JP2006276536A - Powder conveying member and powder processing device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a powder conveying member capable of surely conveying powder in a prescribed direction with simple constitution, and a powder processing device using the same. <P>SOLUTION: The powder conveying member 3 disposed in a powder storing housing 1 having a powder supply port 2 is equipped with a rotating member 4 provided rotatably in the powder storing housing 1, and a flexible member 5 which rotates in a state where it is held by the rotating member 4 and whose rotation free end side slides in contact with the inner wall surface of the powder storing housing 1. The rotating member 4 can be elastically deformed by reaction from the flexible member 5, while a notch 6 capable of generating thrust force by sliding in contact with the inner wall surface of the powder storing housing 1 and inclined in a powder conveying direction toward the powder supply port 2 of the powder storing housing 1 is formed at the edge of the rotation free end of the flexible member 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder conveying member that conveys powder such as a developer, and in particular, a powder conveying member that conveys powder contained in a powder containing housing toward a powder supply port, and the same. The present invention relates to an improvement of the used powder processing apparatus.

As a conventional powder conveying member, for example, an agitator (stirring member) used in a developer replenishing device can be cited. As this type of agitator, there is provided a rotating member that is rotatably provided in the developer supply housing, and a flexible member that is held and rotated by the rotating member and whose rotation free end side is in sliding contact with the inner wall surface of the developer supply housing. There is something to prepare.
This type of agitator elastically deforms the flexible member by sliding the flexible member against the inner wall surface of the developer supply housing, and generates a thrust force in a predetermined direction in accordance with the deformation. The developer is conveyed toward the developer supply port, and the developer is supplied from the developer supply port (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2003-156927 A (Embodiment of the Invention, FIG. 3) JP 2002-236410 A (Embodiment of the Invention, FIG. 4)

However, in the agitators described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the shape of the flexible member is devised, not only does the processing cost increase due to the complexity of the shape, but the punching part is A technical problem has been found that waste is generated in the material.
The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problem, and has a simple structure and a powder conveying member capable of reliably conveying powder in a predetermined direction, and a powder using the same. A processing apparatus is provided.

  That is, the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), is a powder conveying member 3 disposed in a powder containing housing 1 having a powder supply port 2, and includes a powder containing housing. 1 is provided with a rotating member 4 that is rotatably provided in 1 and a flexible member 5 that is held by the rotating member 4 and rotates, and whose rotation free end side is in sliding contact with the inner wall surface of the powder storage housing 1. While the rotating member 4 can be elastically deformed by the reaction force from the elastic member 5, a thrust force is generated on the free rotation edge of the flexible member 5 by sliding contact with the inner wall surface of the powder housing 1. A notch 6 is formed which can be made and is inclined in the powder conveying direction toward the powder supply port 2 of the powder housing 1. In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 8 indicates powder.

  In such technical means, the powder conveying member 3 only needs to include the rotating member 4 and the flexible member 5, but the rotating member 4 is deviated from the rotating shaft as well as the rotating shaft. It does not matter even if it is an aspect like a crankshaft. Further, a resin film or sheet such as PET or polyurethane is used as the flexible member 5, and the elastic coefficient, thickness, length, etc. of the flexible member 5 are determined based on the shape of the powder housing 1 and the conveyance. It may be appropriately selected according to the particle size, hardness, Tg (glass transition point), fluidity, etc. of the target powder.

The rotating member 4 of the present case needs to be elastically deformable. That is, when the rotating member 4 can be elastically deformed, if the rotating member 4 is bent by a reaction force caused by the deformation of the flexible member 5, the thrust force generated is cancelled. Therefore, if the notch 6 is provided in the rotation free end edge of the flexible member 5, the canceling action can be weakened, and the thrust force can be secured correspondingly.
Further, the notch 6 is formed obliquely with the tangent to the wall surface of the powder housing 1 being non-parallel to the rotating member 4. Due to this oblique contact, a thrust force is generated simultaneously with the rotation, and the powder in the powder housing 1 is conveyed. However, it is necessary to consider the canceling action of the thrust force by the rotating member 4 with respect to the inclination, the amount of notches, and the number of the notches 6.

Further, the handling of the portion corresponding to the powder supply port 2 may be appropriately selected. However, from the viewpoint of ensuring the supply of the powder to the powder supply port 2, the flexible member 5 can be used. It is preferable that the notch 6 is not formed in a portion corresponding to the powder supply port 2 in the rotation free end.
Furthermore, a step may exist on the inner wall surface of the powder housing 1. This level difference is caused by attachment of CRUM (abbreviation of customer replaceable unit memory), escape on layout, and the like.
When the rotation free end of the powder transfer member 3 of the powder transfer member 3 is in sliding contact with the step, the portion of the rotation free end of the flexible member 5 sandwiching the step boundary is cut in the radial direction. A plurality of auxiliary cuts may be formed. If a fine auxiliary cut is not made in the vicinity of the step, the amount of escape of the flexible member 5 with respect to the step increases, resulting in an increase in the amount of unsweeping.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the powder conveying member, and widely includes a powder processing apparatus including the powder conveying member 3 described above.
Here, as a preferable shape of the powder storage housing 1, a part of the inner wall surface of the powder storage housing 1 has a shape that is in sliding contact with the virtual cylindrical surface accompanying the rotation locus of the rotation free end edge of the flexible member 5. The aspect provided is mentioned. In this case, there is no dead space in the powder storage housing 1, and the powder transfer operation can be ensured.
Further, in a mode in which a plurality of powder conveying members 3 (for example, 3a, 3b) are disposed in the powder housing housing 1, in addition to the region where each powder conveying member 3 contacts the housing wall surface, FIG. A non-contact region as shown by the middle hatched portion is generated. At this time, since there is a large difference in driving torque depending on whether or not each powder conveying member 3 is in contact with the housing wall surface, if any powder conveying member 3 is not in contact with the housing wall surface, Due to the difference in driving torque, the powder housing becomes a vibration source, and accordingly, there is a risk that the powder processing apparatus may have problems due to vibration.
For this reason, in this case, it is preferable to set the rotational positional relationship of each powder conveying member 3 in advance so that at least one of the powder conveying members 3 always contacts the wall surface of the housing.

Furthermore, as a typical aspect of the powder conveying member 3, there is an aspect in which the powder is a developer.
Further, a powder processing apparatus in which the powder is a developer is also widely included. Examples of the powder processing apparatus include a developer supply device, a developer cartridge, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus.
For example, in the process cartridge, since the developer conveying member itself is incorporated in the process cartridge to construct a developer replenishing device, it is possible to improve reliability such as low cost and responsiveness to failure. Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus provided with this process cartridge, a low-cost process cartridge can be used, and accordingly, a low running cost can be realized.

