JP2022072427A - Toner supply device having rotatable blade parts - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a toner storage part that is provided therein with blade parts rotating to stir toner, stirs the toner inside the toner storage part, and discharges the toner from a toner discharge part, and to reduce rotation torque generated in association with the rotation of the blade parts in an image forming apparatus and a toner storage device.SOLUTION: A toner storage device 200 comprises: a toner storage part that stores toner; and blade parts 242 that rotate centered on an axis extending inside the toner storage part to stir the toner stored in the toner storage part. The blade parts each have a conveyance film 245 that is brought into contact with the toner, and the conveyance film includes a toner scraping part 246 that is inclined to the downstream side in the direction of rotation of the blade part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

The image forming apparatus for forming an image on a print medium includes a toner cartridge for accommodating toner and a developing apparatus. Toner is supplied from the toner cartridge to the developing device. The toner cartridge has a toner discharge port from which toner is discharged. The toner cartridge is provided with a blade portion for stirring the toner, and the toner stirred by the blade portion is discharged from the toner discharge port.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an exemplary image forming apparatus that can be used to carry out the various examples disclosed herein. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the toner accommodating apparatus of an image forming apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the blade part and the toner discharge part arranged in the inside of the toner accommodating apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the blade part and the toner discharge part which concerns on a modification. It is a perspective view which shows the blade part and the toner discharge part which concerns on a modification. It is a figure which shows typically the positional relationship between the inner surface of the toner accommodating part and the blade part of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the toner accommodating apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a perspective view which shows the cap of the toner accommodating apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the exemplary blade part arranged inside the toner accommodating apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the cap and the blade part of a toner accommodating apparatus. It is a figure which shows the exemplary transfer film of a blade part.

Hereinafter, an example of the image forming apparatus and the toner accommodating apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted as appropriate. The drawings may be partially simplified or exaggerated for ease of understanding, and the dimensional ratios, angles, etc. are not limited to those described in the drawings. Further, the drawing shows an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system as needed.

An exemplary image forming apparatus includes a toner accommodating portion in which a toner discharging portion for accommodating toner and discharging toner is formed, and a blade portion that rotates to agitate the toner is provided inside the toner accommodating portion. .. By rotating the blade portion, the toner inside the toner accommodating portion is agitated and discharged from the toner discharging portion. In the image forming apparatus and the toner accommodating apparatus described later, it is possible to reduce the rotational torque generated by the rotation of the blade portion.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the configuration of an exemplary image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a cartridge compartment 20, an image carrier 30, an exposure apparatus 40, a developing apparatus 50, a transfer apparatus 60, a cleaning apparatus 70, a fixing apparatus 80, and an ejection apparatus 90. The image forming apparatus 1 further includes a transport path 7. The image forming apparatus 1 forms an image on the paper 5 as a recording medium conveyed in the conveying path 7.

As an example, the paper 5 is housed in a laminated state inside the cassette 3. The paper 5 is picked up by the pip-up roller 11 and conveyed in the transfer path 7. The paper 5 transported in the transport path 7 is isolated into one sheet by, for example, a separation roller 12. The isolated paper 5 is conveyed to the transfer region described later at a predetermined timing by the resist roller 13.

The cartridge compartment 20 accommodates, for example, a toner accommodating device 100 which is a toner cartridge. The cartridge compartment 20 may include a drive device for rotating the container body 110 (see FIG. 2) of the contained toner storage device 100. The exemplary toner accommodating device 100 exhibits a cylindrical shape. Further, the cartridge section 20 may have a cylindrical shape. In the example of FIG. 1, the cartridge compartment 20 has a cylindrical shape with the Y direction as the longitudinal direction.

The image carrier 30 is referred to as an electrostatic latent image carrier or a photoconductor drum. The image carrier 30 exhibits, for example, a columnar shape extending in the Y direction. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30. The charging rollers 32 are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 so as to face each other. The charging roller 32 uniformly charges the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 to a predetermined potential. For example, the charging roller 32 rotates following the rotation of the image carrier 30.

