JP2006064741A - Developing apparatus, process cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible for a user to determine that toner runs out, without furnishing a process cartridge or a developing apparatus with a toner presence/absence detecting means, and to increase toner capacity. <P>SOLUTION: The angle of the inclination of the inclined face 45b of the bottom of a toner chamber 45 is made not larger than an angle of repose. A stir member 43b having a sheet that has a sufficient length to enter the recess 45e of a developing unit is disposed. An elastic member is disposed above a recess so as to project from the rotating area of the stir member, by fitting holes 47a of a drop-tear shape onto dowels 45c formed on the inclined face of a toner storage section. Vibrations are applied in the elastic member in the direction of the inclined face and directions perpendicular to it, by using the bending of the elastic member due to the rotary motion of the stir member and elastic force due to the elastic deformation of the fitting holes. An amount of remaining toner is reduced at the moment of the occurrence of image blur caused by toner supply insufficiency. This makes it easy for a user to determine the amount of remaining toner. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a developing device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus that can be used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

  When an image forming apparatus using electrophotography is used for a long time, it is necessary to replace the photosensitive drum, to supply and replace the developer, and to adjust, clean and replace the other (charger, cleaner container, etc.). However, such maintenance work is practically difficult except for a service person having specialized knowledge.

  Therefore, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming process, the electrophotographic photosensitive member and the process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrated into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. A process cartridge system is adopted. According to this process cartridge system, since the apparatus can be maintained by the user himself / herself without depending on the service person, the operability can be remarkably improved. Therefore, this process cartridge system is currently widely used in image forming apparatuses.

  The conventional technology will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 shows a laser beam printer equipped with a process cartridge, FIG. 9 shows a process cartridge, and FIG. 10 shows a developing device. The configuration and operation of the laser printer are the same as those in the embodiment of the invention, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  The toner is supplied to the developing roller 41 as follows.

  In the toner chamber 45, a stirring member 80 is disposed near the toner supply opening 45a. The bottom surface of the toner chamber 45 forms an inclined surface 90 that is inclined downward toward the stirring member 80. The inclined surface 90 is set to 65 degrees or more, which is an angle (rest angle) at which the toner slides under its own weight when the process cartridge 2 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1. The toner on the inclined surface 90 slides down the inclined surface 90 by its own weight and is supplied to the stirring member 80. The toner in the vicinity of the stirring member 80 is sent toward the toner supply opening 45a as the stirring member 80 rotates.

  Here, in order to minimize the toner remaining in the toner chamber 45, the bottom surface of the toner chamber is a recess 91 in the vicinity of the stirring member 80, and the extended line of the inclined surface 90 is in contact with or intersects with the rotation region of the stirring member 80. The structure made to do is known (patent document 1).

  However, when the inclined surface is 65 degrees or more, there is a problem that the capacity of the toner chamber is reduced and the number of printable sheets is reduced. Therefore, in order to keep the inclined surface at 65 degrees or more and increase the number of printed sheets, it is necessary to increase the outer shape of the toner chamber. Therefore, in order to improve the space efficiency in the image forming apparatus, it is desirable that the inclination angle of the inclined surface is small.

  However, when the inclination angle of the inclined surface is reduced, there arises a problem that the toner remains in the rear portion of the inclined surface where the stirring member does not reach and a predetermined number of printed sheets cannot be obtained.

  For this reason, even when the inclined surface is equal to or less than the angle of repose, a configuration is known in which an elastic member is disposed on the inclined surface, and the elastic member is vibrated by a stirring member to knock off toner on the inclined surface ( Patent Document 2).

JP 05-35095 A JP 2002-258598 A

  Even when the inclination angle of the inclined surface is reduced, as described above, an attempt is made to solve the problem by knocking off the toner on the inclined surface by providing the elastic member on the inclined surface and applying vibration to the elastic member by the stirring member.

  However, as the number of printable sheets increases, the amount of toner in the process cartridge and the capacity of the toner chamber increase, so that the vibration of the elastic member is further increased to drop the toner on the inclined surface, particularly the toner on the inclined surface, and the toner supply opening It has become necessary to send in the direction. Particularly in an environment where the fluidity of the toner is low, such as a high temperature and high humidity environment, the residual toner tends to increase in the upper part of the inclined surface, and it is necessary to cause the elastic member to vibrate more.

