阅读说明：本技术 调色剂盒和成像设备 (Toner cartridge and image forming apparatus ) 是由 浅沼直哉 浜田孝俊 田边真人 川村知史 厚祐辅 于 2020-09-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种调色剂盒,具有：壳体；进给构件；以及泵。所述壳体具有：调色剂容纳室,所述调色剂容纳室容纳调色剂；调色剂排出室,所述调色剂排出室包括用于排出调色剂的排出开口；以及连通端口,所述连通端口用于所述调色剂容纳室和所述调色剂排出室之间的连通。所述进给构件的一部分设置在所述连通端口内部。当在与所述进给构件的调色剂进给方向相垂直的平面中所述连通端口的最小横截面积为Asmin时,所述调色剂排出室具有比Asmin大的横截面积Bs,并且所述调色剂容纳室具有比Asmin大的横截面积Cs。(A toner cartridge includes: a housing; a feeding member; and a pump. The housing has: a toner accommodating chamber accommodating toner; a toner discharge chamber including a discharge opening for discharging toner; and a communication port for communication between the toner accommodating chamber and the toner discharging chamber. A portion of the feed member is disposed inside the communication port. When a minimum cross-sectional area of the communication port in a plane perpendicular to a toner feeding direction of the feeding member is Asmin, the toner discharge chamber has a cross-sectional area Bs larger than Asmin, and the toner containing chamber has a cross-sectional area Cs larger than Asmin.)

1. A toner cartridge, comprising:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging toner; and (i-iii) a communication port for fluid communication between the toner containing chamber and the toner discharging chamber;

(ii) a feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner from the toner containing chamber into the toner discharging chamber through the communication port;

(iii) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air,

wherein at least a portion of the feed member is in the communication port, and

wherein, in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to a toner feeding direction of the feeding member,

the minimum cross-sectional area of the communication port is Asmin,

the toner discharge chamber has a cross-sectional area Bs larger than Asmin, and

the toner accommodating chamber has a cross-sectional area Cs larger than Asmin.

2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the housing includes a vent hole that is provided at a position different from that of the communication port and is configured to permit fluid communication between the toner discharge chamber and the toner accommodating chamber.

3. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein a lower end portion of the air vent is located above an upper end portion of the communication port inside the toner discharge chamber when the toner cartridge assumes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward.

4. The toner cartridge according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward, and the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber is in an unused state, inside the toner accommodating chamber, a lower end portion of the air vent is located above an upper plane of the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber.

5. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein when the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward, and the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber is in an unused state, an upper plane of the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber is located above an upper end portion of the pump, and in the toner accommodating chamber, a lower end portion of the air vent is located above the upper plane of the toner.

6. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein when the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward, the lower end portion of the air vent is located above the upper end portion of the pump in the toner discharge chamber.

7. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the air vent is provided with a filter for suppressing movement of the toner.

8. The toner cartridge of claim 1, further comprising: a first vent configured to permit fluid communication between an interior of the toner accommodating chamber and an exterior of the toner cartridge; and a second vent hole for permitting fluid communication between an inside of the toner discharge chamber and an outside of the toner cartridge.

9. The toner cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the lower end portion of the second ventilation hole is located above the upper plane of the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber in a state where the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward and the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber is in an unused state.

10. The toner cartridge according to claim 8 or 9, wherein in a state in which the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward and the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber is in an unused state, the upper plane of the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber is located above the upper end portion of the pump, and a lower end portion of the second ventilation hole is located above the upper plane of the toner.

11. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein at least one of the first air vent and the second air vent is provided with a filter for suppressing passage of the toner.

12. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-11, wherein the feed member is configured to feed the toner by rotation of the feed member relative to the housing.

13. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-12, wherein the feed member is rotatable about an axis of the feed member and configured to feed the toner in a direction of the axis.

14. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-13, wherein the feed member is a screw.

15. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein the pump is disposed adjacent to a downstream end portion of the housing in a feeding direction of the toner by the feeding member.

16. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1-15, wherein the toner discharge chamber has a cross section of an area Bs at a position downstream of the communication port in a feeding direction of the toner, and the toner accommodating chamber has a cross section of an area Cs.

17. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1-16, wherein the toner discharge chamber has a cross section of an area Bs at a position of the discharge opening, and an area Csmax of a maximum cross section of the toner accommodating chamber is larger than the area Asmin and larger than the area Bs at the position of the discharge opening.

18. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1-17, wherein an area Csmax of a maximum cross section of the toner accommodating chamber is larger than an area Bsmax of a maximum cross section of the toner discharge chamber in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the toner feeding direction of the feeding member.

19. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1-18, wherein an area Csmax of a maximum cross section of the toner accommodating chamber is larger than 10 times the area Asmin in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the toner feeding direction of the feeding member.

20. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein a volume of the toner discharge chamber is smaller than a volume of the toner accommodating chamber.

21. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the housing includes a partition member that divides between the toner accommodating chamber and the toner discharge chamber and forms the communication port.

22. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 1-21, further comprising a drive input member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the feed member and the pump.

23. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-22, wherein the drive input member is a coupling member.

24. The toner cartridge according to claim 23, wherein the drive input member is provided with a protrusion that protrudes toward an axis of the drive input member, and the drive input member is configured to transmit the rotational force from the protrusion toward the pump and the feeding member.

25. The toner cartridge of claim 24, wherein an open space is provided between a protrusion of the drive input member and the axis of the drive input member.

26. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 22-25, wherein the drive input member and the pump are arranged in a downstream portion of the toner cartridge in the toner feeding direction of the feeding member.

27. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-26, further comprising a suction opening, wherein the pump is configured to expel the air drawn through the suction opening through the discharge opening.

28. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 1-26, wherein the pump is configured to draw the air into the toner discharge chamber through the discharge opening.

29. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 1-28, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump.

30. The toner cartridge of claim 29, wherein the pump includes a flexible movable portion, and a volume of the pump is changed by deformation of the movable portion.

31. The toner cartridge of claim 29 or 30, further comprising: a rotatable member; and a reciprocating member engageable with the rotatable member to reciprocate by rotation of the rotatable member, wherein the pump is driven by the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating member.

32. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 29-31, wherein the pump includes a movable portion that is capable of reciprocating by the reciprocating member, and the rotatable member and the reciprocating member contact at a point of engagement when the rotatable member and the reciprocating member are engaged with each other, wherein, in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump, there is a timing in driving of the pump at which the point of engagement is at a position in the movable portion of the pump.

33. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-27, wherein the pump is a centrifugal pump.

34. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-33, further comprising:

a first engaging portion forming an opening,

a second engaging portion forming an opening, an

A memory element provided with an electrical contact,

wherein the pump is provided with a connection portion connected with the housing,

wherein the first engaging portion, the second engaging portion, the pump, and the storage element are arranged in a downstream portion of the toner cartridge in a feeding direction of the toner by the feeding member, and

wherein the connecting portion of the pump and the electrical contact of the storage element are arranged on sides opposite to each other with respect to a line passing through the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion as viewed in the toner feeding direction.

35. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 1-34, wherein the feeding member is a first feeding member, and the toner cartridge further comprises a second feeding member configured to feed the toner toward the first feeding member.

36. The toner cartridge of claim 35, wherein the first and second feeding members feed the toner in different directions from each other.

37. The toner cartridge according to claim 35 or 36, wherein the second feeding member includes a sheet configured to feed the toner by rotation of the sheet.

38. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1-37, wherein the communication port is a fluid communication path extending in the toner feeding direction of the feeding member.

39. The toner cartridge of any of claims 1-38, wherein a portion of the feed member is located inside the toner containing chamber.

40. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 1-39, wherein a portion of the feed member is located inside the toner discharge chamber.

41. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1-40, wherein when the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward, (i) a part of the toner accommodating chamber and the communication port are arranged in a vertical direction, and a part of the toner accommodating chamber is located above the communication port, and (ii) another part of the toner accommodating chamber and the communication port are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

42. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 41, wherein the feed member is configured to feed the toner in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction when the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward.

43. A toner cartridge, comprising:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a first engagement portion forming an opening;

(iii) a second engagement portion forming an opening;

(iv) a feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner in the toner containing chamber toward the discharge opening;

(v) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

(vi) a memory element provided with an electrical contact,

wherein the pump is provided with a connecting portion connected with the housing, and

wherein the electrical contact of the storage element and the connecting portion of the pump are arranged in sides opposite to each other with respect to a line connecting the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion as viewed in a feeding direction of the toner by the feeding member.

44. The toner cartridge according to claim 43, wherein the first engaging portion, the second engaging portion, the pump, and the storage element are arranged in a downstream portion of the cartridge with respect to the toner feeding direction of the feeding member.

45. The toner cartridge according to claim 43 or 44, further comprising a drive input member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the pump, wherein the first engaging portion, the second engaging portion, the pump, the storage element, and the drive input member are arranged in a downstream portion of the toner cartridge with respect to the toner feeding direction of the feeding member.

46. The toner cartridge of any of claims 43-45, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump.

47. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 43-46, wherein the feed member feeds the toner in a direction of an axis of the feed member by rotation of the feed member.

48. The toner cartridge of any of claims 43-47, wherein the feed member includes a screw.

49. The toner cartridge of any of claims 43-48, further comprising a cover covering the pump and including the first engagement portion, the second engagement portion, and the storage element.

50. A toner cartridge, comprising:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a first engagement portion forming an opening;

(iii) a second engagement portion forming an opening;

(iv) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air;

(v) a coupling member operatively connected with the pump and configured to receive a rotational force for driving the pump;

(vi) a memory element provided with an electrical contact,

wherein the pump is provided with a connection portion connected with the housing,

wherein the electrical contact of the storage element and the connecting portion of the pump are arranged in opposite sides with respect to a line connecting the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, as viewed in a direction of an axis of the coupling member.

51. The toner cartridge of claim 50, wherein the first engagement portion, the second engagement portion, the pump, the coupling member, and the storage element are disposed in a same side of the cartridge relative to an axis of the coupling member.

52. The toner cartridge of claim 50 or 51, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump.

53. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 50-52, further comprising a cover covering the pump and provided with the first engagement portion, the second engagement portion, and the storage element.

54. A toner cartridge, comprising:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump including a movable portion and configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating movement of the movable portion;

(iii) a rotatable member;

(iv) a reciprocating member configured to be engaged with the rotatable member to reciprocate by rotation of the rotatable member and configured to reciprocate the movable portion of the pump;

wherein when the rotatable member and the reciprocating member are engaged with each other, the rotatable member and the reciprocating member are in contact at an engagement point, and, in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump, there is a timing at which the engagement point is located at a position in the movable portion of the pump in driving of the pump.

55. The toner cartridge according to claim 54, wherein the pump includes a force receiving portion for receiving a force for driving the pump, and wherein a movable range of the force receiving portion and a movable range of the engagement point at least partially overlap with each other in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump.

56. The toner cartridge of claim 54 or 55, further comprising a coupling member for receiving a rotational force for driving the pump, wherein the rotatable member is configured to rotate by receiving the rotational force from the coupling member.

57. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 54-56, wherein the reciprocating member is configured to reciprocate in a direction of an axis of the rotatable member.

58. The toner cartridge of any of claims 55-57, wherein the rotatable member surrounds a circumference of the pump.

59. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 54-56, further comprising a crank provided with the rotatable member and the reciprocating member, wherein the reciprocating member is an arm having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, and wherein the first end of the reciprocating member is engaged with the rotatable member and the second end of the reciprocating member is configured to reciprocate in accordance with rotation of the rotatable member.

60. The toner cartridge of any of claims 54-59, wherein the movable portion of the pump is flexible and reciprocates by deformation of the movable portion.

61. A toner cartridge, comprising:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump including a movable portion and configured to discharge toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating motion of the movable portion; and

(iii) a drive input member configured to receive a rotational force for reciprocating the movable portion of the pump,

wherein, in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump, a range in which the movable portion of the pump is movable and a range in which the drive input member is provided at least partially overlap with each other.

62. The toner cartridge of claim 61, wherein the drive input member is a coupling member.

63. The toner cartridge of claim 61 or 62, wherein the drive input member comprises: a coupling portion configured to receive the rotational force; and a gear portion for transmitting the rotational force toward the pump.

64. The toner cartridge of any of claims 61-63, wherein the movable portion of the pump is flexible and reciprocates by deformation of the movable portion.

65. A toner cartridge, comprising:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a first feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber to the discharge opening;

(iii) a second feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner contained in the toner containing chamber to the first feeding member;

(iv) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

(v) a drive input member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the first feeding member, the second feeding member, and the pump,

wherein a toner feeding direction by the first feeding member and a toner feeding direction by the second feeding member are different from each other.

66. The toner cartridge of claim 65, wherein the drive input member is a coupling member.

67. The toner cartridge of claim 65 or 66, wherein the housing further comprises:

a toner discharge chamber provided with a discharge opening, an

A fluid communication path extending in a toner feeding direction through the first feeding member for fluid communication between the toner discharge chamber and the toner containing chamber,

wherein at least a portion of the first feed member is disposed within the fluid communication path.

68. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 65-67, wherein the first feeding member includes a screw configured to feed the toner by rotation of the screw, and the second feeding member includes a sheet configured to feed the toner by rotation of the sheet.

69. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 65-68, wherein the first feeding member is configured to feed the toner in a direction of an axis of the first feeding member by rotation of the first feeding member, and the second feeding member is configured to feed the toner in a direction intersecting the axis of the second feeding member by rotation of the second feeding member.

70. A toner cartridge, comprising:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump, the pump comprising: (ii-i) a movable portion; and (ii-ii) a connecting portion mounted on the housing, the pump being configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating motion of the movable portion;

(iii) a drive input member for receiving a rotational force for driving the pump; and

(iv) a rotatable member rotatable about an axis of the rotatable member and configured to reciprocate the movable portion of the pump by rotation of the rotatable member, the rotatable member including (iv-i) a gear portion configured to receive a rotational force from the drive input member,

wherein the movable part of the pump effects a reciprocating motion in the direction of the axis of the rotatable member,

wherein the gear portion of the rotatable member surrounds the connection portion of the pump, and

wherein the gear portion of the rotatable member and the movable portion of the pump at least partially overlap each other as viewed in the direction of the axis of the rotatable member.

71. The toner cartridge of claim 70, wherein the rotatable member includes a cam portion configured to convert the rotational force into a reciprocating motion of the pump.

72. The toner cartridge of claim 70 or 71, wherein the drive input member comprises: a coupling member configured to receive the rotational force; and a gear portion configured to transmit the rotational force from the coupling portion.

73. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 70-72, wherein the gear portion of the rotatable member and the gear portion of the drive input member are configured to be in meshing engagement with one another.

74. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 70-73, further comprising a feeding member for feeding the toner toward the discharge opening, wherein the rotatable member is configured to transmit the rotational force from the drive input member toward the feeding member.

75. The toner cartridge of any of claims 70-74, wherein the movable portion of the pump is flexible and reciprocates by deformation of the movable portion.

76. A toner cartridge, comprising:

a housing, the housing comprising: an accommodating chamber that accommodates toner; and a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

a coupling member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the pump,

wherein the discharge opening is located on a first side with respect to a center of the pump in a horizontal direction and an axis of the coupling member is located on a second side opposite to the first side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction as viewed along an axis of the coupling member in a state where the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward.

77. The toner cartridge of claim 76, further comprising a feeding member rotatably disposed inside the housing and configured to feed the toner toward the discharge opening by feeding the toner along an axis of the feeding member via rotation of the feeding member, wherein the rotational force is transmitted from the coupling member toward the feeding member, and wherein as viewed along the axis of the coupling member in the state in which the toner cartridge takes the posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward, the discharge opening and the axis of the feed member are located on the first side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction, and the axis of the coupling member is located on the second side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction.

78. The toner cartridge according to claim 77 or 77, further comprising a feeding member gear that is provided coaxially with the feeding member and is connected to the feeding member, wherein the coupling member includes a gear portion for transmitting the rotational force, and a diameter of the feeding member gear is smaller than a diameter of the gear portion of the coupling member.

79. The toner cartridge according to claim 77 or 78, wherein the feeding member is a first feeding member, and the toner cartridge further comprises a second feeding member, wherein the second feeding member is rotatably provided in the housing and configured to feed the toner toward the first feeding member in a direction intersecting an axis of the second feeding member by rotation of the second feeding member, the coupling member is operatively connected with the second feeding member to transmit the rotational force to the second feeding member, and wherein the axis of the discharge opening and the feeding member is located on a first side with respect to a center of the pump in the horizontal direction and the axis of the coupling member is located on a first side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction as viewed along an axis of the coupling member in a state in which the toner cartridge assumes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward, and the axis of the coupling member is located on a first side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction On a second side opposite to the first side.

80. The toner cartridge of claim 79, wherein the coupling member and the second feed member are coaxial with one another.

81. The toner cartridge of claim 79 or 80, wherein the second feeding member includes a sheet configured to feed the toner toward the first feeding member.

82. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 77-81, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump, wherein the pump is configured to rotate more than one full revolution per reciprocation of the pump.

83. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 77-82, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump, wherein the toner cartridge further comprises a rotatable member configured to convert the rotational force received by the coupling member into reciprocating motion of the pump by rotation of the rotatable member, wherein the rotatable member is configured to transmit the rotational force from the coupling member toward the feeding member, and wherein the pump extends along an axis of the rotatable member.

84. The toner cartridge of claim 83, further comprising a reciprocating member configured to reciprocate by engagement with the rotatable member, wherein the pump reciprocates by reciprocation of the reciprocating member.

85. The toner cartridge of claim 83 or 84, wherein the rotatable member surrounds a circumference of the pump.

86. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 76-82, further comprising a rotatable member configured to convert the rotational force received by the coupling member into the reciprocating motion of the pump.

87. The toner cartridge of claim 86, further comprising a reciprocating member configured to reciprocate by engagement with the rotatable member, wherein the pump reciprocates by reciprocation of the reciprocating member.

88. The toner cartridge of any of claims 86-87, wherein the rotatable member surrounds the pump.

89. The toner cartridge of any of claims 76-88, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump and the pump is configured to perform more than one reciprocating motion per full rotation of the coupling member.

90. The toner cartridge of any of claims 76-81, wherein the pump is a centrifugal pump.

91. The toner cartridge of claim 89, wherein the coupling member is operatively connected with the centrifugal pump such that a rotational frequency of the centrifugal pump is higher than a rotational frequency of the coupling member.

92. The toner cartridge of any of claims 76-91, wherein a portion of the coupling member overlaps the pump as viewed along the axis of the coupling member.

93. The toner cartridge of any one of claims 76-92, wherein the coupling member includes a coupling portion configured to receive the rotational force and a gear portion configured to receive the rotational force from the coupling portion.

94. The toner cartridge of any of claims 76-93, wherein the pump and the coupling member are disposed on a same side of the toner cartridge relative to an axial direction of the coupling member.

95. A toner cartridge, comprising:

a housing, the housing comprising: an accommodating chamber that accommodates toner; and a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

a pump provided with a connection portion connected with the housing and configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

a coupling member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the pump,

wherein the discharge opening is located on a first side with respect to the connection portion of the pump in a horizontal direction and the axis of the coupling member is located on a second side opposite to the first side with respect to the connection portion of the pump in the horizontal direction as viewed along an axis of the coupling member in a state where the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward.

96. The toner cartridge of claim 95, further comprising a feeding member rotatably disposed inside the housing and configured to feed the toner toward the discharge opening by feeding the toner along an axis of the feeding member via rotation of the feeding member, wherein the rotational force is transmitted from the coupling member toward the feeding member, and wherein as viewed along an axis of the coupling member in the state in which the toner cartridge takes the posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward, the discharge opening and the axis of the feed member are located on the first side in the horizontal direction with respect to the connection portion of the pump, and the axis of the coupling member is located on the second side opposite the first side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction.

97. The toner cartridge of claim 96, wherein the toner cartridge is coaxial with the feeding member and includes a feeding member gear connected with the feeding member, and wherein the coupling member includes a gear portion for transmitting the rotational force, and the feeding member gear has a diameter smaller than the gear portion of the coupling member.

