Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DESCRIPTION
POWDER CONTAINER AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a powder
container and an image forming apparatus.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] An electrophotography image forming apparatus,
such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, or a
multifunction peripheral with a plurality of functions of
the printer, the facsimile machine, and the copier,
supplies (replenishes) toner that is powder from a toner
container serving as a powder container containing the
toner to a developing device by using a powder replenishing
device. The toner container includes a powder storage for
storing toner, an opening provided on one end of the powder
storage, a nozzle insertion member provided on an opening
that receives a nozzle having a powder receiving hole for
receiving the toner from the toner container, a conveyor
that conveys the toner to the opening side of the powder
storage, and a scooping portion that scoops up the toner on
the opening side and causes the toner to fall and be
supplied to the powder receiving hole along with rotation
of the powder storage. An example of the toner container
is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No.
2012-133349.
[0003] In a system that scoops up toner and supplies the
toner to the powder receiving hole of the nozzle inserted
in the opening of the nozzle insertion member, it may be
difficult to efficiently supply the toner to the powder
receiving hole depending on the fluidity of the toner.
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It is an object of the present invention to efficiently
supply developer to the powder receiving hole of the nozzle
inserted in the powder container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] According to an embodiment, a powder container used in an
image foLming apparatus. The powder container includes a rotatable
powder storage that stores therein the powder for image formation,
the rotatable powder storage to rotate about a rotation axis; an
opening on one end of the powder storage, through which a nozzle of
the image forming apparatus is to be inserted; and a scooping
portion to scoop up powder on an opening side, and to supply the
powder to a powder receiving hole of the nozzle when the powder
storage rotates. The scooping portion includes a scooping surface
that extends inwardly from an inner wall surface of the powder
storage. The inner end portion of the scooping surface extends in a
rotation axis direction of the powder storage. The edge of the
inner end portion is approximately parallel to the rotation axis.
In a cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis, the scooping
surface is inclined toward an upstream side in a rotation direction
of the powder storage with respect to a virtual line that passes
through the rotation axis and is tangent to the edge of the inner
end portion.
[0004a] According to another embodiment, there is provided a
powder container used in an image forming apparatus, the powder
container comprising: a rotatable powder storage, that stores
therein powder for image foLmation, the rotatable powder storage to
rotate about a rotation axis; an opening on one end of the powder
storage, through which a nozzle of the image forming apparatus is
to be inserted; and a scooping portion to scoop up the powder on an
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opening side, and to supply the powder to a powder receiving hole
of the nozzle when the powder storage rotates, a conveying portion
that conveys the powder toward the opening side in the scooping
portion, wherein the scooping portion includes a scooping surface
that extends inwardly from an inner wall surface of the powder
storage, an inner end portion of the scooping surface extends in a
rotation axis direction of the powder storage, an edge of the inner
end portion is approximately parallel to the rotation axis, and in
a cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis, the scooping
surface is inclined toward an upstream side in a rotation direction
of the powder storage with respect to a virtual line that passes
through the rotation axis and is tangent to the edge of the inner
end portion, the conveying portion is connected to the scooping
surface at a start position, and the start position of the
conveying portion is in an opening range of the powder receiving
hole in an axial direction.
[0004b] According to another embodiment, there is provided an
image forming apparatus comprising the powder container as
described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a powder
replenishing device before a powder container according to an
embodiment of the present invention is attached and the powder
container;
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration
of an image forming apparatus according to
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the embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a
configuration of an image forming section of the image
forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a
state in which the powder containers are set in a container
holding section;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in
which the powder container is set in the powder
replenishing device of the image forming apparatus
illustrated in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view of the
powder replenishing device and the powder container when
the powder container is attached;
FIG. 7 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating
a configuration of the powder container according to the
embodiment;
FIG. 8 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the
powder replenishing device to which the powder container is
attached and the powder container;
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of
a powder storage of the powder container according to the
embodiment and a state in which a nozzle receiver is
detached;
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a state in which
the nozzle receiver is attached to the powder storage;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view for explaining the
nozzle receiver viewed from a container front end;
FIGS. 12A to 12D are top plan views for explaining
states of an opening/closing member and a nozzle in
attachment operation;
FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining
a configuration of an opening side of the powder storage of
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the powder container according to the embodiment;
FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining
a configuration of the opening side when the powder storage
illustrated in FIG. 13 rotates;
FIG. 15 is an enlarged view illustrating a
configuration of a scooping surface of a scooping portion
(powder scooping portion) according to a first embodiment
of the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a relationship
between a toner remaining amount and a replenishing amount,
as a scooping characteristic when the scooping surface is
inclined in a negative direction;
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a relationship
between the toner remaining amount and the replenishing
amount, as a scooping characteristic when an inclined angle
of the scooping surface is changed;
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a relationship
between the toner remaining amount and the replenishing
amount, as a scooping characteristic of the scooping
surface when a rotation frequency of the container body is
changed;
FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams for comparing
relationships between the toner remaining amount and a
discharge amount, as a scooping characteristic when the
inclined angle of the scooping surface and a toner
environmental condition are changed;
FIGS. 20A and 203 are diagrams for comparing
relationships between the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount, as a scooping characteristic when the
rotation frequency of the container body is changed
relative to FIG. 19 and the inclined angle of the scooping
surface and the toner environmental condition are changed;
FIGS. 21A and 218 are diagrams for comparing
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relationships between the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount, as a scooping characteristic when an
inclined angle of a scooping surface and a rotation
frequency of a container body of a powder container of a
5 mass production model according to the embodiment are
changed;
FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams for comparing
relationships between the toner remaining amount and the
replenishing amount, as a scooping characteristic when the
inclined angle of the scooping surface and a toner
environmental condition of the container body of the powder
container of a mass production model according to the
embodiment are changed;
FIGS. 23A to 230 are operation diagrams for
schematically explaining a change with rotation of a
scooping portion according to a second embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 24 is an enlarged view for explaining a
positional relationship between a connection portion of the
scooping portion and a conveying portion and a powder
receiving hole of the conveying portion;
FIG. 25 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining
a shape of a space in the scooping portion;
FIGS. 26A and 26B are enlarged views for explaining a
positional relationship between a wall located near the
powder receiving hole provided on the scooping portion and
the powder receiving hole;
FIGS. 27A to 270 are diagrams for explaining a
relationship and actions between the conveying portion
located inside the scooping portion and the scooping
surface;
FIG. 28 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining
an angle defined by the conveying portion and the scooping
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surface;
FIGS. 29A to 29C are operation diagrams for
schematically illustrating a change with rotation of a
scooping portion according to a third embodiment of the
present invention;
FIGS. 30A to 30C are operation diagrams for
schematically illustrating a change with rotation of a
scooping portion according to a fourth embodiment of the
present invention;
FIGS. 31A and 31B are operation diagrams for
schematically illustrating a configuration according to a
modification of the present invention and a change with
rotation of a scooping portion;
FIG. 32 is an enlarged view for explaining a
positional relationship between the conveying portion and
the scooping portion in the rotation axis direction;
FIG. 33A is a plan view illustrating a configuration
of a container body according to a fifth embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 33B is a side view illustrating the configuration
of the container body according to the fifth embodiment of
the present invention;
FIG. 34 is an enlarged perspective view for explaining
a configuration of an opening side of the container body
according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 35 is an enlarged cross-sectional view for
explaining the configuration of the opening side of the
container body according to the fifth embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 36 is an enlarged view for explaining a
configuration of a scooping surface of a scooping portion
according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 37A to 370 are operation diagrams for
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schematically explaining a change of the scooping portion
with rotation according to the fifth embodiment of the
present invention;
FIGS. 38A to 380 are operation diagrams for
schematically explaining a change the scooping portion with
rotation of continued from FIG. 370;
FIG. 39A is a schematic diagram illustrating
diffusivity of toner when an internal space of the
container body is small; and
FIG. 39B is a schematic diagram illustrating
diffusivity of toner when the internal space of the
container body according to the fifth embodiment is,
increased.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0006] Various embodiments of the present invention will
be described below with reference to the accompanying
drawings. In the descriptions of the embodiments, the same
components or components with the same functions are
denoted by the same reference symbols, and the same
explanation will not be repeated in subsequent embodiments.
The descriptions below are mere examples and do not limit
the scope of the appended claims. Further, a person
skilled in the art may easily conceive other embodiments by
making modifications or changes within the scope of the
appended claims; however, such modifications and changes
obviously fall within the scope of the appended claims. In
the drawings, Y, M, C, and K are symbols appended to
components corresponding to yellow, magenta, cyan, and
black, respectively, and will be omitted appropriately.
[0007] FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an
electrophotography tandem-type color copier (hereinafter,
referred to as "a copier 500") serving as an image forming
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apparatus according to an embodiment. The copier 500 may
be a monochrome copier. The image forming apparatus may be
a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction
peripheral with the functions of a copier, a printer, a
facsimile machine, and a scanner, instead of the copier.
The copier 500 mainly includes a copier main-body
(hereinafter, referred to as "a printer 100"), a sheet feed
table (hereinafter, referred to as "a sheet feeder 200"),
and a scanner section (hereinafter, referred to as "a
scanner 400") mounted on the printer 100.
[0008] Four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) serving as
powder containers corresponding to multiple colors (yellow,
magenta, cyan, black) are detachably (replaceably) attached
to a toner container holder 70 serving as a container
holding section provided in the upper part of the printer
100. An intermediate transfer device 85 is arranged below
the toner container holder 70.
[0009] The intermediate transfer device 85 includes an
intermediate transfer belt 48 serving as an intermediate
transfer medium, four primary-transfer bias rollers 49 (Y,
M, C, K), a secondary-transfer backup roller 82, multiple
tension rollers, an intermediate-transfer cleaning device,
and the like. The intermediate transfer belt 48 is
stretched and supported by multiple rollers and endlessly
moves in the arrow direction in FIG. 2 along with rotation
of the secondary-transfer backup roller 82 serving as one
of the rollers.
[0010] In the printer 100, four image forming sections
46 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to the respective colors are
arranged in tandem so as to face the intermediate transfer
belt 48. Four toner replenishing devices 60 (Y, M, C, K)
serving as powder supply (replenishing) devices
corresponding to the four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K)
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of the four colors are arranged below the toner containers
32 (Y, M, C, K), respectively. The toner replenishing
devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) respectively supply (replenish)
toner that is powder developer contained in the toner
containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) to developing devices of the
image forming sections 46 (Y, M, C, K) for the respective
colors. In the embodiment, the four image forming sections
46 (Y, M, C, K) form an image forming unit.
[0011] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the printer 100
includes an exposing device 47 serving as a latent-image
forming means below the four image forming sections 46.
The exposing device 47 exposes and scans the surfaces of
photoconductors 41 (Y, M, C, K) serving as image bearers
(to be described later) with light based on image
information of an original image read by the scanner 400,
so that electrostatic latent images are formed on the
surfaces of the photoconductors. The image information may
be input from an external apparatus, such as a personal
computer, connected to the copier 500, instead of being
read by the scanner 400.
In the embodiment, a laser beam scanning system using
a laser diode is employed as the exposing device 47.
However, other configurations, such as a configuration
including an LED array, may be employed as the exposing
means.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an
overall configuration of the image forming section 46Y
corresponding to yellow.
The image forming section 46Y includes the drum-shaped
photoconductor 41Y. The image forming section 46Y includes
a charging roller 44Y serving as a charging device, a
developing device 50Y serving as a developing means, a
cleaning device 42Y serving as a photoconductor cleaning
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device, a neutralizing device, and the like, all of which
are arranged around the photoconductor 41Y. Image forming
processes (a charging process, an exposing process, a
developing process, a transfer process, and a cleaning
5 process) are performed on the photoconductor 41Y, so that a
yellow toner image is formed on the photoconductor 41Y.
[0013] The other three image forming sections 46 (M, C,
K) have almost the same configurations as the image forming
section 46Y for yellow except that colors of toner to be
10 used are different and toner images corresponding to the
respective toner colors are formed on the photoconductors
41M, 41C, 41K. Hereinafter, explanation of only the image
forming section 46Y for yellow will be given, and
explanation of the other three image forming sections 46 (M,
' C, K) will be omitted appropriately.
[0014] The photoconductor 41Y is rotated clockwise in
FIG. 3 by a drive motor. The surface of the photoconductor
41Y is uniformly charged at a position facing the charging
roller 44Y (charging process). Subsequently, the surface
of the photoconductor 41Y reaches a position of irradiation
with laser light L emitted by the exposing device 47, where
an electrostatic latent image for yellow is formed through
exposure scanning (exposing process). The surface of the
photoconductor 41Y then reaches a position facing the
developing device 50Y, where the electrostatic latent image
is developed with yellow toner to form a yellow toner image
(developing device).
[0015] The four primary-transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M,
C, K) of the intermediate transfer device 85 and the
photoconductors 41 (Y, M, C, K) sandwich the intermediate
transfer belt 48, so that respective primary transfer nips
are formed. A transfer bias with polarity opposite to the
polarity of toner is applied to each of the primary-
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transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K).
[0016] The
surface of the photoconductor 41Y, on which
the toner image is formed through the developing process,
reaches the primary transfer nip facing the primary-
.
transfer bias roller 49Y across the intermediate transfer
belt 48, and the toner image on the photoconductor 41Y is
transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 48 at the
primary transfer nip (primary transfer process). At this
time, a slight amount of non-transferred toner remains on
the photoconductor 411. The surface of the photoconductor
411, from which the toner image has been transferred to the
intermediate transfer belt 48 at the primary transfer nip,
reaches a position facing the cleaning device 42Y. At this
position, the non-transferred toner remaining on the
photoconductor 411 is mechanically collected by a cleaning
blade 42a included in the cleaning device 42Y (cleaning
process). The surface of the photoconductor 41Y finally
reaches a position facing the neutralizing device, where
the residual potential on the photoconductor 41Y is removed.
In this way, a series of the image forming processes
performed on the photoconductor 41Y is completed.
[0017] The
above described image forming processes are
also performed on the other image forming sections 46 (M, C,
K) in the same manner as the image forming section 46Y for
yellow. Specifically, the exposing device 47 arranged
below the image forming sections 46 (M, C, K) emits laser
light L based on the image information toward the
photoconductors 41 (M, C, K) of the image forming sections
46 (M, C, K). More specifically, the exposing device 47
emits the laser light L from a light source and irradiates
each of the photoconductors 41 (M, C, K) with the laser
light L via multiple optical elements while performing
scanning with the laser light L by a rotating polygon
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mirror. Subsequently, the toner images of the respective
colors formed on the photoconductors 41 (M, C, K) through
the developing process are transferred to the intermediate
transfer belt 48.
[0018] At this time,
the intermediate transfer belt 48
runs in the arrow direction in FIG. 2 and sequentially
passes through the primary transfer nips of the primary-
transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K). Therefore, the
toner images of the respective colors on the
photoconductors 41 (Y, M, C, K) are primary-transferred to
the intermediate transfer belt 48 in a superimposed manner,
so that a color toner image is formed on the intermediate
transfer belt 48.
