JP2006301604A - Toner conveying device, developing device, and image forming apparatus provided with same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively suppress the generation of coagulated toner with simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: A toner conveying device for conveying toner in one direction includes a container 22 for storing toner, spiral members 23, 24 and toner removing members 36, 37. The spiral members 23, 24 consist of rotatable shafts 32, 33 arranged in the container 22 and spiral blades 30, 31 formed on the peripheral surfaces of the shafts 32, 33 to convey the toner in the longitudinal direction of the shaft by rotation. The toner removing members 36, 37 can be brought into contact with the surfaces of the spiral members 23, 24 and toner stuck to the spiral members 23, 24 is removed by the rotation of the spiral members 23, 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner conveying device, and more particularly to a toner conveying device capable of suppressing the generation of aggregated toner. The present invention also relates to a developing device that performs development by electrophotographic development using magnetic toner (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “toner”), and in particular, a developing device that prevents the generation of aggregated toner, and The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including the same.

  In general, in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic developing printer, a facsimile, or a copying machine, a developer is used to form a toner image on the surface of a photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image based on image data of an original is formed. Is provided.

  Here, conventionally, in such a developing device, when the fluidity of the toner in the developing device is lowered, the toner transportability is lowered, and the toner tends to stay in the container for storing the toner. As a result, the toner staying in the container aggregates due to long-term use, and the aggregated toner adheres to the spiral member having spiral blades, and even if stirred, the aggregation state is not improved, There is a problem that an abnormal image such as a toner fog is generated. Such a problem is, for example, a toner recycling in which the toner remaining on the photoconductor as an image carrier is removed by a cleaning device and then returned to the developing device via a conveying device using a conveying screw and reused. The same problem occurs in an image forming apparatus having a mechanism.

Therefore, various image forming apparatuses for improving the above problems have been proposed. For example, the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a rotationally propelling conveyance unit for returning toner removed by the cleaning apparatus to the developing apparatus, and a toner breaker member for breaking the aggregated toner remaining in the recycled toner. ing. This toner breaker member is made of an elastic film sheet (PET film sheet), and has a tongue piece that is deformed by applying a force from the outside when the rotationally propelling conveying means having a spiral shape is rotated. Then, the aggregated toner is broken by the toner breaking member having the tongue piece.
JP 2004-177754 A

  In the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, the toner breaking member apparently moves only in the direction of travel of the spiral blades of the rotationally propelled conveying means (that is, elastically deforms only in the longitudinal direction of the axis of the rotationally propelled conveying means). Therefore, the toner adhering to the spiral blades and shafts of the rotationally propelled conveying means cannot be scraped off sufficiently. As a result, there is a problem that the generation of aggregated toner cannot be sufficiently suppressed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a toner conveying device, a developing device, and an image forming apparatus including the toner conveying device that can effectively suppress the generation of aggregated toner with a simple configuration.

  A toner conveying device according to a first aspect is a device for conveying toner in one direction, and includes a container for storing toner, a spiral member, and a toner removing member. The spiral member includes a rotatable shaft provided in the container and spiral blades provided on the peripheral surface of the shaft, and conveys toner in the longitudinal direction of the shaft by rotating. The toner removing member can contact the surface of the spiral member, and removes the toner attached to the spiral member by the rotation of the spiral member.

  In this apparatus, the toner adhering to the spiral blades and the shaft can be scraped off sufficiently, and the generation of aggregated toner can be effectively suppressed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the first aspect, the toner removing member is formed of a metal wire having elasticity.

  In this case, as compared with the conventional elastic film sheet, the durability against the force applied when the spiral member rotates is improved, so that the life of the toner removing member can be extended.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the toner conveying device according to the second aspect, wherein the toner removing member includes a toner scraping portion that extends from the side away from the shaft of the spiral member so as to approach the shaft and can contact the surface of the spiral member. Have.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the toner conveying device according to the third aspect, the shape of the toner scraping portion is substantially elliptical.

  In this case, the durability against the force applied when the spiral member rotates is improved, so that it is possible to easily extend the life of the toner removing member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the toner conveying device according to the third aspect, the shape of the toner scraping portion is substantially V-shaped.

