JP2010032754A - Toner supply container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner supply container capable of efficiently supplying toner inside the container by always keeping a bending direction of a tongue piece formed on a stirring blade constant. <P>SOLUTION: A hole 52 in an inverted triangle shape getting wider toward an edge part 43b side deviated to a center side in a rotary shaft direction is formed on each tongue piece 51 of the stirring blade 43. By deciding length L of the tongue piece 51, maximum length La of the hole and length Lb from the hole to the edge to satisfy L^4<La^3+3La^2×Lb, a bending amount of the tongue piece 51 is always larger on the center side than the end side in the rotary shaft direction, so that toner at the end of the container is gathered to the center side and effectively used. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner supply container including a toner stirring member having a flexible stirring blade, which is used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a laser printer.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and laser printers are provided with a toner supply container that supplies toner from a toner supply port to a developing unit of the image forming apparatus. A toner stirring member is provided for transporting the toner in the container to the toner supply port.

  As the toner stirring member, there is a member in which a flexible member such as a synthetic resin sheet is rotatably provided in the toner storage space, and the flexible member rotates and rubs against the inner wall of the storage space. The toner in the space is agitated, and the toner is conveyed to the toner supply port. Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the toner agitating member has a shape in which the claw portions are arranged side by side in the direction of the rotation axis with a predetermined gap, and the portion that contacts the inner wall of the toner storage portion is the rotation axis. There has also been proposed a configuration in which the toner remaining in the container is brought close to the toner supply port side for effective use by being inclined toward the center in the direction.

  However, according to the conventional stirring member and toner supply container as described above, when the toner stirring member rotates and conveys the toner, the toner pressure applied to the toner stirring member is large, so the toner stirring member is rotated at a high torque. I had to let it. Further, in the toner stirring member having a claw portion as in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reduce the rotational torque by configuring the claw portion to be small, but the strength of the toner stirring member is lost, and the toner stirring member is damaged by the toner pressure. There was a fear.

Therefore, Patent Document 2 includes a flexible member (agitating blade) that is rotatably provided inside a toner supply container or the like, and an edge portion in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the flexible member is used for toner conveyance. A plurality of slits are formed from the edge portion toward the rotation axis, and a hole is provided in at least one of the regions partitioned by the slits, whereby the region partitioned by the slits. Discloses a stirring member and a toner supply container in which both ends of a front end portion for toner conveyance are supported by a flexible member base edge portion attached to a rotating shaft. In addition, by forming holes in the regions at both ends in the rotational axis direction at least at the both ends in the rotational axis direction so as to increase the rigidity on the rotational axis end side, the flexible member moves the toner to the center side. It is also described that the material is deformed in the approaching direction.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-24401 Japanese Patent No. 3462860

  According to the method of Patent Document 2, although rotation with low torque is possible while maintaining the strength of the stirring member, and the toner remaining at the inner end of the container can be effectively used, the amount of deflection of the flexible member When a large amount is taken, the deformation direction of the region (tongue piece) delimited by the slits is reversed, and the rotation axis direction end portion side may bend more greatly than the center side. For this reason, the stirring member acts in a direction to bring the toner to the outside, and the toner inside the container may not be efficiently supplied to the toner supply port.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner supply container that can efficiently supply toner inside a container by always maintaining the bending direction of a tongue piece formed on a stirring blade constant. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a toner storage portion for storing toner, a rotation shaft rotatably provided in the toner storage portion, and a flexible stirring blade fixed to the rotation shaft, A toner stirring member in which a plurality of slits are formed from the tip in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the stirring blade toward the rotation axis, and a hole is provided in at least one of the rectangular tongue pieces partitioned by the slits; In the toner supply container in which the tongue piece rubs and rubs the inner wall surface of the toner storage portion to stir and convey the toner, the amount of deflection of the tongue piece on the end side in the rotation axis direction is δ1, and the rotation axis direction When the amount of deflection on the center side is δ2, the relationship of δ1 <δ2 is always established by adjusting the shape and arrangement of the holes provided in the tongue piece.

