JP2006145960A - Developer storage container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developer storage container and an image forming apparatus such that an information recording portion securely is conductive to a primary device body while setting of the container is kept excellent even when the developer storage container is such a type that a developer is stored in a deformable bag-shaped storage portion. <P>SOLUTION: The developer storage container has: a bag-shaped and deformable toner storage body 21 which stores toner as a developer; and a ferrule member 30 which is fixed to the toner storage body 21 and is made of a rigid body having a single discharge portion, and is provided with an information substrate 22 as the information recording portion which records information into the ferrule member 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer container and an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine. Note that the developer in the present specification is a toner as a one-component developer or a two-component developer or a carrier or a mixture of a toner and a carrier.

  In the image forming apparatus of the above type, for example, a toner storage container such as a toner bottle or a toner cartridge storing toner is detachably attached to the apparatus main body, and toner is supplied from the container to the developing device. Well known.

JP 2000-221866 A

  In recent years, as described in Patent Document 1, an information board is provided in a toner storage container of a toner bottle or a toner cartridge, and a compatible model of the toner stored in the information board, a manufacturing date, a toner color, and a toner remaining amount It has already been proposed to record such information, and read such information for use in toner cartridge management. Such a container information reading method is widely used, and is expected to be attached to many toner cartridges in the future.

  In addition to the board method, there are barcode methods, magnetic methods, wireless methods, etc. as methods for storing information, but the amount of information that can be stored with respect to the size is difficult in the barcode and magnetic methods, and the device body Rewriting of information is difficult, and the reading / writing device is large, and there is a difficulty in layout. Further, in the wireless system, there is a problem such as a layout restriction due to the influence of the metal body in the configuration of the peripheral part, and at present, a system in which an electric terminal is brought into contact with and separated from a substrate is mainstream.

  By the way, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus using a toner storage container storing toner to be replenished in a flexible storage bag. In such a toner storage container, it is desired to provide a substrate for an information recording unit. In the case of a back-in-box type toner storage container in which a flexible toner storage bag is covered with a rigid outer box, the information recording unit described above is used. Is provided in a hard outer box. When the toner storage container is set, a terminal that is connected to the electrical contact of the information recording unit is provided on the claw that holds the hard outer box, so that the information recording unit of the set toner storage container is securely connected to the apparatus main body. Will be in a conductive state.

  However, if the flexible toner container is used without being covered with a hard case, it is difficult to reliably connect the terminal on the reading side to the information recording unit of the set container.

  In view of the above-described conventional circumstances, the present invention provides an information recording unit that maintains the setability of the container in a good manner even when the developer is stored in a deformable bag-shaped storage unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide a developer container and an image forming apparatus that are surely in a conductive state.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a deformable bag-shaped storage unit for storing a developer in a developer storage container that stores the developer and is attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. And a base member made of a rigid body having a single developer discharge portion, and an information recording portion for recording information is provided on the base member.

  In the developer storage container of the present invention, the base member is provided at a lower portion of the storage part, and the side of the base member orthogonal to the direction in which the information recording unit is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body. If provided, it is effective.

Furthermore, in the developer container of the present invention, it is effective that the developer discharge portion is provided on the side surface of the base member.
Furthermore, in the developer container of the present invention, it is effective that the information recording unit has a semiconductor storage element for recording information and an electrical contact that is electrically connected to the apparatus main body.

Furthermore, in the developer storage container of the present invention, it is effective that the information recording unit is disposed in a recess of a recess provided on a side surface of the base member.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus using the developer storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the container mounting portion to which the developer storage container is mounted A connection device having a terminal electrically connected to the electrical contact of the information recording unit and an insertion member inserted into the developer discharge port is provided.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is effective that the developer storage container is mounted on the container mounting portion by free fall.
Further, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the container mounting portion is displaceable between a first state in which the developer storage container can be taken in and out and a second state in which the developer storage container is held, and the connection The apparatus is effective when the terminal is brought into contact with or separated from the electrical contact of the information recording unit in accordance with a change between the first state and the second state.

