JP2004347745A - Toner supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner supply device which has simple constitution and nonetheless surely prevents the leakage of toner therefrom and also can be made large sized. <P>SOLUTION: The toner supply device is used for supplying the toner to a developing device 132 which supplies the toner to the peripheral surface of a photoreceptor drum 131 on which electrostatic latent image is formed and forms a toner image on the photoreceptor drum 131, the photoreceptor drum 131 being disposed on the upstream side of the developing device 132 in the image forming part 13 of an image forming apparatus 10. The toner supply device is provided with: a toner storage tank 30 for storing the toner; and a first rotary shaft 41 laid between a pair of the opposed walls 31 of the toner storage tank 30 and having a stirring bar 43, wherein each of the opposed walls 31 is provided with a first insertion hole 315 into which the first rotary shaft 41 is inserted in a slide contact condition and rotatably around a shaft center and a ring-shaped rib 72 disposed around the first insertion hole 315 in a expanded condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a toner supply device that supplies toner to a developing device applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a toner supply device (toner container) employed in an image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 9 described in Patent Document 1 has been known. 9A and 9B are views showing a conventional toner container. FIG. 9A is a plan view showing a state where a lid for closing an upper surface opening is removed, and FIG. 9B is a part of the toner container shown in FIG. It is a YY line sectional view shown. As shown in FIG. 9A, the toner container 90 includes a storage tank 91 having a box shape for storing toner, a stirring member 92 provided between opposed walls 911 of the storage tank 91, and a stirring member 92. A transfer member 93 is provided between the opposing walls 911 in parallel with the member 92.
[0003]
The stirring member 92 stirs the toner stored in the storage tank 91, and includes a stirring rod 921 that is set to be slightly longer than a distance between the pair of opposed walls 911, and a radial direction from the stirring rod 921. The bracket 922 includes a plurality of parallel brackets 922 protruding from each other, and a stirring rod 923 extending parallel to the stirring rod 921 between the ends of the brackets 922.
[0004]
The stirring rod 921 has one end (the left end in FIG. 9A) inserted into a bottomed hole 912 recessed in one opposing wall 911, and the other end opposing the other. It penetrates through a through hole 913 formed in the wall 911, and is thereby installed between the pair of opposed walls 911 so as to be rotatable around the axis. When a driving force from a drive source (not shown) is transmitted to a portion of the stirring rod 921 protruding from the through hole 913 to the outside, the stirring member 92 rotates around the stirring rod 921 and is loaded into the opposing wall 911. The agitated toner is agitated.
[0005]
The transfer member 93 moves the toner agitated by the agitating member 92 toward a delivery port 914 formed in the bottom plate of the storage tank 91, and includes a transfer shaft 931 and an outer periphery of the transfer shaft 931. And a spiral fin 932 protruding from the surface. The transfer member 93 is also provided between the pair of opposed walls 911 with the same support structure as the stirring member 92.
[0006]
In such a toner container 90, a seal structure 94 as shown in FIG. 9B is employed in a portion where the stirring rod 921 protrudes outside from the opposing wall 911. The seal structure 94 includes a disk-shaped flange 95 concentrically fitted to the side of the stirring rod 921 and a disk-shaped seal member 96 interposed between the flange 95 and the opposing wall 911. It is composed of The seal member 96 is set to have a thickness dimension that is in close contact with the flange 95 and the opposing wall 911, so that the toner in the storage tank 91 is supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the stirring rod 921 and the inner perimeter of the through hole 913 provided in the opposing wall 911. Leakage to the outside from the gap with the surface is prevented.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-8-314250
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the conventional sealing structure 94, since the flange 95 is integrally fixed to the stirring rod 921, when the stirring rod 921 rotates, the flange 95 rotates integrally with the stirring rod 921. As a result, the seal member 96 comes into sliding contact with one or both of the flange 95 and the opposing wall 911. In order to make this sliding contact smooth, the flange 95 and the opposing wall 911 are in contact with the sealing member 96. , The sealing effect cannot be enhanced by increasing the pressing force by the pressure.