98. The toner cartridge according to claim 96 or 97, wherein the feeding member is a first feeding member, and the toner cartridge further comprises a second feeding member, wherein the second feeding member is rotatably provided in the housing and is configured to feed the toner toward the first feeding member in a direction intersecting an axis of the second feeding member by rotation of the second feeding member, wherein the coupling member is operatively connected with the second feeding member to transmit the rotational force to the second feeding member, and wherein the discharge opening and the axis of the first feeding member are located on the first side with respect to the connecting portion of the pump in the horizontal direction as viewed along the axis of the coupling member in the state in which the toner cartridge takes the discharge opening downward-directed posture, and the axis of the coupling member and the axis of the second feeding member are located on the second side opposite to the first side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction.

99. The toner cartridge of claim 98, wherein the coupling member and the second feed member are coaxial with one another.

100. The toner cartridge of claim 98 or 99, wherein the second feeding member includes a sheet configured to feed the toner toward the first feeding member.

101. The toner cartridge of any of claims 98-100, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump, wherein the pump is configured to rotate more than one full revolution per reciprocation of the pump.

102. The toner cartridge of any of claims 96-101, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump,

wherein the toner cartridge further includes a rotatable member configured to convert the rotational force received by the coupling member into a reciprocating motion of the pump by rotation of the rotatable member,

wherein the rotatable member is configured to transmit the rotational force from the coupling member toward the feeding member, and

wherein the pump extends along an axis of the rotatable member.

103. The toner cartridge of claim 102, further comprising a reciprocating member configured to reciprocate by engagement with the rotatable member, wherein the pump reciprocates by reciprocation of the reciprocating member.

104. The toner cartridge of claim 102 or 103, wherein the rotatable member surrounds a circumference of the pump.

105. The toner cartridge of any of claims 95-101, further comprising a rotatable member configured to convert the rotational force received by the coupling member into reciprocating motion of the pump.

106. The toner cartridge of claim 105, further comprising a reciprocating member configured to reciprocate by engagement with the rotatable member, wherein the pump reciprocates by reciprocation of the reciprocating member.

107. The toner cartridge of claim 105 or 106, wherein the rotatable member surrounds the pump.

108. The toner cartridge of any of claims 95-107, wherein the pump is a reciprocating pump and the pump is configured to perform more than one reciprocating motion per full rotation of the coupling member.

109. The toner cartridge of any of claims 95-108, wherein a portion of the coupling member overlaps the pump as viewed along an axis of the coupling member.

110. The toner cartridge of any of claims 95-109, wherein the coupling member includes a coupling portion configured to receive the rotational force and a gear portion configured to receive the rotational force from the coupling portion.

111. The toner cartridge of any of claims 95-110, wherein the pump and the coupling member are disposed on a same side of the toner cartridge relative to an axial direction of the coupling member.

112. An image forming apparatus comprising: the cartridge of any one of claims 1-111; a main assembly configured such that the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly and configured to receive the toner discharged from the toner cartridge.

113. An apparatus according to claim 112, further comprising a second cartridge including a developing roller, wherein said main assembly is configured to supply the toner discharged from said toner cartridge into said second cartridge.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus usable to form an image on a recording material and a toner cartridge usable with the image forming apparatus.

Background

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method, a developer supply container containing toner is detachably provided in the image forming apparatus main assembly to supply toner (developer) in response to consumption of the toner by an image forming operation.

Patent document 1 discloses a method in which a pump is provided in a developer supply container, and toner is supplied from the developer supply container into the main assembly of the image forming apparatus by using the pump.

In addition, japanese patent No.5623109 and japanese patent No.5511471 disclose methods for appropriately operating a pump disposed in a developer supply container.

Disclosure of Invention

[ problem to be solved ]

The present invention provides a further improvement over conventional structures.

[ means for solving the problems ]

A typical structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging toner; and (i-iii) a communication port for fluid communication between the toner accommodating chamber and the toner discharging chamber;

(ii) a feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner from the toner containing chamber into the toner discharging chamber through the communication port;

(iii) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air,

wherein at least a portion of the feed member is located in the communication port, and

wherein, in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to a toner feeding direction of the feeding member,

the minimum cross-sectional area of the communication port is Asmin,

the toner discharge chamber has a cross-sectional area Bs larger than Asmin, and

the toner accommodating chamber has a cross-sectional area Cs larger than Asmin.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a first engagement portion forming an opening;

(iii) a second engagement portion forming an opening;

(iv) a feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner in the toner containing chamber toward the discharge opening;

(v) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

(vi) a memory element provided with an electrical contact,

wherein the pump is provided with a connecting portion connected with the housing, and

wherein the electrical contact of the storage element and the connecting portion of the pump are located in opposite sides to each other with respect to a line connecting the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion as viewed in a feeding direction of the toner by the feeding member.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a first engagement portion forming an opening;

(iii) a second engagement portion forming an opening;

(iv) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air;

(v) a coupling member operatively connected with the pump and configured to receive a rotational force for driving the pump;

(vi) a memory element provided with an electrical contact,

wherein the pump is provided with a connection portion connected with the housing,

wherein the electrical contact of the storage element and the connecting portion of the pump are arranged in opposite sides with respect to a line connecting the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, as viewed in a direction of an axis of the coupling member.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump including a movable portion and configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating movement of the movable portion;

(iii) a rotatable member;

(iv) a reciprocating member configured to be engaged with the rotatable member to reciprocate by rotation of the rotatable member and configured to reciprocate the movable portion of the pump;

wherein, when the rotatable member and the reciprocating member are engaged with each other, the rotatable member and the reciprocating member are in contact at an engagement point, and in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump, there is a timing at which the engagement point is located at a position in the movable portion of the pump in driving of the pump.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump including a movable portion and configured to discharge toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating motion of the movable portion; and

(iii) a drive input member configured to receive a rotational force for reciprocating the movable portion of the pump,

wherein, in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump, a range in which the movable portion of the pump is movable and a range in which the drive input member is provided at least partially overlap with each other.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump including a movable portion and configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating movement of the movable portion;

(iii) a rotatable member;

(iv) a reciprocating member configured to be engaged with the rotatable member to reciprocate by rotation of the rotatable member and configured to reciprocate the movable portion of the pump;

wherein, when the rotatable member and the reciprocating member are engaged with each other, the rotatable member and the reciprocating member are in contact at an engagement point, and in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump, there is a timing at which the engagement point is located at a position in the movable portion of the pump in driving of the pump.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump including a movable portion and configured to discharge toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating motion of the movable portion; and

(iii) a drive input member configured to receive a rotational force for reciprocating the movable portion of the pump,

wherein, in a coordinate in a moving direction of the movable portion of the pump, a range in which the movable portion of the pump is movable and a range in which the drive input member is provided at least partially overlap with each other.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump, the pump comprising: (ii-i) a movable portion; and (ii-ii) a connecting portion mounted on the housing, the pump being configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating motion of the movable portion;

(iii) a drive input member for receiving a rotational force for driving the pump; and

(iv) a rotatable member rotatable about an axis of the rotatable member and configured to reciprocate the movable portion of the pump by rotation of the rotatable member, the rotatable member including (iv-i) a gear portion configured to receive a rotational force from the drive input member,

wherein the movable part of the pump effects a reciprocating motion in the direction of the axis of the rotatable member,

wherein the gear portion of the rotatable member surrounds the connection portion of the pump, and

wherein the gear portion of the rotatable member and the movable portion of the pump at least partially overlap each other as viewed in the direction of the axis of the rotatable member.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a first feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber to the discharge opening;

(iii) a second feeding member movable relative to the housing and configured to feed the toner contained in the toner containing chamber to the first feeding member;

(iv) a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

(v) a drive input member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the first feeding member, the second feeding member, and the pump,

wherein a toner feeding direction by the first feeding member and a toner feeding direction by the second feeding member are different from each other.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

(i) a housing, the housing comprising: (i-i) a toner containing chamber containing toner; and (i-ii) a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

(ii) a pump, the pump comprising: (ii-i) a movable portion; and (ii-ii) a connecting portion mounted on the housing, the pump being configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by a reciprocating motion of the movable portion;

(iii) a drive input member for receiving a rotational force for driving the pump; and

(iv) a rotatable member rotatable about an axis of the rotatable member and configured to reciprocate the movable portion of the pump by rotation of the rotatable member, the rotatable member including (iv-i) a gear portion configured to receive a rotational force from the drive input member,

wherein the movable part of the pump effects a reciprocating motion in the direction of the axis of the rotatable member,

wherein the gear portion of the rotatable member surrounds the connection portion of the pump, and

wherein the gear portion of the rotatable member and the movable portion of the pump at least partially overlap each other as viewed in the direction of the axis of the rotatable member.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

a housing, the housing comprising: an accommodating chamber that accommodates toner; and a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

a pump configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

a coupling member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the pump,

wherein the discharge opening is located on a first side with respect to a center of the pump in a horizontal direction and an axis of the coupling member is located on a second side opposite to the first side with respect to the center of the pump in the horizontal direction as viewed along an axis of the coupling member in a state where the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward.

Another exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is a toner cartridge including:

a housing, the housing comprising: an accommodating chamber that accommodates toner; and a discharge opening capable of discharging the toner;

a pump provided with a connection portion connected with the housing and configured to discharge the toner through the discharge opening by using air; and

a coupling member configured to receive a rotational force for driving the pump,

wherein the discharge opening is located on a first side with respect to the connection portion of the pump in a horizontal direction and the axis of the coupling member is located on a second side opposite to the first side with respect to the connection portion of the pump in the horizontal direction as viewed along an axis of the coupling member in a state where the toner cartridge takes a posture in which the discharge opening is directed downward.

Still further exemplary structure disclosed in the present application is an image forming apparatus including: the main assembly of the apparatus; and any of the toner cartridges mentioned above.

[ Effect of the invention ]

As described above, according to the structure disclosed in the present application, the related art can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a developer supply container.

Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner feeding device provided in an image forming apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a front sectional view of the process cartridge.

Fig. 5 is an overall perspective view of the process cartridge as viewed from the front side.

Fig. 6 is an overall perspective view of the process cartridge as viewed from the rear side.

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the developer supply container.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the developer supply container.

Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the developer supply container.

Fig. 10 is a partial perspective view of the developer supply container.

Fig. 11 is a partial perspective view of a rear end portion of the developer supply container.

Part (a) of fig. 12 and part (b) of fig. 12 are partial sectional views of the developer supply container, and part (c) of fig. 12 is a diagram of the positions of the pump and the joint.

Part (a) of fig. 13 and part (b) of fig. 13 are partial sectional views of the developer supply container, and part (c) of fig. 13 is a diagram of the position and drive input condition of the pump.

Fig. 14 is a sectional view around the pump.

Fig. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the surroundings of the pump.

Part (a) of fig. 16 is a perspective view as viewed from the rear of the developer supply container, and part (b) of fig. 16 is a rear view of the developer supply container.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view as viewed from the front side of the developer supply container.

Fig. 18 is an overall perspective view when the cartridge is mounted in the image forming apparatus.

Fig. 19 is a schematic sectional view of the developer supply container.

Fig. 20 is a partial perspective view of a rear end portion of the developer supply container.

Fig. 21 is a partial perspective view of a rear end portion of the developer supply container.

Fig. 22 is a detailed perspective view around the crank gear.

Fig. 23 is a partial perspective view of a rear end portion of the developer supply container.

Fig. 24 is a partial perspective view of a rear end portion of the developer supply container.

Fig. 25 is a simplified diagram of the expansion and contraction of the pump.

Fig. 26 is a sectional view of the vicinity of the supplied toner feeding belt as viewed from the short side.

Fig. 27 is a graph showing a change over time in the positional relationship between the joint and the bellows portion during operation of the pump of the developer supply container.

Fig. 28 is a simplified view of the internal space.

Fig. 29 is a schematic view of a toner cartridge including an inlet port.

Fig. 30 is a schematic view of a toner cartridge including a centrifugal pump.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT (S) OF INVENTION

< example 1>

Embodiment 1 (example 1) will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, the size, material, shape, and relative arrangement of the components described in the embodiments may be appropriately changed according to the structure, various conditions, and the like of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The scope is not intended to be limited to the following examples.

< overall Structure of image Forming apparatus 100 >

Referring to fig. 3, the overall structure of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 (hereinafter, image forming apparatus 100) according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the process cartridge 1 and the developer supply container (toner cartridge, developer cartridge) 13 are detachably mountable to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100. The portion of the image forming apparatus 100 excluding the cartridges (1, 13) may be referred to as a main assembly (apparatus main assembly, image forming apparatus main assembly) of the image forming apparatus 100.

In the present embodiment, the first to fourth image forming portions are substantially the same in structure and operation except that the colors of the formed images are different. Therefore, hereinafter, if no particular distinction is required, the subscripts Y to K will be omitted for general explanation.

The first to fourth process cartridges 1 are juxtaposed in the horizontal direction. Each process cartridge 1 includes a cleaning unit 4 and a developing unit 6. The cleaning unit 4 includes a photosensitive drum 7 as an image bearing member, a charging roller 8 as charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 7, and a cleaning blade 10 as cleaning means. The developing unit 6 contains a developing roller 11 and a developer T (hereinafter, referred to as toner), and includes a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 7. The cleaning unit 4 and the developing unit 6 are supported to be swingable relative to each other. The first process cartridge 1Y contains yellow (Y) toner in the developing unit 6. Similarly, the second process cartridge 1M contains magenta (M) toner, the third process cartridge 1C contains cyan (C) toner, and the fourth process cartridge 1K contains black (K) toner.

The process cartridge 1 is mountable to and dismountable from the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 by means of mounting means such as a mounting guide (not shown) and a positioning member (not shown) provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100. In addition, a scanner unit 12 for forming an electrostatic latent image is provided below the process cartridge 1. In addition, in the image forming apparatus, the waste toner transfer unit 23 is disposed behind the process cartridge 1 (downstream of the process cartridge 1 in the insertion direction of the process cartridge 1).

The first to fourth developer supply containers 13 are horizontally arranged below the process cartridges 1 in an order corresponding to the colors of the toners contained in the respective process cartridges 1. In the following description, the developer supply container (toner cartridge, developer cartridge) 13 may be simply referred to as a cartridge 13.

The first cartridge 13Y contains yellow (Y) toner, similarly, the second cartridge 13M contains magenta (M) toner, the third cartridge 13C contains cyan (C) toner, and the fourth cartridge 13K contains black toner (K). Also, each cartridge 13 supplies toner to the process cartridges 1 containing the same color toner.

When a remaining amount detecting portion (not shown) provided in the apparatus main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 detects that the remaining amount of toner in the process cartridge 1 is insufficient, a toner replenishing operation (supplying operation) of the cartridge 13 is performed. The cartridge 13 is mountable to and dismountable from the image forming apparatus 100 by means of the mounting means such as a mounting guide (not shown) and a positioning member (not shown) provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100.

Here, when the toner cartridge 13 and the process cartridge 1 are referred to as distinguished from each other, one of the two may be referred to as a first cartridge, the other may be referred to as a second cartridge, and the like. The process cartridge 1 and the cartridge 13 will be described in detail hereinafter.

Inside the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, first to fourth toner feeding devices 14 are disposed below the first to fourth cartridges 13 in correspondence with the respective cartridges 13.

An intermediate transfer unit 19 as an intermediate transfer member is provided above the process cartridge 1. The intermediate transfer unit 19 is disposed substantially horizontally with the primary transfer portion (S1) side facing downward. The intermediate transfer belt 18 facing each photosensitive drum 7 is a rotatable endless belt, and is stretched around a plurality of tension rollers. At the inner surface of the intermediate transfer belt 18, a primary transfer roller 20 is provided as a primary transfer member at a position for forming a primary transfer portion S1 in cooperation with each photosensitive drum 7, with the intermediate transfer belt 18 interposed between the photosensitive drum 7 and the primary transfer roller 20. In addition, a secondary transfer roller 21 as a secondary transfer member is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 18, and forms a secondary transfer portion S2 in cooperation with rollers on the opposite side, with the intermediate transfer belt 18 interposed between the secondary transfer roller 21 and the rollers on the opposite side. In addition, the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 4 is arranged on the side opposite to the secondary transfer portion S2 in the left-right direction (the direction in which the secondary transfer unit S2 and the intermediate transfer belt extend).

The fixing unit 25 is disposed above the intermediate transfer unit 19. The fixing unit includes a heating unit 26 and a pressure roller 27 press-contacting the heating unit. A discharge tray 32 is provided at an upper surface of the main assembly of the apparatus, and a waste toner collecting container 24 is provided between the discharge tray 32 and the intermediate transfer unit. In addition, a sheet feeding tray 2 for accommodating a recording material 3 is provided at the lowermost portion of the main assembly of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 shows the overall structure of the toner feeding device 14 mounted in the image forming apparatus.

In fig. 3, a part of the shape is cut away to show the internal structure of the toner feeding device 14.

The toner feeding device 14 is roughly divided into an upstream-side feeding portion 110 and a downstream-side feeding portion 120.

A supply opening (receiving port: not shown) is provided on the upper side of the upstream-side feeding portion 110. The toner received from the toner cartridge 13 (i.e., the toner discharged from the discharge opening 52 shown in fig. 8, which will be described later) is supplied to the storage container 109 inside the upstream-side feeding portion 110 through the supply port.

The supplied toner is transported to the upstream screw 105, which is disposed so as to be covered by the storage container 109 inside the upstream-side feeding portion 110. The upstream screw 105 is rotatably driven by the upstream drive gear 103, and the upstream screw 105 transports the toner toward the downstream feeding portion 120.

Inside the downstream-side feeding portion 120, a downstream screw 124 is provided so as to be covered by the downstream side wall surface 123 inside the downstream-side feeding portion 120. The most upstream portion of the downstream feeding portion 120 is connected to the most downstream portion of the upstream-side feeding portion 110, and the toner fed by the upstream-side feeding portion 110 is fed to the downstream screw 124.

The downstream screw 124 is rotatably driven by the downstream drive gear 122, and the downstream screw 124 conveys the toner in the direction against the gravity. The downstream screw 124 is configured to supply the fed toner into the process cartridge 1 shown in fig. 2 through the main assembly discharge opening 121 in a direction opposite to the gravity.

To explain in detail, the toner discharged from the main assembly discharge opening 121 is supplied into the developing unit 6 through a receiving opening 40 provided in the developing unit 6 of the process cartridge 1 shown in fig. 6, which will be described later.

In this way, the apparatus main assembly of the image forming apparatus once receives the toner discharged from the toner cartridge 13 in the storage container 109, and then supplies the toner into the process cartridge 1 by using the upstream screw 105 and the downstream screw 124. Thus, the toner is transferred between the different cartridges 13 and 1.

< imaging Process >

Next, referring to fig. 2 and 4, an image forming operation in the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. During the image forming operation, the photosensitive drum 7 is rotatably driven at a predetermined speed in the direction of arrow a in fig. 4. The intermediate transfer belt 18 is rotatably driven in the direction of arrow B (forward in the rotational direction of the photosensitive drum 7).

First, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by the charging roller 8. Next, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is scanned and exposed by a laser beam emitted from the scanner unit 12, so that an electrostatic latent image based on image information is formed on the photosensitive drum 1. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is developed as a toner image by the developing unit 6. At this time, the developing unit 6 is pressed by a developing pressing unit (not shown) provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100. Then, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 18 by the primary transfer roller 20.

For example, in forming a full-color image, the toner images of the respective colors are sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 18 by sequentially performing the above-mentioned processes in the image forming units S1Y to S1K as the primary transfer portions 1 to 4.

On the other hand, the recording material 3 accommodated in the sheet feeding tray 2 is fed at a predetermined control timing, and is fed to the secondary transfer unit S2 in synchronization with the movement of the intermediate transfer belt 18. Then, the four color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 18 are collectively secondary-transferred onto the recording material 3 by a secondary transfer roller 21 in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 18, with the recording material 3 being located between the intermediate transfer belt 18 and the secondary transfer roller 21.

Thereafter, the recording material 3 on which the toner image has been transferred is fed to the fixing unit 25. By heating and pressing the recording material 3 in the fixing unit 25, the toner image is fixed on the recording material 3. Thereafter, the fixed recording material 3 is fed to the discharge tray 32 to complete the image forming operation.

