JP2017198808A - Conveying device, storage container, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveying device that conveys a powdery substance used for image formation, such as a developer containing toner and carrier, and suppress an increase in pressure on the powdery substance.SOLUTION: A conveyance path comprises: a conveyance cylinder that stores a powdery substance used for image formation; and a conveying member 112 that conveys the powdery substance inside the conveyance cylinder. The conveying member 112 includes a rotation shaft 112A that is provided along a direction to convey the powdery substance inside the conveyance cylinder, and a plurality of wing pieces 112B that are provided on the rotation shaft 112A, have a contour, when seen along the rotation shaft 112A, corresponding to a part of the circumference of a circle concentric to the rotation shaft 112A and two radii of the circle while overlapping on a part of the circle, and include action surfaces 112C having an inclination at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction to convey the powdery substance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyance device, a container, and an image forming apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a transport device that transports powder stored in a powder container toward a discharge port. The conveying device includes a rotating member disposed in the powder container and a plate member (film) attached to the rotating member, and the plate member is unfolded and downstream of the outer edge of the conveying unit in the conveying direction. The portion on the side is inclined so as to be away from the rotating member with respect to the portion on the upstream side in the transport direction of the outer edge.

JP2015-118229A

  If the powdery material is continuously transported when the discharge port of the powdery material container is closed, the pressure of the powdery material will increase near the discharge port, and it will be hardened and hard to discharge. The lid that closes the discharge port may be broken.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress an excessive increase in the pressure of a powdery material in a conveying device that conveys a powdery material used for image formation such as a developer.

A conveying apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is
An accommodating portion for accommodating a powdery material used for image formation;
A conveying member that conveys the powdery material in the accommodating portion,
The transport member is
A rotating shaft provided along the conveying direction of the powdered material in the accommodating portion;
This circle is provided on the rotation axis and has a contour corresponding to a part of the circumference of the circle concentric with the rotation axis and the two radii of the circle when viewed along the rotation axis. A plurality of blades provided with a working surface having an inclination of a predetermined angle with respect to a direction in which the powdery material is conveyed,
Is provided.
In the transport device according to claim 2 of the present invention, the plurality of blade pieces are arranged so that there is a portion where no blade piece exists in a part of the circle when viewed along the rotation axis.
In the transfer device according to claim 3 of the present invention,
The working surface of the blade piece is inclined at an angle θ1 (0 ° <θ1 <90 °) with respect to the rotation axis so as to face the conveying direction of the powdery material and the rotation direction of the rotation shaft, and A part of the working surface overlaps the direction along the rotation axis.
In the transfer device according to claim 4 of the present invention,
The action surface of the blade piece is inclined at an angle θ2 (0 ° <θ2 <90 °) with respect to the rotation axis so as to fall to the opposite side of the powder material conveyance direction.
In the transport device according to claim 5 of the present invention, an angle between two straight portions overlapping the radius of the circle in the outline of the blade piece overlapping a part of the circle is 180 °.
The container according to claim 6 of the present invention is
An accommodating portion that is detachable from the image forming apparatus and contains a powdery material used for image formation and has a discharge port for discharging the powdery material;
A conveying member that conveys the powdery substance accommodated in the accommodating part toward the discharge port, and
The conveying member is
A rotating shaft provided along the conveying direction of the powdery material in the accommodating portion;
The circle provided on the rotating shaft and having a contour corresponding to a part of the circumference of a circle concentric with the rotating shaft and two radii of the circle when viewed along the rotating shaft. A plurality of wing pieces having a working surface that has a predetermined angle of inclination with respect to a direction in which the powdery material is conveyed,
Is provided.
An image forming apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes:
An image carrier,
An accommodating portion for accommodating a powdery material used for forming a developer image on the image carrier;
A transport member for transporting the powdered material in the housing portion;
A transfer unit that transfers the developer image formed on the image carrier to a recording medium,
The conveying member is
A rotating shaft provided along the conveying direction of the powdery material in the accommodating portion;
The circle provided on the rotating shaft and having a contour corresponding to a part of the circumference of a circle concentric with the rotating shaft and two radii of the circle when viewed along the rotating shaft. A plurality of wing pieces having a working surface that has a predetermined angle of inclination with respect to a direction in which the powdery material is conveyed,
Is provided.

