JP2018146861A - Developer container and image forming apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developer container configured to reduce developer remaining in a container body with a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A toner container 10 (developer container) includes a container body 20 containing toner (developer) and having a toner outlet 27 formed at a bottom surface 22A. At least a part of the bottom surface 22A of the container body 20 is inclined downwardly toward the outlet 27. The toner container 10 includes an agitation member 30 having an agitation blade 32 arranged in the container body 20 so as to extend radially outward from a rotation shaft 31 perpendicular to the bottom surface 22A, and rotating the agitation blade 32 in contact with an inside surface 21A together with the rotation shaft 31 to agitate the toner in the container body 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer container and an image forming apparatus including the developer container.

  An electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a developer container storing a developer used for image formation.

  The toner replenishing device described in Patent Document 1 includes a first screw that feeds toner to a toner carry-out port. An impeller for feeding toner toward the first screw and a second screw (screw shaft) are provided inside the toner supply container. A partition plate that moves toward the first screw is engaged with the second screw. The impeller and the partition plate send toner to the first screw, thereby reducing the amount of toner remaining in the toner supply container.

JP 2000-187382 A

  However, in the above-described toner replenishing device, the toner is forcibly sent to the first screw, so that there is a possibility that the toner aggregates in the vicinity of the toner conveyance opening. For this reason, the toner remaining without being discharged in the toner replenishing container increases, and the toner cannot be used up without waste. Further, since the mechanism (impeller, second screw, and partition plate) for forcibly feeding the toner to the first screw is complicated, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a developer container for reducing the amount of developer remaining in the container body with a simple configuration, and an image forming apparatus including the developer container.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the developer container of the present invention includes a container main body that contains the developer and has a discharge port for the developer on the bottom surface or the lower side of the inner surface, and the bottom surface of the container main body. At least a part of is formed in a downward gradient toward the discharge port.

  In this case, a rotation shaft provided in a state extending in the direction intersecting the bottom surface inside the container main body, and a stirring blade provided in a state extending radially outward from the rotation shaft are included. It is preferable that a stirring member that stirs the developer in the container body by rotating the stirring blade with the rotating shaft while contacting the inner surface is provided.

  In this case, it is preferable that the discharge port is formed on the bottom surface on the inner side of the rotation orbit at the tip of the stirring blade.

  In this case, it is preferable that the stirring blade includes a rotation connecting portion that rotatably connects a plurality of stirring plates arranged in the radial direction of the rotation shaft.

  In this case, it is preferable that the rotation connecting portion includes a biasing member that biases the plurality of stirring plates so as to be aligned on the same straight line.

  In this case, the container body is formed such that a distance between the inner side surfaces facing the first direction is longer than a distance between the inner side surfaces facing the second direction intersecting the first direction, The member is rotated by bringing the tip of the stirring blade into contact with the inner side surface in the first direction and being bent at the rotation connecting portion or bending the stirring plate with rotation. It is preferable that the connecting portion is in contact with the inner side surface in the second direction.

  In this case, it is preferable that the rotation connecting portion includes a scraping member provided so as to be able to contact the inner side surface in the second direction.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes any one of the developer containers described above.

  According to the present invention, the developer remaining in the container body can be reduced with a simple configuration.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an internal structure of a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is II-II sectional drawing of FIG. It is III-III sectional drawing of FIG. It is a side view which shows typically a part of stirring member which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows typically a part of stirring member which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the motion of the stirring member which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a toner container according to a first modification of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a toner container according to a second modification of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a toner container according to a third modification of an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, “Fr” indicates “front”, “Rr” indicates “rear”, “L” indicates “left”, “R” indicates “right”, and “U” indicates “Up” indicates “D”, and “D” indicates “Down”.

<Overview of color printer>
With reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of a color printer 1 as an example of an image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the color printer 1.