  In the past, when the residual toner is generated at the time when image fading has occurred due to insufficient toner supply, the user has solved the problem by taking out the process cartridge from the main body of the image forming apparatus and shaking it.

  However, if the amount of residual toner increases, the number of printable sheets increases from the time when the image fading occurs once the user shakes the process cartridge until the next image fading occurs. At this time, in a configuration in which the toner remaining amount detection function is not used, it is difficult for the user to determine when the toner in the process cartridge runs out. For this reason, in order to determine that the toner will run out once when the image fading has occurred, it is necessary to reduce as much as possible the remaining amount of toner at that point, particularly the amount of toner in the toner chamber not involved in development. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a developing device, a process cartridge, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that can be achieved with a simple and inexpensive configuration.

  The object is achieved by the following configurations of the present invention.

  The present invention relates to a developer carrier for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier, and a developer used for developing an electrostatic latent image by the developer carrier. A developer containing portion, a flexible stirring member for rotating the developer contained in the developer containing portion by rotating, and a bottom surface when the developing device is attached to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body. An inclined surface that is inclined downward toward the developer carrier, and on the downstream side of the inclined direction of the inclined surface, the inclined surface is provided on a concave portion provided along the rotation path of the stirring member, and on the inclined surface. In a developing device having a flexible elastic member having an elongated hole along the inclination direction, which is movably attached along the inclination direction by fitting with a dowel provided, the stirring member The rotation trajectory is a stirring member that has entered the recess. In addition, the elastic member is provided above the recess and protruding in the rotation region of the stirring member, and the width in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the hole of the elastic member is the length of the dowel on the upstream side of the inclined surface. Smaller than the diameter in the direction along the direction, larger than the diameter in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the dowel on the downstream side of the inclined surface, and when the hole is fitted to the dowel, the upstream side of the inclined surface of the hole The distance between the vertex of the dowel and the center of the dowel is larger than the radius of the dowel.

  Further, the elastic member vibrates in conjunction with the rotation of the stirring member, and when the stirring member contacts the elastic member, the elastic member is elastically deformed by a dowel provided on the inclined surface while the elastic member is deformed. When the stirrer member moves downward along the inclined surface and enters the recess by rotating the stirrer member, the force generated by the stirrer member and the elastic member deflecting each other and the elastic deformation in the hole of the elastic member The elastic member is moved above the inclined surface by the elastic force.

  According to the present invention, even if the inclination angle of the inclined surface is reduced, the amount of toner remaining in the toner storage portion, particularly in the upper portion of the inclined surface, can be suppressed to a very small amount, and the space in the image forming apparatus can be configured with a simple and inexpensive structure. Efficiency can be improved.

  Further, even if the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the toner chamber is set to the repose angle or less, the toner can be supplied to the developing member and the amount of the remaining developer can be reduced as much as possible. Further, by setting the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the toner chamber to be equal to or less than the repose angle, the developer accommodating portion can be increased, and the toner accommodating amount can be increased.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
(overall structure)
This image forming apparatus is a laser beam printer using an electrophotographic technique in which a process cartridge 2 is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 1. When the process cartridge 2 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1, an exposure device (laser scanner unit) 3 is disposed above the process cartridge 2, and a recording medium (sheet) that is an image forming target is disposed below the process cartridge 2. Material) A sheet tray 4 containing P is disposed. Further, the image forming apparatus main body 1 includes a pickup roller 5, a paper feed roller (not shown), a transfer roller (not shown), a transfer guide 6, a transfer charging roller 7, along the conveyance direction of the sheet material P. A conveyance guide 8, a fixing device 9, a pair of paper discharge rollers 10, a paper discharge tray 11, and the like are arranged.
(Process cartridge configuration)
The process cartridge 2 integrally accommodates four types of process devices including an image carrier (photosensitive drum) 20, a charging device 30, a developing device 40, and a cleaning device 50. The photosensitive drum 20 and the charging device 30 are attached to a frame 51 of the cleaning device 50. On the other hand, the developing device 40 has coupling arms 48 in the vicinity of both ends thereof.

  The developing device 40 is rotatably attached to the frame 51 by means (not shown) at the tip end region of the coupling arm 48. Further, an urging means 60 that is a coil spring is disposed between the developing device 40 and the frame 51, and the developing device 40 is urged clockwise in the drawing.

Here, an interval holding member (not shown) is attached to both ends of the developing roller 41, and the developing roller 41 is held at a predetermined interval from the photosensitive drum 20.
(Description of image forming process)
Next, an outline of image formation will be described.

