JP5278731B2 - Toner agitator, toner container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an agitator assembled with reduced workload and easily recycled, and to provide a toner cartridge having the same, and an image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The agitator 60 includes a rotating member 62, one fixing member 65 engaged and fixed to the rotating member 62, and one or more films 69 to 71 having a toner agitating area parallel with a rotational axial line. By engaging the rotating member 62 with the fixing member 65 in a rotational axial line direction, almost entire lengths of the agitating areas of the films 69 to 71 are held between the rotating member 62 and the fixing member 65. The rotating member 62, the fixing member 65 and the films 69 to 71 are formed of material having compatibility. Thus, the films 69 to 71 are firmly fixed just by engaging one fixing member 65 with the rotating member 62, thereby reducing the working time. Then, the time and efforts required for separating work for recycling are minimized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner stirring agitator including a rotating member rotatable around a predetermined rotation axis, a fixing member engaged with and fixed to the rotating member, and a film having a toner stirring region parallel to the rotation axis. .

  An electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum with toner. Since the toner in the developing device is consumed in accordance with the development, the image forming apparatus is provided with a toner cartridge for supplying toner to the developing device so that the toner in the developing device does not run out.

  The toner cartridge includes a toner storage unit that stores toner. A toner stirring agitator is provided in the toner storage portion. This agitator for agitating toner agitates and loosens the toner in the toner container, and supplies a constant amount of toner to the developing device. The toner agitator for stirring the toner may have, for example, a plurality of elastic sheet bodies for the purpose of stirring and supplying the toner. Multiple sheets are attached to the agitator body in a stacked state, but in consideration of work efficiency when attaching the sheet body to the agitator body, a sheet stack in which multiple sheets are pasted together with double-sided tape The body is prepared. And after this sheet | seat laminated body is adhere | attached on the agitator main body with a double-sided tape, it fixes by fuse | melting the welding boss | hub previously formed in the agitator main body.

JP 9-22173 A

  Since the lamination of the sheet laminate and the affixing to the agitator main body are performed manually by an operator, there is a variation in the affixing and pasting state. Considering the recycling of toner cartridges (separate collection), the agitator body, film and double-sided tape must be separated. Was also big.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a toner stirring agitator that can reduce the assembly work of the toner stirring agitator and can be easily recycled, and a toner cartridge and an image forming apparatus including the toner agitator.

In claim 1 of the present application, the following configuration is provided. That is, the toner agitator for agitation includes at least one rotating member that can rotate around a predetermined rotation axis, one fixing member that is engaged and fixed to the rotation member, and a toner agitation region that is parallel to the rotation axis. The rotation member and the fixing member are engaged along the rotation axis direction so that the substantially entire length of the stirring region of the film is between the rotation member and the fixing member. It is caught. Further, there are a plurality of the films, and each film is formed with a tab that is orthogonal to the rotation axis and protrudes in the same direction , and the entire film is sandwiched between the rotating member and the fixing member. In such a state, the tabs of the films do not overlap each other.

According to this, by fixing one fixing member to the rotation member along the rotation axis direction, the film is fixed to the rotation member so as to include substantially the entire length of one side of the stirring region of the film. It is sandwiched between members. Therefore, the substantially entire length of one side of the stirring region of the film can be sandwiched by one mounting operation in which one fixing member is engaged with the rotating member. Therefore, the time for assembling the agitator for stirring the toner is shortened, and the film is firmly assembled to the rotating member. Further, the tabs of the respective films are prevented from overlapping when all the films are sandwiched between the rotating member and the fixed member. That is, the tabs of a plurality of films are arranged without overlapping each other along the rotation axis. Therefore, when an operator assembles the film on the toner agitator, it can be grasped whether each film is correctly assembled on the agitator.

  In claim 2 of the present application, the following configuration is provided. That is, an engaging convex portion is formed on one of the rotating member and the fixing member, an engaging concave portion is formed on the other of the rotating member and the fixing member, and the engaging convex portion and the engaging concave portion are The fixing member is engaged and fixed to the rotating member by engaging, and the film is formed with a notch through which the engaging convex portion is inserted.

  According to this, the engaging convex portion and the engaging concave portion formed respectively on the rotating member and the fixing member engage with each other, and as a result, the rotating member and the fixing member are engaged and fixed. In addition, the film is formed with a notch through which the engaging convex portion is inserted, and the film is inserted into the engaging convex portion formed in one of the rotating member and the fixed member, and in this inserted state. It is sandwiched between the rotating member and the fixed member. Therefore, the film is firmly held without being removed from the state of being sandwiched between the rotating member and the fixed member.