  In this case, the durability against the force applied when the spiral member rotates is improved, so that it is possible to easily extend the life of the toner removing member.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the third aspect, the virtual plane formed by the toner scraping portion is a plane parallel to the axis of the spiral member.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the third aspect, the virtual plane formed by the toner scraping portion is a plane orthogonal to the axis of the spiral member.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the first aspect, the toner conveying device further includes a support member disposed along the axial direction of the spiral member, and the toner removing member is inserted between adjacent blades of the spiral member. A plurality of toner scraping portions that can come into contact with the surface of the spiral member, and a support portion that supports the plurality of toner scraping portions on the support member.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the eighth aspect, the plurality of toner scraping portions are continuously formed.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the ninth aspect, the toner removing member is formed by extending both ends of a coil spring having a predetermined shape having a plurality of turns in the axial direction of the spiral member. is there.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the toner conveying device according to the ninth aspect, the toner removing member is formed by extending both ends of a coil spring having a predetermined shape having a plurality of turns in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the spiral member. It is a thing.

  A developing device according to a twelfth aspect is a device for forming a toner image on an image carrier provided in an image forming section of an image forming apparatus, a container for storing toner, and an image carrier supported in the container. A developing roller for supplying toner to the body, a spiral member, and a toner removing member are provided. The spiral member includes a rotatable shaft provided in the container and spiral blades provided on the peripheral surface of the shaft, and conveys toner in the longitudinal direction of the shaft by rotating. The toner removing member can contact the surface of the spiral member, and removes the toner attached to the spiral member by the rotation of the spiral member.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the twelfth aspect, the container is provided with a stirrer chamber for receiving toner replenishment and stirring the toner, and a developing roller for guiding the toner onto the surface of the photoreceptor. A partition member that partitions the stirring chamber and the developing chamber so that the stirring chamber and the developing chamber can communicate with each other, and a toner removing member for the partition member for removing the toner adhering to the partition member. Are further provided. The partition member toner removing member can contact the surface of the spiral member, and contacts the surface of the partition member in contact with the surface of the spiral member by rotation of the spiral member.

  In this case, it is possible to sufficiently scrape off the toner adhering to the surface of the partition member, and it becomes possible to more effectively prevent the generation of aggregated toner.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the thirteenth aspect, the partition member toner removing member is formed of a metal wire having elasticity.

  An image forming apparatus according to a fifteenth aspect includes: a paper storage unit that stores paper; a paper feeding unit that feeds paper from the paper storage unit; a paper transport unit that transports paper from the paper feed unit; An image forming unit that forms a toner image on the conveyed paper; and a fixing unit that fixes the toner image on the paper formed by the image forming unit. The image forming unit includes an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface based on image information, and a developing device for forming a toner image on the image carrier. The developing device includes a container that stores toner, a developing roller that is supported in the container and supplies toner to the image carrier, a spiral member, and a toner removing member. The spiral member includes a rotatable shaft provided in the container and spiral blades provided on the peripheral surface of the shaft, and conveys toner in the longitudinal direction of the shaft by rotating. The toner removing member can contact the surface of the spiral member, and removes the toner attached to the spiral member by the rotation of the spiral member.

  According to the present invention, the generation of aggregated toner can be effectively suppressed with a simple configuration. Further, when the toner adheres to the stirring member, the stirring performance and the transport performance of the toner are deteriorated, and the toner spiral lock phenomenon (hardened and broken), and white spots and white streaks due to the toner not evenly distributed in the image area. However, in the present invention, such a problem can be solved.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a sheet feeding unit 2 disposed at a lower portion of the image forming apparatus main body 1a, and a sheet conveying unit disposed on the side and above the sheet feeding unit 2. 3, an image forming unit 4 disposed above the sheet conveying unit 3, a fixing unit 5 disposed on the discharge side of the image forming unit 4, the image forming unit 4, and the fixing unit 5 is provided with an image reading unit 6 disposed above 5.

  The paper feed unit 2 includes a plurality (four in this embodiment) of paper feed cassettes 7 in which paper 9 is stored. The paper 9 is sent from the selected paper feed cassette 7 to the paper transport unit 3, and the paper 9 is surely fed to the paper transport unit 3 one by one. These four paper feed cassettes 7 are configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 1a.

  The paper 9 fed to the paper transport unit 3 is transported toward the image forming unit 4 via the paper supply path 10. The image forming unit 4 forms a predetermined toner image on the paper 9 by an electrophotographic process, and is an image end holder that is rotatably supported in a predetermined direction (the direction of an arrow X in the figure). And a charging device 12, an exposure device 13, a developing device 14, a transfer device 15, a cleaning device 16, and a charge eliminating device 17 around the photosensitive member 11 along the rotation direction thereof. Yes.

