Powder container and image forming apparatus incorporating same

• US 10,642,193 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2017
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Tanaka, Yuuta, Teranishi, Ryoichi, Tomotaka, Toshihide, Terazawa, Seiji, Yano, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Verbitsky, Victor
• Application Number:
  US16/320,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20190243286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/06 for dispensing powdered or granular material B65D83/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0872 the developer cartridges being generally horizontally mounted parallel to its longitudinal rotational axis
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0891 for conveying or circulating developer, e.g. augers
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/085 Stirring member in developer container

Abstract

An object of this disclosure is to reduce differences in the drawn amount of the parison around the mouth of the toner container, thereby reducing the amount of resin for the toner container and the weight thereof. A powder container includes a cylindrical container body to rotate in a horizontal posture, a cylindrical mouth at a first end of the container body, smaller in diameter than the container body, a conveyor to convey the powder inside the container body toward the mouth, a scooping portion deeper in the container body than the mouth, to lift the powder above a powder inlet of a conveying tube inserted from the mouth and drop the powder to the powder inlet, and a radially inner face continuous with an inner end of the scooping portion, extending in a direction crossing the scooping portion and disposed inward in the radial direction than an outermost face of the container body. The radially inner face extends from the mouth toward a second end of the container body and is not inner in the radial direction than an inner rim of the mouth.

Claims

1. A powder container comprising:

a container body having a substantially cylindrical shape, the container body to contain powder and rotate around an axis in a horizontal posture;

a mouth molded with the container body as a single piece, the mouth having a cylindrical shape smaller in inner diameter than the container body, the mouth at a first end of the container body in an axial direction of the container body, the mouth into which a conveying tube having a powder inlet is inserted;

a conveyor inside the container body to convey the powder toward the mouth as the container body rotates;

a scooping portion deeper in the container body than the mouth in the axial direction and raised toward the axis of the container body to reduce an inner diameter of the container body; and

a radially inner face continuous with an inner end of the scooping portion in a radial direction of the container body, the radially inner face extending in a direction crossing the scooping portion and inward in the radial direction than an outermost face of the container body,

wherein the scooping portion is configured to lift the powder inside the container body, to a position above the powder inlet of the conveying tube, and drop the powder to the powder inlet as the container body rotates,

wherein the radially inner face extends from the mouth toward a second end of the container body opposite the first end in the axial direction, and

wherein the radially inner face does not extend in the radial direction inside a virtual cylinder extending from an inner rim of the mouth parallel to the axial direction.

2. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the radially inner face is either parallel to the axis of the container body or oblique to draw away from the axis of the container body from the first end toward the second end of the container body.

3. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the scooping portion has a shape recessed to an upstream side in a direction of rotation of the container body.

4. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the scooping portion includes:

a supply face including a radially inner end on a first end side in the axial direction, the supply face to supply the powder to the powder inlet, and

a conveying face including an end of the scooping portion on a second end side in the axial direction, the conveying face to convey the powder to the supply face.

5. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the scooping portion has such an inclination relative to the powder inlet that, when the scooping portion is at an angle of repose of the powder, a line extending from the scooping portion toward the powder inlet is located between a farther end of the powder inlet from the scooping portion and a center of the powder inlet in a width direction perpendicular to the axial direction.

6. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the powder container is a blow-molded container.

7. An image forming apparatus comprising:

an image forming device including an image bearer, the image forming device to form an image on the image bearer;

a powder conveyance device to convey the powder to the image forming device; and

a powder container according to claim 1, to be removably held by the powder conveyance device.