  Based on the print start signal, the photosensitive drum 20 is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the arrow R1 direction. A charging device 30 to which a bias voltage is applied is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 20, and the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 20 is uniformly and uniformly charged by the charging device 30.

  The laser scanner unit 3 outputs laser light L modulated in accordance with the time-series electric digital pixel signal of the target image information, and enters the process cartridge 2 from the exposure window 53 on the upper surface of the process cartridge 2. Then, the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 20 is scanned and exposed. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image information is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 20. This electrostatic latent image is produced by the developer (toner) T on the developer carrying member (developing roller) 41 that has been subjected to tribo application and layer thickness regulation by the developer regulating member (developing blade) 42 of the developing device 40. Developed as an image.

  On the other hand, the sheet material P is fed from the sheet tray 4 by the pickup roller 5, the paper feed roller (not shown), and the conveying roller pair (not shown) in synchronization with the output timing of the laser beam L, and the transfer guide 6 is moved. Then, timing is supplied to the transfer position between the photosensitive drum 20 and the transfer charging roller 7. At this transfer position, the toner image is sequentially transferred from the photosensitive drum 20 to the sheet material P.

  The sheet material P to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 20 and conveyed along the conveyance guide 8 to the fixing device 9, and at the nip portion between the fixing roller 9 a and the pressure roller 9 b constituting the fixing device 9. The toner image is fixed to the sheet material P by pressure and heat fixing processing. The sheet material P that has undergone the toner image fixing process is conveyed to the paper discharge roller pair 10 and discharged onto the paper discharge tray 11.

On the other hand, after the transfer, the remaining toner on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 20 is removed by the cleaning blade 52 of the cleaning device 50, and the photosensitive drum 20 is again subjected to image formation starting from charging.
(Configuration of developing device)
The toner T in the toner chamber 45 is conveyed to the developer supply chamber 44 through the toner supply opening 45a by a toner feeding mechanism described later. The toner T conveyed to the developer supply chamber 44 is attracted to the developing roller 41 by the magnet 41a included in the developing roller 41, and conveyed toward the developing blade 42 as the developing roller 41 rotates in the R2 direction. The developing blade 42 is fed in the direction of the photosensitive drum 20 by applying tribo and layer thickness regulation.

  Here, a predetermined developing bias in which an AC voltage is superimposed on a DC voltage is applied to the developing roller 41, and the photosensitive drum 20 is grounded. Since an electric field is generated in a region where the photosensitive drum 20 and the developing roller 41 face each other, the latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 20 is developed by the charged toner T described above.

  The present invention provides a developer in which an electrostatic latent image formed on an outer peripheral surface of a photoreceptor in accordance with target image information is subjected to tribo application and layer thickness regulation by a developer regulating member (developing blade) of a developing device. The present invention relates to toner conveyance until a toner is sent from a toner storage portion onto a developing roller in a series of image forming processes until a toner image is developed with a developer (toner) on a carrier (developing roller).

Next, details of the toner conveying means according to the present invention will be described.
(Description of toner conveying means)
The stirring member 43 is disposed in the vicinity of the toner supply opening 45a of the toner chamber 45, and is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R3 by a driving unit (not shown). The stirring member 43 is provided with a stirring sheet 43b made of polyphenyl sulfide having a thickness of 50 μm on a mounting shaft 43a rotatably supported by a frame constituting the toner chamber 45. The length 53 of the stirring sheet 43b was 6.0 mm. The bottom surface of the toner chamber in the immediate vicinity of the stirring member 43 forms a recess 45e along the rotation radius of the stirring member 43. Further, the stirring member was disposed in the recess 45e at the bottom of the developer storage portion with an intrusion amount of 2.0 mm. Here, the amount of penetration of the stirring sheet into the recess 45e needs to take into consideration that the stirring member 43 vibrates the elastic member 47 reliably and the torque and noise at the time of stirring the toner, and is 1.0 to 4.0 mm. It is desirable to set the degree, preferably about 2.0 to 3.0 mm. Further, an edge 45f is formed between the inclined surface 45b descending toward the recess 45e and the recess 45e.

