HK1202646B - Developer replenishing container and developer replenishing system - Google Patents

Description

Developer supply container and developer supply system

This application is a divisional application of international application number PCT/JP2010/056134 filed on March 30, 2010, Chinese application number 201080022874.7, and entitled “Developer Supply Container and Developer Supply System”.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a developer supply container that is detachably attachable to a developer replenishing device, and a developer supply system including the developer replenishing device and the developer supply container. The developer supply container and the developer supply system are used in an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a fax machine, a printer, or a multifunction device having the functions of multiple such machines.

Background Art

Conventionally, an electrophotographic type image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine uses a fine particle developer. In such an image forming apparatus, the developer is supplied from a developer supply container in response to developer consumption caused by an image forming operation.

As for conventional developer supply containers, an example is disclosed in Japanese Published Utility Model Application Sho 63-6464.

In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Published Utility Model Application No. Sho 63-6464, developer is caused to fall from a developer supply container into an image forming apparatus. More specifically, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Published Utility Model Application No. Sho 63-6464, a portion of the developer supply container is formed as a bellows-shaped portion, thereby allowing all developer to be supplied from the developer supply container to the image forming apparatus even when the developer in the developer supply container is clumped. More specifically, in order to discharge the clumped developer in the developer supply container to the image forming apparatus side, the user pushes the developer supply container several times to expand and contract (reciprocate) the bellows-shaped portion.

Therefore, with the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Published Utility Model Application No. Sho 63-6464, the user must manually operate the bellows-shaped portion of the developer supply container.

On the other hand, Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-72649 utilizes a system in which a pump is used to automatically draw developer from a developer supply container into an imaging device. More specifically, a suction pump and an air supply pump are located in the main assembly of the imaging device, and nozzles having a suction port and an air supply port are connected to the pumps and inserted into the developer supply container (Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-72649, Figure 5). By inserting the nozzle into the developer supply container, an air supply operation into the developer supply container and a suction operation from the developer supply container are alternately performed. Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-72649 states that when air fed into the developer supply container by the air supply pump passes through a layer of developer in the developer supply container, the developer is fluidized.

Therefore, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-72649, the developer is automatically discharged, and thus the operational load imposed on the user is reduced, but the following problem may arise.

More specifically, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-72649, air is fed into the developer supply container by the air supply pump, and thus the pressure (internal pressure) in the developer supply container rises.

With such a structure, even if the developer is temporarily scattered when air fed into the developer supply container passes through the developer layer, the developer layer is compacted again due to the rise in the internal pressure of the developer supply container caused by the air supply.

Therefore, the fluidity of the developer in the developer supply container decreases, and in the subsequent suction step, the developer is not easily discharged from the developer supply container, with the result that the amount of developer supplied is insufficient.

Summary of the Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a developer supply container and a developer supply system in which the internal pressure of the developer supply container is made negative so that the developer in the developer supply container is appropriately loosened.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a developer supply container and a developer supply system in which the developer in the developer supply container can be appropriately loosened by a suction operation through a discharge opening of the developer supply container caused by a pump portion.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a developer supply container and a developer supply system, wherein an air flow generating mechanism alternately and repeatedly generates an inward air flow and an outward air flow through a pinhole, thereby appropriately loosening the developer in the developer supply container.

According to one aspect of the present invention (first invention), there is provided a developer supply container that can be detachably mounted to a developer replenishing device, the developer supply container comprising: a developer accommodating portion for accommodating developer; a discharge outlet for allowing developer to be discharged from the developer accommodating portion; a drive input portion for receiving a driving force from the developer replenishing device; and a pump portion that can be driven by the driving force received by the drive input portion so that the internal pressure of the developer accommodating portion alternates between a pressure lower than the ambient pressure and a pressure higher than the ambient pressure.

According to another aspect of the present invention (second invention), a developer supply system is provided, which includes a developer replenishing device and a developer supply container that can be detachably mounted to the developer replenishing device, the developer supply system including: the developer replenishing device, which includes a mounting portion for detachably mounting the developer supply container, a developer receiving portion for receiving the developer from the developer supply container, and a driver for applying a driving force to the developer supply container; the developer supply container, which includes a developer accommodating portion for accommodating the developer, a discharge outlet for allowing the developer to be discharged from the developer accommodating portion toward the developer receiving portion, a drive input portion engageable with the driver for receiving the driving force, and a pump portion for alternately changing the internal pressure of the developer accommodating portion between a pressure higher than the ambient pressure and a pressure lower than the ambient pressure.

According to another aspect of the present invention (the third invention), there is provided a developer supply container that can be detachably mounted to a developer replenishing device, the developer supply container comprising: a developer accommodating portion for accommodating developer; a discharge outlet for allowing developer to be discharged from the developer accommodating portion; a drive input portion for receiving a driving force from the developer replenishing device; and a pump portion that can be driven by the driving force received by the drive input portion to alternately repeat the suction and conveying actions through the discharge outlet.

According to another aspect of the present invention (the fourth invention), a developer supply system is provided, which includes a developer replenishing device and a developer supply container that can be detachably mounted to the developer replenishing device, the developer supply system including: the developer replenishing device, which includes a mounting portion for detachably mounting the developer supply container, a developer receiving portion for receiving the developer from the developer supply container, and a driver for applying a driving force to the developer supply container; the developer supply container, which includes a developer accommodating portion for accommodating the developer, a discharge outlet for allowing the developer to be discharged from the developer accommodating portion toward the developer receiving portion, a drive input portion for receiving the driving force, and a pump portion for alternately repeating the suction and conveying actions through the discharge outlet.

According to another aspect of the present invention (fifth invention), there is provided a developer supply container that can be detachably mounted to a developer replenishing device, the developer supply container comprising: a developer accommodating portion for accommodating a developer having a fluidity energy of not less than 4.3×10 ^-4 kg.m ² /s ² and not more than 4.14×10 ^-3 kg.m ² /s ² ; a pinhole for allowing the developer to be discharged out of the developer accommodating portion, the pinhole having an area of not more than 12.6 mm ² ; a drive input portion for receiving a drive force from the developer replenishing device; and an air flow generating mechanism for generating repeated and alternating inward and outward air flows through the pinhole.

According to another aspect of the present invention (the sixth invention), there is provided a developer supply system comprising a developer replenishing device, a developer supply container which can be detachably mounted to the developer replenishing device, the developer supply system comprising: the developer replenishing device comprising a mounting portion for detachably mounting the developer supply container, a developer receiving portion for receiving the developer from the developer supply container, and a driver for applying a driving force to the developer supply container; the developer supply container comprising a developer accommodating portion for accommodating a developer having a fluidity energy of not less than 4.3×10 ^-4 kg.m ² /s ² and not more than 4.14×10 ^-3 kg.m ² /s ² ; a pinhole for allowing the developer to be discharged out of the developer accommodating portion, the pinhole having an area of not more than 12.6 mm ² ; a drive input portion for receiving the driving force from the developer replenishing device; and an air flow generating mechanism for generating repeated and alternating inward and outward air flows through the pinhole.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an example of an imaging device.

FIG2 is a perspective view of an imaging device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a developer replenishing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the developer replenishing device of FIG. 3 viewed from a different direction.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the developer replenishing device of FIG. 3 .

FIG6 is a block diagram showing the function and structure of the control device.

FIG7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the provisioning operation.

FIG8 is a sectional view showing the developer replenishing device without the hopper and the mounted state of the developer supply container.

FIG9 is a perspective view showing a developer supply container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a sectional view showing a developer supply container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a sectional view showing the developer supply container in which the discharge port and the inclined surface are connected to each other.

Part (a) of FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a blade used in the apparatus for measuring fluidity energy, and (b) is a schematic diagram of the measuring apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the diameter of the discharge port and the discharge amount.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the filling amount and the discharge amount in the container.

Figure 15 is a perspective view showing part of the operating state of the developer supply container and the developer replenishing device.

Figure 16 is a perspective view showing the developer supply container and the developer replenishing device.

Figure 17 is a sectional view showing the developer supply container and the developer replenishing device.

Figure 18 is a sectional view showing the developer supply container and the developer replenishing device.

FIG. 19 shows changes in the internal pressure of the developer accommodating portion in the apparatus and system of the present invention.

Part (a) of Figure 20 is a block diagram showing the developer supply system (Embodiment 1) used in the verification experiment, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing a phenomenon in the developer supply container.

Part (a) of Figure 21 is a block diagram showing a developer supply system (comparative example) used in the verification experiment, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing a phenomenon in a developer supply container.

Figure 22 is a perspective view showing a developer supply container according to Embodiment 2.

Figure 23 is a sectional view of the developer supply container of Figure 22.

Figure 24 is a perspective view showing a developer supply container according to Embodiment 3.

Figure 25 is a perspective view showing a developer supply container according to Embodiment 3.

Figure 26 is a perspective view showing a developer supply container according to Embodiment 3.

Figure 27 is a perspective view showing a developer supply container according to Embodiment 4.

Figure 28 is a sectional perspective view showing the developer supply container.

Figure 29 is a partial sectional view showing a developer supply container according to Embodiment 4.

FIG30 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment.

Part (a) of Figure 31 is a front view of the mounting portion, and (b) is a partially enlarged perspective view of the interior of the mounting portion.

Part (a) of Figure 32 is a perspective view showing the developer supply container according to Example 1, (b) is a perspective view showing the state around the discharge port, and (c) and (d) are front views and sectional views showing the state of the developer supply container installed to the mounting part of the developer replenishing device.

Part (a) of Figure 33 is a perspective view of the developer accommodating portion, (b) is a perspective sectional view of the developer supply container, (c) is a sectional view of the inner surface of the flange portion, and (d) is a sectional view of the developer supply container.

Part (a) and part (b) of Figure 34 are sectional views showing the developer supply container according to Embodiment 5, the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion of the developer supply container.

Figure 35 is a developed view showing the cam groove configuration of the developer supply container.

Figure 36 is a developed view of an example of the cam groove configuration of the developer supply container.

Figure 37 is a developed view of an example of the cam groove configuration of the developer supply container.

Figure 38 is a developed view of an example of the cam groove configuration of the developer supply container.

Figure 39 is a developed view of an example of the cam groove configuration of the developer supply container.

Figure 40 is a developed view of an example of the cam groove configuration of the developer supply container.

Figure 41 is a developed view showing an example of the cam groove configuration of the developer supply container.

Figure 42 is a graph showing changes in the internal pressure of the developer supply container.

Part (a) of Figure 43 is a perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 6, and (b) is a sectional view showing the structure of the developer supply container.

Figure 44 is a sectional view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 7.

Part (a) of Figure 45 is a perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Example 8, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the developer supply container, (c) is a perspective view showing the cam transmission device, and (d) is an enlarged view of the rotating coupling portion of the cam transmission device.

Part (a) of Figure 46 is a perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 9, and (b) is a sectional view showing the structure of the developer supply container.

Part (a) of Figure 47 is a perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 10, and (b) is a sectional view showing the structure of the developer supply container.

Parts (a)-(d) of Figure 48 illustrate the operation of the drive conversion mechanism.

Part (a) of Figure 49 shows a perspective view showing the structure according to Embodiment 11, and (b) and (c) show the operation of the drive conversion mechanism.

Part (a) of Figure 50 is a sectional perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 12, and (b) and (c) are sectional views showing the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion.

Part (a) of Figure 51 is a perspective view showing another example of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 12, and (b) shows a coupling portion of the developer supply container.

Part (a) of Figure 52 is a sectional perspective view showing the developer supply container according to Embodiment 13, and (b) and (c) are sectional views showing the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion.

Part (a) of Figure 53 is a perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Example 14, (b) is a sectional perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container, (c) shows the structure of the end portion of the developer accommodating portion, and (d) and (e) show the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion.

Part (a) of Figure 54 is a perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 15, (b) is a perspective view showing the structure of the flange portion, and (c) is a perspective view showing the structure of the cylindrical portion.

Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 55 are sectional views illustrating the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 15.

Figure 56 shows the structure of the pump portion of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 15.

Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 57 are sectional views schematically showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 16.

Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 58 are perspective views showing the cylindrical portion and flange portion of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 13.

Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 59 are partial sectional perspective views of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 13.

FIG60 is a timing chart showing the relationship between the operating state of the pump and the opening and closing timings of the rotatable shutter according to Embodiment 17. FIG.

Figure 61 is a partial sectional perspective view showing a developer supply container according to Example 18.

Parts (a)-(c) of Figure 62 are partial sectional views showing the operating state of the pump portion according to Example 18.

FIG63 is a timing chart showing the relationship between the operating state of the pump and the opening and closing timing of the stop valve according to Example 18. FIG.

Part (a) of Figure 64 is a partial perspective view of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 19, (b) is a perspective view of the flange portion, and (c) is a sectional view of the developer supply container.

Part (a) of Figure 65 is a perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 20, and (b) is a cross-sectional perspective view of the developer supply container.

Figure 66 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing the structure of the developer supply container according to Embodiment 20.

Parts (a) to (d) of Figure 67 are sectional views of the developer supply container and the developer replenishing device of the comparative example, and illustrate the flow of the developer supplying step.

Figure 68 is a sectional view of a developer supply container and a developer replenishing device of another comparative example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a developer supply container and a developer supply system according to the present invention will be described in detail. In the following description, unless otherwise indicated, the various structures of the developer supply container may be replaced with other known structures having similar functions within the scope of the present invention. In other words, unless otherwise indicated, the present invention is not limited to the specific structures of the embodiments described below.

(Example 1)

First, the basic structure of the image forming apparatus will be described, and then, a developer replenishing device and a developer supply container constituting a developer supply system used in the image forming apparatus will be described.

(Imaging device)

1 , the structure of a copying machine (electrophotographic image forming apparatus) adopting an electrophotographic process will be described as an example of an image forming apparatus using a developer replenishing device to which a developer supply container (so-called toner cartridge) is detachably mountable.

In the figure, 100 denotes the main assembly of a copying machine (main assembly of an imaging device or main assembly of an apparatus). 101 denotes an original placed on an original supporting platen glass 102. A light image corresponding to the image information of the original is formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member 104 (photosensitive member) by a plurality of mirrors M and lenses Ln of an optical section 103, forming an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is visualized by a dry developing device (single-component developing device) 201a using toner (single-component magnetic toner) as a developer.

In the present embodiment, a single-component magnetic toner is used as the developer to be supplied from the developer supply container 1, but the present invention is not limited to this example but includes other examples which will be described hereinafter.

Specifically, in the case of a single-component developing device using a single-component non-magnetic toner, the single-component non-magnetic toner is supplied as the developer. Alternatively, in the case of a two-component developing device using a two-component developer containing a mixed magnetic carrier and non-magnetic toner, the non-magnetic toner is supplied as the developer. In such a case, both the non-magnetic toner and the magnetic carrier can be supplied as the developer.

Indicated by 105-108 are cassettes for accommodating recording materials (sheets) S. Of the sheets S stacked in the cassettes 105-108, an optimal cassette is selected based on the sheet size of the original 101 or information input by the operator (user) from the liquid crystal operation section of the copier. The recording material is not limited to paper sheets, but OHP sheets or other materials may be used as needed.

One sheet S supplied by the separation and feeding devices 105A to 108A is fed to the registration roller 110 along the feeding portion 109 , and is fed at a timing synchronized with the rotation of the photosensitive member 104 and with the scanning of the optical portion 103 .

Designated at 111 and 112 are a transfer charger and a separation charger. The developer image formed on the photosensitive member 104 is transferred onto the sheet S by the transfer charger 111. Then, the sheet S carrying the developer image (toner image) transferred thereto is separated from the photosensitive member 104 by the separation charger 112.

Thereafter, the sheet S fed by the feeding portion 113 is subjected to heat and pressure in the fixing portion 114 so that the developed image on the sheet is fixed, and then passes through the discharge/reversal portion 115 in the case of a single-sided copy mode, and then the sheet S is discharged to the discharge tray 117 by the discharge roller 116.

In duplex copy mode, a sheet S enters the discharge/reversal section 115 and is partially ejected to the outside of the apparatus by discharge rollers 116. Its trailing end passes through flapper 118, and while still being pressed against discharge rollers 116, flapper 118 is controlled and discharge rollers 116 are rotated in the reverse direction, allowing the sheet S to be re-fed into the apparatus. The sheet S is then fed to registration rollers 110 via re-feed sections 119 and 120, conveyed along a path similar to that of single-sided copy mode, and discharged onto discharge tray 117.

In the main assembly of the apparatus 100, an image forming processing device is provided around the photosensitive member 104, such as a developing device 201a as a developing device, a cleaner section 202 as a cleaning device, and a main charger 203 as a charging device. The developing device 201a develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member 104 by the optical section 103 based on the image information of the original 101 by depositing developer on the latent image. The main charger 203 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive member 104 for the purpose of forming a desired electrostatic image on the photosensitive member 104. The cleaner section 202 removes the developer remaining on the photosensitive member 104.

2 is an external view of the image forming apparatus. When an operator opens a replacement front cover 40 which is a part of an outer housing of the image forming apparatus, a part of a developer replenishing device 8 which will be described later appears.

By inserting the developer supply container 1 into the developer replenishing device 8, the developer supply container 1 is set in a state where the developer is supplied to the developer replenishing device 8. On the other hand, when the operator replaces the developer supply container 1, the reverse operation of the installation is performed, thereby removing the developer supply container 1 from the developer replenishing device 8 and setting a new developer supply container 1. The front cover 40 for replacement is a cover exclusively for mounting and removing (replacing) the developer supply container 1 and is opened and closed only for mounting and removing the developer supply container 1. The front cover 100c is opened and closed during maintenance operations of the main assembly of the device 100.

(Developer Refill Device)

3, 4 and 5, the developer replenishing device 8 will be described. Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the developer replenishing device 8. Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the developer replenishing device 8 as seen from the rear side. Figure 5 is a schematic sectional view of the developer replenishing device 8.

The developer replenishing device 8 is provided with a mounting portion (mounting space) from which the developer supply container 1 is detachable (removably mountable). The developer replenishing device is also provided with a developer receiving aperture (developer receiving hole) for receiving the developer discharged from a discharge port (discharge orifice) 1c of the developer supply container 1, which will be described below. From the viewpoint of preventing the interior of the mounting portion 8f from being contaminated by the developer as much as possible, the diameter of the developer receiving aperture 8a is desirably substantially the same as the diameter of the discharge port 1c of the developer supply container 1. When the diameters of the developer receiving aperture 8a and the discharge port 1c are the same, deposition of developer on inner surfaces other than the aperture and the discharge port, and the resulting contamination of the aforementioned inner surfaces, can be avoided.

In this example, the developer receiving orifice 8a is a minute opening (pinhole) corresponding to the discharge port 1c of the developer supply container 1 and has a diameter of approximately 1/4 in. An L-shaped positioning guide (holding member) 8b for fixing the position of the developer supply container 1 is provided so that the mounting direction of the developer supply container 1 to the mounting portion 8f is the direction indicated by arrow A. The removal direction of the developer supply container 1 from the mounting portion 8f is opposite to the direction A.

The developer replenishing device 8 is provided with a hopper 8g in its lower portion for temporarily accumulating developer. As shown in FIG5 , the hopper 8g is provided with a screw feeder 11 for feeding developer into a developer hopper portion 201a, which is part of the developing device 201, and an opening 8e in fluid communication with the developer hopper portion 201a. In this embodiment, the volume of the hopper 8g is 130 ^cm³ .

1 develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member 104 using a developer based on image information of the original 101. The developing device 201 is provided with a developing roller 201f in addition to the developer hopper portion 201a.

The developer hopper portion 201a is provided with a stirring member 201c for stirring the developer supplied from the developer supply container 1. The developer stirred by the stirring member 201c is fed to the feeding member 201e by the feeding member 201d.

The developer sequentially fed by the feeding members 201e, 201b is carried on the developing roller 201f and finally reaches the photosensitive member 104. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the developer replenishing device 8 is also provided with a locking member 9 and a gear 10 constituting a driving mechanism for driving the developer supply container 1 to be described later.

When the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 8f for the developer replenishing device 8, the locking member 9 is locked with the locking portion 3, which serves as a drive input portion for the developer supply container 1. The locking member 9 is loosely fitted into the elongated hole portion 8c formed in the mounting portion 8f of the developer replenishing device 8 and is movable in the up-down direction in the figure relative to the mounting portion 8f. In order to facilitate insertion into the locking portion 3 (Figure 9) of the developer supply container 1 described below, the locking member 9 is in the form of a round bar configuration and is provided with a tapered portion 9d at the free end.

The locking portion 9a of the locking component 9 (the engaging portion that can engage with the locking portion 3) is connected to the guide rail portion 9b shown in Figure 4, and the side of the guide rail portion 9b is retained by the guide portion 8d of the developer replenishing device 8 and can be moved in the up and down directions in the figure.

The guide rail portion 9b is provided with a gear portion 9c that engages with a gear 10. The gear 10 is connected to the drive motor 500. By implementing a control device that periodically reverses the direction of rotation of the drive motor 500 provided in the imaging device 100, the locking member 9 reciprocates in the vertical direction in the figure along the elongated hole 8c.

(Developer Supply Control of Developer Refilling Device)

6 and 7, description will be made of developer supply control performed by the developer replenishing device 8. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the function and structure of the control device 600, and Fig. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of the supply operation.

In this example, the amount of developer temporarily accumulated in the hopper 8g (the height of the developer level) is restricted so that the developer does not flow reversely from the developer replenishing device 8 to the developer supply container 1 by a suction operation of the developer supply container 1 to be described later. For this reason, in this example, a developer sensor 8k (Figure 5) is provided to detect the amount of developer contained in the hopper 8g.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the control device 600 controls the operation/non-operation of the driving motor 500 according to the output of the developer sensor 8 k , whereby the developer accommodated in the hopper 8 g does not exceed a predetermined amount.

The flow of the control sequence for this purpose will be described. First, as shown in FIG7 , the developer sensor 8k checks the amount of developer contained in the hopper 8g. When the amount of developer contained detected by the developer sensor 8k is determined to be less than a predetermined amount, that is, when the developer sensor 8k does not detect the developer, the drive motor 500 is actuated to perform the developer supply operation for a predetermined period of time (S101).

When the amount of developer contained detected by the developer sensor 8k is determined to have reached a predetermined amount, that is, when the developer sensor 8k detects the developer due to the developer supply operation, the driving motor 500 is stopped to stop the developer supply operation (S102). By stopping the supply operation, a series of developer supply steps are completed.

Such a developer supplying step is repeatedly performed every time the amount of developer accommodated in the hopper 8g becomes smaller than a predetermined amount due to consumption of the developer caused by the image forming operation.

In this example, the developer discharged from the developer supply container 1 is temporarily stored in the hopper 8g and then supplied to the developing device, but the following structure of the developer replenishing device may be adopted.

Especially in the case of a low-speed image forming apparatus, the main assembly is required to be compact and low-cost. In such a case, it is desirable that the developer is directly supplied to the developing device 201, as shown in FIG.

More specifically, the above-mentioned hopper 8g is omitted, and the developer is supplied directly from the developer supply container 1 to the developing device 201a. Figure 8 shows an example of a developer replenishing device using a two-component developing device 201. The developing device 201 includes a stirring chamber into which the developer is supplied, and a developer chamber for supplying the developer to the developing roller 201f, wherein the stirring chamber and the developer chamber are provided with a screw feeder 201d, which is capable of rotating in such a direction that the developer is fed in directions opposite to each other. The stirring chamber and the developer chamber are connected to each other in the opposite longitudinal end portions, and the two-component developer circulates in the two chambers. The stirring chamber is provided with a magnetometer sensor 201g for detecting the colorant content of the developer, and based on the detection result of the magnetometer sensor 201g, the control device 600 controls the operation of the drive motor 500. In such a case, the developer supplied from the developer supply container is non-magnetic colorant or non-magnetic colorant plus magnetic carrier.

In this example, as will be described later, the developer in the developer supply container 1 is hardly discharged through the discharge opening 1c solely due to gravity, but the developer is discharged by the discharge operation of the pump 2, and therefore variations in the discharge amount can be suppressed. Therefore, the developer supply container 1 to be described later can be used for the example of FIG. 8 in which the hopper 8g is missing.