According to invention of Claim 1, in the conveying apparatus which conveys a powdery material, it can suppress that the pressure of a powdery material becomes high compared with the structure provided with the conveying member which has a helical wing | blade part. .
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since there is room for the powdered material to escape in the direction opposite to the conveying direction at the position where the blade piece does not exist when viewed along the rotation axis, the pressure of the powdered material increases. This can be suppressed.
According to invention of Claim 3, since a clearance gap cannot be made between the blade pieces adjacent in a conveyance direction, it can suppress that a powdery material retains between blade pieces.
According to invention of Claim 4, it can suppress that a powdery material pinches and retains between a rotating shaft and a blade piece.
According to invention of Claim 5, the conveyance efficiency of a powdery material can be improved compared with the case where the angle between linear parts is another angle.
According to the invention of claim 6, in the storage container for storing the powdery material, the powdery material is compared with a configuration including a conveying member having a spiral wing as a means for conveying the powdery material inside the storage container. It can suppress that the pressure of a thing becomes high.
According to the invention of claim 7, the powdery material is suppressed by suppressing the pressure of the powdery material from becoming higher compared to the configuration including the conveying member having the spiral wing as the powdery material conveying means. It is possible to suppress image defects caused by unstable conveyance and supply of the image.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus to which the exemplary embodiment is applied. It is a figure which shows the structure of a developing device. It is a figure which shows the III-III cross section of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the housing of a developing device. It is sectional drawing of a storage container. It is sectional drawing of a conveyance path. It is the figure which looked at the conveyance member along the axial direction from the one end side of a rotating shaft. It is a figure which expands and shows the state which looked at the conveyance member in the direction of arrow A of FIG. It is a figure which expands and shows the state which looked at the conveyance member in the direction of arrow B of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a developer is transported by a transport member rotating around a rotation axis. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a developer is transported by a transport member rotating around a rotation axis.

<Configuration of image forming apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image forming apparatus to which the exemplary embodiment is applied.
An image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a housing 11, a transport unit 12 that transports a sheet P, four image forming units 20 that form a toner image TZ, and a transfer unit that transfers the toner image TZ to the sheet P. 30 and a fixing unit 40 for fixing the toner image TZ to the paper P. The four image forming units 20 have the same configuration and different toner colors (for example, four colors of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black). In addition, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 50 that controls the operation of each unit and each unit. Here, the paper P is an example of a recording medium, and the toner image TZ is an example of a developer image.

  The image forming unit 20 includes a photosensitive member 22 as an example of an image holding member, a charging roll 24 that charges the photosensitive member 22, an exposure unit 26 that exposes the charged photosensitive member 22 to form a latent image, and a photosensitive member. 22 includes a developing device 100 that forms a toner image TZ. Further, the image forming unit 20 has a cleaning blade 28 for cleaning the photosensitive member 22. As described above, the image forming unit 20 is an electrophotographic unit that performs each process of charging, exposure, development, and cleaning.

  The developing device 100 forms a toner image TZ by performing development using the developer G (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 3, the developer G includes, for example, a non-magnetic toner T that is negatively charged and a carrier C that is positively charged and magnetic, and further includes an additive. .

  The transfer unit 30 includes a transfer belt 32 onto which the toner image TZ is transferred from the photoreceptor 22, a drive roll 33 and a driven roll 34 around which the transfer belt 32 is wound, four primary transfer rolls 36, and a secondary transfer. And a roll 38. The primary transfer roll 36 primarily transfers the toner image TZ on the photoconductor 22 to the transfer belt 32 due to a potential difference from the grounded photoconductor 22. The secondary transfer roll 38 secondarily transfers the toner image TZ on the transfer belt 32 to the conveyed paper P due to a potential difference with the grounded drive roll 33.

<Developing device>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the developing device 100, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a III-III cross section of FIG.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the developing device 100 includes a housing 102 as an example of a housing portion, a developing roll 104 as an example of a holding member, a first stirring member 106 as an example of a stirring member, 2 stirring member 108. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the developing device 100 includes a speed switching unit 110 as an example of a changing unit and a thick shaft portion 106B as an example of a staying unit. In addition, a container 200 (toner cartridge) that stores toner T that is a powdery material is connected to the developing device 100 via a conveyance path 300. When the toner T stored in the storage container 200 is discharged from the storage container 200, the toner T is transported through the transport path 300 and supplied to the developing device 100.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 100 includes a layer regulating member 109 that regulates the thickness of the developer G layer held on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roll 104, and toner supplied via the conveyance path 300. And an opening 119 for receiving T into the housing 102. The housing 102 is provided with a cover member 115 that covers the housing 102. In FIG. 3, in order to make each member easier to see, cross-sectional hatching of some members is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 102 includes a bottom wall 102A, a first partition wall 102B as an example of a wall portion standing at the center of the bottom wall 102A, and a side wall 102D standing at an edge around the bottom wall 102A. Have One side of the housing 102 (lower side in FIG. 2 and right side in FIG. 3) is open. The housing 102 accommodates developer G, which is a powdery substance, inside.

<Housing>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the housing 102 of the developing device 100.
As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 102 is formed in a rectangular shape. The first partition wall 102 </ b> B extends along the long side direction at the central portion in the short side direction of the housing 102. In addition, a first stirring chamber 103 and a second stirring chamber 105 are formed inside the housing 102 by being partitioned by the first partition wall 102B. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 4, the first stirring chamber 103 and the second stirring chamber 105 are formed over substantially the entire long side direction of the housing 102.