  The charging device 12 includes a charging wire to which a high voltage is applied. By applying a predetermined potential to the surface of the photoconductor 11 by corona discharge from the charging wire, the surface of the photoconductor 11 is uniformly charged. It is done. The exposure device 13 irradiates the photoconductor 11 with light based on the image data of the original read by the image reading unit 6, whereby the surface potential of the photoconductor 11 is selectively attenuated, and this photosensitivity is detected. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the body 11. Next, the developing device 14 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 11, and the transfer device 15 transfers the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 11 to the photoconductor 11. The image is transferred to a sheet 9 supplied between the apparatus 15 and the apparatus 15.

  The sheet 9 on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed from the image forming unit 4 toward the fixing unit 5. The fixing unit 5 is disposed on the downstream side of the image forming unit 4 in the sheet conveying direction, and the sheet 9 on which the toner image is transferred in the image forming unit 4 includes a heating roller 18 provided in the fixing unit 5, and The toner image is fixed on the sheet 9 by being sandwiched and heated by the pressure roller 19 pressed against the heating roller 18. Next, the sheet 9 on which the image is formed in the fixing unit 5 from the image forming unit 4 is discharged onto the discharge tray 21 by the discharge roller pair 20.

  On the other hand, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 11 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning device 16. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, which will be described later, the cleaning device 16 was scraped off with a blade 16a for contacting the surface of the photoconductor 11 and scraping off the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 11. A container 16b for receiving toner and a spiral member 16d for toner conveyance are provided. The toner conveying spiral member 16d is a member that is provided in the container 16b and that conveys toner toward one end of the container 16b and discharges the toner to the outside from an opening 16c formed at the end of the container 16b. In the container 16b, the scraped toner is rotated in the direction of arrow E in the drawing by the toner conveying spiral member 16d, and the longitudinal direction of the shaft 16e that supports the toner conveying spiral member 16d. In addition to being conveyed to F, it is configured to be discharged from an opening 16c formed at the end of the container 16b to a waste toner tank (not shown).

  The residual charge on the surface of the photoconductor 11 is removed by the charge eliminating device 17, the photoconductor 11 is charged again by the charging device 12, and the image formation is performed in the same manner.

  Next, the developing device will be described with reference to the drawings. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the developing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a front view when the spiral member provided in the developing device shown in FIG. 2 is viewed from the side opposite to the photoreceptor. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the developing device 14 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a container 22 that receives toner and stores toner. The container 22 includes a stirring chamber 40 that stirs toner and a developing chamber 41 in which a developing roller 27 described later that guides the toner onto the surface of the photoreceptor 11 is installed. Further, the developing device 14 includes a first spiral member 23. The first spiral member 23 includes a shaft 32 which is a rotatable first shaft provided in the stirring chamber 40, and a spiral blade 30 (see FIG. 3) provided on the peripheral surface of the shaft 32. By rotating in the direction of arrow A in the figure, the toner is conveyed in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 32 (direction of arrow D in FIG. 3). Further, the developing device 14 includes a second spiral member 24. The second spiral member 24 is provided in the developing chamber 41, and a shaft 33 that is a rotatable second shaft disposed substantially parallel to the shaft 32, and a spiral blade 31 provided on the peripheral surface of the shaft 33. The toner is conveyed in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 33 (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 3) by rotating in the direction of arrow B in the figure.

  In addition, the 1st spiral member 23 and the 2nd spiral member 24 are arrange | positioned substantially parallel. In addition, a partition member 34 is provided between the first spiral member 23 and the second spiral member 24 so that the stirring chamber 40 and the developing chamber 41 can communicate with each other. Yes.

  The developing device 14 includes a developing roller (or toner carrying roller) 27 that is disposed on the drum opening side of the container 22 and includes a fixed magnet roller 25 having a plurality of magnetic poles and a nonmagnetic developing sleeve 26. Yes. The developing sleeve 26 includes a fixed magnet roller 25 and is rotatably supported to guide the stored toner onto the surface of the photoreceptor 11. Further, the developing device 14 is composed of a plate-like magnetic body, is disposed in the vicinity of the developing sleeve 26, and has a magnetic blade 28 that hangs down toward the upper surface of the developing sleeve 26, and a longitudinal end portion of the developing sleeve 26. And a magnetic seal member 29 disposed on the surface. The developing device 14 includes a magnet body 35 attached to the side wall surface of the container 22 of the magnetic blade 28 and having a south pole at the lower end, and a developing bias power source (not shown) applied to the developing roller 27.

