JP4684200B2 - Toner conveying device, toner replenishing device, and image forming apparatus using them - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner conveying device, a toner replenishing device, and an image forming apparatus using the same, and more particularly to a toner conveying device and a toner replenishing device used in an image forming apparatus that forms an image using toner, and to use them. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine using toner, toner is supplied to a developing device by a toner replenishing device such as a toner cartridge, and continuous operation of image output is performed.

For supplying toner to the developing device by the toner replenishing device, a system is known in which toner is supplied from a toner cartridge via a toner conveying device.
In the toner replenishing device in which the toner cartridge is provided above the developing device, the toner conveying device is formed with a toner conveying path extending in the vertical direction to convey the toner to the developing device below.

  Incidentally, in recent years, image quality has been improved in image forming apparatuses, and accordingly, the particle diameter of toner has been reduced. The fine toner generally has poor fluidity, and toner stagnation and coagulation easily occur in the toner conveyance path of the toner conveyance device. Therefore, in the toner conveying device, measures are taken to solve such a problem.

  As a conventional technique, for example, in an image forming apparatus in which four developing devices corresponding to each color are arranged in the vertical direction, toner is supplied from a toner hopper (corresponding to a toner cartridge) to these developing devices. Each developing device is movable up and down because it needs to face the photosensitive drum when operating. For this reason, a toner conveying path for supplying toner from the toner hopper to the developing device has been proposed using a bellows-like pipe (see Patent Document 1).

  On the side of the bellows-like pipe, there is further provided a rotating body that has a plurality of protrusions in the circumferential direction and rotates by being driven by a motor. That is, in Patent Document 1, the rotating body is rotated, the outer peripheral surface of the bellows-like pipe is continuously hit by the protrusions of the rotating body, and the toner staying on the inner peripheral surface of the bellows-like pipe is dropped. Yes.

  As another technique, in an image forming apparatus in which four developing devices corresponding to the respective colors are arranged in a horizontal row, the first transport path and the second transporting device are individually fed from individual toner cartridges corresponding to the developing devices. The toner is supplied via the conveyance path, and a spring agitator is provided inside the second toner conveyance path arranged in the vertical direction (vertical direction), and provided inside the first conveyance path arranged in the horizontal direction. In accordance with the rotation of the auger, a spring agitator is moved in the vertical direction inside the second conveyance path to prevent toner from adhering to the inner wall of the second conveyance path. (See Patent Document 2).

Further, in addition to the configuration in which vibration is applied to the toner conveyance path as described above, a toner (developer) conveyance control means for controlling the conveyance amount of the toner to be conveyed is provided. A toner that controls the amount of toner to be supplied has been proposed (see Patent Document 3).
JP-A-4-174467 JP 2001-267331 A JP 2005-165003 A

However, the above-described conventional configuration has a problem that it is not possible to appropriately prevent toner retention and coagulation in the toner conveyance path arranged in the vertical direction.
Specifically, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the toner conveyance path arranged in the vertical direction is made of bellows-like pipes, the retention and solidification of toner in the toner conveyance path can be easily prevented due to the structure of the conveyance path. Can not do it. Further, since the rotating body gives an impact or vibration to a part of the toner conveyance path, there is a problem that toner stays and solidifies easily in a portion away from the position of the rotating body.

  Further, in the configuration of Patent Document 2, since the spring agitator is disposed inside the second conveyance path disposed in the up-down direction, the toner is liable to be retained or condensed on the surface of the spring agitator. That is, there is a problem that the spring agitator itself tends to be an obstacle to toner conveyance.

  Further, in the configuration of Patent Document 3, in order to control the amount of toner supplied through the toner conveyance path, for example, in order to make it possible to change the cross-sectional area of the portion through which the toner passes according to the amount of toner supplied. There is a problem that the configuration becomes complicated, and therefore the apparatus configuration becomes complicated and the maintainability is affected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and is a toner conveyance device capable of realizing stable toner conveyance by suppressing clogging of the toner conveyance path with a simple configuration, It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner replenishing device and an image forming apparatus using them.

The configurations of the toner replenishing device and the developing device according to the present invention for solving the above-described problems are as follows.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner conveyance device including a toner conveyance path that is disposed below a toner accommodating portion that accommodates toner and that conveys the toner supplied from the toner accommodating portion to a developing device disposed further below. In the toner conveying device inside,
The toner conveyance path has a toner introduction port communicating with the toner storage unit side formed at an upper end side thereof, and a toner discharge port communicating with the developing device side formed at a lower end side thereof. The toner transport path from the toner to the toner discharge port is configured linearly,
The toner transport path is provided with an upper rotating body and a lower rotating body having toner stirring blades for stirring the toner , and a swinging body capable of swinging in a direction substantially perpendicular to the toner transport direction. And
The upper rotating body and the lower rotating body are arranged at positions where the respective rotation axes avoid the vicinity of the center line of the toner transport path of the toner transport path and face each other across the center line,
The rocking body extends from the vicinity of the toner introduction port to the vicinity of the toner discharge port, and is rocked and driven in conjunction with the rotation operation of the rotating body.
The swinging body is formed with a mounting portion that is pivotally supported by a support shaft protruding from the inner wall of the toner passage at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction, and the support shaft is an upper rotating body. Are formed at positions that do not interfere with the toner stirring member of each rotating body,
At the toner introduction side swing portion above the mounting portion in the swing body, a first swing portion adjacent to the upper rotor is extended along the inner wall so as not to interfere with the upper rotor. The second oscillating portion above the upper rotating body is linearly upward and extends to the vicinity of the toner introduction port. On the other hand, in the toner discharge side oscillating portion below the mounting portion in the oscillating body, The toner conveying device is characterized in that it extends downward along the inner wall so as not to interfere with the lower rotating body .
In the present invention, the toner agitating blades agitate the toner by rotational displacement, and include those having slits and those formed in a lattice shape.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration described in the first aspect , the swinging member is formed of a member having spring properties, for example, a spring member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration described in the first or second aspect , the oscillator is formed of a synthetic resin member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner replenishing device comprising: a toner accommodating portion that accommodates toner; and a developing unit that is disposed below the toner accommodating unit and further disposed below the toner accommodating unit. and a toner conveying unit having a toner transport path for transporting device, said a toner replenishing device for replenishing the developing device with toner supplied from the toner accommodating portion, as the toner conveying portion, of the claims 1 to 3 The toner conveying device according to any one of the above is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including: a toner storage unit that stores toner; and a development unit that is disposed below the toner storage unit and further disposed below the toner storage unit. An image forming apparatus including a toner transport unit having a toner transport path for transporting to the apparatus and for supplying toner supplied from the toner storage unit to the developing device. A toner replenishing device according to claim 4 is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the toner conveying path is disposed below the toner accommodating portion in which the toner is accommodated, and conveys the toner supplied from the toner accommodating portion to the developing device disposed further below. In the toner conveying device inside, the toner conveying path has a toner agitating blade for agitating the toner, and can rotate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the toner conveying direction, for example, a rotating body such as a toner conveying paddle For example, by providing an oscillating body such as a lever or a loosening member, the rotating body is rotated and conveyed while stirring the toner by the toner agitating blade, and the oscillating body is oscillated to become a mass. Since the toner can be loosened, it is possible to realize stable toner conveyance by suppressing clogging of the toner conveyance path with a simple configuration.

Further, according to the present invention, a toner introduction port communicating with the toner container side is formed at the upper end side of the toner conveyance path, and a toner discharge port communicating with the developing device side is formed at the lower end side of the toner conveyance path. An exit is formed, and the toner transport path is linearly formed in the toner transport path from the toner introduction port to the toner discharge port, so that toner can be more easily passed through, so that toner blocking is further suppressed. be able to.

