Toner cartridge and image forming apparatus

Abstract

The invention provides a toner cartridge and an image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus includes a toner cartridge that supplies toner to an image carrier. The toner cartridge includes: a developing section coupled to a toner container via a coupling hole and having an external opening formed therein for supplying toner to an image carrier; an outer cover plate for opening and closing the external opening; an inner cover plate for opening and closing the connection hole; and the gear mechanism is used for connecting the outer side cover plate and the inner side cover plate in a linkage manner. When the outer cover plate is located at a first closing position for closing the external opening, the inner cover plate is located at a second closing position for closing the connecting hole, and when the outer cover plate is located at a first opening position for opening the external opening, the inner cover plate is located at a second opening position for opening the connecting hole.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a toner cartridge and an image forming apparatus using the toner cartridge. Background Art

[0002] In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, when the toner is reduced, the toner cartridge is replaced to replenish the toner. When the toner cartridge is replaced, the toner may leak. Therefore, a method for suppressing the toner leakage has been proposed.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-91326 discloses a structure in which a sealing member is mounted, the sealing member covering and sealing an opening of a developing frame of a developing unit that stores toner.

[0004] In the structure described in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2020-91326, the developing unit is installed in the processing box, and the sealing component is removed together with the action of the colorant conveying unit to open the opening. Thereafter, the sealing component moves in the colorant storage chamber and is used as a component for stirring the colorant. Therefore, if the developing unit is removed from the processing box in a state where there is residual colorant, there is a possibility that the colorant will leak from the opening. In this case, the leakage of the colorant can be suppressed by installing a cover, but the cover must be prepared separately. Summary of the invention

[0005] An object of the present invention is to suppress toner leakage even when a toner cartridge is attached or detached in a state where toner remains.

[0006] The toner cartridge of the present invention supplies toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier to develop it into a toner image. The toner cartridge comprises: a toner container for accommodating the toner; a developing portion connected to the toner container via a connecting hole, and having an external opening formed on the outer peripheral surface for supplying the toner to the image carrier; a toner carrier rotatably arranged in the developing portion and opposite to the image carrier, and carrying the toner; an outer cover plate for opening and closing the outer opening; an inner cover plate for opening and closing the connecting hole; and a gear mechanism for connecting the outer cover plate and the inner cover plate so as to be interlockable. The outer cover plate can at least move to a first closed position for closing the outer opening and a first open position for opening the outer opening. The inner cover plate can at least move to a second closed position for closing the connecting hole and a second open position for opening the connecting hole. When the outer cover plate is located at the first closed position, the inner cover plate is located at the second closed position, and when the outer cover plate is located at the first open position, the inner cover plate is located at the second open position.

[0007] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the embodiments described below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 It is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus. Figure 2 This is a functional block diagram of an image forming apparatus. Figure 3 This is a perspective view of the toner cartridge with the outer cover closed. Figure 4 This is a perspective view of the toner cartridge with the outer cover opened. Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the toner cartridge in a state where the outer cover is closed. Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view of the toner cartridge with the outer cover opened. Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram showing the closed state of the outer cover and the inner cover. Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram showing the open state of the outer cover and the inner cover. Fig. 9 This is a perspective view of the toner cartridge as viewed from below. Fig.10 Is magnification Fig. 9 An enlarged stereogram of the X portion enclosed by the rectangle in FIG. Fig.11 This is an enlarged perspective view of the periphery of the opening and closing boss in a state where the outer cover is closed. Fig.12 It is a perspective view showing a toner cartridge mounted in a drum cartridge. Fig.13 This is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of the opening and closing boss of the outer cover of the toner cartridge. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 It is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 100 . Figure 2 1 is a functional block diagram of the image forming apparatus 100. In the following description, a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of paper may be referred to as a scanning direction Sx, and a direction along the conveyance direction of paper may be referred to as a sub-scanning direction Sy.

