JP5853064B2 - Toner container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner container that contains toner and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, development processing is performed by supplying toner from a developing device to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum or the like. In addition, toner used for such development processing is supplied to a developing device from a toner container such as a toner container or an intermediate hopper.

  Usually, the toner container is provided with a rotating member such as a stirring paddle for stirring the toner and a transport screw for transporting the toner. For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a concave bearing portion is formed on the side surface of the toner container, and one end portion of the rotating member (the end portion not connected to the driving source) is supported by the bearing portion. (Refer to “Bag-shaped bearing portions 36 and 37” in Patent Document 1 and “Bearing portion 19” in Patent Document 2).

JP-A-8-314250 JP-A-11-102107

  However, it is usually necessary to provide a toner filling port on the side surface of the toner container provided with the above-described concave bearing portion. Therefore, it is necessary to design the layout so that the concave bearing portion and the toner filling port do not interfere with each other, and the degree of freedom in designing the side surface of the toner container is limited. In particular, the concave bearing portion must be disposed near the center of the side surface of the toner container so that the rotating member can sufficiently perform functions such as stirring and transporting the toner. The design constraints on the side were even greater. In addition, it is difficult to reduce the area of the side surface of the toner container because the area sufficient to form both the concave bearing portion and the toner filling port must be secured on the side surface of the toner container. There was a limit to conversion.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to increase the degree of freedom in designing the side surface of a toner container and to reduce the size of the toner container.

  The toner container of the present invention is a toner container having a container main body that contains toner and a plurality of rotating members that are rotatably provided on the container main body. The toner main body is separate from the container main body. A plurality of bearing members formed in the body are accommodated, one end portions of the plurality of rotating members are respectively supported by the plurality of bearing members, and an opening in which the plurality of rotating members can be inserted on a side surface of the container body And the opening is closed by a lid member, the lid member is a flat plate member, the inner surface and the outer surface are flat, and the plurality of bearing members are provided in a disk shape or a wheel shape. The container main body is formed with a plurality of curved surfaces that contact the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of bearing members, respectively.

  By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the side surface of the container body as compared with the case where one end portion of the rotating member is supported by the bearing portion formed on the side surface of the container body. . Further, it is not necessary to secure an area for forming both the bearing portion of the rotating member and the toner filling port on the side surface of the toner container, and accordingly, the area of the side surface of the toner container can be reduced. Therefore, the toner container can be reduced in size.

  The outer diameters of the plurality of bearing members may be different from each other, and the curvatures of the plurality of curved surfaces may be different according to the outer diameters of the plurality of bearing members.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes any one of the above toner containers.

  The present invention makes it possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the side surface of a toner container and to reduce the size of the toner container.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a configuration of a color printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the front side showing the toner container before the lid member is welded to the container body in the color printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the back side showing the toner container before the lid member is welded to the container body in the color printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the color printer which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, it is a perspective view which shows a conveyance screw. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a stirring paddle in the color printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective view from the front side showing a toner container before a lid member is welded to a container body in a color printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a front end portion of a stirring paddle is supported by a paddle bearing member in a color printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the bearing member for paddles in the color printer which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

<First Embodiment>
First, the overall configuration of the color printer 1 as an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a configuration of a color printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  The color printer 1 includes a box-shaped printer main body 2. A paper feed cassette 3 storing transfer paper (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the printer main body 2. An upper surface cover 4 also serving as a paper tray is provided so as to be openable and closable.

  An intermediate transfer belt 5 serving as an image carrier is installed between a plurality of rollers on the upper part of the printer main body 2, and an exposure unit 10 composed of a laser scanning unit (LSU) is provided below the intermediate transfer belt 5. Are arranged, and a plurality of image forming portions 6 are provided along the lower portion of the intermediate transfer belt 5. Each image forming unit 6 is provided corresponding to each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), for example. Each image forming unit 6 is rotatably provided with a photosensitive drum 7, and around the photosensitive drum 7, a charger 8, a developing unit 11, a primary transfer unit 12, and a cleaning device 13 are provided. The static eliminator 14 is arranged in the order of the primary transfer process.

