JP2008058588A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing aggregation of toner in a toner container without troubling a user with simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 10 includes an apparatus body side driving transmitting mechanism 78 for transmitting rotational driving force from a driving source disposed on an apparatus body 12 side to the toner container 32 side, and a toner container side driving transmitting mechanism 76 for receiving the rotational driving force and driving a stirring mechanism 60. The rotational driving force is transmitted to the toner container 32 side through a driving transmitting member 100 elastically supported on the apparatus body 12 side. When overload is applied to the stirring mechanism 60 at the point of time when the rotational driving force is transmitted, the driving transmitting member 100 is separated to the toner container side against the elastic force and is restored to the toner container side by the elastic force again. At this point, the driving transmitting member 100 allows the toner container 32 to generate vibration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and a complex machine thereof, and in particular, an image forming apparatus configured so that toner in a toner container for supplying toner to developing means can be removed. About.

Conventionally, for example, a developing roller of a developing device is disposed in a developing portion of a photosensitive member, and toner is supplied from a toner container (toner cartridge) that is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus by using stirring means or charging means. There are known image forming apparatuses.
In this image forming apparatus, immediately after the toner in the toner container is replaced, or when the image forming apparatus has not been used for a long time, the image forming apparatus can be operated normally even if the image forming apparatus is operated. So-called blocking, which cannot be performed, has been pointed out as a problem. This blocking phenomenon is caused by, for example, vibration during shipping and transportation of the toner container and the weight of the toner itself, so that the toners in the toner container are more easily aggregated and solidified than usual, and the torque of the toner stirring mechanism is increased. It is believed that the increase is caused by a substantial increase in the toner operating resistance with respect to the toner carry-out motor. When such a blocking phenomenon occurs, not only the image forming process such as printing and copying by the image forming apparatus is hindered, but also the stirring mechanism malfunctions, and the toner carry-out motor and speed reducer are driven. There is a risk of damage to the gear and shaft of the mechanism.

Therefore, in order to prevent such damage to the drive mechanism due to blocking, various image forming apparatuses having a function of releasing the toner in the toner container have been proposed in recent years.
That is, a conventional image forming apparatus as a background of the present invention includes, for example, a lock lever for fixing a process cartridge to a color printer body, a lock lever gear that rotates in conjunction with a fixing operation of the lock lever, and a developer. Some have a stirring member drive gear that transmits a driving force to the stirring member (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this image forming apparatus, since the lock lever gear and the stirring member driving gear are meshed with each other during the locking operation of the lock lever, the developer stirring member is also rotated by rotating the stirring member driving gear together with the rotation operation of the lock lever. The developer in the process cartridge is agitated.

Further, the conventional toner cartridge as the background of the present invention includes a cartridge main body that contains a developer containing at least toner, and a conveying member that is disposed inside the cartridge main body and conveys the developer to the discharge port while stirring the developer. And a drive member that is rotatably attached to the cartridge body with one end of the transport member fixed, and a manual rotation member that is mounted outside the cartridge body and rotates the drive member ( For example, see Patent Document 2).
In this toner cartridge, when a new toner cartridge is installed in the printer main body, the cap member (manual rotation member) screwed into the end of the toner cartridge main body is manually rotated and removed, and the cap member is rotated. In accordance with the moving operation, the engagement protrusion provided on the inner surface of the end portion of the cap member and the coupling member (drive member) engaged through the engagement hole are rotationally driven. At this time, the agitator (conveying member) fixed to the coupling member is also driven to rotate at least once. Therefore, even when the developer contained in the toner cartridge is fixed or aggregated, the fixed or aggregated developer is used for the operation of removing the cap member before the toner cartridge is mounted on the printer body. Accordingly, the mixture is forcibly stirred once or a plurality of times, so that the sticking or aggregation state is eliminated.

