to the supply port with respect to the center of gravity in the longitudinal direction, and when the housing is placed on a predetermined placement surface with the supply port opposed to the placement surface, the an opposite side abutting portion abutting;
It is provided on the same side as the supply port with respect to the center of gravity in the longitudinal direction, protrudes farther than the shutter from the supply side surface, and the housing faces the mounting surface with the supply port facing the mounting surface. a supply-side abutment portion that abuts against the placement surface when placed,
The opposite side contact portion and the supply side contact portion contact the mounting surface at three or more contact points, and a plane passing through all the contact points closes the supply port. away from the shutter ,
The length from the supply side to the farthest part of the supply side abutment is longer than the length from the supply side to the farthest part of the opposite side abutment
A developer container characterized by: With the opposite side contact portion as a reference, the distance to the shutter on the supply side and the length to the supply side contact portion are set to F1 and F2, respectively, and the distance from the supply side to the farthest portion of the shutter 2. A relationship according to claim 1 , wherein H2>H1·(F2/F1) is satisfied when the length and the length to the furthest part of the supply side contact portion are H1 and H2, respectively. developer container. a housing formed along the longitudinal direction;
an accommodating portion provided inside the housing for accommodating a developer;
a supply port provided on a supply side surface, which is one side surface along the longitudinal direction of the housing, for communicating between the inside of the housing portion and the outside of the housing portion;
a shutter for opening and closing the supply port;
It is provided on the side opposite to the supply port with respect to the center of gravity in the longitudinal direction, and when the housing is placed on a predetermined placement surface with the supply port opposed to the placement surface, the an opposite side abutting portion abutting;
It is provided on the same side as the supply port with respect to the center of gravity in the longitudinal direction, protrudes farther than the shutter from the supply side surface, and the housing faces the mounting surface with the supply port facing the mounting surface. a supply-side abutment portion that abuts against the placement surface when placed;
with
The opposite side contact portion and the supply side contact portion contact the mounting surface at three or more contact points, and a plane passing through all the contact points closes the supply port. away from the shutter,
The supply-side abutment portion is an erroneous loading prevention pin attached to one or more locations determined according to the color of the developer among the attachment members provided at a plurality of locations. developer container . a contact member provided around the supply port on the supply side surface and in close contact with a predetermined target,
4. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the supply side contact portion is provided at a position within a range of the contact member with respect to the longitudinal direction. 5. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the supply side contact portion is provided at a position within the range of the supply port with respect to the longitudinal direction. 6. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the opposite-side contact portion has two or more contact points separated from each other in a short-side direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. body. 7. The developer container according to claim 6 , wherein the opposite side contact portion has a large number of contact points along a straight line extending in the lateral direction. the feed side is substantially flat,
8. The developer container according to claim 7 , wherein the opposite contact portion is the opposite end portion of the supply side surface. a conveying member for longitudinally conveying the developer accommodated in the accommodating portion in the accommodating portion;
9. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the supply port is provided in the vicinity of a longitudinal end of the supply side surface. a loading unit into which the developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is loaded;
and an image forming unit that forms a developer image using the developer supplied from the developer container loaded in the loading unit.

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