[0010] like Figure 1As shown, an image forming apparatus (for example, a black and white printer) 100 includes an image forming unit 10, a sheet cassette 20, a sheet conveying unit 30, a fixing unit 40, a sheet stacking unit 60, and a control unit 70. In the image forming apparatus 100, sheets in the sheet cassette 20 are sequentially conveyed to the image forming unit 10 and the fixing unit 40 along the sheet conveying unit 30, and discharged to the sheet stacking unit 60. When the sheets pass through the image forming unit 10 and the fixing unit 40, images are formed on the sheets. The details of each unit will be described below.

[0011] (Control Unit 70) The control unit 70 controls each part of the image forming apparatus 100. Figure 2 As shown, the control unit 70 is connected to the image forming unit 10, the sheet conveying unit 30, and the fixing unit 40. Moreover, the control unit 70 controls the operation of each of the above-mentioned parts and obtains information from each of the parts. The control unit 70 includes a CPU 71. In addition, the control unit 70 has a storage unit 72, and the storage unit 72 includes a non-volatile memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a flash ROM and a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 72 stores programs and data related to control. The control unit 70 uses the programs and data in the storage unit 72 to control each part.

[0012] (Image Forming Unit 10) Here, the image forming unit 10 forms a black-and-white image. The image forming unit 10 includes a photosensitive drum 11 as an image carrier. Fig.12 , Fig.13 As shown in FIG. 1 , in the image forming apparatus 100 , the photosensitive drum 11 is rotatably supported by a drum cartridge 111 . The drum cartridge 111 is attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus 100 .

[0013] In addition, the image forming unit 10 is rotated in the direction of rotation of the photosensitive drum 11 (in Figure 1 The image forming unit 10 is provided with a charging unit 12, an exposure unit (laser scanning unit, etc.) 13, a developing unit 14, a transfer roller 15, a cleaning device 16, and a static eliminating device (not shown). The operation of each part of the image forming unit 10 is controlled by the control unit 70.

[0014] The image forming unit 10 performs image formation. The rotating photosensitive drum 11 is uniformly charged by the charging unit 12. The exposure unit 13 forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 based on the document image data. Furthermore, the developing unit 14 forms a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 by attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image. The developing unit 14 is composed of a toner cartridge 50.

[0015] The sheet conveying unit 30 conveys the sheet from the sheet cassette 20 to the photosensitive drum 11 on which the toner image is formed. When the sheet passes through the image forming unit 10, the toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred to the sheet by the transfer roller 15 (image transfer unit). The sheet to which the toner image is transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 11 and conveyed to the fixing unit 40. The fixing unit 40 fixes the toner image on the sheet.

[0016] In addition, toner may remain on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 to which the toner image has been transferred. The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is removed by the cleaning device 16 disposed on the downstream side of the transfer roller 15. After the toner remaining on the surface is removed, the residual charge on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is removed by a charge removal device (not shown) disposed downstream of the cleaning device 16.

[0017] (Fixing section 40) The fixing unit 40 fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet to the sheet. The fixing unit 40 includes a pair of rollers. When the sheet passes through the contact portion of the pair of rollers, the sheet is heated and pressed to fix the toner image to the sheet. In addition, in order to fix the toner image, the temperature needs to be raised to a certain temperature or higher. Therefore, a heater (not shown) for heating the sheet is provided on one side of the pair of rollers of the fixing unit 40.

[0018] (Sheet Cassette 20 and Sheet Conveying Unit 30) The sheet cassette 20 stores sheets on which no image has been formed. The sheet cassette 20 is attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus 100. The sheets stored in the sheet cassette 20 are fed one by one to the sheet conveying unit 30.

[0019] The sheet conveying section 30 includes a sheet conveying path 31 , a plurality of conveying roller pairs 32 , a resist roller pair 33 , and a paper discharge roller pair 34 .