In addition, by arranging the rotating body so that the rotation axis of the rotating body avoids the vicinity of the center line of the toner transport path, the rotating body effectively transports the toner without hindering the toner transport. be able to.

Further, since the swinging body extends from the vicinity of the toner introduction port to the vicinity of the toner discharge port, the toner near the toner introduction port and the vicinity of the toner discharge port where the transport paddle does not reach at both ends of the swinging member is loosened. be able to.

Further, since the oscillating body is driven to oscillate in conjunction with the rotating operation of the rotating body, it is not necessary to separately provide a drive source for driving the oscillating body, and the configuration can be simplified.

In addition to the common effects obtained by the inventions according to claims 1 to 5, the following effects can be obtained according to the inventions described in each claim.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect obtained by the first aspect of the invention, the rocking body is formed of a member having a spring property, for example, a spring member. The unwinding action can be obtained effectively using force.

According to the invention described in claim 3 , in addition to the effect obtained by the invention described in claim 1 or 2 , the rocking body is formed of a synthetic resin member, so that when the rocking body is produced, component molding is performed. Therefore, productivity can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a toner storage unit that stores toner and a developing device that is disposed below the toner storage unit and that further supplies the toner supplied from the toner storage unit to the toner storage unit. and a toner conveying unit having a toner conveying path for conveying the toner supplied from the toner accommodating portion to a toner replenishing device for replenishing the developing apparatus, as the toner conveying section, of one of claims 1 to 3 By including the toner conveying device according to any one of the items, it is possible to stably supply toner to the developing device without clogging the supplied toner on the toner conveying path, and to stabilize a high-quality image from the developing device. Can be output.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a toner storage unit that stores toner, and a developing device that is disposed below the toner storage unit and that further supplies the toner supplied from the toner storage unit to the toner storage unit. An image forming apparatus comprising a toner transport unit having a toner transport path for transporting the toner and supplying toner supplied from the toner storage unit to the developing device. By providing the toner replenishing device described in item 4 , the supplied toner can be stably replenished without being clogged on the toner conveyance path, and an image forming apparatus optimal for mass printing can be realized.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an example of an embodiment for carrying out the invention, and is an explanatory view showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus employing a toner conveying device according to the present invention.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 (21a, 21b, 21c, 21d) based on the image data by the developer supplied by the developing roller 231 is transferred. Then, a developing device 23 (23a, 23b, 23c, 23d) used in the image forming apparatus 1 for transferring to a recording sheet, and a toner bottle (toner storage unit) 200 (200a, 200b, 200c, 200d) in which toner is stored. ) And a toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism 600 (600a, 600b, 600c, 600d) as a toner supply device that stores and agitates the toner supplied from the toner bottle 200 and supplies the toner to the developing device 23, and replenishment as a toner transport device Toner replenishing device 100 (612a, 612b, 612c, 612d) 00a, 100b, 100c, 100d) mounted to a constitution that the toner in the developing device 23 to be automatically supplied.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 to which the developing device 23 according to the present embodiment is attached uses a developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) that matches each hue in accordance with color-separated image information. A photosensitive drum 21 (21a, 21b, 21c, 21d) on which a formed developer image (hereinafter referred to as a toner image) is formed, and a developing device that supplies the developer onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. 23 (23a, 23b, 23c, 23d), and a plurality of process printing units (image forming means) 20 (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d). A transfer belt comprising an exposure unit (optical scanning device) 10 for generating an electrostatic latent image by irradiating a laser beam (beam) onto the body drum 21 and an endless transfer belt 31 for conveying the supplied recording paper. Knit 30, and a fixing unit 27 for thermally fixing the toner image transferred to the recording sheet by heat roller 27a and pressing roller 27b.

First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described.
An image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a so-called digital color printer, which color-separates image information, forms an image for each hue, and outputs a color image, as shown in FIG. The image forming unit 108 and the sheet feeding unit 109 are roughly configured, and a multicolor image or a single color image is recorded on a recording sheet based on a print job from an information processing apparatus (not shown) such as a personal computer connected to the outside. Is formed.

  The image forming unit 108 uses an electrophotographic method to form a multicolor image using each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK). The unit 10, the process printing unit 20, the fixing unit 27, a transfer belt unit 30 as a transfer means including a transfer belt 31, a transfer roller 36, and a transfer belt cleaning unit 37 are configured.

  The schematic configuration of the image forming unit 108 is that a fixing unit 27 is disposed on the upper end of one end of the casing 1 a of the image forming apparatus 1, and is transferred below the fixing unit 27 from one end to the other end of the casing 1 a. A belt unit 30 is disposed, a process printing unit 20 is disposed below the transfer belt unit 30, and an exposure unit 10 is disposed below the process printing unit 20.

  A transfer belt cleaning unit 37 is provided on the other end side of the transfer belt unit 30. Further, a paper discharge tray 43 is provided adjacent to the fixing unit 27 above the image forming unit 108. A paper feeding unit 109 is configured below the image forming unit 108.

  In this embodiment, four process printing units 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d corresponding to each color of black (BK), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are transferred as the process printing unit 20. The belts 31 are sequentially provided along the belt 31.

  These process printing units 20 (20a, 20b, 20c, 20d) are arranged in parallel in a substantially horizontal direction (left-right direction in the figure) in the housing 1a, and a photosensitive drum 21 serving as an image carrier for each color. (21a, 21b, 21c, 21d), a charger (charging means) 22 (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) for charging the photosensitive drum 21, and a developing device (developing means) 23 (23a, 23b, 23c, 23d) ), Cleaner units 24 (24a, 24b, 24c, 24d) and the like.

  Here, the symbols a, b, c, and d attached to the components corresponding to the respective colors correspond to the respective colors of black (BK), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C). However, in the following description, the constituent elements provided for the respective colors are collectively shown in the photosensitive drum 21, except for the case where the constituent elements corresponding to a specific color are specified. The charger 22, the developing device 23, and the cleaner unit 24 are described.

  The photosensitive drum 21 is disposed such that a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof is in contact with the surface of the transfer belt 31, and the charger 22, the developing device 23, and the cleaner unit as an electric field generating unit along the outer peripheral surface of the drum. 24 are arranged close to each other.

  As the charger 22, a corona wire charger type charger is used, and is arranged close to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 on the substantially opposite side to the position where the transfer belt unit 30 is arranged with the photosensitive drum 21 interposed therebetween. . In the present embodiment, a corona wire charger type charger is used as the charger 22. However, instead of the corona wire charger type charger, a fur brush type charger, a magnetic brush type charger, a roller type charger, a saw tooth Any type charger, ion generating charging device, or the like can be used without particular limitation as long as it can impart desired chargeability to the photosensitive drum.

  The developing device 23 stores toner of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK) for each of the developing devices 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d. It is arranged downstream of the charger 22 in the drum rotation direction (the direction of arrow A in the figure).

  The developing devices 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d are provided with five toner replenishing units for replenishing the developing devices 23a, 23b, 23c, and 23d with each other so as to be capable of high-speed and mass printing. Toner replenishing devices 100a, 100b, 100c, and 100d having 500a, 500b, 500c, and 500d are provided, and developing rollers 231a, 231b, 231c, and 231d are disposed to face the photosensitive drums 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, respectively. Then, each color toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent images formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the photosensitive drums 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d, respectively, so as to be visualized.

As a developer for replenishment, the toner replenisher 500a has a black (BK) developer, the toner replenisher 500b has a cyan (C) developer, and the toner replenisher 500c has a magenta (M) developer. The replenishing section 500d contains yellow (Y) developer.
Note that two toner replenishing portions 500a for black (BK) developer are provided in parallel so that a large amount of printing can be performed in consideration of normally used mono black printing.

