U.S. patent number RE44,172 [Application Number 13/451,159] was granted by the patent office on 2013-04-23 for accommodating vessel and image forming device using the same.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is Kei Hirata, Hirokazu Murase. Invention is credited to Kei Hirata, Hirokazu Murase.
United States Patent |
RE44,172 |
Murase , et al. |
April 23, 2013 |
Accommodating vessel and image forming device using the same
Abstract
An accommodating vessel, which is detachably attached to a
vessel receiving part of a casing of an image forming device to
accommodate an image forming material, the accommodating vessel
including: a vessel main body that includes a tubular part; a cover
member that includes a fitted part; at least one positioned
protrusion; and at least one positioned positioning protrusion,
wherein the at least one positioned protrusion includes: a guide
protrusion that extends in a rotating direction of the cover
member; and a plurality of rotation stop protrusions that extends
in opposite directions to each other relative to the guide
protrusion along a pushing and pulling direction of the cover
member, and Wherein the positioning protrusion includes a stop wall
that abuts on the guide protrusion and the plurality of rotation
stop protrusions of the at least one positioned protrusion to be
stopped.
Inventors: |
Murase; Hirokazu (Kanagawa,
JP), Hirata; Kei (Kanagawa, JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Murase; Hirokazu
Hirata; Kei |
Kanagawa
Kanagawa |
N/A
N/A |
JP
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (Tokyo,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
41581471 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/451,159 |
Filed: |
April 19, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
12422729 |
Apr 13, 2009 |
7937029 |
May 3, 2011 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 26, 2008 [JP] |
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P2008-248935 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
399/262;
399/110 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03G
15/0879 (20130101); G03G 15/0872 (20130101); G03G
15/0886 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G03G
15/08 (20060101); G03G 15/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;399/119,258,262,263,260,110 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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537941 |
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Jan 1978 |
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JP |
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61161247 |
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Oct 1986 |
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JP |
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08095365 |
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Apr 1996 |
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JP |
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10203547 |
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Aug 1998 |
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JP |
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200010390 |
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Jan 2000 |
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JP |
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2007240663 |
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Sep 2007 |
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JP |
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Primary Examiner: Lee; Susan
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An accommodating vessel, which is detachably attached to a
vessel receiving part of a casing of an image forming device to
accommodate an image forming material, the accommodating vessel
comprising: a vessel main body that includes a tubular part with
one opening opened in one end and in which the image forming
material is accommodated; a cover member that includes a fitted
part to which the tubular part of the vessel main body is
detachably fitted, and that is pushed in to the tubular part so as
to freely rotate to an attaching position; at least one positioned
protrusion that is provided to protrude in the fitted part of the
cover member, and that is used to position the cover member to a
positioning place of the tubular part of the vessel main body; and
at least one positioned positioning protrusion that is provided to
protrude in the tubular part of the vessel main body, and that
abuts on the at least one positioned protrusion to position the at
least one positioned protrusion to a positioning place, wherein the
at least one positioned protrusion includes: a guide protrusion
that extends in a rotating direction of the cover member; and a
plurality of rotation stop protrusions that extends in opposite
directions to each other relative to the guide protrusion along a
pushing and pulling direction of the cover member, and wherein the
positioning protrusion includes a stop wall that abuts on the guide
protrusion and the plurality of rotation stop protrusions of the at
least one positioned protrusion to be stopped.
2. The accommodating vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at
least one positioned protrusion comprises a plurality of positioned
protrusions, and the at least one positioning protrusion comprises
a plurality of positioning protrusions.
3. The accommodating vessel as claimed in claim 2, wherein any of
the positioned protrusions comprises: the guide protrusion; and the
rotation stop protrusion, and at least one of the positioned
protrusions includes at least a rotation stop protrusion that
extends in a direction opposite to an extending direction of the
rotation stop protrusion of the other positioned protrusions.
4. The accommodating vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at
least one positioned protrusion comprises, separately from the
rotation stop protrusion in the guide protrusion, abutting
protrusion that extends in the same direction as the extending
direction of the rotation stop protrusion, and that butts against
the positioning protrusion.
5. The accommodating vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least
either of the at least one positioned protrusion and the at least
one positioning protrusion comprises a guide inclined part that is
inclined so as to guide the rotation stop protrusion of the at
least one positioned protrusion in a direction for overriding the
stop wall of the at least one positioning protrusion in a part
where the at least one positioned protrusion of the cover member
begins to come into contact with the positioning protrusion of the
vessel main body in accordance with the rotation of the cover
member.
6. The accommodating vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
positioning protrusion of the vessel main body comprises a first
positioning protrusion and a second positioning protrusion arranged
so as to hold the positioned protrusions of the cover member
between the first positioning protrusion and the second positioning
protrusion in the pushing and pulling direction of the cover
member, and each of the first positioning protrusion and the second
positioning protrusion have a width in a direction orthogonal to a
rotating direction of the cover member, the width being formed to
be narrower as the cover member is more rotated.
7. An image forming device comprising: an image forming device main
body that has a vessel receiving part formed; and an accommodating
vessel according to claim 1, the accommodating vessel being
detachably attached to the vessel receiving part of the image
forming device main body and in which an image forming material is
accommodated.
.Iadd.8. An accommodating vessel, which is detachably attached to a
vessel receiving part of a casing of an image forming device to
accommodate an image forming material, the accommodating vessel
comprising: a first member that includes a first tubular part with
one opening opened in a part thereof; a second member that includes
a second tubular part with one opening opened in a part thereof,
wherein: the first tubular part and the second tubular part form a
space for accommodating the image forming material, the second
tubular part relatively rotates with respect to the first tubular
part in a predetermined rotating direction so that the second
member moves to an attaching position, and the second tubular part
relatively rotates with respect to the first tubular part in a
direction opposite to the predetermined rotating direction so that
the second member moves to a detaching position; and a positioning
mechanism that positions the first tubular part of the first member
and the second tubular part of the second member, wherein the
positioning mechanism includes a plurality of first protruding
parts, a plurality of second protruding parts, a first rotation
stop protrusion and a second rotation stop protrusion, wherein: the
plurality of first protruding parts are provided on the first
tubular part of the first member, each first protruding part
includes a first guide part that protrudes from the first tubular
part and extends in the predetermined rotating direction, and the
first guide part guides the second tubular part of the second
member relatively rotating with respect to the first tubular part
of the first member, wherein: the plurality of second protruding
parts are provided on the second tubular part of the second member,
each second protruding part includes a second guide part that
protrudes from the second tubular part and extends in the
predetermined rotating direction, the second guide part contacts
with one of the first protruding parts to guide the first tubular
part of the first member relatively rotating with respect to the
second tubular part of the second member, and the second guide part
restricts a movement of the first member from the second member in
a direction intersecting with the predetermined rotating direction
in a state that the second member is positioned in the attaching
position, and wherein: the first rotation stop protrusion extends
from at least one of the first protruding parts in a direction
intersecting with the predetermined rotating direction, and stops
the second member from rotating in the predetermined rotating
direction, the second rotation stop protrusion extends from at
least one of the first protruding parts in another direction
intersecting with the predetermined rotating direction, and stops
the member from rotating in the direction opposite to the
predetermined rotating direction when the first member is detached
from the second member, and the first rotation stop protrusion and
the second rotation stop protrusion extend in opposing
directions..Iaddend.
.Iadd.9. An image forming device, comprising: the casing in which
the vessel receiving part is formed; and the accommodating vessel
according to claim 8, wherein the accommodating vessel is
detachably attached to the vessel receiving part of the image
forming device, and wherein the accommodating vessel accommodates
the image forming material..Iaddend.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-248935 filed Sep. 26,
2008.
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an accommodating vessel, and an
image forming device using the same.