According to the powder conveying member of the present invention, the rotating member can be elastically deformed by a reaction force from the flexible member, while the flexible member rotates at the free rotation edge of the flexible member. Since a thrust force can be generated by sliding contact between the free edge and the inner wall surface of the powder storage housing and a notch that is inclined in the powder conveyance direction toward the powder supply port of the powder storage housing is formed, Even if the thrust force generated at the free rotation edge of the flexible member due to the elastic deformation is canceled, a cut of the flexible member is formed under the condition that considers the elastic deformation of the rotating member. Thrust force due to sliding contact of the free rotation edge can be secured. For this reason, it is possible to effectively avoid the powder conveyance failure due to the absence of the thrust force, and the powder is reliably conveyed in a predetermined direction with a simple configuration in which the flexible member is simply provided with a notch. be able to.
Moreover, according to the powder processing apparatus provided with such a powder conveying member, it is possible to easily construct a powder processing apparatus with good powder conveyance.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
<Overall configuration of image forming apparatus>
FIG. 2 shows Embodiment 1 of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
In the figure, the image forming apparatus is a so-called tandem type color image forming apparatus, and an image forming unit 22 (specifically, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in this embodiment) is provided in the apparatus housing 21. 22a to 22d) are arranged in the vertical direction, and a paper feed cassette 23 for storing paper 24 for supply is arranged below the paper feed cassette 23, and a paper feed cassette is provided at a position corresponding to each image forming unit 22. 23, a sheet conveyance path 25 serving as a conveyance path for the sheet 24 from 23 is arranged in the vertical direction.

In the present embodiment, the image forming units 22 (22a to 22d) form toner images for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in order from the upstream side of the sheet conveyance path 25, and various processes. A process cartridge 30 incorporating the unit and an exposure device 40 for irradiating the process cartridge 30 with scanning light for image formation are provided.
Here, the process cartridge 30 includes, for example, a photosensitive drum 31, a charging roll 32 that precharges the photosensitive drum 31, and an electrostatic device that is exposed and formed by the exposure device 40 on the charged photosensitive drum 31. A developing device 33 that develops the latent image with corresponding color toner (for example, negative polarity in the present embodiment), a cleaning device 34 that removes waste toner on the photosensitive drum 31, and a surface of the charged photosensitive drum 31 An erase lamp 35 that neutralizes the charge is integrated into a cartridge.
On the other hand, the exposure apparatus 40 stores a semiconductor laser (not shown), a polygon mirror 42, an imaging lens 43 and a mirror 44 in the case 41, and deflects and scans the light from the semiconductor laser with the polygon mirror 42. The optical image is guided to the exposure point on the photosensitive drum 31 through the mirror 44.

Further, in the present embodiment, a conveyance belt 53 that circulates along the sheet conveyance path 25 is disposed at a position corresponding to each photosensitive drum 31 of each image forming unit 22.
The conveyor belt 53 is made of a belt material (rubber or resin) that can electrostatically attract the paper 24, and is stretched between a pair of tension rolls 51 and 52. The rack roll 52 is a driving roll, and the lower tension roll 51 is a driven roll.

  Furthermore, a paper suction roll 54 is disposed at the entrance portion of the transport belt 53 (the portion facing the stretching roll 51). By applying a high voltage suction voltage to the paper suction roll 54, the transport belt 53 is provided. The sheet 24 is attracted to the sheet. Further, a transfer roll 50 is disposed on the back side of the conveyance belt 53 corresponding to the photosensitive drum 31 of each image forming unit 22, and the sheet 24 on the photosensitive drum 31 and the conveyance belt 53 is transferred by the transfer roll 50. And more closely. A predetermined transfer bias by a transfer bias power source is appropriately applied between the transfer roll 50 and the photosensitive drum 31.

In the present embodiment, a pickup roll 61 is provided in the vicinity of the paper feed cassette 23 to feed the paper 24 at a predetermined timing. The pickup roll 61 is moved to the transfer position via the transport roll 62 and the registration roll 63. It comes to send.
Further, a fixing device 64 is provided in the paper conveyance path 25 located on the downstream side of the most downstream image forming unit 22d, and a discharge roll 66 for discharging paper is provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 64. The discharged paper is stored in a storage tray 67 formed on the upper portion of the apparatus housing 21.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 80 denotes a high-voltage power supply that supplies a high voltage to the high-voltage device, and reference numeral 81 denotes a low-voltage power supply that supplies a low voltage to the low-voltage device.

The image forming process of such an image forming apparatus is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 2, in each image forming unit 22 (22 a to 22 d), after the photosensitive drum 31 is charged by the charging roll 32 and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 31 by the exposure device 40. A visible image (toner image) is formed by the developing device 33.
On the other hand, the paper 24 from the paper feed cassette 23 is fed out at a predetermined timing by the pickup roll 61, sent to the suction position of the transport belt 53 through the transport roll 62 and the registration roll 63, and is fed to the transport belt 53. It is sent to the transfer position in the adsorbed state.
Then, the toner images on the photosensitive drum 31 in each image forming unit 22 are respectively transferred to the paper 24 by the transfer roll 50, and each color component unfixed toner image on the paper 24 is fixed by the fixing device 64 and then fixed. The used paper 24 is discharged to the storage tray 67.

<Outline of process cartridge>
FIG. 3 shows details of the process cartridge 30 used in the present embodiment.
In the figure, a process cartridge 30 includes a photosensitive drum 31, a charging roll 32, a part of a developing device 33, a cleaning device 34, and an erase lamp 35 as a device for discharging the photosensitive drum 31 before the cleaning process. A photosensitive cartridge 30a included, and a developing cartridge 30b provided below the photosensitive cartridge 30a so as to be swingable and positioned with respect to the photosensitive cartridge 30a and including a main part of the developing device 33. And.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the developing device 33 faces the photosensitive drum 31 and visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31 with a developer G composed of toner and carrier. And toner replenishing units 110 and 120 for replenishing toner T to the developing unit 100 (in this embodiment, a separate type from the main toner replenishing unit 110 and the sub toner replenishing unit 120 is employed).
The photosensitive cartridge 30a has a configuration in which a cleaning unit 200 in which the cleaning device 34 is unitized and a sub-toner replenishment unit 120 are integrated in the horizontal direction, and the development cartridge 30b has a development unit 100 and a main toner replenishment unit. 110 is integrated in the horizontal direction.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the developing cartridge 30b is provided at the developing unit 100 portion so as to be swingable by the pivot shaft 30c with respect to the photosensitive cartridge 30a positioned and fixed to the apparatus housing 21, and the photosensitive cartridge 30a. A scanning passage 135 through which scanning light from the exposure device 40 can pass is secured between the developing cartridge 30b and an elastic member on both sides of each part cartridge 30a, 30b near the entrance of the scanning passage 135. A spacer 130 is interposed to pressurize the developing cartridge 30b against the photosensitive cartridge 30a. Of course, a biasing element such as a biasing spring may be used instead of or in addition to the spacer 130.

