Image forming apparatus with detachable toner container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10241439-B2
Application number	US-201815877193-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 22, 2018
Priority date	Jan 25, 2017
Publication date	Mar 26, 2019
Grant date	Mar 26, 2019

Abstract

A lever member is displaceably provided to a toner container. A container locking mechanism locks the toner container at a mounting position in a container mounting portion when the lever member is operated from a first operation position to a second operation position in a state where the toner container is located at the mounting position. A locking member is displaceable between a lever locking position and a lever releasing position. A locking control portion controls a drive portion to displace the locking member to the lever locking position when a remaining amount of the toner detected by the remaining amount detection portion is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, and controls the drive portion to displace the locking member to the lever releasing position when the remaining amount of the toner detected by the remaining amount detection portion is less than the predetermined amount.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a toner container having a toner discharge port through which toner within a container body is discharged;
a container mounting portion configured to detachably mount the toner container;
a lever member displaceably provided to the toner container;
a container locking mechanism configured to lock the toner container at a mounting position in the container mounting portion when the lever member is operated from a first operation position to a second operation position in a state where the toner container is located at the mounting position;
a locking member configured to be displaceable between a lever locking position at which the locking member is engaged with the lever member to lock the lever member at the second operation position and a lever releasing position at which the locking member is retracted from the lever locking position to unlock the lever member locked at the second operation position;
a drive portion configured to provide driving force to the locking member;
a remaining amount detection portion configured to detect a remaining amount of the toner within the container body; and
a locking control portion configured to control the drive portion to displace the locking member to the lever locking position when the remaining amount of the toner detected by the remaining amount detection portion is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, and to control the drive portion to displace the locking member to the lever releasing position when the remaining amount of the toner detected by the remaining amount detection portion is less than the predetermined amount, wherein
the container mounting portion has a drive transmission mechanism including an input portion configured to receive operating force inputted when the lever member is operated in the state where the toner container is located at the mounting position, and
the container locking mechanism includes a first connection portion that is provided to the toner container so as to be rotatable in accordance with displacement of the lever member and that is configured to connect to the input portion when the toner container is located at the mounting position and the lever member is located at the first operation position, and to come into engagement with the input portion in a direction in which the toner container is detached, by rotating in accordance with a locking operation performed when the lever member is operated from the first operation position to the second operation position, to thereby lock the toner container at the mounting position.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first connection portion disengages from the input portion by rotating in accordance with a releasing operation performed when the lever member is returned from the second operation position to the first operation position.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the first connection portion is provided so as to be integrated with the lever member and is formed in a rib shape,
the input portion is rotatably provided to the container mounting portion and rotates with rotation of the first connection portion, and
the container locking mechanism includes a first engagement groove that is formed on the input portion and into which the first connection portion is insertable when the lever member is located at the first operation position.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the input portion has a locking groove into which the locking member is insertable when the input portion is located at a position corresponding to the second operation position of the lever member, and
the locking member is configured to be inserted into the locking groove when the locking member is displaced to the lever locking position.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the drive transmission mechanism includes an output portion configured to output the operating force transmitted from the input portion when the lever member is operated,
the toner container has an opening/closing mechanism configured to open/close the toner discharge port, and
the opening/closing mechanism has:
a second connection portion capable of connecting to the output portion and receiving the operating force from the output portion when the toner container is located at the mounting position and the lever member is located at the first operation position; and
a shutter member configured to shift from a closing position at which the shutter member closes the toner discharge port to an opening position at which the shutter member opens the toner discharge port, by the operating force transmitted from the output portion to the second connection portion in accordance with the locking operation.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the second connection portion comes into engagement with the output portion in the direction in which the toner container is detached, by rotating in accordance with the locking operation.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the second connection portion disengages from the output portion by rotating in accordance with a releasing operation performed when the lever member is returned from the second operation position to the first operation position.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the second connection portion is provided so as to be integrated with the shutter member and is formed in a rib shape, and
the output portion has a second engagement groove that is rotatably provided on the container mounting portion and into which the second connection portion is insertable when the shutter member is located at the closing position.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the toner container is one of a plurality of toner containers that are provided,
the lever member, the container locking mechanism, the locking member, the drive portion, and the remaining amount detection portion are provided so as to correspond to each of the plurality of the toner containers, and
the locking control portion controls the drive portion for each of the plurality of the toner containers to displace the locking member to the lever locking position or the lever releasing position.

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Wakimoto Atsuhiro
• Morishita Hiroki

Classifications

• G03G21/1864

  associated with a positioning function · CPC title

• G03G2221/169

  Structural door designs · CPC title

• G03G15/556

  for toner consumption, e.g. pixel counting, toner coverage detection or toner density measurement · CPC title

• G03G15/0855 Primary

  the concentration being measured by optical means · CPC title

• G03G21/1633

  using doors or covers (G03G21/1638 takes precedence) · CPC title