[0009]
Accordingly, the toner in the storage tank 91 is guided by the rotation of the seal member 96 accompanying the rotation of the flange 95, and as shown by a thick arrow, between the flange 95 and the seal member 96 or between the flange 95 and the opposing wall 911. The inconvenience of leakage to the outside through a minute gap between the member 96 occurs.
[0010]
In recent years, the size of the apparatus has been increasing, and a storage tank 91 having a larger capacity has been adopted. However, as the storage tank 91 becomes larger, the stirring member 92 becomes larger in proportion to this. In addition, the stirring rod 921 is easily bent by an increase in the stirring load due to the increase in the length of the stirring rod 921. When the stirring rod 921 bends, a large gap is formed between the flange 95 and the seal member 96, and this gap has a new problem that toner leakage is promoted.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and provides a toner supply device capable of coping with an increase in the size of a device while ensuring prevention of toner leakage while having a simple structure. It is intended to be.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is provided for providing a toner to a peripheral surface of a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum provided in a developing unit of the image forming apparatus. A toner supply device for supplying toner to a developing device to be used, comprising: a storage tank for storing toner; and a rotating shaft having stirring means provided between opposed walls of the storage tank. The wall has a fitting hole into which the rotating shaft is fitted, and an annular rib bulging around the fitting hole, and the rotating shaft has a flange at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the annular rib. A seal member is provided between the opposed wall surface and the flange in the annular rib, the seal member being internally fitted to the annular rib while being externally fitted to the rotation shaft, and the seal member has an outer diameter of the annular rib. It is characterized by being set equal to or larger than the inner diameter of It is intended to.
[0013]
According to the present invention, since the outer diameter of the seal member in the state of being externally fitted to the rotary shaft and abutting against the flange is set to be equal to or larger than the internal diameter of the annular rib, the rotary shaft has a fitting hole. By press-fitting the side of the seal member opposite to the flange into the annular rib in a state where the rotary shaft is inserted into the annular rib, the rotary shaft is mounted on the opposing wall. When the seal member is pressed into the annular rib, the outer peripheral surface of the seal member is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the annular rib, and the inner peripheral surface of the seal member is fixed to the outer periphery of the rotating shaft. As a result, the toner in the storage tank is securely prevented from leaking.
[0014]
Thus, according to the present invention, while the seal structure provides the annular rib on the opposite wall surface of the storage tank and the outer diameter of the seal member is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib, As a result, it is possible to ensure a reliable sealing property capable of preventing leakage of the toner from the storage tank. Further, even if the rotating shaft becomes longer due to the increase in the size of the device and is bent due to an increase in the stirring load, it is possible to cope with the problem by setting the thickness of the seal member to a thickness that does not come off from the annular rib. It is possible, and it can be adapted to the enlargement of the device.
[0015]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the seal member is formed of a flexible elastomer.
[0016]
In the present invention, an elastomer is a polymer having a rubber elasticity at room temperature, and a polymer having a property of elongating well when stretched, compressively deforming well when shrinking, and instantly returning to its original shape when external force is removed. It is a material, and a typical example is a rubber material (including natural rubber), but not limited to the rubber material, but a styrene-butadiene copolymer, a thermoplastic polyurethane, a polyester elastomer, an ethylene-propylene rubber It is used as a concept that includes synthetic resins having elasticity such as those described above, and further includes these foams and the like.
[0017]
According to the present invention, since the seal member is formed of such an elastomer, the seal member is easily elastically deformed, so that the sealing property at the contact position with the annular rib is improved.
[0018]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the seal member has a thickness set to be larger than a height of the annular rib.
[0019]
According to the present invention, when the seal member is pressed into the annular rib, a portion that comes out of the annular rib comes into contact with the flange, and the sealing property is improved by the contact.