SUMMARY
According to an aspect of the present invention, an accommodating
vessel, which is detachably attached to a vessel receiving part of
a casing of an image forming device to accommodate an image forming
material, the accommodating vessel including: a vessel main body
that includes a tubular part with one opening opened in one end and
in which the image forming material is accommodated; a cover member
that includes a fitted part to which the tubular part of the vessel
main body is detachably fitted, and that is pushed in to the
tubular part so as to freely rotate to an attaching position; at
least one positioned protrusion that is provided to protrude in the
fitted part of the cover member, and that is used to position the
cover member to a positioning place of the tubular part of the
vessel main body; and at least one positioned positioning
protrusion that is provided to protrude in the tubular part of the
vessel main body, and that abuts on the at least one positioned
protrusion to position the at least one positioned protrusion to a
positioning place, wherein the at least one positioned protrusion
includes: a guide protrusion that extends in a rotating direction
of the cover member; and a plurality of rotation stop protrusions
that extends in opposite directions to each other relative to the
guide protrusion along a pushing and pulling direction of the cover
member, and wherein the positioning protrusion includes a stop wall
that abuts on the guide protrusion and the plurality of rotation
stop protrusions of the at least one positioned protrusion to be
stopped.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in
detail based on the following figures, wherein:
FIG. 1A is an explanatory view showing the summary of a developer
accommodating vessel according to an embodiment to which the
present invention is applied, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory view
showing the summary of a positioning mechanism (positioned
protrusion, positioning protrusion) shown in FIG. 1A;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an entire structure of an
image forming device according a first embodiment to which the
present invention is applied;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the detail of an image
forming part of the image forming device shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing one example of a vessel
receiving part of the developer accommodating vessel used in the
image forming device shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the entire structure of the
developer accommodating vessel used in the first embodiment;
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state that a cover member
is detached in the developer accommodating vessel shown in FIG.
5;
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a section along a line VII-VII in
FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view s of a section showing the detail of
the cover member (end part flange) used in the first
embodiment;
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing the detail of an opening edge
of a vessel main body used in the first embodiment;
FIG. 10A is a perspective view showing the detail of a seal member
used in the first embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a plan explanatory
view thereof;
FIG. 11A is an explanatory view of a section taken along a line L-L
in FIG. 10B, and FIG. 11B is an enlarged view showing the detail of
a part Q in FIG. 11A;
FIG. 12A is an explanatory view showing the cover member in a state
before an attachment in which the seal member is held in the
developer accommodating vessel according to the first embodiment,
and FIG. 12B is an explanatory view of a section taken along a line
P-P in FIG. 12A;
FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the seal
member in an attached state that the cover member is attached to
the vessel main body in the developer accommodating vessel
according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 14A is an explanatory view showing a cover member in a state
before an attachment in which a seal member is held in a developer
accommodating vessel according to a comparative embodiment, and
FIG. 14B is an explanatory view of a section taken along a line P-P
in FIG. 14A;
FIG. 15 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the seal
member in an attached state that the cover member is attached to a
vessel main body in the developer accommodating vessel according to
the comparative embodiment;
FIG. 16 is an explanatory view showing the detail of a first
positioned protrusion of the positioning mechanism used in this
embodiment;
FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing the detail of a second
positioned protrusion of the positioning mechanism used in this
embodiment;
FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing the detail of a first
positioning protrusion of the positioning mechanism used in this
embodiment;
FIG. 19 is an explanatory view showing the detail of a second
positioning protrusion of the positioning mechanism used in this
embodiment;
FIG. 20A is an explanatory view showing a state that the cover
member begins to be attached in the developer accommodating vessel
used in this embodiment, and FIG. 20B is an explanatory view
showing the attached state of the cover member of the developer
accommodating vessel used in this embodiment;
FIG. 21 is an explanatory view of a section taken along a line A-A
in FIG. 20A;
FIG. 22 is an explanatory view of a section taken along a line B-B
in FIG. 20A;
FIG. 23 is an explanatory view of a section taken along a line C-C
in FIG. 20B;
FIG. 24 is an explanatory view of a section taken along a line D-D
in FIG. 20B;
FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing a positioning state by a
first positioning element of the positioning mechanism used in this
embodiment;
FIG. 26A is a detailed view of a part E in FIG. 25, and FIG. 26B is
an explanatory view showing a comparative example of the first
positioning element;
FIG. 27 is an explanatory view showing a positioning state by a
second positioning element of the positioning mechanism used in
this embodiment;
FIG. 28A is a detailed view of a part F in FIG. 27, and FIG. 28B is
an explanatory view showing a comparative example of the second
positioning element;
FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective view showing a shutter (a
closing cover, a cover holding frame) used in the first
embodiment;
FIG. 30A is a paln explanatory view of the shutter used in the
first embodiment, and FIG. 30B is a perspective explanatory view
showing the detail of the closing cover;
FIG. 31 is an explanatory view showing the detail of a dimensional
relation for opening and closing the shutter (the closing cover,
the cover holding frame) used in the first embodiment;
FIG. 32A is an explanatory view showing an operating process of the
shutter located in a closing position, and FIG. 32B is an
explanatory view showing an operating process of the shutter in a
locked state; and
FIG. 33A is an explanatory view showing an operating process of the
shutter in an unlocked state, and FIG. 33B is an explanatory view
showing an operating process of the shutter located in an opening
state.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(Summary of Embodiment of the Invention)
FIG. 1A shows a summary of an embodiment of an accommodating vessel
to which the present invention is applied. The accommodating vessel
mentioned herein widely includes a vessel for accommodating an
image forming material as a material for forming an image. In a
below-description, a developer accommodating vessel for
accommodating a developer used in an electro-photographic system as
the image forming material will be described as an example.
Further, such a developer accommodating vessel is detachably
attached to a vessel receiving part of a casing of an image forming
device and serves as parts for supplying the developer to, for
instance, the image forming device.
In FIG. 1A, the developer accommodating vessel is detachably
attached to the vessel receiving part of the casing of the image
forming device to accommodate the developer and includes a vessel
main body 1 that has a tubular part 1a with an opening 2 opened in
a part thereof to accommodate the developer, a cover member 3 that
has a part 3a to be fitted to which the tubular part 1a of the
vessel main body 1 is detachably fitted and is pushed in to a
predetermined attaching position so as to freely rotate relative to
the tubular part 1a, and a positioning mechanism for positioning
the cover member 3 to a predetermined positioning place of the
tubular part 1a of the vessel main body 1 when the cover member 3
is attached to the vessel main body 1.
Then, in this embodiment, the positioning mechanism includes, as
shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a protrusion 4 to be positioned that is
provided to protrude in the part 3a to be fitted of the cover
member 3 and used to position the cover member 3 to the
predetermined positioning place of the tubular part 1a of the
vessel main body 1 and a positioning protrusion 5 that is provided
to protrude in the tubular part 1a of the vessel main body 1, and
abuts on the protrusion 4 to be positioned to position the
protrusion 4 to be positioned to a predetermined positioning place.
The protrusion 4 to be positioned includes guide protrusions 11
extending in the rotating direction of the cover member 3 and a
plurality of rotation stop protrusions 12 and 13 extending in
opposite directions to each other relative to the guide protrusions
11 along the pushing and pulling direction of the cover member 3.
The positioning protrusion 5 includes stop walls 14 that abut on
the guide protrusions 11 and the plurality of rotation stop
protrusions 12 and 13 to be stopped.
In FIGS. 1A and 1B, reference numeral 7 designates an opening and
closing mechanism provided in a part of the vessel main body 1 to
supply the developer in the vessel main body 1 to the image forming
device side when the developer accommodating vessel is attached to
the casing of the image forming device. Reference numeral 8
designates a conveying member for agitating and conveying the
developer in the vessel main body 1. Reference numeral 9 designates
a rotating and connecting member that is attached to, for instance,
the cover member 3 to transmit a rotating and driving force from an
external driving source to the conveying member 8.
In the above-described technical unit, as the tubular part 1a of
the vessel main body 1, it is to be understood that the vessel main
body 1 may be tubular, or the tubular part 1a may be provided in a
part of a non-tubular vessel main body 1.
Further, as the cover member 3, a cover member may be used that has
a part 3a to be fitted to which the tubular part 1a of the vessel
main body 1 is fitted and "is pushed in so as to freely rotate"
relative to the tubular part 1a.