[0019] The
intermediate transfer belt 48, on which the
color toner image is formed by the superimposed toner
images of the respective colors, reaches a position facing
a secondary-transfer roller 89. At this position, the
secondary-transfer backup roller 82 and the secondary
transfer roller 89 sandwich the intermediate transfer belt
48, so that a secondary transfer nip is formed. The color
toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 is
transferred to a recording medium P, such as a sheet of
paper, conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer
nip, due to the action of a transfer bias applied to the
secondary-transfer backup roller 82, for example. At this
time, non-transferred toner which has not been transferred
to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate
transfer belt 48. The intermediate transfer belt 48 that
has passed through the secondary transfer nip reaches the
position of the intermediate-transfer cleaning device,
where the non-transferred toner remaining on the surface is
collected. In this way, a series of transfer processes
performed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 is completed.
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[0020] Movement of the recording medium P will be
explained below.
The recording medium P is conveyed to the secondary
transfer nip from a feed tray 26 provided in the sheet
feeder 200 arranged below the printer 100 via a feed roller
27, a registration roller pair 28, and the like.
Specifically, multiple recording media P are stacked in the
feed tray 26. When the feed roller 27 is rotated
counterclockwise in FIG. 2, the topmost recording medium P
is fed to a nip between two rollers of the registration
roller pair 28.
[0021] The recording medium P conveyed to the
registration roller pair 28 temporarily stops at the
position of the nip between the rollers of the registration
roller pair 28, the rotation of which is being suspended.
The registration roller pair 28 is rotated to convey the
recording medium P toward the secondary transfer nip in
accordance with the timing at which the color toner image
on the intermediate transfer belt 48 reaches the secondary
transfer nip. Accordingly, a desired color image is formed
on the recording medium P.
[0022] The recording medium P on which the color toner
image is transferred at the secondary transfer nip is
conveyed to the position of a fixing device 86. In the
fixing device 86, the color toner image transferred to the
surface of the recording medium P is fixed to the recording
medium P by heat and pressure applied by a fixing belt and
a pressing roller. The recording medium P that has passed
through the fixing device 86 is discharged to the outside
of the apparatus via a nip between rollers of a discharge
roller pair 29. The recording medium P discharged to the
outside of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 29 is
sequentially stacked, as an output image, on a stack
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section 30. In this way, a series of the image forming
processes in the copier 500 is completed.
[0023] A configuration and operation of the developing
device 50 in the image forming section 46 will be explained
in detail below. In the following, the image forming
section 46Y for yellow will be explained by way of example.
However, the image forming sections 46 (M, C, K) for the
-other colors have the same configurations and perform the
same operation.
[0024] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the developing device
50Y includes a developing roller 51Y serving as a developer
bearer, a doctor blade 52Y serving as a developer
regulating plate, two developer conveying screws 55Y, a
toner density sensor 56Y, and the like. The developing
roller 51Y faces the photoconductor 41Y. The doctor blade
52Y faces the developing roller 51Y. The two developer
conveying screws 55Y are arranged inside two developer
accommodating sections, that is, first and second developer
accommodating sections 53Y and 54Y. The developing roller
51Y includes a magnet roller disposed inside thereof, a
sleeve that rotates around the magnet roller, and the like.
Two-component developer G containing carrier and toner is
stored in the first developer accommodating section 53Y and
the second developer accommodating section 54Y. The second
developer accommodating section 54Y communicates with a
toner dropping passage 64Y via an opening provided in the
upper part thereof. The toner density sensor 56Y detects a
toner density in the developer G stored in the second
developer accommodating section 54Y.
[0025] The developer G in the developing device 50
circulates between the first developer accommodating
section 53Y and the second developer accommodating section
54Y while being stirred by the two developer conveying
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screws 55Y. The developer G in the first developer
accommodating section 53Y is supplied to and borne on the
surface of the sleeve of the developing roller 51Y due to a
magnetic field generated by the magnet roller in the
5 developing roller 51Y while the developer G is being
conveyed by one of the developer conveying screws 55Y. The
sleeve of the developing roller 51Y rotates
counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3, and
the developer G borne on the developing roller 51Y moves on
10 the developing roller 51Y along with the rotation of the
sleeve. At this time, the toner in the developer G
electrostatically adheres to the carrier by being charged
to the potential opposite to the polarity of the carrier
due to triboelectric charging with the carrier in the
15 developer G, and is borne on the developing roller 51Y
together with the carrier that is attracted by the magnetic
field generated on the developing roller 51Y.
[0026] The developer G borne on the developing roller
51Y is conveyed in the arrow direction in FIG. 3 and
reaches a doctor section where the doctor blade 52Y and the
developing roller 51Y face each other. The amount of the
developer G on the developing roller 51Y is regulated and
adjusted to an appropriate amount when the developer G
passes through the doctor section, and then the developer G
is conveyed to a development area facing the photoconductor
41Y. In the development area, the toner in the developer G
adheres to the latent image formed on the photoconductor
41Y by a developing electric field generated between the
developing roller 51Y and the photoconductor 41Y. The
developer G remaining on the surface of the developing
roller 51Y that has passed through the development area
reaches the upper side of the first developer accommodating
section 53Y along with the rotation of the sleeve. At this
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position, the developer G is separated from the developing
roller 51Y.
[0027] The developer G in the developing device 50Y is
adjusted so that the toner density falls within a
predetermined range. Specifically, toner contained in the
toner container 32Y is replenished to the second developer
accommodating section 54Y by the toner replenishing device
60Y (to be described later) through the toner dropping
passage 64Y in accordance with the consumption of toner of
the developer G in the developing device 50Y through the
development. The toner replenished to the second developer
accommodating section 54Y circulates between the first
developer accommodating section 53Y and the second
developer accommodating section 54Y while being mixed and
stirred with the developer G by the two developer conveying
screws 55Y.
[0028] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view
illustrating a state in which the four toner containers 32
(Y, M, C, K) are attached to the toner container holder 70.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which
the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner
replenishing device 60. The toner replenishing devices 60
(Y, M, C, K) for the respective colors have the same
configurations except that the colors of toner are
different. Therefore, in FIG. 5, explanation of only the
toner replenishing device 60 and the toner container 32Y
will be given without a symbol (Y, M, C, K). When the
configurations vary depending on the colors, a symbol Y, M,
C, or K representing a specific color is used. When the
configurations do not vary depending on the colors or
common to all of the colors, a symbol (Y, M, C, K) may be
used or the symbols may be omitted appropriately. In FIG.
4, an arrow Q indicates an attachment direction in which
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the toner containers 32 of the respective colors are
attached to the toner replenishing devices 60, and Q1
indicates a detachment direction in which the toner
containers 32 of the respective colors are detached from
the toner replenishing devices 60.
[0029] The toner contained in the toner containers 32 (Y,
M, C, K) attached to the toner container holder 70 of the
printer 100 illustrated in FIG. 4 is appropriately
replenished to the developing device in accordance with the
consumption of toner in the developing device 50 as
illustrated in FIG. 5. At this time, the toner in each of
the toner containers 32 is replenished by the toner
replenishing device 60 for each color. The toner
replenishing device 60 includes the toner container holder
70, a conveying nozzle 611 serving as a nozzle, a conveying
screw 614 serving as a main body conveyor, the toner
dropping passage 64, a driving part 91 serving as a
container rotating part, and the like. When a user
performs attachment operation to push the toner container,
32 in the attachment direction Q in FIG. 5 and the toner
container 32 is moved inside the toner container holder 70
of the printer 100 along with the attachment direction Q,
the conveying nozzle 611 of the toner replenishing device
60 is inserted from a front side of the toner container 32
in the attachment operation. Therefore, the toner
container 32 and the conveying nozzle 611 communicate with
each other. A configuration for the communication along
with the attachment operation will be described in detail
later.
[0030] The toner container 32 for each color may be
referred to as a toner bottle. The toner container 32
mainly includes a container front end cover 34 serving as a
container cover that is non-rotatably held by the toner
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container holder 70, and includes an approximately
cylindrical container body 33 serving as a powder storage
integrated with a container gear 301 serving as a
container-side gear. Each of the container bodies 33 is
rotatably held by the container front end cover 34. In FIG.
5, a setting cover 608 is a part of a container cover
receiving section 73 of the toner container holder 70.
[0031] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the toner container
holder 70 mainly includes an insertion hole part 71, a
container receiving section 72, and the container cover
receiving section 73.
An insertion hole 71a serving as an insertion opening
used in the attachment operation of the toner containers 32
(Y, M, C, K) is defined by the insertion hole part 71.
When a main-body cover arranged on the front side of the
copier 500 (the front side in the direction normal to the
sheet of FIG. 2) is opened, the insertion hole part 71 of
the toner container holder 70 is exposed.
Attachment/detachment operation of the toner containers 32
(attachment/detachment operation with the longitudinal
direction of the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) taken as
an attachment/detachment direction in which the toner
containers 32 of the respective colors are attached to and
detached from the toner replenishing devices 60) is
performed from the front side of the copier 500 while the
toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) are oriented with their
longitudinal directions being parallel to the horizontal
direction.
The container receiving section 72 is a section for
supporting the container bodies 33 (Y, M, C, K) of the
toner containers 32. The container receiving section 72 is
a part that enables the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) to
slide and move when the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K)
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are attached to the toner replenishing devices 60. The
container receiving section 72 is divided into four
sections in a width direction W perpendicular to the
longitudinal direction (attachment/detachment direction) of
the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K). The container
receiving section 72 includes gutters that serves as
container mounting sections extending from the insertion
hole part 71 to the container cover receiving section 73
along the longitudinal direction of each of the container
bodies 33. The toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) for the
respective colors are able to move on the gutters in a
sliding manner in the longitudinal direction. The
container receiving section 72 is provided such that its
longitudinal length becomes approximately the same as the
longitudinal length of the container bodies 33 (Y, M, C, K)
of the respective colors.
[0032] The container cover receiving section 73 is a
section for holding the container front end covers 34 (Y, M,
C, K) and the container bodies 33 (Y, M, C, K) of the toner
containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) for the respective colors. The
container cover receiving section 73 is arranged on a
container front side (on the downstream in the attachment
direction Q) of the container receiving section 72 in the
longitudinal direction (attachment/detachment direction),
and the insertion hole part 71 is on one end side (on the
downstream in the detachment direction Ql) of the container
= receiving section 72 in the longitudinal direction.
The four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) are able to
move on the container receiving section 72 in a sliding
manner. Therefore, along with the attachment operation of
the toner containers (Y, M, C, K), the container front end
covers 34 (Y, M, C, K) first pass through the insertion
hole part 71, slides on the container receiving section 72
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for a while, and are finally attached to the container
cover receiving section 73.
[0033] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the container gear 301
serving as a gear is provided on each of the container
5 bodies 33. In each of the container bodies 33, while the
container front end cover 34 is attached to the container
cover receiving section 73, the driving part (container
rotating part) 91 including a driving motor, a driving gear,
and the like inputs rotation drive to each of the container
10 gears 301 via a container driving gear 601 serving as an
apparatus main-body gear. Therefore, the container bodies
33 of the respective colors are rotated in a rotation
direction indicated by arrow A (hereinafter, referred to as
the rotation direction A) in FIG. 5. With the rotation of
15 each of the container bodies 33, a spiral rib 302 formed in
a spiral shape on the inner surface of the container body
33 conveys toner in the container body 33 from one end on
the right side in FIG. 5 to the other end on the left side
in FIG. 5 along the longitudinal direction of the container
20 body. Namely, in the embodiment, the spiral rib 302Y
serves as a rotary conveyor. Consequently, the toner of
each color is supplied to the inside of the conveying
nozzle 611 via a nozzle hole 610 opened upward and serving
as a powder receiving hole provided on the conveying nozzle
611Y, and supplied from the other side of the toner
container 32 where the container front end cover 34 is
attached. Each of the nozzle holes 610 communicates with
openings 335b, as shutter side openings, of a shutter
supporting portion (to be described later), at an inner
position relative to the position where the container gear
301 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of each of
the container bodies 33Y. Specifically, each of the
container gears 301 meshes with the container driving gear
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601 at the position closer to a container opening 33a
relative to the position where each of the nozzle holes 610 .
and the opening 335b of the shutter supporting portion
communicate with each other.
The conveying screw 614Y is arranged in each of the
conveying nozzles 611. When the driving part (container
rotating part) 91 inputs rotation drive to a conveying
screw gear 605, each of the conveying screws 614Y rotates
to convey the toner supplied in the conveying nozzle 611.
A downstream end of the conveying nozzle 611 in the
conveying direction is connected to the toner dropping
passage 64. The toner conveyed by each of the conveying
screws 614 falls along the toner dropping passage 64 by
gravity and is replenished to the developing device 50 (the
second developer accommodating section 54).
The toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) are replaced with
new ones at the end of their lifetimes (when the containers
become empty because almost all of the contained toner is
consumed). Grippers 303 (Y, M, C, K) are arranged on one
ends of the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) opposite to
the container front end covers 34 (Y, M, C, K) in the
longitudinal direction in FIG. 4, that is, on the
downstream in the detachment direction Ql. When the =toner
containers are to be replaced, an operator can grip the
grippers 303 (Y, M, C, K) to pull out and detach the toner
containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) attached to the toner container
holder 70.
The configuration of the driving part 91 will be
further described below with reference to FIG. 6. In FIG.
6, symbols representing the colors are omitted. The
driving part 91 includes the container driving gear 601 and
the conveying screw gear 605 for each color. When a
driving motor 603 mounted on each mounting frame 602 is
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driven and an output gear is rotated, the container driving
gear 601 rotates. Each of the conveying screw gears 605
rotates by receiving the rotation of the output gear via a
coupled gear 604 for each color.
[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the toner replenishing
device 60 controls the amount of toner supplied to the
developing device 50 in accordance with the rotation
frequency of each of the conveying screws 614. Therefore,
toner that has passed through each of the conveying nozzles
611 is directly conveyed to the developing device 50
through the toner dropping passage 64 without the need to
control the amount of toner supplied to the developing
device 50. Even in the toner replenishing device 60
configured to insert the conveying nozzle 611 in the toner
container 32 as described in the embodiment, it may be
possible to arrange a temporary toner storage, such as a
toner hopper.
[0035] The toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the
toner replenishing devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) according to the
embodiment will be described in detail below. As described
above, the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner
replenishing devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) have almost the same
configurations except that the colors of toner to be used
are different. Therefore, in the following descriptions,
symbols Y, M, C, and K representing the colors of toner
will be omitted, and the configurations of the single toner
container 32 and the single toner replenishing device 60
will be described.
[0036] FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of
the toner replenishing device 60 before the toner container
32 is attached and a front end of the toner container 32.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory perspective view of the toner
container 32. FIG. 8 is an explanatory cross-sectional
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view of the toner replenishing device 60 to which the toner
container 32 is attached and the front end of the toner
container 32.
[0037] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the toner replenishing
device 60 includes the conveying nozzle 611 in which the
conveying screw 614 is arranged, and a nozzle shutter 612
serving as a nozzle opening/closing member. The nozzle
shutter 612 is slidably mounted on the outer surface of the
conveying nozzle 611 so as to close the nozzle hole 610 at
the time of detachment, which is before the toner container
32 is attached (in the state in FIG. 1), and to open the
nozzle hole 610 at the time of attachment, which is when
the toner container 32 is attached (in the state in FIG. 8).