  The color printer 1 includes an apparatus main body 2 that forms a substantially rectangular parallelepiped appearance. A paper feed cassette 3 that stores paper sheets S (bundle) is detachably provided below the apparatus main body 2. A paper discharge tray 4 is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 2. The sheet S is not limited to paper, and may be a resin sheet or the like.

  Further, the color printer 1 includes a paper feeding device 5, an image forming device 6, and a fixing device 7 inside the device main body 2. The paper feeding device 5 is provided at the upstream end of the conveyance path 8 extending from the paper feeding cassette 3 to the paper discharge tray 4. The fixing device 7 is provided on the downstream side of the conveying path 8, and the image forming device 6 is provided between the paper feeding device 5 and the fixing device 7 in the conveying path 8.

  The image forming device 6 includes four toner containers 10, an intermediate transfer belt 11, four drum units 12, and an optical scanning device 13. The four toner containers 10 are arranged in the front-rear direction on the upper part of the apparatus main body 2. Each toner container 10 is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 2. The four toner containers 10 store toners (developers) of four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black). The intermediate transfer belt 11 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. Each drum unit 12 includes a photosensitive drum 14, a charging device 15, a developing device 16, a primary transfer roller 17, and a cleaning device 18. Each primary transfer roller 17 is provided so as to sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 11 between the photosensitive drum 14. A secondary transfer roller 19 is in contact with the rear side of the intermediate transfer belt 11 to form a transfer nip.

  The color printer 1 forms an image on the sheet S according to the following procedure. Each charging device 15 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 14. Each photosensitive drum 14 receives scanning light emitted from the optical scanning device 13 and carries an electrostatic latent image. Each developing device 16 develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 14 into a toner image using the toner supplied from the toner container 10. Each primary transfer roller 17 primarily transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 14 to the rotating intermediate transfer belt 11. The intermediate transfer belt 11 carries a full-color toner image obtained by superimposing four color toner images while rotating. The sheet S is sent out from the paper feeding cassette 3 to the conveyance path 8 by the paper feeding device 5. The secondary transfer roller 19 secondarily transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 11 to the sheet S that passes through the transfer nip. The fixing device 7 heat-fixes the toner image on the sheet S. Thereafter, the sheet S is discharged to the paper discharge tray 4. Each cleaning device 18 removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 14.

<Configuration of toner container>
Next, a toner container 10 as an example of a developer container will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing a part of the stirring member 30. FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing a part of the stirring member 30. Since the basic configuration of the four toner containers 10 is the same, only one toner container 10 will be described below.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the toner container 10 includes a container body 20 and a stirring member 30. The container body 20 stores toner. The stirring member 30 rotates to stir the toner in the container body 20. The toner may be a one-component developer made of a magnetic toner or a two-component developer containing a toner and a carrier.

  The container body 20 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin material and has a substantially cylindrical shape that is long in the left-right direction. The container body 20 includes a bottom wall 22 and a top wall 23 that block both upper and lower end surfaces of the substantially cylindrical side wall 21. The side wall 21, the bottom wall 22 and the top wall 23 are formed to have substantially the same thickness (wall thickness). A container chamber 24 for storing toner is formed inside the container body 20 (a range surrounded by the walls 21 to 23). The surface of the side wall 21 facing the storage chamber 24 constitutes the inner surface 21A of the container body 20 (storage chamber 24). Similarly, the upper surface of the bottom wall 22 constitutes the bottom surface 22A of the container body 20, and the bottom surface of the top wall 23 constitutes the top surface 23A of the container body 20.

  The container body 20 is formed in a substantially rounded quadrangle (substantially elliptical shape) when viewed from the plane. In the container body 20, the distance D1 between the inner side surfaces 21A facing in the left-right direction (first direction) is larger than the distance D2 between the inner side surfaces 21A facing in the front-rear direction (second direction intersecting the first direction). It is formed long (see FIG. 3). The distance D1 in the long side direction is the maximum value of the interval between the opposing inner side surfaces 21A, and the distance D2 in the short side direction is the minimum value of the interval between the opposing inner side surfaces 21A.