Further, as the positioning mechanism (the protrusion 4 to be
positioned, the positioning protrusion 5), any positioning
mechanism may be suitably selected that positions the cover member
3 and prevents the cover member 3 from rotating and from slipping
off relative to the vessel main body 1 when the cover member 3 is
attached to the tubular part 1a of the vessel main body 1.
Still further, the positioning mechanism (the positioned
protrusion, the positioning protrusion) may be provided in one
place, however, the positioning mechanism may be provided in a
plurality of places from the viewpoint of stabilizing a positioning
performance (a rotation prevention, a slip-off prevention) by the
positioning mechanism, that is, a plurality of protrusions 4 to be
positioned (for instance, 4a, 4b) and a plurality of positioning
protrusions 5 (for instance, 5a, 5b) corresponding to the
protrusions 4 to be positioned may be provided.
In such a form, since the plurality of the rotation stop
protrusions 12 and 13 are provided, the contact areas of the
rotation stop protrusions are more increased, so that a rotation
preventing force to the cover member 3 is the more increased.
Further, since the plurality of the rotation stop protrusions 12
and 13 are extended in the opposite directions to each other along
the pushing and pulling direction of the cover member 3, under a
state that the cover member 3 is attached to the vessel main body
1, when the cover member 3 is detached from the vessel main body 1,
for instance, if the cover member tries to be rotated toward a
rotating direction A shown in FIG. 1B, the one rotation stop
protrusion 12 is directly stopped by the stop wall 14 of the one
positioning protrusion 5a. Further, the cover member 3 tries to be
rotated in the rotating direction A, the cover member 3 is inclined
relative to the vessel main body 1 on the part of the rotation stop
protrusion as a supporting point. Then, under a state that the
cover member 3 is inclined, the other rotation stop protrusion 13
is stopped by the stop wall 14 of the other positioning protrusion
5b.
When the cover member 3 tries to be rotated toward a rotating
direction B shown in FIG. 1B relative to the vessel main body 1,
the other rotation stop protrusion 13 is directly stopped by the
stop wall 14 of the other positioning protrusion 5b. Then, under a
state that the cover member 3 is inclined relative to the vessel
main body 1 on the part of the rotation stop protrusion as a
supporting point, the one rotation stop protrusion 12 is stopped by
the stop wall 14 of the one positioning protrusion 5a.
Therefore, a sliding resistance due to the contact between the
positioning protrusions 5 (5a, 5b) and the protrusions 4 to be
positioned (4a, 4b) is increased, so that the cover member 3 is
hardly slipped off and rotated relative to the vessel main body
1.
Here, as a representative form of a structure having a positioning
mechanism provided in a plurality of places, a form may be
exemplified in which all of the plurality of protrusions 4 to be
positioned (4a, 4b) include the guide protrusions 11 and the
rotation stop protrusions 12 or 13 and the rotation stop protrusion
12 of at least one protrusion 4 to be positioned (for instance, 4a)
extends in a direction opposite to that of the rotation stop
protrusion 13 of the other protrusion 4 to be positioned (for
instance, 4b).
Further, as a preferred form of the protrusion 4 to be positioned,
a form may be exemplified in which the positioned protrusion
includes, separately from the rotation stop protrusion 12 or 13 in
the guide protrusion 11, a butting protrusion (not shown in the
drawing) that extends in the same direction as that of the rotation
stop protrusion 12 or 13 and butts against the positioning
protrusion 5 from the viewpoint of preventing the collapse of the
protrusion 4 to be positioned relative to the positioning
protrusion 5 under a state that the cover member 3 is attached to
the vessel main body 1.
Still further, from the viewpoint of reducing a rotating and
operating force of the cover member 3 when the cover member 3 is
attached to the vessel main body 1, a form may be preferable in
which at least either of the positioned protrusion and the
positioning protrusion has a guide inclined part (not shown in the
drawing) that is inclined so as to guide the rotation stop
protrusion 12 or 13 of the protrusion 4 to be positioned in a
direction for overriding the stop wall 14 of the positioning
protrusion 5 in a part where the protrusion 4 to be positioned of
the cover member 3 begins to come into contact with the positioning
protrusion 5 of the vessel main body 1 in accordance with the
rotation of the cover member 3.
Further, as a preferred form of the positioning protrusion 5, from
the viewpoint of easily positioning the protrusion 4 to be
positioned relative to the positioning protrusion 5, a form may be
exemplified in which the positioning protrusion 5 of the vessel
main body 1 includes a first positioning protrusion and a second
positioning protrusion arranged so as to hold the protrusions 4 to
be positioned of the cover member 3 between them in the pushing and
pulling direction of the cover member 3 and the width of the first
positioning protrusion and the second positioning protrusion in the
direction orthogonal to the rotating direction of the cover member
3 is formed to be narrower as the cover member 3 is more
rotated.
Now, the present invention will be more specifically described on
the basis of an embodiment shown in the attached drawings.
First Embodiment
(Entire Structure of Image Forming Device)
FIG. 2 is an entire structure of a first embodiment of an image
forming device to which the present invention is applied.
In FIG. 2, the image forming device has, in a casing 21 of the
image forming device (refer it to as a device casing, hereinafter),
image forming parts 22 (specifically, 22a to 22d) of four colors
(in this embodiment, black, yellow, magenta and cyan) are arranged
in a transverse direction with a slightly obliquely and upwardly
inclined positional relation. In an upper part of the device casing
21, an intermediate transfer belt 23 is arranged that is circulated
and conveyed along the arranging direction of the image forming
parts 22 respectively. On the other hand, in a lower part of the
device casing 21, a recording material supply device 24 is arranged
in which recording materials are accommodated so as to be supplied.
In the upper part of the device casing 21, a recording material
delivering and receiving part 26 is provided in which recording
materials on which imaged are formed are delivered and accommodated
so that the recording materials from the recording material supply
device 24 are delivered to the recording material delivering and
receiving part 26 through a vertically extending recording material
conveying path 25.
In this embodiment, the image forming parts 22 (22a to 22d)
respectively form, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for instance, toner
images for black, yellow, magenta and cyan (an arrangement is not
necessarily limited to the above-described order) in order from an
upstream side in the circulating direction of the intermediate
transfer belt 23. Each image forming part 22 includes, for
instance, a photosensitive member 31 formed in a drum shape, a
charger 32 for previously charging the photosensitive member 31, an
exposure device 33 for writing an electrostatic latent image on the
photosensitive member 31 charged by the charger 32, a developing
device 34 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image on the
photosensitive member 31 to a visible image by color toners
respectively and a cleaner 35 for cleaning residual toner on the
photosensitive member 31.
Here, the exposure device 33 is provided commonly to the image
forming parts 22 respectively to deflect and scan lights from a
light source such as a semiconductor laser (not shown in the
drawing) of color components by a deflecting mirror 332 in an
exposure vessel 331 and guide an optical image to a corresponding
exposure position on the photosensitive member 31 through an image
forming lens and a mirror not shown in the drawing.
Further, the intermediate transfer belt 23 is extended on
stretching rolls 41 to 44, and, circulated and moved by, for
instance, the stretching roll 41 as a driving roll. Then, on the
back surface of the intermediate transfer belt 23 corresponding to
each photosensitive member 31, a primary transfer device 51 (for
instance, a primary transfer roll) is arranged. A voltage of a
reversed polarity to a charged polarity of the toner is applied to
the primary transfer device 51 to electro-statically transfer the
toner image on the photosensitive member 31 to the intermediate
transfer belt 23.
Further, at a part corresponding to the stretching roll 42 in the
downstream side of the image forming part 22d located at the most
downstream part in the moving direction of the intermediate
transfer belt 23, a secondary transfer device 52 (for instance, a
secondary transfer roll) is arranged to secondarily transfer
(transfer together) a primary transfer image on the intermediate
transfer belt 23 to the recording material.
Further, at a part corresponding to the stretching roll 41 in the
downstream side of the secondary transfer part of the intermediate
transfer belt 23, an intermediate cleaner 53 is provided for
cleaning the residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt
23.