  The first stirring chamber 103 is located between the first partition wall 102B and the long side wall 102D (that is, the side not opened). Further, the first stirring chamber 103 is formed from the side wall 102D on one short side of the housing 102 to the side wall 102D on the other short side. As shown in FIG. 3, the first stirring chamber 103 is surrounded by a bottom wall 102A, a first partition wall 102B, a side wall 102D, a cover member 115, and a flow path member 102E, and is formed in a circular cross section. Yes. In the first stirring chamber 103, a rod-shaped first stirring member 106 is rotatably provided with the direction along the long side direction of the housing 102 as the axial direction. The first stirring member 106 includes a shaft portion 106A, a shaft thick portion 106B, and a first wing portion 106C. Details of the first stirring member 106 will be described later. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom surface 103A of the first agitation chamber 103 is curved in a semicircular shape when viewed along the long side direction of the housing 102 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3). It is a surface.

  The flow path member 102E is a long member whose longitudinal direction is the long side direction of the housing 102, and is attached to the housing 102 in contact with the first partition wall 102B, the side wall 102D, and the cover member 115. The flow path member 102 </ b> E has a curved surface 102 </ b> F formed on a surface facing the first stirring member 106 in a state of being attached to the housing 102. A channel having a circular cross section is formed by the curved surface 102F and the bottom surface 103A of the channel member 102E.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second stirring chamber 105 is located on the opposite side (lower side in FIG. 4) of the first stirring chamber 103 with the first partition wall 102B interposed therebetween. Similar to the first stirring chamber 103, the second stirring chamber 105 is formed from the side wall 102D on one short side of the housing 102 to the side wall 102D on the other short side. In the second stirring chamber 105, a rod-like second stirring member 108 is rotatably provided with the direction along the long side direction of the housing 102 as the axial direction. In addition, a developing chamber 111 in which the developing roll 104 is accommodated is formed inside the housing 102 on one side (the lower side in FIG. 4) of the second stirring chamber 105. The second stirring chamber 105 and the developing chamber 111 are continuous without a partition member.

  As shown in FIG. 4, both ends of the first partition wall 102B are open. One of the openings at both ends (the opening located on the left side in FIG. 4) is referred to as an inlet 116, and the other (the opening located on the right side in FIG. 4) is referred to as an outlet 118. Therefore, the first stirring chamber 103 and the second stirring chamber 105 are connected via the inlet 116 and the outlet 118. The developer G (see FIG. 3) accommodated in the housing 102 is conveyed from the inlet 116 side to the outlet 118 side (rightward in FIG. 4) as the first stirring member 106 rotates. Further, the developer G is conveyed from the outlet 118 side to the inlet 116 side (leftward in FIG. 4) as the second stirring member 108 rotates. Then, the developer G moves from the first stirring chamber 103 to the second stirring chamber 105 through the outlet 118 according to the conveyance by the first stirring member 106 and the second stirring member 108, and then passes through the inlet 116 to the second. It moves from the stirring chamber 105 to the first stirring chamber 103. As a result, the developer G circulates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4 as indicated by the white arrow. A part of the developer G in the second stirring chamber 105 is supplied to the developing roll 104.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing roll 104 is supported so as to be rotatable concentrically with the magnet roll 104A outside the magnet roll 104A and a magnet roll 104A fixed with the direction along the long side direction of the housing 102 as the axial direction. Development sleeve 104B. The magnet roll 104A is provided with a plurality of magnetic poles along the circumferential direction, and generates a magnetic force that attracts or retracts the developer G.

  The developing sleeve 104B holds the developer G on the outer peripheral surface, and develops the latent image on the photoreceptor 22 with toner T to form a toner image TZ. In FIG. 4, a range in which the developer G of the developing roll 104 is adsorbed is indicated by a two-dot chain line. In FIG. 4, the use area K of the developer G is indicated by an arrow. The use area K is an area where the developer G is held in the developing roll 104 and represents an area of the developer G used when developing the latent image on the photosensitive member 22 (see FIG. 3).

The first stirring member 106 and the second stirring member 108 will be further described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the first stirring member 106 is provided with a cylindrical shaft portion 106 </ b> A whose axial direction is a direction along the long side direction of the housing 102, and a diameter of a part of the shaft portion 106 </ b> A is increased. A thick shaft portion 106B, and a spiral first wing portion 106C formed on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 106A and the thick shaft portion 106B. Then, the first agitating member 106 rotates around its own axis and conveys the developer G in a certain direction (the direction from the left to the right indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 4) while agitating the developer G.

  The thick shaft portion 106B is a cylindrical portion projecting in the radial direction of the shaft portion 106A. The diameter of the thick shaft portion 106B is larger than the diameter of the shaft portion 106A and smaller than the diameter of the first wing portion 106C. At the position where the thick shaft portion 106B is provided, the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the developer G in the first stirring chamber 103 is smaller than the portion of the shaft portion 106A that is not the thick shaft portion 106B. Therefore, the developer G stays in the first stirring chamber 103 on the upstream side of the thick shaft portion 106B in the transport direction of the developer G.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second stirring member 108 includes a cylindrical shaft portion 108 </ b> A whose axial direction is the direction along the long side direction of the housing 102, and a helical second shaft formed on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 108 </ b> A. And a wing part 108B. The second agitating member 108 rotates about its own axis and agitates the developer G, while the direction opposite to the conveying direction by the first agitating member 106 (the right side indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 4). To the left).