  In claim 3 of the present application, the following configuration is provided. One of the rotating member and the fixed member is formed with one or more positioning protrusions along the rotation axis, and the other of the rotating member and the fixing member is inserted with the positioning protrusion. A positioning notch through which the positioning protrusion is inserted is also formed in the film.

  According to this, one of the positioning protrusion and the positioning notch is formed on one of the rotating member and the fixed member, the other of the positioning protrusion and the positioning notch is formed on the other of the rotating member and the fixing member, and the positioning protrusion is the positioning notch Is inserted. Also, a positioning notch is formed in the film, and the positioning protrusion is inserted through the positioning notch of the film. In this way, the positional relationship between the rotating member, the fixing member, and the film is accurately determined.

  In claim 4 of the present application, the following configuration is provided. That is, the rotating member, the fixing member, and the film are formed of compatible materials.

  According to this, since the rotating member, the fixing member, and the film have compatibility, these members can be recycled without being collected separately. Therefore, the operator's separation work is omitted.

In claims 5 and 6 of the present application, the following configuration is provided. That is, the toner storage container includes a casing that rotatably supports the agitator and stores toner. Further, in the toner container, the rotating member, the fixing member, and the film constituting the agitator, and the casing are formed of compatible materials.

  According to this, the toner storage container has a casing for storing toner, and is integrated with an agitator that is rotatably supported therein. In addition, since the rotating member, the fixing member, the film, and the casing are formed of compatible materials, the toner container can be recycled without being separated. Therefore, the labor of sorting work is saved and the recycling work time is omitted. For example, even if another member is assembled in the toner container, it is only necessary to perform the sorting operation on that member, and the recycling work time is shortened.

In claim 7 of the present application, the following configuration is provided. That is, the image forming apparatus includes an image forming apparatus main body and a toner storage container, and the toner storage container is replaceable with respect to the image forming apparatus main body.

  According to this, since the image forming apparatus includes the image forming apparatus main body and the toner container, the toner container can be used integrally. Further, since the toner container can be replaced with the main body of the image forming apparatus, when the toner in the toner container becomes empty, the toner container can be replaced to replenish the toner.

  According to the present invention, the assembly work of the toner agitator for agitation of toner can be reduced, and recycling can be easily performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples for carrying out the present invention, and thus various technical limitations are made. However, the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise specified, the present invention is not limited to these forms. FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of an image forming apparatus 1 including an agitator 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that forms an image by an electrophotographic method, and includes a paper feeding unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a toner cartridge 50, a paper discharge unit 5, and a casing 7 that supports them. .

  An image forming process will be described. A recording medium such as paper accumulated in the paper feeding unit 2 is sequentially sent to the image forming unit 3 by the pickup roller 10. The recording medium is sent further downstream by the conveyance roller 12 while passing through the main conveyance path 9. In the image forming unit 3, an image is formed on the recording medium, and the recording medium is discharged to the discharge unit 5 by the discharge roller 15.

  Next, the image forming unit 3 will be described. The image forming unit 3 includes a photosensitive drum unit 20, a developing unit 30, and a fixing unit 40, and the photosensitive drum unit 20 and the developing unit 30 are detachably attached to the image forming apparatus 1.

  The photosensitive drum unit 20 includes a corona discharge type charger 21, a photosensitive drum 24, and a cleaning device 28, which are configured as a unit. Before the recording medium sent out by the conveying roller 12 reaches the nip position between the photosensitive drum 24 and the transfer roller 26, the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 24 is charged to a uniform potential by the charger 21. Then, the exposure device 22 exposes the photosensitive drum 24 to form an electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 24.

  The developing unit 30 includes a mag roller 32, a pair of augers 35, and a paddle 37, which are configured as a unit. The developing unit 30 carries the toner onto the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 24 to form a visible image. Specifically, the auger 35 charges the toner contained in the developing unit 30 while stirring, and conveys the charged toner to the paddle 37. The paddle 37 further transports and adheres the transported toner to the peripheral surface of the mag roller 32. The magnet roller 32 adheres toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 24 while rotating at a distance from the photosensitive drum 24. Thus, the electrostatic latent image formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 24 is visualized with toner.

  When the recording medium reaches the nip position between the photosensitive drum 24 and the transfer roller 26, a voltage is applied to the transfer roller 26, and the visualized toner is transferred onto the recording medium. The recording medium onto which the toner has been transferred is sent further down the main transport path 9 by the photosensitive drum 24 and the transfer roller 26.