  A shaft hole 25 is formed in the center (centroid) of the bottom wall 22 to allow the rotation shaft 31 described later to pass therethrough. A seal for preventing toner leakage is provided on the periphery of the shaft hole 25 (not shown). A toner discharge port 27 is open at the left end of the bottom wall 22. A shutter that opens and closes the outlet 27 is provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall 22 (not shown). The shutter is configured to open when the toner container 10 is attached to the apparatus main body 2 and to close when the toner container 10 is detached from the apparatus main body 2. When the toner container 10 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2, the discharge port 27 is connected to a toner supply path (not shown) communicating with the supply port (not shown) of the developing device 16.

  The substantially right half of the bottom wall 22 is formed substantially horizontally. The substantially left half of the bottom wall 22 is inclined downward from the substantially central portion toward the left side. That is, the substantially left half of the bottom surface 22 </ b> A of the container body 20 is formed with a downward slope toward the discharge port 27. In the following description, the substantially right half bottom surface 22A is referred to as a horizontal surface 22B, and the substantially left half bottom surface 22A is referred to as an inclined surface 22C.

  The top surface wall 23 (the top surface 23A) is formed substantially parallel to the horizontal surface 22B of the bottom wall 22. A bearing portion 26 is formed at the center (centroid) of the top wall 23 so as to face the shaft hole 25 of the bottom wall 22. The substantially right half of the side wall 21 (inner side surface 21A) is formed with the same width in the vertical direction. The substantially left half of the side wall 21 is formed wider in the vertical direction as it approaches the discharge port 27.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the stirring member 30 includes a rotating shaft 31 and a stirring blade 32. The rotation shaft 31 is provided in the container body 20 so as to be rotatable around the axis. The stirring blade 32 is provided in a state extending radially outward from the rotating shaft 31. In addition, “Ra” shown in each figure indicates “radial direction”.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating shaft 31 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The rotating shaft 31 is provided in a state extending in the vertical direction orthogonal to the horizontal plane 22B. The rotating shaft 31 is inserted into the shaft hole 25 from below and enters the storage chamber 24. The upper end portion of the rotating shaft 31 is rotatably fitted to the bearing portion 26 of the top wall 23. The lower end portion of the rotation shaft 31 is located below the bottom wall 22. An input gear G <b> 1 is fixed to the lower end portion of the rotating shaft 31. When the toner container 10 is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the input gear G 1 is engaged with the output gear G 2 of the drive motor M.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation shaft 31 is located at the approximate center of the bottom wall 22 (the top wall 23). In other words, the rotating shaft 31 is provided at a position that bisects a straight line that passes through the axis and connects the opposing inner side surfaces 21A.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the stirring blade 32 includes three stirring plates 33 and two rotation connecting portions 34. The three stirring plates 33 are arranged side by side in the radial direction of the rotating shaft 31. The two rotation connecting portions 34 are members for connecting the three stirring plates 33 so as to be rotatable.

  Each stirring plate 33 is formed of a synthetic resin film having flexibility, for example. Each stirring plate 33 is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the radial direction. The length of the long side of each stirring plate 33 is about 1 / th of the distance D3 (about half of the distance D1 in the long side direction) connecting the axis of the rotation shaft 31 and the left side (or right side) inner surface 21A. It is set to 3 to 1/4. One stirring plate 33 has one short side fixed to the rotating shaft 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each rotation connecting portion 34 includes a pair of connecting plates 35, a connecting shaft 36, an urging member 37, and four scraping members 38. The pair of connecting plates 35 are respectively fixed to the adjacent stirring plates 33. The connecting shaft 36 rotatably connects the pair of connecting plates 35. The biasing member 37 applies a biasing force to the pair of connecting plates 35. The four scraping members 38 are fixed to the pair of connecting plates 35. In addition, since the two rotation connection parts 34 are the same structures, the one rotation connection part 34 is demonstrated below.