  A pair of stirring rollers 15 is provided below the developing device 11, a magnetic roller 16 is provided above the stirring roller 15, and a developing roller 17 is provided above the magnetic roller 16. A toner container 18 as a toner container is provided above the developing device 11, and the toner is supplied from the toner container 18 to the developing device 11. Details of the toner container 18 will be described later.

  A transfer paper conveyance path 20 is provided on one side (right side in the drawing) of the printer body 2. A paper feeding unit 21 is provided at the upstream end of the conveyance path 20, and a secondary transfer unit 22 is provided at one end (right end in the drawing) of the intermediate transfer belt 5 at a middle portion of the conveyance path 20, and downstream of the conveyance path 20. A fixing unit 23 is provided at the part, and a paper discharge port 24 is provided at the downstream end of the transport path 20.

  Next, an image forming operation of the color printer 1 having such a configuration will be described.

  When the color printer 1 is turned on, various parameters are initialized, and initial settings such as temperature setting of the fixing unit 23 are executed. When image data is input from a computer or the like connected to the color printer 1 and an instruction to start printing is given, an image forming operation is executed as follows.

  First, after the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is charged by the charger 8, the photosensitive drum 7 is exposed according to the image data by the laser light (see arrow P) from the exposure device 10, and the photosensitive member is exposed. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the drum 7. Next, the developing device 11 develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image of a corresponding color with toner. This toner image is primarily transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5 at the primary transfer portion 12. Each image forming unit 6 sequentially repeats the above operation, whereby a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. The toner and electric charge remaining on the photosensitive drum 7 are removed by the cleaning device 13 and the static eliminator 14.

  On the other hand, the transfer paper taken out from the paper feed cassette 3 or the hand tray (not shown) by the paper feed unit 21 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 22 in synchronism with the image forming operation described above, and the secondary transfer unit 22 In the transfer unit 22, the full color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 5 is secondarily transferred to the transfer paper. The transfer sheet on which the toner image is secondarily transferred is conveyed downstream in the conveyance path 20 and enters the fixing unit 23 where the toner image is fixed on the transfer sheet. The transfer paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge port 24 to the upper surface cover 4.

  Next, the toner container 18 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the left front side in FIG. 2 will be described as the front side of the toner container 18. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing the toner container before the lid member is welded to the container body in the color printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the back side showing the toner container before the lid member is welded to the container body in the color printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a conveying screw in the color printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a stirring paddle in the color printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The toner container 18 is detachably mounted on a mounting portion (not shown) provided below the upper surface cover 4 (see FIG. 1) of the printer main body 2. When the toner is used up, the toner container 18 can be replaced by opening the top cover 4 and attaching / detaching the toner container 18 from above the printer body 2 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). .

  As best shown in FIG. 2, the toner container 18 includes a container main body 26 having an opening 25 on the front surface, and a lid member 27 that closes the opening 25 of the container main body 26.

  The container main body 26 has an elongated shape along the front-rear direction, and the container main body 26 contains toner. This toner is a two-component developer composed of, for example, a magnetic toner and a carrier. A screw curved surface 31 is formed at the lower left end of the container body 26, and a paddle curved surface 32 is formed at the upper right of the screw curved surface 31.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a screw hole 34 is formed in the lower left end portion (the lower right end portion in the drawing) of the rear wall 33 of the container body 26, and an upper right portion (drawing) of the screw hole portion 34. A paddle hole 35 is formed in the upper and upper left).

  A discharge port 37 is formed in the rear portion of the bottom wall 36 of the container body 26. The discharge port 37 is closed by a sliding shutter (not shown) in a state where the toner container 18 is not attached to the printer main body 2. When the toner container 18 is mounted on the printer main body 2, the shutter slides to open the discharge port 37, and the internal space of the toner container 18 and the internal space of the developing device 11 communicate with each other. ing. In this embodiment, the sliding shutter is used as described above. However, in another different embodiment, the user locks the lever after the toner container 18 is attached to the printer main body 2 and then the user's lock is released. A rotary shutter in which the shutter is rotated in conjunction with the lever operation and the discharge port 37 is opened may be used.