The exposure apparatus 40 exposes the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 charged by the charging roller 32 according to the image formed on the paper 5. As a result, the potential of the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 exposed by the exposure apparatus 40 changes, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30. The exemplary exposure apparatus 40 scans the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 with the laser beam by reflecting the laser beam output from the laser light source with the polygon mirror.

The developing device 50 develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 with the toner supplied from the toner accommodating device 100, and forms a toner image on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30. For example, the developing device 50 includes a developing roller 52, a supply auger (screw conveyor) 54, and a stirring auger (screw conveyor) 56.

The developing roller 52, the supply auger 54, and the stirring auger 56 are housed in the housing 51. The housing 51 is formed with a transport path 51a in which the stirring auger 56 is arranged and a transport path 51b in which the supply auger 54 is arranged. The developing roller 52 is arranged at a position higher than the supply auger 54 in the transport path 51b, for example. As an example, a part of the developing roller 52 in the circumferential direction is exposed from the housing 51. The developing roller 52, the supply auger 54, and the stirring auger 56 are rotationally driven, for example, based on a control signal from the control unit of the image forming apparatus 1.

The housing 51 contains, for example, a developer containing a carrier and toner. The stirring auger 56 conveys the developer along the axial direction of the stirring auger 56 (for example, the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1) while stirring the developer in the transport path 51a. The developer conveyed to one end in the axial direction of the stirring auger 56 enters the conveying path 51b adjacent to the conveying path 51a. The supply auger 54 conveys the developer in the transport path 51b along the axial direction of the supply auger 54. The developer transported in the transport path 51b is picked up by the developing roller 52. The toner of the picked up developer is supplied to the electrostatic latent image of the image carrier 30.

As an example, the developing device 50 may include a sensor for measuring the concentration of toner in the developing agent. When it is determined by this sensor that the toner concentration is low, for example, the control device of the image forming apparatus 1 controls the toner accommodating device 100 so that the toner is supplied to the developing apparatus 50. The toner discharged from the toner accommodating device 100 is conveyed to the transport path 51a from the supply port formed in the developing device 50.

The transfer device 60 includes a transfer roller 62. The transfer roller 62 has, for example, an axis extending parallel to the axis of the image carrier 30. The outer peripheral surface of the transfer roller 62 and the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 are in contact with each other, and a transfer region (transfer nip region) is formed between the transfer roller 62 and the image carrier 30. The transfer roller 62 applies an electric field (transfer electric field) to the paper 5 conveyed to the transfer region so that the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 is transferred to the paper 5. The toner image is transferred to the paper 5 conveyed to the transfer region by the transfer roller 62.

The cleaning device 70 collects the toner (untransferred toner) remaining on the image carrier 30 after the toner image formed on the image carrier 30 is transferred to the paper 5. The cleaning device 70 includes, for example, a blade 71 and a recovery auger (screw conveyor) 73. As an example, the recovery auger 73 is housed in a transport path 76 formed in the housing 75. When the blade 71 scrapes off the toner remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30, the cleaning device 70 removes the toner from the image carrier 30 and recovers the toner. The blade 71 is fixed to the housing 75 so as to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30.

The recovery auger 73 has an axis extending along the Y direction. The recovery auger 73 rotates around this axis and conveys the toner contained in the housing 75 along the axis direction (Y direction) in which the axis extends. The recovery auger 73 is rotationally driven, for example, based on a control signal from the control unit of the image forming apparatus 1.

The fixing device 80 fixes the toner image on the paper 5 by passing the paper 5 through the fixing nip region to be heated and pressed. The fixing device 80 includes a heating roller 82 that heats the paper 5, and a pressure roller 84 that pressurizes and rotationally drives the heating roller 82. The fixing nip region of the fixing device 80 is formed between the heating roller 82 and the pressure roller 84. The ejection device 90 includes, for example, ejection rollers 92 and 94 that eject the paper 5 on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 80 to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1.

When the image signal of the recorded image is input to the image forming apparatus 1 configured as described above, the control unit of the image forming apparatus 1 rotates the pip-up roller 11 to pick up the paper 5 laminated on the cassette 3. Then, the paper 5 is conveyed. Then, the charging roller 32 uniformly charges the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 to a predetermined potential. Then, based on the image signal, the exposure apparatus 40 irradiates the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30 with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30.