In addition, primary untransferred residual toner (waste toner) remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 after the primary transfer step is removed by the cleaning blade 10. The secondary untransferred residual toner (waste toner) remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 18 after the secondary transfer step is removed by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 22. The waste toner removed by the cleaning blade 10 and the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 22 is fed by a waste toner feeding unit 23 provided in the main assembly of the apparatus and accumulated in a waste toner collecting container 24. The imaging device 100 may also form a monochromatic or polychromatic image by using only a desired single or some (but not all) of the imaged portions.

< Process Cartridge >

Next, referring to fig. 4, 5 and 6, the overall structure of the process cartridge 1 mountable to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the process cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the process cartridge 1 as viewed from the upstream side in the cartridge mounting direction. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the process cartridge 1 as viewed from the downstream side in the cartridge mounting direction.

The process cartridge 1 includes a cleaning unit 4 and a developing unit 6. The cleaning unit 4 and the developing unit 6 are swingably coupled about the rotary support pin 30.

The cleaning unit 4 has a cleaning frame 5 that supports various components in the cleaning unit 4. In addition, in addition to the photosensitive drum 7, the charging roller 8, and the cleaning blade 10, a waste toner screw 15 extending in a direction parallel to the rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum 7 is provided in the cleaning unit 4. The cleaning frame 5 includes a cleaning carrier 33 provided with a cleaning gear train 31 for rotatably supporting the photosensitive drum 7 and transmitting a driving force from the photosensitive drum to the waste toner screw 15, and provided at each of opposite longitudinal end portions of the cleaning unit 4.

The charging roller provided in the cleaning unit 4 is urged toward the photosensitive drum 7 in the direction of arrow C by a charging roller pressing spring 36 arranged at each of the opposite end portions. The charging roller is provided to be driven by the photosensitive drum, and is driven in the direction of arrow D (in the same direction as the rotational movement of the photosensitive drum 7) when the photosensitive drum 7 is rotatably driven in the direction of arrow a during image formation.

The cleaning blade 10 provided in the cleaning unit 4 includes an elastic member 10a for removing untransferred residual toner (waste toner) remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after primary transfer, and includes a supporting member 10b for supporting the elastic member 10 a. The waste toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the cleaning blade 10 is accommodated in a waste toner accommodating chamber 9 formed by the cleaning blade 10 and the cleaning frame 5. The waste toner stored in the waste toner accommodating chamber 9 is fed toward the rear of the image forming apparatus 100 (downstream in the attachment/detachment direction of the process cartridge 1) by the waste toner feed screw 15 provided in the waste toner accommodating chamber 9. The fed waste toner is discharged from the waste toner discharging portion 35, and is delivered to a waste toner feeding unit 23 provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100.

The developing unit 6 has a developing frame 16 that supports various members in the developing unit 6. The developing frame 16 is divided into a developing chamber 16a in which the developing roller 11 and the supply roller 17 are disposed, and a toner accommodating chamber 16b in which toner is stored and in which an agitating member 29 is disposed.

The developing chamber 16a is provided with a developing roller 11, a supply roller 17, and a developing blade 28. The developing roller 11 carries toner, and when forming an image, the developing roller rotates in the direction of arrow E and feeds the toner to the photosensitive drum 1 by contacting the photosensitive drum 1. In addition, the developing roller 11 is rotatably supported by the development bearing unit 34 through the development frame 16 at opposite end portions in the longitudinal direction (rotational axis direction). The supply roller 17 is rotatably supported by the development bearing unit 34 via the development frame 16 while being in contact with the development roller 11, and rotates in the direction of arrow F during image formation. In addition, a developing blade 28 as a layer thickness regulating member regulating the thickness of the toner layer formed on the developing roller 11 is provided in contact with the surface of the developing roller 11.

The toner accommodating chamber 16b is provided with an agitating member 29 for agitating the stored toner T and for transporting the toner to the supply roller 17 via the developing chamber communication opening 16 c. The stirring member 29 includes a rotation shaft 29a extending parallel to the rotation axis direction of the developing roller 11 and a stirring sheet 29b as a feeding member, which is a flexible sheet. One end portion of the stirring sheet 29b is attached to the rotating shaft 29a, and the other end portion of the stirring sheet 29b is a free end portion, and the rotating shaft 29a rotates to rotate the stirring sheet 29b in the direction of the arrow G, whereby the stirring sheet 29b stirs the toner.

The developing unit 6 is provided with a developing chamber communication opening 16c that communicates the developing chamber 16a and the toner accommodating chamber 16b with each other. In the present embodiment, the developing chamber 16a is disposed above the toner accommodating chamber 16b in a posture in which the developing unit 6 is normally used (a posture at the time of use). The toner in the toner accommodating chamber 16b flipped up by the stirring member 29 is supplied to the developing chamber 16a via the developing chamber communication opening 16 c.

In addition, the developing unit 6 is provided with a receiving opening 40 at one end portion of the cartridge 1 downstream in the insertion direction. A receiving seal member 45 and a receiving opening shutter 41 movable in the front-rear direction are provided above the toner receiving opening 40. When the process cartridge 1 is not mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, the toner receiving opening 40 is closed by the receiving opening shutter 41. The receiving shutter 41 is configured to be pushed and opened by the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 in association with the mounting/dismounting operation of the process cartridge 1.

A receiving feed path 42 is provided in communication with the toner receiving opening 40, and a receiving feed screw 43 is provided in the receiving feed path. In addition, an accommodating chamber communicating opening 44 for supplying toner into the toner accommodating chamber 16b is provided in the vicinity of a longitudinally central portion of the developing unit 6 to communicate the receiving and feeding path 42 and the toner accommodating chamber 16b with each other. The receiving feed screw extends in parallel to the rotational axis direction of the developing roller 11 and the supply roller 17, and feeds the toner received from the toner receiving opening 40 to the toner accommodating chamber 16b via the accommodating chamber communication opening 44.

In the present embodiment, the process cartridge 1 has both the photosensitive drum 7 and the developing roller 11, but the structure is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the cleaning unit 4 including the photosensitive drum 7 and the developing unit including the developing roller 11 may not be connected, and they may be separate cartridges. In this case, the cartridge including the cleaning unit 4 may be referred to as a drum cartridge, and the cartridge including the developing unit 6 may be referred to as a developing cartridge. In this case, the toner is supplied from the cartridge 13 to the developing cartridge of the developing unit 6.

< developer supply Cartridge (toner Cartridge) >

Next, referring to fig. 1, 7, 8, and 9, the overall structure of the cartridge 13 serving as a developer supply container mounted on the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the toner containing chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharge chamber 57 of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to the present embodiment as viewed in the longitudinal direction. Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to the present embodiment. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the vicinity of the supply toner feed screw 54 of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to the present embodiment as viewed in the lateral direction. That is, fig. 7 is a sectional view parallel to the YZ plane. Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing the inner space of the toner-containing cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to the present embodiment.

The cartridge 13 accommodates toner (developer) in an internal space 51 thereof, and is mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, so as to supply (replenish) the toner to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100.

In the description of the cartridge 13, unless otherwise specified, the cartridge 13 takes a normal posture, that is, a posture when the cartridge 13 is mounted inside the main assembly of the apparatus, and the directions (X1, X2, Y1, Y2, Z1, Z2) are defined as follows.

The vertical direction is indicated by the Y-axis. The arrow Y1 indicates an upward direction, and the arrow Y2 indicates a downward direction. A surface of the cartridge 13 disposed at an end in the Y1 direction is referred to as a top surface (upper surface), and a surface thereof at an end in the Y2 direction is referred to as a bottom surface (bottom, lower portion, lower end). The top surface of the cartridge 13 faces upward (Y1 direction) and the bottom surface faces downward (Y2 direction). The Y1 direction and the Y2 direction may be collectively referred to as a vertical direction, a height direction, a vertical direction, a gravity direction, or a Y direction and a Y-axis direction.

The front-to-back direction is indicated by the Z-axis. When the cartridge 13 is mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, the direction toward the upstream is indicated by an arrow Z1 in the mounting direction, and the direction toward the downstream side of the mounting direction is referred to as a Z2 direction. For convenience of explanation, the Z1 direction is the front and the Z2 direction is the back. That is, the surface provided at the end of the cartridge 13 in the Z1 direction is referred to as the front surface (front portion, front end) of the cartridge 13, and the surface provided at the end in the Z2 direction is referred to as the rear surface (back surface, rear end, rear portion).

The front surface of the cartridge 13 faces the front (Z1 direction), and the rear surface faces the rear (Z2 direction). The cartridge 13 has a longitudinal direction extending from the front side to the rear side (extending in the Z-axis direction). The Z1 direction and the Z2 direction may be collectively referred to as the front-to-back direction, the longitudinal direction, the vertical direction, the Z direction, or the Z-axis direction.

In addition, the left-right direction is indicated by the X-axis. For convenience of explanation, a leftward direction as viewed in the mounting direction (i.e., the Z2 direction) when the cartridge 13 is mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 is indicated by an arrow X1, and a rightward direction is indicated by an arrow X2. A surface provided at an end of the cartridge 13 in the X1 direction is referred to as a left side surface (left surface, left end), and a surface provided at an end in the X2 direction is referred to as a right side surface (right surface, right portion, right end). The left side surface of the cartridge 13 faces the left direction (X1 direction), and the right side surface faces the right direction (X2 direction). A direction from the left side surface to the right side surface of the cartridge 13 (i.e., extending on the X-axis) is referred to as a lateral direction. The X1 direction and the X2 direction are collectively referred to as a left-right direction, a horizontal direction, a lateral direction, an X-axis direction, and the like.

Therefore, the distance between the front surface and the rear surface of the cartridge 13 is longer than the distance between the right side surface and the left side surface, and longer than the distance between the upper surface and the bottom surface. In addition, the distance between the right side surface and the left side surface is shorter than the distance between the upper surface and the bottom surface. However, it is not limited to this structure. For example, the distance between the right and left side surfaces of the cartridge 13 may be made the longest, or the distance between the top and bottom surfaces may be made the longest. The distance between the top surface and the bottom surface can be minimized.

The X, Y and Z axes are perpendicular to each other. For example, the X-axis is perpendicular to the Y-axis, and also perpendicular to the Z-axis. In addition, a plane perpendicular to the X axis may be referred to as a YZ plane, a plane perpendicular to the Y axis may be referred to as a ZX plane, and a plane perpendicular to the Z axis may be referred to as an XY plane. For example, the ZX plane is a horizontal plane.

In the description of the present embodiment, the first to third cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C) containing toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) colors instead of black are exemplified.

The fourth cartridge (13K) containing black (K) toner has a larger toner capacity than the first to third cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C), and is otherwise substantially the same as the other cartridges. Therefore, the description of the fourth cartridge 13K will be omitted.

The developer supplied from the cartridge 13 to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 is supplied to the process cartridge 1 by the toner feeding device 14 as described above. That is, the cartridge 13 contains toner to be supplied (replenished) into the process cartridge 1.

As shown in fig. 7, a supply frame (housing, frame) 50 of the cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C) of the present embodiment is included. The supply frame 50 includes a container portion 50a and a lid portion 50b, and is provided by mounting the lid portion 50b to the container portion 50 a. In addition, the container portion 50a and the lid portion 50b form an internal space 51 inside the supply frame 50. The cover portion 50b is located at an end of the cartridge in the Y1 direction and provides a top surface of the cartridge 13 (a top surface of the supply frame 50).

The supply frame 50 includes a partition member (partition) 55 disposed in the internal space 51 thereof. The partition member 55 further divides the internal space 51 into a plurality of regions. That is, as shown in fig. 1, 7, and 9, the internal space 51 is divided into a plurality of chambers, such as the toner containing chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharging chamber 57, by the partition member 55. The partition member (partition) 55 may be regarded as a part of the supply frame 50, or the partition member 55 may be actually formed integrally with the supply frame 50.

In addition, in the vicinity of an end portion (rear end portion, rear surface) on the downstream side in the Z2 direction of the supply frame 50, a drive train including the drive input gear 59, the cam gear 60, and the screw gear 64, the pump 58, and the like are mounted. A side cover 62 is externally mounted to cover the gear train, pump 58, etc. In particular, the cam gear 60 is restricted from moving in the Z1 direction and the Z2 direction by the side cover 62 and the supply frame 50.

As shown in fig. 9, the cartridge 13 has an internal space 51 in which toner is accommodated, and the internal space 51 is divided by a partition member 55 into the toner accommodating chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharge chamber 57 described above.

The stirring member 53 and the screw 54 extend from the upstream side of the cartridge 13 in the mounting direction (i.e., the downstream side in the Z1 direction) to the downstream side in the mounting direction (i.e., the downstream side in the Z2 direction).

The screw 54 is partially covered by the partition member 55 at a portion extending from an upstream side in the mounting direction (a downstream side in the Z1 direction) to a downstream side in the mounting direction (a downstream side in the Z2 direction). By covering the screw 54 with the partition member 55, a tunnel-like space is formed inside the partition member 55, and it serves as the communication passage (communication port) 48.

Each chamber formed in the inner space 51 of the supply frame 50 will be described in detail below.

(toner accommodating chamber)

The toner accommodating chamber (developer accommodating chamber) 49 has a space for accommodating toner (developer). A supply stirring member 53 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a stirring member 53) is provided in the toner accommodating chamber 49.

The stirring member 53 is arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 13, and is rotatably supported by the supply frame 50. In addition, the stirring member 53 includes a rotation shaft 53a and a supply stirring sheet 53b as a feeding member, which is a flexible sheet. The stirring member 53 is a movable member that is movable relative to the supply frame 50.

One end portion of the supply agitation sheet 53b is mounted on the rotation shaft 53a, and the other end portion of the supply agitation sheet 53b is a free end portion. By the rotation of the rotation shaft 53a to rotate the supply stirring sheet 53b in the direction of the arrow H, the toner is stirred by the supply stirring sheet 53b, and the toner is fed to a toner feed screw (hereinafter, simply referred to as a screw) 54.

The screw 54 is a feeding member that feeds toner to the communication passage 49 and the toner discharge chamber 57 along a rotation axis thereof, which will be described later. The rotational axis of the screw 54 and the rotational axis of the stirring member 53 are substantially parallel to each other.

Inside the toner accommodating chamber 49, a wall 50a1 is provided between the screw 54 and the stirring member 53. The wall 50a1 is a wall-shaped or plate-shaped protrusion (rib-shaped member) that protrudes upward from the bottom surface of the toner accommodating chamber 49. The wall 50a1 is juxtaposed in parallel adjacent to the feed screw 54, and extends in the axial direction of the feed screw 54, i.e., the toner feeding direction. The screw 54 can stably feed the toner located therearound by being sandwiched between the wall 50a1 and the side surface of the toner containing chamber 49. On the downstream side of the toner containing chamber 49 in the toner feeding direction, the wall 50a1 is not provided between the screw 54 and the stirring member 53. This is to increase the amount of toner received from the stirring member 53 in a portion on the downstream side of the screw 54. The upper portion of the screw 54 is also opened, and therefore, some toner moves from the upper portion of the stirring member 53 beyond the wall 50a1 to the screw 54.

(communicating path)

A communication passage (toner passage, tunnel) 48 is a space and an opening that communicate the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharge chamber 57 with each other, which will be described later, and is a passage through which toner moves. The communication passage 48 is constituted by the partition member 55 and the supply frame 50. At least a part of the screw 54 as a feeding member is disposed in the communication passage 48.

The screw 54 is a movable member that is movable relative to the supply frame 50, and more specifically, the screw is rotatably supported by the supply frame 50. A part of the screw 54 is exposed to the toner accommodating chamber 49, and rotates to feed the toner in the toner accommodating chamber 49 in the rotational axis direction of the screw 54.

As described above, the communication passage 48 is constituted by the partition member 55 and the supply frame 50, extends in the toner feeding direction by the screw 54, and has a tunnel shape. In addition, the partition member 55 covers a part of the screw 54 so that the screw 54 is arranged inside the communication passage 48. The tunnel shape of the communication passage 48 is formed to correspond to the outer shape of the screw 54. That is, the communication passage 48 has a function of cutting (cut off) the toner fed by the screw 54 and feeding the toner by a constant amount.

A part of the toner fed by the screw 54 may enter the inside of the communication passage 48 and move to the toner discharge chamber 57, but the remaining part of the toner cannot enter the communication passage 48 but it remains in the toner containing chamber 49. By appropriately setting the ratio between the size of the opening of the tunnel formed by the communication passage 48 and the size of the screw 54, the amount of toner entering the inside of the communication passage 48 can be appropriately determined. That is, by passing the screw 54 through the inside of the communication passage 48, only a desired amount of toner can be supplied to the toner discharge chamber 57.

The screw conveys the toner in a direction (Z2 direction) from a front surface (front end portion) to a rear surface (rear end portion) of the cartridge 13. That is, in the present embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the screw 54, that is, the toner feeding direction is the same as the longitudinal direction (Z direction, front-rear direction) of the cartridge 13. The structure of the cartridge 13 may be appropriately changed according to the structure of the image forming apparatus 100.

(toner discharge chamber)

The toner discharge chamber (developer discharge chamber) 57 is a space formed by the partition member 55 and the supply frame 50, and is arranged downstream of the communication passage 48 in the feeding direction of the screw 54 feeding the toner.

Near the toner discharge chamber 57, that is, near the rear surface (end in the Z2 direction) of the supply frame 50, a screw gear 64 for receiving a rotational force for rotating the screw 54 is provided. In addition, the toner discharge chamber 57 is provided with a discharge opening 52 for discharging toner (developer) from the internal space 51 of the supply frame 50 to the outside. The discharge opening 52 is an opening that permits toner to be discharged by communicating the inside and outside of the supply frame 50.

The discharge opening 52 is formed on the bottom side of the cartridge 13 (i.e., the bottom surface of the supply frame 50) and directed toward the bottom of the cartridge. That is, the toner is discharged downward from the discharge opening 52. The discharge opening 52 is arranged on the downstream side of the cartridge 13 in the feeding direction of the screw 54. That is, the distance between the discharge opening 52 and the rear surface (downstream end in the Z2 direction) of the cartridge 13 is shorter than the distance between the discharge opening 52 and the front surface (downstream end in the Z1 direction) of the cartridge 13.

In addition, the pump 58 is disposed adjacent to the rear surface (downstream end portion in the direction of arrow Z2) of the cartridge 13. The pump 58 includes a bellows portion 58a that can expand and contract, i.e., that can reciprocate. The bellows portion 58a has flexibility, and can be deformed by expansion and contraction (reciprocation). The bellows portion 58a is a region having a variable volume by expanding and contracting and deforming. The inside of the pump 58 and the inside of the toner discharge chamber 57 communicate with each other through a communication port provided in the toner discharge chamber 57.

In the pump 58, the bellows portion (movable portion, variable portion) 58a is reciprocated, i.e., expanded and contracted, by a drive train and a drive conversion portion (drive conversion mechanism, pump drive mechanism) 68, which will be described later, so that the internal volume of the bellows portion (movable portion) 58a can be changed. Therefore, the pump 58 can act on the toner discharge chamber 57.

As the pump 58 expands and contracts, the internal pressure (internal air pressure) of the toner discharge chamber 57 periodically changes, and a difference is generated between the external air pressure of the cartridge 13 and the internal air pressure of the toner discharge chamber 57. The discharge opening 52 achieves suction and discharge by the pressure difference, and at this time, by stirring and discharging the toner using an air (gas) flow, the toner can be stably discharged.

When the pump 58 expands and its volume increases, the air pressure inside the pump 58 and the toner discharge chamber 57 decreases, so that air enters the inside of the toner discharge chamber 57 through the discharge opening 52. The inward flow of air loosens the toner in the toner discharge chamber 57, and the fluidity of the toner can be increased. Thereafter, when the pump 58 contracts and the volume thereof decreases, the air pressure inside the pump 58 and the toner discharge chamber 57 increases, so that the toner is discharged together with the air from the inside of the toner discharge chamber 57 to the outside through the discharge opening 52. By repeating this process, the toner is intermittently and periodically discharged from the inside of the cartridge 13 to the outside of the cartridge through the discharge opening 52.