  In the container body 26, a conveying screw 38 as a rotating member is rotatably provided above the discharge port 37. As shown in FIG. 4, the conveying screw 38 has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The conveying screw 38 includes a rod-shaped rotating shaft 40 and a spiral fin 41 provided concentrically on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 40.

  The front end portion of the rotating shaft 40 is rotatably supported by a disk-shaped screw bearing member 42. The screw bearing member 42 is a component separate from the container body 26 and integral with the conveying screw 38. The lower part of the outer peripheral surface of the screw bearing member 42 is in contact with the screw curved surface 31 of the container body 26 (see FIG. 2).

  A disc-shaped locking portion 44 is provided at the rear end portion of the rotating shaft 40, and the locking portion 44 is close to or abuts on the front surface of the rear wall 33 of the container body 26. A portion on the rear side of the locking portion 44 of the rotating shaft 40 is inserted into the screw hole 34 of the container body 26 and protrudes behind the rear wall 33 of the container body 26. Accordingly, the rear end portion of the rotation shaft 40 is rotatably supported by the rear wall 33 of the container body 26. A screw drive gear 43 (see FIG. 3) is fixed to the rear end portion of the rotary shaft 40, and the screw drive gear 43 is connected to a drive unit (not shown). The screw drive gear 43 is not shown in FIG.

  A stirring paddle 45 as a rotating member is rotatably provided in the container body 26 at the upper right of the conveying screw 38. As shown in FIG. 5, the stirring paddle 45 has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The stirring paddle 45 includes a support frame 46 having a frame plate shape, and a sheet-like stirring blade 47 supported by the support frame 46.

  The front end portion of the support frame 46 is rotatably supported by a paddle bearing member 48. The paddle bearing member 48 is a separate part from the container body 26 and is an integral part of the stirring paddle 45. The paddle bearing member 48 includes a cylindrical inner peripheral portion 50 provided at the front end portion of the support frame 46, an annular outer peripheral portion 51 provided outside the inner peripheral portion 50 with a predetermined interval, and an inner peripheral portion. 50 and the radial connection arm part 52 which connects the outer peripheral part 51, and has comprised the wheel shape.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower right portion of the outer peripheral portion 51 is in contact with the paddle curved surface 32 of the container body 26. The lower left portion of the outer peripheral portion 51 is located behind the screw bearing member 42 and is close to or in contact with the screw bearing member 42. Four connecting arm portions 52 are provided at intervals of 90 degrees, and gaps 53 are formed at intervals of forming the connecting arm portions 52.

  An insertion protrusion 54 is provided at the rear end of the support frame 46 toward the rear. The insertion protrusion 54 is inserted into the paddle hole 35 of the container body 26 and protrudes behind the rear wall 33 of the container body 26. Thereby, the rear end portion of the support frame 46 is rotatably supported by the rear wall 33 of the container body 26. A paddle drive gear 59 (see FIG. 3) is fixed to the insertion protrusion 54, and the paddle drive gear 59 meshes with a screw drive gear 43 fixed to the conveying screw 38. The paddle driving gear 59 is not shown in FIG.

  The left side portion of the support frame 46 is provided with a fixed frame 55 that is long in the front-rear direction. The fixed frame 55 is provided with a plurality of rectangular cutout portions 56 arranged in the front-rear direction (seven in this embodiment). ing. A fixing piece 57 is provided on the right side portion of the support frame 46 at a position corresponding to each notch portion 56 of the fixing frame 55, and an engaging projection 58 is provided on each fixing piece 57 in the direction of the notch portion 56. Is provided.

