IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,591,198
Granted Patent B2
US 12,591,198 · App. 18/973,656 · Granted Mar 31, 2026

Image forming apparatus having toner replenishment

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
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,591,198
App. No.
18/973,656
Granted
Mar 31, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a first opening/closing member to move between a first closed position, where it closes an attachment portion to receive toner supplied from a toner container, and a first open position, and an operation portion provided on a front surface of an apparatus body including a photosensitive drum. A second opening/closing member is provided on a side of the front surface of the apparatus body and moves between a second closed position, where the second opening/closing member closes with respect to the apparatus body, and a second open position. An upper part of the operation portion is held by the apparatus body so a display of the operation portion faces upward and downstream in the discharge direction and so the operation portion is located most downstream in the discharge direction in an area, above the second opening/closing member, of the front surface of the apparatus body.

Claims (23)

1 . An image forming apparatus which is configured to form an image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising:

a toner container accommodating toner;

an apparatus body including:

a photosensitive drum configured to rotate about a rotational axis;

a developing roller configured to supply toner to the photosensitive drum;

a toner accommodating portion configured to accommodate the toner to be borne on the developing roller;

an attachment portion provided with a receiving port configured to receive the toner supplied from the toner container to the toner accommodating portion;

a discharging roller configured to discharge the recording material to an outside of the apparatus body in a discharging direction; and

a feeding roller configured to feed the recording material toward an inside of the apparatus body;

a first opening/closing member configured to move between a first closed position where the first opening/closing member closes the attachment portion, and a first open position where the first opening/closing member opens the attachment portion to allow the toner container to be attached to the attachment portion, an upper surface of the first opening/closing member constituting a first stacking surface on which the recording material discharged by the discharging roller is stacked in a case where the first opening/closing member is positioned in the first closed position;

an operation portion provided on a front surface, which is an end surface in the discharging direction, of the apparatus body, the operation portion including a display; and

a second opening/closing member provided on a side of the front surface of the apparatus body, and disposed below the operation portion, the second opening/closing member being configured to move between a second closed position where the second opening/closing member closes with respect to the apparatus body and a second open position where the second opening/closing member opens with respect to the apparatus body such that the second opening/closing member constitutes a second stacking surface on which the recording material to be fed toward the inside of the apparatus body by the feeding roller is stacked,

wherein only an upper part of the operation portion is held by the apparatus body so that the display of the operation portion faces upward and downstream in the discharging direction and so that the operation portion is located most downstream in the discharging direction in an area, above the second opening/closing member, of the front surface of the apparatus body.

2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein one end portion and the other end portion, in a direction of the rotational axis, of the apparatus body are a first end portion and a second end portion, respectively,

the display of the operation portion is provided on a side of the first end portion of the apparatus body, and

the receiving port is provided on the first end portion.

3 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a moving direction of the first opening/closing member from the first closed position to the first open position is opposite to a moving direction of the second opening/closing member from the second closed position to the second open position.

4 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the attachment portion is configured such that the toner container is attached to the attachment portion by being moved downward in a gravity direction toward the attachment portion.

5 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of light emitting portions which is configured to emit light and which are visible from a side of the front surface of the apparatus body,

the display of the operation portion is closer to the receiving port than the plurality of light emitting portions in a direction of the rotational axis.

6 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein one end portion and the other end portion, in a direction of the rotational axis, of the apparatus body are a first end portion and a second end portion, respectively,

the display of the operation portion is closer to the first end portion than the second end portion, and

the plurality of light emitting portions is closer to the second end portion than the first end portion.

Priority Claims (2)
JP 2019-049218 · Mar 15, 2019 · national
JP 2020-042021 · Mar 11, 2020 · national
Continuity (5)
Continuation 18599417 · Mar 8, 2024
Continuation 17991892 · Nov 22, 2022
Continuation 17472952 · Sep 13, 2021
Continuation PCTJP2020011082 · Mar 13, 2020
Related Publication 20250102995A1 · Mar 27, 2025
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