  Each connecting plate 35 is made of, for example, a hard synthetic resin and has a substantially rectangular plate shape. A fixing groove (not shown) for sandwiching and fixing one side (short side) of the stirring plate 33 is formed at one end portion in the radial direction of each connecting plate 35. The other radial end of each connecting plate 35 is formed in a concavo-convex shape by arranging a plurality of convex portions 35A in the vertical direction. Each projection 35A is formed with a connection hole 35B through which the connection shaft 36 passes.

  The connecting shaft 36 is formed in a cylindrical shape that is long in the vertical direction. The connection shaft 36 is inserted into the connection hole 35B so as to penetrate the plurality of meshed protrusions 35A in the vertical direction in the pair of connection plates 35 meshing the plurality of protrusions 35A. The upper and lower ends of the connecting shaft 36 are fixed to one connecting plate 35. Therefore, the other connecting plate 35 is rotatably connected to the one connecting plate 35 via the connecting shaft 36.

  The biasing member 37 is a so-called torsion coil spring and is provided so as to be wound around the connecting shaft 36. Specifically, the urging member 37 is inserted into the connecting hole 35B so as to penetrate the plurality of meshed convex portions 35A in the vertical direction, and the connecting shaft 36 described above is formed by the urging member 37 fitted in each connecting hole 35B. It is inserted in the shaft center. The upper end portion of the urging member 37 is fixed to the upper end portion of one connecting plate 35, and the lower end portion of the urging member 37 is fixed to the lower end portion of the other connecting plate 35. In a state where the pair of connecting plates 35 are aligned on the same straight line, the urging member 37 is in a natural state where it is not twisted. Although details will be described later, the urging member 37 urges the adjacent stirring plates 33 to be arranged on the same straight line with the rotation connecting portion 34 interposed therebetween.

  Each scraping member 38 is formed in a substantially thick plate shape by, for example, a synthetic resin sponge. The four scraping members 38 are affixed to both the front and back surfaces of the pair of connecting plates 35 at positions avoiding the convex portions 35A of the connecting plates 35 (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the stirring blade 32 is formed by connecting three stirring plates 33 with two rotation connecting portions 34. The overall dimension of the stirring blade 32 in the radial direction is set slightly longer than the distance D3 connecting the axis of the rotating shaft 31 and the left side (or right side) inner surface 21A. The tip of the stirring blade 32 comes into contact with the inner side surface 21 </ b> A farthest from the rotating shaft 31. The distance connecting the axis of the rotary shaft 31 and the connecting shaft 36 of the rotational connecting portion 34 on the radially inner side is set to approximately half of the distance D2 in the short side direction. The rotation trajectory at the tip of the stirring blade 32 substantially coincides with the planar shape (substantially rounded rectangular shape) of the inner side surface 21A of the container body 20. That is, the stirring blade 32 moves so as to cross the entire discharge port 27 when viewed from the plane. In other words, the discharge port 27 described above is formed on the bottom surface 22 </ b> A on the inner side of the rotation orbit at the tip of the stirring blade 32.

<Operation of toner container>
Next, the operation of the toner container 10 (stirring member 30) will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the movement of the stirring member 30.

  When the toner is consumed by the image forming process, the control device of the color printer 1 controls the drive motor M to execute the toner supply operation. The driving force of the drive motor M is transmitted to the rotary shaft 31 via the gears G1 and G2, and rotates the rotary shaft 31 around the axis (see also FIG. 2). The agitating member 30 agitates the toner in the container body 20 by rotating the agitating blade 32 together with the rotating shaft 31 while being in contact with the inner surface 21A.