  In order to remove untransferred toner still remaining on the photosensitive drum 24 after the transfer, a blade (not shown) of the cleaning device 28 peels off the untransferred toner from the photosensitive drum 24. The removed toner is accommodated in the cleaning device 28 and collected in a waste toner box (not shown).

  When the recording medium onto which the toner has been transferred reaches the fixing unit 40, it is simultaneously heated and pressurized by the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 that constitute the fixing unit 40, and the toner image is fixed on the recording medium. . The fixed recording medium is discharged by the discharge roller 15 as described above.

  Next, the toner cartridge 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the toner cartridge 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The toner cartridge 50 is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus 1. The toner cartridge 50 includes a casing 55, a screw 58, and an agitator 60 that rotates about a predetermined rotation axis, and these are configured as a unit. The toner cartridge 50 supplies toner to the image forming apparatus 1, that is, the developing unit 30. When the toner in the casing 55 becomes empty, the toner cartridge 50 is replaced with a new toner cartridge.

  The agitator 60 and the screw 58 are rotatably supported by the casing 55. The agitator 60 and the screw 58 are rotated by a rotational power transmitted from a driving source (not shown), thereby agitating and loosening the toner contained in the casing 55 to convey and replenish the toner to the developing unit 30. . The screw 58 is inserted from the rear side in the front direction of FIG. 2 at the toner delivery position of the casing 55 and is prevented from coming off by a retaining ring (not shown).

  The agitator 60 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an agitator 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the agitator 60. The agitator 60 includes one rotating member 62, one fixing member 65, and three film laminates 68.

  The rotating member 62 is a frame that is rotatably supported by the casing 55 and extends along the rotation axis, and ribs are formed in a lattice shape in the frame. The rotating member 62 has a function of stirring and loosening the toner in the casing 55 by the lattice-like ribs. A plurality (four in this embodiment) of engaging projections 63 projecting in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are formed on one side of the rotating member 62, and each of the engaging projections 63 is arranged in the longitudinal direction. And are arranged in a line at predetermined intervals. The engaging convex portion pair 63 is formed by a pair of engaging convex portions 63A and 63B, and the engaging convex portions 63A and 63B have a rotating member main body so that the distance between both ends increases from the base end toward the free end. It is integrally molded with 60A. And the claw part 63C is formed in the free end of each engagement convex part 63A, 63B in the state which mutually separated.

  The rigid resin-made fixing member 65 is a long thin plate-like member, and the same number of engagement concave portions 66 as the engagement convex portion pairs 63 are formed. The engagement recess 66 is formed to penetrate in a rectangular shape in the thickness direction, and one side in the longitudinal direction of the engagement recess 66 is formed to be shorter than the width of the engagement projection pair 63 in the longitudinal direction of the fixing member 65. . That is, by forming one side of the engagement concave portion 66 short, the through hole of the engagement concave portion 66 becomes smaller than the opening width of the engagement convex portion pair 63, and the engagement convex portion pair 63 and the engagement concave portion 66 are formed. When engaged, they are firmly engaged and difficult to come off. The fixing member 65 is fixed to the rotating member 62 by engaging the plurality of engaging convex pairs 63 and the engaging concave portions 66 individually corresponding to the engaging convex pairs. In the present embodiment, the example in which the engaging convex portion pair 63 is formed on the rotating member 62 and the engaging concave portion 66 is formed on the fixing member 65 has been described. A configuration in which the engagement recess 66 is reversed is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  The film laminate 68 has a function of stirring and conveying the toner in the casing 55, and in the present embodiment, the film laminate 68 is configured by superimposing three films 69 to 71. The upper layer film 69 and the lower layer film 70 are folded outward to improve the stirring property of the toner, and the middle layer film 71 is formed shorter than the upper and lower layer films 69 and 70 in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis. Each film 69-71 is formed with a notch 73 through which each pair of engaging protrusions 63 is inserted, and the same number of notches 73 as the pair of engaging protrusions 63 and the engaging recesses 66 are prepared. . Then, in the state in which the corresponding engagement convex portion pair 63 is inserted into each notch 73 of each film 69 to 71, the engagement convex portion pair 63 of the rotating member 62 and the engagement concave portion 66 of the fixing member 65 are formed. The substantially entire length of the film laminate 68 is sandwiched between the rotating member 62 and the fixed member 65 in the longitudinal stirring region 80. At this time, the film laminate 68 is positioned parallel to the rotation axis.