  The interval between the second wing portions 108B in the second stirring member 108 and the interval between the first wing portions 106C in the first stirring member 106 are approximately the same. Therefore, the transport speed of the developer G by the first stirring member 106 and the transport speed of the developer G by the second stirring member 108 are approximately the same.

<Developer circulation>
Here, the circulation (flow) of the developer G inside the developing device 100 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the first stirring member 106 and the second stirring member 108 are rotated by the driving unit 70, the developer G in the first stirring chamber 103 is illustrated by the first stirring member 106. In the direction of the arrow (rightward in FIG. 4). At this time, the toner T and the carrier C in the developer G are agitated. Then, the developer G that has reached the downstream end in the first stirring chamber 103 flows into the second stirring chamber 105 through the outlet 118.

  The developer G that has flowed into the second stirring chamber 105 is transported by the second stirring member 108 in the direction indicated by the white arrow (leftward in FIG. 4). As a result, the developer G is conveyed to the use area K while the toner T and the carrier C are agitated. In the use area K, a part of the developer G being conveyed is supplied to the developing roll 104 and held on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roll 104 by a magnetic force. The developer G that has not been held by the developing roll 104 reaches the downstream end in the second stirring chamber 105, and flows into the first stirring chamber 103 through the inlet 116. In this way, the developer G circulates in the first stirring chamber 103 and the second stirring chamber 105.

  Here, in the periphery of the thick shaft portion 106B in the first stirring chamber 103, the cross-sectional area of the flow path through which the developer G can pass is smaller than the portion where the thick shaft portion 106B is not formed. Therefore, the developer G stays near the thick shaft portion 106B and upstream of the thick shaft portion 106B, and the first stirring chamber 103 is filled with the developer G.

  When the developer G is filled in the first stirring chamber 103 on the upstream side of the thick shaft portion 106B, the amount of the developer G around the thick shaft portion 106B in the first stirring chamber 103 changes. Is suppressed. As a result, the volume of the developer G that the first stirring member 106 transports in the transport direction per unit time becomes almost constant. Furthermore, since the developer G is transported in a compressed state around the thick shaft portion 106B, the resistance force acting on the developer G becomes almost constant.

  As described above, in the developing device 100, the thick shaft portion 106B causes the transport force for transporting the developer G and the resistance force acting on the developer G to be almost constant, and therefore the downstream portion of the thick shaft portion 106B. Variations in the transport amount of developer G being transported are suppressed. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the thick shaft portion 106 </ b> B is disposed near the center in the first stirring chamber 103. Therefore, compared to the case where the thick shaft portion 106B is arranged near the downstream end of the first stirring chamber 103, the conveyance in which the variation in the conveyance amount of the developer G is suppressed downstream from the thick shaft portion 106B. The route becomes longer. As a result, it is possible to suppress the charge amount of the toner T from being lower than the required charge amount.

<Configuration of container and transport path>
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the storage container 200.
The container 200 is detachably provided to the housing 11 of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the storage container 200 includes a storage cylinder 210 that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 10, and a conveyance member 230 provided in the storage cylinder 210. The accommodating cylinder 210 is an example of an accommodating portion, and is a cylinder in which toner T (not shown) that is a powdery substance is accommodated inside and closed at both ends, and is provided on a side surface on one end (the left end in the illustrated example) side. A discharge port 220 for discharging the internal toner T is provided. The discharge port 220 is provided with a lid 221 for adjusting the discharge of the toner T. The transport member 230 is rotatably provided in the storage cylinder 210 of the storage container 200 with the direction along the longitudinal direction of the storage cylinder 210 as an axial direction. As will be described in detail later, when the conveying member 230 rotates, the toner T accommodated in the accommodating cylinder 210 is conveyed toward the discharge port 220 (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing). Therefore, the storage container 200 is also an example of a transport device.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the conveyance path 300.
The conveyance path 300 is an example of a conveyance device, and conveys the toner T supplied from the storage container 200 to the developing device 100. The conveyance path 300 includes a cylindrical conveyance cylinder 310 whose both ends are closed, and a conveyance member 112 provided in the conveyance cylinder 310. The transport cylinder 310 is an example of a storage unit that temporarily stores the toner T discharged from the storage container 200, and an inlet 330 that receives the toner T (not shown) on the side surface on one end (left end in the illustrated example) side. And a discharge port 340 for discharging the toner T is provided on the side surface on the other end (right end in the illustrated example) side. The discharge port 340 is provided with a lid 341 for adjusting the discharge of the toner T. The conveying member 112 is rotatably provided in the conveying cylinder 310 of the conveying path 300 with the direction along the longitudinal direction of the conveying cylinder 310 as an axial direction. As will be described in detail later, when the conveyance member 112 rotates, the toner T that has flowed into the conveyance path 300 is conveyed toward the discharge port 340 (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the discharge port 220 of the container 200 and the inflow port 330 of the transport path 300 are connected. Further, the discharge port 340 of the transport path 300 is connected to the opening 119 of the developing device 100. Therefore, the toner T stored in the storage container 200 is first transported inside the storage container 200 and flows into the transport path 300 from the discharge port 220 of the storage container 200 through the inlet 330 of the transport path 300. Be contained. The toner T accommodated in the conveyance path 300 is conveyed in the conveyance path 300 and is supplied from the discharge port 340 of the conveyance path 300 to the first stirring chamber 103 of the developing device 100 through the opening 119. .