[0020] The sheet conveying path 31 guides the sheet fed from the sheet cassette 20 to the image forming unit 10 and the fixing unit 40. In addition, the sheet conveying path 31 guides the sheet fixed in the fixing unit 40 to the sheet stacking unit 60. A plurality of conveying roller pairs 32 are arranged along the sheet conveying path 31. The sheet fed from the sheet cassette 20 is conveyed along the sheet conveying path 31 by driving the conveying roller pairs 32. The sheet conveyed along the sheet conveying path 31 is conveyed to the image forming unit 10 via the registration roller pair 33.

[0021] In addition, the sheet conveying section 30 similarly rotates the conveying roller pair 32 to convey the sheet on which the toner image is formed in the image forming section 10 to the fixing section 40. Furthermore, the sheet on which the toner image is fixed in the fixing section 40 is also conveyed along the sheet conveying path 31 by the operation of the plurality of conveying roller pairs 32, and is discharged to the sheet stacking section 60 provided at the upper portion of the image forming apparatus 100 via the discharge roller pair 34.

[0022] In addition, in this embodiment, a structure is described in which a motor is provided to drive each roller, but a plurality of rollers may be driven by one motor. In this case, the rollers that move synchronously are driven as a whole by a common motor. In addition, a power transmission mechanism that can change the rotation speed and rotation direction may be used to drive a plurality of rollers that rotate asynchronously by a common motor.

[0023] The sheet conveying path 31 guides the sheet fed from the sheet cassette 20 to the image forming unit 10 . The sheet conveying path 31 is provided with a pair of registration rollers 33 . The sheet fed from the sheet cassette 20 is conveyed to the image forming unit 10 via the sheet conveying path 31 and the pair of registration rollers 33 .

[0024] The sheet conveying section 30 guides the sheet on which the toner image is formed in the image forming section 10 to the fixing section 40. The sheet conveying path 31 conveys the sheet on which the toner image is fixed in the fixing section 40 to the sheet stacking section 60. The conveying roller pair 32 and the paper discharge roller pair 34 are disposed in the sheet conveying path 31.

[0025] The sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 40 is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 32. The sheet that has passed through the conveying roller pair 32 is conveyed to the upper portion of the image forming apparatus 100 by the sheet conveying path 31. The printed sheet is discharged to the sheet stacking unit 60 via the conveying roller pair 32 and the paper discharge roller pair 34.

[0026] The image forming apparatus 100 has the above-described structure. In the image forming apparatus 100, as an image is formed on a sheet, the toner decreases. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 100 has a structure in which a toner cartridge 50 as a developing container is detachably mounted on the developing unit 14, and toner is replenished by replacing the toner cartridge 50. Here, the details of the toner cartridge 50 are described with reference to the drawings.

[0027] (Toner cartridge 50) Figure 3 It is a perspective view of the toner cartridge 50 in a state where the outer cover 55 is closed. Figure 4 It is a perspective view of the toner cartridge 50 in a state where the outer cover 55 is opened. Figure 5 It is a cross-sectional view of the toner cartridge 50 in a state where the outer cover 55 is closed. Figure 6It is a cross-sectional view of the toner cartridge 50 in a state where the outer cover 55 is opened. Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram showing the closed state of the outer cover 55 and the inner cover 56. Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram showing the open state of the outer cover 55 and the inner cover 56 .

[0028] The toner cartridge 50 is an example of a storage container that stores toner. Figure 3 The toner cartridge 50 shown includes a container body 51 , a developing section 52 , a toner containing section 53 , a developing roller 541 , a supply roller 542 , an outer cover 55 , an inner cover 56 , a gear mechanism 57 , a torsion spring 58 , and a driving section 59 .

[0029] The container body 51 is a box having an internal space 510. The container body 51 is in the shape of a strip extending in the scanning direction Sx. The container body 51 has a developing section 52 and a toner storage section 53. The developing section 52 and the toner storage section 53 are arranged side by side in the secondary scanning direction Sy. In addition, the container body 51 has a flow hole 511, and the flow hole 511 connects the internal space 520 of the developing section 52 and the internal space 530 of the toner storage section 53.