Further, in a detachable (cartridge type) developer housing case which is detachably mounted on a conventional image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer which is the background of the present invention, development that stirs and conveys the developer. The developer stirring / conveying member is rotatably arranged, and has a tape member that is pulled out and removed in one direction, and an interlocking mechanism that rotates the developer stirring / conveying member in the forward direction in conjunction with the drawing operation of the tape member. (For example, refer to Patent Document 3).
According to this developer storage case, when the tape member is pulled out when a new storage case is mounted on the developing device main body (or image forming apparatus main body), the developer agitating / conveying member moves in the forward direction in conjunction with the pulling operation. By rotating in the (rotational direction during normal operation), even when the developer contained in the case is aggregated, the aggregated developer developer in the case is loosened.

  Further, a conventional image forming apparatus as a background of the present invention includes a developing sleeve for developing a latent image formed on a photosensitive drum, a toner container for storing toner, and a toner seal for sealing an opening of the toner container. Some have a toner stirring member that stirs the toner in the toner container in conjunction with the operation of removing the toner seal from the toner container (see, for example, Patent Document 4). In this image forming apparatus, as the user pulls out the toner seal with the handle member, the toner agitating member also moves in conjunction with the toner, so that the toner in the toner container is sufficiently agitated by the toner agitating member, Torque required for driving at the time of fixing can be reduced.

JP 2005-55749 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-45779 JP 11-119535 A JP 2002-156815 A

However, Patent Document 1 requires a lock structure in which new components such as a lock lever, a lock lever gear, and a stirring member driving gear are attached to a color printer main body and fixed so that it cannot be easily removed. For this reason, the structure of the developing device (toner container) is complicated.
Moreover, in patent document 2, it is comprised so that a cap member (manual rotation member) may be rotated manually and a coupling member (drive member) may be rotationally driven, and in patent document 3, a new storage case is attached to the developing device main body ( Alternatively, the developer agitating and conveying member that agitates and conveys the developer can be rotated by pulling out the tape member when the image forming apparatus is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body). The toner stirring member is operated by pulling out the toner, that is, in other words, in any case of Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, and Patent Document 4, the member is manually operated. Therefore, the toner is removed so that it is troublesome and time consuming. Moreover, the structure itself for manually operating the member is complicated.
That is, in the conventional image forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4, the number of parts is increased, the structure is complicated, and manual work is required, which is troublesome and troublesome. was there.

  Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to prevent malfunction of the stirring mechanism and damage to the drive transmission mechanism such as the carry-out motor and the speed reducer due to the aggregation of toner in the toner container with a simple structure without trouble. It is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of doing so.