  The lid 341 provided at the discharge port 340 of the transport path 300 is a variation amount of the bulk of the developer G stored in the first stirring chamber 103 and the second stirring chamber 105 of the developing device 100 (included in the developer G). Depending on the amount of toner (toner density) to be changed). Specifically, for example, when the toner concentration decreases, it is necessary to replenish the toner T, so that the cover 341 of the discharge port 340 of the transport path 300 is opened and the toner T is supplied from the transport path 300 to the developing device 100. The The lid 221 provided at the discharge port 220 of the container 200 opens and closes autonomously according to the amount of change in the volume of the toner T in the transport path 300. Specifically, for example, when the toner T in the transport path 300 is supplied to the developing device 100 and becomes less than a predetermined threshold value, the lid 221 opens and the toner T is transferred from the container 200 to the transport path 300. Inflow. Various existing configurations may be applied to the mechanism for opening and closing the lid portions 341 and 221 autonomously.

<Drive control unit and drive unit>
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the speed switching unit 110 includes a drive control unit 60 and a drive unit 70 whose operation is controlled by the drive control unit 60. The drive control unit 60 is included in the control unit 50 shown in FIG. The drive unit 70 includes a motor and a gear (not shown), and rotationally drives the first stirring member 106, the second stirring member 108, the developing roll 104, the transport member 230, and the transport member 112.

  The drive control unit 60 performs control so that the developing roll 104, the conveyance member 230, and the conveyance member 112 rotate at the rotation speeds set for each. Further, the drive control unit 60 changes the image forming speed (the conveyance speed of the paper P on which the toner image TZ (see FIG. 1) is formed) in the image forming apparatus 10 (see FIG. 1) under the control of the control unit 50. In such a case, control is performed to change the rotation speed of the first stirring member 106 and the second stirring member 108. Note that the image forming speed of the image forming apparatus 10 is set to a reference speed (for example, a speed during normal operation), and the rotation speeds of the first stirring member 106 and the second stirring member 108 at this time are set. Use the reference rotation speed. In the image forming apparatus 10, when the ratio (toner density) of the toner T in the developer G is reduced and the density (image density) of the toner image TZ is reduced, control for increasing the image forming speed is performed.

In the present embodiment, independent drive means for rotating the transport member 230 of the storage container 200 and the transport member 112 of the transport path 300 are not provided, and the drive unit 70 that is a drive source of the developing device 100 is driven in common. The Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transport members 230 and 112 are always driven.
On the other hand, the lid 341 of the discharge port 340 of the transport path 300 is opened when the amount of toner T in the developing device 100 decreases and toner T needs to be replenished, and when the amount of toner T does not require replenishment. It is closed. The lid 221 of the discharge port 220 of the container 200 is opened when the amount of toner T in the transport path 300 decreases and toner T needs to be replenished, and when the amount of toner T does not require replenishment. It is closed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the conveyance members 230 and 112 continue to operate even when the lid portions 221 and 341 of the discharge ports 220 and 340 are closed.

  Here, if the transport member 230 continues to transport the toner T toward the discharge port 220 even though the cover 221 of the discharge port 220 of the storage container 200 is closed, the toner is placed near the discharge port 220 of the storage container 200. T stays and the pressure increases. In the vicinity of the discharge port 220, the toner T is pressed and fixed in the housing cylinder 210, and it becomes difficult for the toner T to be discharged from the discharge port 220, the gear that drives the conveying member 230 is skipped, or the lid portion 221 is moved. There is a risk of breaking through. Similarly, when the transport member 112 continues to transport the toner T toward the discharge port 340 even though the cover 341 of the discharge port 340 of the transport path 300 is closed, the toner is near the discharge port 340 of the transport path 300. T stays and the pressure increases. In the vicinity of the discharge port 340, the toner T is pressed and fixed in the conveyance path 300, so that it is difficult to be discharged from the discharge port 340, the gear that drives the conveyance member 112 is skipped, or the lid portion 341 is moved. There is a risk of breaking through.