[0030] The toner storage section 53 stores toner in an internal space 530. The internal space 530 of the toner storage section 53 is a cylindrical space extending in the scanning direction Sx. The inner peripheral surface 531 of the toner storage section 53 is cylindrical with the center line extending in the scanning direction Sx as the center. In the internal space 530 of the toner storage section 53, the inner cover plate 56 is configured to be movable along the inner peripheral surface 531.

[0031] In the internal space 520 of the developing section 52, the developing roller 541 and the supply roller 542 are rotatably arranged. The toner contained in the internal space 530 of the toner containing section 53 is supplied to the internal space 520 of the developing section 52 via the circulation hole 511. The supply roller 542 rotates to supply the toner to the developing roller 541. The driving section 59 is arranged at the end of one side of the scanning direction Sx of the container body 51. The driving section 59 rotationally drives the developing roller 541 and the supply roller 542. The driving section 59 is a power transmission mechanism that transmits power from a power source such as a motor not shown to the developing roller 541 and the supply roller 542. In addition, a structure with the driving section 59 on both sides of the scanning direction is also possible.

[0032] The developing section 52 has an outer opening 512 that connects the inner space 520 and the outside. When the toner cartridge 50 is mounted on the developing unit 14, the developing roller 541 faces the photosensitive drum 11 with a certain distance therebetween via the outer opening 512. As the toner, for example, a magnetic single-component toner is used. The developing roller 541 has a structure that can generate a magnetic force, and the toner is attracted, so that the toner adheres to the surface of the developing roller 541.

[0033] The toner is charged on the developing roller 541. The charged toner adheres to the surface of the developing roller 541. A voltage applying unit (not shown) is electrically connected to the developing roller 541, and a developing bias is applied from the voltage applying unit, so that the toner is separated from the developing roller 541. The toner separated from the developing roller 541 by the application of the developing bias is adsorbed to the electrostatic latent image of the photosensitive drum 11. Thus, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11.

[0034] The outer cover plate 55 is mounted on the container body 51 to open and close the outer opening 512. Figure 7 , Figure 8 As shown, the outer cover plate 55 includes a door portion 551, a support leg portion 552, and a link mechanism 553. The door portion 551 is a member extending in the scanning direction Sx, and is configured to be movable between a first closed position P11 where the door portion 551 overlaps the outer side of the outer opening 512 and closes the outer opening 512, and a first open position P12 where the door portion 551 is offset from the outer opening 512 and opens the outer opening 512.

[0035] The support leg 552 supports the end of the outer cover 55 on the side of the first closed position P11 on the side opposite to the driving unit 59 in the scanning direction Sx so that it can rotate around the central axis C1 along the scanning direction Sx. In addition, the portion of the support leg 552 away from the portion supporting the door portion 551 is rotatably supported by the developing unit 52.

[0036] The link mechanism 553 includes a first arm 554 and a second arm 555. The first arm 554 and the second arm 555 are rotatable relative to each other. The first arm 554 is mounted on the end of the door portion 551 on the first open position P12 side of the end portion on the drive portion 59 side in the scanning direction Sx, and is rotatable around the center line along the scanning direction Sx. A first gear portion 571 of the gear mechanism 57, which will be described later, is mounted on the opposite side of the portion of the second arm 555 connected to the first arm 554.

[0037] The second arm 555 and the first gear portion 571 are supported to be rotatable around the central axis C2 extending in the scanning direction Sx. The first gear portion 571 meshes with a second gear portion 572, which is mounted on the inner cover plate 56 and will be described later. In addition, although the central axis C1 and the central axis C2 are offset, since one of the supporting bodies that supports the outer cover plate 55 to be rotatable is the link mechanism 553, the outer cover plate 55 substantially rotates around the central axis C1.

