JP5862340B2 - Toner supply device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device and an image forming apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a toner for replenishing toner accommodated in a toner accommodating means to a developing device that processes an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier. The present invention relates to a replenishing device and an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile equipped with the toner replenishing device, or a so-called digital multi-function machine equipped with at least two of these functions.

  Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and facsimiles having an electrophotographic image forming unit that develops with toner, a toner storage container for storing toner, such as a toner bottle or a toner cartridge, is generally set in the apparatus body. The toner is supplied from the container to the developing device. In the developing device that replenishes toner in this way, for example, immediately before the toner bottle replacement, the amount of toner supplied from the toner bottle decreases, so the image density may become light. For this reason, the toner replenishing unit is often provided with a sub hopper to prevent a decrease in density during toner replacement.

  Further, there is a case where toner replacement work can be performed even during a copying or printing operation centering on a high speed machine. In such an image forming apparatus, during toner replacement, the toner stored in the sub hopper covers the amount of toner consumed during copying or printing. How long copying or printing can be continued after the toner in the toner bottle runs out is determined by the amount of toner that can be stored in a toner replenishing device, a so-called sub hopper, and copying or printing is stopped when the toner in the sub hopper runs out. When the toner exchange is completed, the copying / printing is resumed. For this reason, it is not necessary to stop the copying or printing operation by increasing the sub hopper capacity as much as possible. Further, the positional relationship between the toner bottle and the sub hopper is often determined by layout restrictions.

  In a sub hopper (toner replenishing device) having such a toner storage section, generally, a plurality of transport screws are installed, and the toner in the toner bottle (toner storage container) is supplied onto the end of one of the transport screws. The toner is transported in the axial direction by a transport screw and transported to the developing unit.

  For example, the invention described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-256758) is known as a device provided with a toner replenishing device using such a conveying screw. In Patent Document 1, in a toner storage unit in which three transport screws (coils) are arranged in parallel, the transport capability of a transport screw (coil) far from the toner discharge port is higher than that of a transport screw (coil) near the toner discharge port. A method is described in which the discharge amount to the developing unit is stabilized against the fluctuation of the toner amount in the toner storage portion by increasing the toner amount. In this invention, the toner in the toner bottle is supplied into the toner storage portion at the end of the conveying screw (coil) and conveyed in the axial direction by the conveying screw (coil). In addition, the toner stably flows into the discharge port (see Example 2).

  However, in a full-color copier or printer, the positional relationship between the toner bottle and the sub hopper may be different in each of the black K, cyan C, magenta M, and yellow Y image forming stations for the sake of layout. In this case, the position of the toner supply port for supplying the toner in the toner bottle varies depending on the station, and the toner in the sub hopper is not properly arranged unless the sub hopper is configured properly, that is, the toner conveying member and the toner sensor are not properly arranged. The storage amount may decrease or the toner supply amount fluctuation may increase. Further, if the shape of the sub hopper is changed for each image forming station, the cost increases.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to increase the toner storage amount as much as possible without extra cost and to change the toner supply amount even when the positional relationship between the toner bottle and the toner supply device differs depending on the image forming station. It is to suppress.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a toner replenishing device for replenishing toner to a developing device, wherein the toner replenishing device stores toner supplied from a toner storage container, and is installed in the toner storing unit. Are provided with three or more toner conveying means arranged so that their axes are parallel to each other on the same virtual plane, and at least two toner conveying means on the most upstream side when viewed from the toner conveying direction. And a partition that divides the first space into a second space in which the toner conveying means on the downstream side is installed, and a position corresponding to both ends of the partition in the axial direction of the toner conveying means. The first and second openings for delivering the toner from the toner conveying means to the toner conveying means in the second space.

  According to the present invention, even when the positional relationship between the toner bottle and the toner replenishing device is different depending on the image forming station, the toner storage amount can be increased as much as possible without incurring extra cost, and fluctuations in the toner replenishment amount are suppressed. It becomes possible.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire configuration of each color developing unit and toner supply unit of the image forming unit in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the sub hopper in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the sub hopper of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the flow of the toner in a sub hopper. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a toner conveyance state when the sub hopper in FIG. 5 is replaced with a conventional example.

  In the present invention, the toner storage portion (sub hopper) is divided into at least two spaces by a partition wall, and first and second openings are provided on the same side as both end portions of the partition wall in the longitudinal direction of the shaft of the toner conveying means, The toner replenished from the toner container through the two openings is sent to the subsequent stage.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is an indirect transfer tandem image forming apparatus. Since the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 itself is known, an outline will be described.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 6, an exposure unit 7, and a paper feeding unit 21.