In the present embodiment, the sub-toner replenishment unit 120 of the photoconductor cartridge 30a extends in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 31, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A and 4B, for example. A pair of support protrusions 141 are provided.
Then, when the process cartridge 30 is mounted in a cartridge receiving portion (not shown) of the apparatus housing 21, both ends of the support shaft that rotatably supports the photosensitive drum 31 are not shown in the drawing provided in the cartridge receiving portion. A drive transmission member (for example, a drive transmission gear) disposed at one end of the photosensitive drum 31 that is fixed at a predetermined position by the fixed receiving member and is rotatably disposed on the support shaft is a cartridge receiving portion. It is connected and engaged with a drive system (not shown) provided in The pair of support protrusions 141 are engaged with engaged portions (such as recesses and holes) of the cartridge receiving portion so that the photosensitive cartridge 30 a is positioned and fixed to the apparatus housing 21. Here, the cartridge receiving portion of the apparatus housing 21 may be any as long as it can accommodate and hold the process cartridge 30, and may be configured using the housing frame itself, or may be configured by providing another member on the housing frame. May be.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the support protrusion 141 is provided on the outer wall of the unit away from the photosensitive drum 31 and suppresses the rotation of the process cartridge 30 due to the driving force that drives the photosensitive drum 31. It also has a function.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 142 denotes a gripping arm used when the process cartridge 30 is attached and detached.

<Developing device>
The units 100, 110, and 120 constituting the developing device 33 used in this embodiment will be described.
-Development unit-
In the present embodiment, the developing unit 100 employs a so-called two-component developing system as shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, and the photosensitive drum 31 is disposed below the photosensitive drum 31. The developing housing 101 is open to the side, and the developing housing 101 is configured as a developer containing chamber 102 in which a developer G composed of toner and carrier can be stored, and development is performed at a portion facing the opening of the developing housing 101. A developing roll 103 for supporting the agent is disposed. The developing unit 100 bisects the developer accommodating chamber 102 with a partition wall 106 extending along the axial direction of the developing roll 103, and opens communication ports 107 and 108 at both longitudinal ends of the partition wall 106. As a result, a developer circulation path is formed in the developer storage chamber 102, and a pair of agitation transport augers 104 and 105 are disposed along the axial direction of the developing roll 103 in this developer circulation path. The developer G inside is conveyed while stirring.
Here, the agitating / conveying auger 104 is an admix auger whose main purpose is to agitate and mix the toner T replenished exclusively to the existing developer G. On the other hand, the agitating / conveying auger 105 is added to the agitating and mixing function of the toner. This is a supply auger responsible for the developer supply function to the developing roll 103.
In this embodiment, the agitating / conveying auger 105 near the developing roll 103 also serves as a developer supplying function to the developing roll 103. However, a developer supplying member (roll, paddle, etc.) is provided separately from the agitating / conveying auger 105. Of course, it may be added. Further, a trimming member for regulating the developer layer thickness, a collecting member for collecting unused developer, and the like are provided around the developing roll 103 as necessary.

-Main toner supply unit-
Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the main toner replenishment unit 110 has a main replenishment housing 111 which also serves as a part of the rear partition wall of the developing housing 101 of the developing unit 100. 111 is configured as a toner replenishing chamber in which replenishing toner T is accommodated so as to be replenished.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the toner supply chamber communicates with the toner storage chamber 112 in which the supply toner T is stored, and the toner storage chamber 112, and quantitatively supplies the toner T to the developing unit 100. It is divided into a dispensing chamber 113. Here, the dispensing chamber 113 is provided with a thick portion 101b near the lower portion of the rear partition 101a of the developing housing 101, and a long passage having a substantially circular cross section extending along the axial direction of the developing roll 103 in the thick portion 101b. It is configured as a (tunnel-shaped passage).
A dispensing inlet opening 114 is formed in a portion facing the toner storage chamber 112 on the far side in the longitudinal direction of the thick portion 101b, while a portion facing the developer storage chamber 102 in the thick portion 101b. A toner supply port 115 is opened on the opposite side of the dispensing inlet opening 114 in the longitudinal direction.

Further, an agitator 116 for agitating and conveying the replenishing toner T in the toner storage chamber 112, and an agitator for agitating and conveying the toner T agitated and conveyed by the agitator 116 toward the dispensing inlet opening 114 of the dispensing chamber 113. 117 is disposed.
Here, agitating and conveying coil springs or the like can be used as the agitators 116 and 117, but in the present embodiment, the agitators 116 and 117 fix one end of the agitate film 402 made of a PET film or the like to the rotating shaft 401, The agitate film 402 conveys toner along the wall of the toner supply chamber (see FIG. 5). In FIG. 6, the forms of the agitators 116 and 117 are schematically shown.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the agitators 116 and 117 each have a region where the agitate film 402 is in contact with the housing wall surface and a region where the agitator film 402 is not in contact with the agitator 116. 117 is minimized, and there is a large difference between the driving torque when at least one agitator 116 or 117 agitating film 402 is in contact with the housing wall surface. If there is such a driving torque difference, the toner replenishing unit 110 becomes a vibration source, and the process cartridge itself may vibrate, which may cause image quality defects such as banding.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rotational positional relationship between the plurality of agitators 116 and 117 is adjusted in advance so that the agitator film 402 of at least one agitator 116 or 117 always contacts the housing wall surface. Even in a mode in which three or more agitators are mounted, it is sufficient that the agitator film of any one agitator is adjusted so as to always contact the housing wall surface.