The present invention according to claim 1 is a photoconductor on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a developing unit that supplies toner to the surface of the photoconductor to form a toner image, and a toner that is stored in the developing unit. An image forming apparatus including a toner container for replenishing toner and an agitating mechanism for agitating the toner in the toner container, wherein a rotational driving force is input from a driving source disposed on the image forming apparatus main body side, An apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism that outputs rotational driving force to the toner container side, and a toner container side drive transmission mechanism that receives the rotational driving force output from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism and drives the stirring mechanism, The rotational driving force from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism is transmitted to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism via the drive transmission member elastically supported on the image forming apparatus main body side, and the apparatus main body side When the rotational driving force is transmitted from the motion transmission mechanism to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, if the load applied to the agitation mechanism is overloaded, the drive transmission member resists the elastic force in the state of being elastically supported. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that after being separated from the connection state with the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, the image forming apparatus is again restored to the connection state with the toner container side drive transmission mechanism by elastic force.
In the present invention according to claim 1, when the rotational driving force is transmitted from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, if the load applied to the agitation mechanism is overloaded, the drive transmission member is elastic. In the direction of once separating from the connection state with the toner container side drive transmission mechanism against the elastic force in the state of being supported, in this case, from the toner container side drive transmission mechanism side to the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism side. Moving. Thereafter, the drive transmission member moves again from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism side to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism side by the elastic force, and returns to the connection state with the toner container side drive transmission mechanism. At this time, the drive transmission member collides with the original connection portion of the toner container side drive transmission mechanism to which the drive transmission member is connected, so that vibration is applied to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism and the toner container. It will be.
Due to this vibration, the toner stored in the toner container is released, so that it is possible to prevent toner aggregation in the toner container causing the load on the stirring mechanism. Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, it is possible to prevent a malfunction of the stirring mechanism and damage to a drive transmission mechanism such as a carry-out motor or a speed reducer due to toner aggregation in the toner container. In this image forming apparatus, the elastic force of the drive transmission member that is elastically supported on the image forming apparatus main body side is used, and if the load applied to the stirring mechanism is overloaded, the toner container automatically Since the toner is released by applying vibration to the toner, the toner is released by manually operating a member as in the prior art (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). Unlike the configuration, the number of parts is not increased and the structure is not complicated. In other words, this image forming apparatus has a very simple structure in which the structure for releasing the toner is not time-consuming.
In this image forming apparatus, the elastic force of the drive transmission member is used to apply vibration to the toner container, thereby preventing toner from adhering to the inner wall surface of the toner container and causing toner to adhere to the inner wall surface of the toner container. When the toner adheres, the toner adhered by the vibration is shaken off. Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, it is possible to stably supply the toner in the toner container to the developing unit, and in turn, it is possible to stabilize the amount of toner supplied from the developing unit to the surface of the photoreceptor. It becomes. In other words, in this image forming apparatus, the amount of toner remaining in the toner container can be reduced as much as possible, the running cost can be reduced, and so-called industrial waste can be reduced.
The present invention according to claim 2 is an invention dependent on the invention according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism includes a gear train, the drive transmission member is included in the gear train, and the agitation mechanism includes An image forming apparatus, wherein: a drive transmission member is arranged in a gear train so that a separation direction of the drive transmission member when the load becomes an overload is a direction not hitting the gear train .
In the present invention according to claim 2, the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism includes a gear train, and the drive transmission member is included in the gear train. In this case, since the drive transmission member is arranged in the gear train so that the separation direction of the drive transmission member when the load applied to the agitation mechanism becomes an overload is not in contact with the gear train, the drive transmission member Even if the toner moves from the toner container side drive transmission mechanism side to the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism side, there is no adverse effect on the gear train that interferes with the meshing of the gear train.
The present invention according to claim 3 is an invention dependent on the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the drive transmission member is a drive transmission gear that is rotatably supported by an elastic shaft portion. The toner container side drive transmission mechanism includes another drive transmission gear that meshes with the drive transmission gear and transmits the rotational driving force to the stirring mechanism. When the load applied to the stirring mechanism becomes overloaded, the drive transmission gear The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the shaft portion is disposed so as to bend in a direction in which the meshing between the gear and the other drive transmission gear is separated.
In the present invention according to claim 3, the drive transmission member includes a drive transmission gear, and the drive transmission gear is rotatably supported by a shaft portion having elasticity. The drive transmission gear meshes with another drive transmission gear disposed in the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, so that the rotational drive force from the apparatus main body side is changed from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism. Is transmitted to. In this case, when the load applied to the agitation mechanism becomes an overload above a certain level, the drive transmission gear is subjected to a load from another drive transmission gear arranged in the toner container side drive transmission mechanism.
At this time, since the shaft portion supporting the drive transmission gear has elasticity, the elastic force causes the engagement between the drive transmission gear and the other drive transmission gear to bend away and bend away, The drive transmission gear moves in that direction. After that, the drive transmission gear moves again from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism side to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism side by the elastic force, and another drive transmission gear side of the toner container side drive transmission mechanism side. Engage. In other words, tooth skipping occurs between the meshes of the drive transmission gear and the other drive transmission gear.
In this case, the drive transmission gear collides with the other drive transmission gears of the toner container side drive transmission mechanism with which the drive transmission gear is engaged, so that the toner container side drive transmission mechanism and the toner container vibrate. Will be granted. Due to this vibration, the toner stored in the toner container is released, so that it is possible to prevent toner aggregation in the toner container causing the load on the stirring mechanism.
The present invention according to claim 4 is an invention dependent on the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the toner container is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the toner container is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body. When the present invention according to claim 4 is dependent on the invention according to claim 1 or 2, when the toner container is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the toner container is elastically supported on the image forming apparatus main body side. The drive transmission member is connected to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, can transmit the rotational driving force from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism, and can drive the stirring mechanism. Further, when the present invention according to claim 4 is dependent on the invention according to claim 3, when the toner container is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the drive transmission is included in the gear train of the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism. The gear and the other drive transmission gear of the toner container side drive transmission mechanism mesh with each other so that the rotational drive force from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism can be transmitted, and the agitation mechanism can be driven.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the malfunction of the stirring mechanism due to the aggregation of the toner in the toner container and the breakage of the drive transmission mechanism such as the carry-out motor and the speed reducer can be avoided with a simple structure. Can be prevented.