[0038] The outer cover plate 55 is arranged outside the developing section 52, and can reciprocate between the first closed position P11 and the first open position P12 by rotating around a rotation axis parallel to the scanning direction Sx. In addition, the outer cover plate 55 can also be moved to a position different from the first closed position P11 and the first open position P12. In the outer cover plate 55, the door portion 551 moves in the opening direction or the closing direction by the support leg portion 552 rotating around the central axis C1. By the movement of the door portion 551, the first arm 554 and the second arm 555 of the link mechanism 553 act as a link, so that the second gear portion 572 rotates in the rotation direction.

[0039] The outer cover 55 closes the outer opening 512 at the first closed position P11 , thereby preventing toner in the internal space 520 of the developing section 52 from leaking to the outside even when the toner cartridge 50 moves due to attachment or detachment to the developing unit 14 .

[0040] An inner cover plate 56 is disposed inside the toner storage section 53. The inner cover plate 56 includes a door portion 561 and a support leg portion 562. The door portion 561 is movable in the circumferential direction along the inner peripheral surface 531 of the toner storage section 53. That is, the door portion 561 is a shape constituting a part of the circumference of a cylinder centered on a center line extending in the scanning direction Sx.

[0041] The supporting legs 562 are paired members, and are connected to both ends of the door 561 in the scanning direction Sx. The supporting legs 562 are supported by the toner storage portion 53 and are rotatable in a circumferential direction around a central axis C1 extending in the scanning direction Sx.

[0042] The inner cover plate 56 can move between a second closed position P21 and a second open position P22, wherein the second closed position P21 is a position where the door portion 561 overlaps the inner side of the flow hole 511 to close the flow hole 511, and the second open position P22 is a position where the door portion 561 is offset from the flow hole 511 to open the flow hole 511. The inner cover plate 56 is disposed inside the toner storage portion 53, and can reciprocate between the second closed position P21 and the second open position P22 by rotating around a rotation axis parallel to the scanning direction Sx.

[0043] When the door portion 561 is located at the second closed position P21, the inner cover 56 can suppress the toner stored in the internal space 530 of the toner storage portion 53 from moving toward the developing portion 52. Thus, when the toner cartridge 50 is moved, leakage of the toner can be suppressed.

[0044] The gear mechanism 57 includes a first gear portion 571 and a second gear portion 572. The second gear portion 572 is mounted on the support leg portion 562 of the inner cover plate 56. In the toner cartridge 50 of the present embodiment, the center of rotation of the second gear portion 572 coincides with the center of rotation of the inner cover plate 56. The inner cover plate 56 rotates between the second closed position P21 and the second open position P22 by the rotation of the second gear portion 572.

[0045] The first gear portion 571 is attached to the second arm 555 of the outer cover 55. In the toner cartridge 50 of the present embodiment, the second arm 555 and the first gear portion 571 are formed integrally, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the second arm 555 and the first gear portion 571 may be formed separately and fixed by bonding, screwing, or other fixing methods as long as the second arm 555 and the first gear portion 571 are integrally moved.

[0046] The movement amount of the outer cover 55 and the movement amount of the inner cover 56 can be adjusted by the shapes of the first arm 554, the second arm 555, and the gear mechanism 57. In addition, depending on the relationship between the movement amount of the outer cover 55 and the movement amount of the inner cover 56, the link mechanism formed by the first arm 554 and the second arm 555 can be omitted, and the door portion 551 can be supported by the support leg 552 in the same manner as the opposite side. In this case, the first gear portion 571 is attached to the support leg 552.

[0047] When the toner cartridge 50 is mounted on the developing unit 14, the door portion 551 of the outer cover 55 moves from the first closed position P11 to the first open position P12. At this time, the first arm 554 and the second arm 555 also move with the movement of the door portion 551. According to the movement of the second arm 555, the first gear portion 571 rotates, and the second gear portion 572 meshing with the first gear portion 571 rotates, thereby moving the inner cover 56.