  A toner replenishing hole (not shown) is opened on the upper surface of the container 22 above the first spiral member 23 so that toner can be charged by a toner cartridge (not shown). The charged toner is stirred in the stirring chamber 40 by the first spiral member 23 from the left end in FIG. 3 toward the right direction (that is, the direction of the arrow D1 in the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 32). After being transported, it is transported to the developing chamber 41. The toner conveyed to the developing chamber 41 moves leftward from the right end of FIG. 3 in the developing chamber 41 by the second spiral member 24 (that is, the direction of the arrow D2 in the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 32). Then, the toner is conveyed while being stirred and guided to the developing sleeve 26. The toner guided to the developing sleeve 26 is carried on the developing sleeve 26 using the magnetic force of the fixed magnet roller 25, and the toner is disposed in the vicinity of the developing sleeve 26 and acts as a toner layer thickness regulating member. The thickness is regulated by the magnetic blade 28. Thereafter, the toner carried on the developing sleeve 26 is guided to the developing position, that is, on the surface of the photoreceptor 11 by the developing roller 27.

  Although the developing sleeve 26 is set to a predetermined peripheral speed, the developing sleeve 26 rotates in the same direction (that is, the direction of arrow C) between the drum and the sleeve with respect to the rotation direction X of the photoconductor 11. Is set to Further, the developing sleeve 26 is disposed at a predetermined distance from the photoconductor 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement of the magnetic poles of the fixed magnet roller 25 includes an S pole developing pole S1 near the developing position, a drawing pole N1 adjacent to the developing pole S1, and a transport pole adjacent to the drawing pole N1. S2, a pumping pole N2 adjacent to the pumping pole N2, a blade pole S3 adjacent to the pumping pole N2, and a scattering prevention pole N3 adjacent to the blade pole S3 are arranged.

  Further, the magnetic seal member 29 is for preventing the toner from leaking from the longitudinal end portion of the developing sleeve 26. The magnetic sealing member 29 is disposed at both longitudinal end portions of the developing sleeve 26 with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 26. They are arranged at regular intervals.

  Here, the present embodiment is characterized in that a toner removing member for removing the toner adhering to the first and second spiral members 23 and 24 is provided. This will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process in which the adhered toner is removed by the toner removing member of the developing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, toner removing members 36 and 37 for removing the toner attached to the first and second spiral members 23 and 24 are provided. More specifically, the toner removing member 36 is provided in the container 22 so as to be at least partially in contact with the surface of the first spiral member 23, and is supported by a support member 38 attached in the container 22. It becomes the composition which is done. Similarly, the toner removing member 37 is provided in the container 22 so that at least a part thereof is in contact with the surface of the second spiral member 24 and is supported by a support member 38 attached in the container 22. It is the composition which becomes. The toner removing members 36 and 37 are formed of an elastic metal wire (for example, SUS304).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the toner removing member 36 is provided with a twisted portion 36a, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 32 of the first spiral member 23 (indicated by arrows Y1 and Y2 in FIG. 2). The portion 36b (hereinafter referred to as “toner scraping portion 36b”) in contact with the surface of the first spiral member 23 in the direction) is formed in a substantially elliptical shape. The virtual plane of the elliptical toner scraping portion 36 b is arranged so as to be parallel to the shaft 32 of the first spiral member 23.

  In FIG. 3, only the toner removal member 36 is illustrated, but the toner removal member 37 has the same shape as the toner removal member 36. That is, the toner removing member 37 is provided with a twisted portion (not shown), and is in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 33 of the second spiral member 24 (directions of arrows Z1 and Z2 in FIG. 2). A portion 39a (hereinafter referred to as “toner scraping portion 39a”) in contact with the surface of the second spiral member 24 is formed to have a substantially elliptical shape when viewed from the front.

  With the above configuration, the toner removing member 36 is taken as an example, and the process of removing the adhered toner by the toner removing member 36 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, with the rotation of the first spiral member 23, the spiral blade 30 apparently moves in the direction of the arrow D1 in the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 32, and from (a) to (b). Transition to the state. Then, the toner scraping portion 36b that contacts the shaft 32 of the first spiral member 23 scrapes and removes the toner T adhering to the surface of the shaft 32, and the toner scraping portion 36b applies a force from the blade 30. In response, it is elastically deformed in the direction of the arrow D1 described above.