Further, according to the present invention, in the toner supply container having the above-described configuration, the shape of the hole is a triangular shape that spreads toward a tip end side that is biased toward the center in the rotation axis direction of the tongue piece, and the following conditional expression (1) It is characterized by satisfying.
L ^ 4 <La ^ 3 + 3La ^ 2 · Lb (1)
However,
L: the length of the tongue piece in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis,
La: the maximum length of the hole in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis,
Lb: the length from the hole perpendicular to the rotation axis to the tip of the tongue,
It is.

According to the present invention, in the toner supply container having the above-described configuration, the hole is formed continuously from the rotation axis direction end portion side to the center side of the tongue piece, and the tongue piece is orthogonal to the rotation axis. It is characterized by satisfying the following conditional expressions (2) and (3) when equally dividing into a region S1 on the end side in the rotation axis direction and a region S2 on the center side in the rotation axis direction by a straight line.
La1 ^ 3 + 3La1 ^ 2 · Lb1 <La2 ^ 3 + 3La2 ^ 2 · Lb2 (2)
L01 <R (3)
However,
La1: the length of the hole in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis closest to the end in the rotation axis direction of the region S1,
Lb1: the length from the hole in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis closest to the rotation axis direction end of the region S1 to the tip of the tongue piece,
La2: the length of the hole in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis in the region S2 closest to the center in the rotation axis direction,
Lb2: the length from the hole in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis closest to the center of the rotation axis direction in the region S2 to the tip of the tongue piece,
L01: the maximum distance from the base edge of the tongue piece to the hole in the region S1,
R: distance from the rotating shaft to the inner wall surface of the toner storage unit,
It is.

  According to the present invention, in the toner supply container having the above-described configuration, the slit has a shape in which the shape of the hole inclines from the vicinity of the tip on the end side in the rotation axis direction toward the vicinity of the rotation axis on the center side in the rotation axis direction. It is characterized by the shape.

  According to the first configuration of the present invention, at the time of rotation of the toner stirring member, the end portion in the rotation axis direction always rotates first and the central portion side rotates later on each tongue piece defined by the slit. The tip of the piece bends in the direction in which the toner in the toner storage unit is gathered to the center side. Accordingly, the toner remaining at both ends of the toner storage portion in the rotation axis direction can be effectively used.

  Further, according to the second configuration of the present invention, in the toner supply container of the first configuration, the shape of the hole formed in the tongue piece is set to the tip end side that is biased toward the center side in the rotation axis direction of the tongue piece. When the length of the tongue piece and the size and arrangement of the holes satisfy the conditional expression (1), the amount of bending at the end in the direction of the rotation axis is always greater than the amount of bending at the center in the direction of the rotation axis. Can be small.

  Further, according to the third configuration of the present invention, in the toner supply container of the first configuration, the hole that continues from the rotation shaft direction end side to the center side of the tongue piece is formed, and the tongue piece is rotated. When equally dividing into a region S1 on the rotation axis direction end side and a region S2 on the rotation axis direction center side by a straight line orthogonal to the axis, the size and arrangement of the holes satisfy the conditional expressions (2) and (3), The amount of deflection on the region S1 side can always be made smaller than the amount of deflection on the region S2 side.

  Further, according to the fourth configuration of the present invention, in the toner supply container of the third configuration described above, the inside of the tongue piece extends from the vicinity of the front end portion on the rotation axis direction end side to the vicinity of the rotation axis on the rotation axis direction center side. If the slit-like hole inclined at all times satisfies the conditional expression (2), it is always designed so that the relationship between L01 and R satisfies the conditional expression (3). The amount can be made smaller than the amount of deflection on the center side in the rotation axis direction.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus provided with a toner supply container of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image forming apparatus, and here, a digital multifunction peripheral is shown as an example. In the image forming apparatus 100, when performing a copy operation, in the image forming unit 3 in the multifunction machine main body 2, the photosensitive drum 5 having a small diameter that rotates in the direction A in the figure is uniformly charged by the charging unit 4. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 5 by a laser beam from an exposure unit (laser scanning unit or the like) 7 based on the document image data read by the reading unit 6, and developed into an electrostatic latent image by the developing unit 8. An agent (hereinafter referred to as toner) is attached to form a toner image. The toner is supplied to the developing unit 8 from the toner container 9.