[0048] That is, in the toner box 50, when the outer cover 55 moves between the first closed position P11 and the first open position P12, the inner cover 56 also moves between the second closed position P21 and the second open position P22 in linkage. When the outer cover 55 is located at the first closed position P11, the inner cover 56 is also located at the second closed position P21. Thus, the toner contained in the internal space 530 of the toner containing section 53 is difficult to move to the internal space 520 of the developing section 52. Furthermore, the toner remaining in the internal space 520 of the developing section 52 is difficult to leak to the outside. Thus, the effect of suppressing the toner from leaking to the outside from the toner box 50 is improved.

[0049] Furthermore, when the outer cover 55 is located at the first open position P12, the inner cover 56 is also located at the second open position P22. Thus, the toner contained in the inner space 530 of the toner containing section 53 is easily moved to the developing section 52. Since the toner moved from the inner space 530 is smoothly supplied to the developing roller 541 by the supply roller 542, accurate image formation can be performed.

[0050] Fig. 9 This is a perspective view of the toner cartridge 50 as viewed from below. Fig.10 Is magnification Fig. 9 An enlarged stereogram of the X portion surrounded by the rectangle in FIG. Fig. 9 , Fig.10 As shown, the support leg 552 of the outer cover 55 has a cylindrical rotation shaft 556 extending along the scanning direction Sx. The rotation shaft 556 is rotatably supported by the container body 51, thereby the outer cover 55 is rotatably supported. In addition, the rotation shaft 556 is attached to the torsion spring 58.

[0051] The torsion spring 58 applies force to the outer cover plate 55 in the direction of rotation around the rotation axis 556. To further explain, the force applied by the torsion spring 58 is the direction in which the outer cover plate 55 moves to the first closed position P11. That is, the outer cover plate 55 is applied force by the torsion spring 58 in the direction in which it moves to the first closed position P11. When no force is applied to the outer cover plate 55, the outer cover plate 55 moves to the first closed position P11 due to the force applied by the torsion spring 58 and stops at the first closed position P11.

[0052] In addition, when the outer cover 55 is located at the first closed position P11, the torsion spring 58 may or may not apply a force to the outer cover 55. When the outer cover 55 is located at the first closed position P11, by applying a force to the outer cover 55, the outer cover 55 can be pressed at the first closed position P11, so that it is difficult to shake, etc., and the effect of suppressing the leakage of colorant can be improved.

[0053] (Installation and Removal of Toner Cartridge 50) The toner cartridge 50 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the drum cartridge 111 . Fig.11 It is an enlarged perspective view of the periphery of the opening and closing boss 557 in a state where the outer cover 55 is closed. Fig.12 It is a perspective view showing the toner cartridge 50 mounted on the drum cartridge 111 . Fig.13 This is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of the opening and closing boss 557 of the outer cover 55 of the toner cartridge 50 attached to the drum cartridge 111 .

[0054] The drum cartridge 111 accommodates the photosensitive drum 11 in a drum frame 112. The drum frame 112 has support portions 113 at both ends in the scanning direction Sx for rotatably supporting the photosensitive drum 11. The drum frame 112 also has an insertion hole 114 into which the toner cartridge 50 is inserted.

[0055] The outer cover 55 of the toner cartridge 50 has opening and closing bosses 557. That is, the opening and closing bosses 557 are formed in pairs on the outer cover 55. The pair of opening and closing bosses 557 extend from both ends of the outer cover 55 in the scanning direction Sx in opposite directions along the scanning direction Sx.

[0056] The opening and closing boss 557 protrudes toward the outside of the toner cartridge 50 in the scanning direction. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 50 is inserted into the drum cartridge 111, the opening and closing boss 557 contacts the drum frame 112 of the drum cartridge 111 and is pushed by the drum frame 112. As a result, the outer cover plate 55 of the toner cartridge 50 moves from the first closed position P11 to the first open position P12 ( Figure 8 in the direction of arrow A1).