(Developer Supply Container)

9 and 10 , the structure of the developer supply container 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view of the developer supply container 1. Figure 10 is a schematic sectional view of the developer supply container 1.

As shown in Figure 9, the developer supply container 1 has a container body 1a serving as a developer accommodating portion for accommodating developer. Indicated by 1b in Figure 10 is a developer accommodating space in which the developer is accommodated within the container body 1a. In this example, the developer accommodating space 1b serving as the developer accommodating portion is the space within the container body 1a plus the internal space of the pump 2. In this example, the developer accommodating space 1b accommodates toner, which is a dry powder having a volume average particle size of 5μm to 6μm.

In this embodiment, the pump portion is a positive displacement pump 2 in which the volume changes. More specifically, the pump 2 has a bellows-shaped expansion and contraction portion 2a (bellows portion, expansion and contraction member) that can contract and expand by a driving force received from the developer replenishing device 8.

As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the bellows-shaped pump 2 of this example is folded to provide peaks and bottoms that are alternately and periodically arranged, and is capable of contraction and expansion. When the bellows-shaped pump 2 as in this example is used, the change in the amount of volume change relative to the amount of expansion and contraction can be reduced, thereby achieving stable volume change.

In this embodiment, the total volume of the developer accommodating space 1b is 480 ^cm3 , of which the volume of the pump portion 2 is 160 ^cm3 (in the free state of the expansion and contraction portion 2a), and in this example, the pumping operation is performed in the expansion direction of the pump portion 2 from the length in the free state.

The amount of volume change caused by the expansion and contraction of the pump portion 2a is 15 ^cm3 , and the total volume at the maximum expansion of the pump 2 is 495 ^cm3 .

The developer supply container 1 is filled with 240 g of developer.

The driving motor 500 for driving the locking member 9 is controlled by the control device 600 to provide a volume change speed of 90 cm ³ /s. The volume change amount and the volume change speed can be selected in consideration of the required discharge amount of the developer replenishing device 8 .

The pump 2 in this example is a bellows pump, but other pumps may be used if the amount of air (pressure) in the developer accommodating space 1b can be varied. For example, the pump portion 2 may be a uniaxial eccentric screw pump. In such a case, an additional opening is required to allow suction and discharge by the uniaxial eccentric screw pump, and the provision of the opening requires a device such as a filter for preventing leakage of the developer around the opening. In addition, the uniaxial eccentric screw pump requires a very high torque to operate, and therefore the load on the main assembly of the imaging device 100 increases. Therefore, a bellows pump is preferred because it does not have such a problem.

The developer accommodating space 1b may be only the inner space of the pump portion 2. In this case, the pump portion 2 also serves as the developer accommodating space 1b.

The connecting portion 2b of the pump portion 2 and the connecting portion 1i of the container body 1a are united by welding to prevent leakage of the developer, that is, to maintain the sealing property of the developer accommodating space 1b.

The developer supply container 1 is provided with a locking portion 3 as a drive input portion (driving force receiving portion, driving connecting portion, engaging portion), which can be engaged with the driving mechanism of the developer replenishing device 8 and receive the driving force for driving the pump portion 2 from the driving mechanism.

More specifically, a locking portion 3 that can be engaged with a locking member 9 of the developer replenishing device 8 is mounted to the upper end of the pump portion 2 by an adhesive material. The locking portion 3 includes a locking hole 3a at its center portion, as shown in Figure 9. When the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the mounting portion 8f (Figure 3), the locking member 9 is inserted into the locking hole 3a so that they are united (a slight play is provided for easy insertion). As shown in Figure 9, the relative position between the locking portion 3 and the locking member 9 is fixed in the p direction and the q direction, which are the expansion and contraction directions of the expansion and contraction portion 2a. Preferably, the pump portion 2 and the locking portion 3 are molded into one piece using an injection molding method or a blow molding method.

The locking portion 3, which is generally united with the locking member 9 in this manner, receives a driving force for expanding and contracting the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump portion 2 from the locking member 9. Therefore, as the locking member 9 moves vertically, the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump portion 2 is expanded and contracted.

The pump portion 2 functions as an air flow generating mechanism for alternately and repeatedly generating air flows into the developer supply container through the discharge port 1c and air flows to the outside of the developer supply container by the driving force received by the locking portion 3 serving as a drive input portion.

In this embodiment, a round rod locking member 9 and a round hole locking portion 3 are used to roughly connect them. However, other structures can be used as long as their relative positions can be fixed with respect to the expansion and contraction directions (p and q directions) of the expansion and contraction portion 2a. For example, the locking portion 3 can be a rod-shaped member, and the locking member 9 can be a locking hole. The cross-sectional configuration of the locking portion 3 and the locking member 9 can be triangular, rectangular, or other polygonal, or can be elliptical, star-shaped, or other shapes. Alternatively, other known locking structures can be used.

In a flange portion 1g at a bottom end portion of the container body 1a, there is provided a discharge port 1c for allowing the developer in the developer accommodating space 1b to be discharged to the outside of the developer supply container 1. The discharge port 1c will be described in detail hereinafter.

As shown in Figure 10, an inclined surface 1f is formed in the lower portion of the container body 1a toward the discharge port 1c, and the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating space 1b slides downward on the inclined surface 1f toward the vicinity of the discharge port 1c due to gravity. In this embodiment, the inclination angle of the inclined surface 1f (the angle relative to the horizontal plane in a state where the developer supply container 1 is set in the developer replenishing device 8) is greater than the repose angle of the toner (developer).

The construction of the peripheral portion of the discharge outlet 1c is not limited to the shape shown in Figure 10 (where the construction of the connecting portion between the discharge outlet 1c and the interior of the container body 1a is flat (1W in Figure 10)), but can be as shown in Figure 11, where the inclined surface 1f extends to the discharge outlet 1c.

In the flat configuration shown in FIG10 , space efficiency relative to the height of the developer supply container 1 is good. The advantage of the inclined surface 1f in FIG11 is that the amount of remaining developer is small because the developer remaining on the inclined surface 1f is pushed toward the discharge port 1c. Therefore, the configuration of the peripheral portion of the discharge port 1c can be selected as needed.

In this embodiment, a flat configuration as shown in FIG. 10 is chosen.

The developer supply container 1 is in fluid communication with the outside of the developer supply container 1 only through the discharge opening 1 c , and is substantially sealed except for the discharge opening 1 c .

3 and 10 , the shutter mechanism for opening and closing the discharge port 1 c will be described.

A sealing member 4 of elastic material is fixed to the lower surface of the flange portion 1g by bonding so as to surround the circumference of the discharge port 1c to prevent leakage of the developer. A baffle 5 is provided for sealing the discharge port 1c so that the sealing member 4 is compressed between the baffle 5 and the lower surface of the flange portion 1g.

The shutter 5 is normally urged in the closing direction by a spring (not shown) serving as an urging member (due to the expansion force of the spring). The shutter 5 is unsealed in conjunction with the installation operation of the developer supply container 1 by abutting the end surface of an abutment portion 8h (Figure 3) formed on the developer replenishing device 8 and contracting the spring. At this time, the flange portion 1g of the developer supply container 1 is inserted between the abutment portion 8h and the positioning guide 8b provided in the developer replenishing device 8, so that the side surface 1k (Figure 9) of the developer supply container 1 abuts the stopper portion 8i of the developer replenishing device 8. Thus, the position relative to the developer replenishing device 8 in the installation direction (direction A) is determined (Figure 17).

The flange portion 1g is guided by the positioning guide 8b in this manner, and when the inserting operation of the developer supply container 1 is completed, the discharge opening 1c and the developer receiving opening 8a are aligned with each other.

In addition, when the inserting operation of the developer supply container 1 is completed, the space between the discharge opening 1 c and the receiving opening 8 a is sealed by the sealing member 4 ( FIG. 17 ) to prevent the developer from leaking to the outside.

Along with the inserting operation of the developer supply container 1, the locking member 9 is inserted into the locking hole 3a of the locking portion 3 of the developer supply container 1 so that they are united.

At this time, the position of the developer supply container relative to the developer replenishing apparatus 8 in a direction (the up-down direction in FIG. 3 ) perpendicular to the mounting direction (direction A) of the developer supply container 1 is determined by the L-shaped portion of the positioning guide 8b. The flange portion 1g serving as the positioning portion also serves to prevent the developer supply container 1 from moving in the up-down direction.

(Reciprocating direction of pump 2)

The operations up to this point are a series of mounting steps for the developer supply container 1. By the operator closing the front cover 40, the mounting steps are completed.

The procedure for disassembling the developer supply container 1 from the developer replenishing device 8 is the reverse of the mounting procedure.

More specifically, the replacement front cover 40 is opened, and the developer supply container 1 is removed from the mounting portion 8f. At this time, the interference state caused by the abutment portion 8h is released, whereby the shutter 5 is closed by the spring (not shown).

In this example, a state in which the internal pressure of the container body 1a (developer accommodating space 1b) is lower than the ambient pressure (external air pressure) (depressurized state, negative pressure state) and a state in which the internal pressure is higher than the ambient pressure (pressurized state, positive pressure state) are repeated alternately at a predetermined cycle. Here, the ambient pressure (external air pressure) is the pressure under the environmental conditions in which the developer supply container 1 is located.

Therefore, the developer is discharged through the discharge port 1c by changing the pressure (internal pressure) of the container body 1a. In this example, it changes (reciprocates) between 480-495 ^cm3 with a cycle of 0.3 seconds. The material of the container body 1a is preferably such that it provides sufficient rigidity to avoid collision or excessive expansion.

In consideration of this situation, this example uses a polystyrene resin material as the material of the developer container main body 1 a and a polypropylene resin material as the material of the pump 2 .

As for the material of the container body 1a, other resin materials such as ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin material), polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene can be used as long as they have sufficient pressure resistance. Alternatively, they may be metal.

Regarding the material of the pump 2, any material can be used as long as it can expand and contract sufficiently to change the internal pressure of the space in the developer accommodating space 1b through volume change. Examples include thin-molded ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin material), polystyrene, polyester, and polyethylene materials. Alternatively, other expandable and contractible materials such as rubber can be used.

The container body and the pump may be molded integrally from the same material by an injection molding method, a blow molding method, or the like, as long as the thickness is appropriately adjusted for the pump 2 and the container body 1 a .

In this example, the developer supply container 1 is in fluid communication with the outside only through the discharge port 1c, and is therefore substantially sealed relative to the outside except for the discharge port 1c. That is, the developer is discharged through the discharge port 1c by pressurizing and depressurizing the interior of the developer supply container 1, and therefore a sealing property is desired to maintain stable discharge performance.

On the other hand, there is a possibility that the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 may suddenly change due to sudden changes in environmental conditions during transportation (air transport) of the developer supply container 1 and/or during long periods of non-use. For example, when the device is used in an area with a high altitude, or when the developer supply container 1 maintained in a low ambient temperature location is transferred to a room with a high ambient temperature, the interior of the developer supply container 1 may become pressurized compared to the ambient air pressure. In such a case, the container may be deformed, and/or the developer may splash out when the container is opened.

In consideration of this, the developer supply container 1 is provided with an opening having a diameter of 1/4 in diameter, and this opening is provided with a filter. The filter is a TEMISH (registered trademark) available from Nitto Denko Kabushiki Kaisha in Japan, and has the property of preventing developer from leaking to the outside while allowing air to pass between the inside and outside of the container. Although this countermeasure is employed in this example, its effect on the suction and discharge operations of the pump 2 through the discharge port 1c is negligible, and thus the sealing properties of the developer supply container 1 remain effective.

(Discharge port of developer supply container)

In this example, the size of the discharge opening 1c of the developer supply container 1 is selected so that, in the orientation of the developer supply container 1 for supplying developer to the developer replenishing device 8, the developer cannot be discharged to a sufficient extent solely by gravity. The opening size of the discharge opening 1c is so small that gravity alone is insufficient to discharge the developer from the developer supply container, and therefore the opening is hereinafter referred to as a pinhole. In other words, the opening size is determined so that the discharge opening 1c is substantially blocked. This is expected to be advantageous in the following respects.

(1) The developer is less likely to leak through the discharge port 1c.

(2) Excessive discharge of the developer is suppressed when the discharge port 1 c is opened.

(3) The discharge of the developer can mainly depend on the discharge operation of the pump portion.

The inventors have studied that the size of the discharge port 1c is insufficient to discharge the toner to a sufficient extent by gravity alone. A verification experiment (measurement method) and standards will be described.

A rectangular parallelepiped container of a predetermined volume with a circular discharge port formed in the center of the bottom portion was prepared and filled with 200 g of developer. The filling port was then sealed and the discharge port was plugged. In this state, the container was shaken thoroughly to loosen the developer. The rectangular parallelepiped container had a volume of 1000 ^cm³ , a length of 90 mm, a width of 92 mm, and a height of 120 mm.

Afterwards, the discharge port was unsealed as quickly as possible with the port pointing downward, and the amount of developer discharged through the port was measured. At this point, the rectangular container was completely sealed except for the discharge port. Furthermore, the verification experiment was conducted under conditions of 24°C and 55% relative humidity.

Using these procedures, the discharge amount was measured while changing the type of developer and the size of the discharge port. In this example, when the discharge amount of developer was no more than 2 g, the amount was negligible, and therefore the size of the discharge port at this time was considered insufficient to fully discharge the developer by gravity alone.

The developers used in the verification experiments are shown in Table 1. The types of developers were single-component magnetic toner, non-magnetic toner for a two-component developer developing device, and a mixture of a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier.

As property values indicating properties of the developer, repose angle indicating fluidity and flowability energy indicating ease of loosening of the developer layer were measured by a powder flowability analysis device (Powder Rheometer FT4 available from Freeman Technology).

Table 1

A method for measuring fluidity energy will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Here, Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for measuring fluidity energy.

The principle of a powder flow analysis device is to move a blade through a powder sample and measure the energy required to move the blade through the powder, that is, the flow energy. The blade is propeller-shaped, and as it rotates, it simultaneously moves in the direction of the axis of rotation, and thus the free end of the blade moves in a spiral.

The propeller blade 51 is made of SUS (type = C210) and has a diameter of 48 mm. It twists smoothly in the counterclockwise direction. More specifically, the rotation axis extends from the center of the 48 mm × 10 mm blade in the normal direction relative to the blade's rotation plane. The blade has a twist angle of 70° at the outermost edge (24 mm from the rotation axis) and a twist angle of 35° at a position 12 mm from the rotation axis.

The flowability energy is the total energy provided by the time-integrated sum of the rotational torque and the vertical load when the spiral rotating blade 51 enters the powder layer and propels through the powder layer. The value obtained in this way indicates the ease of loosening of the developer powder layer, and a large flowability energy indicates a smaller ease, while a small flowability energy indicates a greater ease.

In this measurement, as shown in FIG12 , a cylindrical container 53 having a diameter of 50 mm (volume = 200 cc, L1 ( FIG12 ) = 50 mm), which is a standard component of the apparatus, is filled with developer T up to a powder surface height of 70 mm (L2 in FIG12 ). The filling amount is adjusted according to the bulk density of the developer to be measured. A blade 54, which is a standard component, is pushed into the powder layer, and the energy required to advance from a depth of 10 mm to a depth of 30 mm is displayed.

The setting conditions during measurement are:

The rotation speed of the blade 51 (tip speed = circumferential speed of the outermost edge portion of the blade) is 60 mm/s;

The speed at which the blade is advanced in the vertical direction into the powder layer is such that the angle θ (helix angle) formed between the trajectory of the outermost edge portion of the blade 51 and the surface of the powder layer during advancement is 10°;

The speed of advancement into the powder layer in the vertical direction is 11 mm/s (the blade advancement speed of the blade in the powder layer in the vertical direction = (blade rotation speed) × tan (helix angle × π/180)); and

The measurement was performed under temperature conditions of 24° C. and relative humidity of 55%.

The bulk density of the developer when measuring the fluidity energy of the developer is close to the bulk density in the experiment for verifying the relationship between the discharge amount of the developer and the size of the discharge port, varies little and is stable, and more specifically is adjusted to 0.5 g/cm ³ .

The verification experiment of the developer (Table 1) was performed and the flowability energy was measured in this manner. Fig. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the diameter of the discharge port and the discharge amount for each developer.

From the verification results shown in FIG13 , it has been confirmed that if the diameter of the discharge port is not greater than 4 mm (opening area of 12.6 mm ² (pi=3.14)), the discharge amount through the discharge port is not greater than 2 g for each developer AE. When the diameter of the discharge port exceeds 4 mm, the discharge amount increases sharply.

When the flowability energy of the developer (volume density of 0.5 g/ ^cm3 ) is not less than 4.3× ^10-4 kg- ^m2 / ^s2 (J) and not more than 4.14× ^10-3 kg- ^m2 / ^s2 (J), the diameter of the discharge port is preferably not more than 4 mm (opening area of 12.6 ^mm2 ).

Regarding the bulk density of the developer, the developer was sufficiently loosened and fluidized in the verification experiment, and therefore the bulk density was less than that expected under normal usage conditions (left state), that is, the measurement was performed under conditions where the developer was easier to discharge than under normal usage conditions.

A verification experiment was conducted for Developer A. The results in Figure 13 show the largest discharge amount of Developer A, where the container's filling amount varied from 30 to 300 g while the discharge port diameter was held constant at 4 mm. The verification results are shown in Figure 14. The results in Figure 14 confirm that the discharge amount through the discharge port remains virtually unchanged even when the developer filling amount varies.

In summary, it has been confirmed that by making the diameter of the discharge port no larger than 4 mm (area of 12.6 ^mm2 ), the developer is not sufficiently discharged through the discharge port by gravity alone in the state where the discharge port is pointing downward (the assumed supply posture in the developer replenishing device 201), regardless of the type or bulk density state of the developer.

On the other hand, the lower limit value of the size of the discharge port 1c is preferably such that the developer (single-component magnetic toner, single-component non-magnetic toner, two-component non-magnetic toner, or two-component magnetic carrier) supplied from the developer supply container 1 can at least pass therethrough. More specifically, the discharge port is preferably larger than the particle size (volume average particle size in the case of toner, number average particle size in the case of carrier) of the developer contained in the developer supply container 1. For example, in the case where the supplied developer includes two-component non-magnetic toner and two-component magnetic carrier, it is preferred that the discharge port be larger than the larger particle size, that is, the number average particle size of the two-component magnetic carrier.

Specifically, when the supplied developer includes a two-component non-magnetic colorant having a volume average particle size of 5.5 μm and a two-component magnetic carrier having a number average particle size of 40 μm, the diameter of the discharge port 1c is preferably not less than 0.05 mm (opening area of 0.002 ^mm2 ).

However, if the size of the discharge port 1c is too close to the particle size of the developer, the energy required to discharge the desired amount from the developer supply container 1 (that is, the energy required to operate the pump 2) is large. This may impose constraints on the manufacture of the developer supply container 1. In order to mold the discharge port 1c into a resin material member using an injection molding method, a metal mold member is used to form the discharge port 1c, and the durability of the metal mold member will be an issue. In summary, the diameter of the discharge port 3a is preferably not less than 0.5 mm.

In this example, the discharge port 1c is circular, but this is not necessarily the case. A square, rectangular, elliptical, or a combination of straight and curved lines can also be used as long as the opening area is not larger than 12.6 mm ² corresponding to a diameter of 4 mm.

However, among configurations with the same opening area, a circular discharge port has the smallest circumferential length, and this edge is contaminated by developer deposition. Therefore, the amount of developer dispersed with the opening and closing of the shutter 5 is small, and contamination is reduced. Furthermore, using a circular discharge port also reduces resistance during discharge, and discharge quality is high. Therefore, the configuration of the discharge port 1c is preferably circular, as a circular shape excels in balancing discharge volume and contamination prevention.

In summary, the dimensions of the discharge port 1c are preferably such that, when the discharge port 1c is pointing downward (the assumed supply posture for the developer replenishing device 8), the developer cannot be fully discharged solely by gravity. More specifically, the diameter of the discharge port 1c is not less than 0.05 mm (opening area of 0.002 ^mm² ) and not more than 4 mm (opening area of 12.6 ^mm² ). Furthermore, the diameter of the discharge port 1c is preferably not less than 0.5 mm (opening area of 0.2 ^mm² ) and not more than 4 mm (opening area of 12.6 ^mm² ). In this example, based on the aforementioned studies, the discharge port 1c is circular, and the diameter of the opening is 2 mm.

In this example, the number of discharge ports 1c is one, but this is not necessarily the case. Multiple discharge ports 1c may be used as long as the total opening area of each port satisfies the above range. For example, instead of a single developer receiving opening 8a having a diameter of 2 mm, two discharge ports 3a each having a diameter of 0.7 mm may be used. However, in this case, the amount of developer discharged per unit time tends to decrease, and therefore a single discharge port 1c having a diameter of 2 mm is preferable.

(Developer Supplying Step)

15 to 18 , the developer supplying step by the pump portion will be described.

FIG15 is a schematic perspective view showing the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump 2 being contracted. FIG16 is a schematic perspective view showing the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump 2 being expanded. FIG17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump 2 being contracted. FIG18 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump 2 being expanded.

In this example, as will be described below, the drive conversion mechanism performs drive conversion of the rotational force so that the suction step (suction operation through the discharge port 3a) and the discharge step (discharge operation through the discharge port 3a) are repeated alternately. The suction step and the discharge step will be described.

The description will be made focusing on the principle of developer discharge using a pump.

The operating principle of the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump 2 is as described above. Briefly, as shown in Figure 10 , the lower end of the expansion and contraction portion 2a is connected to the container body 1a. The container body 1a is prevented from moving in the p-direction and q-direction ( Figure 9 ) by a positioning guide 8b of the developer replenishing device 8 that extends through the flange portion 1g at the lower end. Therefore, the vertical position of the lower end of the expansion and contraction portion 2a connected to the container body 1a is fixed relative to the developer replenishing device 8.

On the other hand, the upper end of the expansion and contraction portion 2 a is engaged with the locking member 9 passing through the locking portion 3 , and reciprocates in the p direction and in the q direction by the vertical movement of the locking member 9 .

Since the lower end of the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump 2 is fixed, the portion above it expands and contracts.

Description will be made focusing on the expansion and contraction operation (discharge operation and suction operation) of the expansion and contraction portion 2 a of the pump 2 and the developer discharge.

(Discharge operation)

First, the discharge operation through the discharge port 1 c will be described.

As the locking member 9 moves downward, the upper end of the expansion and contraction portion 2a shifts in the p direction (the expansion and contraction portion contracts), thereby enabling the discharge operation. More specifically, as the developer discharge operation occurs, the volume of the developer accommodating space 1b decreases. At this time, the interior of the container body 1a is sealed, except for the discharge port 1c. Therefore, until the developer is discharged, the discharge port 1c is substantially clogged or closed with developer, causing the volume of the developer accommodating space 1b to decrease, thereby increasing the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b.

At this time, the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b is higher than the pressure in the hopper 8g (equal to the ambient pressure), and therefore, as shown in Figure 17, the developer is discharged due to the air pressure (that is, the pressure difference between the developer accommodating space 1b and the hopper 8g). Therefore, the developer T is discharged from the developer accommodating space 1b into the hopper 8g. The arrows in Figure 17 indicate the direction of the force applied to the developer T in the developer accommodating space 1b. Thereafter, the air in the developer accommodating space 1b is also discharged together with the developer, and therefore the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b decreases.

(Suction operation)

The suction operation through the discharge port 1 c will be described.

As the locking member 9 moves upward, the upper end of the expansion and contraction portion 2a of the pump 2 shifts in the q direction (the expansion and contraction portion expands), enabling a suction operation. More specifically, the volume of the developer accommodating space 1b increases with the suction operation. At this time, the interior of the container body 1a is sealed, with the exception of the discharge port 1c, which is clogged with developer and essentially closed. Therefore, as the volume of the developer accommodating space 1b increases, the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b decreases.

At this time, the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b becomes lower than the internal pressure of the hopper 8g (equal to the ambient pressure). Therefore, as shown in Figure 18, the air in the upper portion of the hopper 8g enters the developer accommodating space 1b through the discharge port 1c due to the pressure difference between the developer accommodating space 1b and the hopper 8g. The arrows in Figure 18 indicate the direction of the force applied to the developer T in the developer accommodating space 1b. The ellipse Z in Figure 18 schematically shows the air taken in from the hopper 8g.