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the electrical contact and contact / separation operation of the information recording unit of the terminal and the insertion / removal operation of the insertion member to the developer discharge port are interlocked, It is effective.

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the direction in which the terminal is brought into contact with and separated from the electrical contact of the information recording unit and the direction in which the insertion member is inserted into and removed from the developer discharge port are the same direction. And effective.

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is effective when the terminal is pressed and contacted in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the electrical contact of the information recording unit.

  In the configurations of the first to fifth aspects, even if the developer is stored in a deformable bag, high reliability can be obtained in the electrical connection between the information recording unit and the image forming apparatus main body. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a developer container that can mount the information substrate of the information recording unit without increasing the size of the base member and that is less likely to be contaminated with dirt such as developer on its electrical contacts.

  According to the sixth to eleventh aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of satisfying both the setability of the toner storage container and the electrical connection reliability of the information board.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be clarified.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a color copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus shown here has an image forming means 1 for forming a toner image on a recording medium.

  The image forming means 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes first to fourth image carriers 2Y, 2C, 2M, and 2K configured as drum-shaped photosensitive members, and a yellow toner image is formed on each of the image carriers. A magenta toner image, a cyan toner image, and a black toner image are formed. An intermediate transfer belt 3 is disposed opposite to the first to fourth image carriers 2Y to 2K. The intermediate transfer belt 3 is wound around rollers 4, 5, and 6, one of the rollers being shown. It is driven to run in the direction of arrow A by being driven to rotate by no drive means.

  Since the operation of forming the toner image on each of the first to fourth image carriers 2Y, 2C, 2M, and 2K is substantially the same, the toner image is applied to the first image carrier 2Y. Only the structure to be formed will be described. The image carrier 2Y is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1, and at this time, the surface of the image carrier is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging roller. Next, the charged surface is irradiated with a light-modulated laser beam emitted from the laser writing unit 7. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the image carrier 2Y, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a yellow toner image by the developing device. A transfer roller (not shown) is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the image carrier 2Y with the intermediate transfer belt 3 interposed therebetween. The transfer roller has a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner on the image carrier 2Y. A voltage is applied, whereby the yellow toner image on the image carrier 2Y is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 3. The transfer residual toner that is not transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 3 and remains on the image carrier 2Y is removed by a cleaning device.

  In exactly the same manner, a cyan toner image, a magenta toner image, and a black toner image are formed on the second to fourth image carriers 2C, 2M, and 2K, respectively, and these toner images are transferred to the yellow toner image. The images are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 3.

  On the other hand, a recording medium P made of, for example, transfer paper, a resin sheet, a resin film, or the like is fed from a paper supply unit 10 provided below the image forming unit 1, and the recording medium P is indicated by an arrow B as shown in FIG. Then, it is fed toward the roller 6 of the intermediate transfer belt 3. A secondary transfer roller 11 is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the roller 6 with the intermediate transfer belt 3 interposed therebetween, and the recording medium P is sent between the intermediate transfer belt 3 and the secondary transfer roller 11. A voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the secondary transfer roller 11, whereby the superimposed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 3 is transferred onto the recording medium P. The recording medium P after the transfer is discharged onto the discharge tray 13 after the toner is fixed by the fixing device 12.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a toner replenishing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a toner storage container as a developer storage container storing toner, and the toner storage container 20 includes, as shown in FIGS. And a base member 30 having a toner discharge portion. A specific configuration of the toner container 20 will be described in detail later.

  The toner storage container 20 set in the main body of the image forming apparatus communicates with the developing device 14 through a toner replenishment path. The toner replenishment path has a nozzle 80 as a connecting member connected to the cap member 30, A powder pump 60 as suction means for transferring the toner to the developing device 14 by suction force and a flexible toner transfer tube 65 for connecting the nozzle 80 and the powder pump 60 are provided.