  The stirring member 43 is made of a polyethylene terephthalate material and an elastic member 47 having a thickness of 70 μm on an inclined surface 45b inclined downward in the direction toward the developing roller 41 and the agitating member 43 on the bottom surface of the toner chamber 45. Projecting so as to have a projecting amount of 4.0 mm. Here, the protruding amount is a distance 47b from the tip of the elastic member 47 to the edge 45f.

  The elastic member 47 has a fitting hole 47a as shown in FIG. 1 corresponding to the dowel 45c located on the inclined upstream side of the inclined surface 45b, and the inclined surface with the hole 47a fitted in the dowel 45c. A dowel 45c is fixed on 45b, and the tip of the dowel 45c is expanded and fixed by heat welding or the like.

  Here, the upstream side in the inclination direction relates to the moving direction of the toner, and is the higher side of the inclined surface 45b.

  In addition, the shape of the hole 47a is a teardrop shape as shown in FIG. 1B in this embodiment, and when the hole is fitted to the dowel, the apex on the upstream side of the inclined surface of the hole and the dowel 45c Since the distance from the center is set to be larger than the radius of the dowel, a gap is formed between the dowel and the dowel on the upstream side of the fitting hole.

  In addition, the distance between the apex of the fitting hole and the apex on the upstream side of the inclined surface of the dowel is set to 1 mm, and 2 mm of play is provided along the inclined direction on the downstream side of the fitting hole in the inclined direction. It is.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the longitudinal width direction is set to have a backlash of 1 mm with respect to the dowel 45c so that the elastic member 47 can be displaced in all directions on the inclined surface downstream side of the fitting hole 47a. Yes.

  Here, the distance from the tip side neck under the dowel 45c melted by heat welding or the like to the root of the dowel 45c is equal to or greater than the thickness of the elastic member 47, and in this embodiment, it is set to have a backlash of 2 mm. . The dowels 45c may be provided at one place when the elastic member 47 is provided over the entire length of the toner chamber 45 in the longitudinal direction, and usually provided at two or more places. There are three dowels 45c in this example.

  The elastic member 47 is disposed over substantially the entire area in the direction of inclination of the inclined surface 45b and the direction intersecting the inclination direction, and the tip of the movable part opposite to the fixed part fixed by the above-described thermal welding or the like. Is disposed as indicated by reference numeral 47b in FIG. 4 so as to protrude above the recess 45e provided along the rotation path of the stirring member 43 located on the downstream side in the inclination direction of the inclined surface 45b.

  Here, the protrusion amount of the protrusion 47b needs to take into account that the elastic member 47 vibrates reliably due to the separation and contact with the stirring member 43, and that the vibration does not affect the image and noise. It is desirable to set it to about 6.0 mm, preferably about 2.0 mm to 5.0 mm.

  The length (length from the center of the dowel 45c to the tip of the elastic member on the downstream side of the inclined surface) 54 along the inclined surface direction of the elastic member was set to 60 mm.

  As described above, the elastic member 47 has the tip of the movable portion positioned above the recess 45e provided along the rotation path of the stirring member 43 located on the downstream side in the tilt direction of the inclined surface 45b and in the rotation region of the stirring member 43. Since it is arranged so as to protrude, it is periodically rotated by bending the stirring member 43 in the R3 direction to bend toward the recess when contacting the stirring member and returning by elastic force when separated. Vibrates and imparts vibration to the toner T.

  In addition, when the elastic member 47 receives a force on the downstream side in the tilt direction when the stirring member abuts, the fitting hole 47a is set to have a gap between the dowel 45c on the upstream side of the tilt surface. Therefore, the fitting hole is elastically deformed, the elastic member moves to the downstream side of the inclined surface, the fitting hole 47a is restored at the time of separation, and the operation of moving the elastic member to the upstream side of the inclined surface is repeated, thereby periodically toner. Apply vibration to T. The operation of applying these vibrations continues while the process cartridge 2 operates and the stirring member 43 rotates.

  Further, since the elastic member 47 is fixed with a certain amount of backlash by fitting the fitting hole 47a to the dowel 45c as described above, the elastic member 47 intersects the inclination direction and the inclination direction of the elastic member 47. Vibrates over almost the entire area in both directions. Then, the toner T to which vibration is applied falls on the upper surface of the elastic member 47 disposed on the inclined surface 45b over substantially the entire area, and the dropped toner T is positioned downstream of the inclined surface 45b in the inclination direction. It reaches the recess 45e and the stirring member 43 provided along the rotation path of the stirring member 43, and the toner is sent to the toner supply opening 45a as the stirring member 43 rotates.