  Each toner replenishing section 500 is disposed almost directly above the developing device 23 that develops using the corresponding developer, and the developer replenishment passage body ( Toner conveying devices) 612 (612a, 612b, 612c, 612d) are connected.

  The supply passage body 612a for supplying black (BK) developer is structured to supply the developer from the two toner supply devices 100a and 100a together to the developing device 23a. ing.

  The cleaner unit 24 is disposed on the upstream side of the charger 22 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum. In addition, the cleaner unit 24 includes a cleaning blade 241, and the cleaning blade 241 is disposed in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 21 to scrape and collect residual toner on the photoconductive drum 21. Has been. Reference numeral 242 in the figure denotes a conveying screw that conveys the collected toner.

  Although the cleaning blade 241 is used in this embodiment, the present invention is not particularly limited to these configurations, and one or more cleaning blades may be used, or a fur brush or a magnetic brush may be used alone. A cleaning blade, a fur brush, and a magnetic brush may be used in combination. Any device configured to scrape and collect residual toner on the photosensitive drum 21 can be used.

  The exposure unit 10 mainly includes a box-shaped housing 10a, a laser scanning unit (LSU) 11 having a laser irradiation unit 11a disposed therein, a polygon mirror 12, and laser light for each color. Mirrors 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 14a, 14b, 14c and the like.

  The laser light emitted from the laser irradiation unit of the laser scanning unit 11 is color-separated by a polygon mirror and an fθ lens (not shown), and then reflected by the reflection mirrors 13a to 13c. 21b, 21c, and 21d are irradiated.

  The laser scanning unit 11 may be configured to use a writing head in which light emitting elements such as EL (Electro Luminescence) and LED (Light Emitting Diode) are arranged in an array instead of the laser irradiation unit, or a light source The liquid crystal shutter may be used, and any means capable of forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer belt unit 30 mainly includes a transfer belt 31, a transfer belt drive roller 32, a transfer belt driven roller 33, and intermediate transfer rollers 35a, 35b, 35c, and 35d.

  In the following description, the intermediate transfer rollers 35a, 35b, 35c, and 35d are collectively referred to as the intermediate transfer roller 35 when used.

  The transfer belt 31 is endlessly formed using a film having a thickness of about 75 μm to 120 μm. As the material of the transfer belt 31, polyimide, polycarbonate, a thermoplastic elastomer alloy, or the like is mainly used.

  The transfer belt 31 is stretched by a transfer belt driving roller 32, a transfer belt driven roller 33, and an intermediate transfer roller 35 so that the surface thereof is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21, and the transfer belt driving roller 32. It is configured to move in the sub-scanning direction (in the direction of arrow B in the figure) by the driving force of.

  The transfer belt driving roller 32 is disposed on one end side of the housing 1a, drives the transfer belt 31 to convey the transfer belt 31, and transfers the transfer belt 31 in a state where the transfer belt 31 and the recording paper are overlapped. The recording paper is conveyed while being pressed between and pressed.

  The transfer belt driven roller 33 is disposed on the other end side of the housing 1a, and the transfer belt 31 and the transfer belt driving roller 32 are laid substantially horizontally from the fixing unit 27 side to the other end side of the housing 1a. In order to reduce the dimension in the width direction of the image forming apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 or to save the space in the so-called width direction, the transfer belt 31 together with the transfer belt drive roller 32 is mounted from the fixing unit 27 side. The other side of the body 1a can be inclined, and one of them can be provided with an appropriate arrangement, size, etc., such as a photoreceptor, development, laser irradiation unit, fixing, etc. It doesn't matter.

  The intermediate transfer roller 35 is disposed in the inner space of the transfer belt 31 that is wound from the transfer belt driving roller 32 to the transfer belt driven roller 33. The transfer belt 31 is disposed at a position shifted to the downstream side in the moving direction, presses the inner surface of the transfer belt 31, and the outer surface of the transfer belt 31 winds a part of the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21. You may provide so that a predetermined | prescribed nip amount may be obtained.

  The intermediate transfer roller 35 includes a metal (for example, stainless steel) shaft having a diameter of 8 to 10 mm, and the outer peripheral surface of the metal shaft is coated with a conductive elastic material such as EPDM or urethane foam. It is not necessary to limit to these elastic materials.

  The intermediate transfer roller 35 configured as described above has a high voltage transfer bias for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 to the transfer belt 31, that is, a polarity opposite to the charging polarity (−) of the toner. A high voltage (+) is applied, and the high voltage is uniformly applied to the transfer belt 31 by an elastic material.

  A visualized toner image (electrostatic image) corresponding to each hue on each of the above-described photosensitive drums 21 is laminated on the transfer belt 31 and becomes image information input to the apparatus. The stacked image information is transferred onto a recording sheet by a transfer roller 36 disposed at a contact position of the transfer belt 31.

  The transfer roller 36 constituting the transfer means constitutes a transfer means for transferring the developer image transferred to the transfer belt 31 onto a recording sheet, and is opposed to the transfer belt drive roller 32 substantially horizontally and in parallel. The multi-color toner image formed on the transfer belt 31 is transferred onto a recording sheet and is arranged so as to be pressed against the transfer belt 31 wound around the transfer belt drive roller 32 at a predetermined nip. In other words, a high voltage having a polarity (+) opposite to the charging polarity (−) of the toner is applied.

  Further, in order to obtain a nip between the transfer belt 31 and the transfer roller 36 steadily, either the transfer belt drive roller 32 or the transfer roller 36 is made of a hard material such as metal, and the other roller Is made of a soft material such as elastic rubber or foamable resin.

  A registration roller 26 is provided below the transfer belt driving roller 32 and the transfer roller 36. The registration roller 26 is configured to align the leading edge of the recording paper supplied from the paper feeding unit 109 and the leading edge of the toner image on the transfer belt 31 and convey the toner to the transfer roller 36 side.

  Further, as described above, the toner adhering to the transfer belt 31 due to contact with the photosensitive drum 21 or the toner remaining on the transfer belt 31 without being transferred onto the recording paper by the transfer roller 36 is mixed with toner in the next step. Therefore, the transfer belt cleaning unit 37 is set to be removed and collected.

  The transfer belt cleaning unit 37 is provided in the vicinity of the transfer belt driven roller 33 and disposed so as to be in contact (or sliding contact) with the transfer belt 31, and the residual on the transfer belt 31 by the cleaning blade 37a. A box-shaped toner collecting portion 37b that temporarily stores the toner (waste toner) that has been scraped off the toner, and scrapes and collects the residual toner on the transfer belt 31.

  Further, the transfer belt cleaning unit 37 is disposed in the vicinity of the process printing unit 20a on the upstream side in the moving direction of the transfer belt 31 from the process printing unit 20a. The portion of the transfer belt 31 where the cleaning blade 37 a contacts the outer surface is supported by the transfer belt driven roller 33 on the inner surface.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing unit 27 includes a pair of fixing rollers 271 configured by a heating roller 27a and a pressure roller 27b, and a conveying roller 27c above the fixing roller 271. It is carried in from below 271 and carried out above carrying roller 27c.

  Further, a paper discharge roller 28 is provided above the fixing unit 27, and the recording paper conveyed from the conveyance roller 27 c is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 43 by the paper discharge roller 28. .

  The fixing of the toner image by the fixing unit 27 is controlled by controlling heating means (not shown) such as a heater lamp provided inside or close to the heating roller 27a based on a detection value of a temperature detector (not shown). The heating roller 27a is maintained at a predetermined temperature (fixing temperature), and the recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred is heated and pressed while being rotated and conveyed by being sandwiched between the heating roller 27a and the pressure roller 27b. The toner image is thermally fixed.