  The stirring blade 47 is made of a synthetic resin sheet such as Lumirror (trade name), for example. Engagement holes (not shown) are provided at positions below the stirring blades 47 at positions corresponding to the respective engagement protrusions 58 of the support frame 46. Then, the stirring blade 47 is inserted between the fixed frame 55 and the fixed piece 57 while the engagement hole and the engagement protrusion 58 are engaged, so that the stirring blade 47 is attached to the support frame 46. It has become. In the upper part of the stirring blade 47, a plurality of cut grooves 60 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a flange portion 28 is provided around the opening 25 at the front end portion of the container body 26, and a welding surface 30 is formed on the flange portion 28. The welding surface 30 is formed perpendicular to the length direction of the conveying screw 38 and the stirring paddle 45 (the front-rear direction in this embodiment).

  The lid member 27 has a contour shape corresponding to the flange portion 28 of the container body 26, and is ultrasonically welded to the welding surface 30 of the flange portion 28. The lid member 27 is a flat plate-like member and has no irregularities on either the front surface or the rear surface.

  In the configuration as described above, in order to supply toner from the toner container 18 to the developing device 11, a drive unit (not shown) is driven with the toner container 18 mounted on the printer main body 2. Then, the screw drive gear 43 connected to the drive unit and the paddle drive gear 59 meshing with the screw drive gear 43 rotate, and the conveying screw 38 and the stirring paddle 45 rotate. Accordingly, the toner in the toner container 18 is conveyed to the discharge port 37 while being stirred, and is supplied from the discharge port 37 to the developing device 11. The screw bearing member 42 supports the front end of the conveying screw 38 while rotating together with the conveying screw 38 as the conveying screw 38 rotates. Similarly, the paddle bearing member 48 supports the front end portion of the stirring paddle 45 while rotating together with the stirring paddle 45.

  Next, an example of the assembly of the toner container 18 will be described.

  First, the stirring paddle 45 is inserted into the container body 26 through the opening 25, and the insertion protrusion 54 of the stirring paddle 45 is inserted into the paddle hole 35 of the container body 26. Then, the paddle drive gear 59 is fixed to the insertion protrusion 54 inserted into the paddle hole 35. Next, the conveying screw 38 is inserted into the container body 26 through the opening 25, and the rear end portion of the rotating shaft 40 of the conveying screw 38 is inserted into the screw hole 34. The screw drive gear 43 is fixed to the rear end portion of the rotary shaft 40 inserted through the screw hole 34. In this state, the container body 26 is held so that the opening 25 is on the upper side, and toner is filled into the container body 26 from the opening 25. When this filling is completed, the lid member 27 is ultrasonically welded to the welding surface 30 of the flange portion 28 of the container main body 26 to close the opening 25 of the container main body 26.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the front end portion of the conveying screw 38 is supported by the screw bearing member 42, and a bearing portion for supporting the front end portion of the conveying screw 38 is provided on the front surface of the container body 26. Not. Further, the front end portion of the stirring paddle 45 is supported by the paddle bearing member 48, and the bearing portion for supporting the front end portion of the stirring paddle 45 is not provided on the front surface of the container body 26. Therefore, the container main body is compared with the case where the bearing portion formed in the container main body 26 pivotally supports the conveying screw 38 and the front end portion of the stirring paddle 45 (hereinafter abbreviated as “rotating members 38, 45”). Thus, the degree of freedom in designing the front face of 26 can be increased. In addition, it is not necessary to secure an area for forming both the bearing portions of the rotating members 38 and 45 and the toner filling port on the front surface of the toner container 18, and the front surface area of the toner container 18 can be reduced. . Accordingly, the toner container 18 can be reduced in size.

  In the present embodiment, the screw bearing member 42 is an integral part of the conveying screw 38, and the paddle bearing member 48 is an integral part of the stirring paddle 45. Therefore, as compared with the case where the bearing members 42 and 48 are formed separately from the rotating members 38 and 45, the toner container 18 can be easily assembled and the number of parts can be reduced.

  A screw hole 34 through which the rear end portion of the rotating shaft 40 of the conveying screw 38 is inserted and a paddle hole portion through which the insertion protrusion 54 of the stirring paddle 45 is inserted into the rear wall 33 of the container body 26. 35 is provided, and an opening portion 25 into which the rotating members 38 and 45 can be inserted is provided on the opposite side surface (front surface) of the rear wall 33. Therefore, if each rotary member 38, 45 is inserted into the container body 26 through the opening 25 while being slid, the rotary shaft 40 is inserted into each hole 34, 35 without bending each rotary member 38, 45. It becomes possible to penetrate the rear end portion and the insertion protrusion 54 of the stirring paddle 45. Therefore, each rotating member 38, 45 can be easily assembled to the container body 26.