In this case, since the agitator 116 only has to transport the replenishing toner to the adjacent agitator 117, no cut or the like is formed in the rotation free edge of the agitate film 402.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the agitator 117 needs to transport the replenishment toner toward the dispensing inlet opening 114 (not shown in FIG. 7), for example, as shown in FIG. In addition, an appropriate number of notches 410 that are inclined toward the toner conveyance direction are formed at the rotation free edge of the agitator film 402. In the example of FIG. 7, the agitator 117 conveys the toner toward the end in the longitudinal direction from the viewpoint of avoiding the deviation of the toner.
This notch 410 is largely cut to the vicinity of the rotating shaft 401 and is inclined toward the longitudinal end of the agitator 117.
In this example, the agitate film 402 is made of a resin film such as PET having a thickness of about 25 to 150 μm, the amount of interference with the housing wall surface is 1 to 10 mm, and the cut angle is 10 ° to 80 °, preferably 30 ° to 60 °. Further, the cut width is 1 mm or less, the cut amount is 50% to 90% of the width (h with respect to H in FIG. 7), and the interval is 10 mm to 50 mm. In this embodiment, the interference amount is 2 mm, the cut angle is 45 °, the interval is 20 mm, the cut width is 0.01 mm, H = 25 mm, and h = 20 mm.
In addition, an inclined notch 410 is also provided at a location corresponding to a dispensing opening (not shown). However, for example, a portion corresponding to the dispensing inlet opening in the agitate film 402 is not formed at all, and this dispensing entrance A notch extending in the radial direction may be formed at a location corresponding to the opening width of the opening, and the presence of this notch may ensure toner supply to the dispensing inlet opening.

Further, in the present embodiment, the rotating shaft 401 of the agitators 116 and 117 is rotatably supported on the main supply housing 111 via bearings 405 as shown in FIG. The inner wall surface is formed in a shape along the rotational trajectory of the longitudinal end shape of the agitate film 402.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a part of the inner wall surface of the main supply housing 111 has a shape in which the rotation free edge of the agitator film 402 of the agitators 116 and 117 is in sliding contact with the toner supply chamber 112. Space is eliminated and toner can be conveyed to the end.

Next, the toner conveying operation by the agitator 117 will be described.
FIG. 9 schematically shows the transport mechanism of the agitator 117, and shows a front view of a main part of the agitator 117, a right side view thereof, and a three-view view thereof.
In this figure, focusing on the parts A and B, assuming that the same displacement is now assumed (assuming contact with the wall surface), the spring constant of the part A and the spring constant of the part B are greater for A. Since it is large, B is bent more greatly in the bending deformation of the plate where the rotation shaft 401 is considered as a fixed end. The direction of bending is downstream of the rotational direction, and the toner receives a force in the direction of arrow C due to the deformation and rotation caused by the bending. Then, the toner is conveyed in the direction of the arrow toner conveyance that is the component force direction.
That is, since the inclined cut 410 is formed at the rotation free edge of the agitate film 402 that is in sliding contact with the wall surface of the housing, when the rotation free edge of the agitate film 402 is elastically deformed, the wall The tangent line is not parallel to the rotation axis 401 and is formed slightly obliquely. Due to this oblique contact, a thrust force is generated simultaneously with the rotation, and the toner is conveyed.

Moreover, in this Embodiment, since the rotating shaft 401 can be bent by the reaction force by the deformation force of the agitate film 402, the influence of this bending is examined.
Now, in the comparative form shown in FIG. 10B (model in which the direction of the inclination of the notch 410 is reversed), attention is paid to the parts A and B. Assuming that the rotating shaft 401 is not bent and assuming the same displacement (assuming contact with the wall surface), A is larger in the spring constant of the part A and the spring constant of the part B. In the bending deformation of the plate where the rotation shaft 401 is considered as a fixed end, B is bent more greatly. However, if the actual rotating shaft 401 is deformed in a convex shape so as to alleviate the B deflection, the difference between the A and B deflections is eliminated. In this state, toner cannot be conveyed.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10A, the cutting direction is set opposite to that of the comparative form shown in FIG. That is, the spring constant of B is made larger than that of A. Then, the portion B becomes difficult to be deformed, and at the same time the rotating shaft 401 is bent, so that the displacement of the portion B is reduced. For this reason, it changes to the direction with few bending of the B part. As a result, the relationship between the spring constants becomes a desired relationship, normal deformation occurs, a desired thrust force is generated, and the toner is conveyed in a predetermined direction.
That is, in this embodiment, the rotating shaft 401 that holds and rotates the agitator 117 is bent by a reaction force due to the deformation force of the agitate film 402. When this bending occurs, the above-described oblique contact between the agitate film 402 and the housing wall surface is canceled, so that no thrust force is generated and toner cannot be sent. In order to prevent this, as described above, if the notch 410 is disposed in consideration of the elastic deformation amount of the rotating shaft 401, the canceling action is weakened and the thrust force is generated again. .

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, the notch 410 is formed by inclining a plurality of notches having a large notch amount, but may be appropriately selected. Here, as a preferable aspect of the cut 410, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the important supply 411 which is inclined in the toner conveyance direction of the main supply housing 111 and has a large cut amount is the same in the inclination direction and is important. And a small notch 412 having a smaller notch amount than 411. According to this aspect, the squeeze 411 is formed obliquely with the tangent to the wall surface of the main supply housing 111 being non-parallel to the rotation shaft 401. Due to this oblique contact, a thrust force is generated simultaneously with the rotation, and the toner in the main supply housing 111 is conveyed. However, with the preciousness 411 alone, there is a possibility that the deformation that generates the thrust force does not occur at the rotation free edge of the agitate film 402. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately provide a small cut 412 and generate a thrust force by the small cut 412.
In this type of embodiment, the preferred layout of the small cuts 412 is preferably arranged continuously at the rotational free edge of the agitate film 402. In this case, if the rotating shaft 401 is bent by a reaction force caused by the deformation of the agitate film 402, the thrust force is canceled. Therefore, if the small cut 412 is continuously provided in the rotation free edge of the agitate film 402, the canceling action can be weakened, and the thrust force can be secured correspondingly.
Further, it is preferable that the adjacent small cuts 412 have small cut amounts sequentially along the toner conveyance direction. The small cut 412 may be constant, but if the cut amount is sequentially reduced along the toner transport direction, the toner transport supply amount can be stabilized.
Further, it is preferable that the adjacent small cuts 412 increase the arrangement density as the important cuts 411 are approached. In this case, the arrangement density of the small notches 412 in the vicinity of the important cuts 411 can be increased, and a thrust force can be reliably generated.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11A, a step 430 may exist on a part of the inner wall surface of the main supply housing 111 due to the attachment of CRUM or the like. In this case, as a preferred embodiment of the agitator 117, a plurality of auxiliary cuts 416 cut in the radial direction may be formed in a portion of the free end edge of the agitate film 402 sandwiching the boundary of the step 430. Good.
The auxiliary cut 416 is cut in the radial direction (vertical) with a width of a predetermined dimension k (for example, 0.1 to 3.0 mm) across the boundary of the step 430. If such an auxiliary notch 416 is present, as shown in FIG. 11B, the remaining amount of the toner T remaining at the boundary of the step 430 is sufficiently reduced by the auxiliary notch 416. Is possible.
In this regard, when the auxiliary cut 416 is not provided, as shown in FIG. 11C, the escape amount of the agitate film 402 with respect to the step 430 increases, and the amount of uncleaned toner T tends to increase correspondingly. .

