JP2002040808A - Cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cartridge and an image forming device excellent in operability and capable of lightening a burden in terms of cost imposed on a user. SOLUTION: The representative constitution of this process cartridge B and this image forming device A are shown as follows. The process cartridge B having a developer container 14 in which toner is stored and freely attached to/detached from a device main body is provided with a 1st carrying blade 12 positioned on a downstream side in a toner carrying direction inside the container 14 and carrying the toner, a 2nd carrying blade 13 positioned on an upstream side in the toner carrying direction inside the container 14 and carrying the toner, a 1st carrying gear 20 for turning the 1st carrying blade 12, a 2nd carrying gear 22 for turning the 2nd carrying blade 13, a driving transmitting gear 21 and a turning arm 23 positioned between the gears 20 and 22 and capable of transmitting the driving force of the gear 20 to the gear 22, and a position regulating member 24 acting on the arm 23 and holding it in a state where the transmission of the driving is disconnected. Then, the member 24 can connect and disconnect the transmission of the driving between the gears 20 and 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cartridge and an image forming apparatus in which the cartridge is removably mounted.

Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming method. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, and the like), a facsimile machine, a word processor, and the like.

A process cartridge is a cartridge in which a charging unit, a cleaning unit, an image carrier (electrophotographic photosensitive member), a developing unit, and the like are integrally formed into a cartridge, and this cartridge is detachably mountable to an apparatus main body. . Also,
The toner cartridge supplies toner to the process cartridge, and may be included in the process cartridge or may be configured separately from a process cartridge used in a long-life, high-speed printing machine or the like.

According to this process cartridge system,
Since the maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by the user himself, the operability can be remarkably improved. Therefore, this process cartridge system is widely used in image forming apparatuses.

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus, such as a printer, forms a latent image by selectively exposing an image carrier, which is uniformly charged by a charging unit, to a developer.
The latent image is visualized by a developing device, and an image formed by the developer is transferred to a recording medium to record an image. The developer remaining on the image carrier after the transfer is removed by a cleaning blade and the developer is stored in a cleaning container so that the next development is performed by the image carrier having a clean surface.

[0006] In recent years, the image carrier, the charger, the developer container, the developing device, the cleaning unit, the waste developer container, and the like have an integral structure, or the developer container and the like are separately formed into a cartridge to allow a user to use the cartridge. By mounting the cartridge in the main assembly of the apparatus, parts of the image carrier of the developer can be replaced and maintenance is facilitated. Further, due to the high speed, long life, and miniaturization of the apparatus, a process cartridge in which the electrophotographic image forming process section is small and the developer container is large has been devised. Has been adopted.

The developer container used in the image forming apparatus and the process cartridge is configured to have a low height and a large depth in order to achieve a compact size. Cartridges that arrange several sheets in series in the transport direction and reliably transport the developer to the image carrier have also been put to practical use. In such an image forming apparatus, a conveying blade is rotatably provided as a toner agitating member in a developer container of the developing device, and the toner is sent to the photosensitive drum side by this rotation. Here, as the developer in the cartridge, nonmagnetic spherical fine toner made of resin or the like is used.

However, since the spherical fine toner is fine and spherical, powder pseudo-shrinkage, so-called tapping, is more likely to occur than conventional magnetic toners due to vibration or the like during transportation. For this reason, the condensed toner must be loosened.

Therefore, in a conventional cartridge and image forming apparatus using a magnetic toner and a fine spherical toner, a user shakes the cartridge before inserting the cartridge into the apparatus main body, and the cartridge containing the toner can be moved to the apparatus main body. The cartridge was housed in a rotary, and the toner was condensed by rotating and stirring the entire cartridge. In addition, a motor having a large torque is used for the main body of the apparatus.

[0010]

The above-mentioned conventional cartridge and image forming apparatus have poor operability, for example, a user shakes the cartridge before inserting the cartridge into the apparatus main body because the condensed toner must be released. In order to drive the cartridge in the initial stage, the torque required for the drive motor is larger than the torque required for normal rotation, and a motor with a large torque is used for the apparatus main body. There was a problem that was large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cartridge and an image forming apparatus which have good operability and less cost burden for a user.