  As described above, even when the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the toner chamber is equal to or smaller than the repose angle (20 degrees to less than 65 degrees), the elastic member is fixed to the inclined surface with some backlash by heat welding or the like, In addition, by projecting and arranging in the rotation region of the stirring member 43, it is possible to stably drop the toner and supply the toner along with the vibration over the substantially entire region of the elastic member 47 caused by the rotation of the stirring member 43. Become.

  Therefore, the significance of this embodiment will be described below by describing in detail the vibration motion of the elastic member in the configuration of the present invention.

The vibration movement of the elastic member and the elastic deformation of the fitting hole in the present embodiment will be described in detail in time series with reference to FIGS.
(A) First, the stirring member 43 starts to rotate in the direction of R3.
(B) When the stirring member 43 rotates and contacts the elastic member 47, the tip of the stirring member comes into contact with the inclined surface above the edge 45f because the tip has entered the recess 45e. A frictional force is generated by the contact between the stirring sheet portion of the stirring member 43 and the elastic member 47, and a force (F ₁ ) is applied to the elastic member 43 toward the lower portion of the inclined surface so as to follow the stirring member 47. At this time, since the dowels 45c are arranged on the upper part of the elastic member so as to be loose in the direction of the inclined surface, the elastic member moves so as to be pulled by the stirring member 43 below the inclined surface. The fitting hole 47a has a force F1.
Due to the elastic deformation, the elastic member further moves below the inclined surface. Therefore, the toner pile loaded on the upper part of the elastic member moves in the direction of the lower part of the inclined surface so as to collapse due to the movement of the elastic member toward the lower part of the inclined surface. At this time, the elastic member stores elastic energy as a restoring force (F _2-1 ) with elastic deformation of the fitting hole.
(C) When the tip of the agitating member 43 passes through the edge 45f and enters the recess 45e, the agitating member 45 tends to rotate along the recess, so that the elastic member 47 is bent downward along the recess. A force (F ₃ ) is applied to the elastic member. The downward force at this time is decomposed into components in the direction of the inclined surface and the direction perpendicular to the inclined surface, and (c) is indicated by arrows in the figure (F _3a , F _3b ). The elastic member is further pulled toward the lower portion of the inclined surface by the force F _{3a of the} component along the inclined surface of the downward force, and the elastic deformation of the fitting hole is further promoted, and the elastic energy as the restoring force (F _2-2 ). Store. Further, the elastic member 47 bends along the concave portion with the edge 45f as a fulcrum by the force F _3b of the component perpendicular to the inclined surface.
(D) When the stirring member 43 further rotates and the tip enters the recess 45e, the elastic member 47 protrudes from the recess, so that the elastic member 47 is elastically deformed in the tilt direction with the edge 45f as a fulcrum, Bends so that it floats from the inclined surface. At this time, naturally, since the stirring member 43 is made of a flexible material, it bends at the same time. When the stirring member bends, the amount of time the elastic member bends can be increased by extending the time for the elastic member and the stirring member to contact each other. Furthermore, since the sheet of the agitating member has a length that has entered the recess, so that the application of force (F ₄₎ in a direction perpendicular to the recess. At this time, the force of the component along the inclined surface direction and the force of the directional component perpendicular to the inclined surface are indicated by arrows in (d) in the figure (F _4a , F _4b ). Further, the restoring force caused by the elastic deformation of the fitting hole of the case shown in (d) in FIG arrow (F _2-3).
(E) The elastic member 47 is elastically deformed by the force (F ₃ , F ₄ ) generated when both the stirring member 43 and the elastic member 47 are bent, and a relaxation action is exerted when the elastic energy is held. Therefore, the elastic member 47 tries to return from the deformed state. Further, the elastic energy stored from (b) to (d) accompanying the elastic deformation of the fitting hole acts on the elastic member as a restoring force (F _2-3 ). At this time, since the dowels 45c are disposed at the upper part of the elastic member 47 in the direction of the inclined surface, the elastic member 47 moved below the inclined surface is generated in accordance with the bending relaxation action. The component moves along the inclined surface direction (F ₅ ) and the force acting on the upstream side of the inclined surface (F ₂ ) in which the restoring force of the elastic deformation of the fitting hole is combined to move to the upper portion of the inclined surface. Further, since the dowels 45c are arranged so as to generate backlash in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface, the upward vibration is simultaneously generated in the dowels 45c by the force (F ₆ ) of the component perpendicular to the inclined surface of the elastic energy. Arise. That is, the movement in the upper direction of the inclined surface in the vicinity of the dowel 45c and the direction perpendicular to the inclined surface through the retention of elastic energy by the deformation of the elastic member by the force generated by the contact and bending of both the stirring member and the elastic member The movement will occur. Therefore, the toner can be vibrated at the upper portion of the inclined surface by vibration in the inclined surface direction and vibration in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface.
(F) At the moment when the stirring member is separated from the elastic member 47 in the recess 45e, the elastic member 47 starts to return to the original one that was bent by the edge 45f, and thus starts to vibrate perpendicular to the inclined surface ((e) In the drawing, the toner a deposited on the elastic member is blown off, and the dropped toner reaches the recess 45e and the stirring member 43, and the toner is sent toward the toner supply opening 45a as the stirring member 43 rotates.