[0020]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the thickness dimension of the seal member is c, the thickness dimension of the seal member is h, and the height dimension of the annular rib is h. , "4 / 3h≤c≤2h".
[0021]
Such a range is set for the following reason. That is, if the thickness c of the seal member is less than 4 / 3h, when any external force toward the seal member acts on the flange, the seal member is compressed and elastically deformed, and the flange comes into contact with the annular rib. This is because smooth rotation of the rotating shaft may be hindered. On the other hand, if the thickness exceeds 2 h, the sealing member becomes too thick, resulting in an increase in material cost. In addition, it is not possible to obtain a special action and effect as the sealing member due to the increase in thickness, which is wasteful. .
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is an explanatory side sectional view showing an example of an image forming apparatus to which a toner container according to the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 includes an exposure unit 12 formed at the top of a box-shaped apparatus main body 11 and an image forming unit 13 provided at a position below the exposure unit 12 in the apparatus main body 11. And a paper feeding unit 14 provided below the image forming unit 13 and a paper discharging unit 15 provided corresponding to the image forming unit 13 on the side of the apparatus main body 11. .
[0023]
The exposure section 12 reads an image of a document placed on a contact glass on the top of the apparatus main body 11 by a scanning process, and includes a light source, a mirror, a lens unit, and the like. The image information read by the exposure unit 12 is output to the image forming unit 13 via a photoelectric converter 121 that converts the image information into an electric signal and an exposure unit 122 that irradiates a laser beam corresponding to the electric signal. You.
[0024]
The image forming unit 13 includes a photosensitive drum 131 that forms an electrostatic latent image on a peripheral surface by receiving a laser beam output from the exposure device 122 based on the image information, and a peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131. And a toner container (toner supply device) 20 according to the present invention, which supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image on the same peripheral surface, and supplies toner to the development device 132. A conveyance belt 134 that conveys the sheet on which the toner image has been transferred by rotating the photosensitive drum 131 clockwise in FIG. 1 and an image fixing process on the image-transferred sheet conveyed by the conveyance belt 134 And a fixing device 135 for performing the following.
[0025]
A charger 136 is provided around the photosensitive drum 131 and upstream of the developing device 132 so that the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 to which image information from the exposure unit 12 is supplied is uniformly charged. It has been made. Then, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface by supplying toner from the developing device 132 to the electrostatic latent image formed by irradiating the peripheral surface with light from the exposure unit 12. The toner image is transferred onto a sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 14 according to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 131.
[0026]
The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131, which has been transferred to the paper, is cleaned by a cleaning device 137 provided on the upstream side (counterclockwise in FIG. 1) of the charger 136 to form a new electrostatic latent image. I will head.
[0027]
The paper supply section 14 includes a plurality of paper supply cassettes 141 detachably mounted at a lower position of the apparatus main body 11, a large-capacity paper storage section 142 capable of storing a large number of papers, and manual paper supply. And a manual feed unit 143 for feeding paper. The user can select the paper supply from the paper supply cassette 141, the large-capacity paper storage unit 142, and the manual paper supply unit 143. Then, the paper from the selected paper supply unit 14 is fed through a predetermined conveyance path 144 toward the downstream side of the developing device 132 of the photosensitive drum 131, and is used for forming a toner image. Then, the sheet on which the toner image is formed is sent to the fixing device 135 via the transport belt 134, and is discharged to the sheet discharging unit 15 after the fixing process is performed.
[0028]
The toner container 20 according to the present invention is used for supplying toner to the developing device 132 in the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above. It is arranged at the upper right position in FIG.
[0029]
2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the toner container 20, FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA, and FIG. 5 is a side view taken along line B. . FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective views illustrating the design-based toner container 20 actually applied, wherein FIG. 6A is a perspective view seen from the top side, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view seen from the bottom side. is there. 7 is provided for reference to what form the actually applied toner container 20 has, and the toner container 20 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.