<Configuration of conveying member>
Next, the structure of the conveyance member 230 of the storage container 200 and the conveyance member 112 of the conveyance path 300 will be described. Even if the transport members 230 and 112 of the present embodiment continue to operate when the lid portions 221 and 341 are closed as described above, the pressure of the toner T near the discharge ports 220 and 340 is suppressed from increasing. Configured as follows. In the present embodiment, the transport member 230 of the storage container 200 and the transport member 112 of the transport path 300 are configured similarly. Therefore, only the configuration of the transport member 112 of the transport path 300 will be described below.

  The transport member 112 is rotatably provided in the storage cylinder 210 of the storage container 200 with the direction along the longitudinal direction of the storage cylinder 210 as an axial direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the conveying member 112 includes a columnar rotating shaft 112A and a plurality of plate-like blade pieces 112B provided on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 112A. The wing piece 112B has an action surface 112C for moving around the rotation axis in contact with the toner T and moving in the transport direction while rotating around the rotation axis 112A. The action surface 112C serves as the rotation axis 112A. It is provided so as to have a specific angle with respect to it. Therefore, the blade 112B conveys the toner T from the inlet 330 side of the conveying path 300 to the outlet 340 side (from left to right in FIG. 6) as the rotating shaft 112A rotates. As a result, the toner T enters the conveyance path 300 from the inflow port 330, is conveyed by the conveyance member 112, is discharged from the discharge port 340 to the outside of the conveyance path 300, and enters the first stirring chamber 103 of the developing device 100. Supplied.

The configuration of the conveying member 112 will be described in more detail.
As shown in FIG. 6, the conveying member 112 has a plurality of blade pieces 112B with respect to the rotating shaft 112A. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the blades 112B have the same shape and are arranged in parallel at equal intervals on the rotating shaft 112A.

FIG. 7 is a view of the conveying member 112 as viewed in the axial direction from one end side of the rotating shaft 112A.
As shown in FIG. 7, the blade piece 112B is formed on a part of a circle O assumed as a circle concentric with the rotation shaft 112A when viewed (projected) along the axial direction from one end side of the rotation shaft 112A. , The shape overlaps the contour. In other words, the shape of the blade piece 112B projected in the direction along the rotation axis 112A includes a curved portion CL corresponding to a part of the circumference of the circle O, and two straight portions SL corresponding to the radius of the circle O. It has the outline containing. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the angle between the straight line portions SL is 180 °, and the shape of the blade piece 112B projected in the direction along the rotation axis 112A is a semicircular shape.

  Further, each blade piece 112B has a portion where no blade piece 112B exists in a part of the circle O when viewed along the axial direction from one end side of the rotation shaft 112A (that is, the rotation shaft 112A). Are arranged so that there is a gap that can be seen (penetrated) from one end side to the other end side. As described above, when there is a portion where none of the blade pieces 112B exist, when the toner T transported at the end of the transport path 300 on the discharge port 340 side stays, the toner T moves in the direction opposite to the transport direction. There is room to be pushed back (run away). For this reason, even if the conveying member 112 is driven in a state where the discharge port 340 of the conveyance path 300 is closed, the toner T is conveyed one after another and is compressed at the end of the conveyance cylinder 310 on the discharge port 340 side. This can be suppressed. In the example shown in FIG. 7, each blade piece 112 </ b> B is arranged such that the respective working surfaces 112 </ b> C overlap when viewed along the axial direction from one end side of the rotating shaft 112 </ b> A. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 7, when viewed along the axial direction from one end side of the rotating shaft 112 </ b> A, the wing piece 112 </ b> B is positioned only in a semicircular portion (left half in the drawing) that is a part of the circle O. And does not exist in the remaining semicircle portion (indicated by a broken line in the figure).