The nozzle shutter 612 includes a nozzle shutter flange
612a serving as a flange on the downstream side in the
attachment direction relative to an end surface of a nozzle
receiver 330, which serving as a nozzle insertion member
(to be described later), in contact with the conveying
nozzle 611.
A receiving opening 331, which serves as a nozzle
insertion opening into which the conveying nozzle 611 is
inserted at the time of attachment, is arranged in the
center of the front end of the toner container 32
(container body), and a container shutter 332, which serves
as an opening/closing member that closes the receiving
opening 331 at the time of detachment, is arranged.
[0038] The conveying nozzle 611 is arranged in the
center of the setting cover 608. The conveying nozzle 611
is arranged so as to protrude from an end surface 615b,
which is on the inner side in the attachment direction, of
a container setting section 615, which is located on the
downstream side in the attachment direction Q of the toner
container 32, toward the upstream side in the attachment
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direction inside the container cover receiving section 73.
The container setting section 615 serving as the container
receiving section is arranged in a standing manner in the
protruding direction of the conveying nozzle 611, that is,
toward the upstream side in the attachment direction of the
toner container 32 so as to surround the conveying nozzle
611. Specifically, the container setting section 615 is
arranged at the base of the conveying nozzle 611 and serves
as a positioner to determine the position of the container
opening 33a relative to the toner container holder 70,
where the container opening 33a functions as a rotational
axis portion when the rotary conveyor inside the toner
container 32 rotates to convey the toner contained in the
toner container 32. Namely, when the container opening 33a
is inserted in and mated to the container setting section
615, the radial position of the container opening 33a is
determined. When the toner container 32 is attached to the
toner replenishing device 60, an outer surface 33b of the
container opening 33a of the toner container 32 is slidably
mated to the container setting section 615.
[0039] By the mating of an inner surface 615a of the
container setting section 615 and the outer surface 33b of
the container opening 33a of the toner container 32, the
position of the toner container 32 relative to the toner
replenishing device 60 in the radial direction
perpendicular to the longitudinal direction
(attachment/detachment direction) of the toner container 32
is determined. Further, when the toner container 32
rotates, the outer surface 33b of the container opening 33a
functions as a rotation axis portion, and the inner surface
615a of the container setting section 615 functions as a
bearing. In FIG. 8, a indicates the position at which the
outer surface 33b of the container opening 33a comes in
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sliding contact with the inner surface 615a of the
container setting section 615 and at which the radial
position of the toner container 32 relative to the toner
replenishing device 60 is determined.
5 [0040] The toner
container 32 will be described below.
As described above, the toner container 32 mainly
includes the container body 33 containing toner, and
includes the container front end cover 34. FIG. 9 is a
side view of the configuration of the container body 33
10 from which the container front end cover 34 is detached and
the configuration of the nozzle receiver 330 attached to
the container body 33. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining
a state in which the nozzle receiver 330 is attached to the
container body 33.
15 [0041] As
illustrated in FIG. 9, the container body 33
is in the form of an approximate cylinder and rotates about
a central axis of the cylinder as a rotation axis 0, which
is a central axis of the toner container 32 in the
longitudinal direction. Hereinafter, one side of the toner
20 container 32 where the receiving opening 331 is provided
(the side where the container front end cover 34 is
arranged) in the longitudinal direction of the toner
container 32 may be referred to as "a container front end".
The other side of the toner container 32 where the gripper
25 303 is arranged (the side opposite the container front end)
may be referred to as "a container rear end". The
longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 is the
rotation axis direction, and corresponds to the horizontal
direction when the toner container 32 is attached to the
toner replenishing device 60. The container rear end of
the container body 33 relative to the container gear 301
has a greater outer diameter than that of the container
front end, and the spiral rib 302 is provided on the inner
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surface of the container body 33. When the container body
33 rotates in the rotation direction A in the figures, a
conveying force for moving toner from one end (the
container rear end) to the other end (the container front
end) in the rotation axis direction is applied to the toner
in the container body 33 due to the action of the spiral
rib 302.
[0042] As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, a scooping
portion 304 serving as a powder scooping portion is
provided on the inner wall of the container front end of
the container body 33. The scooping portion scoops up the
toner conveyed to the container front end by the spiral rib
302 along with the rotation of the container body 33 in the
arrow A direction in the figures. The scooping portion 304
scoops toner, which has been conveyed by the conveying
force of the spiral rib 302, upward by using a scooping
surface 3040 along with the rotation of the container body
33. Therefore, the toner can be scooped up so as to be
located above the inserted conveying nozzle 611. As
illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, a spiral rib 304a at the
scooping portion is also provided on the inner surface of
the scooping portion 304, similarly to the spiral rib 302.
The spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion has a spiral
shape and serves as a conveying portion to convey
internally-located toner to the scooping surface 3040.
Details of the scooping portion 304 will be described later.
[0043] The container gear 301 is provided on the=
container front end relative to the scooping portion 304 of
the container body 33. A gear exposing opening 34a is
arranged on the container front end cover 34 so that a part
of the container gear 301 (on the far side in FIG. 7) is
exposed when the container front end cover 34 is attached
to the container body 33. When the toner container 32 is
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attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the container
gear 301 exposed from the gear exposing opening 34a meshes
with the container driving gear 601 of the toner
replenishing device 60. The container gear 301 is arranged
near the container opening 33a (near the container opening
33a) relative to the nozzle hole 610 in the longitudinal
direction of the container body 33 so as to be able to mesh
with the container driving gear 601. The container gear
301 meshes with the container driving gear 601, thereby
enabling the rotary conveyor to rotate.
[0044] The container opening 33a in the form of a
cylinder is provided on the container front end relative to
the container gear 301 of the container body 33 so as to be
coaxial with the container gear 301. As illustrated in FIG.
10, a nozzle receiver attachment portion 337 of the nozzle
receiver 330 is press fitted to the container opening 33a
so as to be coaxial with the container opening 33a, so that
the nozzle receiver 330 is attached to the container body
33. The toner container 32 is configured such that toner
is replenished from the container opening 33a serving as an
opening provided on one end of the container body 33, and
thereafter, the nozzle receiver 330 is inserted in and
attached to the container opening 33a of the container body
33 as illustrated in FIG. 10. Namely, the container
opening 33a enables the conveying nozzle 611 to be inserted
in a position that serves as a rotation center of the toner
container 32.
[0045] As illustrated in FIG. 10, a cover hook stopper
306 serving as a restrictor is provided between the
container opening 33a and the container gear 301 of the
container body 33. The cover hook stopper 306 has a ring
shape extending in the rotation direction (circumferential
direction) on the front end of the container front end
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cover 34 in the attachment direction.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 8, the container front
end cover 34 is attached to the toner container 32 (the
container body 33) from the container front end (from the
bottom left side in FIG. 8). Therefore, the container body
33 penetrates through the container front end cover 34 in
the longitudinal direction, and a cover hook 341 is engaged
with the cover hook stopper 306 serving as the restrictor.
The container body 33 and the container front end cover 34
are attached so as to rotate relative to each other when
the cover hook 341 is engaged with the cover hook stopper
306.
[0046] When the toner container 32 is held by the toner
container holder 70 illustrated in FIG. 5, a stress
(restoring force) for compressing a container shutter
spring 336 serving as a biasing member and a stress caused
by the compression of a nozzle shutter spring 613 are
applied to the toner container 32 as illustrated in FIG. 8.
The toner container 32 according to the embodiment is
attachable to the copier 500, to which the toner container
32 containing toner for image formation is attached. The
copier 500 includes the conveying nozzle 611 for conveying
the toner; the nozzle shutter 612 serving as a powder-
receiving-hole opening/closing member that opens and closes
the nozzle hole 610 serving as a powder receiving hole
provided on the conveying nozzle; the nozzle shutter spring
613 serving as a biasing member that biases the nozzle
shutter 612 to close the nozzle hole 610; the container
driving gear 601 serving as an apparatus main-body gear
that transmits a drive force to the rotary conveyor in the
toner container 32; and the container setting section 615
serving as a container receiving section that is arranged
around the conveying nozzle 611 so as to be coaxial with
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the conveying nozzle 611 and that receives the toner
container 32.
[0047] The nozzle receiver 330 attached to the container
body 33 will be described below.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, the nozzle receiver 330
includes a container shutter supporter 340 serving as a
supporter, the container shutter 332, a container seal 333
serving as a seal, the container shutter spring 336 serving
as a biasing means, and the nozzle receiver attachment
portion 337. The container shutter supporter 340 includes
a shutter rear end supporting portion 335 serving as a
shutter rear portion, shutter side supporting portions 335a
serving as side portions, the openings 335b, as shutter
side openings, of the shutter supporting portion, and the
nozzle receiver attachment portion 337. The container
shutter spring 336 is configured by a coil spring. The
shutter side supporting portions 335a and the openings 335b
of the shutter supporting portion are provided on the
container shutter supporter 340 and are arranged adjacent
to each other in the rotation direction of the toner
container such that the two opposing shutter side
supporting portions 335a constitute a part of a cylinder
and portions (two portions) corresponding to the openings
335b of the shutter supporting portion are largely cut out
from the cylinder. With this shape, it is possible to
guide the container shutter 332 to move in the longitudinal
direction in a cylindrical space located inside the
cylinder.
[0048] The nozzle receiver 330 attached to the container
body 33 rotates together with the container body 33 along
with rotation of the container body 33. At this time, the
shutter side supporting portions 335a of the nozzle
receiver 330 rotate around the conveying nozzle 611 of the
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toner replenishing device 60. Therefore, the shutter side
supporting portions 335a being rotated alternately pass a
space just above the nozzle hole 610 provided in the upper
part of the conveying nozzle 611. Consequently, even if
= 5 toner is accumulated for a moment above the nozzle hole 610,
because the shutter side supporting portions 335a cross the
accumulated toner and alleviate the accumulation, it is
possible to prevent cohesion of the accumulated toner when
the apparatus is not used and prevent a toner conveying
10 failure when the apparatus is resumed. In contrast, when
the shutter side supporting portions 335a are located on
the sides of the conveying nozzle 611 and the nozzle hole
610 and the opening 335b of the shutter supporting portion
face each other, toner in the container body 33 is supplied
15 to the conveying nozzle 611 as indicated by an arrow p in
FIG. 8.
[0049] As illustrated in FIG. 10, the container shutter
332 includes a front cylindrical portion 332c serving as a
closure, a slide area 332d serving as a gliding portion or
20 a sealing portion, a guiding rod 332e serving as an
elongated portion, and shutter hooks 332a. The front
cylindrical portion 332c is a container front end portion
to be tightly fitted to a cylindrical opening (the
receiving opening 331) of the container seal 333. The
25 slide area 332d is a cylindrical portion provided on the
container rear end relative to the front cylindrical
portion 332c. The slide area 332d has an outer diameter
slightly greater than that of the front cylindrical portion
332c and slides on the inner surfaces of the shutter side
30 supporting portions 335a as a pair.
The guiding rod 332e is a cylinder that stands from
the inner side of the cylinder of the front cylindrical
portion 332c toward the container rear end. The guiding
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rod 332e serves as a rod portion that is inserted to the
inside of the coil of the container shutter spring 336 and
that guides the container shutter spring 336 such that the
container shutter spring 336 does not buckle. The shutter
hooks 332a are provided on an end opposite to the base from
which the guiding rod 332e stands, and serve as a pair of
engaging portions that prevent the container shutter 332
from coming off from the container shutter supporter 340.
[0050] A front end of the container shutter spring 336
abuts against an inner wall surface of the front
cylindrical portion 332c, and a rear end of the container
shutter spring 336 abuts against a wall surface of the
shutter rear end supporting portion 335. At this time, the
container shutter spring 336 is in a compressed state, so
that the container shutter 332 receives a biasing force in
a direction away from the shutter rear end supporting
portion 335 (toward the container front end). However, the
shutter hooks 332a provided on the container rear end of
the container shutter 332 are hooked on an outer wall of
the shutter rear end supporting portion 335. Therefore,
the container shutter 332 is prevented from moving further
in the direction away from the shutter rear end supporting
portion 335. Due to the hooked state between the shutter
hooks 332a and the shutter rear end supporting portion 335
and the biasing force of the container shutter spring 336,
positioning is performed.
[0051] As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the toner
container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device
60, the nozzle shutter flange 612a of the nozzle shutter
612 of the toner replenishing device 60 presses and deforms
a protruding portion of the container seal 333 by being
biased by the nozzle shutter spring 613. The nozzle
shutter flange 612a further moves inward and abuts against
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the container front ends of nozzle shutter positioning ribs
337a illustrated in FIG. 11, thereby covering and sealing
the front end surface of the container seal 333 from the
outside of the container. Therefore, it becomes possible
to ensure the sealing performance in the periphery of the
conveying nozzle 611 at the receiving opening 331 in the
attached state, enabling to prevent toner leakage.
[0052] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the back side of a
biased surface 612f of the nozzle shutter flange 612a
biased by the nozzle shutter spring 613 abuts against the
nozzle shutter positioning ribs 337a, so that the position
of the nozzle shutter 612 relative to the toner container
32 in the longitudinal direction is determined. Therefore,
a positional relationship of the front end surface of the
container seal 333, the front end surface of a front end
opening 305 (an internal space of the cylindrical nozzle
receiver attachment portion 337 arranged in the container
opening 33a as will be described later), and the nozzle
shutter 612 in the longitudinal direction is determined.
[0053] The operation of the container shutter 332 and
the conveying nozzle 611 will be described below with
reference to FIGS. 1, 8, and 12A to 12D. Before the toner
container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device
60, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the container shutter 332 is
biased by the container shutter spring 336 toward the
closing position so as to close the receiving opening 331.
The appearance of the container shutter 332 and the
conveying nozzle 611 at this time is illustrated in FIG.
12A. When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner
replenishing device 60, as illustrated in FIG. 12B, the
conveying nozzle 611 is inserted in the receiving opening
331. When the toner container 32 is further pushed into
the toner replenishing device 60, an end surface 332h of
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the front cylindrical portion 332c, which serves as an end
surface of the container shutter 332 (hereinafter, referred
to as "the end surface 332h of the container shutter") and
a front end 611a, as an end surface, of the conveying
nozzle 611 in the insertion direction of the conveying
nozzle 611 (hereinafter, referred to as "the front end (end
surface) 611a of the conveying nozzle") come in contact
with each other. When the toner container 32 is further
pushed from the state as described above, the container
shutter 332 is pushed as illustrated in FIG. 12C.
Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 12D, the conveying
nozzle 611 is inserted in the shutter rear end supporting
portion 335 from the receiving opening 331. Therefore, as
illustrated in FIG. 8, the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted
in the container body 33 and located at the set position.
At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 12D, the nozzle hole
610 is located at a position overlapping the opening 335b
of the shutter supporting portion.