The developing device 50 develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier 30, and forms a toner image on the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier 30. The formed toner image is transferred from the image carrier 30 to the paper 5 in the transfer region where the image carrier 30 and the developing roller 52 face each other. The paper 5 on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 80. The fixing device 80 melts and fixes the toner image on the paper 5 when the paper 5 passes through the fixing nip portion. Then, the paper 5 is ejected to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 by the ejection device 90.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an exemplary toner accommodating device 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the toner accommodating device 100 includes a cylindrical container body 110 extending in the Y direction. The toner accommodating device 100 is used to supply toner to the developing device 50 of the image forming apparatus 1. The toner accommodating device 100 is replaceable with, for example, the image forming apparatus 1.

For example, the toner accommodating device 100 is loaded into the cartridge compartment 20. An exemplary toner accommodating device 100 includes a container body 110 and a cap 120. The container body 110 is, for example, a closed end 110a located at one end in the longitudinal direction of the container body 110, an open end 110b located at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the container body 110, and a peripheral wall extending from the closed end 110a to the open end 110b. Has 111 and.

The container body 110 is rotatable about an axis L along the longitudinal direction. The longitudinal direction of the container body 110 coincides with, for example, the axis direction in which the axis L, which is the rotation axis of the container body 110, extends. The peripheral wall 111 is formed with a groove 111a that spirally extends from the closed end 110a to the open end 110b. For example, the spiral pitch of the grooves 111a located on the open end 110b side from the center of the container body 110 (the distance between the grooves 111a adjacent to each other in the axial direction) is the groove 111a located on the closed end 110a side from the center of the container body 110. Narrower than the spiral pitch of.

As described above, the groove 111a is formed on the peripheral wall 111, so that a spiral convex portion is formed on the inner surface of the container body 110. Since the spiral convex portion is formed on the inner surface of the container body 110 in this way, the toner inside the container body 110 moves toward the open end 110b when the container body 110 rotates.

For example, the cap 120 covers the open end 110b of the container body 110. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cap 120 when the cap 120 is cut along the XZ plane. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the exemplary cap 120 includes a toner accommodating portion 130 for accommodating toner.

The toner accommodating device 100 includes a blade portion 140 that rotates around an axis L extending inside the toner accommodating portion 130 to agitate the toner contained in the toner accommodating portion 130. The toner accommodating device 100 includes, for example, a plurality of blade portions 140. The blade portion 140 has a plate shape, for example. As an example, the plurality of blade portions 140 are arranged at equal intervals along the rotation direction D that rotates about the axis L. The number of blade portions 140 is 6 as an example, but is not particularly limited.

The blade portion 140 has a blade main body portion 141 and a transport film 150 that comes into contact with the toner. For example, the blade main body 141 has a plate shape. As an example, the transport film 150 is attached to the blade main body 141 so as to project outward in the radial direction (direction approaching and separating from the axis L) of the blade main body 141.

For example, the transport film 150 is made of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) resin or urethane rubber. As an example, the transport film 150 may be a rectangular flat plate-shaped elastic film. The thickness of the transport film 150 may be, for example, 0.075 mm or more and 0.125 mm or less when the transport film 150 is made of PET resin, or when the transport film 150 is made of urethane rubber. It may be 0.1 mm or more and 0.3 mm or less.

An exemplary toner accommodating unit 130 includes an accommodating unit main body 131 and a toner discharging unit 135 from which toner is discharged. The accommodating portion main body 131 is a housing for accommodating toner. The toner discharging portion 135 extends diagonally downward from the accommodating portion main body 131, for example. The toner discharge unit 135 has, for example, a toner discharge port 136 for discharging toner from the toner storage unit 130 to the outside of the toner storage unit 130. A blade portion 140 is arranged inside the accommodating portion main body 131, and the toner stirred by the rotation of the blade portion 140 is discharged from the toner discharging portion 135 to the outside of the toner accommodating portion 130.

For example, the cross-sectional shape of the toner accommodating portion 130 when the toner accommodating portion 130 is cut on a plane orthogonal to the axis L is a non-circular shape. An exemplary housing unit 131 includes a rectangular region 132, a curved region 133, and a transition region 134. The rectangular region 132, the transition region 134, the curved region 133, and the toner discharging portion 135 are arranged in this order along the rotation direction D. The curved region 133 is curved in an arc shape as an example. The accommodating portion main body 131 has an inner surface 131b with which the transport film 150 faces.