  Hereinafter, the movement (behavior) of the stirring member 30 will be described in detail. In the following, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, the description will be made by paying attention to the behavior of two connecting plates 35 connected to one rotating connecting portion 34.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the stirring member 30 rotates counterclockwise from a state in which the tip of the stirring blade 32 (stirring plate 33) is in contact with the inner surface 21A in the right direction. The tip of the stirring blade 32 moves while rubbing the inner side surface 21A, so that the toner attached to the inner side surface 21A and the like is scraped off.

  When the rotation of the stirring member 30 proceeds, the distance connecting the inner surface 21A with which the tip of the stirring blade 32 contacts and the axis of the rotation shaft 31 becomes shorter. For this reason, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 6, the pressing of the tip of the stirring plate 33 against the inner surface 21 </ b> A becomes strong, and the two adjacent stirring plates 33 are bent at the connecting shaft 36 of the rotating connecting portion 34 or stirred. The plate 33 bends. Note that bending of the two adjacent stirring plates 33 and bending of the stirring plate 33 may occur at the same time.

  As shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 6, when the stirring member 30 is rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise, the stirring member 30 is bent at a substantially right angle by the rotation connecting portion 34 on the radial inner side. The stirring plate 33 and the rotation connecting portion 34 located radially outside the rotation connecting portion 34 on the radially inner side are in a posture along the inner side surface 21A. Then, each scraping member 38 affixed on the downstream side (outside) in the rotation direction of each rotation connecting portion 34 comes into contact with the inner side surface 21A. As each scraping member 38 moves while rubbing the inner side surface 21A, the toner adhering to the inner side surface 21A or the like is scraped off. Further, when the two stirring plates 33 are bent at the rotation connecting portion 34, the biasing member 37 is twisted around the axial center by rotating the other connecting plate 35 with respect to the one connecting plate 35. For this reason, elastic energy is accumulated in the biasing member 37.

  As indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, when the rotation of the stirring member 30 further proceeds, the distance connecting the inner surface 21 </ b> A with which the tip of the stirring blade 32 contacts and the axis of the rotation shaft 31 increases. For this reason, the stirring plate 33 and the rotation connecting part 34 along the inner side surface 21A move away from the inner side surface 21A. That is, the pressing of the rotation connecting portion 34 against the inner side surface 21A is weakened. Then, the urging member 37 releases the accumulated elastic energy, and urges the two stirring plates 33 adjacent to each other with the rotation connecting portion 34 therebetween to be aligned on the same straight line. Accordingly, the state in which each scraping member 38 of the rotation connecting portion 34 is in contact with the inner side surface 21A returns to the state in which the tip of the stirring blade 32 (stirring plate 33) is in contact with the inner side surface 21A.

  As shown by a solid line in FIG. 6, when the stirring member 30 makes a half turn counterclockwise (a rear half turn), the tip of the stirring blade 32 comes into contact with the left inner surface 21A. Thereafter, the stirring member 30 repeats the same behavior as described above every time it rotates half a circle.

  Further, the agitating member 30 rotates the agitating blade 32 together with the rotating shaft 31 to push out the toner on the horizontal surface 22B toward the inclined surface 22C. The toner slides down along the inclined surface 22C due to its own weight (see the thick arrow in FIG. 2). The toner slides down to the discharge port 27 opened at the lower end of the inclined surface 22C, and is supplied from the discharge port 27 to the developing device 16 through the toner supply path.

  In the toner container 10 according to the present embodiment described above, the container body 20 is configured to have the toner outlet 27 on the bottom surface 22A of the storage chamber 24. Further, a part of the bottom surface 22 </ b> A of the container body 20 is inclined downward toward the discharge port 27. According to this configuration, the toner (developer) is guided to the discharge port 27 by naturally sliding down the inclined bottom surface 22A. Therefore, compared with a structure in which the toner is forcibly sent to the discharge port 27, toner aggregation near the discharge port 27 can be suppressed. Further, the toner can be smoothly fed toward the discharge port 27 with a simple structure in which the bottom surface 22A is inclined. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the toner (residual toner) remaining without being discharged in the container body 20 with a simple configuration.