Here, the intermediate transfer belt 23 employs a resin such as
polyimide, polycarbonate, polyester, polypropylene, etc. or various
kinds of rubber including a suitable quantity of antistatic agent
such as carbon black and is formed so as to have a volume
resistivity of 106 to 1014 .OMEGA..cm.
Further, in this embodiment, the recording materials supplied by a
feeder 61 of the recording material supply device 24 are conveyed
by the suitable number of conveying rolls (not shown in the
drawing) in the recording material conveying path 25, aligned by an
alignment roll 62, then, pass through the secondary transfer part
of the secondary transfer device 52 to, for instance, heat,
pressurize and fix a toner image to be fixed by a fixing device 66,
and then, are delivered and received by the recording material
delivering and receiving part 26 through a delivery roll 67.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 38 (38a to 38d) designates a developer
accommodating vessel (toner cartridge) for supplying new developer
(in this embodiment, toner) to the developing device 34 of each
image forming part 22 (22a to 22d).
(Image Forming Part)
Especially, in this embodiment, the photosensitive member 31 is
formed as a process cartridge having the charger 32 and the cleaner
35 formed integrally therewith. This process cartridge is
detachably attached to the device casing 21 to form a part of the
image forming part 22 including color components respectively.
Here, the charger 32 includes a charging vessel 321 having an
opening in a part opposed to the photosensitive member 31. In the
charging vessel 321, a charging roll 322 is arranged that comes
into contact with or comes close to the surface of the
photosensitive member 31.
Further, the cleaner 35 has a cleaning vessel 351 has an opening in
a part opposed to the photosensitive member 31. In one edge part of
the opening along the longitudinal direction of the cleaning vessel
351, a cleaning blade 352 is provided that is made of an elastic
scraping plate in contact with the photosensitive member 31. In the
other edge part of the opening along the longitudinal direction of
the cleaning vessel 351, an elastic seal material 353 is provided
that comes into contact with the photosensitive member 31. In the
cleaning vessel 351, a leveling and conveying member 354 is
provided that levels a residual material such as the toner scraped
out by the cleaning blade 352 along the longitudinal direction.
Further, in this embodiment, the developing device 34 is attached
to the device casing 21 side separately from the process cartridge.
The developing device 34 includes a developing vessel 341 that has
an opening opposed to the photosensitive member 31 and in which the
developer including at least the toner is accommodated. In the
opening part of the developing vessel 341, a developer holder 342
is arranged that can convey the developer to a developing area
located at apart opposed to the photosensitive member 31. In a rear
surface side of the developer holder 342 in the developing vessel
341, a pair of developer agitating and conveying members 343 and
344 are arranged that can circulate, agitate ad convey the
developer. Between the developer holder 342 and the developer
agitating and conveying member 343 located in the developer holder
342 side, a developer supply member 345 is provided that can supply
the agitated and conveyed developer to the developer holder 342
side. Further, the developer supplied to the developer holder 342
whose layer thickness is regulated to a prescribed layer thickness
by a layer thickness regulating member 346 is supplied to the
developing area.
(Developer Supply System)
FIG. 4 shows one example of a developer supply system used in this
embodiment.
In FIG. 4, the developer supply system is formed at a part of the
device casing 21 and has a vessel receiving part 100 to which the
developer accommodating vessel 38 is detachably attached. In a
lower part of the vessel receiving part 100, a reserve tank 110 is
arranged in which the developer to be supplied is temporarily
stored. In the vessel receiving part 100, a discharge port not
shown in the drawing is opened that can discharge the developer in
the developer accommodating vessel 38 when the developer
accommodating vessel 38 is attached to the vessel receiving art
100. In the reserve tank 110, a fixed quantity agitating and
conveying member 120 is arranged that can supply a fixed quantity
of the stored developer to supply a prescribed quantity of the
developer to the developing vessel 341 of the developing device 34
through a duct 130 connected to a part of the reserve tank 110 on
the basis of concentration information, for instance, the fall of
the concentration of the developer.
(Developer Accommodating Vessel)
In this embodiment, the developer accommodating vessel 38 includes,
as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a long tubular vessel main body 200 with
both ends opened that is formed with a synthetic resin such as ABS,
PET or the like by a draw and blow molding process. In the vessel
main body 200, an agitator 205 is arranged as a conveying member
capable of agitating the accommodated developer and end part
flanges 201 and 202 as cover members are arranged in both the ends
of the vessel main body 200. In this example, an opening 204 closed
by the end part flange 202 is used as a developer supply port to
which the developer can be supplied.
Here, in one end part flange 201, a gripping handle 203 is
provided.
Further, in the other end part flange 202, a part 210 to be fitted
made of a recessed part with a bottom is formed to which an end
tubular part 200a of the vessel main body 200 is detachably fitted.
The part 210 to be fitted includes a bottom wall 213 through which
a rotating shaft of the agitator 205 passes and a peripheral wall
214 for surrounding the periphery of the agitator 205. The bottom
wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted includes a rotor 211 to which
a driving shaft of an external driving source not shown in the
drawing is connected. On a central part of an inner surface of the
rotor 211, a hook part 212 is provided as a coupling member on
which a rotating shaft part 205a of the agitator 205 is hooked and
supported.
In FIG. 9, 216 designates a non-volatile memory as a use history
managing memory attached to a suitable part of the vessel main body
200 and is connected to communicated with a controller not shown in
the drawing when the developer accommodating vessel 38 is attached
to the vessel receiving part 100 to record the use history of the
developer accommodating vessel 38.
(Seal Member)
Further, in this embodiment, between the end part flange 202 and
the vessel main body 200, a seal member 300 is provided for sealing
a part between both the members.
The seal member 300 is held in the part 210 to be fitted of the end
part flange 202 in a preceding stage of an attached state that the
end part flange 202 is attached to the vessel main body 200. That
is, the end part flange 202 is formed in a state before an
attachment of holding the seal member 300 in the preceding stage of
the attached state.
Then, the seal member 300 is integrally formed by an elastic
material such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like. The seal
member includes, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, FIGS. 11A and 11B
and FIG. 12, an annular main body part 301 that is accommodated in
the part 210 to be fitted and through which the rotating shaft of
the agitator 205 (in this example, the hook part 212 as the
coupling member on which the rotating shaft part 205a of the
agitator 205 is supported) passes. In the inner edge and the outer
edge of the annular main body part 301, sealing butting pieces (an
inner edge sealing butting piece, an outer edge sealing butting
piece) 302 and 303 are formed that abut on the bottom wall 213 of
the part 210 to be fitted. In an outer edge of the annular main
body part 301, a sealing butting piece (a peripheral edge sealing
butting piece) 304 is formed that abuts on the peripheral wall 214
of the part 210 to be fitted.
Here, a state is supposed that the seal member 300 is held in the
part 210 to be fitted of the end part flange 202 under a condition
that the end part flange 202 is in a preceding state of an
attachment. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, assuming
that dimensions of the sealing butting pieces 302 and 303 in the
pushing and pulling direction of the end part flange 202 by using
the base part of the peripheral edge sealing butting piece 304 as a
starting point are a1 and a2, a1 and a2 are set so as to satisfy a
relation of a1>a2.
(Positioning Mechanism)
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, between the end tubular
part 200a of the vessel main body 200 and the part 210 to be fitted
of the end part flange 202, a positioning mechanism 400 is provided
for positioning both the members when the end part flange 202 is
attached to an attaching position relative to the end tubular part
200a of the vessel main body 200.
The positioning mechanism 400 includes a protrusion 410 to be
positioned that is formed to protrude in the peripheral wall 214 of
the part 210 to be fitted of the end part flange 202 and used to
position the end part flange 202 to a predetermined positioning
place of the end tubular part 200a of the vessel main body 200 and
a positioning protrusion 420 (see FIG. 9) that is provided to
protrude on the outer peripheral wall of the end tubular part 200a
of the vessel main body 200 and abuts on the protrusion 410 to be
positioned to position the protrusion 410 to be positioned to the
predetermined positioning place. The protrusion 410 to be
positioned or the positioning protrusion 420 may be respectively
formed integrally with the end part flange 202 and the vessel main
body 200, or separate members may be fixed thereto.