The inner surface 131b of the accommodating portion main body 131 has a non-contact region A1 in which the blade portion 140 (conveying film 150) does not contact, and a contact region A2 in which the blade portion 140 contacts. The non-contact region A1 is provided on the downstream side of the toner discharging portion 135 in the rotation direction D of the blade portion 140. The contact region A2 is provided on the upstream side of the toner discharging portion 135 in the rotation direction D of the blade portion 140.

The non-contact region A1, the contact region A2, and the toner discharging portion 135 are arranged in this order along the rotation direction D. For example, the non-contact region A1 is provided above the toner discharging portion 135. As an example, the non-contact region A1 is provided in the rectangular region 132, and the contact region A2 is provided in the curved region 133. The transition region 134 is a region that transitions from the non-contact region A1 to the contact region A2, and includes a boundary portion between the non-contact region A1 and the contact region A2. For example, the transport film 150 slides on the contact region A2 of the inner surface 131b to transport toner.

As described above, the toner accommodating portion 130 and the image forming apparatus 1 have a contact region A2 in which the rotating blade portion 140 contacts and a non-contact region A1 in which the rotating blade portion 140 does not contact, and the contact region A2 has a rotation direction D. It is installed on the upstream side of. Therefore, by having the non-contact region A1 in which the rotating blade portion 140 does not contact, the blade portion 140 contacts only a part of the inner surface 131b of the toner accommodating portion 130. As a result, the rotational torque of the blade portion 140 during rotation can be reduced. Therefore, since a high torque motor that rotates the blade portion 140 can be eliminated, the cost of the motor that rotates the blade portion 140 can be reduced.

Further, a contact region A2 with which the rotating blade portion 140 contacts is provided on the upstream side of the toner discharge portion 135 in the rotation direction D. Therefore, the toner accumulated in the contact region A2 can be effectively conveyed by the blade unit 140, and the toner can be efficiently discharged from the toner discharge unit 135.

As described above, the cross-sectional shape of the inner surface 131b of the toner accommodating portion 130 when the toner accommodating portion 130 is cut on a plane orthogonal to the axis L may be a non-circular shape. In this case, the shape of the toner accommodating portion 130 having the non-contact region A1 and the contact region A2 can be simplified.

Next, the toner accommodating portion 160 according to the modified example will be described with reference to FIG. Since the partial configuration of the toner accommodating portion 160 overlaps with the partial configuration of the toner accommodating portion 130 described above, the description of the overlapping portion will be appropriately omitted with the same reference numerals. As shown in FIG. 4, the toner accommodating portion 160 includes, for example, a wiping portion 161 projecting from the inner surface 131b.

The exemplary wiping portion 161 is attached to the non-contact region A1 of the inner surface 131b of the toner accommodating portion 160. The scraping unit 161 abuts on the rotating transport film 150 to brush off the toner of the transport film 150. For example, the pay-off portion 161 is fixed to the rectangular region 132 of the accommodating portion main body 131.

As an example, the wiping portion 161 is fixed to the corner portion 132b of the rectangular region 132 located above the transition region 134. For example, the pay-off portion 161 is fixed at a position other than above the toner discharge portion 135. In this case, it is possible to prevent the toner discharged by the pay-off unit 161 from being unintentionally discharged from the toner discharge unit 135.

As described above, the toner accommodating portion 160 is attached to the inner surface 131b of the toner accommodating portion 160, and includes a wiping portion 161 for wiping off the toner of the rotating transport film 150. Therefore, since the toner adhering to the transport film 150 can be brushed off, the toner contained in the toner accommodating unit 160 can be effectively discharged from the toner discharging unit 135.

For example, the wiping off portion 161 is provided on the inner surface 131b in the non-contact region A1. Therefore, the internal space of the non-contact region A1 can be effectively used as a space for arranging the wiping off portion 161. Further, the pay-off portion 161 may be provided above the contact area A2. In this case, the toner brushed off from the transport film 150 can be dropped onto the contact area A2.