  Adjacent to the fixing unit 27, a double-sided document conveyance path S3 for double-sided printing is formed from the rear to the bottom of the fixing unit 27 to the vicinity of the paper feed unit 109, and is arranged in the vertical direction on the double-sided document conveyance path S3. The recording paper is reversed toward the transfer roller 36 in a state where the recording paper is reversed by the provided conveying rollers 29a and 29b.

  Specifically, the transport roller 29a is disposed behind the fixing unit 27, and the transport roller 29b is disposed below the transport roller 29a in the vertical direction and is disposed at substantially the same position as the registration roller 26 in the lateral direction. Yes.

  In this embodiment, the heating roller 27a and the pressure roller 27b, which are heating means such as a heater lamp, are used. However, an induction heating method may be used or they may be used in combination. Further, any means may be used as long as it is an appropriate method capable of uniformly heat-fixing the toner image on the recording paper without disturbing the toner image without using a roller.

  The paper feed unit 109 includes a manual feed tray 41 and a paper feed cassette 42 for storing recording paper used for image formation. The image forming unit 108 feeds recording paper from the manual feed tray 41 and the paper feed cassette 42 one by one. To be supplied to.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the manual feed tray 41 is expanded to one side end (right side in the drawing) of the casing 1 a of the image forming apparatus 1. A small number (necessary number) of recording sheets of the type desired by the user are placed and taken into the housing 1a of the image forming apparatus 1 one by one.

  A pickup roller 41a is provided on the side of the exposure unit 10 in the casing 1a of the image forming apparatus 1 on the downstream side of the paper feeding direction of the recording paper by the manual feed tray 41 (the direction of arrow C in the figure). A conveyance roller 41b is provided substantially horizontally on the downstream side in the paper direction.

  The pickup roller 41a comes into contact with the surface of one end portion of the recording paper fed from the manual feed tray 41 and reliably conveys the paper one by one by the frictional resistance of the roller.

  The above-described pickup roller 41a and transport rollers 41b, 41c, and 41d constitute a recording paper transport path S1.

  On the other hand, the paper feed cassette 42 is provided below the image forming unit 108 and the exposure unit 10 in the housing 1a, and records a large amount of recording paper having a size defined by the specifications of the apparatus or a size predetermined by the user. Can be accommodated.

  A pickup roller 42a is provided on one end portion (left end portion in the figure) of the paper feed cassette 42, and a conveyance roller 42b is provided downstream of the pickup roller 42a in the recording paper conveyance direction.

  The pickup roller 42a contacts the surface of one end of the recording paper at the top of the recording paper set in the paper feeding cassette 42 in response to an output request, and reliably feeds out one by one by the frictional resistance of the roller. It is supposed to be.

  The conveyance roller 42b is configured to convey the recording sheet fed from the pickup roller 42a upward to the image forming unit 108 along the recording sheet conveyance path S2 formed on one end side in the housing 1a. .

Next, image output by the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
The image forming apparatus 1 is configured to transfer the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 onto the recording paper supplied from the paper supply unit 109 via the transfer belt 31 by a so-called intermediate transfer method (offset method). ing.

  First, the charger 22 uniformly charges the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to a predetermined potential. By irradiating the charged photosensitive drum 21 with laser light from the exposure unit 10, an electrostatic latent image for each color is generated on the photosensitive drum 21 for each color.

  Next, toner is supplied from the developing device 23 (23a, 23b, 23c, 23d) to each outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 (21a, 21b, 21c, 21d), and formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21. The electrostatic latent image thus made is visualized as a toner image with toner.

Then, the toner image generated on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the transfer belt 31.
The transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 21 to the transfer belt 31 is performed by applying a high voltage to the intermediate transfer roller 35 disposed in contact with the back side of the transfer belt 31.

  By applying a high voltage with a polarity (+) opposite to the toner charging polarity (-) to the intermediate transfer roller 35, the transfer belt 31 is uniformly applied with a high voltage by the intermediate transfer roller 35 and has a reverse polarity. (+). As a result, the toner image of the charged polarity (−) on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred onto the transfer belt 31 when the photosensitive drum 21 is in rotational contact with the transfer belt 31.

  The toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photoconductive drums 21 are yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), black as the transfer belt 31 moves and makes rotational contact with the respective photoconductive drums 21. The images are transferred in the order of (BK), and a color toner image is formed on the transfer belt 31.

  In this way, the electrostatic latent image visualized with toner on the photosensitive drum 21 for each color is laminated on the transfer belt 31, and the print image is reproduced on the transfer belt 31 as a multicolor toner image. The

  The multicolor toner image transferred onto the transfer belt 31 is transferred from the transfer belt 31 onto the recording paper by the transfer roller 36 at a position where the transfer belt 31 moves and the recording paper and the transfer belt 31 overlap. The

  The toner adhering to the transfer belt 31 due to contact with the photosensitive drum 21 or the toner remaining on the transfer belt 31 without being transferred onto the recording paper by the transfer roller 36 causes toner color mixing in the next step. Therefore, it is removed and collected by the transfer belt cleaning unit 37.

Next, the recording paper supply operation by the paper supply unit 109 will be described.
When recording paper placed on the manual feed tray 41 is used, the recording paper is fed from the manual feed tray 41 by a pickup roller 41a at a timing controlled by an instruction on an operation panel (not shown) as shown in FIG. Are taken into the apparatus one by one.

  The recording sheet taken into the apparatus is conveyed to the image forming unit 108 along the recording sheet conveying path S1 by the conveying roller 41b.

  On the other hand, when recording paper stored in the paper feed cassette 42 is used, the recording paper is separated and fed one by one from the paper feed cassette 42 by the pickup roller 42a in response to an output request, and the recording paper is conveyed by the conveyance roller 42b. It is conveyed along the path S2 to the upper image forming unit.

  The recording paper transported from the manual feed tray 41 and the paper feed cassette 42 is transported to the transfer roller 36 side at the timing when the leading edge of the recording paper and the leading edge of the toner image on the transfer belt 31 are aligned by the registration roller 26. The toner image on the transfer belt 31 is transferred onto the recording paper.

  The recording sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed substantially vertically and reaches the fixing unit 27, where the toner image is thermally fixed on the recording sheet by the heating roller 27a and the pressure roller 27b.

  The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 27 is discharged face down onto the paper discharge tray 43 by the paper discharge roller 28 in the case of a single-sided print request.

  On the other hand, in the case of a double-sided printing request, after the recording paper is chucked by the paper discharge roller 28, the paper discharge roller 28 is rotated in the reverse direction to guide the recording paper to the double-sided document transport path S3, and is again registered by the transport rollers 29a and 29b. Transport to roller 26.

  At this time, the front side of the recording sheet is reversed while the surface to be transferred is reversed. That is, the end that becomes the start side during the first transfer is the end side during the back transfer, and the end that becomes the end side during the first transfer is the start side during the back transfer.

After the toner image is transferred and thermally fixed on the back surface of the recording paper, it is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 43 by the paper discharge roller 28.
In this way, the transfer operation to the recording paper is performed.

Next, configurations of the developing device 23 and the toner replenishing device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the developing device and the toner replenishing device constituting the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view seen from the front showing the configuration of the developing device and the toner replenishing device. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a developing device mounted on the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a case where a toner replenishing unit is mounted on a toner replenishing unit mounting mechanism constituting the toner replenishing device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of the toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism, and FIG. 8 shows the toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the supply passage body which connects a developing device.

First, the developing device 23 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, in the developing device 23, a toner introduction port 234 a for introducing a developer is formed in an upper part of a housing 234 that forms an exterior portion. Includes a developing roller 231, a first toner conveying roller 232, and a second toner conveying roller 233. The developing roller 231 is attached to the image forming apparatus main body in a state of being in contact with or close to the photosensitive drum 21. Is done. The toner introduction port 234a of the developing device 23 is formed outside the transfer belt width W on the same side as the toner introduction port 611 of the toner supply unit mounting mechanism 600.