  Here, the diameter of the circle O is approximately the same as the inner diameter of the transport cylinder 310 (cylinder) in the transport path 300. Therefore, in a state where the conveying member 112 is housed in the conveying cylinder 310, an edge forming a curved portion CL (an arcuate contour portion overlapping the circle O) of the blade piece 112 </ b> B comes close to the inner surface of the conveying cylinder 310. As a result, when the conveying member 112 rotates about the rotation shaft 112A, the blade piece 112B contacts the toner T near the inner surface of the conveying cylinder 310, so that conveyance leakage is suppressed.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the conveying member 112 is viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the blade piece 112B is provided such that the straight portion SL (see FIG. 7) has an angle θ1 between 0 degrees and 90 degrees with respect to the axial direction of the rotating shaft 112A (0 ° <θ1 <90 °). This is because when the angle θ1 is 0 degree (θ1 = 0 °) and when the angle θ1 is 90 degrees (θ1 = 90 °), the toner T can be rotated even if the conveying member 112 is rotated about the rotation shaft 112A. This is because is not conveyed. That is, when the angle θ1 is 0 degrees (θ1 = 0 °), the blade 112B only sweeps the toner T along the circumferential direction even if the conveyance member 112 is rotated about the rotation shaft 112A. It does not convey in the direction along 112A. Further, when the angle θ1 is 90 degrees (θ1 = 90 °), the working surface 112C of the blade piece 112B is parallel to the rotation direction of the rotation shaft 112A, so that the thrust in the direction along the rotation shaft 112A is applied to the toner T. Not given.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the interval (pitch) p1 between each blade piece 112B is along the rotation axis 112A because the straight line portion SL of each blade piece 112B has an angle θ1 with respect to the rotation axis 112A. The interval is such that part of the directions overlap. In the example shown in FIG. 8, one wing piece 112B overlaps with another wing piece 112B adjacent by the length d1 in the direction along the rotation axis 112A. As will be described later, the conveying member 112 according to the present embodiment conveys the toner T by rotating the rotating shaft 112A so that the plurality of blades 112B sequentially push out the toner T in the conveying direction along the rotating shaft 112A. To do. Therefore, if there is a gap between the blade pieces 112B in the transport direction, the toner T stays in this gap. In order to suppress this, in this embodiment, each wing piece 112B is arranged so that a part of adjacent wing pieces 112B overlap.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the conveying member 112 is viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the blade piece 112B is inclined with respect to the rotating shaft 112A at an angle θ2 between 0 degrees and 90 degrees so as to fall in the direction opposite to the toner T conveyance direction (0). ° <θ2 <90 °). This is because, when the blade piece 112B is provided so as to be inclined in the toner T conveying direction with respect to the rotating shaft 112A (that is, an angle θ2> 90 °), the blade 112B is placed between the working surface 112C of the blade piece 112B and the rotating shaft 112A. Since the angle becomes an acute angle, when the toner T is transported, the toner T is sandwiched between the working surface 112C and the rotating shaft 112A, and it is difficult to slide on the working surface 112C, so that the transport efficiency may be reduced. This is because. When the angle θ2 is 0 degree, the working surface 112C of the blade piece 112B does not rise with respect to the rotating shaft 112A, and thus the toner T cannot be conveyed.

<Toner transport by transport member>
10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a state in which the toner T is conveyed by the conveyance member 112 rotating around the rotation shaft 112A.
In the state shown in FIG. 10A, the leading wing piece 112B in the conveying direction (indicated by the outlined arrow) in the conveying member 112 (the left wing piece 112B in FIGS. 10-1 and 10-2). ) Exists at a position corresponding to (). 10A and 10B, the conveyance cylinder 310 is omitted, but the toner T is in a state of being deposited on the bottom in the conveyance cylinder 310 in FIG. 10A.

  When the rotating shaft 112A rotates from the state shown in FIG. 10-1 (A), the blade piece 112B moves around the rotating shaft 112A along with this, as shown in FIGS. 10-1 (A) to (D). The working surface 112C pushes the toner T when the blade 112B moves below the rotating shaft 112A. When the rotating shaft 112A further rotates, the working surface 112C of the blade piece 112B tends to rescue the toner T as shown in FIG. 10-1 (E). However, since the blade piece 112B has the angles θ1 and θ2 with respect to the rotating shaft 112A, as shown in FIGS. 10-2 (F) to (I), the toner T slides on the working surface 112C. Fall forward in the transport direction. As a result, the toner T moves from the position shown in FIG. 10A to the position shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the toner T moves while the transport member 112 rotates once. However, the blades positioned forward in the transport direction are continuously rotated by the transport member 112. The pieces 112B successively move the toner T along the transport direction.

<Modified example of conveying member>
In the conveying member 112 according to the present embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10-2, the angle between the two linear portions SL in the contour shape of the blade piece 112B is set to 180 °. On the other hand, the angle between the two linear portions SL may be smaller than 180 °, or conversely, larger than 180 °. In any case, the toner T can be conveyed by rotating the rotating shaft 112A. However, the conveyance member 112 pushes the toner T by the working surface 112C of the blade piece 112B by rotating the blade piece 112B around the rotation shaft 112A as described above. Therefore, the larger the area of the working surface 112C, the larger the amount of toner T carried during one rotation. However, if the angle between the straight portions SL exceeds 180 °, a part of the toner T carried by the wing piece 112B at the rear in the carrying direction hits the back side of the wing piece 112B at the front in the carrying direction, and the direction opposite to the carrying direction. It can happen that Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the blade piece 112B having a shape (semi-circular shape) in which the angle between the two linear portions SL is 180 ° has the highest conveyance efficiency.

  Moreover, in the conveyance member 112 shown to FIGS. 6-10-2, when each blade piece 112B is seen along the axial direction from the one end side of the rotating shaft 112A, it arrange | positions so that each action surface 112C may overlap. did. However, each blade piece 112B only needs to be arranged so that there is a portion where no blade piece 112B exists in a part of the circle O when viewed along the axial direction from one end side of the rotating shaft 112A. The configuration is not limited to the illustrated configuration. For example, the working surfaces of the adjacent wing pieces 112B may not be completely overlapped and may be arranged so as to be shifted from each other.

  In the conveying member 112 shown in FIGS. 6 to 10-2, the blade piece 112B is a plate-like member, but the working surface 112C provided on the blade piece 112B has a specific angle with respect to the rotating shaft 112A. The wing piece 112B may not be a plate-shaped member. Furthermore, the working surface 112C of the blade piece 112B is not limited to a flat surface, and may be a curved surface.