(Positioned Protrusion)
Then, in this embodiment, the protrusion 410 to be positioned is,
as shown in FIGS. 8, 16 and 17, provided in a plurality of places
(in this example, two) on the peripheral wall 214 of the part 210
to be fitted of the end part flange 202.
Here, a first protrusion 410a (410) to be fitted includes, as shown
in FIGS. 8 and 16, includes for instance a guide protrusion 411
extending along the rotating direction of the end part flange 202
and a rotation stop protrusion 412 extending from one end side of
the guide protrusion 411 to the pushing and pulling direction of
the end part flange 202.
In this example, in the guide protrusion 411, a half part of a
rotating direction side at the time of attaching the end part
flange 202 extends substantially with the same width dimension, and
a side surface of the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted
as a half part in an opposite side has a guide surface 415
gradually swelling toward an opposite side in the rotating
direction at the time of an attachment.
Further, the rotation stop protrusion 412 is provided in a side end
part of the guide protrusion 411 in the rotating direction at the
time of the attachment when the end part flange 202 is attached to
the vessel main body 200 and extends toward the bottom wall 213 of
the part 210 to be fitted from the guide protrusion 411. Then, the
side end part of the rotation stop protrusion 412 in the rotation
direction at the time of attaching the end part flange 202 is
provided with a guide inclined part 416 inclined in a tapered form
toward an end side.
Further, a second protrusion 410b (410) to be fitted includes, as
shown in FIGS. 8 and 17, a guide protrusion 411 extending along the
rotating direction of the end part flange 202 and a rotation stop
protrusion 413 extending toward the pushing and pulling direction
of the end part flange 202 from one end side of the guide
protrusion 411 and toward an opposite direction to that of the
rotation stop protrusion 412 of the first protrusion 410a to be
positioned.
In this example, in the guide protrusion 411, a half part of a
rotating direction side at the time of attaching the end part
flange 202 extends substantially with the same width dimension, and
a side surface of the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted
as a half part in an opposite side has a guide surface 415
gradually swelling toward an opposite side in the rotating
direction at the time of an attachment.
Further, the rotation stop protrusion 413 is provided in a side end
part of the guide protrusion 411 in the rotating direction at the
time of the attachment when the end part flange 202 is attached to
the vessel main body 200 and extends from the guide protrusion 411
toward a direction separating from the bottom wall 213 of the part
210 to be fitted.
Still further, the second protrusion 410b to be fitted includes a
butting protrusion 414 extending toward the pushing and pulling
direction of the end part flange 202 from an end part of the guide
protrusion 411 opposite to the rotation stop protrusion 413 and in
the same direction as that of the rotation stop protrusion 413.
(Positioning Protrusion)
On the other hand, in the positioning protrusion 420, as shown in
FIGS. 9, 18 and 19, a plurality of positioning protrusions (in this
example, two) are provided correspondingly to the plurality of
protrusions 410 (410a, 410b) to be fitted.
A first positioning protrusion 420a (420) includes, as shown in
FIGS. 9 and 18 and 19, a positioning protrusion 421 extending along
the direction of the circumference of the end tubular part 200a of
the vessel main body 200. The positioning protrusion 421 includes a
stop wall 422 that abuts on the guide protrusion 411 and the
rotation stop protrusion 412 of the first protrusion 410a (410) to
be fitted to be stopped, and further includes a guide surface 423
along the guide surface 415 of the first protrusion 410a to be
fitted.
Further, a second positioning protrusion 420b (420) includes, as
shown in FIGS. 9 and 19, a positioning partition wall 426
protruding substantially in an L shape from a stepped annular part
425 formed in an annular shape along the periphery of the end
tubular part 200a. In the opening side of the positioning partition
wall 426, a separate partition wall 427 is provided that is
separated with an opening remaining in apart. A partition area 428
surrounded by the stepped annular part 425, the positioning
partition wall 426 and the separate partition wall 427 is set as an
accommodating area of the second protrusion 410b to be fitted, and
a peripheral wall for surrounding the partition area 428 is allowed
to function as the stop wall 422 on which the guide protrusion 411,
the rotation stop protrusion 413 and the butting protrusion 414
abut to be stopped. In an inner side surface of the positioning
partition wall 426, a guide surface 423 is provided along a guide
surface 415 of the second protrusion 410b to be fitted.
Then, in this example, in an outer side of the partition area 428
of the separate partition wall 427, a guide inclined part 429
tapered outward is formed.
Further, in this example, in the partition area 428, a partition
area width j located in an opposite side to a rotating direction
side is ensured to be wider than a partition area width m located
in the rotating direction side at the time of attaching the end
part flange 202.
Here, in the layout of the protrusion 410 to be fitted and the
positioning protrusion 420, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a dimension
between a surface to be positioned of the guide protrusion 411 of
the protrusion 410 to be positioned of the part 210 to be fitted of
the end part flange 202 and the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to
be fitted is set to b. A dimension from an end of the end tubular
part 200a of the vessel main body 200 to a positioning surface of
the positioning protrusion 420 corresponding to the surface to be
positioned of the guide protrusion 411 of the protrusion 410 to be
positioned is set to c.
In this embodiment, the second positioning protrusion 420b(420)
forms the partition area 428, however, the present invention is not
limited thereto. A selection may be suitably made, for instance,
the separate partition wall 427 may be removed or the positioning
partition wall 426 may be separated from the stepped annular part
425.
(Attached State of Seal Member in Embodiment)
(1) State Before Attachment
As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, under a state before the end part
flange 202 is attached to the vessel main body 200, the seal member
300 is held in the part 210 to be fitted of the end part flange
202. At this time, since a dimensional relation of a1 and a2
between the inner edge sealing butting piece 302 and the outer edge
sealing butting piece 303 of the seal member 300 is set to such a
relation as shown in FIG. 11B, the inner edge sealing butting piece
302 of the seal member 300 is arranged to come into contact with
the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted. However, the
outer edge sealing butting piece 303 of the seal member 300 is
arranged so as not to come into contact with the bottom wall 213 of
the part 210 to be fitted. The peripheral edge sealing butting
piece 304 of the seal member 300 is arranged to come into contact
with the peripheral wall 214 of the part 210 to be fitted.
Accordingly, under the state before the end part flange 202 is
attached to the vessel main body 200, the outer edge sealing
butting piece 303 of the seal member 300 does not come into contact
with the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted, even when
the seal member 300 is held for a long period in the state before
an attachment, the outer edge sealing butting piece 303 is not
elastically deformed. Thus, a deterioration of a form such as a
state that the outer edge sealing butting piece 303 is deformed is
not observed as compared with a case that, for instance, the outer
edge sealing butting piece 303 is stored for a long period under a
state that the outer edge sealing butting piece 303 is elastically
deformed.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12B, the seal member 300 in a
state before the attachment is held in the part 210 to be fitted of
the end part flange 202. At this time, the protrusion 410 to be
positioned of the positioning mechanism 400 functions as a stopper
for preventing the seal member 300 from slipping out.
(2) Attached State
An attached state of the seal member 300 under an attached state
that the end part flange 202 is attached to the end tubular part
200a of the vessel main body 200 will be described by referring to
FIG. 13.
In this embodiment, the dimensional relation a1 and a2 (see FIG.
11) between the inner edge sealing butting piece 302 and the outer
edge sealing butting piece 303 of the seal member 300 and the
dimensions b and c (see FIGS. 8 and 9) of the protrusion 410 to be
positioned and the positioning protrusion 420 satisfy relations of
a1>b-c, a2>b-c and a1>a2 at this time.
At this time, `b-c` means a distance from the bottom wall 213 of
the part 210 to be fitted of the end part flange 202 to the
position of the end tubular part 200a of the vessel main body 200,
and the seal member 300 held by the part 210 to be fitted is
pressed to `b-c` by the end tubular part 200a of the vessel main
body 200. Therefore, under a state that the inner edge sealing
butting piece 302 having the dimension of a1 and the outer edge
sealing butting piece 303 having the dimension a2 in the state
before the attachment are elastically deformed to `b-c`, the inner
and outer sealing butting pieces 302 and 303 are arranged to come
into contact with the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be
fitted.