  In the developing device 14, screws 15 and 16 having spiral fins called conveyance augers inside the casing rotate in the directions of arrows C and D, and a developer containing a mixture of toner and carrier is contained in this portion. Yes. The transport auger is formed so that, for example, the screw 15 transports the developer from the front side to the back side in the figure, and the screw 16 transports the developer from the back side to the front side. By providing a portion without the partition 17, the developer is stirred while circulating. A part of the circulating developer is sucked and attracted by the magnetic force by the developing roller 19 and is uniformly regulated to a thickness by the doctor blade 18. Then, the developer is brought into contact with the image carrier 2 to come into contact with the static on the image carrier. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner to form a toner image. Here, only the toner adheres to the image carrier 2, and development is performed while the toner in the toner storage container 20 is replenished little by little in order to keep the amount of toner in the circulating developer in the developing device constant. Is done.

  The powder pump 60 is called a suction-type single-shaft eccentric screw pump, and includes two main parts, a rotor 61 and a stator 62. The rotor 61 is formed by spirally twisting a shaft member having a circular cross section, and is connected to a motor 66 via a universal joint 64. On the other hand, the stator 62 is made of a rubber-like flexible material, and has an oval cross-sectionally shaped hole that is helically twisted. It is formed twice as long. By fitting these two parts and rotating the rotor 61, the toner entering the space formed between the rotor 61 and the stator 62 can be transferred.

  In the powder pump 60 configured as described above, when the rotor 61 is rotationally driven, the toner in the toner container 20 enters the powder pump 60 from the toner suction port 63 and is sucked and conveyed from left to right in FIG. The toner is supplied from the discharge port 67 to the lower developing device 14 via the sub hopper 68. The configuration of the sub hopper 68 is omitted since it is not the gist of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the toner storage container 20.
In FIG. 3, the toner container 21 of the toner container 20 is formed in a bag shape by welding a film-like resin having a thickness of about 50 to 300 μm, which is called a soft wrapping material. As the film-like resin constituting the toner storage body 21, a plurality of resin films made of different materials are laminated to form a single film. The inner layer is made of a material that dissolves at a relatively low temperature (polyethylene, etc.), and the outer and intermediate layers are the type of contents (solid, liquid, powder, etc.) and purpose. PET, nylon, aluminum, paper, etc. are used in accordance with (food, medicine, etc.). In this embodiment, the toner storage body 21 is composed of a composite material of three materials of PET, nylon, and polyethylene from the outside toward the inside.

  Since the toner storage body 21 is formed of a film, the toner storage body 21 can be deformed according to the shape and amount of the contents. For example, the toner storage container 20 that has been used can be rolled up and collected. The base member 30 is much smaller than the toner container 21 and is made of a rigid molding resin.

  In the toner storage container configured as described above, it is desired to provide an information recording unit. However, when the substrate of the information recording unit is mounted on the container, the following problems occur.

  In the toner storage container of the bag body, a portion having rigidity capable of mounting the substrate of the information recording unit that ensures electrical conduction by contact pressure is limited to the base member 30. Further, since the rigid portion is used for container positioning and color incompatible mis-set prevention, the base member 30 is used for container positioning and color incompatible mis-set prevention in addition to mounting on the substrate.

  Therefore, mounting an information substrate having a plurality of electrode patterns and requiring a certain pitch to prevent erroneous contact of the electrode patterns becomes difficult in terms of layout. Further, the volume reduction type toner container has low rigidity, and it is difficult for an operator to push the container as in the case of a conventional rigid container, and the toner container is set to a predetermined position by dropping by its own weight. desirable. In this case, the terminal that contacts the substrate of the information recording unit provided in the container serves as a resistance to the setting operation.

  In particular, as will be described later, in a configuration in which the wall surface of the lower base holding portion can be retracted at a position where the toner storage container can be set so that the toner storage container can be easily set, the position of the base member during the setting is stable. The fixed terminal is more likely to be caught.

  Accordingly, the present invention seeks to achieve both the setting property of the toner storage container and the securing of the electrical connection reliability of the information board. First, the base member 30 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the base member 30 has three parts, that is, an upper member 31, an inner member 40, and an outer member 50. The upper member 31 is provided with a storage portion fixing portion 32 to which the toner storage body 21 is fixed, and a fixing guide 33 as a coupling means for coupling with the outer member 50. The inner member 40 is provided with an engagement groove 44 with which a ring 42 having a pentagonal cross section with a rectangular upper side formed in a mountain shape is engaged, and the outer member 50 has a mounting portion 51 of the inner member 40 and a ring 42. The holding portion 52 and the guide receiver 53 into which the fixed guide 33 of the upper member 31 is inserted are provided.