With the structure in which toner is fed together with air, it is possible to easily feed toner in a narrow passage or carry toner discharged from the toner discharge opening 52 on an air flow and move it to a far-side position. This is suitable for improving the feeding efficiency of the toner discharged from the toner cartridge 13. In addition, the toner can be discharged even if the toner discharge opening 52 is formed small, and therefore, the toner can be restrained to prevent it from being unintentionally scattered from the toner discharge opening 52 to the outside of the cartridge 13.

In the present embodiment, the toner can be stirred by driving the pump 58 to periodically change the air pressure inside the toner discharge chamber 57. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the suction and the exhaust are performed through the discharge opening 52, the moving direction of the air passing through the discharge opening 52, that is, the direction of the air flow, is periodically changed by the driving of the pump 58. Therefore, the toner in the vicinity of the discharge opening 52 can be easily stirred, which is suitable for increasing the fluidity of the toner and efficiently feeding the toner.

Although it is possible to arrange the pump 58 away from the toner discharge chamber 57, the pump 58 directly connected to the toner discharge chamber 57 as in the present embodiment is preferable because the pump 58 can directly act on the toner discharge chamber 57.

When the pump 58 is driven, the smaller the pressure difference between the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharging chamber 57, the more stably the toner can be discharged. Therefore, in a posture in normal use (a posture during use), a communication opening (ventilation passage) 46 for ventilating the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber is arranged above the discharge opening 52 and the pump 58.

That is, when the pump 58 is driven, the pump 58 expands and contracts, so that the air pressure (internal pressure) inside the toner discharge chamber 57 periodically decreases and increases. Further, as the toner moves from the toner containing chamber 49 toward the toner discharge chamber 57, the air pressure (internal pressure) inside the toner containing chamber 49 decreases. If a large pressure difference is generated between the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharge chamber 57 due to these changes in the air pressure, the amount of toner passing through the communication passage 48 may change, or the toner may flow back through the communication passage 48, with the result that the amount of toner supplied to the toner discharge chamber 57 may change. If this occurs, the amount of toner discharged from the discharge opening 52 may become unstable.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, by disposing the vent 46 at a position different from the communication passage 48, the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharging chamber communicate with each other, and the air flow between the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharging chamber 57 is ensured. In this way, a high pressure difference between the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharge chamber 57 can be prevented.

That is, providing the vent 46 effectively establishes (i) increasing and decreasing the internal pressure of the toner discharge chamber 57 by the pump 58 to stably discharge the developer from the discharge opening 52, and (ii) prevents an increase in the pressure difference between the toner accommodating chamber 49 and the toner discharge chamber 57.

The vent 46 may be configured to permit passage of toner as well as air. However, in this case, it is desirable that the amount of toner entering and leaving the toner discharge chamber through the vent 46 is sufficiently smaller than the amount of toner passing through the communication passage 48 and supplied to the toner discharge chamber 57. By so doing, even if some toner passes through the air vent 46, the amount of toner inside the toner discharge chamber 57 does not vary significantly. Therefore, the influence on the amount of toner discharged from the discharge opening 52 can be suppressed or eliminated.

In view of this, it is desirable to arrange the vent 46 at a position where toner is not easily passed, that is, at a position around which toner is not present. For example, it is conceivable to provide the vent 46 at a position as high as possible inside the toner discharge chamber 57 or the toner containing chamber. By so doing, the amount of toner passing through the vent 46 can be reduced. In addition, the vent can be prevented from being clogged with toner. That is, the movement of air through the vent 46 is not hindered by the toner.

From this point of view, inside the toner accommodating chamber 49, the lower end portion of the vent 46 is located above the upper end portion of the communication passage 48 and above the screw 54. This is because the amount of toner passing through the vent 46 is made smaller than the amount of toner passing through the inside of the communication passage 48 by the screw 54. In addition, in a state where the toner is stored in the toner containing chamber 49, the lower end portion of the vent 46 inside the toner containing chamber 49 is positioned higher than the upper plane of the toner (see part (b) of fig. 7). Conversely, the amount of toner stored in the toner accommodating chamber 49 is limited so that the upper plane of the toner is lower than the lower end portion of the air vent 46. By doing so, the toner inside the toner containing chamber 49 is less likely to reach the vent 46.

Here, the upper plane of the toner in the toner containing chamber 49 is the upper plane of the toner before the user starts using the cartridge 13 (i.e., in a state where the toner contained in the cartridge 13 is not used yet). When the height of the upper plane of the toner is determined, the cartridge 13 is in a normal posture. In the present embodiment, the normal posture is a posture in which the discharge opening 52 is directed downward, that is, a posture in which the side where the discharge opening 52 is provided is the bottom side. Also, the upper plane of the toner is made parallel to the horizontal plane, so that the toner is uniformly contained inside the toner containing chamber 49. Subsequently, after waiting for a certain period of time until the state of the toner is stabilized, the height of the upper plane of the toner is checked (see part (b) of fig. 8).

By disposing the vent 46 inside the toner containing chamber 49 and appropriately setting the toner containing amount in this way, it is possible to restrict the toner from moving from the toner containing chamber 49 to the toner discharging chamber 57 through the vent 46. In addition, a restricting vent 46 is also realized to prevent it from being clogged with toner in the toner containing chamber 49.

In addition, in a state where the toner is not used yet (i.e., the toner cartridge 13 is not used and is new), the upper plane of the toner inside the toner containing chamber 49 is above the upper end portion of the pump 58. That is, in the present embodiment, the upper plane of the toner is arranged at a position higher than the pump 58 so as to accommodate a sufficient amount of toner in the toner accommodating chamber 49, and the vent 46 is further arranged above the upper plane of the toner. Both the capacity to secure the amount of toner and the function to secure the vent 46 are achieved.

In the above portions and members compared in the vertical relationship (height), the communication opening 46, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharge chamber are provided across the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharge chamber 57, and they have a certain width in the Z-axis direction. Therefore, if the communication opening 46, the screw 54, and the communication passage 48 are inclined at an angle with respect to the Z-axis or horizontal plane, the heights of the members on the toner containing chamber 49 side and on the toner discharging chamber 57 side may be different from each other. When the vertical relationship among the communication opening 46, the screw 54, and the communication passage 48 is mentioned above, these heights are compared inside the toner containing chamber 49. That is, in the above description, the heights of the respective members on the toner containing chamber 49 side are compared.

However, in the present embodiment, the communication opening 46, the communication passage 48, and the screw 54 are all arranged parallel to the Z axis, i.e., horizontally, and the height of each member is constant regardless of the position. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned height relationship is established whether in the inside of the toner containing chamber 49 or the toner discharging chamber 57. That is, the above-mentioned vertical relationship with respect to the communication opening 46, the screw 54, and the communication passage 48 is established regardless of the coordinate of the Z-axis.

Similarly, not only the lower end portion of the vent 46 in the toner containing chamber 49 but also the lower end portion of the vent 46 inside the toner containing chamber 57 is arranged above the upper end portion of the pump 58. The vent 46 is also arranged at a high position inside the toner discharge chamber 57 so as to prevent the toner from returning from the toner discharge chamber 57 to the toner containing chamber 49 through the vent 46.

As another method of suppressing the amount of toner passing through the vent port 46, there is a method of covering the vent port 46 with a filter. As such an example, part (c) of fig. 8 shows the structure of the cartridge 13 as a modified example, in which a vent 69 including a filter is provided instead of the vent 46.

The filter 69a provided in the communication opening 69 is a member that inhibits passage of toner while permitting passage of air. In part (c) of fig. 8, the filter 69a (hatched part) is highlighted for explanation.

When the air vent 69 including the filter 69a is used in this way, even if toner exists around the air vent 69, toner passage can be suppressed. In particular, the filter is effective when the vent is provided below the upper plane of the toner. Of course, the vent 46 in part (b) of fig. 8 may be provided with a filter in the same manner as the vent 69.

In addition, in part (b) of fig. 8, the vent 46 is formed by using a gap formed between the partition member 55 and the supply frame 50, but the vent may be provided by forming an opening in the partition member 55, formed as the vent 69 shown in part (c) of fig. 8.

Since the vent 46 and the communication passage 48 are both communication passages (communication openings and paths) that communicate the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49 with each other, one of them may be referred to as a first communication passage (or a first communication opening and a first path), and the other may be referred to as a second communication passage (or a second communication opening, a second path), or the like. However, the vent 46 is a communication passage for the purpose of passing air, and therefore, unlike the communication passage 48 as a toner path, the vent 46 may have a structure through which toner cannot pass as described above.

Next, the relationship among the sizes of the toner containing chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharge chamber 57 will be described. The area As is the area of the cross section of the communication passage 48 on the cutting plane a-a in part (a) of fig. 8. The area of the region shown by hatching in part (a) of fig. 1 is As.

In addition, the area of the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57 on the cutting plane B-B of part (a) of fig. 8 on the downstream side of the communication passage 48 (downstream side in the Z2 direction) is Bs. The area of the region shown by hatching in part (b) of fig. 1 is Bs.

In addition, the area of the cross section of the toner accommodating chamber 49 on the plane C-C in part (a) of fig. 8 on the upstream side (downstream side in the Z1 direction) of the communication passage 48 is Cs. The area of the region indicated by hatching in part (a) of fig. 1 is Cs.

The three cross sections taken along lines A-A, B-B and C-C are all cross sections taken in a plane perpendicular to the Z axis. In other words, they are cross sections taken along a plane perpendicular to the toner feeding direction by the screw 54, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 13, and parallel to the XY plane.

At this time, the areas of the cross sections of the communication passage 48, the toner discharge chamber 57, and the toner containing chamber 49 satisfy the following relationship

As < Bs, and

As＜Cs。

that is, the cross section of the communication passage 48 is smaller than the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57 and the cross section of the toner containing chamber 49.

The area Bs of the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57 and the area Cs of the cross section of the toner containing chamber 49 are different along the Z-axis coordinate (depending on the position in the toner feeding direction). In addition, in the present embodiment, the area As of the cross section of the communicating passage 48 is substantially constant regardless of the coordinate of the Z axis (position in the toner feeding direction), but the area As of the cross section of the communicating passage 48 may be different depending on the coordinate of the Z axis. Even in this case, it is possible to find cross sections that satisfy the above-described size relationship in the communication passage 48, the toner discharge chamber 57, and the toner containing chamber 49, respectively.

For example, suppose As is the area of the smallest cross-section of the communication channel 48. In this case, at least one cross section having an area Cs larger than the area As is provided in the toner containing chamber 49, and at least one cross section having an area Bs larger than the area As is provided in the toner discharging chamber 57.

The description may be as follows. When the area of the largest cross section of the toner containing chamber 49 is Cs and the area of the largest cross section of the toner discharging chamber 57 is Bs, the communicating passage 48 has at least one cross section whose area As is smaller than Cs and Bs.

By making the cross-sectional area Cs of the toner containing chamber 49 larger than the cross-sectional area As of the communicating passage 48, a sufficient amount of toner can be stored inside the toner containing chamber 49, and the toner can also be efficiently stirred inside the toner containing chamber 49 by the stirring member 53. The stirring member 53 stirs the toner to prevent the toner from aggregating. That is, the stirring member 53 can increase the fluidity by loosening the toner.

On the other hand, the toner can be quantified by passing the toner through the communication passage 48 having a small cross section. That is, in order to limit the amount of toner that moves from the toner containing chamber 49 to the toner discharge chamber 57, the cross-sectional area As of the communication passage 48 is made smaller than the cross-sectional area Cs of the toner containing chamber 49. In this way, the amount of toner fed can be reduced and controlled to a desired level (constant level) as the screw travels through the communication passage 48.

In addition, since the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57 is larger than that of the communication passage 48, the toner can be loosened inside the toner discharge chamber 57. That is, when air is sucked through the discharge opening 52, the toner discharge chamber 57 needs to increase the fluidity of toner inside the toner discharge chamber 57. Therefore, the toner discharge chamber 57 requires a certain volume to mix the air and the toner when the air flows thereinto through the discharge opening 52. In order to secure the volume, the cross-sectional area Bs of the toner discharge chamber 57 is larger than the cross-sectional area As of the communication passage 48.

As shown in part (a) of fig. 8, the B-B cross section of the above-described toner discharge chamber 57 is a cross section taken along a plane passing through the toner discharge opening 52, but the cross section passing through the toner discharge opening 52 is not necessarily used when determining the area Bs of the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57. That is, it is preferable that at least one cross section having an area Bs satisfying "As < Bs" exists inside the toner discharge chamber 57.

However, if the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57 at the position of the discharge opening 52 (i.e., the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57 taken along a plane passing through the discharge opening 52) satisfies "As < Bs", it is more appropriate from the viewpoint of increasing the fluidity around the discharge opening 52.

In addition, in the case where the cross-sectional area As of the communication passage 48 is made smaller than the cross-sectional area Bs of the toner discharge chamber 57, the toner can be prevented from flowing back through the communication passage 48. When the pump 58 contracts, the air pressure in the toner discharge chamber 57 increases, so that the toner and the air are discharged through the discharge opening 52. At this time, some air and toner may tend to move to the toner accommodating chamber 49 through the communication passage 48. However, in the present embodiment, the toner moving path becomes narrow in the communication passage 48, and therefore, it is possible to restrict the toner and the air in the toner discharge chamber 57 from moving back to the toner containing chamber 49 through the communication passage 48. In addition, in the present embodiment, not only the area As of the communication passage 48 is reduced, but also the screw 54 is provided inside the communication passage 48, so that the screw 54 also functions to suppress the movement of the toner flowing back through the communication passage 48.

By providing the communication passage 48 in this way, it is possible to suppress the toner and air from moving from the toner discharge chamber 57 to the toner containing chamber 49. The toner can be stably discharged to the outside of the toner cartridge 13 through the discharge opening 52 of the toner discharge chamber 57.

In the present embodiment, the communication passage 48 has substantially the same cross-sectional area As over a certain range (substantially the entire area in the present embodiment). When the communicating passages 48 have the regions having the same cross-sectional size within a certain range, the amount of toner passing through the communicating passages 48 can be easily stabilized. However, as described above, the size of the cross section of the communication passage 48 may vary depending on the position. If the toner flow path narrows anywhere between the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49, at least this portion may be regarded as the communication passage 48.

If the cross-sectional area of the communication passage 48 differs depending on the position, the minimum cross-section as (asmin) of the communication passage 48, the maximum cross-section Bsmax of the toner discharge chamber 57, and the maximum cross-section Csmax of the toner containing chamber 49 are compared. In the present embodiment, "Asmin < Bsmax < Csmax" is satisfied. In order to increase the capacity of toner stored in the toner containing chamber 49, it is preferable that the toner containing chamber 49 has a cross section larger than that of the communication passage 48 and larger than that of the toner discharge chamber 57.

Here, min in the subscript means the minimum value, and max means the maximum value.

In addition, when the area Bs of the cross section of the toner discharge chamber 57 is determined at the position of the discharge opening 52, "Asmin < Bs < Csmax" may be satisfied.

In the internal space 51 of the supply frame 50, a screw 54 and an agitating member 53 are provided as movable feeding members with respect to the developing frame 50. Unless otherwise specified, when these feeding members (53, 54) are provided in the communication passage 48, the toner containing chamber 49, and the toner discharging chamber 47, the areas As, Bs, and Cs also include the cross-sectional areas of the feeding members (53, 54). In other words, the cross-sectional areas of the spaces formed inside the communication passage 48, the toner containing chamber 49, and the toner discharge chamber 47 in the state where the screw 54 and the stirring member 53 are removed from the supply frame 50 are the areas As, Bs, and Cs. Thus, the presence/absence and the size of the screw 54 and the stirring member 53 do not affect the values of the areas As, Bs, and Cs.

However, in the present embodiment, when the areas As, Bs, and Cs of the communication passage 48, the toner discharge chamber 47, and the toner containing chamber 49 are determined, each of the above-mentioned area relationships is satisfied even if the cross-sectional area of the screw 54 and the cross-sectional area of the stirring member 53 are excluded. That is, in the a-a cross section of part (a) of fig. 1, the area of the portion excluding the region of the screw 54 from the hatched region is redefined As; in the B-B cross section of part (B) of fig. 1, the area of the part excluding the region of the screw 54 from the hatched region is newly defined as Bs; and the area of the portion excluding the region of the screw 54 and the stirring member 53 from the hatched region in the C-C cross section of part (C) of fig. 1 is redefined as Cs. Even if As, Bs, and Cs are redefined in this way, there are cross sections that satisfy the above-mentioned relationship of As, Bs, and Cs in the communication passage 48, the toner discharge chamber 47, and the toner containing chamber 49.

In the present embodiment, the volume of the communication passage 48 is smallest, and the volume of the toner accommodating chamber 49 is largest. The volume of the toner discharge chamber 57 is larger than the volume of the communication passage 48 and smaller than the volume of the toner containing chamber 49. The amount of toner stored in the cartridge 13 can be easily changed by changing the cross-sectional area Cs of the toner containing chamber 49 without changing the shapes of the communication passage 48 and the toner discharge chamber 57.

Referring to fig. 28, the relationship of the internal space 51 will be described. Fig. 28 is a simplified diagram illustrating an internal space, in which part (a) of fig. 28 illustrates the toner containing chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharge chamber 57 individually in a schematic manner, and part (b) of fig. 28 illustrates that the internal space 51 is formed by combining them. As explained above, the relationship among the areas As, Bs, and Cs satisfies "As < Bs < Cs".

In fig. 28, the shape of the space occupied by each of the toner containing chamber 49, the communicating passage 48, and the toner discharging chamber 57 is simplified and shown as a combination of cubes. Therefore, the cross section of each space is also simplified and shown, so that the shape thereof is a quadrangle.

In this case, the cross-sectional area As is the product of the width Aw of the communication passage 48 measured in the X direction and the height Ah measured in the Y direction, that is, As ═ Aw × Ah. Similarly, Bs ═ Bw × Bh, and Cs ═ Cw × Ch.

In fig. 28, the cross-sectional area Cs is obtained at a position where the cross-sectional area of the toner containing chamber 49 is maximum. The maximum value Csmax of such a cross-sectional area Cs is larger than the cross-sectional area As of the communication passage 48, As described above.

Preferably, Cmax is greater than 5 times As. More preferably, Cmax is made 10 times larger than Asmax, so that the number of bits of Cmax is larger than the number of bits of Asmax.

In particular, in the large-capacity toner cartridge 13 As in the present embodiment, it is further preferable to make Csmax larger than 25 times As. For example, the area Cs of the cross section satisfying 5Aw < Cw and 5Ah < Aw satisfies this relationship.

In summary,

5×As＜Csmax，

10×As＜Csmax，

25×As＜Csmax

are satisfied.

In the present embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the communication passage 48 is constant regardless of the position. The above relationship is satisfied regardless of the position of the area As of the cross section of the measurement communication passage 48.

However, if the size of the area of the communication passage 48 is significantly different depending on the position, the area Asmin of the cross section of the minimum communication passage may be compared with the maximum value Csmax of Cs. Then, the relationship is

5×Asmin＜Csmax，

10×Asmin＜Csmax，

25×Asmin＜Csmax，

The same applies to the case where the size of As differs depending on the position. If the area As of the cross section of the communication passage 48 is constant regardless of the position, it can be said that "As ═ Asmin" is satisfied regardless of the position.

In the present embodiment, in the yellow, cyan, and magenta toner cartridges, the maximum value Csmax of Cs is selected to exceed 60 times the area As of the communication passage, that is,

60×As＜Csmax，

60×Asmin＜Csmax。

in the black toner cartridge, the maximum value Csmax of Cs is selected to exceed 80 times the minimum value of the area As of the communication passage, that is,

80×As＜Csmax，

80×Asmin＜Csmax。

from the viewpoint of maintaining the amount of toner passing through the communication passage 48 constant while increasing the volume of the toner containing chamber 49, it is preferable that the area Cs is increased with respect to the area As, or conversely, it is preferable that the area As is decreased with respect to the area Cs.

In the present embodiment, Csmax is smaller than 100 times Asmin, regardless of which of the yellow, cyan, magenta, and black cartridges 13. 100 xAs < Cmax, 100 xAsmin < Cmax.

