Granted Patent B2

US 12,210,312 · App. 18/599,417 · Granted Jan 28, 2025

Inventors: Tomio Noguchi (Shizuoka, JP); Masaaki Sato (Kanagawa, JP); Kenji Matsuzaka (Kanagawa, JP); Koji Fujinaka (Tokyo, JP); Takao Sameshima (Kanagawa, JP); Akitoshi Toyota (Kanagawa, JP); Yuichiro Inaba (Kanagawa, JP); Kenichi Iida (Tokyo, JP)

Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA

G03G21/1647G03G15/0865G03G15/0877G03G21/1619G03G21/1633

Abstract

Claims (27)

1. An image forming apparatus to and from which a replenishment container accommodating developer is attachable and detachable and which is configured to form a developer image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising:

an image bearing member configured to rotate while bearing the developer image;

a developer bearing member configured to bear the developer and supply the developer to the image bearing member;

a developer container including an accommodating portion configured to accommodate the developer to be borne on the developer bearing member, the developer container being provided with a replenishment port for replenishing the accommodating portion with the developer from the replenishment container and to and from which the replenishment container is attachable and detachable;

a transfer portion configured to transfer the developer image on the image bearing member onto a recording material;

a supporting tray including a supporting surface that supports the recording material thereon from below; and

a discharge portion configured to discharge the recording material, in a discharge direction, onto which the developer image has been transferred, on the supporting surface of the supporting tray,

wherein the supporting tray is configured to move between a closed position where the supporting tray closes the replenishment port and an open position where the supporting tray opens the replenishment port, and

wherein the supporting tray is configured such that a movement of the supporting tray from the open position to the closed position is hindered by the replenishment container in a state that the replenishment container from which the accommodating portion has been replenished with the developer is attached to the developer container.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the supporting tray is supported by an apparatus body to rotate between the open position and the closed position, the apparatus body accommodating the image bearing member, the developer container, the developer bearing member, and the transfer portion.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the supporting tray is configured to rotate with respect to the apparatus body about a rotational axis extending in a longitudinal direction of the image bearing member.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the rotational axis of the supporting tray is positioned in an upstream side of the apparatus body in the discharge direction, and

the supporting tray is opened to the upstream side of the apparatus body while being rotated.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising a reading unit configured to read an image on a recording material,

wherein in a case where the rotational axis, the open position, and the closed position are a first rotational axis, a first open position, and a first closed position, respectively, and

the reading unit is rotatably supported by the apparatus body between a second open position where the replenishment container is capable of being attached to the developer container when the supporting tray is at the first open position, and a second closed position where rotation of the supporting tray from the first closed position to the first open position is hindered by the reading unit.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein a rotation direction of the reading unit from the second closed position to the second open position is the same as a rotation direction of the supporting tray from the first closed position to the first open position.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the rotational axis of the supporting tray is positioned in a downstream side of the apparatus body in the discharge direction, and

the supporting tray is opened to the downstream side of the apparatus body while being rotated.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the developer container includes only one attaching portion to which the replenishment container is detachably attached.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an entirety of the supporting tray is configured to move between the closed position and the open position.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising a cover configured to cover the developer container from above and provided with an opening from which the replenishment port is exposed.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the cover is openably and closably supported by an apparatus body including a frame in which the image bearing member, the developer container, the developer bearing member, and the transfer portion are accommodated, and

the developer container is capable of being taken out from the frame of the apparatus body in a state in which the cover is opened.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a part of the supporting tray is configured to move between the closed position and the open position.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the developer container includes a projecting portion projecting upward and provided on an end portion of the developer container in a longitudinal direction of the image bearing member, and

the replenishment port is provided on a tip portion of the projecting portion.

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (28)