The toner accommodating portion 170 according to the modified example will be described with reference to FIG. The shape of the blade portion 180 of the toner accommodating portion 170 is different from that of the blade portion 140 described above. The blade portion 180 includes a blade main body portion 181 and a transport film 185. The blade main body portion 181 has an end side 181b located on the opposite side (for example, radially outside) of the axis L. The transport film 185 has an end side 185b located on the opposite side of the axis L.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view when the blade main body portion 181 and the transport film 185 are viewed from the out-of-plane direction of the inner surface 131b of the toner accommodating portion 170. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the end side 181b of the blade main body 181 and the end side 185b of the transport film 185 are inclined with respect to the Y direction in which the axis L extends.

As a specific example, the line segment BB'extending the end sides 181b and 185b is inclined with respect to the line segment AA'extending in the axial direction. Therefore, when the blade portion 180 rotates, the point B of the end side 185b located on the downstream side in the rotation direction D first contacts the inner surface 131b, the contact region of the end side 185b with respect to the inner surface 131b gradually increases, and finally. The point B'of the end side 185b comes into contact with the inner surface 131b.

As described above, in the exemplary toner accommodating portion 170, the transport film 185 has an end side 185b located on the opposite side (diametrically outer side) of the axis L, and the transport film 185 has a transport film 185 with respect to the axis direction in which the axis L extends. The end side 185b is arranged so as to be inclined. Therefore, since the end side 185b of the transport film 185 gradually comes into contact with the inner surface 131b with rotation, it is possible to suppress a rapid increase in the rotational torque of the blade portion 180.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the toner accommodating device 200 according to the modified example. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the cap 220 of the toner accommodating device 200 from the inside. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the toner accommodating device 200 includes a container body 110 and a cap 220 having a shape different from that of the cap 120. The cap 220 constitutes a toner accommodating portion for accommodating toner.

The cap 220 is provided to seal the container body 110. As an example, the cap 220 includes a columnar portion 221, a toner supply portion 222 protruding from the side surface of the columnar portion 221 and a mounting portion 223 mounted on the container main body 110. For example, the mounting portion 223 has an enlarged diameter with respect to the columnar portion 221.

Inside the cap 220, a sealing member 230 for ensuring the airtightness of the toner accommodating portion is arranged. For example, the sealing member 230 has an annular shape (as an example, an annular shape), and seals the open end 110b of the container body 110. Further, on the inner surface 220b of the cap 220, a toner replenishment port 220c for replenishing toner is formed inside the toner accommodating device 200.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, inside the container body 110 and the cap 220, for example, a toner transfer control unit 240 that controls the transfer of toner from the cap 220 to the outside of the toner storage device 200 is provided. The toner transfer control unit 240 conveys the toner conveyed to the open end 110b of the container body 110 toward the toner supply unit 222 in the rotational direction D. The toner transfer control unit 240 includes, for example, a base 241 and a blade unit 242 provided on the base 241.

For example, the base 241 has a tubular shape (as an example, a cylindrical shape). As an example, the base 241 has a first insertion portion 241b to be inserted into the container body 110 and a second insertion portion 241c to be inserted into the cap 220. For example, the first insertion portion 241b is provided on one side of the base 241 in the axial direction X, and the second insertion portion 241c is provided on the other side of the base 241 in the axial direction X.

As an example, an engaging groove 241d is formed in the first insertion portion 241b of the base 241. A protrusion (not shown) formed on the container body 110 fits into the engaging groove 241d. As a result, the rotation of the toner transfer control unit 240 with respect to the container body 110 is restricted. That is, the toner transfer control unit 240 rotates with the rotation of the container body 110. The restriction on the rotation of the toner transfer control unit 240 with respect to the container body 110 is not limited to the above-mentioned engagement groove 241d, and may be realized by other means such as adhesion.

The blade portion 242 has, for example, a plate shape. The exemplary toner transfer control unit 240 includes a plurality of (four as an example) blade units 242, and the plurality of blade units 242 are arranged so as to be arranged in the rotation direction D. The blade portion 242 has a main surface 242b facing the rotation direction D, and for example, the main surface 242b is inclined with respect to the axial direction X. As a result, as the blade portion 242 rotates, the toner is conveyed in the rotation direction D and moves in the axial direction X.