  On the other hand, a dispense auger 118 is disposed in the dispense chamber 113 along the longitudinal direction. In particular, in the present embodiment, the dispense auger 118 is provided with a spiral blade having a diameter substantially equal to or less than that of the agitating / conveying augers 104 and 105 in the developing unit 100, and the pitch of the dispense auger 118 is further increased. The pitch is set to be equal to or less than the pitch of the agitating and conveying augers 104 and 105.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the lower end of the toner supply port 115 is positioned below the surface position of the developer G stored in the developer storage chamber 102. So that it is open. In other words, the toner supply port 115 only needs to be buried at least from the surface position of the developer G in the developer storage chamber 102, and the replenishment toner T can be supplied from the side to the developer accumulation portion of the developer storage chamber 102. The replenishment toner T is secured to the developer without causing the replenishment toner T to float on the agent G.
In particular, in this embodiment, the pressing force by which the replenishing toner T in the toner replenishing unit 110 is pushed out from the toner supply port 115 is set to be larger than the internal pressure by the developer G in the developer storage chamber 102.
Specifically, the dispense inlet opening 114 is formed wider than the toner supply opening 115, and the longitudinal length of the dispense chamber 113 is set sufficiently longer than the dispense inlet opening 114. Furthermore, the amount of toner supplied to the dispense inlet opening 114 by the agitator 117 is set to be larger than the amount of toner transported by the dispense auger 118 (corresponding to the amount of toner supplied from the toner supply port 115).
Furthermore, regarding the diameter size, blade pitch, rotation speed, and the like of the dispense auger 118, the internal pressure of the developer G in the developer storage chamber 102 applied to the toner supply port 115 is based on the toner internal pressure based on the toner conveying force by the dispense auger 118. It is selected to be larger than (depends on the conveying force of the agitating / conveying auger 104).

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the dispense auger 118 is used for preventing clogging at a portion facing the toner supply port 115 in addition to the normal auger blade 118a for stirring and conveying. An auger blade 118b is provided, and the auger blade 118b for blocking works as an extruding portion PS so that the toner T blocked by the pushing portion PS is pushed out from the toner supply port 115 to the developer accommodating chamber 102. It has become.
In this embodiment, the toner supply port 115 is opened at a position away from the end position of the developer storage chamber 102. However, the toner supply port 115 is pushed out by the auger blade 118b for preventing damming. The replenishment toner T is pushed out of the toner.

Further, in the present embodiment, the upper end of the toner supply port 115 is positioned above the upper end of the admix auger 104. For example, if it is set to be positioned below, the admix auger 104 is arranged. The toner is replenished from below from the upper end of the toner, and the replenished toner is wound into the admix auger 104 and is rapidly stirred and mixed, and the developing unit 100 is flattened. be able to.
Furthermore, since the lower end of the toner supply port 115 is set below the rotation center of the admix auger 104, the toner T is replenished from below the rotation center of the admix auger 104. The toner T is wound on the admix auger 104 and quickly mixed with the developer by stirring.
Further, since the center of the dispense auger 118 is set to be substantially the same as or below the rotation center of the admix auger 104, toner is supplied from below the rotation center of the admix auger 104. Accordingly, the replenished toner is taken up in the admix auger 104 and quickly stirred and mixed.

Further, regarding the capacity of the toner storage chamber 112, if the capacity of the toner storage chamber 112 is made larger than the capacity of the dispense chamber 113 or the total capacity of the dispense chamber 113 and the developer storage chamber 102, the toner supply port 115 can be used. The toner can be continuously and stably supplied. Note that the capacity here means the toner capacity and the developer capacity, respectively.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the rotational centers of the agitators 116 and 117 are arranged so as to be positioned above the dispense auger 118 and the stirring and conveying augers 104 and 105.
Therefore, there is no need to lift the toner T from the toner storage chamber 112 to the dispensing chamber 113 and the developer storage chamber 102, so that the toner internal pressure in the dispense chamber 113 can be effectively increased, and the toner internal pressure in the dispense chamber 113 can be increased. The toner can be smoothly supplied to the developer storage chamber 102 without impairing the toner.

-Sub-toner supply unit-
Further, in the present embodiment, the sub-toner replenishment unit 120 has a sub-replenishment housing 121 adjacent to the back side of the cleaning unit 200, as shown in FIG. It is configured as a toner replenishing chamber 122 that is accommodated so as to be replenished.
In the toner supply chamber 122, a pair of agitators 123 and 124 for stirring and transporting the supply toner T are disposed.
Here, as a communication structure between the sub toner supply unit 120 and the main toner supply unit 110, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 13, a communication path (toner supply path) 131 is formed in a spacer 130 made of an elastic member. Used. In the present embodiment, the spacers 130 are provided at two positions on both sides between the units 110 and 120, and the toner supply paths 131 are formed respectively. For example, the toner supply paths 131 are provided only in one of the spacers 130. Alternatively, the spacer 130 may be provided at one location on one side, and the toner supply path 131 may be formed in the spacer 130. The agitators 123 and 124 may be appropriately selected. For example, if the agitators 123 and 124 are configured to transport toner outward in the axial direction as with the agitator 117, the toner supply paths 131 are provided on both sides. This is preferable in that the toner can be reliably conveyed with respect to the embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the sub-toner replenishment unit 120 preferably closes the connecting portion with the toner supply path 131 with a seal member 125 that can be opened when in use, as indicated by the phantom line in FIG. . In this case, when the process cartridge 30 is not used (for example, during transportation), the toner in the sub toner replenishment unit 120 enters the toner supply path 131 and there is no fear of clogging, and the toner in the sub toner replenishment unit 120 is the main toner. It is possible to effectively avoid a situation in which the toner filling density in the main toner replenishing unit 110 is unnecessarily increased because the toner is charged in the replenishment unit 110 side.