  The above object, other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram schematically showing an example of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter simply referred to as “apparatus main body”) 12. An image forming unit 14 is configured at a substantially central portion in the apparatus main body 12. The image forming unit 14 includes a photoreceptor unit 16, a developing unit 18 as a developing unit, and a transfer roller 20 as a transfer unit, for example. The transfer roller 20 is disposed on the apparatus main body 12 side. As the transfer portion, in addition to the transfer roller 20, a transfer portion such as a corona transfer method and a bias roller transfer method can be used as appropriate.

  The photoreceptor unit 16 includes a drum-type photoreceptor 22 on which an electrostatic image is formed. A charger 24 is disposed around the photoreceptor 22. In addition, a laser scanning unit 26 including an exposure unit that irradiates laser light onto the surface of the site downstream of the charging unit 24 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive member 22 is disposed in the upper part of the apparatus main body 12. Further, around the photosensitive member 22, a cleaning device 28 that removes toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive member 22 that has passed through the transfer roller 20, and a waste toner case that accumulates toner collected by the cleaning device 28 ( (Not shown) is provided.

  The developing unit 18 includes a developing chamber 18A, and a two-component developer (hereinafter simply referred to as “toner”) composed of, for example, a magnetic toner and a carrier is accommodated in the developing chamber 18A. Further, the developing unit 18 includes, for example, a developing roller 30 that supplies toner to the electrostatic image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 22 and forms a toner image. The developing roller 30 is supported by the developing chamber 18A. A toner container 32 for supplying toner to the developing unit 18 is detachably attached to the developing unit 18. Further, for example, two toner agitating / conveying members 34a and 34b are disposed in the developing chamber 18A of the developing unit 18 with a gap therebetween. The two toner agitating and conveying members 34a and 34b have a plurality of rotating blades 35a and 35b, respectively, and convey the toner replenished from the toner container 32 to the developing roller 30.

  On the other hand, a recording sheet conveyance path R for conveying a recording sheet (not shown) such as a print sheet or a plastic film is disposed at a substantially central portion in the height direction in the apparatus main body 12. A paper feed cassette 36 that accommodates the recording sheet is detachably disposed at a lower portion in the vertical direction. The recording sheet conveyance path R extends between the photoconductor 22 and the transfer roller 20 and extends substantially horizontally in the tangential direction thereof. The area on the upstream end side of the recording sheet conveyance path R is inverted downward and connected to the paper feed cassette 36, and the area on the downstream end of the recording sheet conveyance path R is provided to extend upward, and is a discharge tray. 38.

  In the recording sheet conveyance path R, a registration roller 40 is disposed on the upstream side of the photosensitive member 22, and a conveyance roller 42 is disposed on the further upstream side. Further, a paper feed / separation roller 44 is disposed at the upstream end of the recording sheet conveyance path R, and a pickup roller 46 is disposed between the upstream side of the paper feed / separation roller 44 and the upper portion of the paper feed cassette 36. Is arranged.