  Further, when the rotation of the first spiral member 23 proceeds, the spiral blade 30 apparently moves in the direction of the arrow D1 described above, and shifts from the state (b) to the state (c). Then, the toner scraping portion 36b that comes into contact with the blade 30 of the first spiral member 23 receives the force from the blade 30 and rides on the blade 30 in the direction Y1 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 32 shown in FIG. It moves and elastically deforms in the orthogonal direction Y1. At this time, the toner T adhering to the surface of the blade 30 is scraped off and removed by the toner scraping portion 36b.

  Further, when the rotation of the first spiral member 23 proceeds, the spiral blade 30 apparently moves in the direction of the arrow D1 described above, and shifts from the state (c) to the state (d). Then, the toner scraping part 36b that contacts the blade 30 of the first spiral member 23 moves in the direction Y2 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 32 shown in FIG. ) And the toner T adhering to the surfaces of the blade 30 and the shaft 32 is scraped off and removed by the toner scraping portion 36b.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the rotation of the first spiral member 23 causes the toner removal member 36 to come into contact with the surface of the first spiral member 23 and the shaft 32 of the first spiral member 23. It is configured to move in the longitudinal direction D and the directions Y1 and Y2 orthogonal to the longitudinal direction D. Therefore, compared to the above-described conventional technique, the toner adhering to the spiral blade 30 and the shaft 32 can be sufficiently scraped off, and the generation of aggregated toner can be effectively prevented.

  Further, as described above, in the above prior art, since the toner breaker member is formed of an elastic film sheet, the durability of the toner breaker member with respect to the force applied during rotation of the rotationally propelled conveying means is low and the service life is shortened. There was a problem of shortening. However, in the present embodiment, since the toner removing member 36 is formed of a metal wire having elasticity, the toner removing member 36 is more resistant to the force applied when the first spiral member 23 rotates than the conventional elastic film sheet. Since the durability is improved, the life of the toner removing member 36 can be extended. In particular, in the present embodiment, by providing the toner removing member 36 with a twisted portion 36a, the toner scraping portion 36b that contacts the surface of the first spiral member 23 is formed to have a substantially elliptical shape when viewed from the front. Therefore, the durability against the force applied during the rotation of the first spiral member 23 is drastically improved, so that it is possible to easily extend the life.

  The process of removing the adhering toner by the toner removing member 36 has been described by taking the toner removing member 36 as an example. However, the operation and effect related to the toner removing member 37 is exactly the same as that of the toner removing member 36. Therefore, detailed description is omitted here.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof will be omitted, and only differences will be described. Further, since the overall configurations of the image forming apparatus and the developing apparatus are the same as those in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  This embodiment is characterized in that another toner removing member for removing the toner adhering to the partition member 34 is provided instead of the toner removing member 37 used in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the developing device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a front view showing the developing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a front view when the spiral member provided in the developing device shown in FIG. 5 is viewed from the photosensitive member side. is there. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process in which the adhered toner is removed by the toner removing member of the developing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and the developing device shown in FIG. 6 is viewed from above. It is the elements on larger scale in the case. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process in which the adhered toner is removed by the toner removing member of the developing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and the developing device shown in FIG. 6 is viewed from the front. It is the elements on larger scale in the case.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, a toner removing member 42 that is another toner removing member for removing the toner attached to the partition member 34 is provided. More specifically, the toner removing member 42 is provided in the container 22 so that at least a part thereof is in contact with the surface of the second spiral member 24 and is supported by a support member 38 attached in the container 22. It becomes the composition which is done. Further, a bent portion 43 is formed in the toner removing member 42. Then, a portion 44 (hereinafter referred to as “toner scraping portion 44”) that scrapes off the toner that has been bent from the second spiral member 24 toward the partition member 34 and adhered to the surface of the partition member 34 by the bent portion 43. .) Is formed. The toner removing member 42 is made of an elastic metal wire (for example, SUS304).

  A process in which the toner adhering to the partition member 34 is removed by the toner removing member 42 under the above configuration will be described. First, along with the rotation of the second spiral member 24, the spiral blade 31 apparently moves in the direction of the arrow D2 in the drawing in the longitudinal direction D of the shaft 33, and FIG. The state (a) of FIG. 7 is shifted to the state of FIG. 7 (b) and FIG. 8 (b). Then, a force is applied from the blade 31 to the toner removing member 42 so that the toner scraping portion 44 rides on the blade 30 and is elastically deformed in the direction of the arrow Z1 described above, and the toner scraping portion 44 is partitioned. The toner T coming into contact with the surface of the member 34 is scraped off and removed by the toner scraping portion 44 on the surface of the partition member 34.