  Further, in the toner container 10 according to this embodiment, the stirring blade 32 is configured to slide on the inner side surface 21A of the container body 20 by rotating around the rotation shaft 31 provided in a standing posture on the bottom surface 22A. Further, the stirring blade 32 is configured to pass above the discharge port 27. According to this configuration, the toner adhering to the inner surface 21A can be effectively scraped off. Further, the toner can be sent to the discharge port 27 while stirring the entire region inside the container body 20. Thereby, the remaining toner can be further reduced.

  Further, in the toner container 10 (stirring member 30) according to the present embodiment, the three stirring plates 33 are connected via the rotation connecting portion 34 so as to rotate (swing). According to this configuration, since the stirring blade 32 can be bent according to the shape of the inner side surface 21A (distance from the rotation shaft 31 to the inner side surface 21A), the stirring blade 32 can be slid along the inner side surface 21A. it can. Further, even if the rotation speed of the stirring blade 32 is kept low, the toner adhering to the inner surface 21A can be efficiently scraped and the toner can be efficiently sent toward the discharge port 27. Further, since the increase in the rotation speed of the stirring blade 32 is suppressed, it is possible to suppress the toner from being pressed against the inner surface 21A and aggregating. Thereby, the toner (residual toner) remaining without being discharged in the container main body 20 can be reduced.

  In the toner container 10 according to the present embodiment, the three stirring plates 33 are urged by the urging member 37 and arranged in a straight line. According to this configuration, the stirring blade 32 can be bent when the distance from the rotating shaft 31 to the inner surface 21A is short, and the stirring blade 32 can be folded when the distance from the rotating shaft 31 to the inner surface 21A is long. It can return to a straight line from a bent state. Thereby, the stirring plate 33 or the rotation connection part 34 can be moved in the state which contacted the inner surface 21A.

  Further, in the toner container 10 according to the present embodiment, the stirring member 30 is bent by the rotation connecting portion 34 as the rotation occurs, or the stirring plate 33 is bent, whereby the rotation connecting portion 34 is moved backward. It was set as the structure made to contact the inner surface 21A of a direction. According to this configuration, the tip of the stirring blade 32 (stirring plate 33) slides on the inner side surface 21A facing in the long side direction (left-right direction), and the rotation connecting portion 34 faces in the short side direction (front-rear direction). It slides on the inner side surface 21A. Thereby, since the stirring blade 32 can always be rotated in a state of being in contact with the inner side surface 21A, adhesion of toner to the inner side surface 21A can be suppressed.

  Further, in the toner container 10 according to the present embodiment, each scraping member 38 is provided so as to be able to contact the inner side surface 21A (the inner side surface 21A facing in the short side direction) of the container body 20 as the stirring blade 32 rotates. It was. According to this configuration, the toner attached to the inner side surface 21 </ b> A facing in the short side direction can be effectively scraped off by each scraping member 38. Thereby, even if the stirring blade 32 is bent, the toner scraping ability can be ensured.

  In the toner container 10 according to the present embodiment, substantially half of the bottom surface 22A of the container body 20 is formed downwardly toward the discharge port 27, but the present invention is not limited to this. It suffices that at least a part of the bottom surface 22 </ b> A of the container body 20 is formed in a downward slope toward the discharge port 27. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the entire bottom surface 22 </ b> A may be formed in a downward slope toward the discharge port 27 (first modification). In this case, the entire bottom surface 22A becomes the inclined surface 22C. In addition, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the bottom surface 22 </ b> A may be inclined downward from the center (centroid) toward the radially outer peripheral side (second modification). That is, the bottom surface 22A may be formed in a substantially conical shape. In this case, the lower side of the stirring blade 41 (each stirring plate 42) of the stirring member 40 may be formed so as to be inclined downward toward the radially outer side. That is, the stirring blade 41 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape that becomes wider in the vertical direction from the rotary shaft 31 toward the radially outer side as a whole.