However, Cs has no particular upper limit in principle, and therefore, in order to ensure the volume of the toner accommodating chamber, the maximum value of Cs may be larger than that of the present embodiment so As to exceed the maximum value of As by 100 times.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of ensuring the volume for mounting the cartridge 13 inside the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, it is generally preferable that the maximum value of Cs is smaller than 1000 times As. More generally, it is preferred that the maximum value of Cs is less than 500 times As, i.e.,

1000×As＞Csmax，

1000×Asmin＞Csmax，

500×As＞Csmax，

500×Asmin＞Csmax。

in addition, in fig. 28, the cross-sectional area Bs of the toner discharge chamber 57 is measured at a position where the toner discharge opening 52 (see part (a) of fig. 8, etc.) is arranged.

At this time, the cross-sectional area Bs can be calculated by Bs ═ Bw × Bh, and the relationship is

Bs > As, and

Bs＞Asmin。

in particular, it is preferable that the relationship is such that Bw > Aw or Bh > Ah, and the area Bs is larger than the area As.

In the present embodiment, when the area Bs is obtained at the position of the toner discharge opening 52, the area Bs is selected to exceed 1.5 times the area As of the cross section of the communication passage, and more specifically, at the position of the toner discharge opening 52, the area Bs is larger than three times the area As, that is,

1.5×As＜Bs，

1.5×Asmin＜Bs，

3 Xas < Bs, and

3×Asmin＜Bs

in addition, the area Bs at the position of the toner discharge opening 52 is smaller than the area Csmax, regardless of which of the yellow, cyan, magenta, and black cartridges 13.

More specifically, the area Bs at the position of the toner discharge opening 52 is selected to be smaller than half of the area Csmax, and is actually smaller than one tenth of the area Csmax, that is,

2×Bs＜Csmax

10×Bs＜Csmax。

in the black cartridge, in particular, the area Bs at the position of the toner discharge opening 52 is smaller than 1/20 of the area Csmax, that is,

20×Bs＜Csmax。

the value of Bs may be changed if the position for obtaining the cross-sectional area of the toner discharge chamber is a position other than the position of the discharge opening 52. In this case, the maximum value Csmax of Cs is larger than the maximum value Bsmax of Bs, that is,

Bsmax＜Csmax。

this is to increase the volume of the toner accommodating chamber, thereby increasing the toner capacity.

In particular, in the present embodiment, Bsmax is smaller than half of Csmax, that is,

2×Bsmax＜Csmax。

the ratios between As, Bs and Cs described above may vary beyond the above ranges. This is because these ratios vary depending on the position and performance of the pump 58, the amount of toner stored in the cartridge, the volume available for mounting the toner cartridge 13 in the image forming apparatus main assembly, the arrangement of the internal space of the toner cartridge 13, and the like.

As shown in part (b) of fig. 28, a part of the toner containing chamber 49 and the communication passage 48 are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction, i.e., in the up-down direction (vertical direction). The toner accommodating chamber 49 is arranged on the downstream side in the Y1 direction, i.e., above the communication passage 48. Therefore, when the communication passage 48 and the toner containing chamber 49 are projected onto a projection plane (ZX plane) perpendicular to the Y axis in the Y axis direction, the projection areas of the communication passage 48 and the toner containing chamber 49 at least partially overlap each other.

In addition, another portion of the toner containing chamber 49 and the communication passage 48 are arranged side by side in the X-axis direction, i.e., in the left-right direction. A part of the toner containing chamber 49 is arranged on the downstream side in the X2 direction, i.e., on the right side, with respect to the communication passage 48. Therefore, when the communication passage 48 and the toner containing chamber 49 are projected in the X-axis direction onto a projection plane perpendicular to the X-axis, i.e., onto a YZ plane, the projection areas of the communication passage 48 and the toner containing chamber 49 at least partially overlap each other.

In addition, another portion of the toner containing chamber 49 and the communication passage 48 are arranged side by side in the Z-axis direction, i.e., in the front-rear direction. A part of the toner containing chamber 49 is on the downstream side in the Z1 direction, i.e., in front of the communication passage 48. Therefore, when the communication passage 48 and the toner containing chamber 49 are projected in the Z-axis direction onto a projection plane perpendicular to the Z-axis, i.e., an XY plane, the projected areas of the communication passage 48 and the toner containing chamber 49 at least partially overlap each other.

As described above, the toner containing chamber 49 is arranged in parallel with the communicating passage 48 in the Y-axis direction, the X-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, which are perpendicular to each other. With such an arrangement and layout, the volume of the toner accommodating chamber 49 can be increased to increase the capacity of the toner cartridge.

In addition, the communication passage 48 and the toner discharge chamber 57 are arranged in the Z-axis direction, i.e., the front-rear direction. The toner discharge chamber 57 is disposed on the downstream side in the Z2 direction, i.e., on the rear side with respect to the communication passage 48. Therefore, when the communication passage 48 and the toner discharge chamber 57 are projected in the Z-axis direction onto a projection plane perpendicular to the Z-axis, that is, an XY plane, the projected areas of the communication passage 48 and the toner discharge chamber 57 overlap each other.

Similarly, the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49 are arranged in the X-axis direction, i.e., the left-right direction. The toner containing chamber 49 is located on the downstream side in the X2 direction, i.e., on the right side, with respect to the toner discharge chamber 57. Therefore, when the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49 are projected onto a projection plane (YZ plane) perpendicular to the X axis in the X axis direction, the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49 at least partially overlap each other. With such an arrangement relationship and layout, the volume of the toner containing chamber 49 can be increased.

By arranging spaces (57, 49, 48) having a specific function adjacent to each other such that the spaces overlap each other in the projection plane, an efficient internal arrangement of the spaces 51 can be provided without dead space. It is possible to establish the toner cartridge 13 that stores toner, quantitatively conveys the toner, and quantitatively discharges the toner while keeping the size of the internal space 51 constant.

In the image forming apparatus 100, the black toner tends to be consumed more than the toners of other colors, and therefore, in the fourth developer supply container (13K), the cross-sectional area Cs of the black toner accommodating chamber 49 is made larger than that of the other cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13K). Thus, the volume of the toner accommodating chamber 49 in the fourth developer supply container (13K) is made larger than the volume of the toner accommodating chambers in the first to third developer supply containers (13Y, 13M, 13C). A large amount of toner is contained in the fourth developer supply container (13K).

By appropriately changing the cross-sectional area Cs of each cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C, 13K), the amount of toner contained in each cartridge can be appropriately set without significantly changing other portions of each cartridge.

In addition, although the four toner cartridges 13 of the present embodiment are used with the image forming apparatus 100 for forming four-color images, one toner cartridge 13 may be used with a monochrome image forming apparatus for forming monochrome images. In addition, two of the toner cartridges 13 may be used for an image forming apparatus for forming images of two colors. That is, there is no limitation on the number of toner cartridges that can be simultaneously used in one image forming apparatus 100.

In the present embodiment, a part of the screw 54 exists substantially directly above the discharge opening 52 of the toner discharge chamber 57. That is, a part of the screw 54 is disposed inside the toner containing chamber 49, another part is disposed inside the communicating passage 48, and still another part is disposed inside the toner discharging chamber 57.

In this way, the screw 54 can reliably feed the toner from the toner containing chamber 49 toward the discharge opening 52 of the toner discharge chamber 57 through the communication passage 48.

However, the structure of the developer feeding member (screw 54) is not limited to this example. It is conceivable that no feeding member is provided in one or more portions of the toner containing chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and/or the toner discharge chamber 57. For example, inside a certain portion, it is conceivable that the screw 54 is not formed with a helical blade, but merely provides a shaft of the screw having no toner transporting capability.

(expansion and contraction of pump, reciprocating motion)

Next, with reference to fig. 10 and 11, the expansion/contraction motion and the reciprocation motion of the pump 58 will be described.

Fig. 10 is a partial perspective view of the rear end portion of the cartridge 13 as viewed from below in a state where the side cover 62 is offset rearward to show the transmission path of the rotational drive.

Fig. 11 is a partial perspective view of the rear end portion of the cartridge 13 in a state where the side cover 62 is offset rearward so as to illustrate the expansion/contraction operation of the pump 58. Part (a) of fig. 11 shows a state in which the pump 58 is expanded, and part (b) of fig. 11 shows a state in which the pump 58 is contracted.

As shown in fig. 11, the drive train is provided on the rear side of the cartridge 13, i.e., near the rear surface. The drive train of the present embodiment includes a drive input gear (drive input member, coupling member) 59, a cam gear 60 as a rotating member, and a screw gear 64. The drive input gear 59 includes a drive receiving unit (drive input unit, coupling portion) 59a and a gear portion 59 b. The cam gear 60 is provided with a cam groove 60 a. In the cam gear 60, a cylindrical portion on which the cam groove 60a is formed may be referred to as a cam portion. The cam groove 60a extends meandering, and has a crest portion 60b on the rear side and a trough portion 60c on the front side.

The direction of the axis of the cam gear 60 is parallel to the Z-axis.

The link member 61 as a reciprocating member has a cam protrusion 61a, and the cam protrusion 61a is engaged with the cam groove 60 a. In addition, the link member 61 is supported by the side cover 62 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (Z-axis direction) while being restricted from moving in the rotational direction about the Z-axis as the center axis of the pump 58. That is, the link member 61 can reciprocate in the direction of the axis of the cam gear 60.

The side cover 62 is a cover member (protective member) for covering the pump 58 to protect the pump 58, is provided at an end portion of the cartridge 13 in the Z2 direction, and provides a rear surface (rear end portion) of the cartridge 13. The side cover 62 may be regarded as a part of the frame (housing) of the cartridge 13 together with the supply frame 50. In this case, the supply frame 50 may be particularly referred to as a frame main body (housing main body) or the like.

The above-described pump 58 is provided with a coupling portion 58b by which the link member and the pump 58 are connected to each other. In the present embodiment, the cam gear 60 and the link member 61 are included in a drive conversion unit (drive conversion mechanism, pump drive mechanism) 68.

The rotational drive transmission path will be described. As shown in fig. 10, rotational drive is input to the cartridge 13 from a drive output member (coupling member on the main assembly side) 100a provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100. That is, by connecting (coupling) the drive receiving portion (coupling portion) 59a of the drive input gear 59 provided on the cartridge with the drive output member 100a, the drive force receiving portion 59a receives the rotational force (drive force). Accordingly, the drive input gear 59 rotates, and the driving force is transmitted from the drive input gear 59 to the respective members of the cartridge 13.

The drive input gear 59 is connected to the shaft portion 53a of the stirring member 53 as shown in fig. 7, and therefore, the stirring member 53 is rotated by the rotation of the drive input gear 59. The gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 is engaged with the gear portion 60d of the cam gear 60, and transmits the rotational drive to the cam gear 60. In addition, the gear portion 60d of the cam gear 60 is engaged with the screw gear 64 to rotate the screw gear 64. The screw 54 (see fig. 1) is connected with a screw gear 64, and the screw 54 is driven by the transmitted rotational drive.

The gear portion 60d of the cam gear 60 has a smaller diameter than the cylindrical portion (cam portion) on which the cam groove 60a of the cam gear 60 is formed.

Thus, the drive input gear 59 is a drive input member to which a driving force (rotational force) is input from the outside of the cartridge 13 (i.e., the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100). In other words, the drive input gear 59 is a cartridge-side coupling member configured to be able to couple with the drive output member (main assembly-side coupling member) 100 a.

In addition, the drive input gear 59 also serves as a drive transmission member (gear member) for transmitting the driving force to each member of the cartridge. That is, the drive input gear 59 includes a coupling portion (drive force receiving portion 59a) to which the drive force is input and a gear portion 59b for outputting the drive force to another member of the toner cartridge 13. The gear portion 59b is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the drive input gear 59.

The rotational force (driving force) input to the drive input gear 59 is used not only to drive the screw 54 and the stirring member 53 but also to drive the pump 58.

Therefore, referring to fig. 12, next, a drive converting portion 68 for converting the rotational force (driving force) received by the drive input gear 59 into reciprocating motion to expand/contract and reciprocate the pump 58 will be described.

The drive conversion portion 68 in the present embodiment is a cam (cam mechanism), and includes a cam gear (rotary member) 60 and a link member (reciprocating member) 61. The link member 61 is restricted from moving in the rotational direction about the axis Z. Therefore, when the cam gear 60 rotates by receiving the rotational drive, the cam protrusion 61a of the link member 61 alternately passes through the peak 60b and the valley 60c of the cam groove 60a of the cam gear 60, so that the link member 61 reciprocates in the front-rear direction.

That is, the state of part (a) of fig. 12 and the state of part (b) of fig. 12 are alternately repeated. At this time, a point at which the protrusion 61a and the cam groove 60a, which are each engaging portion, contact each other so that the cam gear 60, which is a rotating member, reciprocates the link member 61, which is a reciprocating member, is referred to as a joint point P.

In association with the reciprocating movement of the link member 61, the coupling portion 58b connected to the link member 61 also reciprocates. Then, the reciprocating movement of the coupling portion 58b causes the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 to expand and contract, so that the internal volume of the pump 58 is periodically changed. The connecting portion 58b is a force receiving portion (expansion/contraction force receiving portion, pump driving force receiving portion) that receives a force for expanding/contracting the pump 58 from the link member 61.

As described above, the drive conversion portion 68 (link member 61, cam gear 60) converts the rotational force received by the drive input gear 59 into a force (force for driving the pump to change the volume of the pump) that expands and contracts the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58, thereby driving the pump 58.

At this time, the pump 58 is arranged inside the rotating cam gear 60 in the radial direction. That is, the pump 58 is inside the cam gear 60 and surrounded by the cam gear 60.

In addition, the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 and the joint point P are set so that they overlap at a certain phase in the expansion/contraction direction of the pump 58 (the moving direction of the pump). By such an arrangement relationship, a space required for expansion and contraction of the pump 58 and a space required for movement of the joint P can be shared, and the amount of expansion and contraction (movement amount) of the pump 58 can be made larger in a limited space.

Referring to fig. 12 and 27, a specific positional relationship between the joint point P and the bellows portion 58a will be described. Part (a) of fig. 12 and part (b) of fig. 12 are sectional views of the pump, part (a) of fig. 12 shows a state in which the pump is expanded, and part (b) of fig. 12 shows a state in which the pump is contracted. Fig. 27 is a graph showing a change over time in the positional relationship between the joint point P and the bellows portion 58a in the operation of the pump.

In part (a) of fig. 12, the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 is in an expanded state, and occupies a range indicated by an arrow Q1 in the Z-axis direction. At this time, the joint point P is arranged to overlap the range Q1 in the Z-axis direction.

In addition, in part (b) of fig. 12, the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 is in a contracted state, and occupies a range indicated by an arrow Q2 in the Z-axis direction. At this time, the joint point P overlaps the range Q2 in the Z-axis direction.

Part (c) of fig. 12 is a diagram when the bellows portion 58a and the joint are projected on a line (Z-axis) extending in the expansion/contraction direction (moving direction) of the pump 58. The position of the joint point P in the most expanded state (the state of part (a) of fig. 10) of the bellows portion 58a is indicated by a point Pa, and at this time, the region occupied by the bellows portion 58a in the Z-axis direction is indicated by Q1. It is to be understood that the joint Pa is located within the projection area Q1 of the bellows portion 58a on the Z-axis.

In addition, the position of the joint in the state where the bellows portion 58a is most contracted (the state in part (b) of fig. 10) is indicated by a point Pb. In addition, in the state where the bellows portion 58a is most contracted (the state of portion (b) of fig. 10), the region occupied by the bellows portion 58a in the Z-axis direction is indicated by Q2. It should be understood that the joint Pb is located within the projected area Q2 of the bellows portion 58a in the Z-axis.

Fig. 27 is an expanded view showing how the cam protrusion 61a of the link member 61 moves in the cam groove 60a of the cam gear 60. The cam protrusion 61a is restricted by the cam groove 60a and moves in the Z-axis direction with Time (Time). At this Time, since the engagement point P, which is the contact point between the cam protrusion 61a and the cam groove 60a, changes with Time (Time), it is shown in fig. 27 with a thick solid line instead of a point.

In addition, in fig. 27, the range occupied by the bellows portion 58a in the Z-axis direction is shown by a thin solid line, and the range occupied by the bellows portion 58a in the expansion/contraction direction with Time (Time) is indicated by a double-headed arrow Q. Here, the most expanded (extended) state of the pump 58 shown in part (a) of fig. 12 is a state in which time in fig. 27 is Ta, and the most contracted state of the pump 58 shown in part (b) of fig. 12 is a state in which time in fig. 27 is Tb.

In the present embodiment, the joint point P is at a point in time of "time Tb", that is, at a timing at which the pump 58 is most contracted, and the joint point P is located in a range Q2 in which a part of the pump 58 exists in the expansion/contraction direction (i.e., on the Z-axis). That is, the Z coordinate of the junction point P is within the range Q1 occupied by the pump 58 in the Z-axis coordinate.

Similarly, at "time Ta", that is, at the time when the pump 58 is at the most expansion, the joint point P is located inside the range Q1 in which the pump 58 exists in the expansion/contraction direction. That is, the Z coordinate of the junction point P is within the range Q1 occupied by the pump 58 in the Z-axis coordinate.

In so doing, the space required for the expansion/contraction movement and the reciprocation movement of the pump 58 and the space required for the movement of the joint P can be shared. That is, the space required for arranging the pump 58 and the drive switching portion 68 can be kept small, and therefore, the size of the cartridge 13 can be reduced.

In the state of "time ═ Tc" in fig. 27, in the process of switching the pump 58 from the contracted state to the expanded state, it is understood that at this time, the joint point P is located outside the range of the bellows portion 58a in the Z-axis coordinate. During operation, the junction point P may be located outside the range Q occupied by the bellows portion 58 a. Therefore, it is sufficient if there is a timing (timing) at least in the Z-axis direction (expansion/contraction direction of the pump) at which the joint point P is located within the range Q occupied by the bellows portion 58 a.

In the present embodiment, the joint point P is located within the region Q occupied by the bellows portion 58a except for a short time before and after "time Tc". In particular, during the transition of the pump 58 from the most expanded state to the most contracted state, the joint point P is always located within the region Q occupied by the bellows portion 58 a.

In addition, the drive input gear 59 is arranged to at least partially overlap with the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 in the expansion/contraction direction of the pump 58. Thus, the space required for expansion and contraction of the pump 58 and the space required for engagement of the drive input gear 59 can be shared, and the amount of expansion and contraction of the pump 58 can be made larger in a limited space.

Referring to fig. 13, a specific positional relationship between the drive input gear 59 and the bellows portion 58a will be described. Part (a) of fig. 13 shows a state in which the pump is expanded, and part (b) of fig. 13 shows a state in which the pump is contracted. Part (c) of fig. 13 is a projection view in which the positional relationship between the drive input gear 59 and the bellows portion 58a is projected on the axis Z.

In part (a) of fig. 13, the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 is in an expanded state, and occupies the range Q1 in the Z-axis direction. At this time, the width 59W including the drive receiving portion 59a and the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 overlaps with the range of the arrow Q1 in the Z-axis direction.

In addition, in part (b) of fig. 13, the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 is in a contracted state, and occupies the range Q2 in the Z-axis direction. At this time, the width 59W including the drive receiving portion 59a and the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 overlaps the range Q2 in the Z-axis direction.

In the present embodiment, in both the expanded state and the contracted state of the pump 58, the width 59W including the drive receiving portion 59a and the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 in the Z-axis direction overlaps with the area occupied by the bellows portion 58 a. It is desirable that the width 59W including the drive receiving portion 59a and the gear portion 59b is arranged to always overlap the range occupied by the bellows portion 58a in the Z-axis direction, as described above, but this is not always necessary. As long as there is at least a timing (timing) at which the width 59W including the drive receiving portion 59a and the gear portion 59b overlaps with the range occupied by the bellows portion 58a in the Z-axis direction during the operation of the pump 58. By so doing, the space required for the pump 58 to expand and contract and the space required for the arrangement of the drive input gear 59 can be shared.