[0054] Subsequently, when the container body 33 rotates,
toner scooped up so as to be located above the conveying
nozzle 611 by the scooping portion 304 falls in and is
introduced into the conveying nozzle 611 via the nozzle
hole 610 that is opened upward. The toner introduced into
the conveying nozzle 611 is conveyed inside the conveying
nozzle 611 toward the toner dropping passage 64 along with
the rotation of the conveying screw 614. Subsequently, the
toner falls in and is supplied to the developing device 50
through the toner dropping passage 64.
[0055] As described above, when the toner is scooped up
by the scooping portion 304 and supplied to the nozzle hole
610 of the conveying nozzle 611 inserted in the front end
opening 305 serving as an opening of the nozzle receiver
330 attached to the container body 33, in some cases, it
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may be difficult to efficiently supply toner T from the
scooping portion 304 to the nozzle hole 610 depending on
the fluidity of the toner, the rotation frequency of the
container body 33, or the like. Therefore, the present
inventors have studied configurations of the scooping
portion 304 (the container body 33), and found some
effective configurations. The configurations will be
described in detail below.
[0056] First Embodiment
As illustrated in FIGS. 13, 14, and 15, in a first
embodiment, the scooping portion 304 provided on the
container opening 33a side of the container body 33 scoops
up the toner T that is conveyed to the container opening
33a along with rotation of the container body 33 in the
rotation direction A, and supplies the toner T to the
nozzle hole 610 (see FIG. 15) when the container body 33
rotates. The nozzle receiver 330 is inserted in and
attached to the container opening 33a; therefore, in the
description of the scooping portion 304 below, the
container opening 33a of the container body 33 is described
as the receiving opening 331.
In the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 13
and 14, the scooping portion 304 includes the scooping
surface 3040 that extends inwardly from an inner wall
surface 33c of the container body 33. In the scooping
surface 3040, an inner end portion 3040a of the scooping
surface on the rotation axis 0 side extends in a direction
along the rotation axis direction of the container body 33.
Specifically, an edge (side) 3042 closest to the rotation
axis 0 side on the inner end portion 3040a of the scooping
surface extends approximately parallel to the rotation axis
0 and constitutes a ridge line along the rotation axis 0
between a portion 33c' protruding toward the rotation axis
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0 of the inner wall surface 33c of the container body 33
and the scooping surface 3040. Further, as illustrated in
FIG. 15, in the cross-section perpendicular to the rotation
axis, the scooping surface 3040 is inclined by a certain
5 angle in a predetermined range toward the upstream side in
the rotation direction A of the container body 33 with
respect to a virtual line X. The virtual line X passes
through the rotation axis 0 and is tangent to the edge
(side) 3042 of the inner end portion of the scooping
10 surface 3040 in the cross-section perpendicular to the
rotation axis. In the first embodiment, the predetermined
range of an inclined angle 0 is set to 25 5 degrees. The
edge (side) may be a sharp edge or a round edge.
In FIG. 15, a configuration that includes the two
15 scooping surfaces 3040 in the rotation direction is
illustrated; however, the number of the scooping surfaces
3040 is not limited thereto. If a plurality of the
scooping surfaces 3040 are provided, it is preferable to
arrange the scooping surfaces at positions at which a
20 plurality of the edges (sides) 3042 are point-symmetric
with respect to the rotation axis 0 and equally spaced from
each other in the rotation direction (for example, at 180-
degrees intervals).
As for the effective range of the inclined angle 0 of
25 the scooping surface 3040, an evaluation model was
generated and evaluation was performed. This will be
described in detail below. As an evaluation method, toner
bottles manufactured (experimentally produced) as a
plurality of evaluation models with scooping surfaces at
30 different inclined angles 0 were attached to the copier 500
serving as an image forming apparatus for evaluation, the
container bodies 33 were rotated for a certain period of
time at a constant speed, and thereafter, toner remaining
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amounts in the containers were measured.
[0057]
Table 1
Inclined angle 0 Toner remaining Following
of scooping amount (grams (g)) capability
surface (degrees (percent (%)) of
( )) toner replenishing
amount
negative (-) not good no evaluation
0 good 35
15 good 70
25 good 100
[0058] Table 1 is a list of evaluation results.
In Table 1, assuming that the inclined angle 0 of the
scooping surface 3040 is 0 degree when the scooping surface
3040 is located approximately parallel to a virtual line X1
that passes horizontally through the rotation axis 0 (see
FIG. 15), positive (+) indicates a case where the scooping
surface 3040 is located above the virtual line X1 (on the
downstream side in the rotation direction A) and negative
(-) indicates a case where the scooping surface 3040 is
located below the virtual line X1 (on the upstream side in
the rotation direction A).
In other words, in the positional relationship in
which the virtual lines X and X1 overlap each other, that
is, when the rotation axis 0 and the edge (side) 3042 are
arranged horizontally, positive (+) indicates a case where
the scooping surface 3040 is inclined toward the upstream
side in the rotation direction A of the container body 33
and negative (-) indicates a case where the scooping
surface 3040 is inclined toward the downstream side in the
rotation direction A of the container body 33.
Further, the angle 0 of the scooping surface 3040 with
respect to the virtual line X is referred to as the
inclined angle 8. The virtual line X is constructed by
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drawing a straight line that passes through the rotation
axis 0 and that is tangent to the edge (side) 3042 on a
cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis of the
toner container 32. When the toner container 32 includes
the two scooping surfaces 3040, the virtual line X may be
constructed by drawing a straight line that is tangent to
the two edges (sides) 3042.
The toner remaining amount (g) indicates an amount of
the toner T remaining in the container body 33.
The following capability of the toner replenishing
amount indicates a difference of an actually-replenished
amount (actual replenishing amount) from a set replenishing
amount determined in advance, and is represented by a ratio
(%). The following capability of 100 percent indicates
that the actual replenishing amount is equal to the set
replenishing amount and there is no deficiency in toner
replenishment. This is the most preferable state, in which
the necessary and sufficient amount of the toner T is
replenished to the developing device 50 (see FIG. 4). With
a decrease in the value of the following capability, the
actual replenishing amount decreases from the set
replenishing amount, so that the amount of toner supplied
to the developing device 50 (see FIG. 4) decreases. In a
case where the inclined angle 0 is negative (-), evaluation
of the following capability was not performed because the
toner remaining amount was not good (see Table 1).
[0059] Toner with the same apparent density (apparent
bulk density or loose apparent density) (g/cm3) was used
for the container bodies 33 with the scooping surfaces 3040
at different inclined angles 0. The apparent density
(g/cm3) was set in a range from 0.41 to 0.48 g/cm3 by
taking into account variations.
The amount of toner remaining in the container body 33
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(the amount of remaining toner) is preferably set to be
equal to or smaller than a reference value, where the
reference value may be set to 15 grams for example. The
reference value varies depending on the type of the
container body 33, and is not limited to the value as
described above.
FIG. 16 illustrates a relationship between the toner
remaining amount and the replenishing amount, as a scooping
characteristic when the inclined angle B of the scooping
surface 3040 is set to the negative side. As illustrated
in FIG. 16, if the inclined angle e is set to the negative
side, the toner remaining amount is far greater than the
reference value, and the toner remaining amount does not
reach the reference value.
FIG. 17 illustrates a relationship between the toner
remaining amount and the replenishing amount, as a scooping
characteristic when the inclined angle G of the scooping
surface 3040 is changed. The inclined angle B is set to 0
degree, 15 degrees, and 25 degrees. At all of the inclined
angles 0, the toner remaining amount reaches the reference
value. For example, focus is placed on a certain region,
where the toner remaining amount falls in a predetermined
region, such as a region of a small toner remaining amount
of 75 grams or smaller. In this region, there is a
tendency that the toner replenishing amount reaches the
most stable state and the following capability reaches the
highest value with an increase in the inclined angle 0 such
that 0 degree < 15 degrees < 25 degrees.
Therefore, if the toner remaining amount (g) and the
following capability (%) of the toner replenishing amount
are taken into account, it is most preferable to set the
inclined angle 9 of the scooping surface 3040 to 25 degrees.
If manufacturing errors are also taken into account, it is
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preferable to set the inclined angle 0 in the range of 25
degrees.
[0060] Next, the present inventors generated and
evaluated evaluation models for a relationship between the
5 rotation frequency (rpm) of the container body 33 and the
inclined angle e of the scooping surface 3040. This will
be described below.
[0061]
Table 2
Rotation Toner discharge Variation in toner
frequency of amount replenishing
container body amount due to
(rpm) environmental
variation
95 good
110 better than 95 rpm excellent
130 better than 110 rpm good
[0062] Table 2 is a list of evaluation results when the
toner T with the same apparent density (g/cm3) is used and
the rotation frequency (rpm) of the container body 33 is
changed. As an evaluation method, toner bottles
manufactured (experimentally produced) as a plurality of
evaluation models were attached to an image forming
apparatus for evaluation, the rotation frequency of the
container body 33 was changed, and the toner discharge
amount was measured at each rotation frequency.
The toner discharge amount (g) indicates a discharge
amount that was obtained when the container body 33 rotates
at a predetermined rotation frequency. The value of the
discharge amount corresponds to the toner replenishing
amount.
The variation in the toner replenishing amount due to
environmental variation indicates variation in toner
dischargeability due to variation in conditions.
FIG. 18 illustrates a relationship between the toner '
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remaining amount (g) and the discharge amount (g) from the
container body 33 when the rotation frequency (rpm) of the
container body 33 is changed. In the first embodiment, the
rotation frequency (rpm) of the container body 33 is set to
5 three levels of 95 rpm, 110 rpm, and 130 rpm. As
illustrated in FIG. 18, even when the rotation frequency
(rpm) of the container body 33 is changed, the discharge
amount (g) serving as the toner replenishing amount is
stable, and the replenishing amount (g) increases with an
10 increase in the rotation frequency such that 95 rpm < 110
rpm < 130 rpm.
[0063] FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams for comparing
relationships between the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount, as a scooping characteristic when the
15 inclined angle 0 of the scooping surface 3040 of the
evaluation model and a toner environmental condition are
changed. The inclined angle 0 of the scooping surface 3040
is set to three levels of 10 degrees, 15 degrees, and 20
degrees. FIG. 19A illustrates a relationship between the
20 toner remaining amount and the discharge amount when the
container body 33 rotates at 130 rpm and the environmental
condition is set to an Ni condition. FIG. 19B illustrates
a relationship between the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount when the container body 33 rotates at 130
25 rpm and the environmental condition is set to an N2
condition. The Ni condition is a condition in which the
toner dischargeability is high, and is, for example, an LI,
(low temperature/low humidity) environment or the like.
The N2 condition is a condition in which the toner
30 dischargeability is low, and is, for example, an HH (high
temperature/high humidity) environment or the like. In =
FIGS. 19A and 19B, experiments were performed at the
temperature and humidity of 10 degrees Celsius and 15
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percent in the Ni condition, and at the temperature and
humidity of 45 degrees Celsius and 32 percent in the N2
condition. Further, a standard condition is, for example, -
an MM (medium temperature/medium humidity) environment or
the like, and experiments were performed at the temperature
and humidity of 23 degrees Celsius and 50 percent. A
change in the environment from the Ni condition to the N2
condition is assumed as the environmental variation.
FIGS. 20A and 20B are diagrams for comparing
relationships between the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount, as a scooping characteristic when the
inclined angle 0 of the scooping surface 3040 of the
evaluation model and the environmental condition are
changed. FIG. 20A illustrates a relationship between the
toner remaining amount and the discharge amount when the
container body 33 rotates at 110 rpm and the environmental
condition is set to the Ni condition. FIG. 20B illustrates
a relationship between the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount when the container body 33 rotates at 110
rpm and the environmental condition is set to the N2
condition. The conditions Ni and N2 are the same as those
illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B.
[0064] As illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B, when the
rotation frequency of the container body 33 is 130 rpm,
even if the inclined angle 0 of the scooping surface 3040
is changed to 10 degrees, 15 degrees, or 20 degrees,
variation between the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount tends to be lower in the Ni condition than
in the N2 condition.
As illustrated in FIGS. 20A and 20B, when the rotation
frequency of the container body 33 is 110 rpm, similarly to
the case of 130 rpm, even if the inclined angle 9 of the
scooping surface 3040 is changed to 10 degrees, 15 degrees,
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or 20 degrees, variation between the toner remaining amount
and the discharge amount still tends to be lower in the Ni
condition than in the N2 condition. However, if FIG. 19A
and FIG. 20A are compared to each other, it is found that
the variation tends to be lower in the case where the
container body 33 rotates at 110 rpm as illustrated in FIG.
20A than in the case where the container body 33 rotates at
130 rpm as illustrated in FIG. 19A.
[0065] In view of the above, even when the inclined
angle 0 of the scooping surface 3040 is changed in a
predetermined range, if the rotation frequency of the
container body 33 is about 110 rpm, variation between the
toner remaining amount and the discharge amount remains low
and stable. Therefore, in the first embodiment, it is most
preferable to set the rotation frequency (rpm) of the
container body 33 to 110 rpm. Further, as for the upper
and lower limits of the rotation frequency (rpm), because
the characteristics of the toner remaining amount and the
discharge amount at 95 rpm and 130 rpm are similar to the
characteristics at 110 rpm as illustrated in FIG. 18, it is
preferable to set the lower limit to 95 rpm and the upper
limit to 130 rpm. Namely, in the first embodiment, it is
preferable to rotate the container body 33 in the rotation
direction A at 110 15 rpm as a predetermined range of the
rotation frequency.
In this manner, if the inclined angle 0 of the
scooping surface 3040 is set to 25 5 degrees, the
rotation frequency of the container body 33 in the rotation
direction A is set to 110 15 rpm, and the toner T with
the apparent density (g/cm3) in a range from 0.41 to 0.48
g/cm3 is used, toner does not wastefully spill from the
scooping surface 3040 before the toner is supplied to the
nozzle hole 610 of the conveying nozzle 611, and the
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scooping surface 3040 does not pass above the nozzle hole
610 while holding the toner T. Therefore, the scooping
surface 3040 can scoop the toner T up to an appropriate
position, so that it is possible to reduce variation in the
amount of toner flowing in the nozzle hole 610 even in the
conditions in which the fluidity of the toner changes due
to the apparent density, an environment, or the like.
[0066] FIGS. 21A, 21B, 22A, and 22B illustrate results
of evaluation that was performed such that the toner bottle
32 manufactured as a mass production model, rather than the
above described powder container of the evaluation model
(prototype model), was attached to and operated in a
single-body test machine (toner replenishment single-body
test machine) that was generated so as to be able to
operate in the same manner as a real machine.
[0067] FIGS. 21A and 21B are diagrams for comparing the
toner discharge amounts at the respective inclined angles 0
of the scooping surfaces 3040 of the container bodies 33 of
the mass production model under the same conditions. FIG.
21A illustrates evaluation results of the toner discharge
amount (g) when the container bodies 33 of four mass
production models, in which the inclined angles e of the
scooping surfaces 3040 were set to 0 degree, 15 degrees, 25
degrees, and 45 degrees, respectively, were attached to the
real machine and rotated at the rotation frequency of 95
rpm. FIG. 21B illustrates evaluation results of the toner
discharge amount (g) when the container bodies 33 of four
mass production models, in which the inclined angles 0 of
the scooping surfaces 3040 were set to 0 degree, 15 degrees,
25 degrees, and 45 degrees, respectively, were attached to
the real machine and rotated at the rotation frequency of
120 rpm.