[0012]

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of a cartridge and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is a cartridge which has a container for accommodating a toner and is detachably mountable to an apparatus body. A first transport blade that is located downstream of the toner transport direction in the container and transports the toner, a second transport blade that is located upstream of the toner transport direction in the container and transports the toner, A first transport driving unit for rotating one transport wing, a second transport driving unit for rotating the second transport wing, and the first transport driving unit and the second transport driving unit. A driving force transmitting means for transmitting the driving force of the first conveying driving means to the second conveying driving means, and a position regulating member which acts on the driving transmitting means and holds the driving transmission in a disconnected state. The position regulating member has a first conveyance drive Characterized in that the drive transmission between the stage and the second transport drive unit can connect and disconnect.

[0013]

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of a cartridge and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a cartridge in a full toner state, FIG.
4 is a perspective view of the cartridge, FIG. 5 is a top view of the cartridge, FIG. 6 is a side view of the cartridge in a toner full state,
7 is a view for explaining drive transmission in a toner full state, FIG. 8 is a side view of the cartridge, FIG. 9 is a view for explaining drive transmission in a small toner state, FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of drive transmission means, and FIG. FIG. 12 is a vector diagram of the drive transmission unit, and FIG. 12 is a vector diagram of the drive transmission unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, in an image forming apparatus A, a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter referred to as a photosensitive drum) 1 as a first image carrier and a recording medium S are directed toward a transfer roller 6. A feeding device 5 that feeds and conveys the recording medium S, and a fixing device 7 that fixes a toner image on the recording medium S after transfer are provided.

The feeding device 5 is driven in accordance with the image forming operation, and separates and feeds the recording medium S one by one to the image forming section.

The photosensitive drum 1 is formed by applying an organic photoconductor layer (OPC photosensitive member) to the outer peripheral surface of an aluminum cylinder. The photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably supported at both ends by a supporting member, and a driving force from a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted to one end of the photosensitive drum 1 in a direction in which the recording medium S is conveyed. Drive rotationally.

Around the photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller 2 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and an exposure for irradiating a laser beam based on image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. Device 3, developing device 4 for attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image and developing it as a toner image, photoreceptor drum 1
A transfer roller 6 on which the upper toner image is transferred, a cleaning blade 8 for removing transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer, and the like are provided.

Here, the photosensitive drum 1, the charging roller 2, a cleaning blade 8 for removing toner, and a developing device 4 for attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image and developing it as a toner image.
Is a cartridge that is integrally formed, and forms a process cartridge B, which is a detachable cartridge in the apparatus main body, and is detachable from the image forming apparatus A.

The charging roller 2 comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by applying a charging bias voltage.

The exposure device 3 includes a polygon mirror (not shown)
The polygon mirror is irradiated with image light corresponding to an image signal by a laser diode (not shown). The polygon mirror is rotated at high speed by a scanner motor (not shown), and selectively exposes the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 1 to the reflected image light via an imaging lens (not shown), a reflection mirror 2a, and the like. To form an electrostatic latent image.

The developing device 4 includes a developing roller 10 of the developing device.
Is a minute gap (about 300 μm) with respect to the photosensitive drum 1
Are positioned so as to face each other. A first transport wing 12 that is located downstream of the developer transport direction, which is a container for storing the toner, and transports the toner, is located on the upstream side in the toner transport direction, and is a second transport that transports the toner. The wings 13 feed the toner T to the supply roller 11, apply a thin layer of toner to the outer periphery of the rotating supply roller 11 and the developing roller 10 in which the toner regulating blade 10a rotates, and apply charge to the toner (friction charging). . Then, a developing bias is applied between the developing roller 10 and the photosensitive drum 1 on which the electrostatic latent image has been formed, so that the toner image is attached to the electrostatic latent image and developed as a toner image.

Here, a method of transporting the toner in the process cartridge will be described.

In the developer container 14 containing the toner T,
The first transport blade 12 and the second transport blade near the developing roller 10
13 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the initial state of the process cartridge (when the toner is full), only the first transport blade 12 rotates and transports the toner T to the supply roller 11.

As shown in FIG. 3, as the consumption of the toner T progresses, the amount of toner within the radius of rotation of the first transport blade 12 decreases, and accordingly, the first transport blade 12 and the second transport blade 12 correspond to each other. The driving force of the first conveying gear 20 is located between the wing 13 and the second conveying gear.
The drive transmission means capable of transmitting the toner to the roller 22 is operated, and the second transport blade 13 rotates together with the first transport blade 12 to transport all the toner in the developer container to the developing roller side.