In this embodiment, when a predetermined amount of toner T is supplied from the main toner supply unit 110 to the developing unit 100, the toner T in the sub toner supply unit 120 is supplied to the main toner supply unit 110 at the same time. It has become so. For this reason, the main toner replenishment unit 110 is filled with the substantially constant toner T until the sub toner replenishment unit 120 becomes empty, and the change in the weight of the developing cartridge 30b is suppressed to a small extent.
At this time, since the photosensitive cartridge 30a is positioned and fixed with respect to the cartridge receiving portion of the apparatus housing 21, the change in the toner storage amount of the sub toner replenishment unit 120 does not affect the change in the weight of the developing cartridge 30b.
Therefore, fluctuations in the pressing and urging force of the developing cartridge 30b with respect to the photosensitive cartridge 30a are suppressed until the sub-toner replenishing unit 120 is empty, and image disturbance can be effectively prevented correspondingly.

  Further, since the photosensitive member cartridge 30a is positioned and fixed to the apparatus housing 21, at least the lower surface position of the photosensitive member cartridge 30a forming the scanning passage 135 does not change, and accordingly, the photosensitive member cartridge 30a. Even if the position of the developing cartridge 30b that is pivotally supported is changed, there is little possibility that the scanning passage 135 is blocked.

<Cleaning device>
In the present embodiment, the cleaning device 34 is incorporated as a cleaning unit 200 in the photosensitive member cartridge 30a as shown in FIG.
The cleaning unit 200 includes a cleaning housing 201 that opens to face the photosensitive drum 31. The cleaning housing 201 is configured as a waste toner storage chamber 203 that can store waste toner, and an upper wall of the cleaning housing 201. 201a is extended in a bowl shape toward the photosensitive drum 31 side.
A cleaning blade 210 is disposed on the lower opening edge 201b of the cleaning housing 201. The cleaning blade 210 is a side wall (see FIG. 5) that hangs down from both the opening lower edge 201b and the upper wall 201a of the cleaning housing 201. (Not shown), a substantially L-shaped blade holder 212 is attached, and a blade body 211 made of an elastic material such as urethane rubber is attached to the outside of the distal end portion of the blade holder 212, and the distal end of the blade body 211 is attached to the photosensitive drum 31. It is elastically contacted so as to face the rotation direction (counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9).
On the other hand, a film seal 215 such as PET is provided at the upper edge of the opening of the cleaning housing 201 (in the vicinity of the front end of the upper wall 201a in this embodiment), and the front end of the film seal 215 extends in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 31. Along with the elastic contact, the waste toner collected by the cleaning blade 210 is prevented from scattering.

In the present embodiment, the portion other than the attachment portion of the cleaning blade 210 to the cleaning housing 201 is disposed substantially parallel to the bowl-shaped portion of the upper wall 201a of the cleaning housing 201, and the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 210 is used. Is configured as a waste toner reservoir portion 213 (corresponding to the inner surface of the blade holder 212 in this example). In particular, in this example, the waste toner reservoir 213 has a downward slope toward the waste toner storage chamber 203, so that the transportability of the waste toner Td can be improved.
In the present embodiment, the waste toner reservoir 213 is configured by only the cleaning blade 210, but may be configured by using not only the cleaning blade 210 but also a part of the cleaning housing 201.
Further, since a space that becomes a recess with respect to the photosensitive drum 31 is secured between the cleaning housing 201 and the cleaning blade 210, the charging roll 32 is disposed using the recess.
A holding block 202 for the erase lamp 35 is provided at the tip of the upper wall 201a of the cleaning housing 201.

Further, in the present embodiment, a waste toner transport member 220 that transports the waste toner Td scraped by the cleaning blade 210 to the waste toner storage chamber 203 side is provided in the cleaning housing 201.
The waste toner transport member 220 has a transport plate 221 as a member element straddling between the waste toner storage chamber 203 and the waste toner reservoir 213, and is disposed at the end of the transport plate 221 on the side of the waste toner storage chamber 203. A drive input unit 222 capable of inputting an external driving force is provided, and a protrusion 223 capable of contacting the waste toner reservoir 213 is provided at the end of the transport plate 221 on the photosensitive drum 31 side.
Here, the transport plate 221 may remain plate-shaped, but from the viewpoint of reducing the weight and effectively avoiding the accumulation of the waste toner Td on the upper surface portion, the protruding portion 223 of the transport plate 221 and the drive input. It is preferable to form an opening 224 (see FIG. 15) in a portion other than the portion 222. In addition, the projecting portion 223 is not necessarily formed at the end portion of the transport plate 221, and may be a portion away from the end portion, and the number of the projecting portions 223 may be at least one. There may be more than one. Further, the method for forming the protruding portion 223 is appropriately selected, for example, by bending the tip portion of the transport plate 221 or by forming the protruding portion 223 integrally or separately on a part of the transport plate 221. It does not matter.
Of course, the member element of the waste toner conveying member 220 is not necessarily the conveying plate 221, and it is of course possible to use a frame frame structure, for example.

In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, a driving force in the form of a rotation locus is input to the drive input unit 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220. The force can be easily obtained, for example, by rotating a crankshaft 231 that is a kind of the rotation drive mechanism 230 around the rotation center.
Further, in the present embodiment, the waste toner conveying member 220 is provided with a posture regulating mechanism 240 for regulating the movement posture of the waste toner conveying member 220.
In the present embodiment, the attitude regulating mechanism 240 is configured by a biasing spring 241 that has one end engaged with the protruding portion 223 side of the waste toner conveying member 220 and the other end engaged with a part of the cleaning housing 201. The waste toner conveying member 220 is biased in a direction away from the drive input unit 222.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the urging spring 241 is disposed in an oblique direction with respect to the advancing / retreating direction of the waste toner conveying member 220.
Here, as a mounting structure of the urging spring 241, in FIGS. 14 and 15, locking hooks 242 and 243 are provided at both ends of the urging spring 241, and one of the locking protrusions 204 on the cleaning housing 201 side is locked. The hook 242 is engaged, and the other hook 243 is engaged with the engagement piece 225 provided at the end of the waste toner conveying member 220 on the protruding portion 223 side.
In this embodiment, the engagement protrusion 204 is provided in the cleaning housing 201 as a mounting structure of the urging spring 241. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, communicates with the cleaning housing 201 to the outside. In a mode in which the locking hole is opened, there is a risk of waste toner leakage. In such a case, the locking hole may be sealed with a seal member. As this sealing member, it is preferable to also use a label or the like attached to the CRU.