  The first toner transport roller 232 and the second toner transport roller 233 are arranged in parallel with each other along the axial direction of the developing roller 231 on the bottom side of the housing 234, and the toner supplied into the housing 234 is used as a developer. At the same time, it is conveyed to the developing roller 231 while stirring. The developing roller 231 is disposed on the upper side of the second toner conveying roller 233 so as to be exposed from the opening 235.

  The housing 234 has a long box shape in a direction (transfer belt width direction) perpendicular to a transfer direction (transfer belt conveyance direction) in a state of being mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, and the developing device 23 is connected to the image forming apparatus. An opening 235 is formed so that the developing roller 231 and the photosensitive drum 21 that are present in the state of being mounted on the main body face each other.

The opening 235 is formed to be long in the width direction of the housing 234 along the axial direction of the developing roller 231 so that at least the developing roller 231 can come into contact with the photosensitive drum 21. A blade 236 is provided along the axial direction of the developing roller 231 at the lower edge of the opening 235 in the drawing. The blade 236 is provided so as to form a predetermined gap between the edge of the blade 236 and the surface of the developing roller 231, and a predetermined amount of toner is supplied to the surface of the developing roller 231 through this gap. ing.
The toner replenishing device 100 is disposed on the upper side of the developing device 23 configured as described above.

  Next, a characteristic configuration of the toner supply device 100 will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the toner replenishing device 100 mainly includes a toner bottle (toner containing portion) 200 containing toner as a developer, and the toner bottle 200 can be rotated on one end side. A toner replenishing section 500 having a bottle support member 300 supported on the toner supply section, a toner replenishing section mounting mechanism (toner supplying apparatus) 600 that is mounted with the toner replenishing section 500 and supplies toner to the developing device 23, and a replenishment passage body 612. It is comprised by.
In this embodiment, the toner replenishing units 500a, 500b, 500c, and 500d constituting the toner replenishing device 100 (100a, 100b, 100c, and 100d) mounted on the image forming apparatus 1 have the same structure.

As shown in FIG. 5, the toner bottle 200 includes a main body portion 201 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the tip portion thereof is supported by a bottle support member 300.
The bottle support member 300 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and is configured to cover the front end portion of the main body portion 201.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the toner replenishing unit mounting mechanism 600 is configured to dispose the toner replenishing unit 500 so as to face the developing device 23 substantially in parallel with the transfer belt unit 30 interposed therebetween. The toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism 600 for black toner can be mounted together with two toner replenishing portions 500a for storing black toner.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the toner replenishing unit mounting mechanism 600 has a mounting base 602 on which the toner replenishing unit 500 is mounted at an upper portion that is substantially perpendicular to the transfer belt conveyance direction (transfer belt width direction). It is extended.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner supply unit 500 is fixed to the drive mechanism 701 side on the bottle support member 300 side, and the toner bottle 200 is fixed to the opposite side by a holding belt 702.

  In the drive mechanism 701, when the toner replenishing unit 500 is mounted on the mounting base 602, a driving unit that transmits a driving force (rotational force) to the toner bottle 200 rotatably supported by the bottle support member 300 described above ( (Not shown) is provided. The drive unit is usually composed of a motor, and operation is controlled according to the state of supplying toner.

  On the other hand, the holding belt 702 is configured to hold the toner bottle 200 of the toner replenishing unit 500 when the toner replenishing unit 500 is mounted on the mounting base 602 and is detachably provided on the mounting base 602. Yes. When the toner bottle 200 is held, the holding belt 702 has a gap that allows the toner bottle 200 to rotate, or contacts the toner bottle 200 with a frictional force that can rotate. Mounted on the mounting base 602.

In the toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism 600, the mounting base 602 on which the toner replenishing portion 500 is mounted is, as shown in FIG. 6, a toner introduction port on one end side where the bottle support member 300 of the toner replenishing portion 500 on the upper surface is mounted. 611 (611a, 611b, 611c, 611d) is formed, and a toner supply replenishment passage communicating with the developing device 23 provided below the toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism 600 from the toner introduction port 611 on the lower side surface. A body 612 (612a, 612b, 612c, 612d) is provided.
In FIG. 6, for convenience of explanation, a part of the mounting base corresponding to the toner replenishing portion 500a for black toner is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism 600 is supplied from the toner replenishing portion 500 through a toner introduction port 611 provided outside the transfer belt width W in the direction perpendicular to the transfer belt conveyance direction. Toner is introduced.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the mounting base 602 includes a housing 610a formed in a box shape that is long in the width direction of the transfer belt, and is provided in the housing 610a in parallel with the axial direction of the developing roller 231. A first toner agitation shaft (toner conveyance means) 610b and a second toner agitation shaft (toner conveyance means) 610c are arranged side by side.

  Inside the housing 610a is a first toner chamber (toner storage unit) 610e in which the first toner agitation shaft 610b is disposed by the partition wall 610d and a second toner chamber (toner storage unit) in which the second toner agitation shaft 610c is disposed. It is divided into 610f.

  The first and second toner agitation shafts 610b and 610c are respectively provided with screws 610b1 and 610c1 for agitating and conveying the toner, and drive gears 610b2 and 610c2 provided on the other end side 610a2 of the housing 610a. Via a drive motor (not shown).

  The first and second toner agitation shafts 610b and 610c are respectively provided with toner receiving plates 610b3 and 610c3 at the downstream end portions in the toner conveyance direction so as to receive the conveyed toner.

  The toner agitation means is not limited to the screws 610b1 and 610c1, and for example, a plurality of agitation plates inclined with respect to the toner conveyance direction are provided on the first and second toner agitation shafts 610b and 610c. There may be other configurations as long as similar effects can be obtained.

  The partition body 610d is formed in the casing 610a along the first toner agitation shaft 610b and the second toner agitation shaft 610c in the width direction of the casing, and the first toner chamber 610e and the first toner chamber 610e are formed near both side walls of the casing 610a. Two toner chamber communication ports 610d1 and 610d2 are formed so as to communicate with the two toner chambers 610f. The toner circulates through the toner chamber communication ports 610d1 and 610d2 from the first toner chamber 610e to the second toner chamber 610f and from the second toner chamber 610f to the first toner chamber 610e.

  In one end side 610a1 of the housing 610a, a toner introduction port 611 for introducing toner supplied from the toner bottle 200 disposed above, and a replenishment passage body 612 disposed below for introducing toner into the developing device 23 are provided. And a toner supply port 610a4 for supplying toner inside the housing 610a.

The toner introduction port 611 is formed at a position facing a part of the first toner agitation shaft 610b that agitates and conveys toner from one end side 610a1 to the other end side 610a2 of the housing 610a.
On the other hand, the toner supply port 610a4 is formed at a position facing a part of the second toner agitation shaft 610c that agitates, conveys, and circulates the toner from the other end side 610a2 to the one end side 610a1 of the housing 610a. .

  As shown in FIG. 8, the replenishment passage bodies 612b, 612c, and 612d provided on the mounting base 602 of the toner replenishing portion 500 for cyan, magenta, and yellow toners have the toner replenishing portion mounting mechanism 600 at the top in the drawing. On the other hand, a developing device mounting portion 612A configured to be detachable from the developing device 23 is provided at the lower portion.