At this time, air is taken in from the outside of the developer replenishing device 8, and thus the developer in the vicinity of the discharge port 1c can be loosened. More specifically, the air that penetrates into the developer powder in the vicinity of the discharge port 1c reduces the bulk density of the developer powder and fluidizes it.

In this manner, due to the fluidization of the developer T, the developer T does not clump or clog in the discharge port 3a, so that the developer can be smoothly discharged through the discharge port 3a in the discharge operation to be described below. Therefore, the amount of developer T discharged through the discharge port 3a (per unit time) can be maintained at a substantially constant level for a long period of time.

(Change in Internal Pressure of Developer Accommodating Portion)

A verification experiment was conducted on the change in the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1. The verification experiment will be described.

The developer was filled so that the developer accommodating space 1b in the developer supply container 1 was filled with the developer; and the change in the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 was measured as the pump 2 expanded and contracted within a range of volume change of 15 ^cm3 . The internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 was measured using a pressure gauge (AP-C40 available from Kabushiki Kaisha KEYENCE) connected to the developer supply container 1.

FIG. 19 shows pressure changes when the pump 2 expands and contracts in a state in which the shutter 5 of the developer supply container 1 filled with developer is open and thus in a state communicable with the outside air.

In FIG. 19 , the abscissa represents time, and the ordinate represents relative pressure (+ is the positive pressure side, and − is the negative pressure side) in the developer supply container 1 with respect to the ambient pressure (reference ( 0 )).

When the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 becomes negative relative to the external ambient pressure due to an increase in the volume of the developer supply container 1, air is taken in through the discharge port 1c due to the pressure difference. When the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 becomes positive relative to the external ambient pressure due to a decrease in the volume of the developer supply container 1, pressure is applied to the developer inside. At this time, the internal pressure decreases in response to the discharge of the developer and air.

Verification experiments confirmed that as the volume of the developer supply container 1 increases, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 becomes negative relative to the external ambient pressure, and air is drawn in due to the pressure difference. Furthermore, it was confirmed that as the volume of the developer supply container 1 decreases, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 becomes positive relative to the external ambient pressure, and pressure is applied to the developer inside, causing it to be discharged. In the verification experiments, the absolute value of the negative pressure was 1.3 kPa, and the absolute value of the positive pressure was 3.0 kPa.

As described hereinbefore, with the structure of the developer supply container 1 of this example, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 is alternately switched between negative pressure and positive pressure by the suction operation and discharge operation of the pump portion 2b, and discharge of the developer is appropriately performed.

As described hereinbefore, there is provided an example of a simple and easy pump capable of realizing the suction operation and the discharge operation of the developer supply container 1, whereby the discharge of the developer by air can be stably performed while providing the loosening action of the developer by air.

In other words, with the structure of this example, even if the size of the discharge port 1c is extremely small, high discharge performance can be ensured without applying large stress to the developer because the developer can pass through the discharge port 1c in a state where the bulk density is small due to fluidization.

In this example, the interior of the positive displacement pump 2 is used as a developer storage space, and thus, when the internal pressure is reduced by increasing the volume of the pump 2, additional developer storage space can be formed. Therefore, even if the interior of the pump 2 is filled with developer, the bulk density can be reduced by incorporating air into the developer powder (the developer can be fluidized). Therefore, the developer can be filled in the developer supply container 1 at a higher density than in conventional technology.

In the foregoing, the internal space of the pump 2 is used as the developer accommodating space 1b. However, in an alternative embodiment, a filter that allows air to pass but prevents toner from passing therethrough may be provided to partition between the pump 2 and the developer accommodating space 1b. However, the embodiment described in this form is preferred because additional developer accommodating space can be provided when the capacity of the pump is increased.

(Developer loosening action during the suction step)

A verification experiment was conducted to examine the loosening effect of developer caused by the suction operation through the discharge port 3a during the suction step. When the loosening effect of developer caused by the suction operation through the discharge port 3a was significant, a low discharge pressure (small volume change of the pump) was sufficient to immediately initiate discharge of developer from the developer supply container 1 during the subsequent discharge step. This verification revealed a significant enhancement of the loosening effect of developer in the structure of this example. This will be described in detail.

Part (a) of Figure 20 and part (a) of Figure 21 are block diagrams schematically showing the structure of the developer supply system used in the verification experiment. Part (b) of Figure 20 and part (b) of Figure 21 are schematic diagrams showing phenomena occurring in the developer supply container. The system of Figure 20 is similar to this example, and the developer supply container C is provided with a developer accommodating portion C1 and a pump portion P. By the expansion and contraction operation of the pump portion P, a suction operation and a discharge operation through the discharge port (discharge port 1C (not shown) of this example) of the developer supply container C are alternately performed to discharge the developer into the hopper H. On the other hand, the system of Figure 21 is a comparative example, in which the pump portion P is provided in the developer replenishing device side, and by the expansion and contraction operation of the pump portion P, an air supply operation into the developer accommodating portion C1 and a suction operation from the developer accommodating portion C1 are alternately performed to discharge the developer into the hopper H. In Figures 20 and 21, the developer accommodating portion C1 has the same internal volume, the hopper H has the same internal volume, and the pump portion P has the same internal volume (volume change amount).

First, 200 g of developer is filled into the developer supply container C.

Then, the developer supply container C is shaken for 15 minutes in consideration of the state of transportation later, and thereafter it is connected to the hopper H.

The pump portion P is operated, and the peak value of the internal pressure during the suction operation is measured as a condition for immediately starting the suction step required for developer discharge in the discharge step. In the case of FIG. 20 , the start position of the operation of the pump portion P corresponds to a volume of 480 cm ³ of the developer accommodating portion C1, and in the case of FIG. 21 , the start position of the operation of the pump portion P corresponds to a volume of 480 cm ³ of the hopper H.

21, the hopper H was previously filled with 200 g of developer so that the air volume condition was the same as that of the structure of FIG 20. The internal pressures of the developer accommodating portion C1 and the hopper H were measured by a pressure gauge (AP-C40 available from Kabushiki Kaisha KEYENCE) connected to the developer accommodating portion C1.

As a result of verification, according to the system of the example shown in FIG20, if the absolute value of the peak value (negative pressure) of the internal pressure during the suction operation is at least 1.0 kPa, developer discharge can be immediately started in the subsequent discharge step. On the other hand, in the system of the comparative example shown in FIG21, unless the absolute value of the peak value (positive pressure) of the internal pressure during the suction operation is at least 1.7 kPa, developer discharge cannot be immediately started in the subsequent discharge step.

It has been confirmed that using a system similar to Figure 20 of this example, as the volume of the pump part P increases, suction is performed, and therefore the internal pressure of the developer supply container C can be lower than (negative pressure side) the ambient pressure (pressure outside the container), so that the developer solubilization (fluidization) effect is very high. This is because as shown in part (b) of Figure 20, as the pump part P expands, the volume increase of the developer accommodating part C1 provides a pressure reduction state (relative to the ambient pressure) of the upper part of the air layer of the developer layer T. For this reason, a force is applied in the direction of increasing the volume of the developer layer T due to the decompression (wavy line arrow), and therefore the developer layer can be effectively loosened. In addition, in the system of Figure 20, air is taken into the developer supply container C from the outside by decompression (white arrow), and also when the air reaches the air layer R, the developer layer T is dissolved, and therefore it is a good system.

As evidence of the loosening of the developer in the developer supply container C in the experiment, it was confirmed that the apparent volume of the entire developer increased (the height of the developer rose) during the suction operation.

In the case of the system of the comparative example shown in Figure 21, the internal pressure of the developer supply container C rises to a positive pressure (higher than the ambient pressure) due to the air supply operation to the developer supply container C, and thus the developer agglomerates, and the developer solubilization effect is not obtained. This is because, as shown in part (b) of Figure 21, air is forcibly fed from the outside of the developer supply container C, and thus the air layer R above the developer layer T becomes positive relative to the ambient pressure. For this reason, a force is applied in the direction of reducing the volume of the developer layer T due to the pressure (wavy line arrow), and thus the developer layer T agglomerates. In fact, a phenomenon has been confirmed that the apparent volume of the entire developer in the developer supply container C decreases during the suction operation in the comparative example. Therefore, with the system of Figure 21, there is a possibility that the compaction of the developer layer T prohibits the subsequent proper developer discharge step.

In order to prevent the developer layer T from being compacted due to the pressure of the air layer R, it is considered to provide a vent hole having a filter or the like at a position corresponding to the air layer R, thereby reducing the pressure increase. However, in such a case, the flow resistance of the filter or the like causes the pressure increase of the air layer R. Even if the pressure increase is eliminated, the above-mentioned loosening effect caused by the reduced pressure state of the air layer R cannot be provided.

In summary, it has been confirmed by adopting the system of this example that the significance of the function of the suction operation of the discharge port increases as the volume of the pump portion increases.

As described above, by repeating the alternating suction operation and discharge operation of the pump 2, the developer can be discharged through the discharge port 1c of the developer supply container 1. That is, in this example, the discharge operation and the suction operation are not performed in parallel or simultaneously but are repeated alternately, and thus the energy required for discharging the developer can be minimized.

On the other hand, in the case where the developer replenishing device includes an air supply pump and a suction pump, respectively, the operations of the two pumps must be controlled, and furthermore, it is not easy to rapidly and alternately switch the air supply and the suction.

In this example, one pump can be used to efficiently discharge the developer, and thus the structure of the developer discharging mechanism can be simplified.

In the foregoing, the discharge operation and the suction operation of the pump are alternately repeated to efficiently discharge the developer, but in an alternative structure, the discharge operation or the suction operation is temporarily stopped and then continued.

For example, rather than performing a monotonous discharge operation, the pumping operation can be stopped midway through the compression process and then the discharge can be continued. The same applies to the suction operation. Each operation can be performed in multiple stages, as long as the discharge volume and discharge speed are sufficient. After the multiple-stage discharge operation, the suction operation still needs to be performed, and these operations can be repeated.

In this example, the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b is reduced to allow air to be taken in through the discharge port 1c, thereby loosening the developer. On the other hand, in the conventional example described above, the developer is loosened by feeding air into the developer accommodating space 1b from the outside of the developer supply container 1. However, at this time, the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b is in a pressurized state, resulting in agglomeration of the developer. This example is preferable because the developer is loosened in a reduced pressure state where the developer is less likely to agglomerate.

(Example 2)

The structure of Example 2 will be described with reference to Figures 22 and 23. Figure 22 is a schematic perspective view of a developer supply container 1, and Figure 23 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the developer supply container 1. In this example, the structure of the pump differs from that of Example 1, but the other structures are substantially the same as those of Example 1. In the description of this embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in Example 1 are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

In this example, as shown in Figures 22 and 23, a plunger pump is used instead of the bellows-shaped positive displacement pump as in Example 1. The plunger pump includes an inner cylindrical portion 1h and an outer cylindrical portion 6 extending outside the outer surface of the inner cylindrical portion 1h and movable relative to the inner cylindrical portion 1h. Similar to Example 1, the upper surface of the outer cylindrical portion 6 is provided with a locking portion 3 fixed by bonding. More specifically, the locking portion 3 fixed to the outer cylindrical portion 6 receives the locking member 9 of the developer replenishing device 8, whereby they are roughly united and the outer cylindrical portion 6 can move (reciprocate) in the up and down directions together with the locking member 9.

The inner cylindrical portion 1 h is connected to the container body 1 a , and its inner space serves as a developer accommodating space 1 b .

In order to prevent air from leaking through the gap between the inner cylindrical portion 1h and the outer cylindrical portion 6 (to prevent leakage of the developer by maintaining the sealing property), an elastic seal 7 is fixed to the outer surface of the inner cylindrical portion 1h by bonding. The elastic seal 7 is compressed between the inner cylindrical portion 1h and the outer cylindrical portion 6.

Therefore, the volume of the developer accommodating space 1b can be changed by reciprocating the outer cylindrical portion 6 in the p direction and the q direction relative to the container body 1a (inner cylindrical portion 1h) which is immovably fixed to the developer replenishing device 8. That is, the internal pressure of the developer accommodating space 1b can be alternately repeated between a negative pressure state and a positive pressure state.

Therefore, in this example as well, one pump is sufficient to perform both the suction operation and the discharge operation, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. In addition, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In this example, the outer cylindrical portion 6 is cylindrical, but may be in another shape, such as a rectangular cross-section. In such a case, it is preferred that the configuration of the inner cylindrical portion 1h conform to the configuration of the outer cylindrical portion 6. The pump is not limited to a plunger pump, but may be a piston pump.

When the pump of this example is used, a sealing structure is required to prevent leakage of the developer through the gap between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, resulting in a complicated structure and necessitating a large driving force for driving the pump portion, so Embodiment 1 is preferable.

(Example 3)

The structure of Example 3 will be described with reference to Figures 24 and 25. Figure 24 is a perspective view of the appearance of the pump 12 of the developer supply container 1 according to this embodiment, in an expanded state, and Figure 25 is a perspective view of the appearance of the pump 12 of the developer supply container 1, in a collapsed state. In this example, the pump structure differs from that of Example 1, while the other structures are substantially the same as those of Example 1. In the description of this embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in Example 1 are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

In this example, as shown in Figures 24 and 25, a membrane-shaped pump 12 that is capable of expansion and contraction and has no folds is used instead of the bellows-shaped pump having folds in Example 1. The membrane-shaped portion of the pump 12 is made of rubber. The membrane-shaped portion of the pump 12 can be made of a flexible material such as a resin film instead of rubber.

A diaphragm pump 12 is connected to the container body 1a, and its interior space serves as the developer storage space 1b. Similar to the previous embodiment, the upper portion of the diaphragm pump 12 is provided with a locking member 3 fixed thereto by bonding. Therefore, the pump 12 can alternately expand and contract by vertically moving the locking member 9.

In this way, also in this example, one pump is sufficient to realize the suction operation and the discharge operation, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. In addition, by means of the suction operation through the discharge port, a pressure reduction state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened. In the case of this example, as shown in Figure 26, it is preferred that a plate-like member 13 having a higher rigidity than the membrane-like portion is mounted to the upper surface of the membrane-like portion of the pump 12, and the locking portion 3 is provided on the plate-like member 13. With such a structure, it is possible to suppress the volume change of the pump 12 from being reduced due to deformation of only the vicinity of the locking portion 3 of the pump 12. That is, the followability of the pump 12 to the vertical movement of the locking member 9 can be improved, and thus the expansion and contraction of the pump 12 can be effectively realized. Therefore, the discharge properties of the developer can be improved.

(Example 4)

With reference to Figures 27-29, the structure of Example 4 will be described. Figure 27 is a perspective view of the appearance of the developer supply container 1, Figure 28 is a sectional perspective view of the developer supply container 1, and Figure 29 is a partial sectional view of the developer supply container 1. In this example, the structure differs from that of Example 1 only in the structure of the developer accommodating space, and the other structures are substantially the same. In the description of this embodiment, the same figure marks as those in Example 1 are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted. As shown in Figures 27 and 28, the developer supply container 1 of this example includes two components, namely, part X including the container body 1a and the pump 2, and part Y including the cylindrical part 14. The structure of part X of the developer supply container 1 is substantially the same as that of Example 1, and therefore its detailed description is omitted.

(Structure of Developer Supply Container)

In the developer supply container 1 of this example, compared with Embodiment 1, the cylindrical portion 14 is connected to the side of the portion X (discharging portion in which the discharge port 1 c is formed) through the connecting portion 14 c.

The cylindrical portion (developer accommodating rotatable portion) 14 has a closed end at one longitudinal end thereof and an open end at the other end connected to the opening of portion X, and the space between the two is the developer accommodating space 1b. In this example, the internal space of the container body 1a, the internal space of the pump 2, and the internal space of the cylindrical portion 14 are all developer accommodating spaces 1b, and therefore can accommodate a large amount of developer. In this example, the cylindrical portion 14 as the developer accommodating rotatable portion has a circular cross-sectional configuration, but the present invention is not limited to a circular shape. For example, the cross-sectional configuration of the developer accommodating rotatable portion may be a non-circular configuration, such as a polygonal configuration, as long as it does not hinder the rotational movement during the developer feeding operation.

The inside of the cylindrical portion 14 is provided with a spiral feeding projection (feeding portion) 14 a having a function of feeding the developer contained therein toward the portion X (discharge port 1 c ) when the cylindrical portion 14 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow R.

In addition, the interior of the cylindrical portion 14 is provided with a receiving-feeding member (feeding portion) 16, a moving member standing upright from the interior of the cylindrical portion 14, for receiving the developer fed by the feeding protrusion 14a and supplying it to the side of the portion X by the rotation of the cylindrical portion 14 in the direction R (the rotation axis extends generally in the horizontal direction). The receiving-feeding member 16 is provided with a plate-shaped portion 16a for scooping up the developer, and inclined protrusions 16b for feeding (guiding) the developer scooped up by the plate-shaped portion 16a toward the portion X. The inclined protrusions 16b are provided on respective sides of the plate-shaped portion 16a. The plate-shaped portion 16a is provided with through holes 16c for allowing the developer to pass in both directions to improve the stirring properties of the developer.

In addition, the gear portion 14b serving as a drive input portion is fixed to the outer surface of one longitudinal end portion (relative to the feeding direction of the developer) of the cylindrical portion 14 by bonding. When the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the developer replenishing device 8, the gear portion 14b engages with the drive gear 300 serving as a drive mechanism provided in the developer replenishing device 8. When the rotational force is input from the drive gear 300 to the gear portion 14b serving as a rotational force receiving portion, the cylindrical portion 14 rotates in the direction R (Figure 28). The gear portion 14b is not a limitation of the present invention, and other drive input mechanisms, such as a belt or a friction pulley, may be used as long as it can rotate the cylindrical portion 14.

As shown in Figure 29, one longitudinal end portion (the downstream end portion with respect to the developer feeding direction) of the cylindrical portion 14 is provided with a connecting portion 14c serving as a connecting pipe for connection to the portion X. The inclined protrusion 16b described above extends to the vicinity of the connecting portion 14c. Therefore, the developer fed by the inclined protrusion 16b is prevented as much as possible from falling back toward the bottom side of the cylindrical portion 14, so that the developer is properly supplied to the connecting portion 14c.

The cylindrical portion 14 rotates as described above, but conversely, the container body 1a and the pump 2 are connected to the cylindrical portion 14 via the flange portion 1g so that, similar to Embodiment 1, the container body 1a and the pump 2 are not rotatable relative to the developer replenishing device 8 (not rotatable in the direction of the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 14 and not movable in the rotational movement direction). Therefore, the cylindrical portion 14 is rotatable relative to the container body 1a.

An annular elastic seal 15 is provided between the cylindrical portion 14 and the container body 1a and is compressed a predetermined amount between the cylindrical portion 14 and the container body 1a. This prevents developer leakage during rotation of the cylindrical portion 14. Furthermore, this structure maintains the sealing properties, allowing the loosening and discharge effects of the pump 2 to be applied to the developer without loss. Other than the discharge port 1c, the developer supply container 1 has no opening for substantial fluid communication between the interior and exterior.

(Developer Supplying Step)

The developer supplying step will be described.

When the operator inserts the developer supply container 1 into the developer replenishing device 8, similar to Example 1, the locking portion 3 of the developer supply container 1 is locked with the locking component 9 of the developer replenishing device 8, and the gear portion 14b of the developer supply container 1 engages with the driving gear 300 of the developer replenishing device 8.

Thereafter, the drive gear 300 is rotated by another drive motor (not shown) for rotation, and the locking member 9 is driven in the vertical direction by the aforementioned drive motor 500. Then, the cylindrical portion 14 rotates in the direction R, whereby the developer therein is fed to the receiving-feeding member 16 by the feeding protrusion 14a. Furthermore, by the rotation of the cylindrical portion 14 in the direction R, the receiving-feeding member 16 scoops up the developer and feeds it to the connecting portion 14c. Similar to Embodiment 1, the developer fed from the connecting portion 14c into the container body 1a is discharged from the discharge port 1c by the expansion and contraction operation of the pump 2.

These are a series of mounting steps and developer supplying steps of the developer supply container 1. When replacing the developer supply container 1, the operator takes the developer supply container 1 out of the developer replenishing device 8, and inserts and mounts a new developer supply container 1.

In the case of a vertical container having a vertically long developer storage space 1b, if the volume of the developer supply container 1 is increased to increase the filling amount, the developer will concentrate in the area near the discharge port 1c due to the weight of the developer. As a result, the developer near the discharge port 1c tends to be compacted, making it difficult to suction and discharge the developer through the discharge port 1c. In such a situation, in order to loosen the compacted developer by suction through the discharge port 1c or to discharge the developer by discharge, the internal pressure (negative pressure/positive pressure) of the developer storage space 1b must be increased by increasing the volume change of the pump 2. Then, the driving force of the pump 2 must be increased, and the load acting on the main assembly of the imaging device 100 may be excessive.

However, according to this embodiment, the container body 1a and the portion X of the pump 2 are arranged in the horizontal direction, and therefore the thickness of the developer layer above the discharge port 1c in the container body 1a can be thinner than that in the structure of Figure 9. Thus, the developer is not easily compacted due to gravity, and therefore the developer can be stably discharged without a load acting on the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100.

As described above, with the structure of this example, the provision of the cylindrical portion 14 serves to realize a large-capacity developer supply container 1 without a load acting on the main assembly of the image forming apparatus.

In this manner, also in this example, one pump suffices to realize both the suction operation and the discharge operation, and therefore the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified.

The developer feeding mechanism in the cylindrical portion 14 does not constitute a limitation of the present invention, and the developer supply container 1 may be vibrated or swung, or may be another mechanism. Specifically, the structure of Figure 30 may be used.

As shown in Figure 30, the cylindrical portion 14 itself is basically immovable (with a slight clearance) relative to the developer replenishing device 8, and a feeding component 17 is provided in the cylindrical portion instead of the feeding protrusion 14a, and the feeding component 17 is used to feed the developer by rotating relative to the cylindrical portion 14.

The feeding member 17 includes a shaft portion 17a and a flexible feeding blade 17b fixed to the shaft portion 17a. The feeding blade 17b is provided with an inclined portion S at its free end portion that is inclined relative to the axial direction of the shaft portion 17a. Therefore, it can feed the developer toward the portion X while stirring the developer in the cylindrical portion 14.

One longitudinal end surface of the cylindrical portion 14 is provided with a coupling portion 14e as a rotational force receiving portion, and the coupling portion 14e is operatively connected to a coupling member (not shown) of the developer replenishing device 8, thereby transmitting a rotational force. The coupling portion 14e is coaxially connected to the shaft portion 17a of the feeding member 17 to transmit the rotational force to the shaft portion 17a.

By means of a rotational force applied from a coupling member (not shown) of the developer replenishing device 8 , the feeding blade 17 b fixed to the shaft portion 17 a is rotated, so that the developer in the cylindrical portion 14 is fed toward the portion X while being stirred.

However, with the modified example shown in FIG. 30 , the stress applied to the developer in the developer feeding step tends to be large, and the driving torque is also large, for which reason the structure of the present embodiment is preferable.

Therefore, in this example as well, one pump is sufficient to perform both the suction operation and the discharge operation, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. In addition, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a pressure-reduced state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

(Example 5)

With reference to Figures 31 to 33, the structure of Embodiment 5 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 31 is a front view of the developer replenishing device 8 as seen in the mounting direction of the developer supply container 1, and (b) is a perspective view of the interior of the developer replenishing device 8. Part (a) of Figure 32 is a perspective view of the entire developer supply container 1, (b) is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the discharge port 21a of the developer supply container 1, and (c)-(d) are a front view and a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the mounting portion 8f. Part (a) of Figure 33 is a perspective view of the developer accommodating portion 20, (b) is a partial cross-sectional view showing the interior of the developer supply container 1, (c) is a cross-sectional view of the flange portion 21, and (d) is a cross-sectional view showing the developer supply container 1.

While in the above-described Embodiments 1 to 4, the pump is expanded and contracted by vertically moving the locking member 9 of the developer replenishing device 8, a significant difference of this example is that the developer supply container 1 receives only the rotational force from the developer replenishing device 8. In other respects, the structure is similar to that of the aforementioned embodiments, and therefore the same reference numerals as those in the aforementioned embodiments are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted for the sake of brevity.