  In addition, a welding surface 30 with the lid member 27 is formed on the container body 26 in a direction perpendicular to the length direction (front-rear direction in the present embodiment) of the rotating members 38 and 45. By adopting such a configuration, when the welding surface 30 is formed in parallel with the length direction of each of the rotating members 38 and 45 (for example, when the welding surface 30 is formed along the upper surface of the container body 26), In comparison, the area of the welding surface 30 can be reduced. Therefore, the lid member 27 can be easily welded to the container body 26.

  Further, after the toner is filled into the container body 26 through the opening 25, the opening 25 is closed by the lid member 27. That is, the opening 25 also serves as a toner filling port for the container body 26. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the welding process as compared with a case where a cap formed separately from the lid member 27 is welded to the toner filling port formed separately from the opening 25, and the manufacturing process can be reduced. Simplification and reduction in manufacturing cost can be achieved.

  In this embodiment, an example of assembling the toner container 18 is shown, but the assembling procedure of the toner container 18 is not limited to this example. For example, in the present embodiment, the drive gears 43 and 59 are fixed to the rotary members 38 and 45 before toner filling, but in other different embodiments, the drive gears 43 and 59 are connected to the rotary members after toner filling. You may fix to 38,45.

  In this embodiment, the case where the toner container 18 is attached and detached from above the printer main body 2 with the top cover 4 opened is described. However, in another different embodiment, the toner container 18 is attached to the side of the printer main body 2 (see FIG. It is good also as a structure which can be attached or detached from any direction of front and rear, right and left. In particular, when the toner container 18 is attached / detached from the front of the printer main body 2, the front surface of the toner container 18 easily enters the user's field of view. By disposing on the front surface, the appearance of the front surface of the toner container 18 can be kept good.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the toner container 18 provided with one each of the conveying screw 38 and the stirring paddle 45 has been described. However, in other different embodiments, a plurality of conveying screws 38 and The configuration of the present invention may be applied to the toner container 18 provided with the stirring paddle 45. In the present embodiment, the conveying screw 38 and the stirring paddle 45 are used as the rotating member. However, in another different embodiment, a roller-shaped member may be used as the rotating member. In this embodiment, the stirring blade 47 is formed by using a single synthetic resin sheet. However, in another different embodiment, the stirring blade 47 may be formed by using a front and rear divided plastic resin sheet. Alternatively, other differently shaped stirring blades 47 may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the number of the connecting arm portions 52 of the paddle bearing member 48 is four at intervals of 90 degrees. However, the number of the connecting arm portions 52 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the connecting arm portions 52 are spaced at intervals of 120 degrees. Three is good.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the drive gears 43 and 59 are directly meshed has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the drive gears 43 and 59 may be meshed via one or a plurality of intermediate gears.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the toner container 18 is directly communicated with the developing device 11 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, an intermediate hopper may be interposed between the toner container 18 and the developing device 11. In this case, the configuration of the present invention may be applied to the toner container 18 or the configuration of the present invention may be applied to the intermediate hopper.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a toner container 18 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a perspective view from the front side showing the toner container before the lid member is welded to the container body in the color printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the front end portion of the stirring paddle is supported by the paddle bearing member in the color printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a paddle bearing member in a color printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the toner container 18 includes a container body 26 having an opening 25 provided on the front surface, and a lid member 27 that closes the opening 25 of the container body 26.