  The sheet is conveyed from the sheet feeding mechanism 10 to the image forming unit 3 via the sheet conveying path 11 and the registration roller pair 12 toward the photosensitive drum 5 on which the toner image is formed as described above. 3, the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred to the sheet by the transfer roller 13 (image transfer unit). The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 5 and conveyed to a fixing unit 14 having a fixing roller pair 14a to fix the toner image. The sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 14 is sent to a sheet conveyance path 15 branched in a plurality of directions, and is conveyed in a conveyance direction by path switching mechanisms 21 and 22 having a plurality of path switching guides provided at branch points of the sheet conveyance path 15. Are distributed as they are (or after being sent to the paper conveyance path 16 and double-sided copying), and discharged to the paper discharge section including the first discharge tray 17a and the second discharge tray 17b.

  Although not shown, a static elimination device that removes residual charges on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is provided on the downstream side of the cleaning device 18. Further, the paper feeding mechanism 10 is detachably attached to the multifunction machine main body 2 and includes a plurality of paper feeding cassettes 10a and 10b for storing paper, and a manual paper feeding mechanism (bypass unit) 10c provided above the paper feeding cassettes 10a and 10b. These are connected to the image forming unit 3 including the photosensitive drum 5, the developing unit 8 and the like by the paper transport path 11. At the upper end of the image reading unit 6, an openable / closable platen (original presser) 24 that presses and holds the original placed on the contact glass is provided.

  Specifically, the sheet conveyance path 15 first branches into a left and right fork on the downstream side of the fixing roller pair 14a, and one path (a path branching rightward in FIG. 1) communicates with the first discharge tray 17a. It is configured as follows. The other path (the path branched in the left direction in FIG. 1) branches up and down via the conveying roller pair 19, and the other path (the path branched in the left direction in FIG. 1) is the second discharge tray 17b. It is comprised so that it may communicate with. On the other hand, the other path (the path that branches downward in FIG. 1) is configured to communicate with the sheet conveyance path 16.

  Next, the toner container 9 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the toner container as viewed from below, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an outline of the inside of the toner container. FIG. 3 shows a state viewed from the back side in FIG. The casing (housing) 30 is a container for storing toner, and the interior is separated into a toner supply part 33 and a toner storage part 35 by a partition wall 31. The toner supply unit 33 is provided with a toner supply port 37 for supplying toner to the developing unit 8 (see FIG. 1) in the vicinity of the center, and the toner in the toner supply unit 33 is conveyed to the toner supply port 37. In order to achieve this, a spiral member 40 having spiral blades is rotatably provided.

  The toner storage unit 35 is provided with a toner stirring member 41 that stirs the toner in the toner storage unit 35 and conveys the toner to the toner supply unit 33. The toner stirring member 41 includes a rotating shaft 42 and a stirring blade 43 fixed to the rotating shaft 42. One end of the rotation shaft 42 protrudes from the outer surface of the toner storage unit 35, and a drive coupling 44 and a gear 45 that transmit a driving force from a driving source to the rotation shaft 42 are provided. The gear 45 is connected to the drive input gear 49 of the spiral member 40 through the idle gear 47.

  The toner conveying operation in the toner container 9 will be described. At the start of printing, the toner stirring member 41 rotates in the arrow B direction in FIG. As a result, the toner in the toner storage unit 35 is agitated, and in particular, the toner accumulated at the bottom of the toner storage unit 35 is scraped by the rubbing of the inner wall by the stirring blades 43 and conveyed to the adjacent toner supply unit 33. To go. In the toner supply unit 33, the toner is conveyed to the toner supply port 37 by the rotation of the spiral member 40. Then, toner is supplied from the toner supply port 37 to the developing unit 8.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the stirring blade of the first embodiment used in the toner container of the present invention. The stirring blade 43 is configured by a flexible member, for example, a synthetic resin sheet or film such as polyethylene terephthalate. The base edge portion 43a of the stirring blade 43 is attached to the rotating shaft 42 (see FIG. 3), and the tip end portion 43b scrapes the inner wall surface of the toner storage portion 35 (see FIG. 3) to scrape the toner. . A plurality of slits 50 extending from the tip end portion 43 b in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis are formed in the stirring blade 43, and a hole 52 is formed in the tongue piece 51 partitioned by the slit 50. By providing the slit 50, when the stirring blade 43 rotates, the tongue pieces 51 delimited by the slit 50 are flexibly curved.