  In the base member 30, the shutter hole 41 is formed across the inner member 40 and the outer member 50, and the inner member 40 that is engaged with the ring 42 in the engagement groove 44 is attached to the attachment portion 51 of the outer member 50, The outer member 50 and the inner member 40 are assembled by inserting the cylindrical shutter member 25 into the shutter hole 41. Then, by rotating the fixed guide 33 of the upper member 31 in accordance with the guide receiver 53, the upper member 31 is coupled to the member in which the inner member 40 and the outer member 50 are assembled, and the assembly of the base member 30 is completed. At this time, there is provided a locking means that is locked when the upper member 31 and the outer member 50 are joined at a regular position, and the locking means of this example is a locking claw provided on the upper member 31 (see FIG. And a locking groove 54 provided in the guide receiver 53 of the outer member 50, and the locking claw fits into the locking groove 54 when both parts are coupled at the correct position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the base member 30 is formed with an inner hole 35 that extends to the shutter hole 41 across the upper member 31 and the inner member 40, but the upper member 31 and the inner member 40 have the inner hole 35. The inner holes 35 are not displaced because they are coupled by a rotation operation around the axis of Further, since the cylindrical rising portion 43 of the inner member 40 is provided with an O-ring seal 43a, the airtightness of the upper member 31 and the inner member 40 is maintained.

  In the toner storage container 20 including the flexible toner storage body 21 and the base member 30, the information substrate 22 of the information recording unit is provided on the side surface of the base member 30. The information board 22 of this example is a thin rectangular ID chip, and has a terminal 23 which is an electrical contact electrically connected to the apparatus main body on the front surface and an electrical component 22a on the back surface. . When the toner container 20 is set in the apparatus main body, the terminal 23 comes into contact with an abutting portion on the apparatus side, which will be described later, so that information can be read and written. For example, information such as the toner storage container 20 and the model of the image forming apparatus suitable for the toner stored in the container, the color of the toner, the date of manufacture, and the remaining amount of toner are recorded on the information board 22. Yes.

Next, a method for attaching the information recording unit 22 to the toner storage container 20 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the outer member 50 is formed with a concave storage portion 55 in which the information recording portion 22 is accommodated, and an electrical contact 23 of the information recording portion 22 appears on the outer surface side of the storage portion 55. A window 56 is provided. On the other hand, the inner member 40 is formed with a holding groove 45 into which a side portion of the information recording unit 22 is fitted and an arm unit 46 that presses the upper end of the information recording unit 22. The information recording unit 22 is attached at the same time when the inner member 40 is attached to the outer member 50, and is inserted into the holding groove 45 of the inner member in a direction in which the contact of the information recording unit 22 faces the window 56. When the inner member 40 is attached to the attachment portion 51 of the outer member 50 in this state, the information recording portion 22 is accommodated in the outer member storage portion 55. At this time, the position of the information recording unit 22 in the left-right direction is determined by the holding groove 45 of the inner member 40 and the side wall of the storage unit 55 of the outer member 50, and the vertical direction is the arm portion 46 of the inner member 40 and the outer member 50. The position of the storage portion 55 is determined by the bottom portion.

  The information recording unit 22 is assembled at the same time by attaching the inner member 40 to the outer member 50. Further, the operation is simple and no special operation for attaching the information recording unit is required. Since the information recording unit 22 assembled in the toner container 20 in this manner is attached to the side surface of the attachment member 30 of the toner container 20, the toner or the like is less likely to adhere compared to the one attached to the bottom. Further, since the information recording unit 22 is attached at a position in the recess drawn inward from the outer surface of the outer member 50, there is an advantage that it is difficult for a finger to touch the surface of the terminal 23.