  Further, in the toner container 10 according to the present embodiment, the discharge port 27 opens to the bottom surface 22A (the inclined surface 22C), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the discharge port 43 may be formed in the lower part of the inner side surface 21A (side wall 21) of the container body 20 (third modification). In this case, it is preferable that the discharge port 43 is formed at a position corresponding to the lowermost portion of the inclined surface 22C.

  In the toner container 10 according to this embodiment, the inclined surface 22C of the container body 20 is a flat surface extending in the left-right direction (long side direction), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in addition to the inclined surface 22C extending in the left-right direction, an inclined surface extending in the front-rear direction (short side direction) may be formed (not shown). That is, at least a part of the bottom surface 22A of the container main body 20 may be formed in a substantially funnel shape (substantially semi-funnel shape) so as to be narrowed from the upper side toward the discharge port 27 located below.

  Moreover, in the stirring member 30 which concerns on this embodiment, although the rotating shaft 31 extended in the perpendicular direction, it is not restricted to this and may incline a little. For example, the rotating shaft 31 may extend in a direction orthogonal to the inclined surface 22C so that the stirring blade 32 is parallel to the inclined surface 22C (not shown). Thus, the rotating shaft 31 should just be provided in the state extended in the direction which cross | intersects the bottom face 22A inside the container main body 20. FIG.

  Further, in the stirring member 30 according to the present embodiment, the stirring blade 32 is configured by connecting the three stirring plates 33 with the two rotational connection portions 34, but the present invention is not limited to this. The stirring blade 32 only needs to include two or more stirring plates 33 and one or more rotating connection portions 34.

  Moreover, in the stirring member 30 according to the present embodiment, the four scraping members 38 are attached to both the front and back surfaces of the pair of connecting plates 35, but the present invention is not limited to this. One or more scraping members 38 may be provided on the downstream side of the connecting plate 35 in the rotation direction.

  The description of the above embodiment shows one aspect of the developer container and the image forming apparatus including the developer container according to the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Absent.

1 Color printer (image forming device)
10 Toner container (developer container)
20 Container body 21A Inner side surface 22A Bottom surface 27, 43 Discharge port 30, 40 Stirring member 31 Rotating shaft 32, 41 Stirring blade 33, 42 Stirring plate 34 Rotating connecting portion 37 Biasing member 38 Scraping member

Claims (8)

A container main body that contains the developer and has a discharge port for the developer on the bottom surface or the lower inner surface;
At least a part of the bottom surface of the container main body is formed in a descending slope toward the discharge port.   A rotating shaft provided in a state extending in a direction intersecting the bottom surface inside the container body, and a stirring blade provided in a state extending radially outward from the rotating shaft, and the stirring The developer container according to claim 1, further comprising a stirring member that stirs the developer in the container body by rotating the blade together with the rotating shaft while contacting the blade with the inner surface.   3. The developer container according to claim 2, wherein the discharge port is formed on the bottom surface inside a rotation orbit at a tip of the stirring blade. 4.   The developer according to claim 2, wherein the stirring blade includes a rotation connecting portion that rotatably connects a plurality of stirring plates arranged side by side in the radial direction of the rotation shaft. container.   5. The developer container according to claim 4, wherein the rotation connecting portion includes an urging member that urges the plurality of stirring plates to be aligned on the same straight line. The container body is formed such that a distance between the inner side surfaces facing the first direction is longer than a distance between the inner side surfaces facing the second direction intersecting the first direction,
The stirring member has a tip of the stirring blade brought into contact with the inner side surface in the first direction, and is bent by the rotating connecting portion or bent by the rotation connecting portion with rotation. The developer container according to claim 4, wherein the rotation connecting portion is brought into contact with the inner side surface in the second direction.   The developer container according to claim 6, wherein the rotation connecting portion includes a scraping member provided so as to be able to contact the inner side surface in the second direction.   An image forming apparatus comprising the developer container according to claim 1.

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