  In the recording sheet conveyance path R, a fixing unit 48, conveyance rollers 50 and 52, and a discharge roller 54 are disposed on the downstream side of the photosensitive member 22. While the recording sheet (not shown) fed from the sheet feeding cassette 36 is conveyed along the recording sheet conveyance path R, the image forming unit 14 causes the recording sheet (not shown) to be placed on the surface of the recording sheet (not shown). A toner image is recorded, and the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 48. Then, the recording sheet (not shown) on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed further downstream in the recording sheet conveyance path R, and is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 38 via the conveyance rollers 50 and 52 and the discharge roller 54. Will be.

In particular, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has a mechanism for releasing the toner in the toner container (hereinafter referred to as “toner releasing mechanism”) that replenishes the developing means with toner. The simple mechanism prevents the malfunction of the agitating mechanism and the breakage of the drive transmission mechanism such as the carry-out motor and the speed reducer due to the toner aggregation in the toner container without trouble. be able to.
Therefore, in describing the mechanism for releasing the toner stored in the toner container 32 according to the present embodiment, first, the toner container 32 and the stirring mechanism will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a toner container according to the present embodiment and a developing unit to which the toner container is mounted. FIG. 3 illustrates a state in which the toner container according to the present embodiment is mounted to the developing unit. It is a perspective view.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the toner container 32 includes a toner container main body 56 that stores toner therein, and a lid 58 is attached to the upper portion of the toner container main body 56 so as to be openable and closable. . The toner container 32 is provided with a stirring mechanism 60 that stirs the toner stored in the toner container main body 56.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing configurations of the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism, the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, and the agitation mechanism according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is an apparatus main body side drive transmission according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating the configuration of the mechanism, the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, and the agitation mechanism. FIG. 6 schematically illustrates the configuration of the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism, the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, and the agitation mechanism according to the present embodiment. FIG.
In particular, the stirring mechanism 60 includes a rotation drive shaft 62 disposed inside the toner container main body 56, for example, as shown in FIG. The rotation drive shaft 62 is rotatably supported on the side wall portions on both sides in the width direction of the toner container main body 56. An end portion in the axial direction of the rotation drive shaft 62 is disposed so as to protrude from the side wall portion of the toner container main body 56. A rotation drive gear 64 is fixed on the same axis as the rotation drive shaft 62 at the end protruding from the side wall portion of the toner container main body 56, and can be rotated integrally with the rotation drive shaft 62. . Further, the rotary drive shaft 62 is provided with a plurality of toner stirring members 66 around it. Each of the plurality of toner stirring members 66 includes, for example, a rectangular stirring blade 68 that is disposed so as to protrude perpendicular to the rotation drive shaft 62. Each of the plurality of stirring blades 68 has, for example, a rectangular through portion 70, and is arranged with a predetermined interval in the axial direction of the rotary drive shaft 62 and with a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the rotary drive shaft 62. Has been. Each of the stirring blades 68 is provided with a PET film sheet or the like as a flexible sheet-like member (not shown) for stirring the toner.

  In particular, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, the toner container 32 is configured to be detachably mounted in the toner container housing portion S of the developing unit 18 disposed on the apparatus main body 12 side. The toner container 32 is configured such that the rotational driving force from the apparatus main body 12 side is transmitted to the rotational driving gear 64. In this case, an intermediate gear 72 is rotatably supported by the intermediate shaft portion 74 outside the toner container main body 56. The intermediate gear 72 meshes with the rotation drive gear 64, and the rotation drive force from the apparatus main body 12 side is transmitted to the rotation drive gear 64 via the intermediate gear 72. The driving source of the rotational driving force includes, for example, an electric motor (not shown) disposed in the apparatus main body 12. In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the toner container side drive transmission mechanism 76 is configured by the rotation drive shaft 62, the rotation drive gear 64, the intermediate gear 72, and the intermediate shaft portion 74. The stirring member 66 of the stirring mechanism 60 is driven by receiving a rotational driving force from a drive source (not shown) disposed on the side.