[0057] As a result, the first arm 554 and the second arm 555 of the link mechanism 553 are linked. As the second arm 555 moves, the first gear portion 571 of the gear mechanism 57 rotates ( Figure 8 The second gear portion 572 meshing with the first gear portion 571 rotates (in the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. Figure 8 As the second gear portion 572 rotates, the inner cover plate 56 also rotates ( Figure 8 B1 direction in the figure).

[0058] like Fig.12As shown, if the toner cartridge 50 is installed at the installation position of the drum cartridge 111, the opening and closing boss 557 is supported by the drum frame 112. As a result, the outer cover 55 is maintained at the first open position P12. In addition, the inner cover 56 is also maintained at the second open position P22. The outer opening 512 of the toner cartridge 50 is in an open state, and the photosensitive drum 11 and the developing roller 541 are arranged opposite to each other with a certain gap therebetween. In addition, since the circulation hole 511 is also in an open state, the toner can be supplied from the toner storage section 53 to the developing section 52. As a result, an accurate toner image can be stably formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11.

[0059] When the toner cartridge 50 is removed from the drum cartridge 111, the outer cover 55 is pushed from the first open position P12 to the first closed position P11 by the torsion spring 58. As a result, although the opening and closing boss 557 is supported by the drum frame 112, the position of the outer cover 55 relative to the container body 51 changes due to the movement of the toner cartridge 50. That is, in the toner cartridge 50, the outer cover 55 moves from the first open position P12 to the first closed position P11 ( Figure 8 Move in the direction of arrow A2.

[0060] As a result, the first arm 554 and the second arm 555 of the link mechanism 553 are linked. As the second arm 555 moves, the first gear portion 571 of the gear mechanism 57 rotates ( Figure 8 The second gear portion 572 meshing with the first gear portion 571 rotates (in the direction of arrow A2 in FIG. Figure 8 As the second gear portion 572 rotates, the inner cover plate 56 also rotates ( Figure 8 B2 direction in the figure).

[0061] Furthermore, by removing the toner cartridge 50 from the drum cartridge 111, the outer cover 55 moves to the first closed position P11. As a result, the inner cover 56 moves to the second closed position P21. As a result, it is possible to suppress the toner from moving from the toner storage section 53 to the developing section 52, and to suppress the toner from leaking from the outer opening 512. As a result, when the toner cartridge 50 is removed, it is possible to suppress the toner from leaking to the outside.

[0062] In addition, in the above embodiment, a printer that uses black ink to record black and white images is described as an example of an image forming device, but the colorant box 50 of this embodiment can also be used even in the case of a color printer that uses four colors of ink to record color images.

[0063] The present invention can be used for a toner cartridge that can be detachably mounted in an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer.

Claims

1. A toner cartridge for supplying toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier to develop the image into a toner image, the toner cartridge comprising: a toner container for containing the toner; A developing unit connected to the toner container via a connecting hole and having an external opening formed on an outer peripheral surface for supplying the toner to the image carrier; A toner carrier, rotatably disposed on the developing portion and opposite to the image carrier, and carrying the toner; An outer cover plate, opening and closing the outer opening; An inner cover plate, opening and closing the connection hole; as well as A gear mechanism connects the outer cover plate and the inner cover plate to be interlocked. The outer cover plate can be moved to at least a first closing position to close the outer opening and a first opening position to open the outer opening. The inner cover plate can at least move to a second closed position for closing the connecting hole and a second open position for opening the connecting hole. When the outer cover is located at the first closed position, the inner cover is located at the second closed position, and when the outer cover is located at the first open position, the inner cover is located at the second open position.

2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: A biasing member is further provided for biasing the outer cover toward the first closed position.

3. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The outer cover plate and the gear mechanism are connected via a connecting rod mechanism.

4. An image forming device, characterized in that: have: Like a carrier, it forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface; as well as The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier to develop the image into a toner image.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: An image carrier holding portion is provided, wherein the image carrier holding portion holds the image carrier in a rotatable manner, The outer cover has an opening and closing boss, and the opening and closing boss contacts the image carrier holding portion to move the outer cover to a first open position.

Images