Next, a method for setting the toner container 20 in the apparatus main body will be described.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus.
As shown in the figure, container support holders 75Y, 75M, 75C, and 75K are provided on the front surface of the printer casing as four container storage devices that can be opened and closed by rotating about a rotation shaft (not shown). These components constitute a part of the toner conveying device for the corresponding color, and accommodate and support the corresponding color toner container. For example, when the Y toner storage container 20Y is set in the container support holder 75Y, the operator removes the lock (not shown) and opens the container support holder 75Y so as to rotate forward as shown. Then, the operator holds the bag portion 51Y with his / her hand so that the base member 30 is on the lower side in the vertical direction, and inserts the toner storage container 20Y into the container support holder 75Y.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the container support holder 75 for Y. In the following description, the Y container support holder 75 will be described as an example, but the same applies to other color toner conveying devices. For convenience of explanation, the color code is omitted.

  The container support holder 75 has a fixing portion 76 fixed to the image forming apparatus main body. A container guide member 60 as a container support member is provided below the container support holder 75. A rotating shaft 75 a is fixed to the lower part of the container guide member 60. The rotating shaft 75a is rotatably attached to the fixed portion 76. Thereby, the container support holder 75 can be rotated around the rotation shaft 75a. Further, protrusions 75b are provided on both side surfaces of the upper portion of the container guide member 60, and these protrusions 75b are respectively engaged with two slide members 72 that are rotatably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus. is doing. The range in which the container support holder 75 opens is restricted by the slide member 72 being locked by the protrusion 75b. Thus, a holder driving mechanism as a container support member moving means for moving the container support holder 75 between the attachment / detachment position for attaching / detaching the toner storage container 20 and the storage position for storing the toner storage container 20 inside the apparatus. Is configured.

  The container support holder 75 is provided with a back support portion 75d that supports the printer main body side of the toner storage container 20. The lower end portion of the back support portion 75d is rotatably supported by the main body of the container support holder 75. When the container support holder 75 is in the open state, the back support part 75d takes a posture that leans forward together with the container guide member 60 due to its own weight, but can also escape to the image forming apparatus main body side as shown in FIG. . With such a configuration, even when the toner in the toner storage container 20 accumulates downward due to its own weight and the lower portion of the bag-like body 21 is inflated, the toner storage container 20 is set in the container support holder 75. Becomes easy. When the container support holder 75 is closed, the back support part 75d is held in a state of being sandwiched between the toner storage container 20 and the image forming apparatus main body.

  8A and 8B are cross-sectional views when the Y container support holder 75 is cut in the vertical direction along the nozzle receiving hole 41 of the base member 30. FIG. FIG. 8A shows a state in which the container support holder 75 is opened in order to attach and detach the toner storage container 20, and FIG. 8B shows a state in which the container support holder 75 is closed.

  As shown in the figure, the container storage device of this embodiment includes a movable plate 73 as a cap holding member. The movable plate 73 is attached so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 73a fixed to the container support holder 75. The retraction position shown in FIG. 8 (a) and the holding position shown in FIG. 8 (b). Can move between. The cam surface of the cam 74 is in contact with the surface of the movable plate 73 opposite to the side in contact with the toner storage container 20 set in the container support holder 75 at the lower part. The cam 74 has a cam shaft 74a rotatably attached to the container support holder 75, and is rotationally driven by a driving force transmitted to a cam drive gear provided at one end of the cam shaft 74a. By the rotation of the cam 74, the movable plate 73 moves between the retracted position and the holding position about the rotation shaft 73a. Therefore, in this embodiment, the cam 74, the cam shaft 74a, and the cam drive gear function as positioning means.

  FIGS. 9A and 9B are explanatory views showing a drive mechanism for rotating the cam 74. FIG. 9A shows a state where the container support holder 75 is opened in order to attach and detach the toner storage container 20, and FIG. 9B shows a state where the container support holder 75 is closed. In the drawing, the container support holder 75 and the movable plate 73 are indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the fixed portion 76 is indicated by a one-dot chain line.