  Next, the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism 78 that receives a rotational driving force from a driving source (not shown) disposed on the apparatus main body 12 side and outputs the rotational driving force to the toner container 32 side will be described. The apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism 78 particularly includes a gear train 80 disposed on the apparatus main body 12 side, for example, as shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the gear train 80 is a drive transmission gear that meshes with a drive gear 82 to which a rotational drive force from a drive source (not shown) such as an electric motor disposed in the apparatus main body 12 is input. 84. The drive transmission gear 84 is rotatably supported by the shaft portion 86. In this case, the drive transmission gear 84 is engaged with the drive gear 82 when the developing unit 18 is attached to the apparatus main body 12.

  In this embodiment, when a rotational driving force from the apparatus main body 12 side is input to the drive transmission gear 84, the developing roller 30 and the two toner agitation transport members 34 are rotationally driven by the rotational driving force. It has become. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the developing roller 30 is formed such that the rotation drive gear 90 is fixed on the coaxial line of the rotation drive shaft 88 and can be rotated integrally with the rotation drive shaft 88. Further, the two toner agitating and conveying members 34a and 34b are respectively fixed to the coaxial lines of the rotational drive shafts 92a and 92b with the rotational drive gears 94a and 94b so that they can be rotated integrally with the rotational drive shafts 92a and 92b. Is formed.

  The rotational drive gears 92a and 92b of the two toner agitating and conveying members 34a and 34b are respectively meshed with the intermediate gears 98 rotatably supported by the intermediate shaft portions 96, and the drive transmission gears 84 are engaged. The rotational driving force received from the apparatus main body 12 side is transmitted to the rotational driving gear 90 and the rotational driving gears 92a and 92b via the intermediate gears 98, respectively. In this case, each intermediate shaft portion 96 is fixed and supported by the developing unit 18, and each intermediate gear 98 is rotatably supported around each intermediate shaft portion 96. It has a function as a transmission gear.

Further, the rotational driving force from the apparatus main body 12 received by the drive transmission gear 84 is, for example, via the drive transmission member 100 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the intermediate gear 72 of the toner container side drive transmission mechanism 76. Is transmitted to.
In this embodiment, the drive transmission member 100 is included in the gear train 80, and the drive transmission member 100 is elastically supported by the developing unit 18. The drive transmission member 100 includes a shaft portion 102 having elasticity. The shaft portion 102 is fixed and supported by the developing unit 18. A drive transmission gear 104 is rotatably supported at an intermediate portion of the shaft portion 102 in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, the shaft portion 102 is formed of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resin, or the like. Further, the drive transmission gear 104 is made of polyacetal (POM) resin or the like, and is made of a material that is slightly more flexible than the shaft portion 102.
2 and 3, when the toner container 32 is mounted in the toner container housing portion S of the developing unit 18, the drive transmission gear 104 is driven on the toner container side, for example, as shown in FIG. The transmission mechanism 76 is configured to mesh with the intermediate gear 72. In this case, the intermediate gear 72 has a function as another drive transmission gear that meshes with the drive transmission gear 104 and transmits the rotational driving force from the apparatus main body 12 side to the toner stirring member 66 of the stirring mechanism 60. is there.
In this embodiment, gears other than the rotation drive gear 64 of the toner stirring member on the toner container 32 side, the intermediate gear 72 on the toner container 32 side, and the drive gear 82 on the apparatus main body 12 side are mounted on the developing unit 18. . The toner container 32 is mounted on the apparatus main body 12 side via the developing unit 18 as in the present embodiment, but the toner container 32 is configured to be mounted directly on the apparatus main body 12 side. It can be done. In this embodiment, the shaft portion 102 of the drive transmission member 100 is elastically supported by the developing unit 18. However, the shaft portion 102 is directly elastically attached to the apparatus main body 12. It may be configured to be supported, or may be appropriately configured to be elastically supported on the apparatus main body 12 side indirectly via the developing unit 18. In this case, the expression “the apparatus main body 12 side” includes both the apparatus main body 12 itself and the developing unit 18 that is fixedly incorporated in the apparatus main body 12 or detachably mounted.

Next, a mechanism for releasing the toner stored in the toner container 32 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an essential part for explaining the toner releasing action according to the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, when a rotational driving force is transmitted from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism 78 to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism 76, when a torque exceeding a certain level is applied to the toner stirring member 66, that is, stirring is performed. When the load applied to the mechanism 60 becomes an overload, the drive transmission gear 104 is engaged with the drive transmission gear 104 by the elastic force of the shaft portion 102, for example, as shown in FIG. The meshing of 76 with the intermediate gear 72 escapes and bends away from the intermediate gear 72. Therefore, the drive transmission gear 104 temporarily moves in a separating direction away from the intermediate gear 72. Thereafter, the drive transmission gear 104 is restored and moved from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism 78 side to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism 76 side by the elastic force of the shaft portion 102 again, and the toner container side drive transmission mechanism 76 side is restored. Mesh with the intermediate gear 72. That is, in the present embodiment, the tooth skip phenomenon is intentionally generated between the meshes of the drive transmission gear 104 and the intermediate gear 72 using the elastic force of the shaft portion 102.

  In this case, in the present exemplary embodiment, when the toner stirring member 66 of the stirring mechanism 60 is applied with a certain torque or more, even if the drive transmission gear 104 is skipped, the separation direction of the drive transmission gear 104 is the toner. The drive transmission gears 104 are arranged in the gear train 80 so that the intermediate shaft portions 96 and the intermediate gear 98 constituting the gear train 80 of the container side drive transmission mechanism 76 are not in contact with each other. Therefore, even if the drive transmission gear 104 moves from the toner container side drive transmission mechanism 76 side to the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism 78 side, the meshing of the intermediate gears 98 and the like of the gear train 80 is not hindered.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the tooth transmission phenomenon occurs between the meshes of the drive transmission gear 104 and the intermediate gear 72, the drive transmission gear 104 collides with the intermediate gear 72. Vibrations are generated in the toner container main body 56 via the intermediate shaft portion 74. In this way, by applying vibration to the toner container main body 56, the toner stored in the toner container main body 56 is released. Therefore, aggregation of the toner in the toner container 32 which is a factor of overload of the rotational torque applied to the toner stirring member 66 that stirs the toner in the toner container main body 56 can be prevented.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the malfunction of the toner agitating member 66 due to toner aggregation in the toner container 32 and the gears and shafts provided in the toner container side drive transmission mechanism 76 and the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism 78 are provided. Damage to parts and the like can be prevented. In this embodiment, since the drive transmission gear 104 is elastically supported by the shaft portion 102 on the apparatus main body 12 side, the toner agitating member 66 is applied with a certain rotational torque by using the elastic force. For example, the configuration is such that the toner in the toner container main body 56 is automatically oscillated to release the toner. Therefore, the configuration of the prior art in which the toner is released by manually operating a member is described. It will be different, and the number of parts will not increase and the structure will not become complicated. Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the structure for releasing the toner can be a very simple structure that does not require time and effort.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the toner is attached to the inner wall surface of the toner container 32 by applying vibration to the toner container 32 using the elastic force of the shaft portion 102 of the drive transmission member 100. In addition, the toner attached to the inner wall surface of the toner container 32 can be shaken off by the vibration. Therefore, the toner in the toner container 32 can be stably replenished to the developing unit 18, and the supply amount of toner from the developing unit 18 to the surface of the photoreceptor 22 can be stabilized. That is, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the amount of toner remaining in the toner container 32 can be reduced as much as possible, so that the running cost can be reduced and so-called industrial waste can be reduced. Will also be achieved.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram schematically illustrating an example of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a toner container and a developing unit in which the toner container is mounted according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the toner container according to the exemplary embodiment is mounted on the developing unit. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating configurations of an apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism, a toner container side drive transmission mechanism, and an agitation mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating the configuration of the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism, the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, and the agitation mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view schematically showing configurations of an apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism, a toner container side drive transmission mechanism, and an agitation mechanism according to the embodiment. It is a principal part perspective view for demonstrating the toner releasing action concerning the present embodiment example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 12 Image forming apparatus main body 14 Image forming unit 16 Photosensitive unit 18 Developing unit 20 Transfer roller 22 Photosensitive member 24 Charger 26 Laser scanning unit 28 Cleaning device 30 Developing roller 32 Toner container 34a, 34b Toner stirring conveyance member 35a , 35b Rotating blade 36 Paper feed cassette 38 Paper discharge tray 40 Registration roller 42, 50, 52 Transport roller 44 Paper feed / separation roller 46 Pickup roller 48 Fixing unit 54 Discharge roller 56 Toner container main body 58 Lid 60 Agitating mechanism 62 Toner agitation Rotation drive shaft of member 64 Rotation drive gear of toner stirring member 66 Toner stirring member 68 Stirring blade 70 Through portion 72 Intermediate gear on toner container side 74 Intermediate shaft portion on toner container side 76 Toner core Tena side drive transmission mechanism 78 Device main body side drive transmission mechanism 80 Gear train 82 Drive main body side drive gear 84 Drive transmission gear meshing with device main unit side drive gear 86 Shaft 88 Rotating drive shaft of developing roller 90 Rotating developing roller Drive gears 92a, 92b Rotation drive shafts 94a, 94b of the toner stirring and conveying member Rotation drive gears of the toner stirring and conveying member 96 Intermediate shaft portion of the gear train 98 Intermediate gear of the gear train 100 Drive transmission member 102 Shaft portion 104 Drive transmission gear R Recording sheet conveyance path S Toner container storage