  As described above, the series of vibration motions (a) to (f) is repeated while the stirring member 43 continues to rotate, so that a series of vibration motions of the elastic member causes the elastic member 47, particularly the upper part of the inclined surface of the elastic member. Residual toner can be reduced.

  However, when the toner amount is large, the vibration of the elastic member is naturally smaller than the case where there is no toner due to the weight of the toner. However, according to the results of earnest studies by the present inventors, as shown in FIG. 6, (A) in FIG. When the toner is reduced, residual toner is generated at the upper part of the inclined surface of the elastic member 47 as shown in FIG. By reducing the amount of toner, the vibrational movement of the elastic member can be increased, and at this time, the vibrational movement along the inclined surface direction and perpendicular to the inclined surface remains on the inclined surface of the elastic member 47. Therefore, the toner pile can be broken, and the toner can be dropped from the elastic member 47.

In the case where the stirring member 43 is a plate-like object as one of the conventional examples, it has been confirmed that the vibration in the vertical direction is increased on the inclined surface of the elastic member, but the elastic member generated by the force of F ₄ is the inclined surface. There was no movement back to the top. For this reason, when the elastic member once moves below the inclined surface by a force such as F ₁ , it does not return to the upper portion of the inclined surface, and the movement of the elastic member in the inclined surface direction is lost. Therefore, the vibration of the elastic member is not transmitted to the upper part, and the residual toner is increased on the upper part of the inclined surface. In addition, when there is no amount of intrusion into the recess of the stirring sheet length of the stirring member, since the force of F ₃ is very small, the movement along the inclined surface caused by the force of F ₄ was not observed. Therefore, residual toner is generated on the upper part of the inclined surface.

  In this embodiment, the elastic member is made of polyethylene terephthalate, and the stirring sheet member of the stirring member is polyphenylene sulfide. However, any one of polyacetal, polyphenylene sulfide, and polyethylene terephthalate may be used.

  In this embodiment, an elastic member having a thickness of 70 μm is used. However, from the viewpoint of vibration noise and rubbing noise between the stirring member, the elastic member may be set to about 50 μm to 200 μm, preferably about 50 μm to 100 μm. desirable.

Regarding the fitting hole of the elastic member, the shape is a teardrop type in the present embodiment, but the dowel and the fitting hole such as a substantially triangular shape or a long and narrow shape having a curvature on the upstream side in the inclined direction larger than the dowel. Any shape may be used as long as a gap is formed between the vertices. Moreover, although the distance between the apex of the hole and the apex on the upstream side in the inclination direction of the dowel is 1 mm, it is necessary to be able to repeat elastic deformation and restoration for the life of the process cartridge, so about 0.5 mm to 5 mm is preferable. Is preferably set to about 0.5 mm to 2 mm. Further, the frictional force between the agitating member and the elastic member is increased, and the force in the downstream direction of the inclined surface (F1) related to the elastic deformation of the fitting hole.
) To increase the vibration in the direction of the slope, it is more desirable to stick a sheet having a high friction coefficient on the contact portion between the stirring member and the elastic member.