  That is, the stirring region 80 in the longitudinal direction of the film laminate 68 is obtained by a single fixing operation in which one fixing member 65 is engaged with the rotating member 62 having the engaging convex pair 63 arranged in a row. Can be sandwiched between almost the entire length. Therefore, the assembling time of the agitator 60 is shortened compared to the conventional method, and the film 68 is firmly assembled to the rotating member 62.

  Further, since the film 68 is sandwiched between the rotating member 62 and the fixing member 65 in a state where the engaging convex pair 63 of the rotating member 62 is inserted, the film 68 is sandwiched between the rotating member 62 and the fixing member 65. It is firmly held without coming out of the state.

  The rotation member 62 has a plurality of positioning protrusions 64 formed along the rotation axis, and the fixing member 65 and the films 69 to 71 have the same number of positioning notches 67 and 75 as the positioning protrusions 64. . The positioning protrusion 64 is inserted into the positioning notches 67 and 75, and in this inserted state, the engaging protrusion 63 and the engaging recess 66 are engaged, and the fixing member 65 is fixed to the rotating member 62. Thus, compared with the case where the rotating member 62 and the fixing member 65 are fixed only by the engaging relationship between the engaging convex pair 63 and the engaging concave portion 66, the rotating member 62, the fixing member 64, and the films 69 to 71 are fixed. The mutual positional relationship is accurately determined.

  Moreover, in the material, each member 62, 65, 69, 70, 71 which comprises the agitator 60 has compatibility. That is, the rotating member 62, the fixing member 65, and the films 69 to 71 are compatible materials. Specifically, the rotating member and the fixing member 65 are made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and the films 69 to 71 are made of polyethylene terephthalate. (PET). Therefore, these members 62, 65, 69, 70, 71 can be recycled without being separated and collected, and the operator's separation work is omitted.

  Each film 68 has tabs 69A, 70A, 71A projecting in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis, and each of the tabs 72 is in a state where the films 69 to 71 are assembled to the rotating member 62. It is set not to overlap each other. In the present embodiment, when viewed from the arrow 85 (see FIG. 4), in each of the films 69 to 71, the tab 69A is located at the right end on the near side, the tab 70A is located at the center on the near side, and the tab 71A is Located at the left end on the front side. Therefore, the operator can grasp whether the films 69 to 71 are assembled correctly by checking the overlapping state of the tabs 69A, 70A and 71A when the films 69 to 71 are assembled.

  Furthermore, each member 62, 65, 69, 70, 71 and the casing 55 constituting the agitator 60 and the casing 55 are formed of compatible materials. Specifically, the casing 55 is also formed of ABS. Therefore, the operator can complete the sorting operation by simply removing the screw 58 from the toner cartridge 50. Accordingly, the recycling work time can be shortened.

1 is a front sectional view showing an image forming apparatus including an agitator according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front cross-sectional view illustrating a toner cartridge including an agitator according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the agitator which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the agitator which is one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 30 Developing unit 50 Toner cartridge (toner container)
60 Agitator 62 Rotating member 65 Fixed member 69-71 Film

Claims (7)

A rotation member rotatable around a predetermined rotation axis, one fixing member engaged and fixed to the rotation member, and one or more films having a toner stirring region parallel to the rotation axis,
By engaging the rotating member and the fixing member along the rotation axis direction, the substantially entire length of the stirring region of the film is sandwiched between the rotating member and the fixing member,
There are a plurality of the films, and each film is formed with tabs that are perpendicular to the rotation axis and project in the same direction , and the entire film is sandwiched between the rotating member and the fixing member. A toner agitator, wherein the tabs of the respective films do not overlap each other in a state.   An engaging convex portion is formed on one of the rotating member and the fixing member, an engaging concave portion is formed on the other of the rotating member and the fixing member, and the engaging convex portion and the engaging concave portion are engaged. The toner agitator according to claim 1, wherein the fixing member is engaged and fixed to the rotating member, and the film is formed with a notch through which the engaging convex portion is inserted. .   One of the rotating member and the fixed member is formed with one or more positioning protrusions along the rotation axis, and the other of the rotating member and the fixing member is inserted with the positioning protrusion. 3. The toner agitator according to claim 1, wherein a positioning notch through which the positioning protrusion is inserted is formed in the film.   4. The toner agitator according to claim 1, wherein the rotating member, the fixing member, and the film are formed of compatible materials. A toner storage container having a casing for rotatably supporting the agitator according to claim 1 and storing toner. The toner container according to claim 5, wherein the rotating member, the fixing member and the film constituting the agitator, and the casing are formed of compatible materials. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming apparatus body; and the toner container according to claim 5, wherein the toner container is replaceable with respect to the image forming apparatus body.