Under this state, since all the sealing butting pieces 302 to 304
of the seal member 300 are arranged so as to elastically come into
contact with the bottom wall 213 and the peripheral wall 214 of the
part 210 to be fitted, not only triple sealing parts by elastic
contacts are obtained between the sealing butting pieces 302 to 304
and the wall surfaces of the part 210 to be fitted, but also a
sliding resistance due to the elastic contacts of the sealing
butting pieces 302 to 304 is obtained.
Accordingly, even when a user erroneously rotates the attached end
part flange 202, since the sliding resistance by the sealing
butting pieces 302 and 304 acts, there is no fear that the end part
flange 202 is erroneously rotated or erroneously opened.
(Attached State of Seal Member in Comparative Embodiment)
Now, a seal member 300' will be used as a comparative embodiment in
place of the seal member 300 used in this embodiment to describe a
state of the seal member 300' before an attachment and the attached
state of the seal member 300' in a state of an attachment.
In this comparative embodiment, the seal member 300' includes, as
shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, an annular main body part 301'
accommodated in the part 210 to be fitted of the end part flange
202. In an inner edge of the annular main body part 301', an inner
edge sealing butting piece 302' is provided that elastically comes
into contact with the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted.
On an outer edge of the annular main body part 301', a protruding
piece 303' (rib) is provided that pushes to an interior of the part
210 to be fitted. Further, in a peripheral edge of the annular main
body part 301', a peripheral edge sealing abutting piece 304' is
provided that elastically comes into contact with the peripheral
wall 214 of the part 210 to be fitted.
Here, when the dimensional relation between the inner edge sealing
butting piece 302' and the protruding piece 303' of the seal member
300' is respectively set to a1 and a2 like the first embodiment
(however, the protruding piece 303' is functionally different from
the outer edge sealing butting piece 303 of the first embodiment,
however, the dimensional relation of the protruding piece 303' is
allowed to correspond to that of the outer edge sealing butting
piece 303 as shown in FIG. 11) and the dimensional relation between
the protrusion 410 to be fitted and the positioning protrusion 420
is respectively set to b and c (see FIGS. 8 and 9), relations of
a1>b-c, a2.ltoreq.b-c, and a1>a2 at this time are allowed to
be satisfied.
(1) State Before Attachment
As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, under a state before the end part
flange 202 is attached to the vessel main body 200, the seal member
300' is held in the part 210 to be fitted of the end part flange
202. At this time, since a dimensional relation of a1 and a2
between the inner edge sealing butting piece 302' and the
protruding piece 303' of the seal member 300' is set to a1>a2,
the inner edge sealing butting piece 302' of the seal member 300'
is arranged to come into contact with the bottom wall 213 of the
part 210 to be fitted. However, the protruding piece 303' of the
seal member 300' is arranged so as not to come into contact with
the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted. The peripheral
edge sealing butting piece 304' of the seal member 300' is arranged
to come into contact with the peripheral wall 214 of the part 210
to be fitted.
Accordingly, in this comparative embodiment, the attached state of
the seal member 300' before the attachment is substantially the
same as that of the embodiment.
(2) Attached State
An attached state of the seal member 300' under an attached state
that the end part flange 202 is attached to the end tubular part
200a of the vessel main body 200 will be described by referring to
FIG. 15.
In this case, the dimensional relations (a1, a2, b, c) of the seal
member 300' are respectively the same as those described above. At
this time, `b-c` means a distance from the bottom wall 213 of the
part 210 to be fitted of the end part flange 202 to the position of
the end tubular part 200a of the vessel main body 200, and the seal
member 300' held by the part 210 to be fitted is pressed to `b-c`
by the end tubular part 200a of the vessel main body 200.
Therefore, under a state that the inner edge sealing butting piece
302'having the dimension of a1 in the state before the attachment
is elastically deformed to `b-c`, the inner edge sealing butting
piece 302' is arranged to come into contact with the bottom wall
213 of the part 210 to be fitted.
As compared therewith, since the protruding piece 303' of the seal
member 300' satisfies the relation of a2.ltoreq.b-c, the protruding
piece 303' is arranged so as not to come into contact with the
bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted, or to come close to
the bottom wall 213 in such a manner as to come into contact
therewith, however, is not elastically deformed.
Accordingly, it cannot be said that the protruding piece 303' is
arranged to elastically come into contact with the bottom wall 213
of the part 210 to be fitted. Thus, a sealing part is not obtained
in the part of the protruding piece 303' and a sliding resistance
due to a contact cannot be obtained 30 between the protruding piece
303' and the bottom wall 213 of the part 210 to be fitted.
The peripheral edge sealing butting piece 304' is arranged to
elastically come into contact with the peripheral wall 214 of the
part 210 to be fitted.
As described above, in this comparative embodiment, since the
protruding piece 303' does not serve like the sealing butting piece
303 of the first embodiment, when a user erroneously rotates the
attached end part flange 202, the sliding resistance by the sealing
butting pieces 302' and 304' act, however, the sliding resistance
by the protruding piece 303' is not obtained. Therefore, as
compared with the first embodiment, there is more fear that the end
part flange 202 is erroneously rotated and the end part flange 202
is erroneously opened.
(Positioning State by Positioning Mechanism)
In this embodiment, when the end part flange 202 is attached to the
vessel main body 200, as shown in FIG. 20A, the part 210 to be
fitted of the end part flange 202 may be pushed in to the end
tubular part 200a of the vessel main body 200, and then, the end
part flange 202 may be rotated in a prescribed direction. When the
end part flange 202 is rotated by a prescribed amount, as shown in
FIG. 20B, the end part flange 202 is positioned to the end tubular
part 200a of the vessel main body 200 by the positioning mechanism
400 under a state that the end part flange 202 is prevented from
slipping out and rotating, so that the end part flange 202 is
attached to the end tubular part 200a of the vessel main body
200.
Specifically, a first positioning element (the first protrusion
410a to be positioned+the first positioning protrusion 420a) moves
from a state shown in FIG. 21 to a state shown in FIG. 23 to
position the first protrusion 410a to be positioned to the first
positioning protrusion 420a.
On the other hand, a second positioning element (the second
protrusion 410b to be positioned+the second positioning protrusion
420b) moves from a state shown in FIG. 22 to a state shown in FIG.
24 to position the second protrusion 410b to be positioned to the
second positioning protrusion 420b.
(Positioning Operation by First Positioning Element (FIG. 25, FIG.
26))
In the first positioning element, as shown in FIG. 25, the first
protrusion 410a to be positioned (see FIG. 16) is positioned by the
first positioning protrusion 420a (see FIG. 18).
At this time, as shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26A, the guide
protrusion 411 of the first protrusion 410a to be positioned abuts
on the stop wall 422 of the positioning protrusion 421 of the first
positioning protrusion 420a to be stopped. Further, the rotation
stop protrusion 412 of the first protrusion 410a to be positioned
abuts on the end part of the positioning protrusion 421 to be
stopped.
Under this state, as shown in FIG. 25, when the attached end part
flange 202 tries to be rotated in a rotating direction for stopping
the rotation shown by an arrow mark, as shown in FIG. 25 and FIG.
26A, the rotation stop protrusion 412 of the first protrusion 410a
to be positioned is stopped by the stop wall 422 at the end part of
the positioning protrusion 421 of the first positioning protrusion
420a. Further, the guide surface 415 of the guide protrusion 411 of
the first protrusion 410a to be positioned is stopped by the guide
surface 423 formed in the stop wall 422 of the positioning
protrusion 421 of the first positioning protrusion 420a.
At this time, as compared with a comparative example 410a' shown in
FIG. 26B (a form in which the rotation stop protrusion 412 is
removed from the first protrusion 410a to be positioned), a
preventing force for stopping the rotation can be received by the
rotation stop protrusion 412 when the end flange part 202 is
rotated. In this case, when the contact area of the rotation stop
protrusion 412 and the end part of the positioning protrusion 421
of the first positioning protrusion 420a is ensured to be wider,
the preventing force for stopping the rotation at the time of
rotating the end part flange 202 is the more increased.