[0030]
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the toner container 20 includes a horizontally long toner storage tank 30 having an open upper surface for storing toner, and a stirring member for stirring toner mounted in the toner storage tank 30. 40, a toner transfer member 50 for transferring the toner, and a lid 60 for closing the upper opening of the toner storage tank 30.
[0031]
The toner storage tank 30 includes a pair of opposing walls 31 in the longitudinal direction, and an erecting wall 32 interposed between the opposing walls 31. The opposing wall 31 has two arc-shaped bulges (a first bulge 311 and a second bulge 312) bulging downward at a lower portion. The erection wall 32 has a front wall 321 provided between the side edges of the pair of opposed walls 31 on the first bulging portion 311 side, and a back surface provided between the side edges on the second bulging portion 312 side. And a wall 322. A first arc-shaped bottom plate 323 laid between the pair of first bulging portions 311 and a second arc-shaped bottom plate 324 laid between the pair of second bulging portions 312 are continuously provided on the erected wall 32. ing.
[0032]
Further, a partition wall 325 having a mountain shape in a cross-sectional view is formed at a boundary position between the first arc-shaped bottom plate 323 and the second arc-shaped bottom plate 324. Therefore, the stirring chamber 21 is formed by a space surrounded by a pair of opposing walls 31, a first arc-shaped bottom plate 323, a front wall 321 and a partition wall 325, and the transfer chamber 22 is formed by a pair of opposing walls. 31, a back wall 322 and a partition wall 325 form a space.
[0033]
In the one (rightward in FIGS. 2 to 4) opposing wall 31, a first rotation shaft 41 (described later) of the stirring member 40 is fitted at the center of curvature of the first bulging portion 311. A hole 315 is drilled, and a second fitting hole 316 is formed at the center of curvature of the second bulging portion 312 into which a second rotation shaft 51 of the toner transfer member 50 described later is fitted. . Further, a bottomed first bag hole 317 into which the end of the first rotating shaft 41 is fitted in a position facing the first fitting insertion hole 315 in a sliding contact state is formed on the inner surface side of the other facing wall 31. A second bag hole 318 into which the end of the second rotating shaft 51 is fitted in a sliding contact state is formed in a position facing the second fitting insertion hole 316.
[0034]
The stirring member 40 has a first rotating shaft 41 whose length is set to be longer than an outer dimension between the pair of opposed walls 31, and a predetermined diameter in the same direction from the peripheral surface of the first rotating shaft 41 in the radial direction. It comprises a plurality of projecting rods 42 projecting at a pitch, and a stirring rod 43 penetrating the projecting rods 42. The agitating member 40 has a pair of rotatable shafts that are rotatable around the axis by the distal end portion being fitted into the first bag hole 317 while the first rotating shaft 41 is fitted in the first fitting hole 315. It is installed between the opposing walls 31.
[0035]
A portion of the first rotating shaft 41 protruding outside from the first fitting insertion hole 315 is connected to a drive source (not shown) so that the first rotary shaft 41 can rotate around an axis center driven by the drive source. The toner in the stirring chamber 21 is stirred by the rotation of the stirring rod 43 around the first rotation shaft 41 due to the rotation of the first rotation shaft 41.
[0036]
The toner transfer member 50 includes a second rotating shaft 51 having dimensions substantially the same as the first rotating shaft 41 and a spiral fin 52 wound around the second rotating shaft 51. It is provided with. The tip end of the toner transfer member 50 is inserted into the second bag hole 318 in a state where the protruding rod 42 is inserted into the second insertion hole 316, so that the pair of opposing walls are rotatable about the axis. It is erected between 31.