In addition, the arrangement is such that when the pump 58 is in the contracted state, the connecting portion (expansion force receiving portion, pump driving force receiving portion) 58b of the link member 61 and the pump 58 overlaps with the peak portion 60b of the cam gear 60 in the Z-axis direction. On the other hand, when the pump 58 is in the expanded state, the link member 61 also moves in the Z-axis direction, so that the peak portion 60b of the cam gear 60 and the link member 61 do not interfere with each other during operation. That is, in the Z-axis direction, the range in which the coupling portion 58b of the pump 58 operates and the range in which the joint point P moves at least partially overlap. In other words, as can be seen from part (c) of fig. 12, the moving range of the joining point P in the Z-axis direction is between the point Pa and the point Pb. In the state where the bellows portion 58a is most contracted (the state of portion (b) of fig. 12), the connecting portion 58b is interposed between the point Pa and the point Pb on the Z-axis. The arrangement relationship between the joint point P and the coupling portion 58b also enables a larger amount of expansion and contraction of the pump 58 to be selected in a limited space, thereby contributing to space saving and stable discharge.

Referring to fig. 14, the positional relationship between the cam gear 60 and the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 will be described.

Fig. 14 is a sectional view around the pump. In fig. 14, the link member 61 and the side cover 62 are not shown.

The pump 58 is provided with a bellows portion 58a and a connecting portion 58 c. Bellows portion 58a is a movable portion configured to be deformable for expansion and contraction. The connecting portion 58c is a mounting portion (connecting portion) that is mounted to the housing (supply frame 50) of the toner cartridge 13.

Assuming that the thickness of the bellows portion 58a is ta and the thickness of the connecting portion 58c is tk, the relationship therebetween is ta < tk. The bellows portion 58a is easily expanded and contracted and has a small wall thickness, while the connecting portion 58c has a large wall thickness so as to ensure sufficient strength for connection to the supply frame 50.

In addition, the diameter of the bellows portion 58a is larger than that of the connection portion 58 c.

In the present embodiment, both the bellows portion 58a and the connection portion 58c are circular as viewed in the expansion/contraction direction of the pump 58, and the centers of the bellows portion 58a and the connection portion 58c are aligned with each other. However, the pump 58 does not necessarily have to have this shape.

The gear portion 60d of the cam gear 60 is arranged so as to surround the coupling portion 58c, and as viewed in the Z-axis direction, the coupling portion 58c is located within the diameter Dc, and the gear portion 60d is located on the outer side (the position of the diameter Dd).

In the Z1 direction, the area of bellows portion 58a of pump 58 is located in Za, the area of coupling portion 58c is located in Zc, and the area of gear portion 60d is located in Zc.

By arranging the gear portion 60d in the space of the connecting portion 58c that does not move in the longitudinal direction of the pump 58, the longitudinal space can be efficiently utilized.

Regarding the relationship between the gear portion 60d of the cam gear 60 and the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58, the bellows portion 58a is located within the diameter Da as viewed in the Z-axis direction, and the gear portion 60d overlaps the diameter Da.

In fig. 14, k1 and k2 are portions where the gear portion 60d overlaps the bellows portion 58a as viewed in the Z direction, and are annular (doughnut-shaped) regions formed when k1 and k2 rotate about the axis Z.

In this structure, the gear portion 60d can be made smaller as viewed in the Z-axis direction, and the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 can be made larger, and therefore, the rotational speed of the gear portion 60d can be increased, and the variable volume of the pump can be increased.

(discharge opening, pump, drive input gear arrangement).

Next, with reference to fig. 1 and 15, the arrangement relationship of the discharge opening 52, the pump 58, and the drive input gear 59 described above will be described.

Part (a) of fig. 1, part (b) of fig. 1, and part (c) of fig. 1 are cross-sectional views when the cartridge 13 is viewed along the Z-axis. That is, a plane along which a cross section shown in part (a) of fig. 1 to part (c) of fig. 1 is taken corresponds to an XY plane perpendicular to the Z axis. Part (a) of fig. 15 is a view of the rear portion of the cartridge 13 in the Z1 direction, and part (b) of fig. 15 is a view of the lower portion (bottom portion) of the cartridge 13 in the Y1 direction. Part (a) of fig. 15 corresponds to an XY plane perpendicular to the Z axis, and part (b) of fig. 15 corresponds to a ZX plane perpendicular to the Y axis.

The discharge opening 52 is arranged inside the supply frame 50 so as to be closer to one side (first side) in the X direction, i.e., on the left side offset in the arrow X1 direction in fig. 1. Similarly, the screw 54 is also arranged offset in the X1 direction together with the discharge opening 52. That is, the discharge opening 52 and the screw 54 are arranged near the left side surface of the supply frame 50.

On the other hand, the stirring member 53 and the drive input gear 59 are arranged on the other side (second side) in the X direction, that is, on the right side indicated by an arrow X2 in fig. 1.

By so doing, the toner (developer) is fed from the stirring member 53 provided on the second side X2 (right side in fig. 1) in the X direction to the screw 54 arranged on the first side X1 (left side in fig. 1).

If the screw 54 and the discharge opening 52 are arranged at the center of the supply frame 50 in the X direction (i.e., in the left-right direction) unlike the present embodiment, it is necessary to provide the stirring member 53 on each of the first side X1 and the second side X2 of the supply frame 50. That is, it may be necessary to convey the toner (developer) from the two agitating members disposed on both sides in the X direction toward the screw 54 disposed in the center in the X direction, with the result that the structure of the cartridge may become complicated.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the number of the stirring members 53 is reduced and the cartridge structure is simplified by arranging the discharge opening 52 and the screw 54 closer to the one side X1 in the X direction (the left side in fig. 1).

The pump 58 is arranged as follows. In order to facilitate the action of the pump 58 on the discharge opening 52, it is desirable to place the pump 58 closer to the first side X1 on which the discharge opening 52 is arranged. Therefore, as shown in fig. 15, the pump 58 is arranged such that the center of the pump is arranged on the downstream side of the center of the supply frame 50 in the X1 direction of the X direction. Since the parts (a) of fig. 1 and 15 are in a left-right reversed relationship with each other, in fig. 15, the downstream side in the X1 direction corresponds to the right side, and the downstream side in the X2 direction corresponds to the left side.

In the present embodiment, the pump 58 is disposed not to protrude beyond the side surface of the first side X1 of the supply frame 50. Looking at the toner cartridge along the Z-axis, the entire pump 58 may be housed within the supply frame 50. This is to ensure a large volume of the supply frame 50 by using a space for arranging the pump 58.

The center of the pump 58 is disposed on the downstream side of the central axis of the screw 54 and the discharge opening 52 in the X2 direction. In fig. 15, the center position of the screw 64 is the center position of the screw 54.

That is, in the X direction (i.e., in the left-right direction or the horizontal direction), the center of the pump 58 is on the downstream side of the center of the supply frame 50 in the X1 direction, and on the downstream side of the centers (axes) of the screw 54 and the discharge opening 52 in the X2 direction. This is because, as described above, the area of the pump 58 protruding beyond the supply frame 50 is reduced or eliminated. That is, in order to reduce the size of the toner cartridge 13, the position of the discharge opening 52 and the position of the center of the pump 58 are intentionally shifted in the X-axis direction. The coupling portion 58c and the coupling portion 58b arranged at the center of the pump 58 are closer to the discharge opening 52 in the X2 direction.

Finally, the arrangement of the drive input gear 59 is as follows. The drive input gear 59 is used to transmit drive to the pump 58, and if the drive input gear 59 and the pump 58 are aligned with each other along the Z axis, the length of the developer supply container 13 in the Z direction becomes longer. Therefore, it is desirable to offset (offset) the center of the drive input gear 59 from the center of the pump 58 in the X direction or the Y direction and then arrange the drive input gear and the pump 58.

In the present embodiment, the center (axis) of the drive input gear 59 is offset to one side (left side in fig. 15) in the X2 direction with respect to the center of the pump 58. The axis of the drive input gear 59 is disposed closer to the X2 direction than the coupling portion 58c and the coupling portion 58b of the pump 58.

This is because a space for arranging the drive input gear 59 on the downstream side in the X2 direction with respect to the pump 58 can be easily secured. This is due to the following reason.

As shown in fig. 2, the process cartridge 1 is disposed above each of the four toner cartridges 13 inside the image forming apparatus main assembly (on the downstream side in the arrow Y1 direction). Further, the four process cartridges 1 are arranged side by side in the X direction, and similarly, the four toner cartridges 13 are also arranged side by side in the X direction.

In such a layout of the image forming apparatus, the width of the toner cartridge 13 in the X direction can be expanded to the same extent as the width of the process cartridge 1. Therefore, as shown in fig. 15, the width of the toner cartridge 13 measured in the X direction can be easily made larger than the width of the pump 58. In addition, since the pump 58 is disposed closer to the X1 side of the toner cartridge 13, there is a space for disposing the drive input gear 59 in the toner cartridge 13, particularly on the downstream side in the X2 direction with respect to the pump 58.

Therefore, the center (axis) of the drive input gear 59 is offset in the X2 direction of the X direction with respect to the center of the pump 58. In the present embodiment, the drive input gear 59 is arranged coaxially with the stirring member 53.

In the horizontal direction (X direction), the discharge opening 52 is arranged on a first side (downstream side in the X1 direction) with respect to the center of the pump 58, and the axis of the drive input gear 59 is arranged on a second side (i.e., downstream side in the X2 direction) opposite the first side with respect to the center of the pump 58. In the X direction (horizontal direction), the axis of the discharge opening 52 and the drive input gear 59 are arranged on opposite sides of the center of the pump 58. Here, the center of the pump 58 is the center of the area occupied by the pump 58 in the X direction. By arranging the discharge opening 52 on which the pump 58 acts and the drive input gear 59 acting on the pump 58 to be separated from each other, space can be effectively utilized and the size of the toner cartridge 13 can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the coupling portion 58c and the coupling portion 58b are at the center of the pump 58. Therefore, in the horizontal direction, the axis of the drive input gear 59 and the discharge opening 52 are arranged on opposite sides with the coupling portion 58c or the coupling portion 58b of the pump 58 interposed between the axis of the drive input gear 59 and the discharge opening 52.

In the horizontal direction (X-axis direction), the axis 54 of the screw is at substantially the same position as the discharge opening 52. Thus, in the horizontal direction, the axis 54 of the screw is arranged to be offset more in the X1 direction than the center of the pump 58. In addition, the stirring member 53 is arranged coaxially with the drive input gear 59. Therefore, in the horizontal direction, the axis of the stirring member 53 is arranged to be offset more than the center of the pump 58 in the X2 direction.

The drive input gear 59 is arranged not to protrude beyond the supply frame 50 when the toner cartridge 13 is viewed along the Z-axis. The entire drive input gear 59 is housed inside the area occupied by the supply frame 50. By utilizing the space for arranging the drive input gear 59, a large volume of the supply frame 50 can be ensured, and the amount of toner contained in the replenishment frame 50 can be increased. Alternatively, since the space required for arranging the drive input gear 59 is effectively utilized, the toner cartridge can be reduced in size.

Looking at the toner cartridge along the Z-axis, as shown in fig. 15, the pump 58 and the drive input gear 59 are arranged to partially overlap each other. This is to ensure a large volume of the pump 58 by utilizing a part of the space in which the drive input gear 59 is provided.

More specifically, a part of the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 is arranged to be interposed between the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 and the supply frame main body 50. On the other hand, the coupling portion 59a of the drive input gear 59 is arranged not to overlap with the pump 58. This is because the coupling portion 59a must be exposed to the outside of the cartridge 13 in order to be coupled with the drive output member 100 a.

In summary, when the cartridge 13 is viewed along the Z-axis, the axis of the drive input gear 59 is between the side surface of the supply frame 50 on the second side (i.e., the downstream side in the X2 direction) and the center of the pump 58. Specifically, the coupling portion 59a of the drive input gear 59 is arranged on the downstream side in the X2 direction with respect to the pump 58 so as not to overlap with the pump 58. On the other hand, the other portion of the drive input gear 59, more specifically, a portion of the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 is arranged to overlap with the pump 58.

Similarly, the pump 58 and the screw gear 64 are arranged to partially overlap each other. This is to efficiently utilize the space and ensure a large volume of the pump 58. On the other hand, the axis of the screw gear 64 is offset in the X1 direction with respect to the center of the pump 58. This is because the screw 54 arranged coaxially with the screw gear 64 is arranged in the vicinity of the discharge opening 52.

From the viewpoint of increasing the amount of toner (developer) discharged by the operation of the pump 58, it is necessary to increase the number of times of expansion and contraction of the pump 58 relative to the rotational speed of the drive input gear 59. In this embodiment, the pump 58 expands and contracts one or more times when the drive input gear 59 rotates one full revolution. The expansion/contraction operation (reciprocation) of the pump 58 is counted as one operation from the state of the pump 58 in the most contracted position, through the state in the most expanded state, and then back to the most contracted state.

Here, in order to increase the number of times of expansion and contraction of the pump, it is necessary to rotate the cam gear 60, which is provided around the pump 58 to cause the pump 58 to expand and contract, faster.

Since drive is transmitted from the drive input gear 59 to the cam gear 60, it is desirable to make the gear portion of the drive input gear 59 larger in order to appropriately select the gear ratio of the two gears and rotate the cam gear 60 faster.

In order to efficiently arrange the enlarged drive input gear 59, it is efficient to arrange the drive input gear 59 offset on X2 with respect to the center of the pump 58, as described above.

As described above, it is desirable that the drive input gear 59 be increased, while the size of the screw gear 64 is preferably decreased.

In order to increase the amount of toner (developer) fed by the screw 54, it is desirable to increase the rotation of the screw 54. That is, it is desirable to increase the rotation of the screw gear 64 connected to the screw 54.

Here, the driving force is transmitted from the drive input gear 59 to the screw gear 64 via the cam gear 60. In order to appropriately select the gear ratio of these gears and rotate the screw gear 64 at high speed, it is desirable to reduce the diameter of the screw gear 64.

The diameter of the gear portion 59a of the drive input gear 59 is selected to be larger than the diameter of the screw gear 64 from the angles of increasing the diameter of the gear portion 59a of the drive input gear and decreasing the diameter of the screw gear 64.

In this embodiment, when the pump 58 expands and contracts once, the screw 54 rotates one or more complete revolutions. The rotation speed of the screw gear 64 is set higher than the rotation speed of the drive input gear 59.

From the viewpoint of supplying toner (developer) to the screw 54, the stirring member 53 does not need to have as many rotational speeds as the screw 54. Therefore, it is not necessary to particularly increase the rotation speed of the stirring member 53 compared to the rotation speed of the drive input gear 59, and the drive input gear 59 is directly connected to the stirring member 53. This enables the structure of the cartridge 13 to be simplified.

In addition, in order to increase the size of the pump 58 and the drive input gear 59, it is desirable to reduce the number of idler gears so as to secure an arrangement space for the pump and the drive input gear. To this end, the cam gear 60 that rotates around the pump 58 also serves as an idler gear for transmitting drive from the drive input gear 59 to the screw gear 64.

The pump 58 is disposed along the axis of the cam gear 60 and is surrounded by the cam gear 60. The axis of the cam gear 60 passes through the interior of the pump 58. In the present embodiment, in particular, the cam gear 60 and the pump 58 are aligned in the Z-axis direction such that their centers are substantially aligned with each other.

By this arrangement relationship, a space for arranging the cam gear 60 and a space for arranging the pump 58 can be shared, and the size of the cartridge 13 can be reduced. More specifically, the inside of the cam gear 60 may be used as a space for arranging the pump 58.

Referring to fig. 16 and 17, the appearance of the cartridge 13 will be described. Part (a) of fig. 16 is an overall perspective view as viewed from the rear of the cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C). Part (b) of fig. 16 is a front view as viewed from the rear of the developing cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C). Fig. 17 is an overall perspective view as viewed from the front of the cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C).

As shown in part (a) of fig. 16, the cartridge 13 is mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 in the direction of arrow J. The side cover 62 as the rear surface (rear face) of the cartridge 13 is provided with two engaging portions, i.e., a first engaging portion 71 and a second engaging portion 72. When the cartridge 13 is mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, two engaging portions 1071 and 1072 (see fig. 18) provided in the image forming apparatus main assembly 100 are engaged with the first engaging portion 71 and the second engaging portion 72 provided in the cartridge 13, respectively. Thus, the position of the cartridge 13 inside the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 is determined.

The first engaging portion 71 of the cartridge 13 has a cylindrical shape, and the second engaging portion 72 has the shape of an elliptical cylindrical hole. The position of the cartridge 13 inside the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 is determined by engaging and inserting engaging portions 1071 and 1072 (fig. 18) on the main assembly side respectively inside the peripheral surfaces of these cylinders.

That is, the two engaging portions 1071 and 1072 (fig. 18) on the main assembly side of the image forming apparatus 100 are both shafts (shafts, projecting portions), and the two engaging portions 71 and 72 on the cartridge side have openings (circular holes and elliptical holes) for engaging with the shafts on the apparatus main assembly side, respectively. The engaging portions 71, 72, 1071, and 1072 are positioning portions for determining the position of the cartridge 13 inside the image forming apparatus main assembly. The engaging portions 71 and 72 are engaging portions (positioning portions) on the cartridge side, and the engaging portions 1071 and 1072 are engaging portions (positioning portions) on the apparatus main assembly 100 side.

Referring to fig. 18, mounting of the cartridge 13 to the image forming apparatus 100 will be described.

Part (a) of fig. 18 is an overall perspective view when the cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C) are mounted to the image forming apparatus 100.

Part (b) of fig. 18 is an overall perspective view when the cartridges (13Y, 13M, 13C) have been mounted to the image forming apparatus 100.

A storage member 70 having an electrical contact contactable with the electrical contact 170 of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 is provided on the side cover 62.

The storage element 70 is an element that stores information about the cartridge 13. Examples of the information include a driving state of the cartridge 13 and a color of toner contained in the cartridge 13. In the present embodiment, the storage element 70 is an IC chip (memory chip, semiconductor chip), and as described above, the storage element 70 has on its surface conductive contacts (electrical contacts) which can be electrically contacted with the contacts (electrical contacts) 170 provided on the image forming apparatus main assembly 100 to establish electrical connection therebetween. The electrical contacts 170 of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 may be electrically connected to the storage element 70 to read information from the storage element. In addition, the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 can write the use state of the cartridge 13 and the like to the storage element 70. The main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 can appropriately control the cartridge 13 based on the information in the storage member 70.

As shown in part (a) of fig. 18, in the process of mounting the cartridge 13 to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 in the direction of arrow J, the surface of the storage member 70 abuts against the electrical contact of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100. In this way, the state shown in part (b) of fig. 18 is established, and the memory element 70 and the electrical contact 170 can be electrically connected.

As shown in fig. 12 described above, the pump 58 is in contact with the supply frame 50 at the connection portion 58c provided at the end in the Z1 direction, and is coupled (connected, linked) with the supply frame 50. As shown in part (b) of fig. 16, a line connecting the center of the cylindrical shape of the first engaging portion 71 and the center of the elliptic cylindrical shape of the second engaging portion 72 provided on the side cover 62 is referred to as a line L1. The pump coupling portion 58c, in which the pump 58 is in contact with the supply frame 50, is arranged on one side of the line L1, and the electrical contact of the storage element 70 is arranged on the opposite side. With this arrangement, the pump 58 and the storage element 70 are separated from each other, so that vibrations generated when the pump 58 is driven are prevented from being transmitted to the storage element 70. That is, the storage element 70 is not easily moved by the vibration, and the contact state between the electrical contact provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 and the storage element 70 is stably maintained.

In addition, a coupling portion (screw) 73 for connecting the side cover 62 and the supply frame to each other is provided on the same side as the storage element 70 with respect to L1. Since the storage element 70 and the coupling portion 73 are arranged on the same side, the storage element 70 can be more firmly fixed to the supply frame 50, and the storage element 70 can be more accurately positioned.

As shown in part (a) of fig. 17, the front side of the cartridge 13, i.e., in the vicinity of the end of the replenishing frame 50 in the Z1 direction, is provided with a lever 74 serving as a grip for a user when inserting the cartridge 13 into and removing the cartridge 13 from the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100. The handle 74 is formed of a part of a protrusion protruding from the upper surface of the supply frame 50 and a part of a depression recessed from the upper surface. The recessed portion of the stem 74 is arranged offset in the Z2 direction with respect to the protruding portion of the stem 74. That is, the recessed portion is disposed closer to the rear of the cartridge than the protruding portion.