A transport film 245 that comes into contact with the toner is provided on the main surface 242b of the blade portion 242. As an example, the transport film 245 is attached to the blade portion 242. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the blade portion 242 and the transport film 245. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the transport film 245 includes a toner scraping portion 246 that is inclined to the downstream side in the rotation direction D of the blade portion 242.

For example, the toner accommodating device 200 includes a holding portion 249 that holds the toner scraping portion 246 in a bent state downstream in the rotation direction D of the blade portion 242. The holding portion 249 is, for example, a concave portion into which the toner scraping portion 246 is inserted, and holds the inserted toner scraping portion 246. For example, the holding portion 249 is formed on the base 241. As an example, the holding portion 249 is a concave portion recessed in the axial direction X from the end portion of the base 241 in the axial direction X.

The toner scraping portion 246 is held in a bent state, for example, on the downstream side in the rotation direction D. The toner scraping portion 246 is arranged so that its end side 246b faces the seal member 230, for example, and scrapes the toner around the seal member 230. That is, the toner around the seal member 230 is scraped by the toner scraping portion 246 arranged so as to bend on the downstream side in the rotation direction D. The toner scraped by the toner scraping portion 246 is conveyed to the toner supply port 220c side of the cap 220 by, for example, the blade portion 242.

The exemplary transport film 245 has a slit 248 that separates the toner scraping section 246 from the toner transport section 247 other than the toner scraping section 246. As an example, the slit 248 extends along the main surface 242b of the blade portion 242. The toner scraping portion 246 is formed in a part of the transport film 245, and for example, the remaining portion of the transport film 245 is a toner transport section 247.

As an example, the toner transport section 247 is provided on the portion facing the toner supply port 220c, and the toner scraping section 246 is provided on the opposite side of the toner supply port 220c. The toner transfer unit 247 is bent, for example, to the upstream side in the rotation direction D. That is, the toner transport portion 247 is in a state of being elastically deformed to the upstream side in the rotation direction D. For example, the toner transfer unit 247 abuts on the inner surface 220b of the cap 220 and conveys the toner inside the cap 220 in the rotation direction D.

As described above, the image forming apparatus including the toner accommodating device 200 and the toner accommodating device 200 includes a toner accommodating portion (cap 220 as an example) and a blade portion 242. The blade portion 242 has a transport film 245, and the transport film 245 includes a toner scraping portion 246 inclined toward the downstream side in the rotation direction D of the blade portion 242. Therefore, since the toner scraping portion 246 scrapes the toner located outside the axial direction X of the blade portion 242, it is possible to add a function of scraping the toner to the transport film 245 that conveys the toner.

As described above, the toner scraping portion 246 may be in a state of being bent toward the downstream side in the rotation direction D. In this case, the toner can be scraped by the sharp end side 246b bent in the downstream side in the rotation direction D of the toner scraping portion 246, so that the toner can be scraped more effectively. Further, since the toner scraping portion 246 of the conveying film 245 is held in a bent state downstream in the rotation direction D, the toner scraped by the toner scraping portion 246 is conveyed together with the rotation of the blade portion 242. The film 245 (for example, the toner transfer unit 247) can efficiently transfer the toner to the toner supply port 220c.

The toner accommodating device 200 may include a holding portion 249 that holds the toner scraping portion 246 in a bent state downstream in the rotation direction D of the blade portion 242. In this case, it is possible to hold the toner scraping portion 246 in a state where the toner scraping portion 246 is bent downstream.

The holding portion 249 may be a concave portion into which the toner scraping portion 246 is inserted and which holds the inserted toner scraping portion 246. In this case, the shape of the holding portion 249 can be simplified and the toner scraping portion 246 can be easily held.

The toner scraping portion 246 may be formed on a part of the transport film 245, and the transport film 245 has a slit 248 that separates the remaining portion of the transport film 245 (for example, the toner transport section 247) from the toner scraping section 246. May have. In this case, the toner scraping section 246 that scrapes the toner and the toner transport section 247 that transports the toner can be separated through the slit 248.