  The image forming unit 6 includes YCMK image forming stations 3Y, 3C, 3M, and 3K, an intermediate transfer belt 8, primary transfer rollers 9Y, 9C, 9M, and 9K, a secondary transfer roller 11, a sheet conveyance path 22, and a fixing unit. The device 19 is configured to be included. For example, the image forming stations 3Y, 3C, 3M, and 3K include a photosensitive drum 1Y, a charging unit 4Y, a developing unit 5Y, a cleaning unit 2Y, a charge eliminating unit, and the like, and the charging unit 4Y and the developing unit 5Y. Is provided with an optical writing unit to which the laser beam L emitted from the exposure unit 7 is irradiated. Further, a primary transfer roller 9Y is provided on the surface of the contact point between the photosensitive drum 1Y and the intermediate transfer belt 8 on the side opposite to the photosensitive drum 1Y of the intermediate transfer belt. Such an image forming element is provided for each image forming station. Here, the reference numerals of the C, M, and K colors are omitted except for the development unit and the primary transfer unit. Hereinafter, YCMK representing the color is omitted for the configuration common to each color.

  The exposure unit 7 uses a laser beam as a light source, includes a polygon mirror and a writing optical system, and irradiates the light writing unit of the photosensitive drum 1 of each color image forming station with a laser beam L modulated according to image information. Optical writing is performed on the surface of the body drum 1. By this optical writing, a latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. The formed line image is developed with toner by the developing unit 5 to be visualized, and is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 by the primary transfer roller 9. This is sequentially performed for each color, and when the transfer of the K color is completed, a color image on which the four color images are superimposed is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  The paper feed unit 21 includes a paper feed cassette 12, a paper feed roller 13, and a transport roller 14. The paper feed cassette 12 stores paper (transfer paper) P. The paper P is separated one by one by the paper feed roller 13 and sent out to the paper transport path 22. The paper P sent to the paper transport path 22 is transported to the registration roller 15 position by the paper feed roller 14, and after correcting the skew of the paper P by the registration roller 15, the leading edge of the image on the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the leading edge of the paper are aligned. It is sent out at the same time to match.

  Then, among the rollers on which the intermediate transfer belt 8 is installed, the sheet is transferred from the registration roller 15 to the nip of the driven roller 10 facing the secondary transfer roller 11 and the intermediate transfer belt 8 together with the front end of the image on the intermediate transfer belt 8. P is conveyed, and an image is secondarily transferred to the sheet P side by the secondary transfer roller 11 at the nip. The image transferred on the paper P is fixed on the paper P by pressure and heating by a fixing device 19 including a pressure roller 17 and a heating roller 18. The paper P on which the image is fixed is sequentially stacked on the paper discharge tray 20 by the paper discharge roller 16.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire configuration of the developing units 5 for each color of the image forming unit 6 and the toner replenishing unit 30 for replenishing toner to the developing unit 5 in FIG. The toner replenishing unit 30 includes a toner container (toner bottle) 31 held in a toner bottle holder 33 and sub hoppers (toner storage units) 32Y, 32C, 32M, 32K. Are provided above the developing units 5Y, 5C, 5M, and 5K, respectively. The toner bottle 31 includes a toner conveying screw (not shown) that supplies toner to the sub hopper 32 and an agitator (not shown) that stirs the toner in the toner container. The toner conveying screw is driven by a driving input received from the toner bottle driving unit. , And the toner is conveyed in the screw shaft direction and supplied to the sub hopper 32 by free fall from an opening hole downstream of the toner conveying screw. When the toner in the toner container 31 runs out, the user removes the toner bottle 31 from the toner bottle holder 33 and sets a new toner bottle 31 in the toner bottle holder 33. As a result, new toner is supplied to the sub hopper 32.

  In the following, since each color has the same configuration, a single color sub-hopper will be described as an example. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the sub hopper in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the sub hopper in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the flow of toner in the sub hopper.

  In these drawings, the shafts 35s, 36s, 37s, and 38s of the first to fourth toner conveying members 35, 36, 37, and 38 are parallel to each other on the same virtual plane in the toner storage portion 34 of the sub hopper 32. Is arranged. Here, the same and parallel are equivalent to substantially the same and substantially parallel, and the abbreviation means that some errors are allowed. The longitudinal direction of the shafts 35s, 36s, 37s, 38s of the first to fourth toner conveying members 35, 36, 37, 38 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the developing roller of the developing unit 5.

