Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Canon Finetech Inc.

Hironori Minagawa

Fumio Tazawa

Katsuya Murakami

Yutaka Ban

Yusuke Yamada

Kazuhiko Omata

Nobuo Nakajima

Kyota Miyazaki

Ayatomo Okino

Toshiaki Nagashima

Ayumu Murakami

Tetsuo Isomura

Tatsuya Goto

Akihito Kanamori

Noriyuki Suzuki

Manabu Jimba

Junko Yoshikawa

Kazuyuki Miyano

Masashi Koseki

Kei Jomen

Masatoshi Ikkatai

Hiroaki Ohashi

Shinichi Onodera

Takuya Hatakeyama

Ken Wakatsuki

Tadayuki Tsuda

Takeshi Komada

Masataka Isomoto

Tomohiro Aoki

Nobuo Masaki

Masaaki Ishibashi

Hideaki Kosasa

Mitsuru Honda

Ei Yamamoto

Ryoichi Takahashi

Naoki Fuei

Saijiro Endo

Takaji Yonemori

Atsushi Mizukami

Eiji Sakaguchi

Akira Masuda

Michiaki Endoh

Kazuhiro Mochizuki

Tetuo Isomura

Mayumi Kashiwagi

If a user is not familiar with the operation for the developer supply container, the rotating operation for the developer supply container may be insufficient, so that developer supply container does not reach a predetermined operating position, with the result of abnormal developer supply. by increasing a rotation load of a second gearwhich is in an operable connection with a drive gear memberof the developer receiving apparatusby a function of a locking member, the developer supply containermounted to the developer receiving apparatusis rotated toward the supply position. After the developer supply containerrotates to the supply position, the locking by the locking memberis released, by which the rotation load applied to the second gearis reduced, so that drive transmission, thereafter, to the feeding memberfor developer supply is smooth.

Developer supply container

A developer container is detachably mountable to a developer replenishing apparatus and includes a cylindrical accommodation member for accommodating a developer and a coupling portion for engaging with a main assembly coupling portion provided on the developer replenishing apparatus by movement in an inserting direction. In addition, a contact portion contacts an urging portion in the developer replenishing apparatus and receives a push-off force from the developer replenishing apparatus in a direction opposite to the inserting direction, and an engaging portion is engageable with an opening and closing portion provided in the developer replenishing apparatus to receive a force from the opening and closing portion in the inserting direction and against the push-off force in a closing operation of the opening and closing portion when the developer container is inserted into the developer replenishing apparatus.

A developer replenishment container accommodating assembly, in which a developer replenishment container is removably put in a main body of an accommodating apparatus, replenishes a developer while rotating the developer replenishment container and includes a holding portion provided on the main body and configured to hold the developer replenishment container put in the main body of the accommodating apparatus in a replenishment position for replenishing the developer, and an engaging portion configured to engage with the developer replenishment container when it is positioned in the main assembly. In addition, a biasing member is configured to bias the engaging portion in a predetermined direction so that the developer replenishment container rotating while held by the holding portion is pressed against the holding portion by the biased engaging portion.

Developer replenishment container accommodating apparatus, developer replenishment container, and image forming apparatus

A toner supply container includes a toner container body including a cylindrical portion and an opening, and a sealing member provided at one axial end portion of the container body. The sealing member is movable relative to the container body in an axial direction and includes a sealing portion provided at a side adjacent the container body and a coupling portion provided at a side remote from the container body. The coupling portion includes a supporting portion provided on the sealing portion, and an engaging portion provided at a free end of the supporting portion, and a displacing force receiving portion is provided on the supporting portion at a position closer to the container body than the engaging portion. The displacing force receiving portion is displaceable with the supporting portion and has a radially outermost part that is more remote from a rotation axis of the container body than a radially outermost part of the engaging portion, and a radially outermost part of the container body is more remote from the rotation axis of the container body than the radially outermost part of the displacing force receiving portion.

Sealing member, toner accommodating container and image forming apparatus

A toner supply container includes a rotatable container body and a sealing member provided at its axial end portion. The sealing member is movable in an axial direction and includes a sealing portion to seal and unseal an opening of the container body when in first and second relative positions, respectively, and a coupling portion positioned to receive a rotational drive force for rotating the sealing member and the container body. The coupling portion includes an elastically displaceable supporting portion, an engaging portion, and a displacing force receiving portion, which are integrally molded. The engaging portion includes a rotational force receiving portion for receiving a rotational drive force for rotating the sealing member and the container body, and a locking portion. The displacing force receiving portion is provided on the supporting portion at a position closer to the container body than the engaging portion.

A powder filling apparatus and a powder filling method which enable powder to be densely filled in a short period of time is to be provided. This is a powder filling apparatus having a pressure hopper wherein the pressure hopper has a discharger for discharging powder and a gas inlet positioned above at least the surface of a powder layer formed by the powder in the pressure hopper; the powder layer is so formed as to blockade the discharger in the pressure hopper; in the powder filling apparatus, the inside of the pressure hopper is pressurized by leading in gas through the gas inlet in a state in which the discharger is closed, and the powder layer so formed as to blockade the discharger is discharged by opening the discharger after the pressurization thereby to utilize that pressure to load the powder into the filling container.

Powder filling apparatus, powder filling method and process cartridge

A sealing member seals an opening provided at one axial end of a rotatable container body of a toner supply container detachably mountable to an assembly of an image forming apparatus having a hollow cylindrical driving member. The sealing member includes a sealing portion provided at a side adjacent the container body to seal the opening, and a coupling portion provided at a side remote from the container body to receive a rotational drive force. The coupling portion includes a supporting portion provided on the sealing portion, an engaging portion provided at a free end of the supporting portion, and a displacing force receiving portion provided closer to the container body than the engaging portion. The engaging portion includes a rotational force receiving portion being abuttable in a circumferential direction of the driving member, and a locking portion being abuttable in an axial direction of the driving member.

A toner container detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus includes a main body for containing toner, a toner discharging portion having an opening, and a coupling member. The coupling member includes an extended portion. The extended portion includes an engaging projection. The engaging projection is configured and positioned to displace in an inward direction with the extended portion as the engaging projection enters a hollow cylindrical driving member of an assembly of the image forming apparatus, and is also configured and positioned to engage with a slot of the hollow cylindrical driving member when the extended portion elastically restores in an outward direction. The engaging projection includes a tapered surface portion configured and positioned to receive a force for displacing in the inward direction with the extended portion as the engaging projection enters the hollow cylindrical driving member, and a side surface portion.

A toner container detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus, includes a main body for containing toner; a toner discharging portion having an opening; and a coupling member. The coupling member includes a supporting portion and an engaging portion. The engaging portion is configured and positioned to displace in an inward direction with the supporting portion as the engaging portion enters a hollow cylindrical driving member of an assembly of the image forming apparatus, and is also configured and positioned to engage with a slot of the hollow cylindrical driving member when the supporting portion elastically restores in an outward direction. The engaging portion includes a rotational force receiving portion capable of being abutted in a circumferential direction of the hollow cylindrical driving member to receive a rotational drive force from the hollow cylindrical driving member to rotate the main body with the toner discharging portion.

A toner container detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus, includes a main body for containing toner; a sealing portion for sealing the toner discharge opening; locking projections for snap-fitting engagement with holes provided in a cylindrical member of an image forming apparatus, wherein the projections receive from the cylindrical member unsealing forces for unsealing the toner discharge opening by a relative movement between the sealing portion and the toner container, wherein a number of the locking projections is larger than a number of ribs provided between the holes of the cylindrical member.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Yutaka Ban