[0037]
The portion of the second rotating shaft 51 protruding to the outside from the second fitting hole 316 is connected to a drive source (not shown), so that the second rotary shaft 51 can rotate around the axis by the drive of the drive source. Then, the toner transferred from the stirring chamber 21 to the transfer chamber 22 beyond the partition wall 325 by the rotation of the spiral fin 52 around the axis by the rotation of the second rotation shaft 51 moves to one end in the transfer chamber 22. The developer is transported toward the developing device 132 (FIG. 1) from a discharge port 326 provided in the second arc-shaped bottom plate 324.
[0038]
The seal structure 70 according to the present invention is formed at a portion where the first rotating shaft 41 and the second rotating shaft 51 are fitted into the first fitting hole 315 and the second fitting hole 316, respectively. Hereinafter, the seal structure 70 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing an embodiment of the seal structure 70, wherein FIG. 7A is an exploded perspective view and FIG. 7B is an assembled perspective view. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 7 and 8 show the seal structure 70 for the first rotating shaft 41, but the same applies to the second rotating shaft 51. Therefore, the seal structure for the second rotating shaft 51 will be described below. The description of 70 is omitted.
[0039]
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the seal structure 70 includes a flange 71 concentrically fitted on the first rotating shaft 41 and a stirring chamber 21 on the opposing wall 31 concentric with the hole of the first fitting hole 315. The annular rib 72 protruding toward the side and the annular rib 72 interposed between the wall of the opposing wall 31 in the annular rib 72 in a state fitted to the first rotation shaft 41. And a circular seal member 73.
[0040]
The diameter of the flange 71 is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the annular rib 72, whereas the outer diameter of the circular seal member 73 is set slightly larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib 72. Have been. In the present embodiment, the circular seal member 73 is made of foamed rubber that can be easily compressed and elastically deformed. The thickness of the circular seal member 73 is set so that the thickness dimension c is greater than the height dimension h of the annular rib 72 (c> h). In the present embodiment, the range of the thickness dimension c of the circular seal member 73 is set so as to satisfy the inequality “4 / 3h ≦ c ≦ 2h”.
[0041]
The reason why such a range is set is that when the thickness dimension c is less than 4 / 3h, when any external force toward the circular seal member 73 is applied to the flange 71, the circular seal member 73 is compressed and elastically deformed. This is because the 71 may abut against the annular rib 72, which may hinder the smooth rotation of the first rotating shaft 41. Conversely, if the thickness dimension exceeds 2 h, the circular seal member 73 becomes too thick, causing not only a rise in material cost, but also a special action and effect as the seal member due to the increase in thickness, which is wasteful. It is.
[0042]
Then, as shown in FIG. 7A, the flange 71 and the circular seal member 73 are externally fitted to a portion of the first rotating shaft 41 that is inserted into the first fitting insertion hole 315 on the stirring chamber 21 side. The circular seal member 73 is press-fitted into the annular rib 72 while being compressed and elastically deformed, and the flange 71 is slid and pressed against the opposing surface of the circular seal member 73, and in this state, for example, against the first rotating shaft 41. By welding, the circular seal member 73 is pressed and held between the flange 71 and the opposing wall 31 in the annular rib 72 while being compressed and elastically deformed as shown in FIG. 7B and FIG. become.
[0043]
Incidentally, the diameter of the flange 71 is preferably set to be larger than the outer diameter of the circular seal member 73. By doing so, even if the circular seal member 73 bulges outward in the radial direction due to the reaction caused by being pressed into the annular rib 72, the circular seal member 73 is prevented from protruding from the flange 71, thereby preventing the circular seal member 73 from protruding. A stable pressing contact state of the member against the opposing wall 31 can be ensured.
[0044]
As described in detail above, the toner container 20 of the present invention is provided on the upstream side of the developing device 132 in the image forming unit 13 of the image forming apparatus 10 and has a peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. Is used to supply toner to a developing device 132 used to supply toner to the photosensitive drum 131 to form a toner image on the photosensitive drum 131. A first rotating shaft 41 having a stirring rod 43 provided between the pair of opposed walls 31 of the toner storage tank 30; the first rotating shaft 41 is in sliding contact with the opposed wall 31; The first fitting hole 315 rotatably fitted around the first fitting hole 315 and the annular rib 72 bulging around the first fitting hole 315 are provided.