  The first toner conveying member 35 is located at the uppermost stream in the toner conveying path formed in the sub hopper 32 and includes a paddle. The second to fourth toner conveying members 36, 37, and 38 are arranged in this order in parallel from the upstream side to the downstream side in the toner conveying direction of the toner storage portion 34, and include a toner conveying screw. The first to fourth toner conveying members 35 to 38 are driven in synchronization by the sub hopper driving motor 41. The driving force of the sub hopper drive motor 41 is provided on the side surface of the sub hopper 32 and is connected to the rotation drive shafts of the first to fourth toner conveying members 35 to 38 via the drive gear train 42. The toner is transmitted to the toner conveying members 35 to 38.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the toner storage portion 34 of the sub hopper 32 is hermetically sealed by the upper cover 39, and the toner stored in the toner bottle 31 passes through the toner supply port 40 opened in the upper cover 39. Free fall into 34. The sub hopper 32 is provided with a toner sensor 44 for detecting the presence or absence of toner on the side wall 43 near the upstream side when the toner is conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the first toner conveying member 35 includes a plurality of blades parallel to the shaft 35s, and so-called paddles 35a and 35b are formed by the blades. Further, a toner sensor cleaning member 35d for cleaning the detection portion of the toner sensor 44 is provided.

  The second toner conveying member 36 is formed in a shape similar to a paddle of the first toner conveying member 35 on the first opening 45a, which will be described later, and the second opening 45b is provided with a screw 36a having a large pitch. ing. The third and fourth toner conveying members 37 and 38 have a shape including conveying screws 37a and 38a having a small pitch over the entire area in the axial direction. First and second partition walls 45 and 46 are provided between the second and third toner transport members 36 and 37 and between the third and fourth toner transport members 37 and 38, respectively, and a toner storage portion. 34 is divided into first to third three spaces 34a, 34b, 34c. First and second openings 45a and 45b are formed on the first partition 45 on the side opposite to the driving gear train and the drive gear train 42, respectively. The second partition 46 has a third opening 46a. It is formed on the drive gear train 42 arrangement side. A toner replenishing port 47 for replenishing toner to the developing unit 5 side is provided on the lower surface of the sub hopper 32 on the counter driving gear train side of the fourth toner conveying member 38.

  In the sub hopper 32 configured as described above, the toner stored in the toner bottle 31 freely falls into the toner storage portion 34 of the sub hopper 32 from the toner supply port 40 opened in the upper cover 39. The toner dropped into the sub hopper 32 is transferred from the first conveying member 35 to the second conveying member 36 and further transferred to the third conveying member 37 and the fourth conveying member 38 to be supplied with a toner replenishing port. The toner is supplied from 47 to the developing unit 5 side. Details are as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner supplied from the toner supply port 40 (the position 40a of the toner supply port is indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5) falls around the toner supply port 40K. The toner dropped from the toner supply port 40 in the axial direction of the first toner conveying member 35 is agitated by the paddles 35 a and 35 b of the first toner conveying member 35. By stirring the paddles 35a and 35b, the toner height is leveled almost evenly. Thereafter, the first toner transport member 35 is transported in the direction parallel to the second toner transport member 36 (in the direction of arrow D1 in FIG. 5) by the paddles 35a and 35b. This direction is a direction parallel to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 1 or the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  On the other hand, the toner that has dropped from the toner supply port 40 in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction is the rotation region of the second toner transport member 36 because the dropped region is the rotation region of the second toner transport member 36. It is conveyed along the axial direction 36a toward the drive gear train 42 (in the direction of arrow D2 in FIG. 5). That is, the toner dropped in the axial direction of the first toner transport member 35 is transported in parallel to the second transport member 36 by the first transport member 35 and is orthogonal to the axial direction of the first toner transport member 35. The toner dropped in the direction is positioned in the transport area of the second transport member 36. Therefore, these toners are each conveyed in the direction of arrow D2 by the second conveying member 36. At this time, the toner that has dropped to the toner supply port 40 stochastically falls evenly around the toner supply port 40, so that the toner is distributed almost uniformly in the toner storage portion 34, and the sub hopper 32 has the same distribution. Toner can be stored efficiently. At this time, since a plurality of paddles 35a and 35b are provided in the axial direction of the first toner conveying member 35, the toner supply port is located at any position in the axial direction (end portion, central portion, intermediate portion therebetween, etc.). Even in such a case, since the toner is dispersed and can be transported to the second transport member 36 in that state, the toner can be efficiently stored in the sub hopper 32.