Specifically, in this example, the rotational force input from the developer replenishing device 8 is converted into a force in the direction of the reciprocating motion of the pump, and the converted force is transmitted to the pump.

Hereinafter, the structures of the developer replenishing device 8 and the developer supply container 1 will be described in detail.

(Developer Refill Device)

With reference to Figure 31, the developer replenishing device will first be described. The developer replenishing device 8 includes a mounting portion (mounting space) 8f, to which the developer supply container 1 can be detachably mounted. As shown in part (b) of Figure 31, the developer supply container 1 can be mounted to the mounting portion 8f in the direction indicated by M. Therefore, the longitudinal direction (rotational axis direction) of the developer supply container 1 is approximately the same as the direction M. The direction M is approximately parallel to the direction indicated by X of part (b) of Figure 33 to be described below. In addition, the disassembly direction for disassembling the developer supply container 1 from the mounting portion 8f is opposite to the direction M.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 31 , the mounting portion 8f is provided with a rotation restricting portion (holding mechanism) 29 for restricting movement of the flange portion 21 in the rotational movement direction by abutting against the flange portion 21 ( Figure 32 ) of the developer supply container 1 when the developer supply container 1 is mounted. Furthermore, as shown in part (b) of Figure 31 , the mounting portion 8f is provided with a restricting portion (holding mechanism) 30 for restricting movement of the flange portion 21 in the rotational axis direction by locking engagement with the flange portion 21 of the developer supply container 1 when the developer supply container 1 is mounted. The restricting portion 30 is a latching mechanism made of a resin material that elastically deforms by interfering with the flange portion 21 and thereafter recovers when released from the flange portion 21 to lock the flange portion 21.

Furthermore, the mounting portion 8f is provided with a developer receiving aperture (developer receiving hole) 13 for receiving the developer discharged from the developer supply container 1, and when the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the mounting portion, the developer receiving aperture is brought into fluid communication with a discharge port (discharge aperture) 21a of the developer supply container 1, which will be described later. The developer is supplied from the discharge port 21a of the developer supply container 1 to the developing device 8 through the developer receiving aperture 31. In this embodiment, in order to prevent contamination by the developer in the mounting portion 8f as much as possible, the diameter of the developer receiving aperture 31 is approximately 2 mm, which is the same as the diameter of the discharge port 21a.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 31, the mounting portion 8f is provided with a driving gear 300 serving as a driving mechanism (driver). The driving gear 300 receives the rotational force from the driving motor 500 through the driving gear train and is used to apply the rotational force to the developer supply container 1 set in the mounting portion 8f.

As shown in FIG. 31 , the driving motor 500 is controlled by a control device (CPU) 600 .

In this example, the drive gear 300 can be rotated unidirectionally to simplify the control of the drive motor 500. The control device 600 only controls "ON" (operation) and "OFF" (non-operation) of the drive motor 500. This simplifies the drive mechanism for the developer replenishing device 8 compared to a structure in which forward and reverse driving forces are provided by periodically rotating the drive motor 500 (drive gear 300) in the forward and reverse directions.

(Developer Supply Container)

32 and 33 , the structure of the developer supply container 1 which is a constituent element of the developer supply system will be described.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 32, the developer supply container 1 includes a developer accommodating portion 20 (container body) having a hollow cylindrical internal space for accommodating developer. In this example, the cylindrical portion 20k and the pump portion 20b serve as the developer accommodating portion 20. In addition, the developer supply container 1 is provided with a flange portion 21 (non-rotatable portion) at one end of the developer accommodating portion 20 with respect to the longitudinal direction (developer feeding direction). The developer accommodating portion 20 is rotatable relative to the flange portion 21.

In this example, as shown in part (d) of Figure 33 , the cylindrical portion 20k, which serves as the developer accommodating portion, has a total length L1 of approximately 300 mm and an outer diameter R1 of approximately 70 mm. The total length L2 of the pump portion 2b (when in use, when it is most expanded within its expandable range) is approximately 50 mm, and the length L3 of the region in which the gear portion 20a of the flange portion 21 is located is approximately 20 mm. The length L4 of the region of the discharge portion 21h, which serves as the developer discharge portion, is approximately 25 mm. The maximum outer diameter R2 (when in use, when it is most expanded in diameter within its expandable range) is approximately 65 mm, and the total volume of developer accommodated in the developer supply container 1 is 1250 cm ³ . In this example, developer can be accommodated in the cylindrical portion 20k, the pump portion 20b, and the discharge portion 21h; that is, they serve as the developer accommodating portion.

As shown in Figures 32 and 33, in this example, when the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the developer replenishing device 8, the cylindrical portion 20k and the discharge portion 21h are generally aligned horizontally. That is, the cylindrical portion 20k is substantially longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction, and one end portion relative to the horizontal direction is connected to the discharge portion 21h. Therefore, compared to a case where the cylindrical portion 20k is above the discharge portion 21h when the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the developer replenishing device 8, the suction and discharge operations can be performed smoothly. This is because the amount of toner present above the discharge port 21a is small, and therefore the developer in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a is less pressurized.

As shown in part (b) of Figure 32, the flange portion 21 is provided with a hollow discharge portion (developer discharge chamber) 21h for temporarily storing the developer that has been fed from the interior of the developer accommodating portion 20 (the interior of the developer accommodating chamber) (see parts (b) and (c) of Figure 33 as needed). The bottom portion of the discharge portion 21h is provided with a small discharge port 21a for allowing the developer to be discharged to the outside of the developer supply container 1 (that is, for supplying the developer to the developer replenishing device 8). The size of the discharge port 21a is as described above.

The inner shape of the bottom portion of the interior of the discharge portion 21h (the interior of the developer discharge chamber) is similar to a funnel that converges toward the discharge port 21a so as to minimize the amount of developer retained therein (if necessary, see parts (b) and (c) of Figure 33).

The flange portion 21 is provided with a shutter 26 for opening and closing the discharge port 21a. The shutter 26 is provided in such a position that, when the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 8f, it abuts against an abutment portion 8h provided in the mounting portion 8f (see part (b) of Figure 31 as necessary). Therefore, as the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 8f, the shutter 26 slides relative to the developer supply container 1 in the direction of the rotation axis of the developer accommodating portion 20 (opposite to the M direction). As a result, the discharge port 21a is exposed through the shutter 26, completing the unsealing operation.

At the same time, the discharge opening 21 a is positionally aligned with the developer receiving opening 31 of the mounting portion 8 f , and thus they are brought into fluid communication with each other, thereby permitting the supply of developer from the developer supply container 1 .

The flange portion 21 is structured so that it is substantially fixed when the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the mounting portion 8 f of the developer replenishing device 8 .

More specifically, as shown in part (c) of Figure 32 , the flange portion 21 is restricted (prevented) from rotating in the rotational direction about the rotational axis of the developer accommodating portion 20 by the rotational movement direction restriction portion 29 provided in the mounting portion 8f. In other words, the flange portion 21 is held so that the flange portion is substantially unrotatable due to the developer replenishing device 8 (but rotation within a clearance is possible).

Furthermore, as the developer supply container 1 is mounted, the flange portion 21 is locked by the rotation axis direction restriction portion 30 provided in the mounting portion 8f. More specifically, midway through the mounting operation of the developer supply container 1, the flange portion 21 abuts the rotation axis direction restriction portion 30, elastically deforming the rotation axis direction restriction portion 30. Thereafter, the flange portion 21 abuts the inner wall portion 28a (part (d) of Figure 32), which serves as a stopper provided in the mounting portion 8f, thereby completing the mounting step of the developer supply container 1. Simultaneously with the completion of mounting, the interference with the flange portion 21 is released, allowing the elastic deformation of the rotation axis direction restriction portion 30 to be restored.

32 , the rotational axis direction restricting portion 30 is locked by the edge portion (serving as the locking portion) of the flange portion 21, so that a state is established in which movement in the rotational axis direction of the developer accommodating portion 20 is substantially prevented (restricted). At this time, a slight negligible movement due to play is allowed.

As described hereinbefore, in this example, the movement of the flange portion 21 in the rotation axis direction of the developer accommodating portion 20 is prevented by the restricting portion 30 of the developer replenishing device 8 .

In addition, the flange portion 21 is prevented from rotating in the rotation direction of the developer accommodating portion 20 by the regulating member 29 of the developer replenishing device 8 .

When the operator removes the developer supply container 1 from the mounting portion 8f, the rotation axis direction restricting portion 30 is elastically deformed by the flange portion 21 to be released from the flange portion 21. The rotation axis direction of the developer accommodating portion 20 is substantially the same as that of the gear portion 20a (Figure 33).

Therefore, in a state where the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the developer replenishing device 8, the discharge portion 21h provided in the flange portion 21 is basically prevented from moving in the direction of the rotation axis and the direction of rotational movement during the movement of the developer accommodating portion 20 (movement within the clearance is allowed).

On the other hand, the developer accommodating portion 20 is not restricted in the rotational movement direction by the developer replenishing device 8 and is therefore rotatable during the developer supplying step. However, the developer accommodating portion 20 is substantially prevented from moving in the rotational axis direction by the flange portion 21 (but movement within play is permitted).

(Pump part)

With reference to Figures 33 and 34, description will be made of the pump portion (reciprocating pump) 20b, whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. Part (a) of Figure 34 is a cross-sectional view of the developer supply container 1, in which the pump portion 20b is expanded to the maximum extent during the developer supply step, and part (b) of Figure 34 is a cross-sectional view of the developer supply container 1, in which the pump portion 20b is compressed to the maximum extent during the developer supply step.

The pump portion 20 b of this example functions as a suction and discharge mechanism for alternately repeating a suction operation and a discharge operation through the discharge port 21 a .

As shown in part (b) of Figure 33, the pump portion 20b is provided between the discharge portion 21h and the cylindrical portion 20k and is fixedly connected to the cylindrical portion 20k. Therefore, the pump portion 20b can rotate integrally with the cylindrical portion 20k.

In the pump portion 20b of this example, the developer can be accommodated therein. The developer accommodating space in the pump portion 20b has an important function of fluidizing the developer in a pumping operation, which will be described below.

In this example, the pump portion 20b is a positive displacement pump (bellows-shaped pump) made of a resin material, wherein the volume of the pump changes with reciprocating motion. More particularly, as shown in (a)-(b) of Figure 33, the bellows-shaped pump periodically and alternately includes peaks and bottoms. The pump portion 20b repeats compression and expansion alternately by the driving force received from the developer replenishing device 8. In this example, the volume change caused by expansion and contraction is ^15cm3 (cc). As shown in part (d) of Figure 33, the total length L2 of the pump portion 20b (the most expanded state within the expansion and contraction range during operation) is about 50mm, and the maximum outer diameter R2 of the pump portion 20b (the maximum state within the expansion and contraction range during operation) is about 65mm.

Using such a pump portion 20b, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 (developer accommodating portion 20 and discharge portion 21h) that is higher than the ambient pressure and the internal pressure that is lower than the ambient pressure are alternately and repeatedly generated at a predetermined cycle (approximately 0.9 seconds in this example). The ambient pressure is the pressure of the environmental conditions in which the developer supply container 1 is placed. Therefore, the developer in the discharge portion 21h can be efficiently discharged through the small-diameter discharge port 21a (diameter of approximately 2 mm).

As shown in part (b) of Figure 33, the pump portion 20b is rotatably connected to the discharge portion 21h relative to the discharge portion 21h in a state where the end portion on one side of the discharge portion 21h is compressed against the annular sealing member 27 provided on the inner surface of the flange portion 21.

Thus, the pump portion 20b rotates while sliding on the sealing member 27, and therefore, during the rotation, the developer does not leak from the pump portion 20b, and the sealing property is maintained. Therefore, during the supply operation, the air is properly introduced and discharged through the discharge port 21a, and the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 (the pump portion 20b, the developer accommodating portion 20, and the discharge portion 21h) changes appropriately.

(Drive transmission mechanism)

Description will be made with respect to the drive receiving mechanism (drive input portion, drive force receiving portion) of the developer supply container 1 for receiving the rotational force of the rotation feeding portion 20 c from the developer replenishing device 8 .

As shown in part (a) of Figure 33, the developer supply container 1 is provided with a gear portion 20a serving as a drive receiving mechanism (drive input portion, drive force receiving portion) that can engage (drive-connect) with the drive gear 300 (serving as a drive mechanism) of the developer replenishing device 8. The gear portion 20a is fixed to one longitudinal end portion of the pump portion 20b. Therefore, the gear portion 20a, the pump portion 20b, and the cylindrical portion 20k can rotate integrally.

Therefore, the rotational force input from the driving gear 300 to the gear portion 20a is transmitted to the cylindrical portion 20k (feeding portion 20c) via the pump portion 20b.

In other words, in this example, the pump portion 20 b functions as a drive transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational force input to the gear portion 20 a to the feeding portion 20 c of the developer accommodating portion 20 .

For this reason, the bellows-shaped pump portion 20b of this example is made of a resin material having a property highly resistant to twisting or torsion about the axis within a limit that does not adversely affect the expansion and contraction operations.

In this example, the gear portion 20a is provided at one longitudinal end portion (developer feeding direction) of the developer accommodating portion 20, that is, at the end portion on the discharge portion 21h side, but this is not necessarily the case, and the gear portion 20a may be provided at the other longitudinal end portion side, that is, at the rear end portion, of the developer accommodating portion 20. In such a case, the driving gear 300 is provided at the corresponding position.

In this example, a gear mechanism is used as the drive connection mechanism between the drive input portion of the developer supply container 1 and the driver of the developer replenishing device 8. However, this is not necessarily the case, and a known coupling mechanism, for example, may also be used. More specifically, in such a case, the structure may be such that a non-circular recess is provided in the bottom surface of one longitudinal end portion (the right side end surface in (d) of FIG. 33 ) as the drive input portion, and correspondingly, a protrusion having a configuration corresponding to the recess serves as the driver for the developer replenishing device 8, so that they are drive-connected to each other.

(Drive conversion mechanism)

The drive converting mechanism (drive converting portion) for the developer supply container 1 will be described.

The developer supply container 1 is provided with a cam mechanism for converting the rotational force received by the gear portion 20a for rotating the feeding portion 20c into a force in the reciprocating direction of the pump portion 20b.

That is, in the examples, description will be made regarding an example using a cam mechanism as the drive conversion mechanism, but the present invention is not limited to this example, and other structures such as the below-described embodiment 6 are also applicable.

In this example, one drive input portion (gear portion 20a) receives driving force for driving the feeding portion 20c and the pump portion 20b, and the rotational force received by the gear portion 20a is converted into a reciprocating force on the developer supply container 1 side.

Due to this structure, the structure of the drive input mechanism for the developer supply container 1 is simplified compared to the case where the developer supply container 1 is provided with two separate drive input portions. In addition, the drive is received by a single drive gear of the developer replenishing device 8, and therefore the drive mechanism of the developer replenishing device 8 is also simplified.

In the case of receiving the reciprocating force from the developer replenishing device 8, there is a possibility that the driving connection between the developer replenishing device 8 and the developer supply container 1 is not appropriate, and thus the pump portion 20b is not driven. More specifically, when the developer supply container 1 is taken out of the image forming apparatus 100 and then installed again, the pump portion 20b may not reciprocate appropriately.

For example, if the drive input to the pump portion 20b is stopped while the pump portion 20b is compressed from its normal length, the pump portion 20b automatically returns to its normal length when the developer supply container 1 is removed. In this case, the position of the drive input portion for the pump portion 20b changes when the developer supply container 1 is removed, even though the stopped position of the drive output portion on the imaging device 100 side remains unchanged. As a result, a proper drive connection is not established between the drive output portion on the imaging device 100 side and the drive input portion of the pump portion 20b on the developer supply container 1 side, and the pump portion 20b cannot reciprocate. Consequently, developer supply is not performed, and imaging becomes impossible sooner or later.

Such a problem may similarly arise when the expanded and contracted state of the pump portion 20b is changed by the user while the developer supply container 1 is outside the apparatus.

Such a problem similarly arises when the developer supply container 1 is replaced with a new one.

The structure of this example does not have such a problem basically.This will be described in detail.

As shown in Figures 33 and 34, the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20k of the developer accommodating portion 20 is provided with a plurality of cam protrusions 20d serving as rotatable portions at substantially uniform intervals in the circumferential direction. More specifically, two cam protrusions 20d are arranged on the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20k at radially opposite positions (that is, at approximately 180° relative positions).

The number of cam protrusions 20d may be at least one. However, there is a possibility that a moment may be generated in the drive conversion mechanism or the like due to drag when the pump portion 20b expands or contracts, and thus smooth reciprocating motion may be disturbed. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a plurality of cam protrusions so as to maintain a relationship with the configuration of the cam groove 21b to be described below.

On the other hand, a cam groove 21b that engages with the cam protrusion 20d is formed in the inner surface of the flange portion 21 over the entire circumference, and it acts as a follower portion. Referring to Figure 35, the cam groove 21b will be described. In Figure 35, arrow A indicates the rotational movement direction of the cylindrical portion 20k (the movement direction of the cam protrusion 20d), arrow B indicates the expansion direction of the pump portion 20b, and arrow C indicates the compression direction of the pump portion 20b. Here, angle α is formed between the cam groove 21c and the rotational movement direction A of the cylindrical portion 20k, and angle β is formed between the cam groove 21d and the rotational movement direction A. In addition, the amplitude of the cam groove in the expansion and contraction directions B and C of the pump portion 20b (= the length of expansion and contraction of the pump portion 20b) is L.

As shown in FIG35 showing the cam groove 21b in a developed view, the groove portion 21c inclined from the cylindrical portion 20k side toward the discharge portion 21h side and the groove portion 21d inclined from the discharge portion 21h side toward the cylindrical portion 20k side are alternately connected. In this example, α=β.

Therefore, in this example, the cam protrusion 20d and the cam groove 21b serve as a drive transmission mechanism to the pump portion 20b. More specifically, the cam protrusion 20d and the cam groove 21b serve as a mechanism for converting the rotational force received by the gear portion 20a from the drive gear 300 into a force in the direction of the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20b (a force in the direction of the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 20k) and for transmitting this force to the pump portion 20b.

More specifically, the cylindrical portion 20k rotates along with the pump portion 20b due to the rotational force input from the drive gear 300 to the gear portion 20a, and the cam protrusion 20d rotates in response to the rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k. Therefore, the pump portion 20b reciprocates along with the cylindrical portion 20k in the direction of the rotation axis (the X direction in FIG. 33 ) via the cam groove 21b engaging with the cam protrusion 20d. The X direction is substantially parallel to the M direction in FIG. 31 and 32 .

In other words, the cam protrusion 20d and the cam groove 21b convert the rotational force input from the driving gear 300 so that the state in which the pump part 20b is expanded (part (a) of Figure 34) and the state in which the pump part 20b is contracted (part (b) of Figure 34) are repeated alternately.

Therefore, in this example, the pump portion 20b rotates with the cylindrical portion 20k, and therefore when the developer in the cylindrical portion 20k moves in the pump portion 20b, the developer can be agitated (loosened) by the rotation of the pump portion 20b. In this example, the pump portion 20b is provided between the cylindrical portion 20k and the discharge portion 21h, and therefore a stirring action can be applied to the developer fed to the discharge portion 21h, which is further advantageous.

Furthermore, as described above, in this example, the cylindrical portion 20 k reciprocates together with the pump portion 20 b , and therefore the reciprocating motion of the cylindrical portion 20 k can agitate (loosen) the developer inside the cylindrical portion 20 k .

(Setting conditions of drive conversion mechanism)

In this example, the drive conversion mechanism implements drive conversion so that the amount of developer fed to the discharge portion 21h by the rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k (per unit time) is greater than the amount discharged from the discharge portion 21h to the developer replenishing device 8 by the pump function (per unit time).

That is, if the developer discharge capacity of the pump portion 20b is higher than the developer feeding capacity of the feeding portion 20c to the discharge portion 21h, the amount of developer present in the discharge portion 21h will gradually decrease. In other words, the time period required to supply the developer from the developer supply container 1 to the developer replenishing device 8 is prevented from being extended.

In the drive conversion mechanism of this example, the amount of developer fed to the discharging portion 21h by the feeding portion 20c is 2.0 g/s, and the amount of developer discharged by the pump portion 20b is 1.2 g/s.

In addition, in the drive conversion mechanism of this example, the drive conversion is such that the pump portion 20b reciprocates a plurality of times per one full rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k. This is for the following reason.

In the case of a structure in which the cylindrical portion 20k rotates inside the developer replenishing device 8, it is preferable that the drive motor 500 is set at an output required to rotate the cylindrical portion 20k stably at all times. However, from the viewpoint of reducing energy consumption in the image forming apparatus 100 as much as possible, it is preferable to minimize the output of the drive motor 500. The output required by the drive motor 500 is calculated from the rotational torque and rotational frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k, and therefore, in order to reduce the output of the drive motor 500, the rotational frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k is minimized.

However, in the case of this example, if the rotational frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k is reduced, the number of operations of the pump portion 20b per unit time is reduced, and thus the amount of developer discharged from the developer supply container 1 (per unit time) is reduced. In other words, there is a possibility that the amount of developer discharged from the developer supply container 1 is insufficient to quickly meet the developer supply amount required by the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100.

If the volume change amount of the pump portion 20b is increased, the developer discharge amount per unit cycle of the pump portion 20b can be increased and thus can meet the requirements of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100, but doing so causes the following problem.

If the amount of change in the volume of the pump portion 20b increases, the peak value of the internal pressure (positive pressure) of the developer supply container 1 in the discharging step increases, and therefore the load required for the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20b increases.

For this reason, in this example, the pump portion 20b operates for a plurality of cycles per one full rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k. Thus, compared to a case where the pump portion 20b operates for one cycle per one full rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k, the developer discharge amount per unit time can be increased without increasing the volume change of the pump portion 20b. In response to the increase in the developer discharge amount, the rotational frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k can be reduced.

A verification experiment was conducted to examine the effects of multiple periodic operations per full rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k. In the experiment, developer was filled into the developer supply container 1, and the developer discharge amount and the rotational torque of the cylindrical portion 20k were measured. The output of the drive motor 500 required to rotate the cylindrical portion 20k (= rotational torque × rotational frequency) was then calculated based on the rotational torque of the cylindrical portion 20k and the preset rotational frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k. The experimental conditions were: the number of pump portion 20b operations per full rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k was two, the rotational frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k was 30 rpm, and the volume change of the pump portion 20b was 15 ^cm³ .

As a result of the verification experiment, the developer discharge amount from the developer supply container 1 was approximately 1.2 g/s. The rotational torque of the cylindrical portion 20 k (average torque in a normal state) was 0.64 N·m, and as a result of calculation, the output of the drive motor 500 was approximately 2 W (motor load (W) = 0.1047 × rotational torque (N·m) × rotational frequency (rpm), where 0.1047 is a unit conversion factor).

A comparative experiment was conducted in which the pump portion 20b was operated once per one rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k, the rotation frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k was 60 rpm, and the other conditions were the same as those in the above experiment. In other words, the developer discharge amount was the same as in the above experiment, i.e., approximately 1.2 g/s.

As a result of the comparative experiment, the rotation torque of the cylindrical portion 20 k (average torque in a normal state) was 0.66 N·m, and the output of the drive motor 500 was approximately 4 W by calculation.

From these experiments, it was confirmed that the pump portion 20b preferably performs the periodic operation multiple times per full rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k. In other words, it was confirmed that by doing so, the discharge performance of the developer supply container 1 can be maintained at a low rotation frequency of the cylindrical portion 20k. Using the structure of this example, the required output of the drive motor 500 can be reduced, and thus the energy consumption of the main assembly of the image forming apparatus 100 can be reduced.

(Location of drive conversion mechanism)

33 and 34 , in this example, the drive conversion mechanism (the cam mechanism composed of the cam protrusion 20 d and the cam groove 21 b) is provided outside the developer accommodating portion 20. More specifically, the drive conversion mechanism is arranged at a position separated from the internal spaces of the cylindrical portion 20 k, the pump portion 20 b, and the flange portion 21 so that the drive conversion mechanism cannot contact the developer accommodated inside the cylindrical portion 20 k, the pump portion 20 b, and the flange portion 21.