  A cam drive gear 74 b provided on the cam shaft 74 a of the cam 74 meshes with a gear portion 77 a provided on a substantially L-shaped sector gear 77. One end of the sector gear 77 is rotatably attached to a rotation shaft 77b fixed to the container support holder 75. A long hole is formed in the middle of the sector gear 77 through which the fixed shaft 76b fixed to the fixed portion 76 is inserted.

  In such a configuration, when closing the opened container support holder 75 as shown in FIG. 9A, the operator pushes the opened container support holder 75 forward and shows it in FIG. 9B. Put it in a state. When the container support holder 75 moves in this way, the rotation shaft 77b attached to one end of the sector gear 77 moves along with this movement, and the sector gear 77 rotates around the fixed shaft 76b in the clockwise direction in the figure. This rotational force is transmitted through the gear portion 77a of the sector gear 77 to the cam drive gear 74b meshed therewith, and the cam drive gear 74b rotates approximately half in the counterclockwise direction in the figure. In this embodiment, even if the opening / closing range of the container support holder 75 is small, the above-described link mechanism is adopted as the drive mechanism of the sector gear 77 in order to earn the rotation angle required to rotate the cam 74 about half a turn. The rotation angle is increased and the gear ratio between the gear portion 77a of the sector gear 77 and the cam drive gear is adjusted. In this embodiment, the opening / closing range of the container support holder 75 is 23 °, but a cam rotation angle of 168 ° is obtained. The cam 74 rotating in this way is changed from the state shown in FIG. 8A to the state shown in FIG. 8B, and the movable plate 73 is pushed toward the toner storage container 20 by the cam surface to be in the holding position. Positioned. This holding position is a position for holding the cap member 30 of the toner storage container 20 in a state supported by the container support holder 75 at a connection position with the nozzle 80.

  On the other hand, when opening the container support holder 75 in the closed state as shown in FIG. 9B, the operator opens the container support holder 75 to the front to bring it into the state shown in FIG. 9A. When the container support holder 75 moves in this manner, this time, the operation opposite to the above-described operation is performed, and the cam 74 changes from the state shown in FIG. 8B to the state shown in FIG. As a result, the cam surface is separated from the movable plate 73, the positioning of the movable plate 73 to the holding position is released, and the movable plate 73 becomes rotatable about the rotation shaft 73a. Therefore, it is possible to move to the retracted position shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the movable plate 73 is not positively moved to the retracted position, but may of course be positively moved to the retracted position. In this case, for example, a configuration in which the movable plate 73 is urged in the direction toward the retracted position using a spring or the like can be employed.

  This retracted position is a position that does not prevent the toner storage container 20 from being attached to and detached from the container support holder 75. More specifically, when the operator sets the toner storage container 20 in the container support holder 75, the cap member of the toner storage container 20 remains in a state where the movable plate 73 remains positioned at the holding position shown in FIG. 30 is easily caught on the inner wall of the movable plate 73 and the container support holder 75. If caught in this manner, the base member 32 cannot be inserted to the deepest part of the container support holder 75, so the base member 30 cannot be connected to the nozzle 80, and the toner storage container 20 cannot be set normally. In particular, the toner container 20 is often unable to be set normally because it is likely to be caught when the base member 30 is deformed. In this embodiment, when the operator sets the toner storage container 20 in the container support holder 75, the movable plate 73 can be moved to the retracted position shown in FIG. Accordingly, when the base member 30 of the toner storage container 20 set in the container support holder 75 comes into contact with the movable plate 73, the movable plate 73 moves to the retracted position, and the space into which the base member 30 enters is expanded. Therefore, even if the posture of the base member 30 is slightly collapsed, the base member 30 is not easily caught by the movable plate 73, and the base member 32 can be smoothly inserted to the deepest part of the container support holder 75. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a situation in which the base member 30 is caught and the toner storage container 20 cannot be normally set.