=The evaluation is superior when the toner discharge
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amount (g) is greater in a region of a small toner
remaining amount. As illustrated in FIG. 21A, at the low
rotation frequency (95 rpm), the discharge amounts at the
inclined angles 9 of 15 degrees and 30 degrees are
approximately the same and at the peak. However, the
discharge amount at the inclined angle B of 0 degree is
extremely inferior, and the discharge amount decreases if
the inclined angle e is increased to 45 degrees. In
contrast, as illustrated in FIG. 21B, at the high rotation
frequency (120 rpm), the inclined angle 9 of 15 degrees is
at the peak, the inclined angles 9 of 30 degrees and 45
degrees are approximately the same and at the second peak,
and the inclined angle 9 of 0 degree is most inferior. A
target value of the rotation frequency of a bottle of the
real machine is set to between the above described two
conditions; therefore, it is found that the optimal
inclined angle 0 is in a range from 15 degrees to 30
degrees.
[0068] Further, in the case of printing by the real
machine, a greater toner discharge amount enables to cope
with an image with a greater printing area; therefore,
there may be a problem if the discharge amount at the level
of a large toner remaining amount is lower than a necessary
discharge amount that is indicated by a dashed line as a
discharge amount needed for the machine. When plots of the
respective inclined angles 0 are compared to one another
with reference to the necessary discharge amount, the
inclined angles 0 of 15 degrees and 30 degrees are the most
superior and meet a target such that the discharge amounts
are greater than the necessary discharge amount until the
remaining amounts reach about 5 grams. The inclined angle
G of 45 degrees is the second superior and meets a target
such that the discharge amount is greater than the
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necessary discharge amount until the remaining amount
reaches about 15 to 25 grams. The inclined angle 0 of 0
degree is most inferior and does not fully meet a target
such that the discharge amount is greater than the
5 necessary discharge amount only until the remaining amount
reaches about 60 to 90 grams. In view of the above, it is
found that the most optimal inclined angle 0 is in the
range of 15 degrees to 30 degrees.
[0069] FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams for comparing
10 variation ranges of the toner replenishing amounts at the
respective inclined angles of the scooping surfaces 3040 of
the container bodies 33 of the mass production model due to
environmental load. FIG. 22A illustrates evaluation
results of the toner replenishing amount (g/sec) when the
15 container body 33 of a mass production model, in which the
inclined angle e of the scooping surface 3040 is set to 15
degrees, is attached to a real machine and rotated at a
predetermined rotation frequency while environmental
conditions are changed. FIG. 22B illustrates evaluation
20 results of the toner replenishing amount (g/sec) when the
container body 33 of a mass production model, in which the
inclined angle 9 of the scooping surface 3040 is set to 25
degrees, is attached to a real machine =and rotated at a
predetermined rotation frequency while environmental
25 conditions are changed.
It can be said that the smaller the variation in the
replenishing amount due to the environment or conditions,
the more stable the replenishment is. Thus, the evaluation
is superior when such replenishment is possible. As
30 illustrated in FIGS. 22A and 22B, assuming that an Ni
condition is set such that factors (the apparent density of
toner, the temperature and humidity, and the like) that
influence the replenishing amount are set to be the most
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advantageous conditions, and an N2 condition is set such
that the factors are set to be the most disadvantageous
conditions, the superiority and inferiority with respect to
the environmental are compared at the bottle rotation
frequency in the range of 95 to 120 rpm and at the inclined
angle 0 in the range of 15 degrees to 30 degrees, which are
determined as superior in FIGS. 21A and 21B. As concrete
values, the container bodies with the inclined angle e of
degrees and the inclined angle U of 25 degrees are
10 compared at the bottle rotation frequency of 110 rpm.
Dashed lines in the figures indicate a target replenishing
amount (target value) per unit time. As a result of the
comparison, in both of the container bodies with the
inclined angles 9 of the scooping surfaces 3040 of 15
15 degrees and 25 degrees, the target replenishing amount
(target value) is achieved in the region of a small toner
remaining amount, and the replenishing amounts are
approximately the same. However, if focus is placed on a
magnitude relationship of an environmental variation range,
which is a difference in the replenishing amount between
the N1 condition higher than the standard condition and the
N2 condition lower than the standard condition, it is found
that the environmental variation range at the inclined
angle e of 25 degrees is smaller than at the inclined angle
0 of 15 degrees and the inclined angle 8 of 25 degrees is
superior. Incidentally, concrete examples of the Ni
condition, the N2 condition, and the standard conditions
are the same as those described above with reference to
FIGS. 19A, 19B, 20A, and 208.
[0070] In this manner, as for the inclined angle 0 of
the scooping surface 3040, it is preferable to incline the
scooping surface 3040 by 25 5 degrees toward the upstream
side in the rotation direction A of the container body 33
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with respect to the virtual line X passing through the
rotation axis 0 and the edge (side) 3042, regardless of
whether it is the evaluation model or the mass production
model. Further, it is preferable to set the rotation
frequency of the toner container 32 in the range of 110
rpm.
[0071] Second Embodiment
In a second embodiment, focus is placed on the
position and the height (i.e., the length in the direction
10 perpendicular to the rotation axis) of the scooping surface
3040. As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, the edge (side)
3042 of the inner end portion of the scooping surface 3040
extends approximately parallel to the rotation axis 0.
When the edge (side) 3042 of the inner end portion of the
15 scooping surface 3040 rotates from the position illustrated
in FIG. 23A to the position illustrated in FIG. 23C upon
attachment to the toner replenishing device 60 and upon
rotation of the container body 33 in the rotation direction
A, the edge (side) 3042 is located inside a cross-sectional
range Ni of the conveying nozzle 611, and more preferably,
inside an opening range W2 of the nozzle hole 610, above
the nozzle hole 610 as illustrated in FIG. 23B. The cross-
sectional range Ni serves as an opening range of the powder
receiving hole in the axial direction.
[0072] In the second embodiment, a range in which the
edge (side) 3042 of the inner end portion extends in the
rotation axis direction is a range that overlaps with at
least a part of the nozzle hole 610 in the rotation axis
direction when the container body 33 is attached to the
toner replenishing device 60. As illustrated in FIG. 23A,
the scooping surface 3040 is located above the virtual line
X1 in a horizontal state. In the second embodiment, the
center of the nozzle hole 610 is arranged so as to coincide
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with the center of the rotation axis 0. Therefore, the
virtual line X1 crosses the nozzle hole 610 in the
horizontal direction. In FIG. 23A, X2 indicates a virtual
line as an extended line of an upper surface of the nozzle
hole 610. The virtual line X2 is a plane approximately
parallel to the virtual line Xl. Namely, in the second
embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 23A, the scooping
surface 3040 including the edge (side) 3042 of the inner
end portion is located below the upper surface of the
nozzle hole 610.
[0073] As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, there is a
space S, which serves as a toner holding space, in a region
facing the scooping surface 3040 in the scooping portion
304. The space S is surrounded by the scooping surface
3040 and the inner wall surface 33c of the container body
33. As illustrated in FIG. 24, the spiral rib 304a at the
scooping portion, which serves as a conveying portion, is
used for conveying toner toward the receiving opening 331
in the space S. A first end 304a1 of the spiral rib at the
scooping portion, which serves as a terminated portion at
the scooping portion, is connected to the scooping surface
3040. And a second end 304a2 of the spiral rib at the
scooping portion on a side distant from the opening is
located on the downstream in the detachment direction Ql
relative to the first end 304a1 of the spiral rib at the
scooping portion. The second end 304a2 is indicated in Fig.
32. A connection portion S7 between the scooping surface
3040 and the first end 304a1 of the spiral rib at the
scooping portion is located inside an opening range W3 in
the rotation axis direction of the nozzle hole 610 when the
conveying nozzle 611 is inserted. The connection portion S7
serves as a start position or a starting point of the
conveying portion (i.e., as a start position of the spiral
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rib 304a at the scooping portion). In other words, the
conveying portion is connected to the scooping surface 3040
at the connection portion S7, and the connection portion S7
is in the opening range W3 of the nozzle hole 610 in the
rotation axis direction. The opening range W3 is an
interval between end portions 610c and 610d of the nozzle
hole 610, which are arranged opposite to each other in the
rotation axis direction. Namely, in the container body 33,
the connection portion S7 is located on the downstream in
the attachment direction Q relative to a position S5 of the
end portion 610c of the nozzle hole 610 that is arranged in
the rotation axis direction. A wall 3041 is provided on
the scooping portion 304 in a region of the container front
end of the space S. The wall 3041 serves as a container
front wall connected to the scooping surface 3040 and the
receiving opening 331 and extends along the rotation
direction. The wall 3041 defines the space S (toner
holding space) in the rotation axis direction. The
scooping surface 3040 defines upstream side of the space S
in the rotation direction. The wall 3041 is located in an
opening range W2 of the nozzle hole 610 in the axial
direction. The opening range W2 will be described later.
The toner T on the scooping surface 3040 is supplied from
the space S toward the receiving opening 331, that is, the
nozzle hole 610, through the wall 3041.
[0074] In this manner, in the second embodiment, the
scooping surface 3040 and the edge (side) 3042 of the inner
end portion of the scooping portion 304 arranged on the
container body 33 are located inside the opening range W2
of the nozzle hole 610, which is an opening range of the
powder receiving hole in the rotation direction, above the
nozzle hole 610 as illustrated in FIG. 23B. Therefore,
when the scooping surface 3040 is inclined along with
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rotation of the container body 33, and even if toner with
high fluidity slips down along the scooping surface 3040 at
an early timing, it is possible to supply the toner to the
nozzle hole 610. Consequently, it is possible to
5 efficiently supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610 of
the conveying nozzle 611 inserted in the container body 33.
[0075] Further, the scooping surface 3040 is located
above the virtual line X1 when the scooping surface 3040
faces upward as illustrated in FIG. 23A. Therefore, even
10 when the scooping surface 3040 is oriented perpendicular to
the rotation axis 0 because of rotation of the container
body 33 as illustrated in FIG. 23C, the scooping surface
3040 is located inside the opening range W2. Therefore,
even if toner with low fluidity remains on the scooping
15 surface 3040, it is possible to supply the toner to the
nozzle hole 610. Consequently, it is possible to
efficiently supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610 of
the conveying nozzle 611 inserted in the container body 33,
and reduce remaining toner in the container body 33.
20 [0076] When the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion
is not provided, and if the rotation speed of the container
body 33 is fast, toner scooped up to the container outer
peripheral side of the scooping surface 3040 (on the inner
wall surface 33c side distant from the rotation axis 0) may
25 pass by the nozzle hole 610 before slipping down to the
edge (side) 3042 side of the inner end portion of the
scooping surface 3040.
However, in the second embodiment, toner is conveyed
to the space S facing the scooping surface 3040 by the
30 spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion; therefore, even
when rotation fluctuation of the container body 33 occurs
or the fluidity of toner changes, it is possible to supply
a sufficient amount of toner onto the scooping surface 3040.
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Consequently, it is possible to stably and efficiently
supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610.
[0077] The connection portion S7 between the scooping
surface 3040 and the first end 304a1 of the spiral rib 304a
at the scooping portion is located inside the opening range
W3 in the rotation axis direction of the nozzle hole 610;
therefore, toner conveyed by the spiral rib 304a at the
scooping portion is collected around the nozzle hole 610.
Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of toner
that slips down to other than the nozzle hole 610, enabling
to more efficiently supply the toner on the scooping
surface 3040 to the nozzle hole 610.
[0078] In the second embodiment, as illustrated in FIG.
25, the space S has a shape that is narrowed toward the
receiving opening 331 serving as an opening. Namely, a
width S2 of the wall 3041, as a container front wall, near
the receiving opening 331 in the space S is smaller than a
width Si on the side distant from the receiving opening 331.
The widths Si and S2 described herein correspond to a
direction perpendicular to the rotation axis 0 and the
scooping surface 3040.
[0079] In this manner, when the space S has a shape that
is narrowed at the wall 3041 located on the receiving
opening 331 side, it is possible to adjust the amount of
toner that flows from the scooping surface 3040 to the
receiving opening 331 through the wall 3041 by adjusting
the width S2 of the wall 3041. Therefore, it is possible
to supply a stable amount of toner to the nozzle hole 610.
[0080] As illustrated in FIG. 26A, if a position S9 of
the wall 3041 is located on the downstream in the
attachment direction Q relative to a position S8 of the end
portion 610d of the nozzle hole 610, toner that has passed
through the wall 3041 is conveyed to a region ahead of the
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nozzle hole 610 in the attachment direction Q. A region
S10 between the position S8 and the position S9 is deviated
from the nozzle hole 610 in the rotation axis direction,
and therefore, may cause toner to remain as remaining toner
that may not be supplied to the nozzle hole 610.
[0081] Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 26B, the wall
3041 is provided so as to be located inside the opening
range W3 in the axial direction of the nozzle hole 610 when
the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted in the receiving
opening 331. Namely, the position S9 of the wall 3041 is
located on the downstream in the detachment direction Ql
relative to the position S8 of the end portion 610d of the
nozzle hole 610. By defining the position of the wall 3041
serving as a toner supplying portion as described above, it
is possible to reliably supply the toner T on the scooping
surface 3040 to the nozzle hole 610 through the wall 3041.
[0082] As illustrated in FIGS. 27A and 275, if a
protrusion amount h2, as a height of the spiral rib 304a at
the scooping portion, that protrudes from the inner wall
surface 33c toward the rotation axis 0 is smaller than a
height hl from the inner wall surface 33c to the scooping
surface 3040 (the edge (side) 3042 of the inner end
portion), toner collected by the spiral rib 304a at the
scooping portion may pass over the protrusion of the spiral
rib 304a at the scooping portion when the container body 33
rotates. The toner that has passed over the spiral rib
304a at the scooping portion may move to a region that does
not contribute to toner conveying, and it may be difficult
to guide the toner to the receiving opening 331. Therefore,
as illustrated in FIG. 27C, it is preferable that the
protrusion amount (height) h2 of the spiral rib 304a at the
scooping portion is equal to the height hl of the scooping
surface 3040. With this configuration, toner is prevented
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from entering the back side (the region that does not
contribute to toner conveying) of the spiral rib 304a at
the scooping portion while the toner is being scooped up by
the scooping surface 3040. Therefore, it is possible to
more efficiently supply toner to the nozzle hole 610.
[0083] As illustrated in FIG. 28, an angle 01 between
the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion and the
scooping surface 3040 may be set to be equal to or greater
than a repose angle of the toner T. In this example, the
inclined angle of the scooping surface 3040 at the
connection portion 57 is set to the angle el. By setting
the angle 01 as described above, toner is less likely to
accumulate on the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion.
Therefore, it is possible to efficiently convey toner to
the scooping surface 3040. Consequently, it is possible to
more efficiently supply toner on the scooping surface 3040
to the nozzle hole 610.