[0045]
The first rotating shaft 41 is provided with a flange 71 at a position slightly separated from the annular rib 72, and the first rotating shaft 41 is provided between the surface of the opposed wall 31 in the annular rib 72 and the flange 71. A circular seal member 73 that is fitted inside the annular rib 72 while being fitted outside is provided. In the present embodiment, the outer diameter of the circular seal member 73 is set slightly larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib 72 (that is, large so that a press-fitting operation is possible). Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the outer diameter of the circular seal member 73 being larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib 72, and may be equal.
[0046]
Therefore, the circular seal member 73 in a state of being fitted to the first rotary shaft 41 and being in contact with the flange 71 has the outer diameter set slightly larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib 72, so that the first seal member 73 has the first diameter. A state in which the first rotating shaft 41 is mounted on the opposing wall 31 by press-fitting the opposite side of the flange 71 of the circular seal member 73 into the annular rib 72 while the rotating shaft 41 is fitted in the first fitting insertion hole 315. become.
[0047]
When the circular seal member 73 is press-fitted into the annular rib 72, the outer peripheral surface of the circular seal member 73 is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the annular rib 72, and the inside of the circular seal member 73 is pressed. Since the peripheral surface is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the first rotating shaft 41, leakage of the toner in the toner storage tank 30 through the first fitting hole 315 can be reliably prevented.
[0048]
As described above, the seal structure 70 has a simple structure in which the annular rib 72 is provided on the surface of the opposing wall 31 of the toner storage tank 30 and the outer diameter of the circular seal member 73 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib 72. As a result, it is possible to secure a reliable sealing property capable of preventing the toner from leaking from the toner storage tank 30, thereby contributing to a reduction in parts cost and assembly cost.
[0049]
Further, even if the first rotary shaft 41 becomes longer due to the increase in the size of the device and the first rotary shaft 41 is bent due to an increase in the stirring load, the thickness of the circular seal member 73 does not fall out of the annular rib 72. It is possible to cope with this by setting the thickness of the device, and it is possible to adapt to the enlargement of the device.
[0050]
In addition, since foamed rubber is employed as the circular seal member 73, the foamed rubber can be easily elastically deformed, and has a good restoring force. Sealability can be improved.
[0051]
Further, since the thickness of the circular seal member 73 is set to be larger than the amount of protrusion of the annular rib 72 from the surface of the opposing wall 31, the circular seal member 73 is pressed into the annular rib 72 while the annular rib 72 is pressed. The portion that goes outside from the portion 72 comes into contact with the flange 71, and this contact can improve the sealing performance.
[0052]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but also includes the following contents.
[0053]
(1) In the above embodiment, the circular seal member 73 is formed of a natural material foamed rubber, but the present invention is limited to the circular seal member 73 made of a natural material foamed rubber. Instead, it may be made of an elastic synthetic resin (ie, elastomer) such as a styrene-butadiene copolymer, a thermoplastic polyurethane, a polyester elastomer, or ethylene-propylene rubber.
[0054]
(2) In the above embodiment, the circular seal member 73 is employed as the seal member. However, the seal member is not limited to a circular shape, but may be formed in a triangular shape, a quadrangular shape, or a polygonal shape. Is also good. By doing so, the annular rib also has a shape corresponding to the shape of the seal member. Since the seal member does not rotate together with the flange 71 by forming the seal member in a shape other than the circular shape in this manner, the surface facing the flange 71 of the seal member is coated with a low friction material or a low friction sheet is attached. It is preferable to set up. Thus, the flange 71 smoothly slides and rotates with respect to the seal member even in a state where the seal member is pressed.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
According to the toner supply device of the present invention, the outer diameter of the seal member in a state of being fitted to the rotary shaft and abutting on the flange is set to be slightly larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib. By press-fitting the side opposite to the flange of the seal member into the annular rib in a state in which the seal member is inserted into the insertion hole, the outer peripheral surface of the seal member is pressed and adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the annular rib, The inner peripheral surface of the seal member is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft by pressing, whereby leakage of toner in the storage tank can be reliably prevented.