Claims (4)

A photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed; a developing unit that supplies toner to the surface of the photosensitive member to form a toner image; and a toner that contains the toner and replenishes the developing unit with toner An image forming apparatus including a container and a stirring mechanism for stirring the toner in the toner container,
A rotation driving force is input from a driving source disposed on the image forming apparatus main body side, and the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism that outputs the rotation driving force to the toner container side, and an output from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism A toner container side drive transmission mechanism that receives the rotational driving force and drives the stirring mechanism,
The rotational driving force from the apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism is transmitted to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism via a drive transmission member elastically supported on the image forming apparatus main body side, and the apparatus When the rotational driving force is transmitted from the main body side drive transmission mechanism to the toner container side drive transmission mechanism, when the load applied to the agitation mechanism is overloaded, the drive transmission member is elastically supported. After being once separated from the connection state with the toner container side drive transmission mechanism against the elastic force in the state, the state is again restored to the connection state with the toner container side drive transmission mechanism by the elastic force. An image forming apparatus. The apparatus main body side drive transmission mechanism includes a gear train, and the drive transmission member is included in the gear train,
The drive transmission member is arranged in the gear train so that a separation direction of the drive transmission member when the load applied to the stirring mechanism is overloaded is a direction that does not contact the gear train. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The drive transmission member includes a drive transmission gear rotatably supported by a shaft portion having elasticity,
The toner container side drive transmission mechanism includes another drive transmission gear that meshes with the drive transmission gear and transmits the rotational driving force to the stirring mechanism.
When the load applied to the stirring mechanism is overloaded, the shaft portion is arranged to bend in a direction in which the meshing between the drive transmission gear and the other drive transmission gear is separated. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus.

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