  At the front end portions of the left and right walls 61 and 62 of the container body 26, a fixing groove 63 is provided at the center in the vertical direction, and a fixing hole 64 (see FIG. 7) is provided in the fixing groove 63. A flange portion 28 is provided around the opening 25 at the front end portion of the container body 26, and a welding surface 30 is provided on the flange portion 28. On both the left and right side portions of the flange portion 28, projecting portions 65 projecting outward in a U shape are formed at positions corresponding to the fixing grooves 63. About the structure of the other part of the container main body 26, since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  A conveyance screw 38 as a rotating member is rotatably provided at the lower left portion of the container body 26. About the structure of the conveyance screw 38, since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  A stirring paddle 45 as a rotating member is rotatably provided in the container body 26 at the upper right of the conveying screw 38. The stirring paddle 45 includes a support frame 46 having a frame plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and a sheet-like stirring blade 47 supported by the support frame 46. A columnar recess 69 (see FIG. 7) is provided on the front end surface of the support frame 46. About the structure of the other part of the support frame 46, and the structure of the stirring blade 47, since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  A flat paddle bearing member 48 is disposed in front of the support frame 46. The paddle bearing member 48 is a separate part from the container body 26 and the stirring paddle 45. As shown in FIG. 8, a columnar protrusion 68 is provided at a position corresponding to the recess 69 of the support frame 46 at the center in the left-right direction of the rear surface 66 of the paddle bearing member 48, and the recess 69 and the protrusion 68. , The front end of the support frame 46 is rotatably supported by the paddle bearing member 48 (see FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 8, columnar fixing protrusions 67 are provided on the left and right ends of the rear surface 66 of the paddle bearing member 48, and the fixing protrusions 67 are inserted into the fixing holes 64 of the container body 26. The front surface 70 of the paddle bearing member 48 is a flat surface, and the thickness of each member is adjusted so that the front surface 70 and the welding surface 30 are flush with each other with the fixing protrusion 67 inserted into the fixing hole 64. .

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lid member 27 is provided with a protruding piece 71 toward the outside at a position corresponding to the protruding portion 65 of the flange portion 28. About the structure of the other part of the cover member 27, since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the configuration as described above, when the transport screw 38 and the stirring paddle 45 are rotated as in the first embodiment, the toner in the toner container 18 is transported to the discharge port 37 while being stirred, and the discharge port 37. To the developing device 11. The screw bearing member 42 supports the front end of the conveying screw 38 while rotating together with the conveying screw 38 as the conveying screw 38 rotates. On the other hand, the paddle bearing member 48 supports the stirring paddle 45 in a state in which it is fixed to the container body 26 so as not to rotate. That is, the paddle bearing member 48 does not rotate integrally with the stirring paddle 45, and only the stirring paddle 45 rotates.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reduce noise associated with the rotation of the stirring paddle 45 as compared with the case where the paddle bearing member 48 is rotated together with the stirring paddle 45.

  Further, the front end portion of the stirring paddle 45 is rotatably supported by the paddle bearing member 48 by engaging the recess 69 of the stirring paddle 45 with the protrusion 68 of the paddle bearing member 48. By adopting such a configuration, the front end portion of the agitation paddle 45 is connected to the paddle as compared with the case where the protrusion 68 provided on the agitation paddle 45 and the recess 69 provided on the paddle bearing member 48 are engaged. It can be extended to the bearing member 48 side (the front side in this embodiment) (see FIG. 7). Along with this, it is possible to enhance the stirring effect of the stirring paddle 45, and it is possible to suppress the toner from accumulating at the front corner of the container body 26.

  Next, an example of the assembly of the toner container 18 will be described.

  First, the conveying screw 38 is inserted into the container body 26 through the opening 25, and the rear end portion of the rotating shaft 40 of the conveying screw 38 is inserted into the screw hole 34. The screw drive gear 43 is fixed to the rear end portion of the rotary shaft 40 inserted through the screw hole 34.

  Next, the stirring paddle 45 is inserted into the container body 26 through the opening 25, and the insertion protrusion 54 of the stirring paddle 45 is inserted into the paddle hole 35 of the container body 26. In this state, the fixing protrusion 67 is inserted into the fixing hole 64 while engaging the protrusion 68 and the recess 69, and the paddle bearing member 48 is attached to the left and right side walls 61, 62 of the container body 26. Then, the paddle drive gear 59 is fixed to the insertion protrusion 54 inserted into the paddle hole 35.