[0084] Third Embodiment
As illustrated in FIGS. 29A to 29C, in a third
embodiment, a scooping portion 304B provided on the
receiving opening 331 (the container opening 33a) side of
the container body 33 scoops up the toner T conveyed to the
receiving opening 331 along with rotation of the container
body 33 in the rotation direction A, and supplies the toner
T to the nozzle hole 610.
[0085] The scooping portion 304B includes a scooping
surface 3040B that extends from the inner wall surface 33c
of the container body 33 toward the rotation axis 0 of the
container body (however, an extended line of the scooping
surface 3040B does not pass through the rotation axis 0).
An inner end portion 3040Ba of the scooping surface 3040B
on the nozzle hole 610 side extends in a direction
approximately parallel to the rotation axis 0, and has an
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edge (side) 3042B. The edge (side) 3042B of the inner end
portion 3040Ba is approximately parallel to the rotation
axis 0 such that, when rotating from the position
illustrated in FIG. 29A to the position illustrated in FIG.
29C upon attachment to the toner replenishing device 60,
the edge (side) 3042B is located inside the cross-sectional
range W1 of the conveying nozzle 611, and more preferably,
inside the opening range W2 of the nozzle hole 610, above
the nozzle hole 610. In the third embodiment, in contrast
with the configuration of the second embodiment, the
scooping surface 3040B is inclined such that the scooping
surface 3040B oh the side near the inner wall surface 33c
is lower than the edge (side) 3042B of the inner end
portion 3040Ba.
[0086] In the third embodiment, a range in which the
edge (side) 3042B of the inner end portion extends in the
rotation axis direction overlaps with at least a part of
the nozzle hole 610 in the rotation axis direction when the
container body 33 is attached to the toner replenishing
device 60. As illustrated in FIG. 29A, the scooping
surface 3040B is located above the virtual line Xl, which
extends in the horizontal direction while passing through
the rotation axis 0, in the horizontal state. In the third
embodiment, the center of the nozzle hole 610 is arranged
so as to coincide with the center of the rotation axis 0.
Therefore, the virtual line X1 crosses the nozzle hole 610
in the horizontal direction. The virtual line X2 serving
as an extended line of the upper surface of the nozzle hole
610 is a plane approximately parallel to the virtual line
Xi. Namely, in the third embodiment, as illustrated in FIG.
29A, the scooping surface 3040B including the edge (side)
3042B of the inner end portion is located below the upper
surface of the nozzle hole 610.
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[0087] There is a space S in a region facing the
scooping surface 3040B in the scooping portion 304B. The
space S is surrounded by the scooping surface 3040B and the
inner wall surface 33c of the container body 33. The
5 spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion, which serves as a
conveying portion, is used for conveying toner toward the
receiving opening 331 (container front end) in the scooping
portion including the space S. The first end 304a1 of the
spiral rib at the scooping portion is connected to the
10 scooping surface 3040B. On the scooping portion 304B, the
wall 3041 (container front wall, see FIGS. 13 and 14)
connected to the scooping surface 3040B and the receiving
opening 331 is provided in a region of the container front
end of the space S. The toner T on the scooping surface
15 30403 is supplied from the space S toward the receiving
opening 331, that is, the nozzle hole 610, through the wall
3041.
[0088] In this manner, the scooping surface 3040B and
the edge (side) 3042B of the scooping portion 304B arranged
20 on the container body 33 are located inside the opening
range W2 in the rotation direction of the nozzle hole 610,
above the nozzle hole 610, as illustrated in FIG. 29B.
Therefore, when the scooping surface 30403 is inclined
along with rotation of the container body 33, and even if
25 toner with high fluidity slips down along the scooping
surface 30403 at an early timing, it is possible to supply
the toner to the nozzle hole 610. Consequently, it is
possible to efficiently supply the toner T to the nozzle
hole 610 of the conveying nozzle 611 inserted in the
30 container body 33.
[0089] Further, the scooping surface 3040B is located
above the virtual line X1 when the scooping surface 3040B
faces upward as illustrated in FIG. 29A. Therefore, even
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when the scooping surface 3040B is oriented perpendicular
to the rotation axis 0 because of rotation of the container
body 33 as illustrated in FIG. 29C, the scooping surface
3040B is located inside the opening range W2. Therefore,
even if toner with low fluidity remains on the scooping
surface 3040B, it is possible to supply the toner to the
nozzle hole 610. Consequently, it is possible to
efficiently supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610 of
the conveying nozzle 611 inserted in the container body 33,
and reduce remaining toner in the container body 33.
[0090] When the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion
is not provided, and if the rotation speed of the container
body 33 is fast, the container body 33 may cause the toner
T scooped up to the container outer peripheral side of the
scooping surface 3040B (on the inner wall surface 33c side
distant from the rotation axis 0) to pass by the nozzle
hole 610 before the toner T slips down to the edge (side)
3042B side of the inner end portion of the scooping surface
3040B.
However, in the third embodiment, toner is conveyed to
the space S facing the scooping surface 3040B by the spiral
rib 304a at the scooping portion; therefore, even when
rotation fluctuation of the container body 33 occurs or the
fluidity of toner changes, it is possible to supply a
sufficient amount of toner onto the scooping surface 3040B.
Consequently, it is possible to stably and efficiently
supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610.
[0091] Fourth Embodiment
As illustrated In FIGS. 30A to 30C, in a fourth
embodiment, a scooping portion 304C provided on the
receiving opening 331 (the container opening 33a) side of
the container body 33 scoops up the toner T conveyed to the
receiving opening 331 along with rotation of the container
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body 33 in the rotation direction A, and supplies the toner
T to the nozzle hole 610.
[0092] The scooping portion 3040 includes a scooping
surface 30400 that extends from the inner wall surface 33c
of the container body 33 toward the rotation axis 0 of the
container body (however, an extended line of the scooping
surface 30400 does not pass through the rotation axis 0).
An inner end portion 3040Ca of the scooping surface 30400
on the nozzle hole 610 side extends in a direction
approximately parallel to the rotation axis 0, and has an
edge (side) 30420. The edge (side) 30420 is approximately
parallel to the rotation axis 0 such that, when rotating
from the position illustrated in FIG. 30A to the position
illustrated in FIG. 300 upon attachment to the toner
replenishing device 60, the edge (side) 30420 is located
inside the cross-sectional range W1 of the conveying nozzle
611, and more preferably, inside the opening range W2 of
the nozzle hole 610, above the nozzle hole 610. In the
foUrth embodiment, the scooping surface 3040C is inclined
such that the scooping surface 30400 on the side near the
inner wall surface 33c is lower than the edge (side) 30420
of the inner end portion 30400a.
[0093] In the fourth embodiment, a range in which the
edge (side) 30420 of the inner end portion extends in the
rotation axis direction overlaps with at least a part of
the nozzle hole 610 in the rotation axis direction when the
container body 33 is attached to the toner replenishing
device 60. As illustrated in FIG. 30A, the scooping
surface 30400 is located below the virtual line Xl, which
extends in the horizontal direction while passing through
the rotation axis 0, in the horizontal state. In the
fourth embodiment, the center of the nozzle hole 610 is
arranged so as to coincide with the center of the rotation
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axis 0. Therefore, the virtual line X1 crosses the nozzle
hole 610 in the horizontal direction. The virtual line X2
serving as an extended line of the upper surface of the
nozzle hole 610 is a plane approximately parallel to the
virtual line Xl. Namely, in the fourth embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 30A, the scooping surface 30400
including the edge (side) 30420 is located below the upper
surface of the nozzle hole 610.
[0094] There is a space S in a region facing the
scooping surface 30400 in the scooping portion 3040. The
space S is surrounded by the scooping surface 30400 and the
inner wall surface 33c of the container body 33. The
spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion, which serves as a
conveying portion, is used for conveying toner toward the
receiving opening 331 (container front end) in the space S.
The first end 304a1 of the spiral rib at the scooping
portion is connected to the scooping surface 30400. On the
scooping portion 304C, the wall 3041 (container front wall,
see FIGS. 13 and 14) connected to the scooping surface
30400 and the receiving opening 331 is provided in a region
of the container front end of the space S. The toner T on
the scooping surface 30400 is supplied from the space S
toward the receiving opening 331, that is, the nozzle hole
610, through the wall 3041.
[0095] In this manner, in the fourth embodiment, the
scooping surface 30400 and the edge (side) 3042C of the
inner end portion of the scooping portion 3040 arranged on
the container body 33 are located inside the opening range
W2 in the rotation direction of the nozzle hole 610, above
the nozzle hole 610, as illustrated in FIG. 30B. Therefore,
when the scooping surface 30400 is inclined along with
rotation of the container body 33, and even if toner with
high fluidity slips down along the scooping surface 3040C
=
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at an early timing, it is possible to supply the toner to
the nozzle hole 610. Consequently, it is possible to
efficiently supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610 of
the conveying nozzle 611 inserted in the container body 33.
[0096] Further, the scooping surfaces 3040C is located
below the virtual line X1 when the scooping surfaces 3040C
faces upward as illustrated in FIG. 30A. Therefore, even
when the scooping surface 30400 is oriented perpendicular
to the rotation axis 0 because of rotation of the container
body 33 as illustrated in FIG. 300, the scooping surface
3040C is located inside the opening range W2. Therefore,
even if toner with low fluidity remains on the scooping
surface 30400, it is possible to supply the toner to the
nozzle hole 610. Consequently, it is possible to
efficiently supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610 of
the conveying nozzle 611 inserted in the container body 33,
and reduce remaining toner in the container body 33.
[0097] When the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion
is not provided, and if the rotation speed of the container
body 33 is fast, the container body 33 may cause the toner
T scooped up to the container outer peripheral side of the
scooping surface 3040C (on the inner wall surface 33c side
distant from the rotation axis 0) to pass by the nozzle
hole 610 before the toner T slips down to the edge (side)
30420 side of the inner end portion of the scooping surface
30400.
However, in the fourth embodiment, toner is conveyed
to the space S facing the scooping surface 30400 by the
spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion; therefore, even
when rotation fluctuation of the container body 33 occurs
or the fluidity of toner changes, it is possible to supply
a sufficient amount of toner onto the scooping surface
3040C. Consequently, it is possible to stably and
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efficiently supply the toner T to the nozzle hole 610.
[0098] Each of the scooping surfaces 3040 to 30400 as
described above has a configuration such that each of the
edges (side) 3042 to 30420 is located below the virtual
5 line X2 serving as the extend line of the upper surface of
the nozzle hole. 610; however, the present invention is not
limited to these embodiments. For example, as illustrated
in FIG. 31A, a scooping surface 3040D has a configuration
such that an edge (side) 3042D is located above the virtual
10 line X1 and the virtual line X2 serving as the extended
line of the upper surface of the nozzle hole 610.
[0099] In this configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 31B,
the scooping surface 3040D and the edge (side) 3042D of the
inner end portion of the scooping portion 304D arranged on
15 the container body 33 are located inside the opening range
W2 in the rotation direction of the nozzle hole 610, above
the nozzle hole 610. Therefore, when the scooping surface
3040D is inclined along with rotation of the container body
33, and even if toner with high fluidity slips down along
20 the scooping surface 3040D at an early timing, it is
possible to supply the toner to the nozzle hole 610.
Consequently, it is possible to efficiently supply the
toner T to the nozzle hole 610 of the conveying nozzle 611
inserted in the container body 33.
25 [0100] Even in the third and the fourth embodiments,
similarly to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 25,
the space S has a shape that is narrowed toward the
receiving opening 331 serving as an opening, and the width
S2 of the wall 3041 near the receiving opening 331 in the
30 space S is set to be smaller than the width Si on=the side
distant from the receiving opening 331.
In this manner, when the space S has a shape that is
narrowed at the wall 3041 located on the receiving opening
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331 side, it is possible to adjust the amount of toner that
flows from each of the scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D to
the receiving opening 331 through the wall 3041 by
adjusting the width S2 of the wall 3041. Therefore, it is
possible to supply a stable amount of toner to the nozzle
hole 610.
[0101] In the third and the fourth embodiments,
similarly to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 26A,
if the position S9 of the wall 3041 is located on the
downstream in the attachment direction Q relative to the
position S8 of the end portion 610d of the nozzle hole 610,
toner that has passed by the wall 3041 is conveyed to a
region ahead of the nozzle hole 610 in the attachment
direction Q. The region S10 between the position S8 and
the position S9 is deviated from the nozzle hole 610 in the
rotation axis direction, and therefore, may cause toner to
remain as remaining toner that may not be supplied to the
nozzle hole 610.
[0102] Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment as
illustrated in FIG. 26B, the wall 3041 is located inside
the opening range W1 in the axial direction of the nozzle
hole 610 when the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted in the
receiving opening 331. Namely, the position S9 of the wall
3041 is located on the downstream in the detachment
direction Ql relative to the position S8 of the end portion
610d of the nozzle hole 610. By defining the position of
the wall 3041 serving as a toner supplying portion as
described above, it is possible to reliably supply the
toner T on each of the scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D to
the nozzle hole 610 through the wall 3041.
[0103] In the third and the fourth embodiments,
similarly to the first embodiment as illustrated in FIGS.
27A and 27B, if the protrusion amount h2, as the height of
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the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion, that protrudes
from the inner wall surface 33c toward the rotation axis 0
is smaller than the height hl from the inner wall surface
33c to each of the scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D (the
edges (sides) 3042 to 3042D), toner collected by the spiral
rib 304a at the scooping portion may pass over the
protrusion of the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion
when the container body 33 rotates. The toner that has
passed over the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion may
move to a region that does not contribute to toner
conveying, and it is difficult to guide the toner to the
receiving opening 331. Hereinafter, similarly to the first
embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 27C, if the protrusion
amount (height) h2 of the spiral rib 304a at the scooping
portion is equal to the height hl of each of the scooping
surfaces 3040 to 3040D, toner is prevented from entering
the back side (the region that does not contribute to toner
conveying) of the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion
while the toner is being scooped up by each of the scooping
surfaces 3040 to 3040D. Therefore, it is possible to more
efficiently supply toner to the nozzle hole 610.
[0104] In the third and the fourth embodiments,
similarly to the first embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 28,
the angle 01 defined by the spiral rib 304a at the scooping
portion and each of the scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D may
be set to be equal to or greater than a repose angle of the
toner T. In this example, the inclined angle of each of
the scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D at the connection
portion S7 is set to the angle 01. By setting the angle 01
as described above, toner is less likely to accumulate on
the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion. Therefore, it
is possible to efficiently convey toner to each of the
scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D. Consequently, it is
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possible to more efficiently supply toner on each of the
scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D to the nozzle hole 610.
[0105] As illustrated in FIG. 32, the scooping portions
304 to 304D may be provided at positions near the receiving
opening 331 (the container opening 33a) in the rotation
axis direction relative to a position S3 of the second end
304a2 of the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion on the
side distant from the receiving opening 331. In this
configuration, toner conveyed from the second end 304a2 of
the spiral rib 304a at the scooping portion on the side
distant from the opening is scooped up by each of the
scooping portions on the upstream side (front side) in the
toner conveying direction relative to the receiving opening
331. This configuration is preferable because it is
possible to efficiently supply toner on the scooping
surfaces 3040 to 3040D to the nozzle hole 610.