The handle 74 is not limited to a handle having a structure of a protrusion and a depression formed on the upper surface of the supply frame 50 in this way. For example, the stem 74 may be formed by only one of the protrusion and the recess. As another example, a part of the cartridge 13 is subjected to an anti-slip treatment such as a plurality of small dimples and protrusions provided on the surface of the supply frame 50 or rubber provided on the surface of the supply frame 50, whereby the part treated in this manner can serve as the handle (stem) 74. Preferably, the handle 74 is arranged in the front portion of the cartridge, i.e., on the downstream side of the cartridge in the Z1 direction.

In addition, as shown in part (b) of fig. 17, the toner discharge chamber 57 is provided with a discharge opening (supply frame opening) 52 in the lower surface in a normal use posture (posture at the time of use). Further, below the discharge opening 52, a shutter (opening/closing member) 41 provided with an opening 63 is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.

When the cartridge 13 is not mounted in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, the discharge opening 52 is closed by the shutter 41. The shutter 41 is configured to be movable to a predetermined position by being pushed by the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 in association with the mounting operation of the cartridge 13.

That is, when the cartridge 13 is mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, the shutter 41 moves relative to the supply frame 50. At this time, the discharge opening 52 and the opening (shutter opening) 63 of the shutter 41 are in fluid communication with each other, so that toner can be discharged from the cartridge 13. That is, the shutter 41 moves from the closed position of the discharge opening 52 to the open position.

In the present embodiment, the cartridge 13 (the supplemental frame 50) has a shape similar to a cubic shape. With this shape, the cartridge 13 can effectively utilize the space inside the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, and the cartridge 13 can accommodate a large amount of toner.

However, the shape of the cartridge 13 is not limited thereto, and may take other shapes, such as a bottle shape (cylindrical shape).

In addition, the screw 54 and the stirring member 53 function as a feeding member (conveying means) for feeding the toner from the toner containing chamber 49 to the toner discharging chamber 47. One of the screw and the stirring member may be referred to as a first feeding member, and the other may be referred to as a second feeding member. In addition, the screw gear 64 and the drive input gear 59 connected to the respective feed members (54, 53) may be referred to as a feed member gear (see fig. 7). In addition, one of these gears 64 and 59 may be referred to as a first feed member gear, and the other may be referred to as a second feed member gear. In addition, the drive input gear 59 may be referred to as an agitation member gear.

In the present embodiment, the stirring member 53 and the screw 54 move the toner in different directions. The stirring member 53 feeds the toner toward the screw 54. More specifically, the stirring member 53 feeds the toner in a direction intersecting the toner feeding direction by the screw 54 (in the present embodiment, directions substantially perpendicular to each other). In the present embodiment, the screw 54 feeds the toner in the Z direction. On the other hand, the stirring member 53 feeds the toner in the X direction intersecting the Z direction.

However, the stirring member 53 and the screw 54 may have different structures from the feeding member. For example, a belt conveyor may be used as the feeding member instead of the screw 54, and this may be provided inside the toner containing chamber 49 and the communication passage 48. Alternatively, a feeding member that feeds toner by reciprocating motion may be used and disposed inside the toner containing chamber 49 and the communication passage 48. In the case of using a feeding member that performs reciprocating motion, a drive converting unit (conveying member driving mechanism) that converts the rotational force received by the drive input gear 59 into reciprocating motion may be provided in the cartridge 13, as in the case of the drive converting portion 68 described above. In addition, although two feeding members are used in the present embodiment, the number of feeding members is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more. As described above, there are variations in the structure, operation, and number of feeding members.

For example, hereinafter, a structure using a belt conveyor (conveying belt 154) as a feeding member will be described in example 6 (fig. 26).

On the other hand, the present embodiment in which the screw 54 is provided as the feeding member is suitable in the following points. That is, since the screw 54 is configured to feed the toner along the rotation axis, the space required to dispose the screw 54 can be reduced. Therefore, the cross section of the communication passage 48 for arranging the screw 54 can be reduced. In addition, in the case where the communication passage 48 extends along the screw 54, the distance from the screw 54 to the communication passage 48 (i.e., the size of the gap generated between the screw 54 and the communication passage 48) can be made substantially constant. Therefore, the communication passage 48 can accurately limit the amount of toner passing through the inside to a certain amount, and also can reduce the amount of toner moving (flowing back) in the direction opposite to the normal direction of the communication passage 48.

In the present embodiment, the internal space 51 of the supply frame 50 is divided into three chambers (regions) of the toner containing chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharging chamber 57, and the structure of the supply frame 50 is not limited to this example. For example, another chamber other than the toner containing chamber 49, the communication passage 48, and the toner discharge chamber 57 can be formed inside the supply frame 50, and conversely, it is conceivable to reduce the number of chambers.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the drive input gear 59 directly connected to the stirring member 53 is used as a drive input member (drive input coupling member, input coupling) coupled with the drive output member (output coupling) 100a of the apparatus main assembly to receive the driving force.

The drive input gear 59 is indirectly connected to the screw 54 by means of a gear train (the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59, the cam gear 60, and the screw gear 64) (see fig. 6 and 9). In addition, the drive input gear 59 is connected to the pump 58 (see fig. 10) by means of a gear train (the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 and the cam gear 64) and a drive switching portion 68 (the cam gear and the link arm 61). By connecting the drive input gear 59 to each member in this way, the driving force is transmitted to each of the stirring member 53, the screw 54, and the pump 58 by the rotation of the drive input gear 59.

However, the method of connecting the stirring member 53, the screw 54, and the pump 58 with the drive input gear 59 is not limited to this example. For example, the drive input gear 59 may be directly connected to the screw 54, and the driving force may be transmitted from the drive input gear 59 to the stirring member 53 and/or the cam gear 64 by means of a gear train. Similarly, the drive input member may be provided directly on the cam gear 64, and then the driving force may be transmitted from the cam gear to the stirring member 53 and/or the screw 54 by using a gear train. In addition, instead of the gear train, another drive transmission member (e.g., a belt) may be used to transmit the driving force from the drive input gear 59 to the stirring member 53, the screw 54, and/or the drive converting portion 68 of the pump.

That is, a drive input member (drive input gear 59) can be operatively connected to each member (stirring member 53, screw 54, and pump 58) of the cartridge 13 so as to be operable on them. That is, it is sufficient as long as the drive input member (59) is connected to these members (53, 54, 58) so as to be able to transmit the driving force, and the connection method is not limited to a specific example. It may be a direct connection or an indirect connection via gears and the like. The indirect connection method is not limited to the method using the gear, and a method using a drive transmission member (for example, a belt for drive transmission) different from the gear may also be employed.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the coupling portion 59a of the drive input gear 59 is coupled with the drive output member 100a, so that the drive input gear 59 receives the driving force from the drive output member 100a (see fig. 9). That is, the drive input gear 59 is a coupling member (cartridge side coupling ) on the cartridge side, and the drive output member 100a is a coupling member (main assembly side coupling, apparatus main assembly side coupling) on the image forming apparatus main assembly side. The drive output member 100a is an output coupling (output coupling) on the side where the driving force is output toward the cartridge, and the drive input gear 59 is a coupling (input coupling ) on the input side to which the driving force is input.

More specifically, an opening is formed inside the coupling portion 59a, and a space between the inner surface of the coupling portion 59a and the axis is opened. The free end portion of the drive output member 100a can enter inside the opening (open space) of the coupling portion 59 a. Here, in the vicinity of the free end portion of the drive output member 100a, the circular outer peripheral surface of the drive output member 100a is recessed at three positions at intervals of 120 °. In this way, pits and protrusions (i.e., a portion with pits and a portion without pits) are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drive output member 100 a. Similarly, inside the coupling portion 59a, three protrusions protruding from the inner surface of the coupling portion 59a toward the axis of the coupling portion 59a are formed at intervals of 120 degrees (see part (a) of fig. 15 and part (b) of fig. 16). Thus, dimples and protrusions (i.e., a portion without protrusions and a portion with protrusions) are also formed on the inner peripheral surface of the circular tubular portion of the coupling portion 59 a.

The protrusions and the recessed portions provided on the inner peripheral surface of the coupling portion 59a are engaged (combined) with the recesses and the protrusions provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drive output member 100a, so that the drive output member 100a and the coupling portion 59a are connected (coupled) to each other. In this way, the driving force can be transmitted from the drive output member 100a to the coupling portion 59 a. The drive output member 100a and the coupling portion 59a rotate together in a substantially coaxial state. The drive input member 59 transmits the rotational force received from the drive output member 100a toward each driven portion (i.e., the stirring member 53, the screw 54, the pump 58, etc.) of the toner cartridge 13 through the protrusions of the coupling portion 59 a.

By connecting the image forming apparatus main assembly and the toner cartridge 13 to each other by connecting the coupling members in this way, the driving force (rotational force) can be accurately and stably transmitted to the toner cartridge 13 and its driven portion, and therefore, it is suitable. In addition, by inserting the cartridge 13 into the main assembly of the apparatus, the coupling members (59, 100a) can be easily connectable to each other.

The shapes of the coupling members (59, 100a) of the image forming apparatus main assembly and the cartridge are not limited to the examples described above. For example, the shape may be reversed such that the drive output member 100a has an opening, and the coupling portion 59a of the drive input gear 59 has a shaft portion that can enter the opening of the drive output member 100 a.

The method of transmitting the driving force from the apparatus main assembly to the cartridge is not limited to the coupling connection by such two coupling members (couplings). For example, it is conceivable that the connecting method between the cartridge 13 and the main assembly of the apparatus is a method other than the coupling connection, and for example, a connection using two gears may be employed. As an example, a structure may also be conceived in which a gear portion is provided on the drive output member 100a, and the drive input gear 59 is rotated by engaging the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59 with such a gear portion. In the case of adopting the gear connection in this way, the drive input gear 59 does not need the coupling portion 59 a. When the coupling portion 59a is removed from the drive input gear 59 in this way, the drive input member is a gear member, not a coupling member.

As a method for connecting the pump 58 to the drive input gear 59, a mechanism different from that of the drive converting portion 68 of the present embodiment (the cam gear 64 and the link arm 61) may be adopted. As such a modification, a structure using a crank mechanism for driving the conversion unit will be described in embodiment 3 (fig. 21) below, and a structure using a cam mechanism and a spring for driving the conversion portion will be described in example 4 (fig. 23) below. In addition, a structure using a magnet for driving the switching portion will be described in example 5 (fig. 25) below.

The pump 58 is a blower for generating a gas flow (gas flow, air flow) for discharging the toner and a gas flow generator. The pump 58 is a toner discharger and an air discharger that discharge toner and air (gas) from the inside of the cartridge 13. The pump 58 is also a suction device that sucks air (gas) from the outside of the toner.

The pump 58 of the present embodiment is a bellows pump (bellows pump), which is a positive displacement pump, and more specifically, a reciprocating pump. Other examples of reciprocating pumps include diaphragm pumps, piston pumps, and plunger pumps. A bellows pump (bellows pump) can be regarded as a type of diaphragm pump. These reciprocating pumps can periodically and intermittently discharge the toner from the discharge opening 52 by periodically changing the air pressure inside the supply frame 50 by the reciprocating motion of the movable portion.

However, in a structure in which the movable portion of the pump reciprocates by sliding movement just like the piston of a piston pump, a gap is formed between the movable portion and other members. Toner may enter the gap and affect the operation of the pump. In this regard, the bellows pump and the diaphragm pump have a structure in which a flexible movable portion is deformed and reciprocated without sliding the movable portion. Therefore, there is no portion such as a gap between the movable portion of the pump and other components. It is possible to prevent the toner from affecting the operation of the movable portion of the pump. That is, a pump such as a bellows pump or a diaphragm pump is more preferable because the pump can be stably operated.

In addition, the pump 58 of the present embodiment performs both suction and discharge through the discharge opening 52. However, the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, in a modified example shown in fig. 29, the toner containing chamber 49 is provided with an inlet port 86 in the toner containing chamber 49 in addition to the discharge opening 52. When the pump 58 is inflated, the pump 58 draws air not only through the discharge opening 52, but also through the inlet port 86.

The air sucked through the inlet port 86 enters the inside of the toner discharge chamber 57 from the toner containing chamber 49 through the communication passage 46, and is used to discharge the toner when the pump 58 is contracted. The inlet port 86 may be disposed at a position other than the toner containing chamber 49. For example, the inlet port 86 may be disposed in the toner discharge chamber 57, or the inlet port 86 may be directly connected to the pump 58. A plurality of inlet ports 86 may be provided in the cassette 13.

It is preferable that the inlet port 86 is provided with a check valve 86a in order to prevent toner leakage. When the air pressure in the toner containing chamber falls, the check valve 86a opens the inlet port 86 to allow the inlet port 86 to suck air. When the air pressure in the toner containing chamber rises, the inlet port 86 is kept closed to suppress the discharge of air through the inlet port 86, and the discharge of toner through the inlet port 86 is suppressed.

In the modified example shown in fig. 29, the amount of air sucked through the discharge opening 52 may be small or negligible compared to the amount of air sucked through the inlet port 86. However, as in the structure shown in fig. 8 and the like, if the structure is such that air is actively sucked through the discharge opening 52, when the discharge opening 52 sucks air, the toner around the discharge opening is agitated. That is, the fluidity of the toner inside the toner discharge chamber 51 is easily increased, and therefore, the toner is easily smoothly discharged through the discharge opening 52. In this regard, the present embodiment (see fig. 8 and the like) in which the suction opening is limited to the discharge opening 52 is preferable.

It is also contemplated that another type of pump configuration may be used. Fig. 30 is a schematic diagram of a modified example of the toner cartridge having a centrifugal pump 83 instead of the pump 58 as a reciprocating pump (bellows pump).

The pump 83 has an impeller (impeller, rotatable member) driven to rotate, and is configured to blow air by rotating the impeller. The pump 83 is a so-called fan, and more specifically, a centrifugal blower. In the modified example of fig. 30, the pump 83 is arranged at substantially the same position as the pump described above.

The driving force received by the drive input gear 59 is transmitted to rotate the impeller of the pump 83. The pump 83 uses centrifugal force to move the air Ar sucked through the inlet port 84 provided along the pump axis from the center of the pump to the outside in the radial direction by the rotation of the impeller. In this process, the pressure of the air increases, and the size becomes suitable for toner transfer. In this way, air (gas) sucked and pressurized by the pump 83 through the inlet port 84 is fed into the toner discharge chamber 57 and moves toward the toner discharge opening 52. Therefore, the toner is discharged through the toner discharge opening 52 together with the air. Types of centrifugal pumps include centrifugal pumps and turbo pumps, and impellers that can be used with pumps can have various shapes. The pump 83 may be referred to as a turbo fan, a sirocco fan, or the like according to the shape of the impeller. In the modified example shown in fig. 30, the direction of the airflow is fixed in the direction from the inlet port 84 to the discharge opening 51, and is not changed.

As another example of the pump capable of sucking air from the inlet port 84 in this way, in addition to a centrifugal pump as an example of a non-positive displacement pump, an axial flow pump as another example of a non-positive displacement pump and a rotary pump (rotary positive displacement pump) as a kind of positive displacement pump are also conceivable. Progressive cavity pumps are examples of rotary pumps.

However, in particular, the centrifugal pump tends to increase the pressure of air in the process of feeding the air near the rotation axis in the radial direction to keep the air away from the axis, and generates an air flow suitable for discharging toner. As described above, even if the pump is, for example, a centrifugal pump different from the reciprocating pump, the toner can be discharged together with the air through the discharge opening 52.

On the other hand, however, in the modified example of fig. 30, in order to suck a sufficient amount of air through the inlet port 84, the inlet port 84 and the pump 83 need to have sufficient sizes. In addition, it is necessary to rotate the impeller of the pump 83 at a sufficiently high speed, and a large gear train for acceleration may be required as a mechanism for transmitting the rotational force from the drive input gear 59 to the centrifugal pump 83, as the case may be. As a gear train for acceleration, a gear train using a planetary gear can be considered. This is to increase the rotational speed of the centrifugal pump 83 relative to the rotational speed of the drive input gear 59.

In addition, in the case where the toner cannot be sufficiently discharged only by the air flow generated by the pump 83, an agitating member for agitating the toner or transporting the toner toward the discharge opening 52 must be additionally provided inside the toner discharge chamber 57, as the case may be. As such an agitation member, a sheet 85 attached to the shaft of the screw 54 (see fig. 29) can be considered. The sheet 85 has a structure similar to that of the stirring member 53, and stirs and conveys the toner by rotating together with the screw 54. The sheet 85 is configured to discharge the toner in the toner discharge chamber 57 through the discharge opening 52 by its rotation together with the air fed by the pump 83. The amount of toner or air discharged through the discharge opening 52 may be periodically changed, or toner or air may be intermittently discharged, according to the rotation of the sheet 85. Although only one sheet 85 is shown in fig. 29, a plurality of sheets 85 may be mounted to the screw 54.

In this way, in a modified example in which another type of pump (e.g., centrifugal pump 83) is used instead of the reciprocating pump 58, the toner cartridge may be large in size, the number of parts mounted to the pump may be increased, and as a result, the cartridge structure becomes complicated.

On the other hand, if a reciprocating pump (e.g., a bellows pump) is used, the toner can be easily discharged and stirred with a relatively simple structure. Therefore, a toner cartridge including such a reciprocating pump is more suitable because it is easy to suppress increase in size and complication.

< example 2>

Next, with reference to fig. 19, the structure of embodiment 2 will be described. Fig. 19 is a sectional view of the vicinity of the screw 54 of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to embodiment 2 as viewed in the lateral direction (X direction). That is, the cross-sectional plane of the view of fig. 19 corresponds to the YZ plane, which is perpendicular to the X-axis.

In the present embodiment, the structure of the communication opening 46 for ventilating only the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49 is different from that of the first embodiment described above, and the other structure is almost the same as that in embodiment 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, detailed description will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to the structures corresponding to the structures in embodiment 1 described above.

In embodiment 1, the vent 16 (or vent opening 69) is provided between the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49 to permit movement of air (exhaust gas) between the two chambers, thereby preventing a high pressure difference between the two chambers. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the toner discharge chamber 57 and the toner containing chamber 49 are provided with air vents (air vent passages, communication ports, communication passages) 201 and 202, respectively, which communicate with the outside of the supply frame 50.

(toner accommodating chamber)

The toner accommodating chamber 49 is a space for accommodating the developer. The stirring member 53 is provided in the toner accommodating chamber 49.

The stirring member 53 is arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 13, and is rotatably supported by the supply frame 50. The toner is fed to the screw 54 by the rotation of the stirring member 53 in the same manner as in example 1. The toner accommodating chamber 49 is provided with a communication opening 201 for ventilation with the outside of the developing supply cartridge 13.

(toner discharge chamber)

The toner discharge chamber 57 is a space formed by the partition member 55 and the supply frame 50, and is provided downstream of the toner accommodating chamber and the communication passage 48 in the feeding direction in which the screw 54 feeds the toner.

In addition, near the toner discharge chamber 57 (i.e., near the rear surface of the supply frame 50), a screw gear 64 capable of receiving a rotational force for rotating the screw 54 is provided. In addition, the toner discharge chamber 57 is provided with a discharge opening 52 for discharging toner from the internal space 51 thereof to the outside. Similarly to embodiment 1, the discharge opening 52 is arranged on the bottom surface of the supply frame 50 to discharge the toner downward.

The toner discharge chamber 57 is provided with a communication opening 202 for ventilation with the outside of the developing supply cartridge 13.

The preferred locations of vents 201 and 202 are the same as the preferred locations of vents 46 described previously. That is, in the present embodiment, inside the toner discharge chamber 57, the lower end portion of the air vent 202 is arranged above the upper end portion of the communication passage 48.

Further, inside the toner accommodating chamber 49, the lower end portion of the vent 201 is disposed above the upper end portion of the communication passage 48 and the upper end portion of the screw 54.

In addition, the lower end of the air vent 201 and the lower end of the air vent 202 are arranged above the upper end of the pump 58 and the upper end of the screw 54. Further, the lower end portions of the air ports 201 and 202 are arranged above the upper plane of the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating chamber 49.