[0056]
Thus, while the seal structure has a simple structure in which the annular rib is provided on the opposed wall surface of the storage tank and the outer diameter of the seal member is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the annular rib, the seal structure has a simple structure. A reliable seal that can prevent leakage can be ensured, and even if the rotating shaft becomes longer due to the increase in the size of the device and is bent due to an increase in the agitation load, the thickness dimension of the seal member comes out of the annular rib. It is possible to cope with this by setting the thickness to an extent that is not so large, and it is possible to appropriately cope with an increase in the size of the apparatus.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory side sectional view showing an example of an image forming apparatus to which a toner container of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a toner container.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the toner container shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the toner container shown in FIG. 2 taken along line AA.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the toner container shown in FIG.
6A and 6B are perspective views illustrating a design-based toner container actually applied, wherein FIG. 6A is a perspective view as viewed from a top side, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view as viewed from a bottom side.
FIG. 7 is a view showing an embodiment of a seal structure, (A) is an exploded perspective view, and (B) is an assembled perspective view.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.
9A and 9B are diagrams showing a conventional toner container, wherein FIG. 9A is a plan view showing a state in which a lid for closing an upper surface opening is removed, and FIG. 9B is a part of the toner container of FIG. It is YY line sectional drawing.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Image Forming Apparatus 11 Apparatus Main Body
12 Exposure unit 121 Photoelectric converter
122 Exposure unit 13 Image forming unit
131 Photoconductor drum 132 Developing device
134 conveyor belt 135 fixing device
136 Charger 137 Cleaning device
14 Paper feed unit 141 Paper feed cassette
142 Large capacity paper storage section 143 Manual feed section
15 Paper output unit 20 Toner container (toner supply device)
21 stirring room 22 transfer room
30 Toner storage tank 31 Opposite wall
311 First bulging part 312 Second bulging part
315 First insertion hole 316 Second insertion hole
317 First bag hole 318 Second bag hole
32 Construction wall 321 Front wall
322 back wall 323 first arc-shaped bottom plate
324 Second arc-shaped bottom plate 325 Partition wall
326 outlet 40 stirring member
41 first rotating shaft 42 protruding rod
43 stir bar 50 toner transfer member
51 Second rotating shaft 52 Spiral fin
60 lid 70 seal structure
71 Flange 72 Annular rib
73 circular seal member

Claims (4)

The toner is supplied to a developing device that is provided in a developing unit of an image forming apparatus and is used to form a toner image on the photosensitive drum by supplying toner to a peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum on which the electrostatic latent image is formed. A toner supply device for supplying,
A storage tank for storing the toner, and a rotating shaft having stirring means provided between opposed walls of the storage tank,
The opposed wall is provided with a fitting insertion hole into which a rotating shaft is fitted, and an annular rib bulging around the fitting insertion hole,
The rotating shaft is provided with a flange at a position separated from the annular rib by a predetermined distance,
A seal member is provided between the opposed wall surface and the flange in the annular rib, the seal member being fitted inside the annular rib while being fitted around the rotation shaft,
An outer diameter of the seal member is set to be equal to or larger than an inner diameter of the annular rib. 2. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein the seal member is formed of a flexible elastomer. 3. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the seal member is set to be larger than the height of the annular rib. The thickness of the sealing member is set so as to satisfy “4 / 3h ≦ c ≦ 2h”, where c is the thickness of the sealing member and h is the height of the annular rib. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein:

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