In the above described embodiments, it is explained
that the scooping portions 304, 304B, and 304D are located
above the virtual line Xl, and the scooping portion 304C is
located below the virtual line Xl. However, with the
assumption that each of the sides or each of the scooping
surfaces is located in the opening range W2 when the
receiving opening 331 rotates along with rotation of the
container body 33, the scooping portions may be located in
the same position as the virtual line X1 in the rotation
direction A, that is, in the same plane.
[0106] In the first embodiment, the inclined angle 0 of
the scooping surface 3040 in a predetermined range in the
rotation direction A is defined as 25 5 degrees, the
range of the predetermined rotation frequency (rpm) of the
container body 33 is defined as 110 15 rpm, and the range
of the apparent density (g/cm3) of the toner is defined as '
0.41 to 0.48 g/cm3. However, the inclined angle e in the
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predetermined range, the predetermined rotation frequency
(rpm), and the apparent density (g/cm3) may be applied to
the second to the fourth embodiments. In this case, toner
does not wastefully spill from each of the scooping
surfaces 3040 to 3040D before the toner flows in the nozzle
hole 610 of the conveying nozzle 611, and each of the
scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D does not pass above the
nozzle hole 610 while holding the toner T. Therefore, each
of the scooping surfaces 3040 to 3040D can scoop the toner
T up to an appropriate position, so that it is possible to
reduce variation in the amount of toner flowing in the
nozzle hole 610 even in the conditions in which the
fluidity of the toner changes due to the apparent density,
an environment, or the like.
[0107] Fifth Embodiment
Next, movement of toner in the container body 33 near
the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 serving
as a powder container will be described below.
If the toner bottle 32, in which toner as powder
developer is sealed in the container body 33, is maintained
in the same posture for a long time, the toner may be
cohered. Therefore, in some cases, preliminary operation
may be needed to loosen the toner by shaking the bottle up
and down or right and left before use. Further, as a way
to store the toner container 32, it is normally recommended
to place the toner bottle 32 horizontally in the same
manner as in the case of attachment to the toner
replenishing device 60 (the copier 500). However, for the
sake of storage space, the toner bottle 32 may be stored in
a standing manner with the container opening 33a face down.
In this case, when the present inventors shook the
toner bottle 32 of the first to the fourth embodiments up
and down or right and left a certain number of times that
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is determined as the number of reciprocations based on the
horizontal storage state, and thereafter attached the toner
bottle 32 to the toner replenishing device 60 (the copier
500), it was sometimes difficult to fully insert the
5 conveying nozzle 611 in the container opening 33a. The
inventors have traced the source of the problem and found
that, because the portion 33c' protruding toward rotation
axis 0 of the container body 33 connected to the edge 3042
(30423 to 3042D) of the scooping surface 3040 (3040B to
10 3040D) protrudes in the form of a concave surface toward
the inside of the container as illustrated in FIG. 39A,
even when the toner bottle 32 is shaken in the preliminary
operation, a force is distributed at the concave surface
and a space for the toner to escape in the container is
15 limited; therefore, it is difficult to fully loosen the
toner (it is difficult to cause a loosening force to act on
the toner). It can be said that the portion 33c'includes a
circular-arc-shaped concave surface along the rotation
direction in the cross-section perpendicular to the
20 rotation axis.
[0108] Therefore,
in a fifth embodiment, the shape of
the portion 33c' of the container body 33, which protrudes
in the form of a concave surface toward the inside of the
container, that is, the shape of the scooping portion, is
25 changed to a convex shape such that the force is
concentrated with the aid of the convex shape and the space
for the toner to escape in the container is increased so
that the space for the toner to escape is not limited.
With reference to FIGS. 33A to 398, a configuration of
30 the toner container according to the fifth embodiment will
be described below. A difference from the first to the
fourth embodiments is in that a configuration of a powder
scooping portion 304E provided on the container body 33
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differs from that of the scooping portion 304 (304B to
304D) of the other embodiments, but the basic configuration
is the same as those of the above described embodiments.
Therefore, the configuration of the scooping portion 304E
according to the fifth embodiment will be mainly described.
[0109] FIG. 33A is a plan view illustrating a
configuration of the container body 33 including the
scooping portion 304E. FIG. 33B is a side view
illustrating the configuration of the container body 33
including the scooping portion 304E. FIG. 34 is an
enlarged perspective view for explaining a configuration of
an opening side of the container body. FIG. 35 is an
enlarged cross-sectional view for explaining the
configuration of the opening side of the container body.
FIG. 36 is an enlarged view for explaining a configuration
of a scooping surface 3040E of the scooping portion 304E,
when viewed from the container rear end to the container
front end. FIGS. 37A to 370 are operation diagrams for
schematically explaining a change of the scooping portion
304E with rotation. FIGS. 38A to 380 are operation
diagrams for schematically explaining a change of the
scooping portion 304E with rotation continued from FIG. 370.
FIGS. 37A to 37C and 38A to 380 are cross-sectional views
when viewed from the container rear end to the container
front end, similarly to FIG. 36. FIG. 39A is a schematic
diagram illustrating diffusivity of toner when an internal
space of the container body 33 is small. FIG. 39B is a
schematic diagram illustrating diffusivity of toner when
the internal space of the container body 33 including the
scooping portion 304E according to the fifth embodiment is
increased.
[0110] In the fifth embodiment, the scooping portion
304E provided on the container opening 33a side of the
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container body 33 scoops up the toner T that is conveyed to
the container opening 33a along with rotation of the
container body 33 in the rotation direction A, and supplies
the toner T to the nozzle hole 610 (see FIG. 15). The
nozzle receiver 330 is inserted in and attached to the
container opening 33a; therefore, in the description of the
scooping portion 304 below, the container opening 33a of
the container body 33 is described as the receiving opening
331. Namely, as illustrated in FIGS. 34 and 36, the
scooping portion 304E that scoops up toner along with
rotation of the container body 33 is provided on the inner
wall of the container front end of the container body 33.
The scooping portion 304E scoops toner, which has been
conveyed by the conveying force of the spiral rib 302,
upward by using the scooping surface 3040E along with the
rotation of the container body 33. Therefore, the toner
can be scooped up so as to be located above the inserted
conveying nozzle 611. In the fifth embodiment, the
scooping portions 304E are provided at two positions
displaced by 180 degrees with respect to the rotation axis
0 as illustrated in FIG. 36.
Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 34 and 35, the spiral
rib 304a at the scooping portion is provided on the inner
surface of each of the scooping portions 304E, similarly to
the spiral rib 302. The spiral rib 304a has a spiral shape
and serves as a conveying portion to convey internally-
located toner to the scooping surface 3040E.
[0111] In the fifth embodiment, each of the scooping
portions 304E includes the scooping surface 3040E that
extends from the inner wall surface 33c of the container
body 33 toward the rotation axis 0 (however, an extended
line of the scooping surface 3040E does not pass through
the rotation axis 0).
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An inner end portion 3040Ea of each of the scooping
surfaces 3040E on the rotation axis 0 side extends in a
direction along the rotation axis direction of the
container body 33. Specifically, an edge (side) 3042E
closest to the rotation axis 0 side on the inner end
portion 3040Ea of the scooping surface extends
approximately parallel to the rotation axis 0 and
constitutes a ridge line along the rotation axis 0 between
the portion 33c' protruding toward the rotation axis 0 of
the inner wall surface 33c of the container body 33 and the
scooping surfaces 3040E. Further, as illustrated in FIG.
36, in the cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis,
the scooping surfaces 3040E are inclined by a certain angle
in a predetermined range toward the upstream side in the
rotation direction A of the container body 33 with respect
to the virtual line X. The virtual line passes through the
rotation axis 0 and is tangent to the edges (side) 3042E of
the inner end portions of the scooping surfaces 3040E.
Even in the fifth embodiment, the predetermined range of
the inclined angle 0 is set to 25 5 degrees (25 5 ).
[0112] In the fifth embodiment, each of the scooping
portions 304E includes the scooping surface 3040E which
protrudes from the inner wall surface 33c toward the inside
of the bottle. The scooping surface 3040E includes the
edge (side) 3042E arranged most inner side of the bottle.
Each of the scooping portions 304E is shaped so that the
scooping surface 3040E and a surface 3043 which is
continued from the edge (side) 3042E constitute a
triangular protrusion. The edge (side) 3042E is an apex of
the mountain shape of the triangular protrusion in the
cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis 0. The
triangular protrusion within the powder storage extends
along a length of the powder storage. And an angle between
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the scooping surface 3040E and the surface 3043 is set in
02. 02 is an acute angle.
In blow molding of the container body 33, it is
difficult to protrude only the scooping surface 3040E in
the form of a plate from the inner wall surface 33c in the
scooping portion 304E. Therefore, the scooping portion
304E is configured to have the approximately acute angle 02
at the edge 3042E serving as an apex in the cross section
perpendicular to the rotation axis (FIG. 36). This makes
it possible to easily provide the container body 33 by blow
molding, and ensure the internal space as indicated by a
dotted line in FIG. 39B.
[0113] As illustrated in FIGS. 33A, 33B and 34, the
first end 304a1 of the spiral rib extends so as to be
connected to the scooping surface 3040E. In the fifth
embodiment, the first end 304a1 serving as a terminated
portion of the spiral rib at the scooping portion has a
shape that stands from the scooping surface 3040E so as to
be approximately perpendicular to the scooping surface
3040E. In other words, the first end 304a1 serving as the
terminated portion of the spiral rib at the scooping
portion extends in the circumferential direction, and the
scooping surface 3040E extends in the rotation axis
direction. Namely, the terminated portion of the spiral
rib perpendicularly crosses with the scooping surface 3040E.
Thus, a part of the scooping surface 3040E is inwardly
recessed by being connected with the terminated portion.
Therefore, it is possible to cause a space surrounded by
the first end 304a1 of the spiral rib at the scooping
portion, by the scooping surface 3040E, and by the inner
wall surface 33c of the toner container 32 to function as a
holding portion that can hold a greater amount of toner.
Further, the scooping surface 3040E on the side near
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the container opening 33a of the toner container 32
relative to the first end 304a1 serving as the terminated
portion of the spiral rib at the scooping portion in the
rotation axis direction is located so as to face the nozzle
5 hole 610 when the toner container 32 is attached to the
image forming apparatus (the toner replenishing device).
[0114] In this configuration, the holding portion
constituted by the first end 304a1 of the spiral rib and
the scooping surface 3040E can face the nozzle hole 610 and
10 hold the toner conveyed by the spiral rib 304a at the
scooping portion; therefore, the scooping portion 304E can
efficiently scoop up the toner and flow the toner into the
nozzle hole 610.
Further, the first end 304a1 of the spiral rib is
15 approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the
nozzle hole 610 extends (the axial direction of the
conveying nozzle 611); therefore, it is advantageous in
that toner flowing is not disturbed.
Of course, in the fifth embodiment, each of the edges
20 (sides) 3042E of the inner end portions has a configuration
such that, when rotating to the position illustrated in FIG.
36 upon attachment to the toner replenishing device 60 and
upon rotation of the container body 33 in the rotation
direction A, each of the edges (sides) 3042E is located
25 inside the cross-sectional range W1 of the conveying nozzle
611, and more preferably, inside the opening range W2 of
the nozzle hole 610 above the nozzle hole 610.
[0115] Scooping operation by the scooping portion 304E
configured as described above will be described below with
30 reference to FIGS. 37A to 370 and 38A to 380. FIG. 37A
illustrates a state before the container body 33 is
attached to the toner replenishing device 60 (the copier
500) and rotated. This state is referred to as a posture
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at 0 degree. In the posture at 0 degree, a pair of the
opposing shutter side supporting portions 335a of the
nozzle receiver 330 are arranged such that one is located
in the upper side of the nozzle hole 610 of the conveying
nozzle 611 that is in the upper portion in the figure, and
the other is located in the lower side of the nozzle hole
610 of the conveying nozzle 611 so as to be displayed by
180 degrees from the shutter side supporting portion in the
upper side. Further, each of the scooping surfaces 3040E
is inclined by a predetermined angle 0 toward the upstream
side in the rotation direction A of the container body 33
with respect to the virtual line X1 that passes through the
rotation axis 0 and that is tangent to the edge 3042E. In
this manner, the pair of the opposing shutter side
supporting portions 335a of the nozzle receiver 330 and the
two scooping surfaces 3040E have an arrangement
relationship such that their positions in the rotation
direction A are approximately perpendicular to each other
with respect to the rotation axis 0.
[0116] More
specifically, the shutter side supporting
portions 335a are arranged at positions so as not to face
the edges 3042E of the scooping surfaces, that is,
positions deviated from the virtual line X that is tangent
to the edges 3042E of the scooping surfaces and passes
through the rotation axis 0 in the rotation direction. In
this configuration, it is possible to prevent the shutter
side supporting portions 335a from interrupting toner
falling from the scooping surfaces 3040E to the nozzle hole
610.
Further, more preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 36,
if focus is placed on the shutter side supporting portion
335a located in the upper side (the downstream side in the
rotation direction A) relative to one of the scooping
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surfaces 3040E that already holds the toner T, it is
preferable that an interval D1 between an upstream end (on
the right side in FIG. 36) of the shutter side supporting
portion 335a in the rotation direction A and the edge 3042E
of the one of the scooping surfaces 3040E is greater than
an interval D2 between a downstream end (on the left side
in FIG. 36) of the shutter side supporting portion 335a in
the rotation direction A and the edge 3042E of the other
one of the scooping surfaces 3040E (on the left side
relative to the above described shutter side supporting
portion 335a in FIG. 36). In the relative arrangement as
described above, it becomes possible to easily ensure a
toner flowing passage.
[0117] Meanwhile, in the posture at 0 degree, the toner
T is already held by one of the scooping surfaces 3040E.
From this state, when the container body 33 rotates
counterclockwise indicated by an arrow A in the figures,
the toner T on the scooping surface 3040E is further moved
upward while the toner T remains held as illustrated in FIG.
37B. FIG. 37B illustrates a posture at 30 degrees, which
is rotated counterclockwise by 30 degrees from the posture
at 0 degree. Further, when the container body 33 rotates
counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow A in the figures,
the pair of the shutter side supporting portions 335a of
the nozzle receiver 330 integrally rotate, so that the
toner T on the scooping surface 3040E is further moved
upward while the toner T remains held as illustrated in FIG.
37C. FIG. 37C illustrates a posture at 60 degrees, which
is rotated counterclockwise by 60 degrees from the posture
at 30 degrees. In this state, the shutter side supporting
portions 335a further move from the nozzle hole 610, so
that the nozzle hole 610 is opened. Further, the scooping
surface 3040E is inclined downward with respect to the
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rotation axis 0, so that the toner T on the scooping
surface 3040E gradually slides down by gravity and starts
to fall in the nozzle hole 610.
[0118] As illustrated in FIG. 38A, when the container
body 33 rotates from the posture at 60 degrees to the
posture at 90 degrees, all of the toner T on the scooping
surface 3040E fall by gravity, and are supplied to the
nozzle hole 610. Further, in the posture at 90 degrees,
the other one of the scooping portions 304E is located in
the lower part of the container body 33, and the scooping
surface 3040E catches the toner T accumulated in the lower
part.