Thus, it is possible to avoid problems that may arise when the drive conversion mechanism is provided in the internal space of the developer accommodating portion 20. More specifically, the problem is that due to the developer entering the portion of the drive conversion mechanism where the sliding motion occurs, the particles of the developer are subjected to heat and pressure to soften, and thus they aggregate into agglomerates (coarse particles), or they enter the conversion mechanism, resulting in an increase in torque. This problem can be avoided.

(Developer discharge principle caused by the pump part)

34 , the developer supplying step by the pump portion will be described.

In this example, as will be described below, the drive conversion of the rotational force is performed by the drive conversion mechanism so that the suction step (suction operation through the discharge port 21a) and the discharge step (discharge operation through the discharge port 21a) are repeated alternately. The suction step and the discharge step will be described.

(Suction step)

First, the suction step (suction operation through the discharge port 21a) will be described.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 34, the suction operation is achieved by the expansion of the pump portion 20b in the direction indicated by ω by means of the above-mentioned drive conversion mechanism (cam mechanism). More specifically, by the suction operation, the volume of the portion of the developer supply container 1 that can accommodate the developer (the pump portion 20b, the cylindrical portion 20k, and the flange portion 21) increases.

At this time, the developer supply container 1 is substantially sealed except for the discharge opening 21a, and the discharge opening 21a is substantially blocked by the developer T. Therefore, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 decreases as the volume of the portion of the developer supply container 1 capable of accommodating the developer T increases.

At this time, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 is lower than the ambient pressure (external air pressure). Therefore, the air outside the developer supply container 1 enters the developer supply container 1 through the discharge port 21a due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the developer supply container 1.

At this time, air is taken in from the outside of the developer supply container 1, and thus the developer T in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a can be loosened (fluidized). More specifically, air infiltrates into the developer powder present in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a, thereby reducing the bulk density of the developer powder T and fluidizing it.

Since air is taken into the developer supply container 1 through the discharge opening 21 a , the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 varies in the vicinity of the ambient pressure (external air pressure) despite the increase in the volume of the developer supply container 1 .

In this manner, due to the fluidization of the developer T, the developer T is not compacted or clogged in the discharge port 21a, so that the developer can be smoothly discharged through the discharge port 21a in the discharge operation to be described below. Therefore, the amount of developer T discharged through the discharge port 21a (per unit time) can be maintained at a substantially constant level for a long period of time.

(Discharge step)

The discharge step (discharge operation through the discharge port 21 a ) will be described.

As shown in part (b) of Figure 34, the discharge operation is achieved by compressing the pump portion 20b in the direction indicated by γ by means of the above-mentioned drive conversion mechanism (cam mechanism). More specifically, through the discharge operation, the volume of the portion of the developer supply container 1 that can accommodate developer (the pump portion 20b, the cylindrical portion 20k, and the flange portion 21) is reduced. At this time, the developer supply container 1 is basically sealed except for the discharge port 21a, and the discharge port 21a is basically blocked by the developer T until the developer is discharged. Therefore, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 increases as the volume of the portion of the developer supply container 1 that can accommodate developer T decreases.

Since the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 is higher than the ambient pressure (external air pressure), the developer T is pushed out due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the developer supply container 1, as shown in part (b) of Figure 34. That is, the developer T is discharged from the developer supply container 1 into the developer replenishing device 8.

Thereafter, the air in the developer supply container 1 is also discharged along with the developer T, and thus the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 decreases.

As described hereinabove, according to this example, the discharge of the developer can be efficiently achieved using one reciprocating pump, and thus the mechanism for the developer discharge can be simplified.

(Cam groove setting conditions)

With reference to Figures 36-41, examples of modifications to the setting conditions of the cam groove 21b will be described. Figures 36-41 are expanded views of the cam groove 3b. With reference to the expanded views of Figures 36-41, the effects of changes in the configuration of the cam groove 21b on the operating state of the pump portion 20b will be described.

Here, in each of Figures 36-41, arrow A indicates the rotational movement direction of the developer accommodating portion 20 (the movement direction of the cam protrusion 20d); arrow B indicates the expansion direction of the pump portion 20b; and arrow C indicates the compression direction of the pump portion 20b. Furthermore, the groove portion of the cam groove 21b for compressing the pump portion 20b is designated as cam groove 21c, and the groove portion for expanding the pump portion 20b is designated as cam groove 21d. Furthermore, the angle formed between the cam groove 21c and the rotational movement direction A of the developer accommodating portion 20 is α; the angle formed between the cam groove 21d and the rotational movement direction A is β; and the amplitude of the cam groove in the expansion and contraction directions B and C of the pump portion 20b (the expansion and contraction length of the pump portion 20b) is L.

First, description will be made with respect to the expansion and contraction length L of the pump portion 20b.

When the expansion and contraction length L is shortened, the amount of change in the volume of the pump portion 20b decreases, and thus the pressure difference relative to the external air pressure decreases. Then, the pressure applied to the developer in the developer supply container 1 decreases, resulting in a decrease in the amount of developer discharged from the developer supply container 1 per cycle (one reciprocating motion, that is, one expansion and contraction operation of the pump portion 20b).

Based on this consideration, as shown in FIG36, if the amplitude L' is selected to satisfy L'<L under the condition that the angles α and β are constant, the amount of developer discharged when the pump portion 20b reciprocates once can be reduced compared to the structure of FIG35. Conversely, if L'>L, the developer discharge amount can be increased.

Regarding the angles α and β of the cam groove, when these angles increase, for example, if the rotation speed of the developer accommodating portion 20 is constant, the moving distance of the cam protrusion 20d increases when the developer accommodating portion 20 rotates for a constant time, and therefore the expansion and contraction speed of the pump portion 20b increases.

On the other hand, when the cam protrusion 20 d moves in the cam groove 21 b , the resistance received from the cam groove 21 b is large, and thus the torque required to rotate the developer accommodating portion 20 increases.

To this end, as shown in Figure 37 , if the angles α' and β' of the cam groove 21b are selected to satisfy α' > α and β' > β without changing the expansion and contraction length L, the expansion and contraction speed of the pump portion 20b can be increased compared to the structure of Figure 35 . Consequently, the number of expansion and contraction operations of the pump portion 20b can be increased per rotation of the developer accommodating portion 20. Furthermore, since the flow rate of air entering the developer supply container 1 through the discharge port 21a is increased, the loosening effect on the developer present in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a is enhanced.

Conversely, if the conditions α' < α and β' < β are selected, the rotational torque of the developer accommodating portion 20 can be reduced. When using a developer having high fluidity, for example, the expansion of the pump portion 20b tends to cause air entering through the discharge port 21a to blow out the developer present in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a. Consequently, there is a possibility that the developer may not be sufficiently accumulated in the discharge portion 21h, and the amount of developer discharged may be reduced. In this case, by reducing the expansion speed of the pump portion 20b according to this selection, the blowing of the developer can be suppressed, thereby improving the discharge performance.

As shown in FIG38, if the angle of the cam groove 21b is selected to satisfy α < β, the expansion speed of the pump portion 20b can be increased compared to the compression speed. Conversely, as shown in FIG40, if the angle α > angle β, the expansion speed of the pump portion 20b can be reduced compared to the compression speed.

When the developer is highly compacted, for example, the operating force of the pump portion 20b is greater during the compression stroke of the pump portion 20b than during its expansion stroke. As a result, the rotational torque applied to the developer accommodating portion 20 tends to be higher during the compression stroke of the pump portion 20b. However, in this case, if the cam groove 21b is configured as shown in Figure 38, the developer loosening effect during the expansion stroke of the pump portion 20b can be enhanced compared to the configuration of Figure 35. In addition, the resistance received by the cam protrusion 20d from the cam groove 21b during the compression stroke is small, and thus, the increase in the rotational torque during the compression of the pump portion 20b can be suppressed.

As shown in Figure 39, a cam groove 21e that is substantially parallel to the rotational movement direction (arrow A in the figure) of the developer accommodating portion 20 may be provided between the cam grooves 21c, 21d. In this case, the cam does not function when the cam protrusion 20d is moving in the cam groove 21e, and thus a step in which the pump portion 20b does not perform expansion and contraction operations can be provided.

By doing so, if a process is provided in which the pump portion 20b is rested in an expanded state, the developer loosening effect is improved because then in the initial discharge stage in which the developer is always present in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a, the pressure reduced state in the developer supply container 1 is maintained during the rest period.

On the other hand, in the final part of the discharge operation, the developer is not sufficiently stored in the discharge portion 21h because the amount of developer inside the developer supply container 1 is small and the developer existing in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a is blown up by the air entering through the discharge port 212a.

In other words, the developer discharge amount tends to gradually decrease, but even in such a case, the discharge portion 21h can be sufficiently filled with developer by continuing to feed the developer in the expanded state during the rest period by rotating the developer accommodating portion 20. Therefore, a stable developer discharge amount can be maintained until the developer supply container 1 becomes empty.

Furthermore, in the configuration of FIG35 , by making the expansion and contraction length L of the cam groove longer, the developer discharge amount per cycle of the pump portion 20b can be increased. However, in this case, the volume change of the pump portion 20b increases, and thus the pressure difference relative to the external air pressure also increases. Consequently, the driving force required to drive the pump portion 20b also increases, and as a result, there is a tendency for the driving load required to drive the developer replenishing device 8 to become excessive.

In this case, in order to increase the developer discharge amount per cycle of the pump portion 20b without causing such problems, the angle of the cam groove 21b is selected to satisfy α>β, whereby the compression speed of the pump portion 20b can be increased compared to the expansion speed, as shown in Figure 40.

A verification experiment was performed on the structure of FIG40 .

In the experiment, developer was filled into a developer supply container 1 having the cam groove 21b shown in Figure 40 ; the volume of the pump portion 20b was changed to discharge the developer in the order of compression and then expansion; and the discharge amount was measured. The experimental conditions were: the volume change of the pump portion 20b was 50 ^cm³ , the compression speed of the pump portion 20b was 180 ^cm³ /s, and the expansion speed of the pump portion 20b was 60 ^cm³ /s. The cycle of the operation of the pump portion 20b was approximately 1.1 seconds.

The developer discharge amount was measured in the case of the structure of Figure 35. However, the compression speed and expansion speed of the pump portion 20b were 90 ^cm3 /s, and the volume change amount of the pump portion 20b and one cycle of the pump portion 20b were the same as in the example of Figure 40.

The results of the verification experiment will be described. Part (a) of Figure 42 shows the change in the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 during the volume change of the pump 2b. In part (a) of Figure 42, the abscissa represents time, and the ordinate represents the relative pressure in the developer supply container 1 relative to the ambient pressure (reference (0)) (+ is the positive pressure side, + is the negative pressure side). The solid line and the dotted line are for the developer supply container 1 having the cam groove 21b of Figure 40 and the cam groove of Figure 35, respectively.

During the compression operation of the pump portion 20b, in both examples, the internal pressure rises with the passage of time and reaches a peak value when the compression operation is completed. At this time, the pressure in the developer supply container 1 changes within a positive range relative to the ambient pressure (external air pressure), and thus the internal developer is pressurized and discharged through the discharge port 21a.

Subsequently, in the expansion operation of the pump portion 20b, in both examples, the volume of the pump portion 20b increases, and the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 decreases. At this time, the pressure in the developer supply container 1 changes from positive pressure to negative pressure relative to the ambient pressure (external air pressure) until air is taken in through the discharge port 21a, and then, pressure continues to be applied to the internal developer and thus the developer is discharged through the discharge port 21a.

That is, in the volume change of the pump part 20b, when the developer supply container 1 is in a positive pressure state, that is, when the internal developer is pressurized, the developer is discharged, and therefore the developer discharge amount in the volume change of the pump part 20b increases with the time integral of the pressure.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 42, the peak pressure when completing the compression operation of the pump 2b is 5.7 kPa when using the structure of Figure 40 and 5.4 kPa when using the structure of Figure 35, and the peak pressure is higher in the structure of Figure 40, although the volume change of the pump part 20b is the same. This is because by increasing the compression speed of the pump part 20b, the interior of the developer supply container 1 is suddenly pressurized, and the developer is immediately concentrated to the discharge port 21a, as a result of which the discharge resistance of the developer discharged through the discharge port 21a becomes larger. Since the discharge port 3a has a small diameter in both examples, the trend is obvious. Since the time required for one cycle of the pump part is the same in both examples, as shown in (a) of Figure 42, the time integral of the pressure is larger in the example of Figure 40.

Table 2 below shows measured data of the developer discharge amount per one cycle of the operation of the pump portion 20b.

Table 2

Developer discharge amount (g) Figure 35 3.4 Figure 40 3.7 Figure 41 4.5

As shown in Table 2, the developer discharge amount is 3.7 g in the structure of Figure 40 and 3.4 g in the structure of Figure 35, that is, it is larger in the case of the structure of Figure 40. From these results and the results of part (a) of Figure 42, it has been confirmed that the developer discharge amount per one cycle of the pump portion 20b increases with the time integrated amount of the pressure.

In summary, the developer discharge amount per one cycle of the pump portion 20b can be increased by making the compression speed of the pump portion 20b higher than the expansion speed and making the peak pressure in the compression operation of the pump portion 20b higher, as shown in FIG.

Description will be made regarding another method for increasing the developer discharge amount per one cycle of the pump portion 20b.

With the cam groove 21b shown in FIG41, similarly to the case of FIG39, a cam groove 21e that is substantially parallel to the rotational movement direction of the developer supply and accommodating portion 20 is provided between the cam groove 21c and the cam groove 21d. However, in the case of the cam groove 21b shown in FIG41, the cam groove 21e is provided at such a position that in the cycle of the pump portion 20b, after the compression operation of the pump portion 20b, the operation of the pump portion 20b stops in a state in which the pump portion 20b is compressed.

The developer discharge amount was similarly measured for the structure of Fig. 41. In the verification experiment conducted therefor, the compression speed and expansion speed of the pump portion 20b were 180 ^cm3 /s, and the other conditions were the same as those of the example of Fig. 40.

The results of the verification experiment will be described. Part (b) of Figure 42 shows the change in the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 during the expansion and contraction operation of the pump portion 2b. The solid line and the dotted line are for the developer supply container 1 having the cam groove 21b of Figure 41 and the cam groove 21b of Figure 40, respectively.

Also in the case of FIG41 , the internal pressure rises over time during the compression operation of the pump portion 20b, reaching a peak upon completion of the compression operation. At this time, similar to FIG40 , the pressure in the developer supply container 1 changes within the positive range, and thus the developer inside is discharged. In the example of FIG41 , the compression speed of the pump portion 20b is the same as in the example of FIG40 , and therefore, the peak pressure upon completion of the compression operation of the pump portion 2b is 5.7 kPa, which is the same as in the example of FIG40 .

Subsequently, when the pump portion 20b stops in the compressed state, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 gradually decreases. This is because the pressure generated by the compression operation of the pump 2b remains after the operation of the pump 2b stops, and the internal developer and air are discharged due to this pressure. However, the internal pressure can be maintained at a higher level than in the case of starting the expansion operation immediately after the completion of the compression operation, and therefore a larger amount of developer is discharged during this period.

When the expansion operation is started thereafter, similarly to the example of Figure 40, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 decreases, and the developer is discharged until the pressure in the developer supply container 1 becomes negative because the internal developer is continuously squeezed.

When the time integral value of the pressure is compared, as shown in part (b) of Figure 42, it is larger in the case of Figure 41 because a high internal pressure is maintained during the rest period of the pump part 20b under the same duration in the unit cycle of the pump part 20b in these examples.

As shown in Table 2, the measured developer discharge amount per one cycle of the pump portion 20b is 4.5 g in the case of Figure 41, and is larger than that (3.7 g) in the case of Figure 40. From the results of Table 2 and the results shown in part (b) of Figure 42, it has been confirmed that the developer discharge amount per one cycle of the pump portion 20b increases with the time integrated amount of the pressure.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 41, after the compression operation, the operation of the pump portion 20b is stopped in the compression state. Therefore, the peak pressure in the developer supply container 1 during the compression operation of the pump 2b is high, and the pressure is maintained at a level as high as possible, whereby the developer discharge amount per one cycle of the pump portion 20b can be further increased.

As described above, by changing the configuration of the cam groove 21b, the discharge capacity of the developer supply container 1 can be adjusted, and thus the device of this embodiment can respond to the amount of developer required by the developer replenishing device 8 and to the properties of the developer to be used, etc.

In Figures 35-41, the discharge operation and the suction operation of the pump part 20b are performed alternately, but the discharge operation and/or the suction operation can be temporarily stopped in the middle, and after a predetermined time, the discharge operation and/or the suction operation can be continued.

For example, a possible alternative is to not monotonically perform the discharge operation of the pump portion 20b, but to temporarily stop the compression operation of the pump portion midway, and then continue the compression operation to achieve discharge. The same applies to the suction operation. In addition, the discharge operation and/or the suction operation can be multi-stage as long as the developer discharge amount and discharge speed are satisfied. Therefore, even when the discharge operation and/or the suction operation are divided into multiple stages, the discharge operation and the suction operation are still repeated alternately.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, in this example, the driving force for rotating the feed portion (the spiral protrusion 20c) and the driving force for reciprocating the pump portion (the bellows-shaped portion 2b) are received by a single drive input portion (the gear portion 20a). Therefore, the structure of the drive input mechanism of the developer supply container can be simplified. In addition, the driving force is applied to the developer supply container by a single drive mechanism (the drive gear 300) provided in the developer replenishing device, and thus the drive mechanism for the developer replenishing device can be simplified. In addition, a simple and easy mechanism can be used to position the developer supply container relative to the developer replenishing device.

With the structure of this example, the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device for rotating the feeding portion is converted by the drive conversion mechanism of the developer supply container, whereby the pump portion can be properly reciprocated. In other words, in a system in which the developer supply container receives the reciprocating force from the developer replenishing device, proper driving of the pump portion is ensured.

(Example 6)

With reference to Figure 43 (parts (a) and (b)), the structure of Example 6 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 43 is a schematic perspective view of the developer supply container 1, and part (b) of Figure 43 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the pump portion 20b is expanded. In this example, the same reference numerals as those in Example 1 are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted.

In this example, the drive conversion mechanism (cam mechanism) is provided together with the pump portion 20b in a position dividing the cylindrical portion 20k with respect to the rotation axis direction of the developer supply container 1, which is significantly different from Embodiment 5. Other structures are substantially similar to those of Embodiment 5.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 43, in this example, the cylindrical portion 20k that feeds the developer toward the discharge portion 21h by rotation includes a cylindrical portion 20k1 and a cylindrical portion 20k2. The pump portion 20b is provided between the cylindrical portion 20k1 and the cylindrical portion 20k2.

The cam flange portion 15, which serves as a drive conversion mechanism, is provided at a position corresponding to the pump portion 20b. As in Embodiment 5, the inner surface of the cam flange portion 15 is provided with a cam groove 15a extending over the entire circumference. On the other hand, the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20k2 is provided with a cam protrusion 20d, which serves as a drive conversion mechanism, and is locked with the cam groove 15a.

The developer replenishing device 8 is provided with a portion similar to the rotational movement direction restriction portion 11 (Figure 31) and is held substantially non-rotatably by this portion. In addition, the developer replenishing device 8 is provided with a portion similar to the rotation axis direction restriction portion 30 (Figure 31), and the flange portion 15 is held substantially non-rotatably by this portion.

Therefore, when the rotational force is input to the gear portion 20a, the pump portion 20b reciprocates together with the cylindrical portion 20k2 in the directions ω and γ.

As previously described, in this example, the suction and discharge operations can be performed by a single pump, thus simplifying the structure of the developer discharge mechanism. By utilizing the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, thereby effectively loosening the developer. Furthermore, in the case where the pump portion 20b is also provided at a position that divides the cylindrical portion, as in Example 5, the pump portion 20b can be reciprocated by the rotational drive force received from the developer replenishing device 8.

Here, from the viewpoint that the pumping action of the pump portion 20b can be effectively applied to the developer stored in the discharge portion 21h, the structure of Embodiment 5 in which the pump portion 20b is directly connected to the discharge portion 21h is preferable.

In addition, this embodiment requires an additional cam flange portion (drive conversion mechanism) that must be substantially fixedly held by the developer replenishing device 8. Furthermore, this embodiment requires an additional mechanism for restricting the movement of the cam flange portion 15 in the rotation axis direction of the cylindrical portion 20k in the developer replenishing device 8. Therefore, considering such complexities, the structure of Embodiment 5 using the flange portion 21 is preferable.

This is because in Embodiment 5, the flange portion 21 is supported by the developer replenishing device 8 so that the position of the discharge port 21a is substantially fixed, and one of the cam mechanisms constituting the drive conversion mechanism is provided in the flange portion 21. That is, the drive conversion mechanism is simplified in this manner.

(Example 7)

44, the structure of Embodiment 7 will be described. In this example, the same reference numerals as those in the previous embodiments are given to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

This example differs significantly from Embodiment 5 in that a drive conversion mechanism (cam mechanism) is provided at the upstream end of the developer supply container 1 relative to the developer feeding direction and a stirring member 20m is used to feed the developer in the cylindrical portion 20k. The other structures are substantially similar to those of Embodiment 5.

As shown in Figure 44, in this example, a stirring member 20m is provided as a feeding portion in the cylindrical portion 20k and rotates relative to the cylindrical portion 20k. The stirring member 20m rotates relative to the cylindrical portion 20k, which is non-rotatably fixed to the developer replenishing device 8, by a rotational force received by the gear portion 20a, whereby the developer is fed toward the discharge portion 21h in the direction of the rotation axis while being stirred. More specifically, the stirring member 20m is provided with a shaft portion and a feeding blade portion fixed to the shaft portion.

In this example, a gear portion 20a as a drive input portion is provided at one longitudinal end portion (right side in Figure 44) of the developer supply container 1, and the gear portion 20a is coaxially connected to the stirring member 20m.

In addition, a hollow cam flange portion 21i integral with the gear portion 20a is provided at one longitudinal end portion of the developer supply container (on the right side in Figure 44) so as to rotate coaxially with the gear portion 20a. The cam flange portion 21i is provided with a cam groove 21b extending over the entire inner circumference in the inner surface, and the cam groove 21b engages with two cam protrusions 20d provided on the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20k at substantially radially opposite positions.

One end portion of the cylindrical portion 20k (on the discharge portion 21h side) is fixed to the pump portion 20b, and the pump portion 20b is fixed to the flange portion 21 at its one end portion (on the discharge portion 21h side). They are fixed by welding. Therefore, in a state in which the developer replenishing device 8 is mounted, the pump portion 20b and the cylindrical portion 20k are substantially non-rotatable relative to the flange portion 21.

In this example as well, similar to Embodiment 5, when the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the developer replenishing device 8 , the flange portion 21 (discharge portion 21 h ) is prevented from moving in the rotational movement direction and the rotational axis direction by the developer replenishing device 8 .

Therefore, when the rotational force is inputted to the gear portion 20a from the developer replenishing device 8, the cam flange portion 21i rotates together with the stirring member 20m. As a result, the cam protrusion 20d is driven by the cam groove 21b of the cam flange portion 21i, causing the cylindrical portion 20k to reciprocate in the rotation axis direction to expand and contract the pump portion 20b.

In this manner, the developer is fed to the discharge portion 21 h by the rotation of the stirring member 20 m , and the developer in the discharge portion 21 h is finally discharged through the discharge port 21 a by means of the suction and discharge operation of the pump portion 20 b .

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, in the structure of this example, similar to Embodiment 5-6, the rotation operation of the stirring member 20m provided in the cylindrical portion 20k and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20b can be performed by the rotational force received by the gear portion 20a from the developer replenishing device 8.

In the case of this example, the stress applied to the developer at the cylindrical portion 20 k in the developer feeding step tends to be large, and the driving torque is large, and from this viewpoint, the structures of Embodiments 5 and 6 are preferable.

(Example 8)

With reference to Figure 45 (parts (a) to (d)), the structure of Embodiment 8 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 45 is a schematic perspective view of the developer supply container 1, (b) is an enlarged sectional view of the developer supply container 1, and (c) to (d) are enlarged perspective views of the cam portion. In this example, the same reference numerals as those in the previous embodiment are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted.