  When the toner stirring member 41 is rotated, the tip end portion 43b on the end side in the rotation axis direction of each tongue piece 51 is rotated first by the hole 52, and the tip end portion 43b on the central side is rotated later. The toner remaining on both ends of the toner 35 is brought to the center side. In addition, since the hole 52 is formed in the stirring member 37, only the toner that contacts a portion other than the hole 52 is conveyed to the toner supply unit 33. That is, it is possible to reduce the toner pressure applied to the stirring member 37 while reliably conveying a certain amount of toner.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a tongue piece arranged on the left side in the rotation axis direction of FIG. 4. In the present embodiment, each tongue piece 51 is formed with an inverted triangular hole 52 that widens toward the tip end 43b side that is biased toward the center side in the rotation axis direction (right side in FIG. 5). Note that the length of the tongue piece 51 is L, the maximum length of the hole 52 in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis is La, and the length from the hole 52 to the tip portion 43b is Lb.

Here, the relationship between the dimension of the tongue piece 51 and the hole 52 and the deflection amount of the tongue piece 51 will be examined. When a concentrated load W is applied to the tip of a rectangular cantilever having a length L, a width b, and a thickness h in plan view, the deflection amount δ of the cantilever is expressed by the following general formula.
δ = β · WL ^ 3 / EI
However,
β: Deflection coefficient (1/3 for cantilever concentration),
E: Young's modulus
I: sectional moment of inertia (= b · h ^ 3/12),
It is.

  Now, when the bending amount of the tongue piece 51 is calculated by dividing it into a holeless portion (hatched portion) and a hole opening portion in FIG. 5, the holeless portion is shown in FIG. Let us consider what is modeled as shown in FIG.

As for the portion without a hole, if the width of the beam is b and the length of the beam is L, the width b becomes smaller toward the end of the beam, so that the cross-sectional second moment is inversely proportional to the length L of the beam. Therefore, the cross-sectional second moment of the holeless portion is expressed by I / L. Substituting this into the general equation for the amount of deflection, the amount of deflection δ1 of the holeless portion is
δ1 = β · WL ^ 3 / E (I / L)
It is represented by If β · W / EI is C ₁ , then δ1 = C ₁ L ^ 4, and the deflection amount δ1 is proportional to the fourth power of L.

On the other hand, the deflection amount δ2 of the hole opening portion is obtained by adding the deflection amount δa of the hole portion and the deflection amount δb from the hole to the tip. The amount of deflection δa of the hole portion is expressed as follows, where the length of the hole is La and β · W / EI is C ₂ :
δa = C ₂ La ^ 3
It becomes. In addition, since the deformation from the hole to the tip is very small and it is considered that the portion other than the hole is not deformed. If the length from the hole to the tip is Lb, the deflection amount δb from the hole to the tip is Lb. It is obtained by multiplying the inclination of the part. Since the inclination of the tip is expressed by the inclination f ′ (δa) of the tangent to the deflection f (δa) of the hole portion,
δb = f ′ (δa) · Lb = 3C ₂ La ^ 2 · Lb
It becomes. Therefore, the amount of deflection δ2 of the perforated portion is
δ2 = δa + δb = C ₂ (La ^ 3 + 3La ^ 2 · Lb)
It is represented by

In the tongue piece 51, in order for the tip end portion 43b on the rotation axis direction end portion side (no hole portion) to always rotate first and the tip end portion 43b on the rotation axis direction center side (hole opening portion) to rotate later, The deflection amount δ1 of the holeless portion must always be smaller than the deflection amount δ2 of the hole opening portion. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the amount of deflection δ of the stirring blade 43 depends on the distance R from the rotation shaft 42 to the inner wall surface of the toner storage portion 35, regardless of the concentrated load W and the width b of the tongue piece 51. It is determined by the relationship between the length L of the piece 51 and the cross-sectional shape (here, the maximum length La of the hole and the length Lb from the hole to the tip). Further, since the bending coefficient β is constant and the Young's modulus E and the thickness h are equal in the holeless portion and the hole-opening portion, the coefficients C ₁ and C ₂ can be ignored when comparing δ1 and δ2.