When the container body 33 further rotates from the
posture at 90 degrees to the posture at 120 degrees, as
illustrated in FIG. 38B, the scooping surface 3040E starts
to newly scoop up the toner T accumulated in the lower part,
and the other one of the shutter side supporting portions
335a covers a part of the upper side of the nozzle hole 610.
Further, as illustrated in FIG. 38C, when the
container body 33 further rotates from the posture at 120
= degrees to the posture at 150 degrees, the scooping surface
3040E further scoops up toner, and the other one of the
shutter side supporting portions 335a moves to the upper
side of the nozzle hole 610 to prevent toner replenishing.
[0119] In this manner, when the container body 33
rotates in the rotation direction A, it is possible to
supply the toner T scooped up by the scooping surface 3040E
from the upper side of the nozzle hole 610 to the inside of
the conveying nozzle 611.
Further, in the fifth embodiment, each of the scooping
portions 304E includes the scooping surface 3040E which
protrudes from the inner wall surface 33c toward the inside
of the bottle. The scooping surface 3040E includes the
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edge (side) 3042E arranged most inner side of the bottle.
Each of the scooping portions 304E is shaped so that the
scooping surface 3040E and a surface 3043 which is
continued from the edge (side) 3042E constitute a
triangular protrusion. The edge (side) 3042E is an apex of
the mountain shape of the triangular protrusion in the
cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis 0 in the
cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis 0. The
triangular protrusion within the powder storage extends
along a length of the powder storage. And the angle
between the scooping surface 3040E and the surface 3043 is
set in 02. 02 is an acute angle. Therefore, as
illustrated in FIG. 39B, the internal space in the
container body 33 can be increased by an area corresponding
to a dashed circle in FIG. 39A, so that the space S2
defined with the container shutter 332 can be increased
(see FIGS. 36 and 37A to 37C). Consequently, it is
possible to increase the space for the toner T to escape at
the time of preliminary operation, enabling to easily
loosen the toner T.
The configuration of the fifth embodiment as described
above may be applied to the scooping portions 304 (304B to
304D) described in the first to the fourth embodiments.
[0120] According to the embodiments of the present
invention, it is possible to efficiently supply developer
that is powder contained in the powder container to a
powder receiving hole of a nozzle inserted in the powder
container.
Although the invention has been described with respect
to specific embodiments for a complete and clear disclosure,
the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to
be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative
constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art that
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fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.
[0121] The present invention further includes the
following aspects.
[0122] Aspect Al
5 A powder container used in an image forming apparatus,
to which the powder container containing powder for image
formation is detachably attached, which includes a nozzle
with a powder receiving hole that is opened upward and that
receives the powder from the powder container, and which
10 rotates the powder container at a rotation frequency in a
predetermined range when rotating the attached powder
container, the powder container comprising:
a rotatable powder storage that stores therein the
powder for image formation;
15 an opening that is on one end of the powder storage
and that allows the nozzle to be inserted in a position
being a center of rotation of the power container;
a rotary conveyor that conveys the powder in the
powder storage to an opening side; and
20 a scooping portion that scoops up powder on the
opening side and supplies the powder to the powder
receiving hole along with rotation of the powder storage,
wherein
the scooping portion includes a scooping surface that
25 extends from an inner wall surface of the powder storage
toward a rotation axis side, and
an inner end portion of the scooping surface on a
rotation axis side extends in a rotation axis direction of
the powder storage,
30 an edge of the inner end portion is approximately
parallel to the rotation axis, and
in a cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis,
the scooping surface is inclined by an inclined angle in a
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predetermined range toward an upstream side in a rotation
direction of the powder storage with respect to a virtual
line that passes through the rotation axis and is tangent
to the edge of the inner end portion.
[0123] Aspect A2
The powder container according to Aspect Al, wherein
the inclined angle of the scooping surface is in a
range of 25 5 degrees.
[0124] Aspect A3
The powder container according to Aspect Al or A2,
wherein the predetermined range of the rotation frequency
of the powder container is a range of 110 15 revolution
per minute.
[0125] Aspect A4
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
Al to A3, wherein the powder is toner with an apparent
density of 0.41 to 0.48 g/cm3.
[0126] Aspect A5
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
Al to A4, wherein when the powder storage rotates, the edge
of the inner end portion of the scooping surface is located
in an opening range of the powder receiving hole in a
rotation direction, above the powder receiving hole.
[0127] Aspect A6
The powder container according to Aspect AS, wherein
the edge of the inner end portion overlaps with at least a
part of the powder receiving hole in the rotation axis
direction, and when the scooping surface faces upward, is
located at the same position as or above a virtual line
that passes through the rotation axis and extends in a
horizontal direction.
[0128] Aspect A7
The powder container according to Aspect AS or A6,
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further comprising a conveying portion that conveys the
powder to the opening side of a space facing the scooping
surface.
[0129] Aspect A8
The powder container according to Aspect A7, wherein a
start position of the conveying portion in front of the
scooping surface is in an opening range of the powder
receiving hole in an axial direction when the conveying
nozzle is inserted in the opening.
[0130] Aspect A9
The powder container according to Aspect A7 or A8,
wherein a downstream portion of the space in the rotation
direction is narrowed toward the opening.
[0131] Aspect A10
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
A7 to A9, wherein
the scooping portion includes a wall connected to the
scooping surface and the opening in the downstream portion
of the space in the rotation direction, and
the wall is located in an opening range of the powder
receiving hole in an axial direction when the conveying
nozzle is inserted in the opening.
[0132] Aspect All
= The powder container according to any one of Aspects
A7 to A10, wherein the scooping portion is located on the
opening side relative to an end of the conveying portion on
a side distant from the opening in the rotation axis
direction.
[0133] Aspect Al2
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
A7 to All, wherein
the conveying portion is a spiral protrusion
protruding to an inside of the powder storage, and
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the spiral protrusion extends in the rotation axis
direction and a part of the spiral protrusion is located in
the space.
[0134] Aspect A13
The powder container according to Aspect Al2, wherein
a height of the protrusion in the powder storage is same as
a height of the scooping surface.
[0135] Aspect A14
The powder container according to Aspect Al2, wherein
an angle between the protrusion and the scooping surface is
equal to or greater than a repose angle of the powder.
[0136] Aspect A15
The powder container according to Aspect Al, wherein
an inner wall surface of the powder container constituting
the scooping surface has a mountain shape in which the edge
of the scooping surface serves as an apex.
[0137] Aspect A16
The powder container according to Aspect A15, wherein
an angle between two surfaces forming a convex of the
mountain shape, in which the end of the scooping surface
serves as the apex, is an approximately acute angle.
[0138] Aspect A17
An image forming apparatus comprising:
the powder container according to any one of Aspects
Al to A16; and
an image forming unit that forms an image on an image
bearer by using the powder conveyed from the powder
container.
[0139] Aspect A18
The image forming apparatus according to Aspect A17,
wherein the predetermined range of the rotation frequency
of the powder container is a range of 110 15 revolution
per minute.
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[0140] Aspect Bl
A powder container used in an image forming apparatus,
the powder container comprising:
a rotatable powder storage that stores therein the
powder for image formation, the rotatable powder storage to
rotate about a rotation axis;
an opening on one end of the powder storage, through
which a nozzle of the image forming apparatus is to be
inserted; and
a scooping portion to scoop up powder on an opening
side, and to supply the powder to a powder receiving hole
of the nozzle when the powder storage rotates, wherein
the scooping portion includes a scooping surface that
extends inwardly from an inner wall surface of the powder
storage,
an inner end portion of the scooping surface extends
in a rotation axis direction of the powder storage,
an edge of the inner end portion is approximately
parallel to the rotation axis, and
in a cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis,
the scooping surface is inclined toward an upstream side in
a rotation direction of the powder storage with respect to
a virtual line that passes through the rotation axis and is
tangent to the edge of the inner end portion.
[0141] Aspect B2
The powder container according to Aspect Bl, wherein
the scooping surface is inclined by an inclined angle
in a predetermined range, and
the inclined angle of the scooping surface is in a
range of 25 5 degrees.
[0142] Aspect B3
The powder container according to Aspect B1 or B2,
wherein
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the powder container is to be rotated at a rotation
frequency in a predetermined range, and
the predetermined range of the rotation frequency of
the powder container is a range of 110 15 revolution per
5 minute.
[0143] Aspect B4
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
Bl to B3, wherein the powder is toner with an apparent
density of 0.41 to 0.48 g/cm3.
10 [0144] Aspect 35
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
Bl to B4, wherein when the powder storage rotates and the
scooping surface is located above the powder receiving hole,
the edge of the inner end portion of the scooping surface
15 is located in an opening range of the powder receiving hole
in a rotation direction.
[0145] Aspect 36
The powder container according to Aspect B5, wherein
when the powder storage rotates and the scooping surface is
20 located above the powder receiving hole, the edge of the
inner end portion overlaps with at least a part of the
powder receiving hole in the rotation axis direction.
[0146] Aspect B7
The powder container according to Aspect B5 or B6,
25 wherein when the scooping surface faces upward, the
scooping surface is located above a virtual line that
passes through the rotation axis and extends in a
horizontal direction.
[0147] Aspect B8
30 The powder container according to any one of Aspects
31 to B7, further comprising a rotary conveyor that conveys
the powder in the powder storage to the opening side.
[0148] Aspect 39
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The powder container according to any one of Aspects
Bl to B8, further comprising a conveying portion that
conveys the powder toward the opening side in the scooping
portion.
[0149] Aspect B10
The powder container according to Aspect B9, wherein
the conveying portion is connected to the scooping
surface at a start position, and
the start position of the conveying portion is in an
opening range of the powder receiving hole in an axial
direction.
[0150] Aspect Eli
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
Bl to B10, wherein
the scooping portion includes a wall to be connected
to the opening side of the scooping surface and to extend
along the rotation direction,
the wall defines a holding space of the powder in the
rotation axis direction,
the scooping surface defines upstream side of the
holding space in the rotation direction, and
the wall is located in an opening range of the powder
receiving hole in an axial direction.
[0151] Aspect B12
The powder container according to Aspect B11, wherein
the holding space is narrowed toward the opening in the
rotation axis direction.
[0152] Aspect B13
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
B9 to B12, wherein the scooping portion is located on the
opening side relative to an end of the conveying portion on
a side distant from the opening in the rotation axis
direction.
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[0153] Aspect B14
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
B9 to B13, wherein
the conveying portion is a spiral rib protruding to an
inside of the powder storage, and
the spiral rib extends in the rotation axis direction
and a part of the spiral rib is located in the scooping
portion.
[0154] Aspect B15
The powder container according to Aspect B14, wherein
a length of the spiral rib from an inner surface of the
powder storage is same as a length of the scooping surface
in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis.
[0155] Aspect B16
The powder container according to Aspect B14, wherein
an angle between the spiral rib and the scooping surface is
equal to or greater than a repose angle of the powder.
[0156] Aspect B17
The powder container according to any one of Aspects
B1 to B11, wherein the scooping portion includes a
triangular protrusion extending along an rotation axis
direction.
[0157] Aspect B18
The powder container according to Aspect B17, wherein
the edge of the scooping surface serves as an apex of the
triangular protrusion.
[0158] Aspect B19
The powder container according to Aspect B17 or B18,
wherein an angle between two surfaces of the triangular
protrusion is an acute angle.
[0159] Aspect B20
= The powder container according to any one of Aspects
B1 to B19, wherein the powder stored inside of the powder
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storage includes toner.
[0160] Aspect B21
The powder container according to Aspect B20, wherein
the powder further includes carrier particle.
[0161] Aspect B22
An image forming apparatus comprising the powder
container according to any one of Aspects Bl to B21.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[0162] 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K TONER CONTAINER (POWDER
CONTAINER)
33 CONTAINER BODY (POWDER STORAGE)
33a OPENING (CONTAINER OPENING)
33c INNER WALL SURFACE OF CONTAINER BODY
34 CONTAINER FRONT END COVER (CONTAINER COVER)
41 PHOTOCONDUCTOR (IMAGE BEARER)
46Y, 46M, 46C, 46K IMAGE FORMING SECTION
50 DEVELOPING DEVICE
60 TONER REPLENISHING DEVICE (POWDER REPLENISHING
(SUPPLY) DEVICE)
100 PRINTER (COPIER MAIN BODY)
200 SHEET FEED TABLE (SHEET FEEDER)
301 CONTAINER GEAR
302 SPIRAL RIB (ROTARY CONVEYOR)
304, 304B to 304E SCOOPING PORTION (POWDER SCOOPING
PORTION)
304a SPIRAL RIB AT SCOOPING PORTION (CONVEYING
PORTION)
304a1 FIRST END OF SPIRAL RIB AT SCOOPING PORTION
(TERMINATED PORTION AT SCOOPING PORTION)
304a2 SECOND END OF SPIRAL RIB AT SCOOPING PORTION ON
SIDE DISTANT FROM OPENING
3040, 3040B to 3040E SCOOPING SURFACE
=
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3040a, 3040Ba to 3040Ea INNER END PORTION OF SCOOPING
SURFACE
3041 WALL (CONTAINER FRONT WALL)
3042, 3042B to 3042E EDGE (SIDE)
3043 SURFACE
330 NOZZLE RECEIVER (NOZZLE INSERTION MEMBER)
331 RECEIVING OPENING (NOZZLE INSERTION OPENING)
332 CONTAINER SHUTTER (OPENING/CLOSING MEMBER)
335 SHUTTER REAR END SUPPORTING PORTION (SHUTTER REAR
PORTION)
335a SHUTTER SIDE SUPPORTING PORTION (SIDE PORTION)
335b OPENING OF SHUTTER SUPPORTING PORTION (SHUTTER
SIDE OPENING)
340 CONTAINER SHUTTER SUPPORTER (SUPPORTER)
500 COPIER (IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS)
608 SETTING COVER
610 NOZZLE HOLE (POWDER RECEIVING HOLE)
611 CONVEYING NOZZLE
615 CONTAINER SETTING SECTION (CONTAINER RECEIVING
SECTION)
G INCLINED ANGLE OF SCOOPING SURFACE
el ANGLE BETWEEN PROTRUSION AND SCOOPING SURFACE
e2 ANGLE BETWEEN TWO SURFACES FORMING EDGE OF
SCOOPING SURFACE
0 ROTATION AXIS
hl HEIGHT OF SCOOPING SURFACE
h2 HEIGHT OF PROTRUSION
S SPACE (TONER HOLDING SPACE)
S7 START POSITION OF TONER CONVEYING (STARTING POINT,
CONNECTION PORTION)
T TONER (POWDER FOR IMAGE FORMATION)
W OPENING RANGE OF POWDER RECEIVING HOLE IN ROTATION
DIRECTION
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W1 OPENING RANGE OF POWDER RECEIVING HOLE IN AXIAL
DIRECT ION
X, X1 VIRTUAL LINE
P RECORDING MEDIUM
5 G DEVELOPER
Q ATTACHMENT DIRECTION
Q1 DETACHMENT DIRECTION