This example is substantially the same as Embodiment 5 except that the pump portion 20 b is made non-rotatable by the developer replenishing device 8 .

In this example, as shown in parts (a) and (b) of Figure 45 , a relay portion 20f is provided between the cylindrical portion 20k and the pump portion 20b of the developer accommodating portion 20. The relay portion 20f is provided with two cam protrusions 20d on its outer surface at positions substantially diametrically opposed to each other, and one end portion thereof (discharge portion 21h side) is connected to and fixed to the pump portion 20b (welding method).

The other end portion (discharging portion 21 h side) of the pump portion 20 b is fixed to the flange portion 21 (welding method), and in a state of being mounted to the developer replenishing device 8 , the pump portion is substantially non-rotatable.

The sealing member 27 is compressed between the cylindrical portion 20k and the relay portion 20f, and the cylindrical portion 20k is united so as to be rotatable relative to the relay portion 20f. The outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 20k is provided with a rotation receiving portion (protrusion) 20g for receiving a rotational force from the cam gear portion 7, which will be described below.

On the other hand, a cylindrical cam gear portion 7 is provided so as to cover the outer surface of the relay portion 20f. The cam gear portion 7 is engaged with the flange portion 21 so as to be substantially fixed relative to the rotation axis direction of the cylindrical portion 20k (movement within the range of play is allowed) and rotatable relative to the flange portion 21.

As shown in part (c) of Figure 45 , the cam gear portion 7 is provided with a gear portion 7a serving as a drive input portion for receiving a rotational force from the developer replenishing device 8, and a cam groove 7b that engages with the cam protrusion 20d. Furthermore, as shown in part (d) of Figure 45 , the cam gear portion 7 is provided with a rotationally engaged portion (recess) 7c that engages with the rotationally engaged portion 20g so as to rotate together with the cylindrical portion 20k. Thus, through the aforementioned engagement relationship, the rotationally engaged portion (recess) 7c is allowed to move relative to the rotationally engaged portion 20g in the direction of the rotation axis, but it can rotate as a whole in the rotational movement direction.

Description will be made focusing on the developer supplying step of the developer supply container 1 in this example.

When the gear portion 7a receives a rotational force from the driving gear 300 of the developer replenishing device 8 and the cam gear portion 7 rotates, the cam gear portion 7 rotates together with the cylindrical portion 20k due to the engagement relationship between the rotation engaging portion 7c and the rotation receiving portion 20g. That is, the rotation engaging portion 7c and the rotation receiving portion 20g serve to transmit the rotational force received by the gear portion 7a from the developer replenishing device 8 to the cylindrical portion 20k (feeding portion 20c).

On the other hand, similarly to Embodiments 5 to 7, when the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the developer replenishing device 8, the flange portion 21 is non-rotatably supported by the developer replenishing device 8, and therefore the relay portion 20f and the pump portion 20b fixed to the flange portion 21 are also non-rotatable. In addition, the movement of the flange portion 21 in the rotation axis direction is prevented by the developer replenishing device 8.

Therefore, when the cam gear portion 7 rotates, a cam function occurs between the cam groove 7b of the cam gear portion 7 and the cam protrusion 20d of the relay portion 20f. Therefore, the rotational force input from the developer replenishing device 8 to the gear portion 7a is converted into a force that causes the relay portion 20f and the cylindrical portion 20k to reciprocate in the direction of the rotation axis of the developer accommodating portion 20. Therefore, the pump portion 20b fixed to the flange portion 21 at one end position relative to the reciprocating direction (the left side in part (b) of Figure 45) expands and contracts in conjunction with the reciprocating movement of the relay portion 20f and the cylindrical portion 20k, thereby achieving a pumping operation.

In this manner, the developer is fed by the feeding portion 20c to the discharging portion 21h as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, and the developer in the discharging portion 21h is finally discharged through the discharging port 21a by the suction and discharge operation of the pump portion 20b.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, in this example, the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8 is simultaneously transmitted and converted into a force for rotating the cylindrical portion 20k and a force for reciprocating the pump portion 20b in the rotation axis direction (expansion and contraction operation).

Therefore, also in this example, similarly to Embodiments 5-7, by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8, both the rotational operation of the cylindrical portion 20k (feeding portion 20c) and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20b can be realized.

(Example 9)

With reference to parts (a) and (b) of Figure 46 , Embodiment 9 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 46 is a schematic perspective view of the developer supply container 1, and part (b) is an enlarged sectional view of the developer supply container 1. In this example, the same reference numerals as those in the previous embodiments are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

This example significantly differs from Embodiment 5 in that the rotational force received from the driving mechanism 300 of the developer replenishing device 8 is converted into a reciprocating force for reciprocating the pump portion 20b, and then the reciprocating force is converted into a rotational force for rotating the cylindrical portion 20k.

In this example, as shown in part (b) of Figure 46, the relay portion 20f is provided between the pump portion 20b and the cylindrical portion 20k. The relay portion 20f includes two cam protrusions 20d at substantially radially opposite positions, and one end side (discharge portion 21h side) thereof is connected and fixed to the pump portion 20b by welding.

The other end portion (discharging portion 21 h side) of the pump portion 20 b is fixed to the flange portion 21 (welding method), and in a state of being mounted to the developer replenishing device 8 , the pump portion is substantially unrotatable.

The sealing member 27 is compressed between one end portion of the cylindrical portion 20k and the relay portion 20f, and the cylindrical portion 20k is united so that it can rotate relative to the relay portion 20f. The outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 20k is provided with two cam protrusions 20i respectively at substantially radially opposite positions.

On the other hand, a cylindrical cam gear portion 7 is provided so as to cover the outer surfaces of the pump portion 20b and the relay portion 20f. The cam gear portion 7 is engaged so that it cannot move relative to the flange portion 21 in the direction of the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 20k, but it is rotatable relative to the flange portion. The cam gear portion 7 is provided with a gear portion 7a as a drive input portion for receiving a rotational force from the developer replenishing device 8, and a cam groove 7b that engages with the cam protrusion 20d.

Furthermore, a cam flange portion 15 is provided that covers the outer surfaces of the relay portion 20f and the cylindrical portion 20k. The cam flange portion 15 is substantially immovable when the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the mounting portion 8f of the developer replenishing device 8. The cam flange portion 15 is provided with a cam protrusion 20i and a cam groove 15a.

The developer supplying step in this example will be described.

The gear portion 7a receives a rotational force from the driving gear 300 of the developer replenishing device 8, whereby the cam gear portion 7 rotates. Then, since the pump portion 20b and the relay portion 20f are non-rotatably held by the flange portion 21, a cam function occurs between the cam groove 7b of the cam gear portion 7 and the cam protrusion 20d of the relay portion 20f.

More specifically, the rotational force input from the developer replenishing device 8 to the gear portion 7a is converted into a force that causes the relay portion 20f to reciprocate in the direction of the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 20k. Therefore, the pump portion 20b fixed to the flange portion 21 at one end portion (left side of part (b) of Figure 46) with respect to the reciprocating direction expands and contracts in conjunction with the reciprocating movement of the relay portion 20f, thereby achieving a pumping operation.

As the relay portion 20f reciprocates, a cam action acts between the cam groove 15a of the cam flange portion 15 and the cam protrusion 20i, thereby converting a force in the direction of the rotational axis into a force in the direction of rotational motion. This force is then transmitted to the cylindrical portion 20k. Consequently, the cylindrical portion 20k (feed portion 20c) rotates. In this manner, as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, the developer is fed from the feed portion 20c to the discharge portion 21h. The developer in the discharge portion 21h is eventually discharged through the discharge port 21a by the suction and discharge operation of the pump portion 20b.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, in this example, the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8 is converted into a force that reciprocates the pump portion 20b in the rotation axis direction (expansion and contraction operation), and then the force is converted into a force that rotates the cylindrical portion 20k and is transmitted.

Therefore, also in this example, similarly to Embodiments 5-8, by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8, both the rotational operation of the cylindrical portion 20k (feeding portion 20c) and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20b can be realized.

However, in this example, the rotational force input from the developer replenishing device 8 is converted into a reciprocating force and then converted into a force in the direction of rotational motion, so the structure of the drive conversion mechanism is complicated, and therefore embodiments 5-8 in which reconversion is unnecessary are preferred.

(Example 10)

Embodiment 10 will be described with reference to parts (a)-(b) of Figure 47 and parts (a)-(d) of Figure 48. Part (a) of Figure 47 is a schematic perspective view of the developer supply container, part (b) is an enlarged sectional view of the developer supply container 1, and parts (a)-(d) of Figure 48 are enlarged views of the drive conversion mechanism. In parts (a)-(d) of Figure 48, the gear ring 60 and the rotary engagement portion 8b are shown as always being in the top position to better illustrate their operation. In this example, the same reference numerals as in the aforementioned embodiment are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted.

In this example, the drive conversion mechanism uses bevel gears, which is in contrast to the previous examples.

As shown in part (b) of Figure 47, the relay portion 20f is provided between the pump portion 20b and the cylindrical portion 20k. The relay portion 20f is provided with an engaging protrusion 20h that engages with a connecting portion 62 to be described later.

The other end portion (discharging portion 21 h side) of the pump portion 20 b is fixed to the flange portion 21 (welding method), and in a state of being mounted to the developer replenishing device 8 , the pump portion is substantially unrotatable.

The sealing member 27 is compressed between the end portion of the cylindrical portion 20k on the discharge portion 21h side and the relay portion 20f, and the cylindrical portion 20k is united so as to be rotatable relative to the relay portion 20f. The outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 20k is provided with a rotation receiving portion (protrusion) 20g for receiving a rotational force from the gear ring 60 to be described later.

On the other hand, a cylindrical gear ring 60 is provided so as to cover the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20 k . The gear ring 60 is rotatable relative to the flange portion 21 .

As shown in parts (a) and (b) of Figure 47, the gear ring 60 includes a gear portion 60a for transmitting rotational force to a bevel gear 61 described below, and a rotation engagement portion (recess) 60b for engaging with the rotation receiving portion 20g to rotate together with the cylindrical portion 20k. Through the above-mentioned engagement relationship, the rotation engagement portion (recess) 60b is allowed to move relative to the rotation receiving portion 20g in the direction of the rotation axis, but it can rotate as a whole in the direction of rotational movement.

On the outer surface of the flange portion 21, a bevel gear 61 is provided so as to be rotatable relative to the flange portion 21. Furthermore, the bevel gear 61 and the engaging protrusion 20h are connected by a connecting portion 62.

The developer supplying step of the developer supply container 1 will be described.

When the cylindrical portion 20k receives the rotational force from the driving gear 300 of the developer replenishing device 8 via the gear portion 20a of the developer accommodating portion 20 and rotates, the gear ring 60 rotates along with the cylindrical portion 20k because the cylindrical portion 20k is engaged with the gear ring 60 via the rotation receiving portion 20g. That is, the rotation receiving portion 20g and the rotation engaging portion 60b serve to transmit the rotational force input from the developer replenishing device 8 to the gear ring 60.

On the other hand, when the gear ring 60 rotates, the rotational force is transmitted from the gear portion 60a to the bevel gear 61, causing the bevel gear 61 to rotate. The rotation of the bevel gear 61 is converted into the reciprocating motion of the engagement protrusion 20h through the connecting portion 62, as shown in parts (a)-(d) of Figure 48. As a result, the relay portion 20f having the engagement protrusion 20h reciprocates. Therefore, the pump portion 20b expands and contracts in conjunction with the reciprocating motion of the relay portion 20f to achieve pumping operation.

In this manner, the developer is fed by the feeding portion 20c to the discharging portion 21h as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, and the developer in the discharging portion 21h is finally discharged through the discharging port 21a by the suction and discharge operation of the pump portion 20b.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

Therefore, also in this example, similarly to Embodiments 5-9, by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8, both the rotational operation of the cylindrical portion 20k (feeding portion 20c) and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20b can be realized.

In the case of a drive conversion mechanism using bevel gears, the number of components increases, and therefore the structures of Embodiments 5 to 9 are preferable.

(Example 11)

With reference to FIG49 (parts (a)-(c)), the structure of Example 11 will be described. Part (a) of FIG49 is an enlarged perspective view of the drive conversion mechanism, and parts (b)-(c) are enlarged views thereof as seen from the top. In this example, the same reference numerals as in the previous embodiment are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted. In parts (b) and (c) of FIG49, the gear ring 60 and the rotary engagement portion 60b are schematically shown at the top for ease of operation.

In this embodiment, the drive conversion mechanism includes a magnet (magnetic field generating means), which is significantly different from the previous embodiment.

As shown in Figure 49 (Figure 48 when necessary), the bevel gear 61 is provided with a rectangular parallelepiped magnet, and the engaging protrusion 20h of the relay part 20f is provided with a rod-shaped magnet 64 having a magnetic pole pointing toward the magnet 63. The rectangular parallelepiped magnet 63 has an N pole at one longitudinal end and an S pole at the other end, and its orientation changes as the bevel gear 61 rotates. The rod-shaped magnet 64 has an S pole at one longitudinal end adjacent to the outside of the container and an N pole at the other end, and it is movable in the direction of the rotation axis. The magnet 64 is non-rotatable due to the elongated guide groove formed in the outer peripheral surface of the flange part 21.

With such a structure, when magnet 63 rotates by the rotation of bevel gear 61, the magnetic poles facing the magnets are interchanged, and thus attraction and repulsion between magnet 63 and magnet 64 are alternately repeated. Therefore, pump portion 20b fixed to relay portion 20f reciprocates in the rotation axis direction.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

As described hereinbefore, similarly to Embodiments 5 to 10, in this embodiment, the rotational operation of the feeding portion 20 c (cylindrical portion 20 k ) and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20 b are both performed by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8 .

In this example, the bevel gear 61 is provided with a magnet, but this is not inevitable, and another way of using magnetic force (magnetic field) is applicable.

From the perspective of drive conversion reliability, Embodiments 5 to 10 are preferred. When the developer contained in the developer supply container 1 is a magnetic developer (single-component magnetic toner, two-component magnetic carrier), there is a tendency for the developer to become trapped in the inner wall portion of the container adjacent to the magnet. Consequently, the amount of developer remaining in the developer supply container 1 may be large, and from this perspective, the structures of Embodiments 5 to 10 are preferred.

(Example 12)

Embodiment 12 will be described with reference to parts (a)-(b) of Figure 50 and parts (a)-(b) of Figure 51. Part (a) of Figure 50 is a schematic diagram showing the interior of the developer supply container 1, (b) is a sectional view in a state where the pump portion 20b is expanded to the maximum in the developer supply step, and part (c) is a sectional view of the developer supply container 1 in a state where the pump portion 20b is compressed to the maximum in the developer supply step. Part (a) of Figure 51 is a schematic diagram showing the interior of the developer supply container 1, and (b) is a perspective view of the rear end portion of the cylindrical portion 20k. In this example, the same reference numerals as those in the aforementioned embodiments are given to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

A significant difference in the structure of this embodiment from that of the aforementioned embodiments is that the pump portion 20b is provided at the front end portion of the developer supply container 1 and the pump portion 20b does not have a function of transmitting the rotational force received from the drive gear 300 to the cylindrical portion 20k. More specifically, the pump portion 20b is provided outside the drive conversion path of the drive conversion mechanism, that is, outside the drive transmission path extending from the coupling portion 20a (part (b) of Figure 51) that receives the rotational force from the drive gear 300 to the cam groove 20n.

This configuration is employed in accordance with the fifth embodiment. The rotational force input from the drive gear 300 is transmitted to the cylindrical portion 20k via the pump portion 20b, where it is converted into a reciprocating force. Consequently, the pump portion 20b constantly receives a force in the rotational direction during the developer supply step. Consequently, there is a tendency for the pump portion 20b to twist in the rotational direction during the developer supply step, thereby deteriorating the pumping function. This will be described in detail.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 50, the opening portion of one end portion (on the side of the discharge portion 21h) of the pump portion 20b is fixed to the flange portion 21 (welding method), and when the container is mounted to the developer replenishing device 8, the pump portion 20b is basically unable to rotate with the flange portion 21.

On the other hand, the cam flange portion 15 is provided to cover the outer surface of the flange portion 21 and/or the cylindrical portion 20k, and the cam flange portion 15 serves as a drive conversion mechanism. As shown in FIG50 , the inner surface of the cam flange portion 15 is provided with two cam protrusions 15a at radially opposite positions. Furthermore, the cam flange portion 15 is fixed to the closed side of the pump portion 20b (opposite to the discharge portion 21h side).

On the other hand, the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20 k is provided with a cam groove 20 n serving as a drive conversion mechanism, the cam groove 20 n extending over the entire circumference, and the cam protrusion 15 a engages with the cam groove 20 n.

Furthermore, unlike in Example 5, as shown in part (b) of Figure 51 , this embodiment includes a non-circular (in this example, rectangular) male coupling portion 20a, which serves as a drive input portion, on one end surface of the cylindrical portion 20k (on the upstream side relative to the developer feed direction). The developer replenishing device 8 also includes a non-circular (rectangular) female coupling portion for drivingly connecting to the male coupling portion 20a to apply a rotational force. Similar to Example 5, the female coupling portion is driven by a drive motor 500.

In addition, similar to Embodiment 5, the developer replenishing device 8 prevents the flange portion 21 from moving in the rotation axis direction and in the rotational movement direction. On the other hand, the cylindrical portion 20k is connected to the flange portion 21 via the sealing portion 27, and the cylindrical portion 20k is rotatable relative to the flange portion 21. The sealing portion 27 is a sliding seal that prevents air (developer) from entering and escaping between the cylindrical portion 20k and the flange portion 21 and allows the rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k to the extent that it does not affect the supply of developer using the pump portion 20b.

The developer supplying step of the developer supply container 1 will be described.

The developer supply container 1 is mounted to the developer replenishing device 8, and then the cylindrical portion 20k receives a rotational force from the female coupling portion of the developer replenishing device 8, whereby the cam groove 20n rotates.

Therefore, the cam flange portion 15 reciprocates relative to the flange portion 21 and the cylindrical portion 20k in the rotation axis direction through the cam protrusion 15a engaged with the cam groove 20n, while the cylindrical portion 20k and the flange portion 21 are prevented from moving in the rotation axis direction by the developer replenishing device 8.

Since the cam flange portion 15 and the pump portion 20b are fixed to each other, the pump portion 20b reciprocates (in the ω direction and the γ direction) along with the cam flange portion 15. Therefore, as shown in parts (b) and (c) of Figure 50 , the pump portion 20b expands and contracts in conjunction with the reciprocating motion of the cam flange portion 15, thereby achieving a pumping operation.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, also in this example, similarly to the above-described Embodiments 5-11, the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8 is converted into a force for operating the pump portion 20b in the developer supply container 1, so that the pump portion 20b can operate appropriately.

In addition, the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8 is converted into a reciprocating force without using the pump portion 20b, thereby preventing the pump portion 20b from being damaged due to the twisting of the rotational movement direction. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the strength of the pump portion 20b, and the thickness of the pump portion 20b can be small, and its material can be an inexpensive material.

In addition, in the structure of this example, the pump portion 20b is not provided between the discharge portion 21h and the cylindrical portion 20k as in Embodiment 5-11, but is arranged at a position of the discharge portion 21h away from the cylindrical portion 20k, and therefore the amount of developer retained in the developer supply container 1 can be reduced.

As shown in (a) of Figure 51, an alternative solution is that the internal space of the pump portion 20b is not used as a developer accommodating space, and a filter 65 is provided between the pump portion 20b and the discharge portion 21h. Here, the filter has such a property that air can pass easily but toner is substantially not passed.

With such a structure, when the pump portion 20b is compressed, the developer in the concave portion of the bellows portion is not stressed. However, from the viewpoint that an additional developer accommodating space can be formed during the expansion stroke of the pump portion 20b (that is, an additional space through which the developer can move is provided, making it easy for the developer to loosen), the structure of parts (a) to (c) of Figure 50 is preferable.

(Example 13)

With reference to Figure 52 (parts (a) to (c)), the structure of Embodiment 13 will be described. Parts (a) to (c) of Figure 52 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the developer supply container 1. In parts (a) to (c) of Figure 52, the structure other than the pump is substantially the same as that shown in Figures 50 and 51, and therefore their detailed description is omitted.

In this example, rather than having alternating peak and bottom folds, the pump has a membrane-like pump 12 that is capable of expanding and contracting substantially without folds, as shown in FIG. 52 .

In the present embodiment, the membrane-like pump 12 is made of rubber, but this is not inevitable, and a flexible material such as a resin film may be used.

With such a structure, when the cam flange portion 15 reciprocates in the rotation axis direction, the diaphragm pump 12 reciprocates together with the cam flange portion 15. Therefore, as shown in parts (b) and (c) of Figure 52, the diaphragm pump 12 expands and contracts in conjunction with the reciprocating motion of the cam flange portion 15 in the ω and γ directions, thereby achieving a pumping operation.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In this embodiment as well, similarly to Embodiments 5-12, the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8 is converted into a force for operating the pump portion 12 in the developer supply container 1, and thus the pump portion 12 can be operated appropriately.

(Example 14)

With reference to Figure 53 (parts (a) to (e)), the structure of Embodiment 14 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 53 is a schematic perspective view of the developer supply container 1, and (b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the developer supply container 1, and (c) to (e) are schematic enlarged views of the drive conversion mechanism. In this example, the same reference numerals as those in the previous embodiment are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted.

In this example, the pump portion reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the axis of rotation, in contrast to the previous embodiments.

(Drive conversion mechanism)

In this example, as shown in parts (a) to (e) of Figure 53 , a bellows-type pump portion 21f is connected to the upper portion of the flange portion 21, that is, the discharge portion 21h. Furthermore, a cam protrusion 21g, which functions as a drive conversion portion, is fixed to the top end portion of the pump portion 21f by bonding. On the other hand, a cam groove 20e is formed on one longitudinal end surface of the developer accommodating portion 20, which is engageable with the cam protrusion 21g and functions as a drive conversion portion.

As shown in part (b) of Figure 53, the developer accommodating portion 20 is fixed so as to be rotatable relative to the discharge portion 21h in a state where the end portion on the discharge portion 21h side compresses the sealing member 27 provided on the inner surface of the flange portion 21.

Also in this example, by the mounting operation of the developer supply container 1, both sides of the discharge portion 21h (two opposite end surfaces with respect to the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction X) are supported by the developer replenishing device 8. Therefore, during the developer supply operation, the discharge portion 21h is substantially non-rotatable.

In addition, the protrusion 21j provided on the outer bottom surface portion of the discharge portion 21h is locked by the recess provided in the mounting portion 8f by the mounting operation of the developer supply container 1. Therefore, during the developer supply operation, the discharge portion 21h is fixed so as to be substantially non-rotatable in the rotation axis direction.

Here, the cam groove 20e is constructed in an elliptical structure, as shown in (c)-(e) of Figure 53, and the cam protrusion 21g moving along the cam groove 20e varies in distance from the rotation axis of the developer accommodating portion 20 (minimum distance in the radial direction).

As shown in FIG53(b), a plate-like partition wall 32 is provided and serves to feed the developer fed from the cylindrical portion 20k by the spiral protrusion (feeding portion) 20c to the discharge portion 21h. The partition wall 32 roughly divides a portion of the developer accommodating portion 20 into two portions and is rotatable integrally with the developer accommodating portion 20. The partition wall 32 is provided with an inclined protrusion 32a that is inclined relative to the rotation axis direction of the developer supply container 1. The inclined protrusion 32a is connected to the inlet portion of the discharge portion 21h.

Therefore, in conjunction with the rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k, the developer fed from the feeding portion 20c is scooped up by the partition wall 32. Thereafter, as the cylindrical portion 20k further rotates, the developer slides downward on the surface of the partition wall 32 due to gravity and is fed to the discharge portion 21h side by the inclined protrusion 32a. The inclined protrusion 32a is provided on each side of the partition wall 32 so that the developer is fed to the discharge portion 21h every half rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k.

(Developer Supplying Step)

Description will be made focusing on the developer supplying step of supplying the developer from the developer supply container 1 in this example.