  A toner introduction port 612b1 for introducing toner is formed in the upper portion of the replenishment passage body 612b, and a toner passage (toner conveyance) through which toner passes from the toner introduction port 612b1 to a toner discharge port 612a1 formed in the lower portion. Road) 612c1 is provided in a substantially straight line in the vertical direction.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the supply passage body 612a provided on the mounting base 602 of the toner supply section 500a for black toner is provided from the respective toner inlets 611a and 611a corresponding to the two toner supply sections 500a. The toners to be introduced are collected together and temporarily stored, and the toner is further stirred there and sent from a toner introduction port 234a provided in one black developing device 23a. That is, the supply passage body 612a has a function of stirring and transporting toner.

Here, the structure of the characteristic supply passage body 612 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 9A is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a supply passage body for cyan, magenta, and yellow toner constituting the toner supply device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 9B is an AA cross-sectional arrow of FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the driving side showing a gear arrangement for transmitting driving to the rotating body constituting the replenishment passage, and FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the black replenishment passage body constituting the toner replenishing device. FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a structure of a rotating body constituting the black supply passage body.

  First, the supply passage bodies 612b, 612c, and 612d for cyan, magenta, and yellow toner will be described by taking the supply passage body 612b for cyan toner as an example.

  As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the replenishment passage body 612b is formed with a toner introduction port 612b1 for introducing toner at the upper portion, and the toner introduction port 612b1 is connected to the toner discharge port 612a1. A toner passage 612c1 through which the transition toner passes is provided in a substantially straight line in the vertical direction.

  In the toner passage 612c1, two rotating bodies 620a and 620b each having a toner agitating blade 621 for agitating the toner, and in a substantially vertical direction (left and right direction in the figure) with respect to the toner conveyance direction (up and down direction in the figure). A swingable swinging body 630 is provided.

  The replenishment passage body 612b has a shape in which the rotating bodies 620a and 620b can be accommodated so as to bulge in the left-right direction across the toner transport center line X at a position shifted in the up-down direction, that is, the left and right side portions in front view. It is formed in a substantially gourd shape bulging alternately.

  The rotators 620a and 620b are positioned on opposite sides of the toner passage 612c1 with the toner transport center line X interposed therebetween and avoiding the vicinity of the toner transport center line X, and the rotator 620a is disposed on the upper side to dispose the rotator 620b. It is arranged at a lower position so that the toner stirring blades 621 of the respective rotating bodies 620a and 620b do not interfere with each other in the range of rotation, and the rotation ranges of the toner stirring blades 621 of the respective rotating bodies 620a and 620b It arrange | positions so that it may wrap in the state shifted | deviated to the up-down direction by the direction.

  In the toner stirring blades 621, the four toner stirring blades 621 are radially arranged at four equal angles (angle 90 °) from the center side of the rotating bodies 620a and 620b. The toner agitating blade 621 agitates and conveys the toner conveyed into the toner passage 612c1 by being rotationally displaced. The toner agitating surface forms a slit on the surface where the toner is agitated, or the surface where the toner is agitated. It may be formed.

The upper rotating body 620a is rotated in the clockwise direction (arrow B direction), and the lower rotating body 620b is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (arrow C direction).
That is, the rotating bodies 620a and 620b rotate and move the toner agitating blade 621 in the direction from the inner wall 612c3 and 612c4 side of the toner passage 612c1 toward the toner conveyance center line X in the upper part (upper half part) of the toner. The toner is moved toward the center of the toner passage 612c1, and in the vicinity of the toner conveyance center line X, the toner is conveyed downward by rotating the toner stirring blade 621 from above to below.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the rotating bodies 620a and 620b rotate in opposite directions due to the meshing of the drive side gears 620g1 and 620g2. Reference numerals 620g3 to 620g6 in the figure indicate arrangements of gears that transmit driving to the gears 620g1 and 620g2.

The oscillating body 630 is composed of a rod-shaped spring material, and extends long in the vertical direction from the vicinity of the toner inlet 612b1 to the vicinity of the toner outlet 612a1.
A mounting portion 630a that is rotatably supported by a support shaft 631 that protrudes from an inner wall 612c2 in the toner passage 612c1 is formed at a substantially central portion of the swinging member 630 in the vertical direction.

  The support shaft 631 is provided at a position between the rotating bodies 620a and 620b so as not to interfere with the toner stirring blades 621 of the rotating bodies 620a and 620b. Further, in the present embodiment, the support shaft 631 is disposed at a position outside the range where the toner is linearly conveyed from the toner introduction port 612b1 to the toner discharge port 612a1.

  The attachment portion 630a is formed by winding a plurality of spring materials in a coil shape so as to be rotatable on the support shaft 631, and has a so-called torsion coil spring function, and both end sides thereof are formed to be displaceable by spring elasticity. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the swinging body 630 includes a first swinging part 630b1 in which a portion (hereinafter referred to as a toner introduction side swinging part) 630b above the mounting part 630a is adjacent to the rotating body 620a. Is extended along the inner wall 612c2 so as not to interfere with the rotating body 620a, and the second swinging portion 630b2 above the rotating body 620a extends linearly upward to the vicinity of 612b1. Furthermore, a substantially U-shaped stirring portion 630b3 that is bent from the inner wall 612c2 side into the toner passage 612c1, that is, along the width direction of the toner passage 612c1 in FIG. 9B is formed in the second swinging portion 630b2. ing.

  On the other hand, a portion (hereinafter, referred to as a toner discharge side swinging portion) 630c of the swinging body 630 extends along the inner wall 612c2 side so as not to interfere with the rotating body 620b, and extends in the vertical direction. A guide portion 630d that is guided by a cam shaft 632 protruding from the rotating body 620b is formed at the substantially central portion.

  The cam shaft 632 protrudes from the rotating body 620b toward the inner wall 612c2, and rotates with the rotation of the rotating body 620b.

  The guide portion 630d is formed such that a rod-shaped spring material is wound into a long hole shape that is long in the vertical direction in the drawing so that the cam shaft 632 can be displaced in the vertical direction at least in the range from the top dead center to the bottom dead center. In the left-right direction, the engagement state with the cam shaft 632 is restricted, and the cam shaft 632 swings in the left-right direction with the support shaft 631 as a fulcrum as the cam shaft 632 operates.

  In the toner discharge side swinging portion 630c, a first swinging portion 630c1 extending from the mounting portion 630a to the guide portion 630d is linearly formed, and in the second swinging portion 630c2 extending from the guide portion 630d to the toner discharge port 612a1, the toner swinging side swinging portion 630c is linear. In the vicinity of the toner discharge port 612a1, a substantially U-shaped stirring portion 630c3 that is bent from the inner wall 612c2 into the toner passage 612c1, that is, along the width direction of the toner passage 612c1 in FIG. 9B is formed. Has been.

  In this embodiment, the rocking body 630 is rocked in the left-right direction in the figure by a guide portion 630d that is interlocked with the operation of the cam shaft 632 that rotates in accordance with the rotation of the rotating body 620b.

Next, the black supply passage body 612a will be described.
As shown in FIG. 11, the black replenishment passage body 612a is configured by a box-shaped housing 613 having a substantially heart shape in plan view.
The housing 613 is formed with toner introduction ports 611a and 611a corresponding to the two toner bottles 200 in the upper portion, and the inside of the housing 613 serves as a temporary storage unit for the toner supplied from the toner introduction ports 611a and 611a. .

  Rotating bodies 614, 615, and 616 for stirring the stored toner are rotatably supported in the housing 613. In addition, a toner discharge port 611a1 for supplying toner to the developing device 23 is formed in the lower portion of the housing 613.

  The rotating bodies 614 and 615 are disposed below the toner introduction ports 611a and 611a into which the toner from the toner bottles 200 and 200 is introduced, respectively, and the rotating body 616 is disposed between and below the rotating bodies 614 and 615. Has been.

  The casing 613 is formed in an arc shape so that the inner wall 613a is close to the rotating bodies 614, 615, 616 and does not interfere with the rotating range of the rotating bodies 614, 615, 616.