Therefore, conditional expression (1)
L ^ 4 <La ^ 3 + 3La ^ 2 · Lb (1)
If L, La, and Lb are determined so as to satisfy the above, the amount of deflection of the tongue piece 51 is always increased on the central side in the rotational axis direction, and the toner at both ends of the toner storage unit 35 is moved toward the central side for effective use. Can do.

  FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the length L of the tongue piece and the deflection amount δ, divided into a holeless portion and a hole opening portion. The bending amount δ1 of the holeless portion is indicated by a solid line, and the bending amount δ2 of the hole opening portion is indicated by a broken line. Here, it is assumed that the length L of the tongue piece 51 is in contact with the inner wall surface of the toner storage unit 35 from 20 mm, and the length L and the width b of the tongue piece 51 are equal. The length Lb from the hole 52 to the tip is set to 1/3 of the length (maximum length) La of the hole 52 on the center side in the rotation axis direction.

  From FIG. 8, when L exceeds 40 mm, the deflection amount δ1 exceeds the deflection amount δ2, and the deflection is reversed between the end portion side and the center side in the rotation axis direction. Therefore, in this example, it can be seen that L may be set in a range not exceeding 40 mm.

  FIG. 9 is a plan view of the stirring blade of the second embodiment used in the toner container of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a tongue piece arranged on the left side in the rotation axis direction of FIG. The internal structure of the toner container 9 and the basic configuration of the stirring blade 43 are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS.

  In the present embodiment, it is inclined from the vicinity of the distal end portion 43b on the rotation axis direction end portion side (left side in FIG. 9) toward the rotation shaft 42 vicinity (base edge portion 43a) on the rotation axis direction center side (right side in FIG. 9). A slit-like hole 52 is formed in each tongue piece 51. Thus, as in the first embodiment, when the toner agitating member 41 is rotated, the respective end pieces 51 defined by the slits 50 end in the rotational axis direction (left side of the straight line O perpendicular to the rotational axis in FIG. 10). The tip 43b of the toner rotates first, and the tip 43b on the center side (right side of the straight line O) rotates later, so that the toner remaining at both ends of the toner storage unit 35 is brought closer to the center.

Now, when the bending amount of the tongue piece 51 is obtained by calculation divided into the region S1 on the rotation axis direction end side and the region S2 on the center side in FIG. 10, each region S1, S2 is a hole opening of the first embodiment. Since it can be considered in the same manner as the portion, it can be modeled as shown in FIG. At this time, assuming that the lengths of the holes in the directions orthogonal to the rotation axis in each of the regions S1 and S2 are La1, La2, the length from the hole to the tip is Lb1, Lb2, and β · W / EI is C ₃ , each region Deflection amounts δ1 and δ2 of S1 and S2 are
δ1 = C ₃ La1 ^ 3 + 3C ₃ La1 ^ 2 · Lb1
δ2 = C ₃ La2 ^ 3 + 3C ₃ La2 ^ 2 · Lb2
It is represented by

  As shown in FIG. 10, Lb1 and Lb2 in each of the regions S1 and S2 are not constant, but the region S1 has the greatest influence on the amount of deflection of the regions S1 and S2. Lb1 that is closer to the left side of FIG. 2 and is considered to be Lb2 that is closer to the center in the rotational axis direction (right side in the drawing) in the region S2. Therefore, here, the length of the hole in the region S1 closest to the end in the rotation axis direction is La1, the length from the hole to the tip is Lb1, and the length of the hole in the region S2 closest to the center in the rotation axis is La2. The length from the hole to the tip is Lb2.

Therefore, conditional expression (2)
La1 ^ 3 + 3La1 ^ 2 · Lb1 <La2 ^ 3 + 3La2 ^ 2 · Lb2 (2)
If La1, Lb1, La2, and Lb2 are determined so as to satisfy the above condition, the amount of deflection of the tongue piece 51 always increases on the central side in the rotation axis direction, and the toner can be effectively utilized by bringing the toner toward the central side. Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the slit-shaped hole 52 is directed from the tip end portion 43b on the rotation axis direction end portion side (left side in FIG. 9) to the base edge portion 43a on the rotation axis direction center side (right side in FIG. 9). Therefore, since the relation of La1 = La2 and Lb1 <Lb2 is established, the relationship of the conditional expression (2) always holds.

  FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the length L of the tongue piece and the deflection amount δ separately for the region S1 and the region S2. The deflection amount δ1 of the region S1 is indicated by a solid line, and the deflection amount δ2 of the region S2 is indicated by a broken line. Here, it is assumed that the length L of the tongue 51 is in contact with the inner wall surface of the toner storage portion 35 from 20 mm, and the length Lb1 from the hole to the tip in the region S1 is 1/3 of the hole length La. The length Lb2 from the hole to the tip in S2 was three times the hole length La.

From FIG. 11, even if the length L of the tongue piece 51 changes, δ1 always exceeds δ2, so the shape of the hole 52 is more oblique than that of the inverted triangle of the first embodiment. It can be seen that the slit shape is more effective. However, when the maximum distance L01 from the base edge portion 43a of the tongue piece 51 to the hole 52 in the region S1 is equal to or greater than the distance R from the rotation shaft 42 to the inner wall surface of the toner supply unit 35, the tongue piece 51 is the first embodiment. The bend amount δ1 of the region S1 is also expressed by the equation (= C ₁ L ^ 4) of the first embodiment. Therefore, the conditional expression (2) holds regardless of the length L of the tongue piece because the conditional expression (3)
L01 <R (3)
Limited to satisfy.

  Here, the case where the shape of the hole 52 is a slit shape inclined from the vicinity of the distal end portion 43b on the rotation axis direction end side toward the base edge portion 43a on the rotation axis direction center side has been described. The tongue piece 51 may have another shape that is continuous from the rotation axis direction end side to the center side and that satisfies the conditional expressions (2) and (3). Examples of other shapes include a trapezoidal shape as shown in FIG. 12A and a crank shape as shown in FIG.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the holes 52 are formed in all the tongue pieces 51 of the stirring blade 43, but the holes 52 may be formed in one or more tongue pieces 51. In order to bring the toner at the end of the container to the center, it is preferable to form holes 52 in at least the tongue pieces 51 at both ends.

  Although the toner container 9 for supplying toner to the developing unit 8 has been described as a toner supply container here, the developing unit 8 for supplying toner to the photosensitive drum 5 may be used. Further, the image forming apparatus on which the toner supply container of the present invention is mounted is not limited to the digital multi-function apparatus shown in FIG. 1, but also to other image forming apparatuses such as a color copying machine, a monochrome and color printer, and a facsimile. Of course it can be applied.

  The present invention includes a toner storage portion that stores toner, a rotation shaft that is rotatably provided in the toner storage portion, and a flexible stirring blade fixed to the rotation shaft, and is orthogonal to the rotation shaft of the stirring blade. A toner stirring member having a plurality of slits formed from the tip in the direction toward the rotation axis and having a hole formed in at least one of the rectangular tongues partitioned by the slits, In a toner supply container that stirs and conveys toner by rubbing the inner wall surface of the toner storage unit, the amount of deflection of the tongue piece at the middle end in the rotational axis direction is δ1, and the amount of deflection at the center side of the rotational axis is δ2. At this time, the relationship of δ1 <δ2 is always established by adjusting the shape and arrangement of the holes provided in the tongue piece.

  As a result, the tongue having the hole is always rotated first at the end in the direction of the rotation axis, and the center side is rotated later, so that the toner remaining at both ends in the direction of the rotation axis of the toner storage unit is gathered toward the center. Thus, a toner supply container that can be effectively used can be provided.

  If the shape of the hole is a triangular shape that spreads toward the tip side that is biased toward the center of the rotation axis of the tongue, it will always rotate if the dimensions of the tongue and hole satisfy the conditional expression (1). The amount of bending on the axial end side can be made smaller than the amount of bending on the central side in the rotational axis direction.