The drive system for conveying toner will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the driving system includes a drum gear 15, a developing roller gear 16, an idler gear 17, a coating roller gear 18, a two-stage gear 19, a first conveying gear 20, and a second conveying gear 22. , A drive transmission means (drive transmission gear 21, rotating arm 29) and a position regulating member 24.

A gear (not shown) of the apparatus main body meshes with a drum gear 15 provided integrally with the end of the photosensitive drum 1 and transmits a drive to the drum gear 15 to rotate the photosensitive drum 1.
The drum gear 15 meshes with a developing roller gear 16 provided integrally with the end of the developing roller 10, and the developing roller gear 16
And the developing roller 10 is rotated.

The developing roller gear 16 meshes with an idler gear 17, and the idler gear 17 meshes with an application roller gear 18 provided integrally with an end of the supply roller 11, and transmits drive to the application roller gear 18 to supply the supply roller gear 18. Rotate 11 Also,
The idler gear 17 meshes with a large-diameter gear of a two-stage gear 19 combining a large-diameter gear and a small-diameter gear, and the small-diameter gear of the two-stage gear 19 is integrally provided at an end of the first transfer blade 12, and It meshes with a first transport gear 20 which is a first transport drive means for rotating the transport wing 12, and rotates the first transport wing 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, in the initial state of the full toner amount, a planetary gear rotating about the rotation center of the first stirring gear with a certain distance from the first conveying gear 20. Drive transmission gear 21 is integrally provided at an end of the second transport blade 13 and is connected to a second transport gear 22 which is a second transport drive unit for rotating the second transport blade 13. Is not performed, and the second transport blade 13 does not rotate.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, when the amount of toner is small, the drive transmission gear 21 is moved by the drive transmission means to a position where it engages with the first transport gear 20 and the second transport gear 22. The drive is transmitted to the gear 22 to rotate the second transport blade 13. The first transport gear 20 rotates so as to urge the drive transmission gear 21 toward the second transport gear 22.

As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating arm 23 is a movable member having a circular hole at one end, and the inner peripheral surface of the hole has a first conveying gear 20 for storing the first conveying gear 20. The roller 20 engages with the outer periphery of a first transport gear housing rib 14t, which is a circumferential rib provided so as to protrude from the side wall 14s of the developer container 14 concentrically with the rotation center of the developer container 14, and slidably rotates.

The position regulating member 24 is a lever-shaped rotatable metal rod-shaped member that acts on the drive transmission means in a state where the drive is cut off and holds the drive transmission in a cut off state. The drive transmission between the first transport gear 20 and the second transport gear 22 can be connected and disconnected. The position regulating member 24 has one end 24b extending around a rotation center 24c provided on the side wall 14s of the developer container 14 so as to contact the toner inside the developer container, and the other end 24a rotating outside the developer container. Projection 23t of arm 23
It is stretched and bent so as to abut.

When the toner is full, the rotating arm 23 has a protrusion 23t.
Is in contact with the contact portion 24a, which is the first end of the position regulating member 24, to restrict the movement of the drive transmission gear 21 in the direction of the second transport gear 28, and The position is restricted to the first position in which the drive is disconnected from the position 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, the position regulating member 24 has a weight distribution such that the toner detecting portion side of the position regulating member 24 drops and rotates. When the toner at the lower portion of a certain toner detecting unit 24b is lost, the toner falls due to gravity and rotates around a rotation center 24c.
It moves from the position f to the position 24e, and takes the second posture in which the drive transmission gear 21 is brought into contact with the second transport gear 22 to transmit the drive.

As shown in FIG. 10, the position regulating member 24 moves by gravity from the position 24f indicated by the solid line to the position 24g indicated by the broken line. At this time, the contact portion 24a is a protrusion of the rotating arm 23.
23t is pushed upward, and the rotating arm 23 moves from a position 23f indicated by a solid line to a position 23g indicated by a broken line.