  Since the rotators 614, 615, and 616 have the same shape and configuration, the rotator 614 will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the rotating body 614 mainly includes support shafts 614a and 614b formed on the same axis and a toner stirring blade 614c formed of a rectangular frame, and the toner stirring blade. 614c is formed at two locations (614c1 and 614c2) so as to be substantially linear in a side view with the support shafts 614a and 614b as the rotation axis, and the support shafts 614a and 614b can be rotated inside the housing 613. It is supported.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the rotating bodies 614 and 615 are configured not to interfere with each other in the range in which the respective toner stirring blades 614 c and 615 c rotate, and drive-side gears (not shown). Are rotated in opposite directions.

  Specifically, the toner stirring blade 614c rotates in the counterclockwise direction, and the toner stirring blade 615c rotates in the clockwise direction. The respective toner agitating blades 614 c and 615 c are rotated downward along the inner wall 613 a of the casing 613.

  Next, the operation of toner supply by the supply passage body according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the case where the color toner is replenished will be described by taking the cyan replenishment passage body 612b as an example.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the toner supplied from the toner bottle 200 to the supply passage body 612b is introduced into the toner passage 612c1 from the toner introduction port 612b1.
The toner introduced from the toner introduction port 612b1 is conveyed downward while being agitated by the toner agitating blade 621 of the rotating body 620a, and is further stirred toward the lower toner discharge port 612a1 while being agitated by the toner agitating blade 621 of the rotating body 620b. Be transported.

  In the present embodiment, the toner introduction port 612b1 and the toner discharge port 612a1 are configured so as to face each other substantially linearly in the vertical direction along the toner conveyance direction, so that the rotation is performed when the toner is in a normal powder state. The bodies 620a and 620b can satisfactorily replenish toner without delaying the developing device.

  On the other hand, when the toner introduced into the toner passage 612c1 causes blocking or the like, the toner stagnates in the vicinity of the toner introduction port 612b1 or the toner discharge port 612a1, and the toner supply is not normally performed.

  In the present embodiment, the toner passage 612c1 of the replenishment passage body 612b is provided with the rocking body 630, so that the toner blocked by the rocking body 630 is crushed and stirred by the rocking body 630, so that the toner can be replenished satisfactorily. It can be carried out.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9A, the guide portion 630d swings left and right (substantially horizontal in the figure) by the cam shaft 632 that rotates as the rotating body 620b rotates. As a result, the swinging body 630 swings about the support shaft 631 as a fulcrum.

By swinging the swinging body 630, in the vicinity of the toner introduction port 612b1, the stirring unit 630b3 swings left and right, and the toner staying in the vicinity of the toner introduction port 612b1 is crushed to make it easy to transport the toner. Can do.
On the other hand, in the vicinity of the toner discharge port 612a1, the stirring unit 630c3 swings left and right, and the toner staying in the vicinity of the toner discharge port 612a1 can be pulverized to facilitate the conveyance of the toner.

  In the central portion of the toner passage 612c1, the introduced toner is agitated and conveyed by the rotators 620a and 620b, so that the toner is conveyed well.

  Further, since the inner walls 612c3 and 612c4 adjacent to the toner stirring blade 621 are formed in an arc shape along and close to the rotation range of the toner stirring blade 616c, the toner introduced into the toner passage 612c1 stays near the inner wall. It is stirred and transported without any problems.

  In this way, in the toner supply for cyan, the toner supplied to the supply passage body 612b can be transported in a good state by the rotating bodies 620a and 620b and the swinging body 630, so that it is stabilized toward the developing device 23. Toner can be replenished.

Next, the operation of toner supply by the supply passage body 612a for black will be described.
As shown in FIG. 11, the toner supplied from the two toner bottles 200 to the replenishment passage body 612a is introduced into the housing 613 from the two toner introduction ports 611a and 611a, respectively.
The toner introduced from the toner introduction ports 611a and 611a is respectively introduced into the vicinity of the rotating bodies 614 and 615, stirred and conveyed by the rotating bodies 614 and 615, and temporarily stored in the housing 613. Stir in the state. Further, the toner is conveyed toward the toner discharge port 611a1 while being stirred by the rotating body 616.

  Specifically, the toner inside the casing 613 is conveyed toward the inner walls 613a on both sides (left and right in the figure) from the vicinity of the center inside the casing 613 while being stirred by the rotation of the toner stirring blades 614c and 615c. In the housing 613, the left and right can be agitated substantially evenly.

  In the present embodiment, the inner wall 613a of the housing 613 is formed in an arc shape along and close to the rotation range of the toner stirring blades 614c and 615c, so that the toner stored inside the housing 613 stagnates near the inner wall. It is stirred and transported without any problems.

  Further, since the toner agitating blade 616c is disposed below the toner agitating blades 614c and 615c, the toner agitating blade 614c, 615c causes the toner agitating blade 614c, 615c from the left and right inner walls 613a inside the housing 613. The toner conveyed while being stirred near the center of the inside of the housing 613 below the 615c can be conveyed toward the toner discharge port 611a1 while being further stirred by the toner stirring blade 616c.

  Further, the inner wall 613a of the housing 613 adjacent to the toner stirring blade 616c is also formed in an arc shape along and close to the rotation range of the toner stirring blade 616c. It is stirred and transported without stagnation in the vicinity.

  In this manner, the toner supplied from the two toner bottles 200 to the supply passage body 612a can be evenly stirred by the rotating bodies 614, 615, and 616 inside the housing 613. That is, even when toners that are in different stirring states are supplied from different toner bottles 200, the toner that is always uniformly stirred by the replenishment passage body 612a can be supplied to the developing device 23.

  In this embodiment, in the black supply passage body 612a, the toner around the toner discharge port 611a1 is stirred by the rotating body 616 so that the toner does not stay. However, the above-described swinging body 630 is rotated. In addition to the configuration of the black supply passage body 612a, it is also possible to provide a separate rocking body in addition to the configuration of the black body 616. With this configuration, more stable toner supply can be performed. Can do.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the toner supply device 100 is provided with the supply passage body 612 as a toner conveying device, and in particular, the toner passage 612c1 of the supply passage bodies 612b, 612c, and 612d. By providing the rotating bodies 620a and 620b and the swinging body 630, the toner introduced into the toner passage 612c1 can be always conveyed in a good state with a simple configuration, so that the toner can be stably supplied to the developing device 23. can do. An image forming apparatus that can stably output a high-quality image by stably supplying toner to the developing device 23 can be realized.

  In the present embodiment, the drive source of the rotator 620b is also used as the drive source for oscillating the oscillating body 630 by interlocking with the rotation operation of the rotator 620b. A simple and space-saving device configuration can be realized without separately providing a drive source for movement.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, by using a spring material for the structure of the oscillating body 630, the agitating portions 630b3 and 630c3 are vibrated effectively by the elastic force of the spring material and the reaction force (repulsive force) during operation. Can be stirred and pulverized.

  Further, since the gears 620g1 to 620g6 which are driving units of the rotating bodies 620a and 620b are collectively arranged outside the housing 613 of the supply passage body 612a, the driving unit is simplified and a space-saving toner replenishing device is provided. Can be realized.

  In this embodiment, as described above, the spring material is used for the structure of the rocking body 630. However, the present invention is not limited to the structure of the rocking body. For example, FIG. As shown, the swing member 830 may be formed using a synthetic resin member. The structure of the supply passage body 800 provided with the rocking body 830 has substantially the same structure as the supply passage body 612 according to the above-described embodiment, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The description will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the oscillating body 830 is made of a synthetic resin member and extends in the vertical direction from the vicinity of the toner inlet 812b1 to the vicinity of the toner outlet 812a1.