  In this embodiment, when the cap member 30 enters the deepest portion of the container support holder 75 and the toner storage container 20 is supported by the container support holder 75, the operator closes the container support holder 75. In conjunction with the operation, the movable plate 73 is positioned at the holding position. Thereby, the base member 30 is guided to the connection position with the nozzle 80 by the movable plate 73 and is held at that position. As a result, the base member 30 can be appropriately connected to the nozzle 80.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the toner container 20 is not shown, but a fold for reducing the volume into a certain shape is formed on the side surface of the bag-like body 21. And the flat part of the seam part which is the joint of a sheet | seat is flat so that the shape after volume reduction may become flat along the front surface and back surface (front surface and back surface in the figure) of the bag-shaped body 21. . Therefore, in the toner storage container 20 of the present embodiment, in the region of the bag-like body 21 in the vicinity of the portion where the cap member 30 is provided, the front and back surfaces of the bag-like body 21 have lower bending rigidity than the side surface. . Therefore, the base member 30 is easily broken toward the front or back of the bag-like body 21. Therefore, in this embodiment, the moving direction of the movable plate 73 is configured to coincide with the direction in which the front or back of the toner storage container 20 is oriented when the toner storage container 20 is supported by the container support holder 75. Yes. Thereby, the base member 30 can be more smoothly penetrated to the deepest part of the container support holder 75.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a nozzle support 81 that supports the nozzle 80.
The nozzle support 81 is provided with a pair of positioning forks 82 that engage with the positioning grooves 57 on both the left and right sides of the outer member 50 of the base member 30 shown in FIG. 4, and further at a position corresponding to the terminal 23 of the information board 22. The terminal board 84 having the contact terminals 83 is fixed by screwing. As this contact terminal 83, a known spring probe type as shown in FIG. 11 is used.

  By adopting a spring probe type terminal as the contact terminal 93, the terminal board 84 that slides integrally with the nozzle 80 is housed and separated in the retracted position of FIG. 8 (a). In the state of FIG. 8B in which the toner storage container 20 is set by closing the container support holder 75 and moving it to the holding position, it moves with the insertion of the nozzle 80 and moves to the information substrate 22 on the side of the base member 30. It is possible to read and write information by signal connection with the apparatus main body side.

  FIG. 12 shows an embodiment different from FIG. 11, and in this embodiment, the nozzle support 81 is divided into a nozzle support member 81 a and a terminal board support member 81 b that supports the terminal board 84, and is configured as a separate body. Yes.

  The nozzle support member 81a is provided with two protrusions 85 at the lower portion, and the terminal board support member 81b is provided with a concave shape 86 at a position corresponding to the protrusion 85. The nozzle support member 81a and the terminal substrate support member 81b are attached in a state where they are aligned in the vertical direction. At this time, the lateral direction is positioned by both side surfaces of the protrusion 85 and the terminal substrate concave shape 86.

  The terminal substrate support member 81b is slidable with respect to the terminal substrate support member 81b and the nozzle support member 81a. However, when the nozzle 80 is inserted into the toner storage container 20, the end surface of the protrusion 85 of the nozzle support member 81a is the terminal substrate. By pushing the inner wall of the concave shape 86 of the support member 81b, the terminal substrate 84 is urged toward the toner storage container 20 and is contact-connected to the information substrate 22.

  In a state where the nozzle 80 is released from the toner container 20, the end surface of the protrusion 85 opposite to the toner container side pushes the inner wall of the terminal substrate support member 81 b on the opposite side of the concave shape 86, thereby 84 is separated from the toner container 20 and is disconnected from the information substrate 22.

  Here, by appropriately setting the length of the protrusion 85 of the nozzle support member 81a and the length of the concave shape 86 of the terminal substrate support member 81b in the sliding direction, the terminal substrate support member with respect to the slide stroke of the nozzle 80 is set. The amount of movement of 81b can be suppressed to the minimum necessary. In the configuration having the rear guide release mechanism using the cam shown in FIG. 9, the minimum required terminal release position is obtained by combining the terminal length and the rear guide release amount. By suppressing the amount of movement of the terminal board, it is advantageous in securing the layout space accompanying the movement of the harness (not shown), and it is possible to minimize damage to the harness.