Since the rotation trajectory of the contact portion 24a is in a direction away from the rotation trajectory of the projection 23t, the position regulating member 24 falls to the position 24e, and the rotating arm 23 is rotated by the rotational force from the drive transmission gear 21 and gravity. It moves to the position of the two-dot chain line 23e. And
The drive transmission gear 21 meshes with the second transport gear 22, and the second transport gear 22 rotates the second transport blade 13 to start supplying the toner near the second transport blade 13 to the developing roller side.

Since the rotational reaction force from the second transfer gear 22 to the drive transmission gear 21 is a direction in which the rotating arm 23 is further pressed against the second transfer gear 22, no special urging member is required. Also, a projection (not shown) projects from the developer container side wall 14s,
The rotation arm 23 is positioned with respect to the second transport gear 22 as a stopper.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gravitational force Fg of the drive transmission gear 21 and the rotating arm 23 is applied to the projection 23t, and the first transport gear 20 rotates in the RotA direction, so that the drive transmission gear 21 is rotated. Rotates. At this time, a reaction force Fh of the sliding resistance FF is generated in the drive transmission gear 21. The projection 23t presses the contact portion 24a by the resultant force Fb of the reaction force Fh and the tangential component Fgb of the gravity Fg. That is, the contact portion 24a is moved to the projection 23 by a force Fa larger than Fb.
By pressing t, the rotating arm 23 moves to the position indicated by the broken line (top dead center).

Next, the force Fa for pressing the contact portion 24a will be described.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the first attitude when the toner is full, the gravity Ft is canceled by the reaction force from the toner below the toner detecting section 24b. When the toner under the toner detecting portion 24b runs out in the first posture, a rotational force about the rotation center 24c is generated by the gravity Ft from the bent shape as shown in the figure.

The distance Lt from the rotation center 24c of the position restricting member 24 to the toner detecting portion 24b is sufficiently longer than the distance Lk from the contact portion, and the gravity of the contact portion 24a is reduced by the position restricting member. Since the angle is set so as not to affect the rotational force of 24, the component Fkm in the rotational moment direction is suppressed to a small value.

As a result, the pushing force Fa to the protrusion 23t is calculated by multiplying the product of the component Ftm in the moment direction of the weight on the toner detecting portion 24b side and the distance Lk and Lt ratio of the arm and the component Fkm in the moment direction of the weight on the contact portion 24a side. (Fa =
Ftm × (Lt / Lk) −Fkm), the force Fa to push up reliably by making the position regulating member 24 of a heavy material such as metal.
Can be generated.

As described above, when the amount of toner is small, the first transport gear 20 and the second transport gear 22 are driven by the drive transmission gear 21.
And the drive transmission is reliably performed.

The transfer roller 6 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 to the recording medium S.

After the toner developed on the photosensitive drum 1 by the developing device 4 is transferred by the transfer roller 6, the cleaning blade 8
The so-called transfer residual toner remaining on the surface is scraped off, accumulated in the cleaning container 9 and removed.

The fixing device 8 fixes the toner image transferred to the recording medium S. Recording medium S on which toner image is fixed
Is discharged outside by a discharge device.

As described above, according to the present invention, the drive transmission gear 21,
The rotation arm 23 and the position restricting member 24 initially rotate only the first transport blade 12 close to the developing roller 10 to reduce the torque required to stir the toner. There is no need for the user to swing the process cartridge B before inserting the process cartridge B into the apparatus main body, and there is no need for the drive motor to require a torque larger than the torque required for normal rotation. Therefore, it is possible to provide the process cartridge B and the image forming apparatus A which have good operability and have a small cost burden on the user.
Further, by using a rod-shaped member for the position regulating member 24, cost reduction can be achieved.

Although the present embodiment has been described using only two stirring members, three or more stirring members may be used to reduce the initial toner stirring force.

[0050]

As described above, the first transport blade and the second transport blade for transporting the toner are provided on the downstream side and the upstream side in the toner transport direction of the container for storing the toner, and the first transport blade is provided. A drive transmitting means for transmitting the driving force of the first transport driving means for rotating to the second transport driving means for rotating the second transport blade, and a position regulating member for holding the drive transmission path in a disconnected state. In the initial stage of the full toner amount, the drive transmission path is cut and only the first transport blade is rotated.