As described above, when the urging spring 241 is attached to the waste toner conveying member 220, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, when a driving force of a rotational locus is input to the drive input portion 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220. Following this, the protrusion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 moves forward and backward along the waste toner reservoir 213.
At this time, the biasing spring 241 regulates the posture change range of the waste toner transport member 220 with respect to the change in the position of the drive input unit 222 of the waste toner transport member 220. In this example, when the waste toner transport member 220 moves backward, the protrusion 223 moves in contact with the waste toner along the waste toner reservoir 213, and when the advance toner moves, the protrusion 223 moves to the waste toner reservoir 213. It moves non-contactingly. Specific behavior will be described later.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the urging spring 241 is disposed obliquely with respect to the advancing / retreating direction of the waste toner conveying member 220, so that it is possible to save the space for disposing the waste toner. The amount of expansion / contraction of the urging spring 241 can be set small with respect to the amount of movement of the conveying member 220, which is preferable in that the fluctuation of the driving force applied to the waste toner conveying member can be reduced accordingly.

Next, the operation of the cleaning device 34 used in the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16A, when the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 31 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 210, the scraped waste toner Td is accumulated on and in the vicinity of the cleaning blade 210. However, after being pushed out one after another by the scraped toner, the waste toner Td accumulates on the waste toner reservoir 213 (in this example, the inner surface of the blade holder 212 corresponds).
In this state, if the drive input unit 222 of the waste toner transport member 220 is now in the position shown in FIG. 16A, the waste toner transport member 220 is disposed at the most advanced position.
At this time, the urging spring 241 urges the waste toner conveying member 220 in a direction away from the drive input unit 222, but the position of the driving input unit 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220 and the cleaning housing of the urging spring 241. By adjusting the relationship with the locking point position on the 201 side, a part of the urging force component of the urging spring 241 causes the protrusion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 to contact the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213. If acting in the direction, the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 contacts the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213.

In this state, the position of the drive input unit 222 is rotated downward by the rotation drive mechanism 230, and as shown in FIG. 16B, the waste toner conveying member 220 moves backward while being inclined. The protruding portion 223 of the toner conveying member 220 conveys the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213 toward the waste toner storage chamber 203 side.
When the drive input unit 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220 reaches the lowest point, the posture of the waste toner conveying member 220 becomes the steepest inclination, but the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 and the waste toner reservoir portion. From the standpoint of maintaining the contact state with 213, it is efficient to keep the portion other than the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 out of contact with the waste toner reservoir 213.
Thereafter, when the drive input unit 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 16C, the waste toner conveying member 220 further moves backward while gradually relaxing the inclined posture. At this time, the urging spring 241 still acts to press the waste toner conveying member 220 toward the waste toner reservoir 213, so that the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner conveyance member 220 is disposed along the waste toner reservoir 213 with the waste toner Td. To move the waste toner Td to the waste toner storage chamber 203 side.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 16C and 17A, even if the waste toner transport member 220 reaches the last retracted position, the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner transport member 220 is discarded. Although the waste toner does not move to the end of the toner reservoir 213 closer to the waste toner storage chamber 203, the waste toner transported to the vicinity of the end of the waste toner storage 213 closer to the waste toner storage chamber 203 is waste toner transported later. Are sequentially stored in the waste toner storage chamber 203.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17A, when the waste toner conveying member 220 reaches the last retracted position, the waste toner conveying member 220 is pulled by the urging force of the urging spring 241 and the waste toner is conveyed. The protruding portion 223 of the conveying member 220 is separated from the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213 and reaches a state just before being arranged in a non-contact manner.
That is, since the waste toner conveying member 220 is urged in a predetermined direction by the urging spring 241, the relationship between the position of the drive input portion 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220 and the locking point position of the urging spring 241 on the cleaning housing 201 side. Based on this, the arrangement posture of the waste toner conveying member 220 is determined. At this time, when the waste toner conveying member 220 shifts to the advancing movement, the layout should be such that the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 and the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213 are arranged in a non-contact manner. Good.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 17B, when the drive input unit 222 of the waste toner transport member 220 rotates upward, the waste toner transport member 220 advances while changing the tilting posture so that the drive input unit 222 side rises. Moving.
At this time, the waste toner conveying member 220 is urged by the urging spring 241. When the position of the drive input portion 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220 is raised, the arrangement position of the waste toner conveying member 220 is further raised. Therefore, the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 and the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213 remain arranged in a non-contact manner.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 17C, when the drive input unit 222 of the waste toner conveying member 220 is rotated in a direction to be lowered from the top dead center position, the waste toner conveying member 220 moves forward while changing the inclined posture again. And gradually approaches the waste toner reservoir 213 side. When the waste toner conveying member 220 reaches the most advanced position, the protruding portion 223 of the waste toner conveying member 220 is again placed in contact with the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213.
As described above, when the waste toner transport member 220 moves forward, the protrusion 223 of the waste toner transport member 220 moves in a non-contact manner with respect to the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213. Thus, the situation where the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213 is pushed back is effectively avoided, and the transportability of the waste toner is kept good.
Thereafter, the behaviors of FIGS. 16A to 16C and FIGS. 17A to 17C are repeated.
In the present embodiment, the waste toner conveying member 220 is in a state of moving in contact with the waste toner reservoir portion 213 during the backward movement. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the waste toner conveying member 220 includes: Of course, in the backward movement region, the waste toner reservoir 213 may be moved in a non-contact manner first, and may be moved in the middle.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the waste toner conveying member 220 maintains a substantially horizontal uppermost position when the drive input unit 222 is at the top dead center position, and moves along a trajectory that does not protrude upward from the uppermost position. In addition, since the advancing movement is performed while maintaining a substantially horizontal posture, the upper space of the waste toner storage chamber and the upper space of the waste toner reservoir 213 can be set narrow, and the cleaning device 34 is made thin accordingly. It is possible to
In this embodiment, since the waste toner conveying member 220 has the opening 224, there is no concern that the waste toner is accumulated on the waste toner conveying member 220 when the waste toner conveying member 220 conveys the waste toner. In addition, there is no concern that waste toner is scattered by wind pressure due to air resistance.
Further, in the present embodiment, the waste toner conveying member 220 moves in contact with the waste toner reservoir 213 during the backward movement, but is not limited to this, and is not in contact with the waste toner reservoir 213. However, it may be moved in contact with the waste toner on the waste toner reservoir 213. In this case, since the waste toner conveying member 220 does not come into direct contact with the waste toner reservoir 213 during the backward movement, vibration is unnecessarily transmitted to the photosensitive drum 31 as the waste toner conveying member 220 moves. This is preferable in that there is less concern about the occurrence of the problem.