When the operator mounts the developer supply container 1 to the developer replenishing device 8, the flange portion 21 (discharge portion 21h) is prevented from moving in the rotational movement direction and in the rotational axis direction by the developer replenishing device 8. In addition, the pump portion 21f and the cam protrusion 21g are fixed to the flange portion 21, and are similarly prevented from moving in the rotational movement direction and in the rotational axis direction.

The developer accommodating portion 20 rotates due to the rotational force inputted from the driving gear 300 (Figures 32 and 33) to the gear portion 20a, and thus the cam groove 20e also rotates. On the other hand, the cam protrusion 21g, which is fixed so as not to rotate, receives a force through the cam groove 20e, so that the rotational force inputted to the gear portion 20a is converted into a force that causes the pump portion 21f to reciprocate substantially vertically.

Here, part (d) of Figure 53 shows a state in which the pump portion 21f is most expanded, that is, the cam protrusion 21g is located at the intersection point (point Y in (c) of Figure 53) between the ellipse of the cam groove 20e and the major axis La. Part (e) of Figure 53 shows a state in which the pump portion 21f is most contracted, that is, the cam protrusion 21g is located at the intersection point (point Z in (c) of Figure 53) between the ellipse of the cam groove 20e and the minor axis Lb.

The state of (d) in Figure 53 and the state of (e) in Figure 53 are repeated alternately at a predetermined cycle, so that the pump portion 21f performs the suction and discharge operation. That is, the developer is discharged smoothly.

By the cylindrical portion 20k rotating in this way, the developer is fed to the discharge portion 21h by the feeding portion 20c and the inclined protrusion 32a, and the developer in the discharge portion 21h is finally discharged through the discharge port 21a by the suction and discharge operation of the pump portion 21f.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, also in this example, similar to Embodiment 5-13, the rotation operation of the feeding portion 20c (cylindrical portion 20k) and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 21f can be achieved by the gear portion 20a receiving the rotational force from the developer replenishing device 8.

Since the pump portion 21f is provided at the top of the discharge portion 21h in this example (in the state where the developer supply container 1 is mounted to the developer replenishing device 8), the amount of developer that inevitably remains in the pump portion 21f can be minimized compared to Example 5.

In this example, the pump portion 21f is a bellows-type pump, but it may be replaced by a membrane-type pump as described in Example 13.

In this example, the cam protrusion 21g, which serves as the drive transmission portion, is fixed to the upper surface of the pump portion 21f by an adhesive material. However, the cam protrusion 21g is not necessarily fixed to the pump portion 21f. For example, a known hook engagement method may be used, or a combination of a round rod-shaped cam protrusion 21g and a pump portion 21f having a hole that can engage with the cam protrusion 21g may be used. Using such a structure, similar advantageous effects can be provided.

(Example 15)

With reference to Figures 54 to 56, the structure of Embodiment 11 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 54 is a schematic perspective view of the developer supply container 1, (b) is a schematic perspective view of the flange portion 21, and (c) is a schematic perspective view of the cylindrical portion 20k. Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 55 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the developer supply container 1, and Figure 56 is a schematic diagram of the pump portion 21f. In this example, the same reference numerals as those in the previous embodiment are assigned to elements having corresponding functions in this embodiment, and their detailed description is omitted.

In this example, the rotational force is converted into a force for the forward operation of the pump portion 21f, but the rotational force is not converted into a force for the reverse operation of the pump portion, in contrast to the aforementioned embodiment.

In this example, as shown in Figures 54-56, a bellows-type pump portion 21f is provided on the side of the flange portion 21 adjacent to the cylindrical portion 20k. The outer surface of the cylindrical portion 20k is provided with a gear portion 20a extending over its entire circumference. Two compression protrusions 21 are positioned radially opposite each other at the end of the cylindrical portion 20k adjacent to the discharge portion 21h, for compressing the pump portion 21f by abutting against it as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates. The compression protrusion 201 on the downstream side relative to the direction of rotation is configured to gradually tilt to compress the pump portion 21f, thereby reducing the impact of abutting against it. On the other hand, the compression protrusion 201 on the upstream side relative to the direction of rotation is configured to be perpendicular to the end surface of the cylindrical portion 20k, oriented approximately parallel to the direction of the cylindrical portion 20k's rotational axis. This allows the pump portion 21f to expand instantaneously due to its elastic restoring force.

Similar to Embodiment 10, the interior of the cylindrical portion 20 k is provided with a plate-like partition wall 32 for feeding the developer fed by the spiral protrusion 20 c to the discharge portion 21 h .

Description will be made focusing on the developer supplying step of supplying the developer from the developer supply container 1 in this example.

After the developer supply container 1 is mounted on the developer replenishing device 8, the cylindrical portion 20k as the developer accommodating portion 20 is rotated by the rotational force input from the driving gear 300 to the gear portion 20a, causing the compression protrusion 21 to rotate. At this time, when the compression protrusion 21 abuts the pump portion 21f, the pump portion 21f is compressed in the direction of arrow γ, as shown in part (a) of Figure 55, so that the discharge operation is achieved.

On the other hand, when the rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k continues until the pump portion 21f is released from the compression protrusion 21, the pump portion 21f expands in the direction of the arrow ω by its own restoring force, as shown in part (b) of Figure 55, so that it returns to its original shape, thereby realizing the suction operation.

The states shown in (a) and (b) of Figure 55 are repeated alternately, whereby the pump portion 21f performs the suction and discharge operations. That is, the developer is discharged smoothly.

As the cylindrical portion 20k rotates in this manner, the developer is fed to the discharge portion 21h by the spiral protrusion (feeding portion) 20c and the inclined protrusion (feeding portion) 32a (Figure 53). The developer in the discharge portion 21h is finally discharged through the discharge port 21a by the discharge operation of the pump portion 21f.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, also in this example, similarly to Embodiments 5 to 14, by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8, both the rotational operation of the developer supply container 1 and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 21 f can be achieved.

In this example, the pump portion 21f is compressed by contacting the compression protrusion 201 and expands by its own restoring force when the pump portion is released from the compression protrusion 21, but the structure may be reversed.

More specifically, when the pump portion 21f is contacted by the compression protrusion 21, they are locked, and as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, the pump portion 21f is forced to expand. As the cylindrical portion 20k rotates further, the pump portion 21f is released, whereupon the pump portion 21f returns to its original shape due to its own restoring force (elastic restoring force). Thus, the suction operation and the discharge operation are repeated alternately.

In the case of this example, the self-recovery ability of the pump 21f is likely to decrease due to the long-term repetition of expansion and contraction of the pump part 21f, and from this point of view, the structure of Example 5-14 is preferred. Alternatively, this possibility can be avoided by using the structure of Figure 56. As shown in Figure 56, the compression plate 20q is fixed to the end face of the adjacent cylindrical part 20k of the pump part 21f. Between the outer surface of the flange part 21 and the compression plate 20q, a spring 20r acting as a pushing member is provided to cover the pump part 21f. Using such a structure can help the self-recovery of the pump part 21f when the contact between the compression protrusion 20l and the pump part is released, and the suction operation can be reliably performed even when the expansion and contraction of the pump part 21f are repeated for a long time.

In this example, two compression protrusions 201 acting as a drive conversion mechanism are arranged in radially opposite positions, but this is not inevitable, and their number can be, for example, one or three. In addition, instead of one compression protrusion, the following structure can be used as a drive conversion mechanism. For example, the configuration of the end face of the cylindrical portion 20k opposite to the pump portion 21f is not a surface perpendicular to the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 20k as in this example, but a surface inclined relative to the rotation axis. In this case, the inclined surface acts on the pump portion to be equivalent to a compression protrusion. In another alternative, the shaft portion extends from the rotation axis toward the pump portion 21f in the direction of the rotation axis at the end face of the cylindrical portion 20k opposite to the pump portion 21f, and a swash plate (disc) inclined relative to the rotation axis of the shaft portion is provided. In this case, the swash plate acts on the pump portion 21f, and therefore, it is equivalent to a compression protrusion.

(Example 16)

With reference to Figure 57 (parts (a) and (b)), the structure of Embodiment 16 will be described. Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 57 are sectional views schematically showing the developer supply container 1.

In this example, the pump portion 21f is provided at the cylindrical portion 20k, and the pump portion 21f rotates together with the cylindrical portion 20k. In addition, in this example, the pump portion 21f is provided with a counterweight 20v, whereby the pump portion 21f reciprocates with the rotation. The other structures of this example are similar to those of Example 14 (Figure 53), and their detailed descriptions are omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to the corresponding elements.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 57 , the cylindrical portion 20k, the flange portion 21, and the pump portion 21f serve as the developer accommodating space of the developer supply container 1. The pump portion 21f is connected to the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 20k, and the action of the pump portion 21f acts on the cylindrical portion 20k and the discharge portion 21h.

The drive conversion mechanism of this example will be described.

One end surface of the cylindrical portion 20k relative to the rotation axis direction is provided with a coupling portion (rectangular configuration protrusion) 20a serving as a drive input portion, and the coupling portion 20a receives the rotational force from the developer replenishing device 8. A weight 20v is fixed to the top of one end portion of the pump portion 21f relative to the reciprocating direction. In this example, the weight 20v serves as a drive conversion mechanism.

Therefore, as the cylindrical portion 20k and the pump 21f rotate integrally, the pump portion 21f expands and contracts in the up-down direction by the gravity of the weight 20v.

More specifically, in the state of part (a) of Figure 57, the counterweight is located at a position higher than the pump portion 21f, and the pump portion 21f contracts in the direction of gravity (white arrow) due to the counterweight 20v. At this time, the developer is discharged through the discharge port 21a (black arrow).

On the other hand, in the state of part (b) of Figure 57, the counterweight is located below the pump portion 21f, and the pump portion 21f expands in the direction of gravity due to the counterweight 20v (white arrow). At this time, the suction operation is performed through the discharge port 21a (black arrow), thereby loosening the developer.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, a single pump is sufficient to perform both the suction and discharge operations, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

Therefore, in this example, similarly to Embodiment 5-15, by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8, both the rotational operation of the developer supply container 1 and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 21f can be achieved.

In the case of this example, the pump portion 21f rotates around the cylindrical portion 20k, and therefore, the space of the mounting portion 8f of the developer replenishing device 8 is large, so the device becomes large, and from this point of view, the structure of Embodiment 5-15 is preferable.

(Example 17)

With reference to Figures 58-60, the structure of Example 17 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 58 is a perspective view of the cylindrical portion 20k, and (b) is a perspective view of the flange portion 21. Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 59 are partially cutaway perspective views of the developer supply container 1, and (a) shows a state in which the rotatable baffle is open, and (b) shows a state in which the rotatable baffle is closed. Figure 60 is a timing diagram showing the relationship between the operating timing of the pump 21f and the opening and closing timing of the rotatable baffle. In Figure 60, contraction is a discharge step of the pump portion 21f, and expansion is a suction step of the pump portion 21f.

In this example, a mechanism for partitioning the discharge chamber 21h and the cylindrical portion 20k during the expansion and contraction operations of the pump portion 21f is provided, in contrast to the previously described embodiment. In this example, a partitioning function is provided between the cylindrical portion 20k and the discharge portion 21h, so that pressure changes are selectively generated in the discharge portion 21h when the volumes of the cylindrical portion 20k and the pump portion 21f change. The interior of the discharge portion 21h serves as a developer accommodating portion for receiving developer fed from the cylindrical portion 20k, which will be described below. The structure of this example is otherwise substantially the same as that of Embodiment 14 (Figure 53), and descriptions thereof will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to corresponding elements.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 58, one longitudinal end face of the cylindrical portion 20k functions as a rotatable baffle. More specifically, the one longitudinal end face of the cylindrical portion 20k is provided with a communication port 20u for discharging developer to the flange portion 21, and is provided with a closing portion 20h. The communication port 20u has a fan shape.

58( b ), the flange portion 21 is provided with a communication port 21k for receiving developer from the cylindrical portion 20k. The communication port 21k has a fan-shaped configuration similar to the communication port 20u, and the portion other than this is closed to provide a closed portion 21m.

Parts (a) and (b) of Figure 59 show a state in which the cylindrical portion 20k shown in part (a) of Figure 58 and the flange portion 21 shown in part (b) of Figure 58 are assembled. The outer surfaces of the communication port 20u and the communication port 21k are connected to each other, thereby compressing the sealing member 27, and the cylindrical portion 20k is rotatable relative to the fixed flange portion 21.

With such a structure, when the cylindrical portion 20k is relatively rotated by the rotational force received by the gear portion 20a, the relationship between the cylindrical portion 20k and the flange portion 21 is alternately switched between the communication state and the non-passage continuation state.

That is, as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, the communication port 20u of the cylindrical portion 20k becomes aligned with the communication port 21k of the flange portion 21 (Part (a) of Figure 59). As the cylindrical portion 20k further rotates, the communication port 20u of the cylindrical portion 20k becomes out of alignment with the communication port 21k of the flange portion 21, so that the state is switched to a non-communication state (Part (b) of Figure 59) in which the flange portion 21 is separated to substantially seal the flange portion 21.

Such a partition mechanism (rotatable damper) for isolating the discharge portion 21h at least in the expansion and contraction operations of the pump portion 21f is provided for the following reason.

The discharge of developer from the developer supply container 1 is achieved by making the internal pressure of the developer supply container 1 higher than the ambient pressure by means of the contraction of the pump portion 21f. Therefore, if a partition mechanism is not provided as in the aforementioned Embodiments 5-15, the space in which the internal pressure changes is not limited to the internal space of the flange portion 21 but includes the internal space of the cylindrical portion 20k, and therefore, the amount of change in the volume of the pump portion 21f is inevitably made urgent.

This is because the ratio of the volume of the internal space of the developer supply container 1 immediately after the pump portion 21f contracts to the volume of the internal space of the developer supply container 1 immediately before the pump portion 21f starts to contract is affected by the internal pressure.

However, when the partition mechanism is provided, air does not move from the flange portion 21 to the cylindrical portion 20k, and therefore, it is not sufficient to change the pressure of the internal space of the flange portion 21. That is, under the condition of the same internal pressure value, when the initial volume of the internal space is smaller, the amount of volume change of the pump portion 21f can be smaller.

In this example, more specifically, the volume of the discharge portion 21h partitioned by the rotatable shutter is 40 ^cm3 , and the volume change (reciprocating distance) of the pump portion 21f is 2 ^cm3 (it is 15 ^cm3 in Embodiment 5). Even with such a small volume change, similar to Embodiment 5, the developer supply caused by sufficient suction and discharge action can be achieved.

As described above, in this example, the volume change of the pump portion 21f can be minimized compared to the structure of Embodiments 5-16. Therefore, the pump portion 21f can be made smaller. In addition, the distance (volume change) over which the pump portion 21f reciprocates can be made smaller. Providing such a partitioning mechanism is particularly effective when the capacity of the cylindrical portion 20k is large so that the filling amount of the developer in the developer supply container 1 is large.

The developer supplying step in this example will be described.

With the developer supply container 1 mounted on the developer replenishing device 8 and the flange portion 21 fixed, drive is input from the drive gear 300 to the gear portion 20a, thereby rotating the cylindrical portion 20k and rotating the cam groove 20e. Meanwhile, the cam protrusion 21g fixed to the pump portion 21f, which is non-rotatably supported by the developer replenishing device 8 having the flange portion 21, is moved by the cam groove 20e. Therefore, as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, the pump portion 21f reciprocates in the vertical direction.

Referring to Figure 60 , the timing of the pumping operation (the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion 21f) and the opening and closing timing of the rotatable damper in this structure will be described. Figure 60 is a timing diagram when the cylindrical portion 20k rotates one complete revolution. In Figure 60 , "contract" represents the contraction operation of the pump portion (the discharge operation of the pump portion), "expand" represents the expansion operation of the pump portion (the suction operation caused by the pump portion), and "rest" represents the non-operating state of the pump portion. Furthermore, "open" represents the open state of the rotatable damper, and "closed" represents the closed state of the rotatable damper.

As shown in FIG60 , when the communication port 21k and the communication port 20u are aligned with each other, the drive conversion mechanism converts the rotational force input to the gear portion 20a, causing the pumping operation of the pump portion 21f to stop. More specifically, in this example, the structure is such that when the communication port 21k and the communication port 20u are aligned with each other, the radial distance from the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 20k to the cam groove 20e is constant, so that the pump portion 21f does not operate even when the cylindrical portion 20k rotates.

At this time, the rotatable shutter is in the open position, and thus the developer is fed from the cylindrical portion 20k to the flange portion 21. More specifically, as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, the developer is scooped up by the partition wall 32, and thereafter, the developer slides downward on the inclined protrusion 32a due to gravity, so that the developer moves to the flange portion 21 via the communication port 20u and the communication port 21k.

As shown in FIG. 60 , when a non-communication state in which the communication port 21 k and the communication port 20 u are misaligned is established, the drive conversion mechanism converts the rotational force input to the gear portion 20 b so that the pumping operation of the pump portion 21 f is achieved.

That is, as the cylindrical portion 20k further rotates, the rotational phase relationship between the communication port 21k and the communication port 20u changes, so that the communication port 21k is closed by the stopper portion 20h, and the internal space of the flange portion 21 is isolated (non-communication state).

At this time, as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates, the pump portion 21f reciprocates while maintaining a non-connected state (the rotatable shutter is in the closed position). More specifically, the rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k causes the cam groove 20e to rotate, and the radial distance from the rotation axis of the cylindrical portion 20k to the cam groove 20e changes. Thus, the pump portion 21f achieves a pumping operation through a cam function.

Thereafter, with further rotation of the cylindrical portion 20 k , the rotation phase is aligned again between the communication port 21 k and the communication port 20 u , so that a communication state is established in the flange portion 21 .

The developer supplying step from the developer supply container 1 is performed while repeating these operations.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, one pump is sufficient to perform both the suction operation and the discharge operation, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port 21 a, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, also in this example, by receiving the rotational force from the developer replenishing device 8 via the gear portion 20a, the rotation operation of the cylindrical portion 20k and the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion 21f can be realized.

Furthermore, according to the structure of this example, the pump portion 21f can be made smaller. Furthermore, the volume change amount (reciprocating distance) can be reduced, and therefore, the load required to reciprocate the pump portion 21f can be reduced.

Moreover, in this example, there is no additional structure for receiving the driving force for rotating the rotatable shutter from the developer replenishing device 8, but the rotational force received from the feeding portion (cylindrical portion 20k, spiral protrusion 20c) is used, and therefore, the partition mechanism is simplified.

As described above, the amount of change in the volume of the pump portion 21f does not depend on the entire volume of the developer supply container 1 including the cylindrical portion 20k, but it can be selected to be the internal volume of the flange portion 21. Therefore, for example, in the case where the capacity (diameter) of the cylindrical portion 20k changes when manufacturing developer supply containers with different developer filling capacities, a cost reduction effect can be expected. That is, the flange portion 21 including the pump portion 21f can be used as a universal unit, which is assembled with different types of cylindrical portions 2k. By doing so, there is no need to increase the number of types of metal molds, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. In addition, in this example, during the non-connected state between the cylindrical portion 20k and the flange portion 21, the pump portion 21f reciprocates for one cycle, but similar to Example 5, the pump portion 21f can reciprocate for multiple cycles.

In this example, the discharge portion 21h is isolated throughout the entire process of the pump portion's contraction and expansion operations. However, this is not unavoidable, and the following is an alternative. If the pump portion 21f can be made smaller and the amount of change in volume (reciprocating distance) of the pump portion 21f can be reduced, the discharge portion 21h can be slightly opened during the contraction and expansion operations of the pump portion.

(Example 18)

With reference to Figures 61-63, the structure of Example 18 will be described. Figure 61 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the developer supply container 1. Parts (a)-(c) of Figure 62 are partial cross-sections showing the operation of the partition mechanism (stop valve 35). Figure 63 is a timing diagram showing the timing of the pumping operation (contraction operation and expansion operation) of the pump portion 20b and the opening and closing timing of the stop valve to be described below. In Figure 63, contraction represents the contraction operation of the pump portion 20b (the discharge operation of the pump portion 20b), and expansion represents the expansion operation of the pump portion 20b (the suction operation of the pump portion 20b). In addition, stop represents the rest state of the pump portion 20b. In addition, open represents the open state of the stop valve 35, and closed represents the closed state of the stop valve 35.

This example differs significantly from the above-described embodiment in that a shutoff valve 35 is used as a mechanism for partitioning the discharge portion 21h and the cylindrical portion 20k during the expansion and contraction strokes of the pump portion 20b. The structure of this example is otherwise substantially the same as that of Example 12 (Figures 50 and 51), and descriptions thereof will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to corresponding elements. In this example, the plate-shaped partition wall 32 shown in Figure 53 of Example 14 is provided in addition to the structure of Example 12 shown in Figure 50.

In the above-described embodiment 17, the partition mechanism (rotatable damper) using the rotation of the cylindrical portion 20k is employed, but in this example, the partition mechanism (stop valve) using the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20b is employed. This will be described in detail.

As shown in Figure 61, the discharge portion 21h is provided between the cylindrical portion 20k and the pump portion 20b. The wall portion 33 is provided on the cylindrical portion 20k side of the discharge portion 21h, and the discharge port 21a is provided at the lower left portion of the wall portion 33 in the figure. A stop valve 35 and an elastic member (seal) 34 are provided as a partitioning mechanism for opening and closing the communication orifice 33a (Figure 62) formed in the wall portion 33. The stop valve 35 is fixed to an inner end portion of the pump portion 20b (opposite to the discharge portion 21h) and reciprocates in the direction of the rotation axis of the developer supply container 1 as the pump portion 20b expands and contracts. The seal 34 is fixed to the stop valve 35 and moves as the stop valve 35 moves.

With reference to parts (a) to (c) of Figure 62 (Figure 63 as necessary), the operation of the shutoff valve 35 in the developer supplying step will be described.

Figure 62 (a) shows the maximum expansion state of the pump portion 20b in which the stop valve 35 is spaced apart from the wall portion 33 provided between the discharge portion 21h and the cylindrical portion 20k. At this time, the developer in the cylindrical portion 20k is fed into the discharge portion 21h through the communication port 33a by the inclined protrusion 32a as the cylindrical portion 20k rotates.

Thereafter, when the pump portion 20b contracts, the state becomes as shown in (b) of Figure 62. At this time, the seal 34 contacts the wall portion 33 to close the communication hole 33a. That is, the discharge portion 21h becomes isolated from the cylindrical portion 20k.

When the pump portion 20b is further contracted, the pump portion 20b becomes most contracted as shown in part (c) of Figure 62 .

During the time from the state shown in part (b) of Figure 62 to the state shown in part (c) of Figure 62, the seal 34 remains in contact with the wall portion 33, and therefore, the discharge portion 21h is pressurized to a pressure higher than the ambient pressure (positive pressure), so that the developer is discharged through the discharge port 21a.

Thereafter, during the expansion operation of the pump portion 20b from the state shown in (c) of FIG. 62 to the state shown in (b) of FIG. 62, the seal 34 remains in contact with the wall portion 33, and thus, the internal pressure of the discharge portion 21h is reduced to a pressure lower than the ambient pressure (negative pressure). Thus, a suction operation is achieved through the discharge port 21a.

When the pump portion 20b further expands, it returns to the state shown in part (a) of Figure 62. In this example, the aforementioned operation is repeated to perform the developer supply step. In this manner, in this example, the shutoff valve 35 is moved by the reciprocating motion of the pump portion, and therefore, the shutoff valve is opened during the initial stage of the contraction operation (discharge operation) of the pump portion 20b and in the final stage of its expansion operation (suction operation).

The seal 34 will be described in detail. The seal 34 contacts the wall portion 33 to ensure the sealing property of the discharge portion 21h, and is compressed by the contraction operation of the pump portion 20b, and therefore, it is preferable that the seal has both sealing properties and flexibility. In this example, as a sealing material having such properties, polyurethane foam (trademark MOLTOPREN, SM-55, having a thickness of 5mm) available from Kabushiki Kaisha INOAC Co., Ltd. of Japan is used. The thickness of the sealing material in the maximum contraction state of the pump portion 20b is 2mm (3mm compression amount).