  When the rotation of the second spiral member 24 proceeds, the spiral blade 31 apparently moves in the direction of the arrow D2 described above, from the state of FIG. 7B and FIG. c) Transition to the state shown in FIG. At this time, the elastically deformed state of the toner scraping portion 44 is maintained. Further, when the rotation of the second spiral member 24 proceeds, the spiral blade 31 apparently moves in the direction of the arrow D2 described above, from the state of FIG. 7C and FIG. 8C to FIG. (D) and shift to the state of (d) in FIG. Then, the toner scraping portion 44 that comes into contact with the partition member 34 moves in the above-described Z2 direction and the elastically deformed state of the toner scraping portion 44 is released, and the above-described FIGS. 7 (a) and 8 (a). It will return to the state of.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the rotation of the second spiral member 24 causes the toner removal member 42 to come into contact with the surface of the second spiral member 24 and the shaft 33 of the second spiral member 24. While moving to the direction Z1 orthogonal to the longitudinal direction D, it is set as the structure which contacts the surface of the partition member 34. FIG. Therefore, by using the toner removing member 42 simultaneously with the toner removing member 36 described above, the toner adhering to the surface of the partition member 34 is sufficiently scraped in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment. This makes it possible to more effectively prevent the generation of agglomerated toner.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, since the toner removing member 42 is formed of an elastic metal wire, durability against a force applied when the second spiral member 24 rotates is improved. The life of the toner removing member 42 can be extended.

<Third Embodiment>
In the above-described embodiment, the toner removing member includes a plurality of elements in the axial direction, and each element is separately mounted on the support member or the like. However, the plurality of elements may be configured by a continuous member. An embodiment in this case is shown in FIG.

  The toner removing member 50 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is a member for removing the toner adhering to the spiral members 23 and 24 as in the above embodiments. The toner removing member 50 includes a plurality of elements formed of an elastic metal wire (for example, SUS304), and each element includes a twisted part 50a and a toner scraping part 50b that comes into contact with the surface of the spiral member. Have. And each element is continuing in the connection part 50c, and several places of this connection part 50c are supported by the support member.

  The toner removing member 50 in which a plurality of elements as described above are continuous can be manufactured as follows.

  First, a coil spring 50 'as shown in FIG. The coil spring 50 ′ has a number of turns sufficient to form a necessary number of elements as the toner removing member 50. Next, the coil spring 50 'is deformed into a triangular continuous body 50 "as shown in FIG. Then, the upper side in the drawing of the continuous body 50 ″ is cut at an appropriate position, and each end is extended in the P direction in FIG. 10, that is, in the axial direction of the spiral member, so that the toner as shown in FIG. The removal member 50 is obtained.

  By using such a toner removing member 50, manufacture and assembly become very easy. Further, when the toner removing member 50 is supported by the support member, the both ends and the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction are fixed to the support member, and the other portions can be moved freely, thereby removing the toner. The movement in the longitudinal direction of the portion 50b and the direction perpendicular thereto is smooth.

  In the third embodiment, the toner removing member 50 is formed of one continuous body. However, the continuous body 50 '' may be divided into several members.

<Fourth embodiment>
In the third embodiment, the toner removing member 50 including continuous elements is arranged along the axial direction of the spiral member. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the toner removing member 50 is arranged along the direction in which the two spiral members 23 and 24 are arranged. May be arranged.

  The toner removing member 52 of this embodiment includes two elements formed of an elastic metal wire (for example, SUS304), and each element includes a twisted part 52a and a toner scraping part that contacts the surface of the spiral member. 52b. And two elements are continuing in the connection part 52c. Each toner scraping portion 52b is formed in a substantially elliptical shape when viewed in the axial direction, and a plane including the elliptical shape is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the axes of the spiral members 23 and 24.

  In such an embodiment, the toner removing member 52 can move (deform) smoothly, particularly in the direction along the axis of the spiral members 23 and 24. Moreover, since the two elements are continuous in the direction orthogonal to the axis, the movement (deformation) is easy.

<Fifth Embodiment>
FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which the shape of the toner removing member of the fourth embodiment is changed to another shape. As described above, the toner removing member 54 of this embodiment includes two continuous elements, and the two elements are arranged side by side along the direction in which the two spiral members 23 and 24 are disposed.

  Unlike the previous embodiment, the toner removing member 54 of this embodiment does not have a portion corresponding to the twisted portion, and connects the two elements with the toner scraping portion 54b that contacts the surface of the spiral member. And a connecting portion 54c. Each toner scraping portion 54 b is formed in a substantially V shape when viewed in the axial direction, and a plane including the V shape is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the axes of the spiral members 23 and 24.