<Drive system of developing device and cleaning device>
In the present embodiment, the driving system 300 of the developing device 33 and the cleaning device 34 may be appropriately selected, but the following are used, for example.
In other words, the drive system 300 used in the present embodiment includes each driven element of the toner supply units 110 and 120 in the developing device 33 and each drive of the cleaning unit 200 as the cleaning device 34 as shown in FIG. A transport drive system 301 that drives the elements with the same drive source, and a development drive system 302 that drives each drive element of the development unit 100 in the developing device 33 using a drive source different from the transport drive system 301. It has.

Here, the transport drive system 301 has a drive input gear 311 that is drivingly connected to a drive source (not shown). The drive input gear 311 is engaged with a first-stage drive transmission gear 312, A coaxial transmission gear 313 is provided coaxially, and the coaxial transmission gear 313 is engaged with drive transmission gears 315 and 316 connected to the agitators 116 and 117 of the main toner replenishing unit 110 via an idler gear 314, and further, one drive transmission is performed. From the gear 316, the dispense gear 318 connected to the dispense auger 118 via the idler gear 317 is engaged.
In addition, the conveyance drive system 301 is connected to the rotation shaft of the rotation drive mechanism 230 of the cleaning unit 200 in addition to meshing the drive transmission gears 319 and 320 connected to the agitators 123 and 124 of the sub-toner replenishment unit 120 with the coaxial transmission gear 313. The drive transmission gear 321 is also engaged.
On the other hand, the development drive system 302 is provided with a drive transmission gear 331 coaxially with the photosensitive drum 31, for example, and the drive transmission gear 331 is engaged with a drive transmission gear 332 connected to the developing roll 103, and further this drive transmission gear 332. In this case, drive transmission gears 334 and 335 connected to the agitating and conveying augers 105 and 104 via the idler gear 333 are sequentially meshed.
The driving source of the development driving system 302 and the driving source of the conveyance driving system 301 are not limited to different modes, but the same driving source may be used as long as each can be driven independently.

As described above, according to the embodiment, since the transport drive system 301 and the development drive system 302 are separate systems, the toner transport member (as compared with the mode in which the development drive system 302 and the transport drive system 301 are interlocked) is used. The agitators 116 and 117, the dispense auger 118, the agitators 123 and 124), and the waste toner conveying member 220 need not always be driven during the developing operation, and accordingly, the wear deterioration of the toner conveying member and the waste toner conveying member 220 is suppressed, thereby reducing the process. The lifetime of the cartridge 30 can be improved.
In addition, since the toner conveying member or waste toner conveying member 220 having a large load fluctuation and the photosensitive drum 31 and the developing roll 103 that require rotational accuracy are driven separately, the toner conveying member, the waste toner conveying member 220, etc. The vibration caused by the load fluctuation does not affect the rotation of the photosensitive drum 31 and the developing roll 103, and image defects can be prevented in advance.
Furthermore, if the conveyance drive system 301 is provided with a connection element (such as a swinging gear) that can be connected to the drive elements of the toner supply units 110 and 120, the waste toner is separated from the toner supply operation. Only the transfer operation can be performed. Further, if a part of the driving element of the toner replenishing unit 110, for example, a connecting element that can be connected to the dispensing auger 118 is provided, the toner replenishing unit is not operated by the dispensing auger 118. It is also possible to perform the toner agitating and conveying operation only by the agitators 116, 117, 123, and 124 in the 110 and 120 to periodically loosen the replenishing toner.

(A) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of a powder processing apparatus, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of a powder conveyance member. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing Embodiment 1 of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the process cartridge used by this Embodiment. (A) is the arrow view which looked at the process cartridge used in this embodiment from one side, (b) is the arrow view which looked at the process cartridge used in this embodiment from the other side on the opposite side It is. It is explanatory drawing which shows the developing cartridge used in this Embodiment. It is VI-VI line partial fracture | rupture explanatory drawing in FIG. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the agitator used in Embodiment 1, (b) is the deformation | transformation form. It is explanatory drawing which shows the support structure of the agitator. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance mechanism by an agitator. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation example of the agitator used by this Embodiment, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation example of the agitator used by the comparison form (model with the inclination direction of a notch | incision reverse). . (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the more preferable aspect (step difference countermeasure) of the agitator used in Embodiment 1. FIG. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the toner supply port periphery structure of this Embodiment, (b) is a BB sectional drawing in (a). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a communication structure between a main toner supply unit and a sub toner supply unit. It is principal part explanatory drawing of the cleaning apparatus used by this Embodiment. (A) (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation state of the urging | biasing spring at the time of forward / backward movement of a waste toner conveyance member. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation state at the time of the waste toner conveyance member backward movement in the cleaning apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation state at the time of the waste toner conveyance member advance movement. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conveyance drive system used by this Embodiment, and a development drive system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Powder accommodating housing, 2 ... Powder supply port, 3 ... Powder conveying member, 4 ... Rotating member, 5 ... Flexible member, 6 ... Notch, 8 ... Powder

Claims (8)

A powder conveying member disposed in a powder containing housing having a powder supply port,
A rotating member that is rotatably provided in the powder housing, and a flexible member that rotates while being held by the rotating member and whose free rotation end side is in sliding contact with the inner wall surface of the powder housing housing,
While the rotating member can be elastically deformed by a reaction force from the flexible member, a thrust force can be generated on the free rotation edge of the flexible member by sliding contact with the inner wall surface of the powder housing housing. A powder conveying member, characterized in that a notch that is inclined in the powder conveying direction toward the powder supply port of the powder containing housing is formed. In the powder conveying member according to claim 1,
A powder conveying member, characterized in that a notch is not formed in a portion corresponding to the powder supply port in the free rotation end of the flexible member. In a mode in which a part of the inner wall of the powder housing housing has a stepped portion, and the rotation free end of the powder transporting member of the powder transporting member according to claim 1 is in sliding contact with the stepped portion.
A powder conveying member, characterized in that a plurality of auxiliary cuts formed in a radial direction are formed in a portion of the free rotation end of the flexible member sandwiching a step boundary.   The powder processing apparatus provided with the powder conveyance member in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3. The powder processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
Part of the inner wall surface of the powder housing housing is provided with a shape that is in sliding contact with a virtual cylindrical surface associated with the rotation locus of the rotation free end edge of the flexible member. In the powder processing apparatus according to claim 4, in a mode in which a plurality of powder conveying members are disposed in the powder housing housing,
A powder processing apparatus, wherein a rotational positional relationship of each powder conveying member is set so that at least one powder conveying member is always in contact with a wall surface of the powder housing. In the powder conveyance member in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
A powder conveying member, wherein the powder is a developer. The powder processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
A powder processing apparatus, wherein the powder is a developer.

Images