This makes it possible to reduce the initial torque of a cartridge requiring a large amount of toner to further extend the life of the CRG, and to insert the cartridge into the apparatus body in order to drive the cartridge in the initial stage. Therefore, the user does not need to shake the cartridge, and the drive motor does not require a torque larger than the torque required for normal rotation. For this reason, it is possible to provide a cartridge and an image forming apparatus that have good operability and reduce the burden on the user.

Further, the cost can be reduced by using a bar-shaped member as the position regulating member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the cartridge in a toner full state.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge in a small toner state.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line ZZ of the cartridge in a toner full state.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating drive transmission in a toner full state.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the cartridge.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating drive transmission in a small toner state.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a drive transmission unit.

FIG. 11 is a vector diagram of drive transmission means.

FIG. 12 is a vector diagram of drive transmission means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: image forming apparatus B: process cartridge FF: sliding resistance Fa: force Fb: resultant force Fg, Ft: gravity Fgb: tangential component Fh: reaction force Fkm, Ftm: component in moment direction Lk, Lt: distance S: recording medium T: Toner 1 ... Photoconductor drum 2 ... Charging device 2a ... Reflection mirror 3 ... Exposure device 4 ... Developing device 5 ... Supply / convey device 6 ... Transfer device 7 ... Fixing device 8 ... Cleaning blade 9 ... Cleaning container 10 ... Developing roller 10a ... toner regulating blade 11 ... supply roller 12 ... first transport blade 13 ... second transport blade 14 ... developer container 14s ... side wall 14t ... first transport gear storage rib 14u ... storage boss 15 ... drum gear 16 ... development roller Gear 17: idler gear 18: coating roller gear 19: two-stage gear 20: first transport gear 21: drive transmission gear 22 ... second transport gear 23: rotating arm 23t ... Projection 24 ... Position regulating member 24a ... Contact part 24b ... Toner detection part 24c ... Center of rotation

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A cartridge having a container for accommodating toner and detachable from an apparatus main body, wherein: a first conveying blade located on a downstream side in a toner conveying direction in the container for conveying toner; A second transport wing that is located on the upstream side in the toner transport direction and transports the toner; a first transport drive unit for rotating the first transport wing; and rotating the second transport wing. A second transfer driving means, and a drive transmitting means located between the first transfer driving means and the second transfer driving means, and capable of transmitting the driving force of the first transfer driving means to the second transfer driving means. And a position regulating member that acts on the drive transmission means and holds the drive transmission in a disconnected state, wherein the position regulation member connects and disconnects the drive transmission between the first transport driving means and the second transport driving means. A cartridge characterized by being made possible. 2. The first transport drive unit and the second transport drive unit are configured by gears, the drive transmission unit is configured by a movable member having a drive transmission gear, and the drive transmission unit and the position regulating member are driven. 2. A first attitude in which the transmission gear is separated from the second transport gear to cut off the drive, and a second attitude in which the drive transmission gear contacts the second transport gear to transmit the drive. A cartridge according to claim 1. 3. The position restricting member has a toner detecting unit, and when the toner is present near the toner detecting unit, the position restricting member comes into contact with the drive transmitting unit to restrict the position, and takes the first posture;
3. The cartridge according to claim 2, wherein when the toner is not present in the vicinity of the toner detecting section, the toner is separated from the drive transmitting means to take the second posture and transmit the drive. 4. The container has a circumferential rib for accommodating a first conveying gear provided concentrically with a center of rotation of the first conveying gear, and a movable member of the drive transmitting means is an outer wall of the circumferential rib. The cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the cartridge has an inner peripheral surface that engages with the outer peripheral wall, and is a rotating arm that slides and rotates with the outer peripheral wall of the circumferential rib. 5. The position regulating member is a lever member having a center of rotation at the center, having a first end and a second end, a second end being a toner detecting unit, and a toner detecting unit. When the toner exists in the lower part of the toner detection unit, the first end takes a first position in contact with the drive transmission unit. When the toner does not exist in the lower part of the toner detection unit, the first end rotates. The cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the cartridge takes a second posture that does not contact the arm. 6. The cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the lever member is a rod-shaped member, and a center of rotation of the lever member is provided on a side wall of the container. 7. The cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the lever member is configured with a weight distribution such that the toner detecting section drops and rotates. 8. An image forming apparatus on which the cartridge according to claim 1 is mounted.