  Also in such an embodiment, the toner removing member 54 can move (deform) smoothly in the direction along the axis of the spiral members 23 and 24 and the direction orthogonal to the axis.

<Other embodiments>
In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the plane including the toner scraping portion of the toner removing member is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the axis of the spiral member, and the two elements are connected, but the two elements are independent of each other. May be arranged.

  An embodiment in this case is shown in FIGS. Here, in order to remove toner from the spiral member 23, toner removing members 52 'and 54' are provided. These toner removing members 52 ′ and 54 ′ have the same configuration as a part of the toner removing members 52 and 54 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, respectively.

  That is, each of the toner removing members 52 ′ and 54 ′ is formed of an elastic metal wire (for example, SUS304), and the toner removing member 52 ′ is a toner that comes into contact with the torsion part 52a ′ and the surface of the spiral member. Scraping portion 52b '. The toner scraping portion 52 b is formed in a substantially elliptical shape when viewed in the axial direction, and is disposed so that a plane including the elliptical shape is orthogonal to the axis of the spiral member 23.

  Further, the toner removing member 54 ′ does not have a portion corresponding to the twisted portion, but has a toner scraping portion 54 b ′ that contacts the surface of the spiral member. The toner scraping portion 54 b ′ is formed in a substantially V shape when viewed in the axial direction, and is disposed so that a plane including the V shape is orthogonal to the axis of the spiral member 23.

  In addition, the said embodiment is only an explanatory example, The scope of the present invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Based on the meaning of this invention, the shape, dimension, material, etc. of each component are changed. It is possible that they are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the above-described toner removing member may be provided in the cleaning device 16. FIG. 15 is a view showing a state where the toner removing member is provided in the cleaning device shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the above-described toner removing member 36 is provided in the cleaning device 16 in order to remove the toner adhering to the toner conveying spiral member 16d. More specifically, the toner removing member 36 is provided in the container 16b so that at least a part thereof is in contact with the surface of the toner conveying spiral member 16d, and is attached to the support member 48 attached in the container 16b. It becomes the structure supported. Then, with the rotation of the toner conveying spiral member 16d, the longitudinal direction F of the shaft 16e of the toner conveying spiral member 16d and the longitudinal direction F in a state where the toner removing member 36 is in contact with the surface of the toner conveying spiral member 16d. It is set as the structure which moves to the directions G1 and G2 (refer FIG. 2) orthogonal to. Therefore, the toner adhering to the spiral blades 16f and the shaft 16e can be scraped off sufficiently, and the cleaning device 16 can effectively prevent the generation of aggregated toner.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the shape of the toner scraping portion of the toner removing member as viewed from the front is formed into a substantially elliptical shape or a substantially V shape, but if it is a shape that can sufficiently scrape the adhered toner, Any shape is acceptable. For example, the front view shape of the toner scraping portion can be a substantially triangular shape, a substantially square shape, or the like. Even in such a shape, the durability of the toner removing member with respect to the force applied when the toner conveying spiral member rotates is drastically similar to the case of the substantially elliptical shape or the substantially V-shaped shape described above. Therefore, it is possible to easily extend the life of the toner removing member.

  In the above embodiment, the digital copying machine is shown as an example of the image forming apparatus in the above embodiment, but it goes without saying that it may be another image forming apparatus such as a facsimile or a printer.

  Examples of use of the present invention relate to a developing device that performs development by electrophotographic development using toner, and in particular, a developing device that prevents the generation of aggregated toner and an image forming apparatus equipped with the developing device.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a developing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The front view at the time of seeing the spiral member provided in the developing device shown in FIG. 2 from the opposite side to the photoreceptor. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process in which attached toner is removed by a toner removing member of the developing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the image development apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The front view at the time of seeing the spiral member provided in the developing device shown in FIG. 5 from the photoreceptor side. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process in which attached toner is removed by a toner removing member of a developing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a partially enlarged view when the developing device shown in FIG. 6 is viewed from above. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process in which attached toner is removed by a toner removing member of a developing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a partially enlarged view of the developing device shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is an external perspective view showing a toner removing member of a developing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a manufacturing process of a toner removing member according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an external perspective view showing a toner removing member of a developing device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an external perspective view illustrating a toner removing member of a developing device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is an external perspective view showing a toner removing member of a developing device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is an external perspective view showing a toner removing member of a developing device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state where a toner removing member is provided in the cleaning device illustrated in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Paper feed part 3 Paper conveyance part 4 Image formation part 5 Fixing part 14 Developing apparatus 16 Cleaning apparatus 16b Container 16d Spiral member 22 for toner conveyance Container 23 First spiral member 24 Second spiral member 27 Developing roller 30, 31 Blade 16e, 32, 33 Shaft 34 Partition member 36, 37, 42, 50, 52, 52 ', 54, 54' Toner removal member 36a, 52a, 52a 'Torsion part 38 Support member 39a, 44, 50b, 52b, 52b ', 54b Toner scraping section 40 Stirring chamber 41 Developing chamber 50' Coil spring 50 "continuum