  As described above, the terminal board 84 that moves in conjunction with the nozzle 80 is located at the back side of the back support portion 75 as shown in FIG. 13 in the retracted position of FIG. Therefore, the terminal board 84 is not caught by the cap member 30 of the toner storage container 20 to be set, and the setting property is not hindered. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the holding position in FIG. 8B protrudes from the back support portion 75 together with the nozzle 80 and reliably contacts the information substrate 22 of the toner storage container 20 in which the terminal substrate 84 is set. ·Connecting.

  In order to more reliably prevent the toner storage container 20 to be set from being caught by the base member 30, the recessed portion of the base member 30 to which the information board 22 is attached is cut to the bottom of the ancestor. It is advantageous.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the developer storage container is a toner storage container and the developer supply device is a toner supply device. However, the developer storage container may be a carrier storage container that stores a carrier instead of a toner storage container. The developer supply device may be a carrier supply device. If the carriers are sequentially replenished in this way, the carriers are replaced little by little without being replaced at a time, so that the image quality can be maintained at a certain level for a long time. The developer storage container can also be configured as a premix developer container in which toner and carrier are mixed.

  In the above embodiment, the information recording medium has a semiconductor memory element. However, the information recording unit may simply have a barcode or the like. In this case, information recorded on the information recording medium is optical. Or may be read magnetically.

1 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus using a developer container according to the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a toner replenishing device of the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a toner storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a base member of a toner storage container. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a toner storage container is set. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows a container support holder. (A) is the state which opened the container support holder, (b) is sectional drawing when cut | disconnecting in the perpendicular direction along the nozzle insertion hole of a nozzle | cap | die member which shows the state which opened the container support holder, respectively. (A) is the state which opened the container support holder, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the mechanism for rotating each cam which shows the state which opened the container support holder. It is a perspective view which shows a nozzle support body. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a contact terminal. It is a perspective view which shows another embodiment of a nozzle support body. It is a perspective view which shows a terminal board | substrate and a back surface support part when a container support holder is a retracted position. It is a perspective view which shows a terminal board | substrate and a back surface support part when a container support holder is a holding position.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 14 Developing apparatus 20 Toner storage container 21 Toner storage body 22 Information recording part 23 Electrical contact 30 Base member 50 Outer member 75 Container support holder 80 Nozzle 81 Nozzle support 83 Contact terminal 84 Terminal substrate

Claims (11)

In the developer storage container that stores the developer and is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body.
Information having a deformable bag-shaped storage portion for storing the developer and a base member made of a rigid body having a single developer discharge portion fixed to the storage portion, and recording information on the base member A developer storage container provided with a recording unit.   The base member is provided at a lower portion of the storage unit, and the information recording unit is provided on a side surface of the base member orthogonal to a direction of insertion into the image forming apparatus main body. The developer storage container according to 1.   The developer storage container according to claim 2, wherein the developer discharge portion is provided on a side surface of the base member.   The developer storage container according to claim 1, wherein the information recording unit includes a semiconductor storage element that records information and an electrical contact that is electrically connected to the apparatus main body.   The developer storage container according to claim 1, wherein the information recording unit is disposed in a recess of a recess provided on a side surface of the base member. In the image forming apparatus using the developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A connecting device having a terminal connected to the electrical contact of the information recording unit and an insertion member inserted into the developer discharge port is provided in a container mounting unit in which the developer storage container is mounted. An image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the developer storage container is mounted on the container mounting portion by free fall.   The container mounting portion is displaceable between a first state in which the developer storage container can be taken in and out and a second state in which the developer storage container is positioned and held, and the connecting device is in a first state and a second state. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the terminal is brought into contact with or separated from the electrical contact of the information recording unit in accordance with a change in the state.   The image forming according to claim 8, wherein the electrical contact and separation operation of the information recording unit of the terminal is interlocked with an insertion / removal operation of the insertion member to the developer discharge port. apparatus.   The direction in which the terminal is brought into contact with or separated from the electrical contact of the information recording unit and the direction in which the insertion member is inserted into or removed from the developer discharge port are the same direction. The image forming apparatus described.   The image forming apparatus, wherein the terminal is pressed and contacted in a direction orthogonal to a surface of an electrical contact of the information recording unit.

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