A support shaft 831 protrudes from the upper portion of the rotating body 620a in the toner passage 812c1 at a position that does not interfere with the toner stirring blade 621 of the rotating body 620a.
A guide portion 830 d for limiting the operating range by the support shaft 831 is formed at a position corresponding to the support shaft 831 of the rocking body 830.

  The rotating body 620b protrudes from a cam shaft 832 that rotates as the rotating body 620b rotates. An attachment portion 830a to which the cam shaft 832 is rotatably attached is formed at a position corresponding to the cam shaft 832 of the rocking body 830.

  Since the camshaft 832 is rotatably attached to the attaching portion 830a, the swinging body 830 is guided by the guide shaft 831 as a fulcrum along with the operation of the camshaft 832 that is rotated by the rotation of the rotating body 620b. While the movement is limited to 830a, both ends are swung left and right while being displaced in the vertical direction.

Since it is configured in this manner, as in the above-described embodiment, as a drive source for swinging the swinging body 830, the drive source of the rotating body 620b is also used in conjunction with the rotation operation of the rotating body 620b. Therefore, a simple configuration and a space-saving device configuration can be realized without separately providing a drive source for oscillating the oscillating body 830.
Furthermore, since the rocking body 830 is formed of a synthetic resin member, parts can be easily molded by injection molding or the like, so that productivity can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration of the rotating bodies 620a and 620b that stir the toner is provided with the toner stirring blade 621 configured by a rectangular frame, but the present invention is limited to the configuration of the rotating body. For example, a plate-like stirrer provided with slits, a lattice-like stirrer, or a plurality of rod-shaped ones that are used to stir toner. Also good.

  In the present embodiment, the rotation ranges of the toner stirring blades 621 of the rotators 620a and 620b do not interfere with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to the arrangement of the rotators. 620a and 620b are configured such that the rotation range of the toner agitating blade 621 of the rotating body 620a and the rotation range of the toner agitating blade 621 of the rotating body 620b interfere with each other, and the rotating bodies 620a and 620b that rotate. The toner stirring blades 621 and 621 may be rotated at a timing shifted by 45 degrees.

  With such a configuration, the toner supplied into the toner passage 612c1 is further highly efficient by the toner stirring blades 621 and 621 of the rotating bodies 620a and 620b entering and stirring in the other rotation ranges. The toner can be agitated and the mounting pitch of the rotators 620a and 620b can be narrowed, so that a further space-saving toner replenishing device can be realized.

  In this embodiment, an example in which the toner replenishing device 100 is applied to an image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a copying machine 101 as shown in FIG. You may apply to.

As shown in FIG. 14, the copying machine 101 includes an image reading device (scanner) 110 disposed above an image forming unit 108 having a configuration substantially similar to that of the image forming device 1 according to the present embodiment. The first paper feed cassette 142a, the second paper feed cassette 142b, the third paper feed cassette 142c, and the fourth paper feed cassette 142d corresponding to a plurality of types of paper are arranged below the 108 to automatically perform a variety of large-volume printing. It is something that is done in.
Reference numeral 120 in the figure denotes a waste toner box that collects waste toner.
Incidentally, in the copying machine 101, those having the same configuration as that of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  According to the copying machine 101 configured as described above, by adopting the toner replenishing device 100 including the replenishment passage body 612 as the above-described toner conveying device, the same as the image forming apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment. Can have an effect.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus and the copying machine having the above-described configuration as long as the image forming apparatus needs to be replenished with a developer (toner), and other image forming apparatuses, etc. Can be deployed.

  As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately changed within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus employing a toner conveying device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a developing device and a toner replenishing device that constitute the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a configuration of the developing device and a toner replenishing device viewed from the front. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the said developing device. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of mounting when a toner supply unit is mounted on a toner supply unit mounting mechanism constituting the toner supply device. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the toner supply unit mounting mechanism. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of the toner replenishing unit mounting mechanism. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a supply passage body that connects the toner supply unit mounting mechanism and a developing device. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the supply passage body for cyan, magenta, and yellow toner which comprises the said toner replenishing apparatus, (b) is an AA cross-sectional arrow view of (a). It is explanatory drawing by the side of a drive which shows the gear arrangement | sequence which transmits a drive to the rotary body which comprises the said supply path. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a black supply passage body that constitutes the toner supply device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the rotary body which comprises the said supply passage body for black. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other Example of the supply path body which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the whole copying machine which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Image forming device 23, 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d Developing device 100, 100a, 100b, 100c, 100d Toner replenishing device 101 Copier 200 Toner bottle (toner container)
200a Toner supply port 500, 500a, 500b, 500c, 500d Toner replenishment portion 600 Toner replenishment portion mounting mechanism 602 Mounting base 612, 612a, 612b, 612c, 612d Replenishment passage body (toner transport device)
612a1 Toner discharge port 612b1 Toner introduction port 612c1 Toner path (toner transport path)
620a, 620b Rotating body 620g1, 620g2 Gear 621 Toner agitating blade 630, 830 Oscillating body 630a Mounting portion 630b1 First oscillating portion 630b2 Second oscillating portion 630b3 Stirring portion 630c Toner discharge side oscillating portion 630c1 First oscillating portion 630c2 Second swinging portion 630c3 Stirring portion 630d Guide portion 631 Support shaft 632 Cam shaft

Claims (5)

In a toner conveying device that is disposed below a toner accommodating portion in which toner is accommodated and that has a toner conveying path for conveying toner supplied from the toner accommodating portion to a developing device further disposed below,
The toner conveyance path has a toner introduction port communicating with the toner storage unit side formed at an upper end side thereof, and a toner discharge port communicating with the developing device side formed at a lower end side thereof. The toner transport path from the toner to the toner discharge port is configured linearly,
The toner transport path is provided with an upper rotating body and a lower rotating body having toner stirring blades for stirring the toner , and a swinging body capable of swinging in a direction substantially perpendicular to the toner transport direction. And
The upper rotating body and the lower rotating body are arranged at positions where the respective rotation axes avoid the vicinity of the center line of the toner transport path of the toner transport path and face each other across the center line,
The rocking body extends from the vicinity of the toner introduction port to the vicinity of the toner discharge port, and is rocked and driven in conjunction with the rotation operation of the rotating body.
The swinging body is formed with a mounting portion that is pivotally supported by a support shaft protruding from the inner wall of the toner passage at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction, and the support shaft is an upper rotating body. Are formed at positions that do not interfere with the toner stirring member of each rotating body,
In the swing portion on the toner introduction side above the mounting portion in the swing body, the first swing portion adjacent to the upper rotor is extended along the inner wall so as not to interfere with the upper rotor. The second oscillating portion above the upper rotating body is linearly upward and extends to the vicinity of the toner introduction port, while the toner discharging side oscillating portion below the mounting portion of the oscillating body is provided. A toner conveying device characterized by extending downward along the inner wall so as not to interfere with the lower rotating body . The toner conveying device according to claim 1 , wherein the oscillating body is formed of a member having a spring property (spring member). The toner conveying device according to claim 1 , wherein the rocking body is formed of a synthetic resin member. A toner storage unit that stores toner, and a toner transport unit that is disposed below the toner storage unit and includes a toner transport path that transports toner supplied from the toner storage unit to a developing device disposed further below. A toner replenishing device for replenishing the developing device with toner supplied from the toner storage unit,
The toner conveying unit, the toner replenishing apparatus comprising the toner conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A toner storage section that stores toner, and a toner transport section that is disposed below the toner storage section and has a toner transport path that transports toner supplied from the toner storage section to a developing device disposed further below An image forming apparatus equipped with a toner replenishing device that replenishes the developing device with toner supplied from the toner storage unit.
An image forming apparatus comprising the toner supply device according to claim 4 as the toner supply device.

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