  The transport member 112 provided in the transport path 300 has been described above, but the transport member 230 provided in the storage container 200 is configured similarly. That is, it has a rotating shaft 231 and a plurality of blade pieces 232 provided on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 231 (see FIG. 5), and the blade pieces 232 are connected to the blade pieces 112B in the conveying member 112 of the conveying path 300 described above. It is comprised similarly. Therefore, even if the transport member 230 is driven in a state where the discharge port 220 of the storage container 200 is closed, the toner T is transported one after another and is compressed at the end of the storage tube 210 on the discharge port 220 side. Can be suppressed.

Moreover, in said embodiment, it was set as the structure containing the rotating shaft 112A and the blade piece 112B which were shown to FIGS. 6-10-2 regarding the conveyance member 112 provided in the conveyance path 300. FIG. Further, the conveying member 230 provided in the storage container 200 is configured in the same manner as the conveying member 112. However, the application target of the present embodiment is not limited to the conveyance path 300 and the conveyance members 112 and 230 of the storage container 200, and the conveyance of the present embodiment in various configurations for conveying a powdery material such as the developer G. The member 112 can be applied. For example, compared with a stirring member provided with a spiral wing around the rotation axis, the action of stirring the powder is reduced, but the first stirring member 106 of the first stirring chamber 103 and the second stirring chamber 105 A configuration similar to that of the conveyance member 112 of the present embodiment can be applied to the second stirring member 108.
In addition, various embodiments and modifications within the scope not departing from the technical idea of the present invention are included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus, 20 ... Image forming unit, 22 ... Photoconductor, 30 ... Transfer part, 100 ... Developing apparatus, 102 ... Housing, 102B ... 1st partition wall, 104 ... Developing roll, 106 ... 1st stirring member, 106A ... shaft portion, 106B ... shaft thick portion, 110 ... speed switching portion, 112 ... conveying member, 112A ... rotary shaft, 112B ... wing blade, 112C ... working surface, 200 ... housing portion, 210 ... container, 220 ... discharge port 221: Lid, 230: Transport member, 300: Transport path, 310: Transport cylinder, 330 ... Inlet, 340 ... Discharge port, 341 ... Lid, C ... Carrier, G ... Developer, T ... Toner, TZ ... toner image

Claims (7)

An accommodating portion for accommodating a powdery material used for image formation;
A conveying member that conveys the powdery substance in the accommodating portion,
The conveying member is
A rotating shaft provided along the conveying direction of the powdery material in the accommodating portion;
The circle provided on the rotating shaft and having a contour corresponding to a part of the circumference of a circle concentric with the rotating shaft and two radii of the circle when viewed along the rotating shaft. A plurality of wing pieces having a working surface that has a predetermined angle of inclination with respect to a direction in which the powdery material is conveyed,
A conveying apparatus comprising:   2. The plurality of wing pieces are arranged such that there is a portion where none of the wing pieces exists in a part of the circle when viewed along the rotation axis. Transport device.   The working surface of the blade piece is inclined at an angle θ1 (0 ° <θ1 <90 °) with respect to the rotating shaft so as to face the conveying direction of the powdery material and the rotating direction of the rotating shaft, The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a part of the wing piece overlaps in a direction along the rotation axis.   The working surface of the wing piece is inclined at an angle θ2 (0 ° <θ2 <90 °) with respect to the rotation axis so as to be tilted to the opposite side of the conveying direction of the powdery material. The conveyance apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3.   5. The angle between two straight portions overlapping with the radius of the circle in the outline of the blade piece overlapping with a part of the circle is 180 °. Crab transport device. An accommodating portion that is detachable from the image forming apparatus and contains a powdery material used for image formation and has a discharge port for discharging the powdery material;
A conveying member that conveys the powdery substance accommodated in the accommodating part toward the discharge port, and
The conveying member is
A rotating shaft provided along the conveying direction of the powdery material in the accommodating portion;
The circle provided on the rotating shaft and having a contour corresponding to a part of the circumference of a circle concentric with the rotating shaft and two radii of the circle when viewed along the rotating shaft. A plurality of wing pieces having a working surface that has a predetermined angle of inclination with respect to a direction in which the powdery material is conveyed,
A storage container, comprising: An image carrier,
An accommodating portion for accommodating a powdery material used for forming a developer image on the image carrier;
A transport member for transporting the powdered material in the housing portion;
A transfer unit that transfers the developer image formed on the image carrier to a recording medium,
The conveying member is
A rotating shaft provided along the conveying direction of the powdery material in the accommodating portion;
The circle provided on the rotating shaft and having a contour corresponding to a part of the circumference of a circle concentric with the rotating shaft and two radii of the circle when viewed along the rotating shaft. A plurality of wing pieces having a working surface that has a predetermined angle of inclination with respect to a direction in which the powdery material is conveyed,
An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images