TONER CONTAINER AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

• US 20070122205A1
• Filed: 12/05/2006
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Katsuyama, Goro, Taguchi, Nobuyuki, Yamane, Masayuki, Kurenuma, Takeroh, Yoshizawa, Hideo
• Granted Patent: US 7,853,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/258
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0855 the concentration being measured by optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0865 Arrangements for supplying new developer
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0872 the developer cartridges being generally horizontally mounted parallel to its longitudinal rotational axis
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0877 Arrangements for metering and dispensing developer from a developer cartridge into the development unit
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0886 by mechanical means, e.g. shutter, plug
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0668 Toner discharging opening at one axial end
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/067 Toner discharging opening covered by arcuate shutter
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 222/01 Xerography

Abstract

A toner container detachably attached to a toner-container holder of a main body of an image forming apparatus includes a container body that includes an opening, and discharges toner contained in the container body, from the opening; and a held portion that is held by the toner-container holder in a non-rotating manner. The held portion includes an open/close member for opening/closing the toner outlet in synchronization with an attachment/detachment operation of the held portion to/from the toner-container holder.

Claims

1. A toner container comprising:

a container body that contains toner and that includes an opening for discharging toner; and

a held portion that is attached to the container body and couplable in a non-rotating manner with a toner-container holder of an image forming apparatus, the held portion including

a toner outlet coupled to the opening of the container body for discharging the toner to outside; and

a sliding portion that slides on a part of the toner-container holder.

2. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the sliding portion slides on the part of the toner-container holder in synchronization with an attachment/detachment operation for attaching/detaching the toner container to/from the toner-container holder.

3. The toner container according to claim 2, wherein the sliding portion includes a flat portion.

4. The toner container according to claim 3, wherein the sliding portion is parallel with a sliding face of the toner-container holder.

5. The toner container according to claim 2, wherein the sliding portion is formed on a bottom face of the held portion.

6. The toner container according to claim 5, wherein the bottom face slides on a sliding face of the toner-container holder when attaching the toner container to the toner-container holder.

7. The toner container according to claim 2, wherein the sliding portion is formed on a side face of the held portion.

8. The toner container according to claim 7, wherein the side face slides on a sliding face of the toner-container holder when attaching the toner container to the toner-container holder.

9. The toner container according to claim 2, wherein the sliding portion includes a plurality of convex portions each having such a height that the convex portions make a contact with a predetermined plane.

10. The toner container according to claim 9, wherein the plane is a sliding face of the toner-container holder.

11. The toner container according to claim 2, wherein the held portion includes an engaging portion that engages with a positioning member of the toner-container holder in synchronization with an attachment operation for attaching the toner container to the toner-container holder, the engaging portion being located in an upper side in a vertical direction of the sliding portion and the toner outlet.

12. The toner container according to claim 2, wherein the held portion includes a biased portion which is biased by a biasing unit of the toner-container holder when the held portion is coupled to the toner-container holder, and

the sliding portion comes in contact with and slides on the biasing unit during the attachment/detachment operation.

13. The toner container according to claim 12, wherein the biasing unit includes

a pair of arms integrally provided through a spindle;

and

a torsion spring around the spindle and that applies force on the arms.

14. The toner container according to claim 13, wherein the sliding portion is located on two separate positions on the held portion, and the biased portions are corner portions located at an end of the separate positions.

15. The toner container according to claim 14, wherein the corner portion is formed so that curvature of the corner portion is smaller than curvature of a contact portion of the biasing unit that comes in contact with the corner portions.

16. The toner container according to claim 13, wherein the sliding portion is located on two separate positions on the held portion, and the biased portion is a plane intersecting the side portions at ends of the separate positions.

17. The toner container according to claim 12, wherein a height of the sliding portion is substantially same as a height of the toner outlet.

18. The toner container according to claim 12, wherein the toner-container holder includes a nozzle configured to couple with the toner outlet, wherein

the held portion includes a plug member that is pushed by the nozzle to start opening of the toner outlet in synchronization with an attachment operation for attaching the toner container to the toner-container holder, and that is biased by a biasing member of the toner-container holder to start closing of the toner outlet in synchronization with a detachment operation for detaching the toner container from the toner-container holder,

the nozzle is configured to begin pushing of the plug member after the sliding member begins sliding on the biasing unit during the attachment/detachment operation, and

the biasing unit biases the biased portion with end of sliding of the sliding member on the biasing unit.

19. The toner container according to claim 18, wherein a distance for which the plug member in the attachment/detachment direction during the attachment/detachment operation is shorter than a distance between the toner outlet to the biased portion in the attachment/detachment direction.

20. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the container body contains toner in inside thereof.

21. The toner container according to claim 20, wherein the container body contains carrier in inside thereof.