In this position, the toner is less likely to leak to the outside of the cartridge 13 through the vents 201, 202. In addition, in the present embodiment, a filter is provided for both the vents 201 and 202 to further suppress toner leakage.

However, the structure is not limited to this example, and the presence or absence of the filter in the vents 201 and 202 and the arrangement of the vents 201 and 202 can be changed according to the structure and use of the cartridge 13.

With the above configuration, as in embodiment 1, as the pump 58 expands and contracts, the internal pressure difference between the toner containing chamber 49 and the toner discharging chamber 57 can be kept small. Therefore, when the internal pressure inside the supply frame 50 is changed by driving the pump 58 to discharge the toner through the discharge opening 52, the discharge can be stabilized.

In the cartridge 13 of embodiment 1 shown in fig. 8 and the like, when the pump 58 is driven, only the discharge opening 52 performs suction and discharge in the toner discharge chamber 57. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the vents 201 and 202 may also achieve suction and discharge in response to the driving of the pump 58.

One of the vents 201 and 202 may be referred to as a first vent (first vent path), and the other may be referred to as a second vent (vent path).

In addition, the air port 201, the air port 202, and the communication passage 48 may be referred to as a first communication passage (communication port), a second communication passage (communication port), and a third communication passage (communication port), which are not in a specific order. The vent 201 and the vent 202 are communication passages (communication ports) that communicate the inside and the outside of the cartridge 13, and the communication passage 48 is a communication passage (communication port) that communicates different chambers provided inside the cartridge 13.

In addition, the vent 201 and the vent 202 described in the present embodiment may be employed in embodiments 3 to 6 which will be described below.

< example 3>

Next, with reference to fig. 20 and 22, the structure of embodiment 3 will be described. Fig. 20 and 21 are partial perspective views of the rear end portion of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to embodiment 3, and the side cover 362 is offset rearward to better illustrate the expansion/contraction operation of the pump 58. Part (a) of fig. 20 shows an expanded state of the pump 58, and part (a) of fig. 21 shows a contracted state of the pump 58. In addition, part (b) of fig. 20 and part (b) of fig. 21 show an intermediate state between the expanded state and the contracted state of the pump 58. Fig. 22 is a detailed perspective view around the crank gear 367.

In the present embodiment, compared with embodiment 1, only the structure (drive switching unit, pump drive mechanism) for expanding and contracting the pump 58 is different, and the other structure is substantially the same as that in embodiment 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, detailed description will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to the structures corresponding to the structures in embodiment 1 described above.

As shown in part (a) of fig. 20, the drive train of the cartridge 13 of the present embodiment includes a drive input gear 59, an idler gear 366, a crank gear 367, and a screw gear 64. The pump 58 extends along the axis of the idler gear 366. In particular, in the present embodiment, the idler gear 366 and the pump 58 are aligned with one another in the Z-axis direction such that the centers of the idler gear and the pump are substantially aligned with one another. The idler gear 366 is configured to rotate by receiving a driving force (rotational force) via engagement with the gear portion 59b of the drive input gear 59. The idler gear 366 meshes with the crank gear 367 and transmits the driving force from the drive input gear 59 to the crank gear 367. As shown in fig. 22, the crank gear 367 is rotatably held by the shaft member 350a attached to the supply frame 350 such that the rotational axis thereof is perpendicular to the Z-axis. The axis of rotation of the crank gear 367 is parallel to the X-axis.

The supply frame 350 is a member corresponding to the supply frame main body 50 in embodiment 1, and has almost the same structure as the supplementary frame 50 except that it has a shaft member 350 a.

In addition, the crank gear 367 has a plurality of gear teeth 367 a. The gear tooth portion 367a is a plurality of protrusions arranged in a circle so as to surround the axis of the crank gear 367, and each of these protrusions protrudes in the axial direction of the crank gear 367, that is, in the X2 direction.

That is, the crank gear 367 is a crown gear. In addition to the gear tooth portion 367a, the crank gear 367 has a boss 367b that projects opposite to the gear tooth portion 367a in the X1 direction. The boss 367b is disposed at a position offset from the rotation axis of the crank gear 367, and therefore, rotation of the crank gear 367 causes the boss 367b to rotate about the rotation axis.

In addition, as shown in part (a) of fig. 20, the link member 361 includes an engagement boss 361a having a boss shape (a protruding shape). The link member 361 is supported by the side covers 362 so as to be immovable in the rotational direction about the Z axis, but movable in the front-rear direction. In addition, the link member 361 and the pump 58 are connected to each other at the connecting portion 58b of the pump 58.

The crank gear 367 and the link member 361 are connected by a crank arm (arm member, shank member) 369. The crank arm 369 is provided at a first end portion thereof with an engagement hole (engagement portion) 369a, and at a second end portion opposite to the first end portion with an engagement hole (engagement portion) 369 b. The engaging hole 369a at the first end is engaged with the boss (engaging portion) 367b of the crank gear 367, and the engaging hole 369b at the second end is engaged with the engaging boss (engaging portion) 367b of the link member 361. Thus, the crank arm 369 is connected to the link member 361 and the crank gear 367.

In the present embodiment, the drive conversion portion (drive conversion mechanism, pump drive mechanism) 368 includes a crank gear 367 and a crank arm 369. The crank gear 367 is a rotating member in the drive converting portion 368, and the crank arm 369 is a reciprocating member that reciprocates the second end portion of the crank arm 367 in response to rotation of the crank gear 367. The drive converting portion 368 of the present embodiment is a crank (crank mechanism). That is, the first end portion of the crank arm 369 as an arm (shank) is connected to the crank gear 367 as a rotating member. As the crank gear 367 rotates, a second end portion (the other end portion) of the crank arm 369 reciprocates. Thereby, the drive converting portion 368 converts the rotational motion into the reciprocating motion.

When rotational drive is input from a drive output member 100a (fig. 9) of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, the drive receiving portion 59a of the drive input gear receives the rotational drive, and this gear portion 59b rotatably drives the pump idler gear 366. In addition, by the pump idler gear wheel 366 engaging with the gear tooth portion 367a, the crank gear 367 receives rotational drive from the pump idler gear wheel 366, and the crank gear 367 rotates about the X axis in the direction of the arrow W.

When the crank gear 367 rotates in the direction of the arrow W in the state of part (a) of fig. 20, the engagement hole 369a at the first end portion of the crank arm 369 also rotates in the W direction therewith, as shown in part (b) of fig. 20. In addition, in association with this, the engaging hole 369b at the second end portion of the crank arm 369 also moves. Here, the link member 361 is supported to be movable in the front-rear direction. The crank arm 369 is connected to the link member 361 by means of engagement holes 369b and engagement bosses 361 a. Therefore, similarly to the link member 361, the moving direction of the engaging hole 369b provided at the second end portion of the link arm 369 is also limited to the front-rear direction (Z-axis direction).

In the process of transitioning from the state shown in part (a) of fig. 20 to the state shown in fig. 20(b), the second end portion of the crank arm 369 and the link member 361 move in the Z1 direction. Thus, the pump 58 connected to the link member 361 is compressed.

In addition, when the crank gear 367 rotates in the direction of arrow W, the link member moves in the Z1 direction in which the pump 58 is compressed, as shown in part (a) of fig. 21. In part (a) of fig. 21, the pump 58 is in a state of maximum compression. Thereafter, the link member 361 moves in a direction to inflate the pump 58, as shown in part (b) of fig. 21. Then, the link member 361 returns to the state shown in part (a) of fig. 20, and further expands the pump 58. Part (a) of fig. 20 shows the pump 58 in the most inflated state.

By repeating such an operation, the drive switching portion 368 reciprocates the link member 361, whereby the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 expands and contracts.

In addition, a rotational driving force is further transmitted from the idler gear 366 to the screw 64 to drive the screw 54 (see fig. 1).

The point at which the crank gear 367 as the rotating member contacts the crank arm 369 as the reciprocating member is referred to as a joint point P3. That is, a point at which the boss 367b of the crank gear 367 and the engagement hole 369a of the crank arm contact each other is defined as a joint point P3. This joining point P3 is a point corresponding to the joining point P of example 1 (see fig. 11, 12, 27, etc.).

The bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 and the junction point P3 are selected such that there is a moment of overlap in the expansion/contraction direction of the pump 58. That is, in the coordinate (Z-axis coordinate) in the Z-axis direction as the expansion/contraction direction of the pump 58, there is a timing at which the joint point P3 is located within the range of the bellows portion 58 a. This timing is shown in part (a) of fig. 20.

The relationship between the bellows portion 58a and the junction point P3 is the same as or similar to the relationship between the bellows portion 58a and the junction point P in embodiment 1 (see fig. 11, 12, 27, etc.). By arranging bellows portion 58a and junction point P3 in this arrangement relationship, the space required for expansion and contraction of pump 58 and the space required for movement of junction point P3 can be made common, so that the amount of expansion and contraction of pump 58 can be made larger in a limited space.

The drive conversion portion 368 forms a crank (crank mechanism) by a crank gear 367 and a crank arm 369. This arrangement causes rotation of crank gear 367 to rotate the second end of crank ring 369.

< example 4>

Next, with reference to fig. 23, the structure of embodiment 4 will be described. Fig. 23 is a partial perspective view of the rear end portion of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to embodiment 3 in a state where the side cover 62 is offset rearward to better illustrate the expansion/contraction operation of the pump 58. Part (a) of fig. 23 shows a state in which the pump 58 is expanded, and part (b) of fig. 23 shows a state in which the pump 58 is contracted.

In this embodiment, only the structure for expanding and contracting the pump 58 described in embodiment 1 is different, and the other structure is substantially the same as that in embodiment 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, detailed description will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to the structures corresponding to the structures in embodiment 1 described above.

As shown in fig. 23, the drive train of the present embodiment includes the drive input gear 59, the cam gear 460 as the rotating member, and the screw gear 64. The drive input gear 59 includes a drive receiving portion 59a and a gear portion 59 b. The cam gear 460 is provided with a cam wall 460 a. The cam wall 460a is provided with a crest portion 460b displaced rearward and a trough portion 460c displaced forward.

The link member 461, which is a reciprocating member, has a cam protrusion 461a, and the cam protrusion 461a is provided in a state of being engaged with the cam wall 460 a. In addition, the link member 461 is supported by the side cover 62 so as not to be movable in the rotational direction about the Z axis, but to be movable in the front-rear direction. In addition, the link member 461 and the pump 58 are connected to each other at a coupling portion (force receiving portion) 58b of the pump 58.

In addition, a link spring 467 is mounted to the rear end portion of the link member. The link spring 467 is compressed between the side cover 62 and the link member 461 to urge the link member 461 forward (Z1 direction). In the present embodiment, the drive conversion unit 468 includes a cam gear 460, a link member 461, and a link spring 467.

When rotational drive is input from the drive output member 100a provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 100, the drive receiving portion 59a of the drive input gear 59 receives the rotational drive, and the gear portion 59b transmits the rotational drive to the cam gear 460. By the rotation of the cam gear 460, the cam protrusions 461a of the link member 461 alternately pass through the peak portions 460b and the trough portions 460 c. At this time, since the link member 461 is pushed forward (in the Z1 direction) by the elastic force of the link spring 467 with a force stronger than the restoring force of the pump 58, the cam protrusion 461a is kept in contact with the cam wall 460 a. Accordingly, the link member reciprocates along the crest portions 460b and the trough portions 460c, and the state of part (a) of fig. 23 and the state of part (b) of fig. 23 are repeated. Here, a point at which the cam gears 460 as the rotating members contact each other to reciprocate the link member 461 as the reciprocating member is referred to as a joint point P4.

In association with the reciprocating motion of the link member 461, the connecting portion (tensile force receiving portion) 58b connected to the link member 461 also reciprocates. Then, the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 expands and contracts due to the reciprocating motion, so that the internal volume of the pump 58 periodically changes.

In addition, the rotational driving force is further transmitted from the cam gear 460 to the screw 64 to drive the screw 54 (see fig. 1).

Here, the pump 58 is arranged inside the rotating cam gear 460 in the radial direction. In addition, the bellows portion 58a of the pump 58 and the joint point P4 overlap each other in the expansion/contraction direction (i.e., the Z-axis direction) of the pump 58 at a certain timing. Part (a) of fig. 23 shows such a timing.

This relationship between the bellows portion 58a and the joining point P4 is similar to the relationship between the bellows portion 58a and the joining point P in embodiment 1 (see fig. 11, 12, 27, etc.) and the relationship between the bellows portion 58a and the point P3 in embodiment 3 (see fig. 20, 21, etc.).

By arranging bellows portion 58a and junction point P4 in this arrangement relationship, the space required for pump 58 to expand and contract and the space required for junction point P4 to move can be made common, so that the amount of expansion and contraction of pump 58 can be made larger in a limited space.

In addition, when the pump 58 is in the contracted state, the link member 461 and the coupling portion 58b of the pump 58 are arranged to overlap with the peak portion 460b of the cam gear 460 in the Z-axis direction. On the other hand, when the pump 58 is in the expanded state, the link member 461 also moves in the Z-axis direction, so that the peak portion 460b of the cam gear 460 and the link member 461 do not interfere with each other during operation. That is, in the Z-axis direction, that is, in the Z-axis coordinate, the range in which the coupling portion 58b of the pump 58 operates and the range in which the engagement point P4 moves are arranged to overlap each other. With this arrangement, the amount of expansion and contraction of the pump 58 can be selected to be larger in a limited space, which contributes to space saving and stable discharge.

The drive switching unit 468 contracts the pump as described above using the force of the link spring 467. That is, the pump 58 is contracted by using the force applied to the link member 461 by the link spring 467. Therefore, the link member 461 need not receive force from the cam gear 460 when the pump 58 is contracted. The drive conversion unit 468 is a cam (cam mechanism) provided with a spring (elastic member).

In embodiments 1, 3, and 4 described previously, different structures (68, 368, 468) have been adopted as the pump driving mechanisms (drive conversion units, drive conversion mechanisms) for expanding and contracting the pump 58. However, the structure for expanding and contracting the pump 58 is not limited to these examples.

For example, a structure may be envisaged in which a magnet is mounted to the pump 58 and the magnet is also mounted to the pump drive mechanism so as to correspond to the aforementioned magnet. By moving one magnet using the rotational force received by the drive input gear 59, the attractive force or repulsive force generated between the two magnets is changed. A method of expanding and contracting the pump 58 by using such a change in magnetic force can be considered. In embodiment 5, an example of the drive conversion mechanism 568 using such a magnet will be described in detail.

< example 5>

Next, with reference to fig. 24 and 25, the structure of embodiment 5 will be described.

Fig. 24 is a partial perspective view of the rear end portion of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to embodiment 5 in a state where the side cover 62 is offset rearward to better illustrate the expansion/contraction operation of the pump 58.

Part (a) of fig. 25 shows a state in which the pump 58 is contracted, and part (b) of fig. 25 shows a state in which the pump 58 is expanded.

In the present embodiment, compared with embodiment 1, only the structure for the expansion and contraction pump 58 is different, and the other structure is substantially the same as that in embodiment 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, detailed description will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to the structures corresponding to the structures in embodiment 1 described above.

As shown in fig. 24, the drive train of the present embodiment includes a drive input gear 59, a gear as a rotating member, and a screw gear 64.

The drive input gear 59 includes a drive receiving portion 59a and a gear portion 59 b. The gear 470 is provided with recesses 470a and 470b for holding magnets, and the magnets 470c and 470d are mounted in the recesses.

The magnets 480c and 480d are also installed in the link member 480 as a reciprocating member.

The link member 480 is supported so as not to be movable in the rotational direction around the Z axis by the protrusions 50c and 50d on the supply frame 50, but to be movable in the front-rear direction.

In addition, the link member 480 and the pump 58 are connected to each other at the coupling portion 58b of the pump 58.

In addition, a link spring 490 is mounted to the rear end portion of the link member. The link spring 490 is compressed between the side cover 62 and the link member 480 to push the link member 480 forward. In the present embodiment, the drive conversion part 568 includes magnets 470c, 470d, 480c, 480d, a link member 480, and a link spring 490.

As shown in fig. 25, the pump 58 is viewed in the Z-axis direction, which is the central axis of the pump 58. As shown in part (a) of fig. 25, the phases of the magnets 470c and 470d of the gear 470 and the magnets 480c and 480d provided on the link member 480, which rotate in the arrow W direction, may be different from each other. In this case, the link member 480 receives the elastic force from the link spring 490 in the Z1 direction in the front-rear direction and moves, and the pump 58 connected to the link member 480 also receives the force moving in the Z1 direction, so that the bellows (movable portion) 58a of the pump 58 contracts.

As shown in part (b) of fig. 25, the magnets 470c and 470d of the gear 470 rotating in the arrow W direction and the magnets 480c and 480d provided on the link member 480 may have the same phase. In this case, the magnet 470c or 470d and the magnet 480c or 480d face each other. Here, the facing surfaces facing the magnets have the same magnetic polarity, and thus, a repulsive force is generated between the facing magnets.

The force against the elastic force in the Z1 direction generated by the link spring 490 in the link member 480 described with reference to fig. 25 is generated by the repulsive force between the magnets, and therefore, the link member 480 is moved in the Z2 direction. The pump 58 connected to the link member 480 is also moved in the Z2 direction, so that the bellows portion (movable portion) 58a of the pump 58 is expanded.

By repeating the state of part (a) of fig. 25 and part (b) of fig. 25, the pump 58 repeats the expansion/contraction operation in the Z-axis direction as the center axis of the pump 58.

< example 6>

Next, with reference to fig. 26, the structure of embodiment 6 will be described.

Fig. 26 is a sectional view of the cartridge (13Y, 13M, 13C) according to embodiment 6 in the vicinity of the supply toner feeding belt 154 in the lateral direction (i.e., in the X-axis direction). That is, fig. 26 is a sectional view parallel to the YZ plane.

In the present embodiment, compared with embodiment 1, only a different feed member structure is adopted instead of the feed screw 54 (screw 51), and the other structure is almost the same as that in embodiment 1.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, detailed description will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to the structures corresponding to the structures in embodiment 1 described above.

The structure including the toner accommodating chamber (developer storing chamber) 49, the communicating passage (toner passage, tunnel) 48, and the toner discharging chamber (developer discharging chamber) 57 formed in the internal space 51 of the supply frame 50 is similar to that in embodiment 1 described above.

In the present embodiment, a supply toner feeding belt 154 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a belt 154) as a feeding member is provided in the communicating passage 48.

The belt 154 is a movable member that is movable relative to the supply frame body 50. More specifically, as the rotating members 153a and 153b rotatably provided in the supply frame 50 rotate, the belt 154 rotates in the arrow P direction. The rotating members 153a and 153b may be regarded as gears configured to drive the belt by engaging with protrusions and depressions formed on the inner surface of the belt 154. The rotational axes of the rotary members 153a and 153b are parallel to the X-axis. The belt 154 conveys toner in a Z-axis direction perpendicular to the axes of the rotary members 153a and 153 b.

A part of the belt 154 is exposed to the toner containing chamber 49, and by rotating the belt 154, the toner in the toner containing chamber 49 is fed to the discharge chamber 57 through the communication passage 48. In the present embodiment, the outer surface of the belt 154 is also provided with protrusions and depressions so that toner around the belt 154 can be easily fed through the belt 154. More specifically, a plurality of protrusions protruding from the outer surface of the belt 154 correspond to the protrusions of the belt 154, and another portion corresponds to the recessed portion.

Although different structures of the cartridge 13 have been described in embodiments 1 to 6, the features of the cartridge 13 of each embodiment may be combined and employed. For example, in embodiment 1, the vent 69 having a filter has been described as a modified version of the vent 46 (part (c) of fig. 8). Such vents 69 may be used in examples 3-6. Alternatively, the vents 201, 202 described in embodiment 2 (see fig. 19) may be used in other embodiments. Alternatively, the belt 154 (see fig. 6) described in embodiment 6 may be used in other examples.

[ Industrial Applicability ]

According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus (e.g., an electrophotographic image forming apparatus) and a toner cartridge for the image forming apparatus are provided.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to disclose the scope of the invention.

The present application claims priority from japanese patent application No. 2019-.