Especially, in this embodiment, since the preventing force for
stopping the rotation at the time of rotating the end part flange
202 can be also received by the guide surface 415 of the guide
protrusion 411 of the first protrusion 410a to be positioned, the
preventing force for stopping the rotation of the end part flange
202 is more preferably increased.
(Positioning Operation by Second Positioning Element (FIG. 27, FIG.
28))
In the second positioning element, as shown in FIG. 27, the second
protrusion 410b to be positioned (see FIG. 17) is positioned by the
second positioning protrusion 420b (see FIG. 19).
At this time, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28A, the second protrusion
410b to be positioned is accommodated in the partition area 428 of
the second positioning protrusion 420b.
Under this state, the guide protrusion 411 of the second protrusion
410b to be positioned is stopped by the stop wall 422 of the
positioning partition wall 426 of the second positioning protrusion
420b. Further, the rotation stop protrusion 413 of the second
protrusion 410b to be positioned abuts on the stop wall 422 at the
end part of the positioning partition wall 426 to be stopped.
Under this state, as shown in FIG. 27, when the attached end part
flange 202 tries to be rotated in a rotating direction for stopping
the rotation shown by an arrow mark, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28A,
the rotation stop protrusion 413 of the second protrusion 410b to
be positioned is stopped by the stop wall 422 at the end part of
the positioning partition wall 426 of the second positioning
protrusion 420b. Further, the guide surface 415 of the guide
protrusion 411 of the second protrusion 410b to be positioned is
stopped by the guide surface 423 formed on the stop wall 422 of the
positioning partition wall 426 of the second positioning protrusion
420b.
At this time, as compared with a comparative example 410b' shown in
FIG. 28B (a form in which the rotation stop protrusion 413 is
removed from the second protrusion 410b to be positioned), a
preventing force for stopping the rotation can be received by the
rotation stop protrusion 413 when the end flange part 202 is
rotated. In this case, since the contact area of the rotation stop
protrusion 413 and the stop wall 422 of the positioning partition
wall 426 of the second positioning protrusion 420b is ensured to be
wider than that of the comparative example, the preventing force
for stopping the rotation at the time of rotating the end part
flange 202 is increased more than that of the comparative
example.
Especially, in this embodiment, since the preventing force for
stopping the rotation at the time of rotating the end part flange
202 can be also received by the guide surface 415 of the guide
protrusion 411 of the second protrusion 410b to be positioned, the
rotating torque resistance of the end part flange 202 is preferably
more distributed.
Further, in this embodiment, since the second protrusion 410b to be
positioned includes the butting protrusion 414 abutting on the
stepped annular part 425 separately from the rotation stop
protrusion 413, the second protrusion 410b to be positioned does
not collapse nor move in the partition area 248 of the second
positioning protrusion 420b. Thus, an attached state of the end
part flange 202 is not deteriorated.
Further, according to this embodiment, since, in the partition area
428 of the second positioning protrusion 420b, the partition area
width j located in an opposite side to the partition area width m
is ensured to be wider than the partition area width m located in
the rotating direction side at the time of attaching the end part
flange 202, the second protrusion 410b to be positioned preferably
easily enters the partition area 428 and moves to the narrow area
of the partition area 428 to be readily positioned.
(Positioning Operation by First and Second Positioning
Mechanisms)
Further, in this embodiment, the first protrusion 410a to be
positioned and the second protrusion 410b to be positioned
respectively have the rotation stop protrusions 412 and 413
extending in the opposite directions to each other relative to the
pushing and pulling direction of the end part flange 202. Thus,
under the state that the end part flange 202 is attached to the
vessel main body 200, when the end part flange 202 tries to be
rotated to a prescribed rotating direction to detach the end part
flange 202 from the vessel main body 200, for instance, the
rotation stop protrusion 412 of the one protrusion 410 (for
instance 410a) to be positioned is directly stopped by the stop
wall 422 of for instance, the one positioning protrusion 420 (for
instance 420a). Further, when the end part flange 202 tries to be
rotated to the prescribed rotating direction, the end flange part
202 is inclined relative to the vessel main body 200 on the
above-described rotation stop part as a supporting point. Under a
state that the end part flange 202 is inclined, the rotation stop
protrusion 413 of the other protrusion 410 (for instance, 410b) to
be positioned is stopped by the stop wall 422 of the other
positioning protrusion 420 (for instance, 420b).
When the end part flange 202 tries to be rotated in an opposite
rotating direction relative to the vessel main body 200, the other
rotation stop protrusion 413 is directly stopped by the stop wall
422 of the other positioning protrusion 420 (420b). Under a state
that the end part flange 202 is inclined relative to the vessel
main body 200 on the above-described rotation stop part as a
supporting point, the one rotation stop protrusion 412 is stopped
by the stop wall 422 of the one positioning protrusion 420
(420a).
Accordingly, the sliding resistance due to the contact between the
positioning protrusion 420 (420a, 420b) and the protrusion 410
(410a, 410b) to be positioned is increased, so that the end part
flange 202 is hardly slipped off and rotated relative to the vessel
main body 200.
Further, in the movement of the end part flange 202 in a pulling
out direction, the guide protrusion 411 of the first protrusion
410a to be positioned is stopped by the positioning protrusion 421
of the first positioning protrusion 420a. Further, the guide
protrusion 411 of the second protrusion 410b to be positioned is
stopped by the positioning partition wall 426 of the second
positioning protrusion 420b. Thus, the movement of the end part
flange 202 to the pulling out direction is prevented.
(Shutter)
Further, in this embodiment, on a peripheral wall of the vessel
main body 200 located near the end part flange 202, a discharging
opening 220 is opened. In the discharging opening 220, a shutter
230 is provided as an opening and closing mechanism that opens and
closes the opening 220.
In this embodiment, the shutter 230 includes, as shown in FIGS. 29
and 30A, a closing cover 240 for closing the discharging opening
220 and a cover holding frame 250 that holds the closing cover 240
so as to freely move along an opening and closing direction.
(Closing Cover)
Here, the closing cover 240 includes, as shown in FIG. 30B, a flat
plate shaped cover main body 241 having a substantially rectangular
form that has at least a larger area than that of the discharging
opening 220. Side wall parts 242 are formed correspondingly to
three sides except one direction in the opening and closing
direction of the cover main body 241. In the side wall parts 242
located at both sides in the direction of width orthogonal to the
opening and closing direction, the suitable number (in this
example, two arms spaced in the opening and closing direction
respectively in one side) of holding arms 243 are formed that
protrude inward and embrace and hold the cover holding frame 250.
Further, in an opened end of the side wall part 242 located in one
side in the direction of width of the cover main body 241, a hook
pawl 244 as a stopper part is formed. On the surface of the cover
main body 241 in the cover holding frame 250 side, an elastic seal
material 245 is stuck that elastically comes into contact with the
cover holding frame 250.
In this example, in the parts of the cover main body 241
corresponding to the holding arms 243, hole parts 246 are provided.
The closing cover 240 holds both the side edges of the cover
holding frame 250 by three points including the two holding arms
243 and the cover main body 241 located between the holding arms
243 and moves along both the side edges of the cover holding frame
250 in a stable way.
(Cover Holding Frame)
In this embodiment, the cover holding frame 250 includes, as shown
in FIG. 30A, a flat plate shaped frame main body 251 having a
substantially rectangular form. On a part of the frame main body
251 corresponding to the discharging opening 220, a through hole
252 is opened. Further, in one corner part of an end edge of the
frame main body 251 in the closing direction of the closing cover
240, a cut-out stop part 253 is formed. In an opposite corner part
of the end edge of the frame main body 251, a position regulating
protrusion 254 is formed that protrudes in the direction of width
orthogonal to the opening and closing direction.
Especially, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 31, a dimension
between both side edges in the direction of width of the cover
holding frame 250 is set to be slightly narrower than a dimension
between both the side wall parts 242 in the direction of width of
the closing cover 240.
Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 31, a protruding
dimension k of the position regulating protrusion 254 from
reference positions of both the side edges in the direction of
width of the cover holding frame 250 is set to be larger than the
dimension of the stop part 253 in the direction of width. When the
side wall part of the closing cover 240 in the direction of width
abut on the reference position of the side edge in the direction of
width of the cover holding frame 250, since the closing cover 240
moves by the protruding dimension k of the position regulating
protrusion 254 in the direction of width, the hook pawl 244 of the
closing cover 244 is disengaged from the stop part 253 to maintain
a positional relation for unlocking.
In FIG. 29, reference numeral 260 designates a seal plate made of,
for instance, an elastic rubber that is provided between the
closing cover 240 and the cover holding frame 250 to seal a part
between them, and is for instance, fixed to the frame main body
251.
Here, a dimensional relations for opening and closing the shutter
230 (the closing cover 240, the cover holding frame 250) is
summarized as shown in FIG. 31.
In FIG. 31, w1 to w6 and f, h and k designate below-described
dimensions.
w1: dimension of maximum width to an end of the position regulating
protrusion of the cover holding frame
w2: dimension of width from the end of the position regulating
protrusion to the stop part of the cover holding frame
w3: dimension of width between both side parts of the cover holding
frame excluding the position regulating protrusion
w4: dimension of width from one side part excluding the position
regulating protrusion to the stop part of the cover holding
frame
w5: dimension of width from an inner surface of one side wall in
the direction of width to the stopper part of the closing cover
w6: dimension of maximum width between both side walls in the
direction of width of the closing cover excluding the stopper
part
f: stop length of the stop part
h: hook length of stopper part (hook pawl)
k: protruding dimension of the position regulating protrusion
In FIG. 31, when conditions under which the closing cover 240 is
fitted to the cover holding frame 250 are initially examined, if
w2>w5 and w3>w5, the closing cover 240 is not fitted to the
cover holding frame 250, it is necessary to obtain the conditions
of w5-w2>0 and w5-w3>0 are necessary.
Then, if w1<w5, even when the closing cover 240 moves along the
end position of the position regulating protrusion 254, the hook
pawl 244 as the stopper part 253 is not overlapped on the stop part
253 in the opening and closing direction. Thus, there is a fear
that the hook pawl 244 and the stop part 253 do not function as a
movement restraining unit. Thus, the condition of w1-w5>0 is
necessary.
Now, the stop length f(w1-w2) of the stop part 253 is examined. f
needs to be larger than a space of w5-w2, that is, the condition of
f-(w5-w2)>0 or f>w5-w2 is necessary.
Similarly, when the protruding dimension k(w1-w3) of the position
regulating protrusion 254 is investigated, k needs to be larger
than a space of w5-w3, that is, the condition of k-(w5-w3)>0 or
k>w5-w3 is necessary.
Further, when the hook length h (w6-w5) of the hook pawl 244 as the
stopper part is short, a result of w1>w6 is obtained so that the
closing cover 240 is not fitted to the cover holding frame 250.
Accordingly, the condition of w6-w1>0 is necessary.
At this time, h needs to be larger than a space of w6-w1, that is,
the condition of h-(w6-w1)>0 or h>w6-w1 is necessary.
(Operating Processes of Shutter)
In this embodiment, the shutter 230 operates over operating
processes as shown in FIGS. 32 and 33.
(1) Shutter close
This shows a state that the closing cover 240 is located at a
closing position for completely closing the discharging opening
220.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 32A, the side wall part 242 located
in the opening and closing direction of the closing cover 240 abuts
on one end part in the opening and closing direction of the cover
holding frame 250. The side wall part 242 in the direction of width
of the closing cover 240 is located at a position abutting on the
end of the position regulating protrusion 254 of the cover holding
frame 250.
(2) Shutter Lock
When the closing cover 240 moves from the state shown in FIG. 32A
to an opening direction, the closing cover 240 moves by maintaining
a state that a position is regulated by the position regulating
protrusion 254 and the hook pawl 244 of the closing cover 240 abuts
on the stop part 253 (see FIG. 32B).
At this time, since the closing cover 240 is restrained from moving
at a position before an opening operation is started, the shutter
230 is locked relative to the opening and closing direction.
Therefore, for instance, even when the developer accommodating
vessel 38 is erroneously dropped at the time of attaching the
developer accommodating vessel, or a cushioning material such as
foaming styrene is not put in both sides of a box shaped corrugated
paper board at the time of transportation, there is substantially
no fear that the shutter 230 is erroneously opened.
(3) Shutter Unlock
As described in (2), under a state that the shutter is locked, the
side wall part 242 in the direction of width of the closing cover
240 moves to a position passing the position regulating protrusion
254 of the cover holding frame 250. Thus, the closing cover 240 is
permitted to move to come close to the side edge in the direction
of width of the cover holding frame 250 relative to the direction
of width (an intersecting direction) orthogonal to the opening and
closing direction.
Here, the closing cover 240 moves along the direction of width
until the one side wall part 242 in the direction of width abuts on
the reference position of the side edge in the direction of width
of the cover holding frame 250.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 33A, since the hook pawl 244 of the
closing cover 240 moves to a position where the hook pawl 244 does
not come into contact with the stop part 253 of the cover holding
frame 250, the hook pawl 244 can move in the opening and closing
direction of the closing cover 240 to release the restrained state
of the closing cover 240 by the stop part 253 and the hook pawl
244. That is, the locked state of the shutter 230 relative to the
opening and closing direction is unlocked, so that the shutter can
move in the opening and closing direction.
(4) Shutter Open
As described in (3), when the shutter 230 is unlocked, since the
closing cover 240 is permitted to move in the opening and closing
direction, the closing cover 240 moves to an opening position to
completely open the discharging opening 220.
At this time, the hook pawl 244 of the closing cover 240 moves
along the side edge in the direction of width of the cover holding
frame 250 under a non-contact state as shown in FIG. 33B, the
opening operation of the closing cover 240 is not prevented, so
that the closing cover 240 moves to its terminal end position
(opening position).
Under this state, in this embodiment, since an urging force such as
a spring does not need to act on a part between the closing cover
240 and the cover holding frame 250, the closing cover 240 moves to
the opening and closing direction without a specially strong
operating force.
Second Embodiment
An image forming device according to this embodiment uses a
developer accommodating vessel substantially the same as the
developer accommodating vessel 38 used in the first embodiment,
however, uses, differently from the first embodiment, the seal
member 300' according to the comparative embodiment shown in FIGS.
14 and 15 in place of the seal member 300 used in the first
embodiment, and employs a positioning mechanism 400 having the same
structure as that of the first embodiment.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, when an end part flange 202
is attached to an end tubular part 200a of a vessel main body 200,
even if a user erroneously rotates the attached end part flange
202, the positioning characteristics of the end part flange 202 are
assuredly maintained by the positioning mechanism 400. Accordingly,
though a sufficient sliding resistance by the sealing butting
pieces 302 to 304 of the seal member 300 obtained in the first
embodiment cannot be obtained, the end part flange 202 is not
erroneously rotated and there is no fear that the end part flange
202 is erroneously opened.
In this embodiment, a form is shown that uses the seal member 300'
according to the comparative embodiment, however, the present
invention is not limited thereto. It is to be understood that a
seal member such as a seal plate of felt or rubber may be used
between the end part flange 202 and the end tubular part 200a of
the vessel main body 200 or another sealing structure may be used
without using such a seal member.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the developer
accommodating vessel (the toner cartridge) is exemplified and
explained that is detachably attached to the image forming device
of the electro-photographic system and accommodates the developer
composed of powder type toner used in the developing device,
however, the present invention may be applied to all accommodating
vessels for accommodating an image forming material supplied to the
image forming device. For instance, when a sealing property in a
periphery of a shutter is improved, the present invention may be
applied to the developer accommodating vessel for accommodating
liquid developer. Further, the present invention may be applied to
an ink accommodating vessel for accommodating ink supplied to an
ink jet type image forming device.
The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present
invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and
description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the
invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many
modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners
skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in
order to best explain the principles of the invention and its
practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art
to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the
various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention
defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *