JP2008185746A - Developer replenisher - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developer replenisher suppressing blocking and incorrect detection of a toner sensor, uniformly supplying toner over the whole region in a hopper while suppressing deterioration in the toner in a short time, and a development device can be stably replenished with the toner. <P>SOLUTION: The developer replenisher comprises: a stirring means 133 for stirring a developer inside a hopper 130; and a screw 132 provided in the hopper 130 and carrying the developer from the hopper 130 toward a development device. When a first carrying means is not driven, the stirring means is forwardly rotated, the developer in the hopper 130 is carried to the circumference of the screw 132, the screw 132 is driven, and the developer is carried from the hopper 130 toward the development device, and, when the first carrying means is driven, the stirring means is reversely rotated, the developer in the hoper 130 is diffused into the hopper 130, and the screw 132 is not driven. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer replenishing unit that is used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer and replenishes a developer.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 13, the image forming apparatus has a hopper 200 that stores normal toner and replenishes developer (toner) to the developing device. Further, toner is supplied to the buffer unit 202 of the hopper 200 using the toner cartridge 201 or the like.

  The hopper 200 usually has a toner conveying means 205 and a stirring means (not shown). The toner transport unit 205 transports the toner stored in the buffer 202 to the developing device 208. The agitation unit uniformly distributes the toner in the buffer 202, and moves the toner to a location where the toner is reduced by the toner conveying unit 205.

  The buffer 202 has a toner detection sensor (not shown). A toner detection sensor (not shown) detects when the toner has decreased to a predetermined amount or less. The buffer 202 replenishes toner from the toner cartridge 201 based on the detection result of the toner detection sensor, and the toner in the buffer 202 always maintains a constant amount.

  In addition, the conventional hopper often has a vertically long shape (long shape in the vertical direction). In this type of hopper, the toner supplied from the toner cartridge drops and accumulates in the hopper due to gravity. Accumulated toner is supplied to the developing device via a toner supply port by a conveying screw provided in a supply pipe provided on the bottom surface of the hopper.

  However, in such a system in which the toner is filled in the hopper by gravity, the toner bulk density is likely to change due to the remaining amount of toner accumulated in the hopper, and the amount of toner sent to the developing device may not be stable.

  As one means for solving this, there is a system in which the hopper is changed from a conventional vertically long shape to a horizontally long shape (long shape in the horizontal direction), and toner is circulated inside a shallow hopper (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In this method, as shown in FIG. 12, after the toner is supplied from the toner cartridge 201 to the toner supply position 92 of the buffer 202, the toner is circulated and conveyed in the buffer 202 by the agitating screws 89a and 89b to make it uniform. ing. The toner conveyed to the opening 90 by the conveying screw 89c is conveyed to the developing device through a supply pipe (not shown). As a result, the bulk density fluctuation in the hopper can be suppressed as compared with the method in which the hopper is filled with gravity, so that the amount of toner sent to the developing device is stabilized.

  In particular, in a color image forming apparatus, it is necessary to eliminate variations in the amount of replenishment from the hopper to the developing device in order to suppress fluctuations in the density of the output image.

  As one means for that purpose, there is a method using a low fluidity toner whose bulk density hardly changes even under the influence of disturbances such as environmental differences and long-term standing.

JP 2006-119314 A JP-A-3-217879

  However, when toner with low fluidity is used, the conventional circulating and transporting type hopper can level the toner only with the stirring screw when the toner is supplied to the developing device. For this reason, when the toner is not used for a long period of time, the crest of toner does not collapse and stays at the toner replenishing position, which may cause blocking.

  Further, even if the toner is not blocked, the toner does not flow to a position where the toner sensor can detect, and there is a possibility of erroneously detecting that the toner cartridge is empty even though the toner still remains in the cartridge.

  Even if toner with low fluidity is used, the difference between the toner replenishment position and the other bulk density becomes so large that the variation of the replenishment amount may be increased.

  In addition, a large-sized, high-speed, large-volume printer can consume a large amount of developer, and it is necessary to store a large amount of developer in the main body of the apparatus, so that a larger hopper is required. The larger the hopper, the more difficult it is to distribute the toner uniformly throughout the hopper. In particular, since the toner is circulated in the hopper in the above-described conventional example, the circulation time is very long to uniformly distribute the toner throughout the hopper.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a developer replenishing device that can uniformly distribute a developer throughout the hopper and stably replenish the developer to the developing device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the configuration of the developer supply device according to the present invention is characterized by the following.

  According to the present invention, the developer can be uniformly distributed throughout the hopper, and the developer can be replenished stably to the developing device.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment of a developer supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus using the developer supply device according to the present embodiment.

(Image forming device)
The outline until a print image is obtained will be briefly described with reference to FIG.

  Image information sent from a personal computer or the like is converted into an electrical signal by an image processing unit (not shown) and transmitted to a laser scanner. The color printer (image forming apparatus) of this embodiment includes a yellow (Y) laser scanner 51, a magenta (M) laser scanner 52, a cyan (C) laser scanner 53, and a black (Bk) laser. A scanner 54 is provided. Since the operation of the image writing system is the same for all of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, the operation will be described for yellow.

  The laser scanner 51 emits laser light corresponding to image information. The laser beam is scanned by an image signal writing optical system (not shown), folded back by a folding mirror 55 toward the yellow (Y) photosensitive drum 60, and formed on the photosensitive drum 60 to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by the developing device 151.

  The toner image on the photosensitive drum 60 developed by the developing device 151 is transferred to the transfer belt 40 by the primary transfer roller 62. The transfer belt 40 is stretched around three rollers, a tension roller 42, a drive roller 41, and a secondary transfer roller 43, and rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Similarly, the toner images on the photosensitive drums developed by the magenta, cyan, and black developing devices 151 to 154 are sequentially transferred onto the transfer belt 40, and a full-color image is formed on the transfer belt 40.

  On the other hand, the recording sheet S is set in the feeding cassette 1 and stored in the machine. When the feeding cassette 1 is set in the main body, the lifter 4 in the feeding cassette 1 is raised by a lifter motor (not shown), and accordingly, the paper surface of the recording sheet S is also raised and becomes ready for feeding. The recording sheet S starts to move by the rotation of the feeding roller 2, separated one by one by the separation roller pair 3, and conveyed to the registration roller 30 through the conveyance roller row 5. The recording sheet S whose registration is corrected by the registration roller 30 is conveyed to a transfer portion (nip portion between the secondary transfer rollers 43 and 44).

  The full color image previously formed on the transfer belt 40 is transferred onto the recording sheet by the secondary transfer rollers 43 and 44. The recording sheet S to which the image has been transferred is peeled off from the transfer belt 40 by a separation charger (not shown). Then, the toner image on the recording sheet is fixed to the recording sheet by the fixing unit 8 via the conveying unit 7 and discharged to the discharge tray 10 outside the apparatus by the discharge roller row 9 to complete the one-side printing operation.

(Developer supply device 100)
The image forming apparatus has a developer supply device 100 (100a, 100b, 100c, 100d) on the upper part of the main body of the image forming apparatus. The developer supply devices 100a to 100d contain yellow, magenta, cyan, and black developers (toners), and the accommodated toners are developed in each color developing device 151, 152, 153, and 154 in the image forming apparatus main body. Is fed through a transport pipe 170 (see FIG. 4). In the present embodiment, an example of a color printer is described. However, the developer replenishing devices 100a to 100d for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black all have the same configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the developer supply device 100 includes a toner cartridge (first developer container) 120, a hopper (second developer container) 130, a transport pipe 170, and a sub hopper 180.

(First developer container)
As shown in FIG. 5, the toner cartridge 120 contains toner for replenishment to the developing device 151, and the container main body 121 rotates to agitate and convey the toner inside the container main body 121 to the hopper 130. Discharge. The hopper 130 receives the toner discharged from the toner cartridge 120.

  A flat plate-like first conveying means 122 is provided inside the container main body 121 of the toner cartridge 120 (in the first developer container). The first transport unit 122 has a plurality of inclined surfaces 124. The slope 124 is inclined in a direction in which the toner is sent to the discharge port 123 by its own weight.

  A cap 125 is provided at the tip of the toner cartridge 120. The cap 125 slides relative to the container body 121 when the toner cartridge 120 is set in the printer body. As a result, a discharge port 123 for discharging the toner from the container main body 121 is formed. At this time, the container main body 121 side of the cap 125 is engaged with the container main body 121, and the other end side is engaged with the first driving means 126 provided in the printer main body.

  A motor that generates a driving force is used for the first driving means 126. When the first driving means 126 provided in the printer main body is driven, the container main body 121 rotates through the cap 125 engaged therewith. When the container main body 121 rotates, the toner is sequentially conveyed in the direction of the discharge port 123 by the inclined surface 124 of the first conveying means 122 installed inside the container main body 121 and discharged to the hopper 130.

(Second developer container)
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hopper 130 includes a container main body 131, a screw (second conveying means) 132, a stirring means 133, a toner remaining amount detection sensor (not shown), a second drive transmission unit 134, Two drive means 135, a third drive transmission portion 136, and third drive means 137 are provided. The toner discharged from the discharge port 123 of the toner cartridge 120 is replenished from substantially above the screw 132 as shown in FIG.

  The screw 132 is provided inside the container main body 131 and is arranged at the lower center of the container main body 131. The screw 132 is connected to the third drive unit 137 via the third drive transmission unit 136. A conveying pipe 170 is installed below the screw 132.

  A motor that generates a driving force is used as the third driving means 137. As the third driving unit 137 rotates, the screw 132 rotates via the third drive transmission unit 136, and the toner around the screw 132 is conveyed to the conveying pipe 170.

  The transport pipe 170 is driven by a driving means (not shown). The toner transported from the hopper 130 is transported via a transport pipe 170 to a sub hopper 180 (see FIG. 1) provided immediately before the developing device 151.

  Inside the sub hopper 180, a stirring member and a conveying member (not shown) are provided in the same manner as the hopper 130. When the toner in the developing device 151 decreases, the toner is appropriately supplied to the developing device 151. Note that the toner may be directly supplied from the transport pipe 170 to the developing device 151 without using the sub hopper 180.

(Stirring means 133)
The stirring means 133 is provided in the second developer container, and is disposed slightly above the screw 132 at a symmetrical position with the screw 132 interposed therebetween. The agitation unit 133 is connected to the second drive unit 135 via the second drive transmission unit 134. The second drive unit 135 uses a motor capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions to generate a drive force, and the drive force of the second drive unit 135 rotates the stirring unit 133 forward and backward via the second drive transmission unit 134. .

  The stirring unit 133 includes a ring-shaped ring-shaped stirring unit 140 and a bar-shaped bar-shaped stirring unit 141. The rod-shaped stirring unit 141 is disposed at both ends of the ring-shaped stirring unit 140.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the ring-shaped stirring unit 140 tilts the ring-shaped member obliquely (about 45 °) with respect to the rotating shaft 133a. The ring-shaped stirring unit 140 moves the toner in the longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft 133a when driven to rotate. Thereby, the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 120 can be sufficiently spread in the longitudinal direction in the hopper 130. Further, the ring-shaped stirring unit 140 can diffuse the toner in the longitudinal direction regardless of the rotation direction.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the bar-shaped stirring unit 141 has a parallel part 142 and a connecting part 143. The parallel part 142 is provided in parallel with the rotating shaft 133a, and the connecting part 143 extends at a right angle from the rotating shaft 133a and connects the rotating shaft 133a and the parallel part 142. Unlike the ring-shaped stirring unit 140, the bar-shaped stirring unit 141 can move the toner only in the short direction of the hopper 130.

(When the second driving means 135 is rotated forward)
When the second drive unit 135 is rotated forward, the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the stirring unit 133 via the second drive transmission unit 134.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the right bar-shaped stirring unit 141 rotates clockwise (forward rotation) in FIG. 8, and the left bar-shaped stirring unit 141 rotates counterclockwise (forward rotation) in FIG. The toner accumulated in the lower portion of 131 is collected around the screw 132.

  The right ring-shaped stirring unit 140 rotates clockwise (forward rotation) in FIG. 8, and the left ring-shaped stirring unit 140 rotates counterclockwise (forward rotation) in FIG. The toner being collected is collected around the screw 132 while moving in the axial direction.

  For this reason, even when the amount of toner is relatively small as shown in FIG. 8, the bulk density of the toner around the screw 132 is stabilized, and the replenishment amount by the screw 132 is also stabilized.

(When the second driving means 135 is rotated in reverse)

  When the second drive unit 135 is rotated in the reverse direction, the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the agitation unit 133 via the second drive transmission unit 134. The rod-shaped stirring unit 141 rotates in the reverse direction when the second drive unit 135 is rotated forward. As a result, the toner is moved away from the screw 132, that is, toward the wall surface 138 of the container main body 131.

  At this time, the ring-shaped stirring unit 140 rotates in the reverse direction when the second driving unit 135 is rotated forward. As a result, the toner is moved in the axial direction, while moving the toner away from the screw 132, that is, toward the wall surface 138 of the container main body 131.

(Control means 190)
Next, the control unit 190 for controlling the developer replenishment timing will be described. The control unit 190 is provided in the image forming apparatus main body.

  The control unit 190 controls the drive timing and rotation direction of the first drive unit 126, the second drive unit 135, and the third drive unit 137. Thus, the toner supply timing from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130 and the toner supply timing from the hopper 130 to the sub hopper 180 are controlled.

  Specifically, the third driving unit 137 drives the screw 132 to convey the toner from the hopper 130 toward the developing device 151. At this time, the first conveying unit 122 is not driven, and the second driving unit 135 rotates the stirring unit 133 in the forward direction to convey the toner in the hopper 130 toward the screw 132.

  The first driving means 126 drives the first conveying means 122 to convey the toner from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130. At this time, the screw 132 is not driven, and the second driving unit 135 rotates the agitation unit 133 in the reverse direction so that the toner in the hopper 130 is conveyed away from the screw 132 and diffused into the toner cartridge 120.

  During the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus, the toner in the sub hopper 180 gradually decreases. When there is sufficient toner in the hopper 130, the toner is appropriately supplied from the hopper 130 to the sub hopper 180. If the supply to the sub hopper 180 is further continued, the toner in the hopper 130 is decreased next. In this case, it is necessary to supply toner from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130, but supply to the sub hopper 180 is always prioritized during image formation so as not to hinder image formation.

  Next, after the image forming operation is completed, after the toner amount of the sub hopper 180 is restored to a predetermined amount, the toner cartridge 120 is replenished to the hopper 130.

  The control unit 190 may be provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus or in the developer supply device.

(effect)
Here, since the toner is not supplied when the toner cartridge 120 becomes empty, the toner in the hopper 130 gradually decreases. At this time, the bulk density of the toner around the screw 132 changes depending on the amount of toner in the container main body 131, particularly the amount of toner existing around the upper portion of the screw 132.

  For this reason, the toner replenishment amount to the sub hopper 180, that is, the toner supply amount to the developing device 151 becomes unstable due to the decrease in the toner amount in the container main body 131. However, the developer replenishing device of this embodiment can collect toner around the screw 132 by rotating the second drive unit 135 forward even when the amount of toner in the hopper 130 decreases. Toner can be replenished stably.

  Further, when the toner is supplied from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130, the second driving unit 135 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the toner is moved in the direction of the wall surface 138 of the hopper 130 by the ring-shaped stirring unit 140 and the rod-shaped stirring unit 141. As a result, the toner can be evenly distributed in the hopper 130, and the capacity of the hopper 130 can be fully utilized.

  Even when toner with low fluidity is used, the toner can be leveled by the agitating means 133 not only when the toner is supplied to the developing device 151 but also when the toner is conveyed to the hopper 130. For this reason, when the toner is not used for a long period of time, it is possible to prevent the toner crests from being broken and staying at the toner replenishing position and causing blocking. Further, the toner can be diffused to a position that can be detected by the toner sensor, and erroneous detection can be suppressed when the toner cartridge 120 is empty even though the toner remains in the toner cartridge 120.

  Further, even when the hopper 130 is enlarged due to the diffusion of the toner by the stirring unit 133, the toner can be uniformly distributed throughout the hopper in a short time.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the developer supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the developer supply device according to the present embodiment. About the part which overlaps with said 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the stirring means 133 is provided with the second drive transmission portion 134 and the second drive means 135, and the screw 132 is provided with the third drive transmission portion 136 and the third drive means 137, respectively. An example is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the developer replenishing device of this embodiment is provided with a one-way gear 160 at the end of a screw 132 instead of the third drive transmission unit 136 and the third drive unit 137 to drive the screw 132. This is performed using the second driving means 135.

  The one-way gear 160 is provided in a drive transmission path (second drive transmission unit 134) from the second drive unit 135 to the screw 132, and is a drive switching unit that can switch ON / OFF of the drive transmitted to the screw 132 ( First drive switching means). The second drive transmission unit 134 including the one-way gear 160 is connected to the second drive unit 135.

(When the second driving means 135 is rotated forward)
When the second drive unit 135 is rotated forward, the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the stirring unit 133 via the second drive transmission unit 134. The stirring means 133 rotates in the forward direction and collects toner around the screw 132.

  The one-way gear 160 is engaged with the screw 132 (the one-way gear 160 is ON), and the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the screw 132 via the second drive transmission unit 134 and the one-way gear 160. The screw 132 rotates (drives) in the direction in which the toner is conveyed to the developing device 151.

  As described above, when the toner is transported from the hopper 130 toward the developing device 151 by the screw 132, the second driving unit 135 is rotated forward, the stirring unit 133 is rotated forward, and the toner is collected around the screw 132. Thereby, the instability of the toner replenishment amount due to the change in the bulk density described above can be solved.

(When the second driving means 135 is rotated in reverse)
When the second drive unit 135 is rotated in the reverse direction, the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the agitation unit 133 via the second drive transmission unit 134. The stirring means 133 rotates in the reverse direction and diffuses the toner into the container main body 131.

  The one-way gear 160 does not mesh with the screw 132 (the one-way gear 160 is OFF), and the driving of the second driving means 135 is not transmitted to the screw 132 (the transmission of the driving force is cut off). The screw 132 does not rotate and does not convey the toner to the developing device 151.

  When the first conveying unit 122 is driven by the first driving unit 126 to convey the toner from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130, the one-way gear 160 is turned off and the screw 132 is not driven. Then, the second drive unit 135 rotates the agitation unit 133 in the reverse direction to move the toner in the hopper 130 toward the wall surface 138 of the hopper 130 and diffuses it into the hopper 130. As a result, the toner can be evenly distributed in the hopper 130, and the capacity of the hopper 130 can be fully utilized.

  As described above, by using the one-way gear 160 that is relatively cheaper than the motor (third driving means 137), the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the cost can be reduced.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the developer supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of the developer supply device according to the present embodiment. About the part which overlaps with said 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the first and second embodiments, the toner cartridge 120 is driven by the first driving means 126 that is a dedicated driving unit.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the developer replenishing device of this embodiment is provided with a first drive transmission portion 127 and a one-way gear 161 instead of the first driving means 126 in the developer replenishing device of the second embodiment. Is.

  The one-way gear 161 is provided in a drive transmission path from the second drive means (drive means) 135 to the first transport means 122, and is a second drive switch for switching ON / OFF of the drive transmitted to the first transport means 122. Means.

(When the second driving means 135 is rotated forward)
When the second drive unit 135 is rotated forward, the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the stirring unit 133 via the second drive transmission unit 134. The stirring means 133 rotates in the forward direction and collects toner around the screw 132.

  The one-way gear 160 is engaged with the screw 132 (the one-way gear 160 is ON), and the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the screw 132 via the second drive transmission unit 134 and the one-way gear 160. The screw 132 rotates (drives) in the direction in which the toner is conveyed to the developing device 151.

  The one-way gear 161 does not mesh with the first drive transmission unit 127 (the one-way gear 161 is OFF), and the drive of the second drive unit 135 is not transmitted to the first transport unit 122 (transmission of drive force is cut off). The first conveying unit 122 does not rotate, and no toner is supplied from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130.

  Thereby, the instability of the toner replenishment amount due to the change in the bulk density described above can be solved. Then, the screw 132 rotates and toner is supplied from the hopper 130 to the sub hopper 180.

(When the second driving means 135 is rotated in reverse)
When the second drive unit 135 is rotated in the reverse direction, the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the agitation unit 133 via the second drive transmission unit 134. The stirring means 133 rotates in the reverse direction and diffuses the toner into the container main body 131.

  The one-way gear 160 does not mesh with the screw 132 (the one-way gear 160 is OFF), and the drive of the second drive unit 135 is not transmitted to the screw 132. The screw 132 does not rotate and does not convey the toner to the developing device 151.

  The one-way gear 161 meshes with the first drive transmission unit 127 (the one-way gear 161 is ON), and the drive of the second drive unit 135 is transmitted to the first transport unit 122 via the one-way gear 161 and the first drive transmission unit 127. Is done. The first conveying unit 122 rotates and supplies toner from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130.

  As a result, the toner can be evenly distributed in the hopper 130, and the capacity of the hopper 130 can be fully utilized.

  Further, the toner can be supplied from the toner cartridge 120 to the hopper 130 by using the one-way gear 161 that is relatively cheaper than the motor (first driving means 126), thereby reducing the cost.

[Fourth embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of a developer supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of the developer supply device according to the present embodiment. About the part which overlaps with said 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the first to third embodiments, the rod-shaped stirring unit 141 is disposed at both ends of the ring-shaped stirring unit 140.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the developer replenishing device of the present embodiment is configured by alternately arranging rod-shaped stirring units 141 and ring-shaped stirring units 140.

  In addition, the arrangement of the ring-shaped stirring unit 140 and the bar-shaped stirring unit 141 is more in the vicinity of the upper part of the screw 132, such as arranging one ring-shaped stirring unit 141 for every two ring-shaped stirring units 140 according to the size of the hopper 130. Any arrangement that collects the toner may be used.

  When the hopper 130 is further increased in size and the length in the longitudinal direction becomes longer, by arranging the rod-like stirring portion 141 as described above, more toner can be collected around the upper portion of the screw 132, and more stable development can be achieved. The toner can be supplied to the apparatus.

1 is a configuration diagram of a developer supply device according to a first embodiment. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. It is a block diagram of a hopper. (A) It is a block diagram of a developer supply apparatus. (B) It is the figure which looked at the developer supply apparatus from right above. 2 is a configuration diagram of a toner cartridge. FIG. It is a block diagram of a ring-shaped stirring part. It is a block diagram of a rod-shaped stirring part. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a hopper. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a developer supply device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a developer supply device according to a third embodiment. It is a block diagram of the developer supply apparatus which concerns on 4th embodiment. : Description of a conventional developer supply device : Schematic explanatory diagram of a conventional developer supply device