  The fixing groove 63 is provided at the center of the left and right walls 61 and 62 in the vertical direction. When the paddle bearing member 48 is attached to the container body 26 as described above, it is located above and below the paddle bearing member 48. The inside of the container main body 26 can be visually recognized through the gaps 72 (see FIG. 6) formed respectively.

  Next, the container body 26 is held so that the opening 25 is on the upper side, and the container body 26 is filled with toner from the gap 72. When this filling is completed, the lid member 27 is ultrasonically welded to the welding surface 30 of the flange portion 28 of the container main body 26 to close the opening 25 of the container main body 26.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the gaps 72 are formed above and below the paddle bearing member 48, so that the paddle to the container body 26 can be seen while visually checking the inside of the container body 26 through the gap 72. Assembling of the bearing member 48 can be performed smoothly. Further, by disposing the screw bearing member 42 in the gap 72 below the paddle bearing member 48, interference between the screw bearing member 42 and the paddle bearing member 48 can be suppressed.

  In this embodiment, an example of assembling the toner container 18 is shown, but the assembling procedure of the toner container 18 is not limited to this example. For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the conveying screw 38 is assembled to the container body 26 before the stirring paddle 45 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the stirring paddle 45 is disposed before the conveying screw 38. You may assemble to. In this embodiment, the case where the stirring paddle 45 is assembled to the container body 26 and then the recess 69 of the stirring paddle 45 and the protrusion 68 of the paddle bearing member 48 are engaged is described. Then, the stirring paddle 45 may be assembled to the container body 26 after the recess 69 of the stirring paddle 45 and the protrusion 68 of the paddle bearing member 48 are engaged in advance.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the bottomed recess 69 is provided in the stirring paddle 45 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the bottomless recess (through hole) 69 may be provided in the stirring paddle 45. In this embodiment, the stirring paddle 45 is provided with the recess 69 and the paddle bearing member 48 is provided with the protrusion 68. However, in another different embodiment, the stirring paddle 45 is provided with the protrusion 68 and the paddle bearing member 48 is provided. A bottomed or bottomless recess 69 may be provided on the bottom.

  In this embodiment, the paddle bearing member 48 is a fixed type and the screw bearing member 42 is a rotary type. However, in another different embodiment, the screw bearing member 42 is a fixed type and the paddle bearing member 48 is It is also possible to make it a rotary type, or to make both the screw bearing member 42 and the paddle bearing member 48 fixed.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the tandem type color printer 1 has been described. However, in other different embodiments, a rotary type color printer, a monochrome printer, a copying machine, and a digital multifunction machine are used. The present invention can also be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as facsimiles.

1 Color printer (image forming device)
18 Toner container (toner container)
25 Opening 26 Container Body 27 Lid Member 31 Curved Surface for Screw 32 Curved Surface for Paddle 38 Conveying Screw (Rotating Member)
42 Bearing member for screw 45 Stir paddle (rotary member)
48 Paddle bearing member

Claims (3)

A toner container having a container main body for containing toner, and a plurality of rotating members rotatably provided on the container main body,
The container body stores a plurality of bearing members formed separately from the container body, and one end portions of the plurality of rotating members are respectively supported by the plurality of bearing members,
The side surface of the container body is provided with an opening into which the plurality of rotating members can be inserted, and the opening is closed by a lid member,
The lid member is a flat plate member, and the inner surface and the outer surface are configured as flat surfaces.
The plurality of bearing members are provided in a disk shape or a wheel shape,
The container body is formed with a plurality of curved surfaces that contact outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of bearing members, respectively .
The container body is provided with a welding surface on which the lid member is welded,
The toner container according to claim 1, wherein an outer surface of one of the plurality of bearing members is a flat surface, is in contact with an inner surface of the lid member, and is flush with the welding surface . The outer diameters of the plurality of bearing members are different from each other.
2. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein curvatures of the plurality of curved surfaces are different depending on outer diameters of the plurality of bearing members.   An image forming apparatus comprising the toner container according to claim 1.