The toner transport portion 247 of the transport film 245 may be in a state of being bent toward the upstream side in the rotation direction D of the blade portion 242. In this case, since the toner transporting portion 247 can be brought into contact with the inner surface 220b more effectively, the toner can be transported more efficiently.

The toner accommodating device 200 may include a tubular container body 110 for accommodating toner, and a cap 220 that constitutes a toner accommodating portion and seals the container body 110, and the toner accommodating device is provided from the cap 220. A toner transfer control unit 240 that controls the transfer of toner to the outside of the 200 may be further provided, and the blade unit 242 may be provided in the toner transfer control unit 240. Further, the seal member 230 may be arranged inside the cap 220, and the toner scraping unit 246 may scrape the toner around the seal member 230. In this case, the toner scraping portion 246 of the transport film 245 that conveys the toner can scrape the toner around the sealing member 230 of the cap 220 that seals the container body 110.

In the present specification, various examples of the toner accommodating device and the image forming device have been described. However, it should be understood that all aspects, advantages and features described herein are not necessarily achieved or included by any one particular example, embodiment or embodiment. In fact, although various examples have been described and shown herein, it is clear that the arrangement and details can be changed for other examples as well. All changes and modifications contained within the spirit and scope of the protected subject matter claimed herein are claimed.

Claims (15)

A toner storage unit that stores toner and
A blade portion that rotates around an axis extending inside the toner accommodating portion to agitate the toner contained in the toner accommodating portion, and a blade portion.
The transport film fixed to the blade and
Equipped with
The transport film includes a toner scraping portion that is inclined to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the blade portion.
Toner storage device. The toner accommodating portion has a toner discharging portion from which toner is discharged.
The inner surface of the toner accommodating portion is
A non-contact region provided on the downstream side of the toner discharging portion in the rotation direction of the blade portion and not in contact with the rotating transport film.
It is provided on the upstream side of the toner discharging portion in the rotation direction, and has a contact region with which the rotating transport film comes into contact.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. When the toner accommodating portion is cut on a plane orthogonal to the axis line, the cross-sectional shape of the inner surface of the toner accommodating portion is a non-circular shape.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. It is attached to the inner surface of the toner accommodating portion and includes a wiping portion for wiping off the toner of the rotating transport film.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. It is attached to the inner surface in the non-contact region and includes a wiping portion for wiping off the toner of the rotating transport film.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 2. The transport film has an end located on the opposite side of the axis.
The transport film is arranged so that its end side is inclined with respect to the axial direction in which the axis extends.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. The toner scraping portion is in a state of being bent toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the blade portion.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. A holding portion for holding the toner scraping portion in a bent state downstream in the rotation direction of the blade portion is provided.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. The holding portion is a concave portion in which the toner scraping portion is inserted and the inserted toner scraping portion is held.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 8. The toner scraping portion is formed on a part of the transport film, and is formed on a part of the transport film.
The transport film has a slit that separates the remaining portion of the transport film and the toner scraping portion.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. The remaining portion of the transport film is in a state of being bent toward the upstream side in the rotation direction of the blade portion.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 10. It includes a cylindrical container body in which toner is stored, and a cap that constitutes the toner storage portion and seals the container body.
Further, a toner transfer control unit for controlling the transfer of toner from the cap to the outside of the toner accommodating device is provided.
The blade portion is provided in the toner transfer control unit.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. It includes a cylindrical container body in which toner is stored, and a cap that constitutes the toner storage portion and seals the container body.
A sealing member is arranged inside the cap.
The toner scraping portion scrapes the toner around the sealing member.
The toner accommodating device according to claim 1. A toner storage unit having a toner discharge unit that stores toner and discharges toner,
A blade portion that rotates around an axis extending inside the toner accommodating portion to agitate the toner contained in the toner accommodating portion, and a blade portion.
Equipped with
The inner surface of the toner accommodating portion is
A non-contact region provided on the downstream side of the toner discharging portion in the rotation direction of the blade portion and not in contact with the rotating blade portion.
It is provided on the upstream side of the toner discharging portion in the rotation direction, and has a contact region with which the rotating blade portion contacts.
Toner storage device. An image forming apparatus including the toner accommodating device according to claim 1.

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