Explanation of symbols

S ... Recording sheet 1 ... feed cassette 2 ... feed roller 3 ... separation roller pair 4 ... lifter 5 ... conveying roller row 7 ... conveying section 8 ... fixer 9 ... discharge roller row 10 ... discharge tray 30 ... registration roller 40 ... Transfer belt 41 ... Driving roller 42 ... Tension roller 43 ... Secondary transfer roller 44 ... Secondary transfer rollers 51 to 54 ... Laser scanner 55 ... Folding mirror 60 ... Photosensitive drum 61 ... Developing device 62 ... Primary transfer roller 100 ... Developer Replenishment device 120 ... toner cartridge (first developer container)
121 ... Container body 122 ... First transport means 123 ... Discharge port 124 ... Slope 125 ... Cap 126 ... First drive means 127 ... First drive transmission section 130 ... Hopper (second developer container)
131 ... Container body 132 ... Screw (second conveying means)
133 ... Stirring means 134 ... Second drive transmission section 135 ... Second drive means 136 ... Third drive transmission section 137 ... Third drive means 138 ... Wall surface 140 ... Ring-shaped stirring section 141 ... Bar-shaped stirring section 142 ... Parallel section 143 ... Connecting portions 151 to 154... Developing devices 160 to 161... One-way gear 170.

Claims (5)

In a developer supply device for supplying a developer used for image formation of an image forming apparatus to the developing device of the image forming apparatus,
A first developer container containing developer for replenishment to the developing device;
A first conveying means provided in the first developer container, for conveying the developer inside the first developer container and discharging the developer from the first developer container;
A second developer container for receiving the developer discharged from the first developer container;
A stirring means provided in the second developer container and stirring the developer inside the second developer container;
A second conveying means provided in the second developer container, for conveying the developer from the second developer container toward the developing device;
Have
,
When the second conveying means is driven to convey the developer from the second developer container toward the developing device,
The first conveying means is not driven, the developer in the second developer container is conveyed toward the second conveying means by rotating the stirring means forward,
When driving the first transport means to transport the developer from the first developer container toward the second developer container,
The developer replenishing apparatus, wherein the second conveying unit is not driven, and the agitating unit is rotated in the reverse direction to convey the developer in the second developer container in a direction away from the second conveying unit. First driving means for generating a driving force for driving the first conveying means;
Second driving means capable of rotating forward and reverse, which generates a driving force for driving the stirring means and the second transport means;
Drive switching means provided in the drive transmission path from the second drive means to the second transport means, and ON / OFF for driving transmission to the second transport means;
Have
When transporting the developer from the second developer container toward the developing device,
The first driving means does not generate driving force, the second driving means rotates forward to generate driving force to rotate the stirring means forward, and the drive switching means applies driving force to the second conveying means. Communicate
When transporting the developer from the first developer container toward the second developer container,
The first driving means generates a driving force, the second driving means reversely rotates to generate a driving force to reversely rotate the agitation means, and the drive switching means drives the second conveying means to the driving force. Blocking the transmission of,
The developer replenishing device according to claim 1. A driving means capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions for generating a driving force for driving the first conveying means, the stirring means and the second conveying means;
A first drive switching means provided in a drive transmission path from the drive means to the first transport means, and for turning on / off the drive transmission to the first transport means;
A second drive switching means provided in a drive transmission path from the drive means to the second transport means, and for turning on / off the drive transmission to the second transport means;
Have
When transporting the developer from the second developer container toward the developing device,
The first drive switching means interrupts transmission of the driving force to the first transport means, the driving means rotates forward to generate driving force to rotate the stirring means forward, and the second drive switching means Transmits the driving force to the second conveying means,
When transporting the developer from the first developer container toward the second developer container,
The first drive switching means transmits a driving force to the first conveying means, the driving means reversely rotates to generate a driving force to reversely rotate the stirring means, and the second drive switching means Cut off the transmission of driving force to the two conveying means,
The developer replenishing device according to claim 1.   The developer replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the stirring unit includes a plurality of ring-shaped stirring units and a plurality of bar-shaped stirring units.   5. The developer according to claim 1, wherein the developer conveyed from the first developer container by the first conveying unit is replenished substantially above the second conveying unit. 6. Developer supply device.

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