  In addition, when a hole that is continuous from the rotation axis direction end side to the center side of the tongue piece is formed, if the dimensions of the tongue piece and the hole satisfy the conditional expressions (2) and (3), The amount of deflection on the end side in the rotation axis direction can be made smaller than the amount of deflection on the center side in the rotation axis direction. If the hole shape is a slit that is inclined from the vicinity of the tip end on the rotation axis direction end side toward the rotation axis center side of the rotation axis direction, the conditional expression (2) is always satisfied. The degree is increased.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus equipped with the toner supply container of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner container of the present invention as viewed from below. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an outline of the inside of the toner container. These are the top views of the stirring blade of 1st Embodiment used for the toner container of this invention. These are the enlarged views of the tongue piece arrange | positioned at the rotating shaft direction left side of the stirring blade of FIG. These are the figures which modeled the tongue piece of FIG. 5 for calculation of deflection amount. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of deflection δ, the distance R to the inner wall surface of the toner storage unit, and the length L of the tongue piece. These are the graphs showing the relationship between the length L of the tongue piece and the deflection amount δ, divided into a holeless portion and a hole-opening portion. These are the top views of the stirring blade of 2nd Embodiment used for the toner container of this invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a tongue piece arranged on the left side in the rotation axis direction of the stirring blade of FIG. 9. These are the graphs showing the relationship between the length L of the tongue piece and the deflection amount δ divided into the region S1 and the region S2. These are top views which show the other hole shape used for the stirring blade of 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

9 Toner container (toner supply container)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 33 Toner supply part 35 Toner storage part 37 Toner supply port 40 Spiral member 41 Toner stirring member 42 Rotating shaft 43 Stirring blade 43a Base edge part 43b Tip part 50 Slit 51 Tongue piece 52 Hole 100 Image forming apparatus

Claims (4)

A toner storage section for storing toner;
A rotation shaft provided rotatably in the toner storage portion and a flexible stirring blade fixed to the rotation shaft, and a slit is formed from a tip portion in a direction orthogonal to the rotation shaft of the stirring blade toward the rotation shaft. A plurality of formed toner stirring members each having a hole formed in at least one of the rectangular tongue pieces partitioned by the slits;
In the toner supply container in which the tongue piece rubs and rubs the inner wall surface of the toner storage unit to stir and convey the toner,
When the deflection amount on the end side in the rotation axis direction of the tongue piece is δ1, and the deflection amount on the center side in the rotation axis direction is δ2, by adjusting the shape and arrangement of the holes provided in the tongue piece, δ1 is always adjusted. A toner supply container in which a relationship of <δ2 is established. The shape of the hole is a triangular shape that spreads toward the tip end side that is biased toward the center in the rotational axis direction of the tongue piece, and satisfies the following conditional expression (1). Toner supply container.
L ^ 4 <La ^ 3 + 3La ^ 2 · Lb (1)
However,
L: the length of the tongue piece in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis,
La: the maximum length of the hole in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis,
Lb: the length from the hole perpendicular to the rotation axis to the tip of the tongue,
It is. The hole is formed continuously from the rotation axis direction end side to the center side of the tongue piece, and the tongue piece rotates with the region S1 on the rotation axis direction end side by a straight line orthogonal to the rotation axis. 2. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the following conditional expressions (2) and (3) are satisfied when equally divided into the axially central region S <b> 2.
La1 ^ 3 + 3La1 ^ 2 · Lb1 <La2 ^ 3 + 3La2 ^ 2 · Lb2 (2)
L01 <R (3)
However,
La1: the length of the hole in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis closest to the end in the rotation axis direction of the region S1,
Lb1: the length from the hole in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis closest to the rotation axis direction end of the region S1 to the tip of the tongue piece,
La2: the length of the hole in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis in the region S2 closest to the center in the rotation axis direction,
Lb2: the length from the hole in the direction orthogonal to the rotation axis closest to the center of the rotation axis direction in the region S2 to the tip of the tongue piece,
L01: the maximum distance from the base edge of the tongue piece to the hole in the region S1,
R: distance from the rotating shaft to the inner wall surface of the toner storage unit,
It is.   The shape of the hole is a slit shape that is inclined from the vicinity of the tip portion on the end side in the rotation axis direction toward the vicinity of the rotation axis on the center side in the rotation axis direction in the tongue piece. Toner supply container.

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