As described above, the volume change (pump function) of the discharge portion 21h caused by the pump portion 20b is substantially limited to the duration until the seal 34 is compressed to 3 mm after it contacts the wall portion 33, but the pump portion 20b operates within the range defined by the stop valve 35. Therefore, even when such a stop valve 35 is used, the developer can be stably discharged.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, one pump is sufficient to perform both the suction operation and the discharge operation, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port 21 a, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In this manner, in this example, similarly to Embodiment 5-17, by receiving the rotational force from the developer replenishing device 8 through the gear portion 20a, both the rotation operation of the cylindrical portion 20k and the suction and discharge operations of the pump portion 20b can be achieved.

Furthermore, similarly to Embodiment 17, the pump portion 20b can be made smaller and the amount of change in the volume of the pump portion 20b can be reduced. A cost reduction advantage can be expected due to the common structure of the pump portion.

In addition, in this embodiment, there is no additional structure for receiving the driving force for operating the shutoff valve 35 from the developer replenishing device, but the reciprocating force of the pump portion 20b is used, and therefore, the partition mechanism can be simplified.

(Example 19)

With reference to parts (a) to (c) of Figure 64, the structure of Embodiment 19 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 64 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the developer supply container 1, (b) is a perspective view of the flange portion 21, and (c) is a cross-sectional view of the developer supply container.

This example is significantly different from the previous embodiment in that a buffer portion 23 is provided as a mechanism for partitioning between the discharge chamber 21h and the cylindrical portion 20k. In other respects, the structure is substantially the same as that of Example 14 (Figure 53), and therefore, detailed description is omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to corresponding elements.

As shown in part (b) of Figure 64, the buffer portion 23 is non-rotatably fixed to the flange portion 21. The buffer portion 23 is provided with a receiving aperture 23a opened upward and a supply aperture 23b in fluid communication with the discharge portion 21h.

As shown in parts (a) and (c) of Figure 64, such a flange portion 21 is attached to the cylindrical portion 20k so that the buffer portion 23 is inside the cylindrical portion 20k. The cylindrical portion 20k is rotatably connected to the flange portion 21 relative to the flange portion 21, and the flange portion is immovably supported by the developer replenishing device 8. The connection portion is provided with an annular seal to prevent leakage of air or developer.

In addition, in this example, as shown in part (a) of Figure 64 , an inclined protrusion 32a is provided on the partition wall 32 to feed the developer toward the receiving opening 23a of the buffer portion 23.

In this example, the developer in the developer accommodating portion 20 is fed into the buffer portion 23 by the partition wall 32 and the inclined protrusion 32 a through the opening 23 a as the developer supply container 1 rotates until the developer supply operation of the developer supply container 1 is completed.

Therefore, as shown in part (c) of Figure 64 , the internal space of the buffer portion 23 remains filled with the developer.

Therefore, the developer filling the inner space of the buffer portion 23 substantially blocks the movement of air from the cylindrical portion 20 k toward the discharge portion 21 h , so that the buffer portion 23 functions as a partition mechanism.

Therefore, when the pump portion 21f reciprocates, at least the discharge portion 21h can be isolated from the cylindrical portion 20k, and for this reason, the pump portion can be made small, and the volume change of the pump portion can be reduced.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, one pump is sufficient to perform both the suction operation and the discharge operation, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port 21 a, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In this manner, in this example, similarly to Embodiments 17-18, by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8, both the rotational operation of the feeding portion 20c (cylindrical portion 20k) and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 21f can be achieved.

In addition, similar to Embodiments 17-18, the pump portion can be made smaller and the amount of change in the volume of the pump portion can be reduced. Furthermore, the pump portion can be made universal, thereby providing a cost reduction advantage.

Furthermore, in this example, the developer is used as the partitioning mechanism, and therefore, the partitioning mechanism can be simplified.

(Example 20)

65-66 , the structure of Embodiment 20 will be described. Part (a) of Figure 65 is a perspective view of the developer supply container 1, and (b) is a sectional view of the developer supply container 1, and Figure 66 is a sectional perspective view of the nozzle portion 47.

In this example, the nozzle portion 47 is connected to the pump portion 20b, and the developer once sucked into the nozzle portion 47 is discharged through the discharge port 21a, which is in contrast to the previous embodiment. In other respects, the structure is substantially the same as that of Embodiment 14, and their detailed description is omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to corresponding elements.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 65, the developer supply container 1 includes a flange portion 21 and a developer accommodating portion 20. The developer accommodating portion 20 includes a cylindrical portion 20k.

In the cylindrical portion 20k, as shown in (b) of Figure 65, the partition wall 32 serving as the feeding portion extends over the entire area in the direction of the rotation axis. One end face of the partition wall 32 is provided with a plurality of inclined protrusions 32a at different positions in the direction of the rotation axis, and the developer is fed from one end to the other end (the side adjacent to the flange portion 21) relative to the direction of the rotation axis. The inclined protrusions 32a are similarly provided on the other end face of the partition wall 32. In addition, between adjacent inclined protrusions 32a, a through-hole 32b is provided for allowing the developer to pass through. The through-hole 32b is used to stir the developer. As in the aforementioned embodiment, the structure of the feeding portion may be a combination of the spiral protrusion 20c in the cylindrical portion 20k and the partition wall 32 for feeding the developer to the flange portion 21.

The flange portion 21 including the pump portion 20b will be described.

The flange portion 21 is rotatably connected to the cylindrical portion 20k via the small diameter portion 49 and the sealing member 48. In a state where the container is mounted to the developer replenishing device 8, the flange portion 21 is immovably held by the developer replenishing device 8 (rotational operation and reciprocating motion are not permitted).

As shown in FIG66 , a supply quantity regulating portion (flow rate regulating portion) 52 for receiving the developer fed from the cylindrical portion 20 k is provided in the flange portion 21. A nozzle portion 47 extending from the pump portion 20 b toward the discharge port 21 a is provided in the supply quantity regulating portion 52. Therefore, as the volume of the pump 20 b changes, the nozzle portion 47 draws in the developer in the supply quantity regulating portion 52 and discharges the developer through the discharge port 21 a.

The structure for transmitting drive to the pump portion 20b in this example will be described.

As described above, when the gear portion 20a provided on the cylindrical portion 20k receives the rotational force from the drive gear 300, the cylindrical portion 20k rotates. In addition, the rotational force is transmitted to the gear portion 43 via the gear portion 42 provided on the small diameter portion 49 of the cylindrical portion 20k. Here, the gear portion 43 is provided with the shaft portion 44 that can rotate integrally with the gear portion 43.

One end of the shaft portion 44 is rotatably supported by a housing 46. The shaft 44 is provided with an eccentric cam 45 at a position opposite to the pump portion 20b. The eccentric cam 45 is rotated along a track whose distance from the rotation axis of the shaft 44 varies due to the rotational force transmitted thereto, so that the pump portion 20b is pushed downward (the volume is reduced). As a result, the developer in the nozzle portion 47 is discharged through the discharge port 21a.

When the pump portion 20b is released from the eccentric cam 45, it returns to its original position by its restoring force (volume expansion). By the restoration of the pump portion (increase in volume), the suction operation is performed through the discharge port 21a, and the developer present in the vicinity of the discharge port 21a can be loosened.

By repeating these operations, the developer is effectively discharged by the volume change of the pump portion 20b. As described above, the pump portion 20b may be provided with an urging member such as a spring to assist in restoration (or downward urging).

The description will be made of the hollow conical nozzle portion 47. The nozzle portion 47 is provided with an opening 53 in its outer periphery, and the nozzle portion 47 is provided at its free end with an ejection outlet 54 for ejecting the developer toward the discharge port 21a.

In the developer supplying step, at least the opening 53 of the nozzle portion 47 may be in the developer layer in the supply amount regulating portion 52 , whereby the pressure generated by the pump portion 20 b may be effectively applied to the developer in the supply amount regulating portion 52 .

That is, the developer in the supply amount regulating portion 52 (around the nozzle 47 ) acts as a partition mechanism relative to the cylindrical portion 20 k so that the effect of the volume change of the pump 20 b is applied to a limited range, that is, within the supply amount regulating portion 52 .

Using such a structure, similar to the partitioning mechanism of Embodiments 17-19, the nozzle portion 47 can provide a similar function.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, one pump is sufficient to perform both the suction operation and the discharge operation, and thus the structure of the developer discharge mechanism can be simplified. Furthermore, by virtue of the suction operation through the discharge port 21 a, a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) can be provided in the developer supply container, and thus the developer can be effectively loosened.

In addition, in this example, similarly to Embodiments 5 to 19, both the rotational operation of the developer accommodating portion 20 (cylindrical portion 20 k ) and the reciprocating motion of the pump portion 20 b can be achieved by the rotational force received from the developer replenishing device 8. Similar to Embodiments 17 to 19, the pump portion 20 b and/or the flange portion 21 can be advantageously made common.

According to this example, the developer and the partitioning mechanism are not in a sliding relationship as in Embodiments 17-18, and therefore, damage to the developer can be suppressed.

(Comparative Example)

With reference to Figure 67, a comparative example will be described. Part (a) of Figure 67 is a sectional view showing a state in which air is fed into the developer supply container 150, and part (b) of Figure 67 is a sectional view showing a state in which air (developer) is discharged from the developer supply container 150. Part (c) of Figure 67 is a sectional view showing a state in which the developer is fed from the storage portion 123 into the hopper 8g, and part (d) of Figure 67 is a sectional view showing a state in which air is taken into the storage portion 123 from the hopper 8g. In the comparative example, the same reference numerals as those in the aforementioned embodiment are given to elements having similar functions in this example, and their detailed descriptions are omitted for the sake of brevity.

In this comparative example, a pump for suction and discharge (more specifically, a positive displacement pump 122 ) is provided on the developer replenishing device 8 side.

The developer supply container 150 of this comparative example is not provided with the pump 2 and locking portion 3 of the developer supply container 1 shown in FIG. 9 of Example 1. Instead, the upper surface of the container body 1a, which serves as the connection portion to the pump 2, is closed. In other words, the developer supply container 150 includes the container body 1a, the discharge port 1c, the flange portion 1g, the sealing member 4, and the shutter 5 (omitted in FIG. 67). The developer replenishing device 180 of this comparative example is not provided with the locking member 9 and the mechanism for driving the locking member 9 of the developer replenishing device 8 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 of Example 1. Instead, a pump, a housing portion, a valve mechanism, etc., which will be described below, are added.

More specifically, the developer replenishing device 180 is provided with a positive displacement bellows-shaped pump 122 for suction and discharge, and an accommodating portion 123 provided between the developer supply container 150 and the hopper 8 g to temporarily accumulate the developer discharged from the developer supply container 150 .

A supply pipe portion 126 for connecting to the developer supply container 150 and a supply pipe portion 127 for connecting to the hopper 8g are connected to the housing portion 123. The pump 122 is reciprocated (expanding and contracting operation) by a pump driving mechanism provided on the developer replenishing device 180.

The developer replenishing device 180 includes a valve 125 provided in a connection portion between the housing portion 123 and a supply pipe portion 126 on the developer supply container 150 side, and a valve 124 provided in a connection portion between the housing portion 123 and a supply pipe portion 127 on the hopper 8g side. These valves 124, 125 are opened and closed by electromagnetic valves as valve driving mechanisms provided in the developer replenishing device 180.

A developer discharging step in a structure of a comparative example including the pump 122 on the developer replenishing device 180 side will be described.

As shown in part (a) of Figure 67, the valve drive mechanism is actuated to close valve 124 and open valve 125. In this state, the pump 122 is retracted by the pump drive mechanism. At this time, the retracting operation of the pump 122 increases the internal pressure of the housing portion 123, so that air is fed from the housing portion 123 into the developer supply container 150. As a result, the developer in the developer supply container 150 near the discharge port 1c is loosened.

While valve 124 is closed and valve 125 is open, as shown in part (b) of Figure 67 , pump 122 is expanded by the pump drive mechanism. At this time, the internal pressure of housing portion 123 decreases due to the expansion operation of pump 122, and the pressure of the air layer in developer supply container 150 increases relatively. Due to the pressure difference between housing portion 123 and developer supply container 150, the air in developer supply container 150 is discharged into housing portion 123. As a result, developer is discharged along with the air through discharge port 1c of developer supply container 150 and temporarily accumulates in housing portion 123.

As shown in part (c) of Figure 67, the valve drive mechanism operates to open the valve 124 and close the valve 125. In this state, the pump 122 is retracted by the pump drive mechanism. At this time, the internal pressure of the storage portion 123 increases by the retraction operation of the pump 122, and the developer in the storage portion 123 is fed into the hopper 8g.

Then, while the valve 124 is kept open and the valve 125 is closed, the pump 122 is expanded by the pump drive mechanism as shown in part (d) of Figure 67. At this time, the internal pressure of the housing portion 123 is reduced by the expansion operation of the pump 122, and air is taken into the housing portion 123 from the hopper 8g.

By repeating the steps of parts (a) to (d) of Figure 67 described above, the developer can be discharged through the discharge port 1c of the developer supply container 150 while fluidizing the developer in the developer supply container 150.

However, using the structure of the comparative example, valves 124, 125 and a valve drive mechanism for controlling the opening and closing of the valves are required, as shown in parts (a)-(d) of Figure 67. Therefore, the control for opening and closing the valves is complicated in the structure of the comparative example. In addition, there is a high possibility that the developer may get stuck between the valve and the valve seat to which the valve is adjacent, resulting in stress acting on the developer and thus forming agglomerates. In such a state, the opening and closing operation of the valve cannot be properly performed, and therefore, long-term stable discharge of the developer cannot be expected.

In addition, in the comparative example, the internal pressure of the developer supply container 150 becomes positive by the air supply from the outside of the developer supply container 150, resulting in the agglomeration of the developer, and therefore, the developer loosening effect is small, which is confirmed in the above-mentioned verification experiment (comparison of Figures 20 and 21). Therefore, the aforementioned embodiments 1 to 20 of the present invention are preferable because the developer is sufficiently loosened and discharged from the developer supply container.

As shown in Figure 68, it will be considered that suction and discharge are achieved by forward and reverse rotation of a rotor 401 of a uniaxial eccentric pump 400 used in place of the pump 122. However, in such a case, the developer discharged from the developer supply container 150 is subjected to stress due to friction between the rotor 401 and the stator 402, with the result that agglomerated clumps are generated, which may adversely affect image quality.

As described above, the structure of the embodiment of the present invention in which the pump for suction and discharge is provided in the developer supply container 1 has an advantage over the comparative example in that the developer discharge mechanism is simplified using air. In the structure of the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention, the stress applied to the developer is smaller than that in the comparative example of FIG.

Industrial Applicability:

According to the first and second inventions, the developer in the developer supply container C2 is loosened by making the internal pressure of the developer supply container negative by the pump portion.

According to the third and fourth inventions, the developer in the developer supply container can be appropriately loosened by the suction operation through the discharge opening of the developer supply container caused by the pump portion.

According to the fifth and sixth inventions, the developer in the developer supply container can be appropriately loosened by causing the inward and outward flows through the pinholes by the air flow generating mechanism.

Claims (48)

1. A developer supply container, the developer supply container comprising: A developer-containing portion configured to hold the developer; The developer discharge chamber is provided with a discharge port configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer containing portion; Construct and position the driving force receiving part to receive the driving force; The pump section is capable of being driven by the driving force received by the driving force receiving section, so that the internal pressure of the developer container alternates between a pressure lower than the ambient pressure and a pressure higher than the ambient pressure. The developer discharge chamber and the developer containment portion are connected to each other such that one of the developer discharge chamber and the developer containment portion can rotate relative to the other. 2. The developer supply container according to claim 1, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than ^4.3 × 10⁻⁴ kg ^·m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 3. The developer supply container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. 4. The developer supply container according to claim 3, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 5. The developer supply container according to claim 3, wherein the volumetric pump is a flexible bellows pump. 6. The developer supply container of claim 3, wherein the driving force receiving portion is capable of receiving rotational force, the developer supply container further comprising a feeding portion for feeding developer contained in the developer receiving portion toward the discharge port by the rotational force received by the driving force receiving portion, and a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the driving force receiving portion into a force for operating the pump portion. 7. A developer supply system, comprising a developer replenishment device and a developer supply container detachably mounted to the developer replenishment device, the developer supply system comprising: The developer replenishment device includes a mounting portion for detachably mounting the developer supply container, a developer receiving portion for receiving developer from the developer supply container, and a driver for applying driving force to the developer supply container. The developer supply container includes a developer reservoir configured to contain developer, a developer discharge chamber having a discharge port configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer reservoir, a drive force receiving portion configured and positioned to receive a drive force, and a pump portion capable of being driven by the drive force received by the drive force receiving portion to alternate the internal pressure of the developer reservoir between a pressure below ambient pressure and a pressure above ambient pressure; wherein the developer discharge chamber and the developer reservoir are connected to each other such that one of the developer discharge chamber and the developer reservoir is rotatable relative to the other. 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than 4.3 × ^10⁻⁴ kg· ^m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 9. The system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the positive displacement pump is a flexible bellows pump. 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the driver applies a rotational force to the drive force receiving portion, and the developer supply container includes a feed portion for feeding developer contained in the developer receiving portion toward the outlet by the rotational force received by the drive force receiving portion, and a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the drive force receiving portion into a force for reciprocating motion of the pump portion. 13. A developer supply container, the developer supply container comprising: A developer-containing portion configured to hold developer; The developer discharge chamber is provided with an outlet configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer containing portion; The driving force receiving part is constructed and positioned to receive the driving force; and The pump section is driven by the driving force received by the driving force receiving section to alternately and repeatedly perform the suction and conveying action through the discharge port. The developer discharge chamber and the developer containment portion are connected to each other such that one of the developer discharge chamber and the developer containment portion can rotate relative to the other. 14. The developer supply container according to claim 13, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than ^4.3 × 10⁻⁴ kg ^·m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 15. The developer supply container according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. 16. The developer supply container of claim 15, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 17. The developer supply container of claim 15, wherein the volumetric pump is a flexible bellows pump. 18. The developer supply container of claim 15, wherein the driving force receiving portion is capable of receiving rotational force, the developer supply container further comprising a feeding portion for feeding developer contained in the developer receiving portion toward the discharge port by the rotational force received by the driving force receiving portion, and a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the driving force receiving portion into a force for operating the pump portion. 19. A developer supply system comprising a developer replenishment device and a developer supply container detachably mounted to the developer replenishment device, the developer supply system comprising: The developer replenishment device includes a mounting portion for detachably mounting the developer supply container, a developer receiving portion for receiving developer from the developer supply container, and a driver for applying driving force to the developer supply container. The developer supply container includes: a developer receiving portion configured to contain developer; a developer discharge chamber having a discharge port configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer receiving portion; a drive force receiving portion configured and positioned to receive a drive force; and a pump portion capable of being driven by the drive force received by the drive force receiving portion to alternately repeat suction and delivery actions through the discharge port; wherein the developer discharge chamber and the developer receiving portion are connected to each other such that one of the developer discharge chamber and the developer receiving portion is rotatable relative to the other. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than 4.3 × ^10⁻⁴ kg ^·m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 21. The system of claim 19 or 20, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump in which the container changes with reciprocating motion. 22. The system of claim 21, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 23. The system of claim 21, wherein the positive displacement pump is a flexible bellows pump. 24. The system of claim 21, wherein the driver applies a rotational force to the drive force receiving portion, and the developer supply container includes a feed portion for feeding developer contained in the developer receiving portion toward the outlet by the rotational force received by the drive force receiving portion, and a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the drive force receiving portion into a force for reciprocating the pump portion. 25. A developer supply container, the developer supply container comprising: A developer-containing portion configured to hold developer; The developer discharge chamber is provided with an outlet configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer containing portion; A feed section configured and positioned to feed developer toward the developer discharge chamber by its rotation; The driving force receiving part is constructed and positioned to receive the driving force; and The pump section is driven by the driving force received by the driving force receiving section, so that the internal pressure of the developer container alternates between a pressure lower than the ambient pressure and a pressure higher than the ambient pressure. The feed portion and the developer container portion are configured such that one of the feed portion and the developer container portion can rotate relative to the other. 26. The developer supply container of claim 25, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than ^4.3 × 10⁻⁴ kg ^·m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 27. The developer supply container according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. 28. The developer supply container of claim 27, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 29. The developer supply container of claim 27, wherein the volumetric pump is a flexible bellows pump. 30. The developer supply container of claim 27, wherein the driving force receiving portion is capable of receiving rotational force, and the developer supply container further includes a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the driving force receiving portion into a force for operating the pump portion. 31. A developer supply system, comprising a developer replenishment device and a developer supply container detachably mounted to the developer replenishment device, the developer supply system comprising: The developer replenishment device includes a mounting portion for detachably mounting the developer supply container, a developer receiving portion for receiving developer from the developer supply container, and a driver for applying driving force to the developer supply container. The developer supply container includes: a developer receiving portion configured to contain developer; a developer discharge chamber having an outlet configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer receiving portion; a feed portion configured and positioned to feed developer toward the developer discharge chamber by rotation thereto; a drive force receiving portion configured and positioned to receive a drive force; and a pump portion capable of being driven by the drive force received by the drive force receiving portion to alternate the internal pressure of the developer receiving portion between a pressure below ambient pressure and a pressure above ambient pressure; wherein the feed portion and the developer receiving portion are arranged such that one of the feed portion and the developer receiving portion is rotatable relative to the other. 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than 4.3 × ^10⁻⁴ kg ^·m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 33. The system of claim 31 or 32, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. 34. The system of claim 33, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 35. The system of claim 33, wherein the positive displacement pump is a flexible bellows pump. 36. The system of claim 33, wherein the driver applies a rotational force to the drive force receiving portion, and the developer supply container includes a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the drive force receiving portion into a force for reciprocating motion of the pump portion. 37. A developer supply container, the developer supply container comprising: A developer-containing portion configured to hold developer; The developer discharge chamber is provided with an outlet configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer containing portion; A feed section configured and positioned to feed developer toward the developer discharge chamber by its rotation; The driving force receiving part is constructed and positioned to receive the driving force; and The pump section is driven by the driving force received by the driving force receiving section to alternately and repeatedly perform the suction and conveying action through the discharge port. The feed portion and the developer container portion are configured such that one of the feed portion and the developer container portion can rotate relative to the other. 38. The developer supply container of claim 37, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than ^4.3 × 10⁻⁴ kg ^·m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 39. The developer supply container according to claim 37 or 38, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. 40. The developer supply container of claim 39, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 41. The developer supply container of claim 39, wherein the volumetric pump is a flexible bellows pump. 42. The developer supply container of claim 39, wherein the driving force receiving portion is capable of receiving rotational force, and the developer supply container further includes a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the driving force receiving portion into a force for operating the pump portion. 43. A developer supply system, comprising a developer replenishment device and a developer supply container detachably mounted to the developer replenishment device, the developer supply system comprising: The developer replenishment device includes a mounting portion for detachably mounting the developer supply container, a developer receiving portion for receiving developer from the developer supply container, and a driver for applying driving force to the developer supply container. The developer supply container includes: a developer receiving portion configured to contain developer; a developer discharge chamber having a discharge port configured to allow developer to be discharged from the developer receiving portion; a feed portion configured and positioned to feed developer toward the developer discharge chamber by rotation therethrough; a drive force receiving portion configured and positioned to receive a drive force; and a pump portion capable of being driven by the drive force received by the drive force receiving portion to alternately repeat suction and delivery actions through the discharge port; wherein the feed portion and the developer receiving portion are arranged such that one of the feed portion and the developer receiving portion is rotatable relative to the other. 44. The system of claim 43, wherein the developer in the developer supply container has a flow energy of not less than 4.3 × ^10⁻⁴ kg ^·m² / ^s² and not more than 4.14 × ^10⁻³ kg ^·m² / ^s² , and wherein the outlet has an area of not more than 12.6 ^mm² . 45. The system of claim 43 or 44, wherein the pump portion comprises a positive displacement pump whose volume changes with reciprocating motion. 46. The system of claim 45, wherein as the volume of the pump portion increases, the pressure in the developer container becomes lower than the ambient pressure. 47. The system of claim 45, wherein the positive displacement pump is a flexible bellows pump. 48. The system of claim 45, wherein the driver applies a rotational force to the drive force receiving portion, and the developer supply container includes a drive conversion portion for converting the rotational force received by the drive force receiving portion into a force for reciprocating motion of the pump portion.