  Regarding the thickness of the stirring member, a 50 μm stirring sheet was used in the present embodiment. However, from the viewpoint of imparting vibration to the elastic member and noise that rubs against the torque during stirring, it is about 20 μm to 200 μm, preferably 20 μm to 100 μm. It is desirable to set the degree.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the flexible stirring member is inserted into the concave portion provided along the rotation locus of the stirring member, and the elastic member is placed on the inclined surface of the toner chamber. Protruding into the rotation region and disposed above the recess, even if the inclination angle of the inclined surface is less than the repose angle (20 degrees to less than 65 degrees), the elastic member generated in conjunction with the rotation of the stirring member In addition to vibration in the direction perpendicular to the inclined surface, both the stirring member and the elastic member bend, and the elastic member moves in the direction along the inclined surface due to the elastic deformation of the fitting hole. In addition, toner can be supplied, and the amount of toner remaining in the toner chamber can be suppressed to a small amount. In addition, it is possible to improve the space efficiency in the image forming apparatus with a simple and inexpensive configuration.

It is a fragmentary sectional view of a developing device. It is the schematic of a dowel cross section and an elastic member. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an image forming apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a process cartridge. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a developing device. It is the schematic regarding the length of a stirring member and an elastic member. It is the schematic regarding the vibration motion of an elastic member, and the elastic deformation of a fitting hole. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a toner remaining state. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the process cartridge of a prior art example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional developing device.

Explanation of symbols

1. Image forming device body (device body)
2 Process cartridge 3 Exposure device (laser scanner unit)
4 Sheet tray 5a Pickup roller 5b Feed roller 5c Conveying roller pair 6 Transfer guide 7 Transfer charging roller 8 Conveying guide 9 Fixing device 10 Paper discharge roller 11 Paper output tray 20 Photosensitive drum 30 Charging device 40 Developing device 41 Developer carrier (Development roller)
42 Developer regulating member (developing blade)
43 stirring member 43a mounting shaft 43b stirring sheet 44 developer supply chamber 45 toner chamber 45a toner supply opening 45b inclined surface 45c dowel 45e recess 47 elastic member 47a hole 47b protrusion 48 coupling arm 50 cleaning device 51 frame 52 cleaning blade 53 stirring Sheet length 54 Elastic member length 60 Coil spring L Laser light P Recording medium (sheet material)
T Developer (toner)

Claims (11)

A developer carrier for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier, and a developer storage for storing the developer used for developing the electrostatic latent image by the developer carrier A flexible agitating member that agitates the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating portion by rotating, and a bottom surface when the developing device is attached to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body. An inclined surface that is inclined downward toward the developer carrying member, and a downstream side of the inclined surface in the inclined direction, the inclined surface being a recess provided along a rotation path of the stirring member, and the inclined surface By being fitted to a dowel provided on the upper side, a flexible body having an elongated hole along the inclined direction, which is movably attached in all directions within the inclined surface and in the vertical direction with respect to the inclined surface. A developing device having an elastic member. Te,
The stirring locus of the stirring member is a stirring member that has entered the recess, and the elastic member is an elastic member that is provided above the recess and protrudes into the rotation region of the stirring member, and The width in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the hole is smaller than the diameter in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the dowel on the upstream side of the inclined surface, and the width in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the hole is The distance between the apex on the upstream side of the inclined surface of the hole and the center of the dowel when the downstream side of the inclined surface is larger than the diameter in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the dowel and the hole is fitted to the dowel. Is larger than the radius of the dowel, and the length of the dowel is larger than the thickness of the elastic member in the direction perpendicular to the inclined surface.   2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein in the inclination direction of the inclined surface, the elastic member is attached to the inclined surface on the upstream side in the developer moving direction.   3. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is disposed over substantially the entire width of the inclined surface in a direction intersecting with the inclined direction of the inclined surface and along the inclined surface.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is disposed over substantially the entire area of the inclined surface in the inclination direction of the inclined surface.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein an amount of penetration of the developer stirring member into the concave portion is 1.0 mm or greater and 4.0 mm or less.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developer stirring member is made of a flexible resin and has a thickness of 20 μm to 200 μm.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein a protruding amount of the elastic member into the concave portion is 1.0 mm or more and 6.0 mm or less.   The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is made of a flexible resin and has a thickness of 50 μm to 200 μm.   The inclination angle of the inclined surface inclined downward when the developing device is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus is 20 degrees to less than 65 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction. Item 9. The developing device according to any one of Items 1 to 8.   10. A process cartridge, wherein the developing device according to claim 1 is detachable from an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body.   An image carrier that carries a latent image, a developing device according to claim 1 that develops the latent image with a developer, and a transfer unit that transfers the developer onto a recording medium. Image forming apparatus.

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