Claims (15)

A toner conveying device for conveying toner in one direction,
A container for storing toner;
A spiral member that includes a rotatable shaft provided in the container and a spiral blade provided on a peripheral surface of the shaft, and rotates to convey the toner in the longitudinal direction of the shaft;
A toner removing member that can contact the surface of the spiral member and removes toner adhered to the spiral member by rotation of the spiral member;
A toner conveying device.   The toner conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the toner removing member is formed of a metal wire having elasticity.   3. The toner transport according to claim 2, wherein the toner removing member has a toner scraping portion that extends so as to approach the shaft from a side away from the shaft of the spiral member and can come into contact with the surface of the spiral member. apparatus.   The toner conveying device according to claim 3, wherein the toner scraping portion has a substantially elliptical shape.   The toner conveying device according to claim 3, wherein a shape of the toner scraping portion is substantially V-shaped.   The toner conveying device according to claim 3, wherein a virtual plane formed by the toner scraping portion is a plane parallel to an axis of the spiral member.   The toner conveying device according to claim 3, wherein a virtual plane formed by the toner scraping portion is a plane orthogonal to an axis of the spiral member. A support member disposed along the axial direction of the spiral member;
The toner removing member is inserted between adjacent blades of the spiral member and supports a plurality of toner scraping portions that can come into contact with the surface of the spiral member, and supports the plurality of toner scraping portions on the support member. Having a support part,
The toner conveying device according to claim 1.   The toner conveying device according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of toner scraping portions are formed continuously with each other.   The toner conveying device according to claim 9, wherein the toner removing member is formed by extending both ends of a coil spring having a predetermined shape having a plurality of turns in the axial direction of the spiral member.   10. The toner conveying device according to claim 9, wherein the toner removing member is formed by extending both ends of a coil spring having a predetermined shape having a plurality of turns in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the spiral member. A developing device for forming a toner image on an image carrier provided in an image forming unit of an image forming apparatus,
A container for storing toner;
A developing roller supported in the container and for supplying toner to the image carrier;
A spiral member that includes a rotatable shaft provided in the container and a spiral blade provided on a peripheral surface of the shaft, and rotates to convey the toner in the longitudinal direction of the shaft;
A toner removing member that can contact the surface of the spiral member and removes toner adhered to the spiral member by rotation of the spiral member;
A developing device comprising: The container includes a stirring chamber that receives the toner supply and that stirs the toner, and a developing chamber in which a developing roller that guides the toner onto the surface of the photosensitive member is installed.
A partition member that partitions the stirring chamber and the developing chamber so that the stirring chamber and the developing chamber can communicate with each other;
A toner removing member for a partition member for removing toner adhering to the partition member;
Further comprising
13. The partition member toner removing member can contact a surface of the spiral member, and contacts the surface of the partition member in contact with the surface of the spiral member by rotation of the spiral member. The developing device described.   The developing device according to claim 13, wherein the toner removing member for the partition member is formed of a metal wire having elasticity. A paper storage unit for storing paper, and a paper feeding unit for feeding out the paper from the paper storage unit;
A paper transport unit for transporting paper from the paper feed unit;
An image forming unit that forms a toner image on a sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying unit;
A fixing unit for fixing a toner image on a sheet formed by the image forming unit;
With
The image forming unit includes an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface based on image information, and a developing device for forming a toner image on the image carrier,
The developing device includes:
A container for storing toner;
A developing roller supported in the container and for supplying toner to the image carrier;
A spiral member that includes a rotatable shaft provided in the container and a spiral blade provided on a peripheral surface of the shaft, and rotates to convey the toner in the longitudinal direction of the shaft;
A toner removing member that can contact the surface of the spiral member and removes toner adhered to the spiral member by rotation of the spiral member;
An image forming apparatus.

Images