  The toner transported in parallel to the second toner transport member 36 by the first toner transport member 35 is transported in the direction of the arrow D2 as described above. Part of the toner conveyed to the end on the side is also sent to the third toner conveying member 37 side from the first opening 45 a of the first partition wall 45, and the third conveying member 37 causes the third conveying member 37 to move toward the third toner conveying member 37. It is conveyed along the axis 37 of the drive 37 to the drive gear train side. The first partition 45 has a second opening 46b on the drive gear train 42 side, and the toner and third toner conveyed from the second toner conveying member 36 through the second opening 45b. The toner conveyed in the axial direction of the conveying member 37 is transferred from the third opening 46 a formed in the second partition wall 46 to the fourth toner conveying member 38 side. Then, as described above, the toner is transported to the counter driving gear train side (in the direction of the arrow D3) by the fourth transport member 38 and replenished from the toner replenishing port 47 to the developing unit 5 side.

  Incidentally, the toner supply port 40 shown in FIG. 3 is an example of the sub-hopper 32 of one color as described above, and the full-color image forming apparatus as shown in this embodiment includes four colors. In FIG. 4, the positions of YMCK imaging stations 3Y, 3C, 3M, and 3K differ as indicated by the suffixes Y, M, C, and K. In FIG. 5, the position of the toner supply port 40 is further indicated with a suffix a. As described above, when the position of the toner supply port 40 is different, the above-described transport operation is slightly different depending on the color. That is, most of the black toner supplied from the black toner supply port 40K falls on the first toner conveying member 35. Therefore, the first toner transport member 35 is transported in parallel (arrow D1 direction) to the second toner transport member 36 side by the paddles 35a and 35b. Then, after being transported in the axial direction (arrow D2 direction) by the second toner transporting member 36, it is transported to the third toner transporting member 37 from the second opening 45b.

  Most of the yellow toner supplied from the yellow toner supply port 40Y falls on the second toner conveying member 36, and the second toner conveying member 36 causes the conveying member 36 to move in the axial direction (the direction of the arrow D1 in the drawing). Be transported. Thereafter, the toner is conveyed to the third toner conveying member 37 from the second opening 45b.

  The magenta toner and the cyan toner respectively supplied from the magenta toner supply port 40M and the cyan toner supply port 40C fall on both the first toner conveyance member 35 and the second toner conveyance member 36. The toner that has fallen on the first conveying member 35 is sent to the second toner conveying member 36 side, and together with the toner that has fallen on the second toner conveying member 36 by the second toner conveying member 36, an axial direction (shown by an arrow in the figure). (D2 direction). Thereafter, the toner is conveyed to the third toner conveying member 37 from the second opening 45b. In addition, “regions” of the first toner transport member 35 and the second toner transport member 36 from the supply ports of the toner supply ports 40K, 40Y, 40M, and 40C for the respective colors on the back side (the front side in the case of the apparatus) in the figure. The toner that has fallen onto “A” is transported parallel to the second toner transport member 36 by the paddle 35a of the first toner transport member 35 (direction D1 in the drawing), and the “region A” of the second toner transport member 36 The toner that has fallen into the first toner is conveyed from the first opening 45a to the third toner conveying member 37 side.

  Note that the first and second partition walls 45 and 46 have the third toner supplied from the toner bottle 31 when the toner supplied from the toner supply port 40 falls around the toner supply port 40. In addition, it is provided so as not to directly flow into the fourth toner conveying members 37 and 38 side. Therefore, the first and third openings 45a, 45b, 46a are provided in the first and second partition walls 45, 46 to define the flowing position. Here, the reason why the first and second openings 45 and 45b are provided in the first partition 45 is as follows.

  When the opening is only the second opening 45a, the toner sensor 44 in the sub hopper 32 detects “no toner” and immediately after the toner is supplied from the toner bottle 31, the vicinity of the second opening 45a has a bulk of toner. As a result, the amount of toner transferred to the fourth toner conveying member 38 increases. As described above, when the amount of toner in the sub hopper 32 varies, the amount of toner supplied to the developing unit 5 also varies.

  When the opening is only the first opening 45 a, all the supplied toner is transferred from the first opening 45 a to the third toner conveying member 37 and then the conveying screw 37 a of the third toner conveying member 37. Then, the toner is transferred to the fourth toner conveying member 38. For this reason, the amount of toner delivered to the fourth toner conveying member 38 varies little, but compared to the case where only the first opening 45a is provided for the amount of time conveyed by the conveying screw 37a of the third toner conveying member 37. The timing for delivering the toner to the fourth toner conveying member 38 is delayed. This delay particularly leads to a delay in the time until the toner in the new toner bottle 31 that has been replaced is replenished into the developing unit 5 at the time of toner replacement, and causes a reduction in use efficiency.

  In contrast, in the present embodiment, since the first and second openings 45a and 45b are provided, the toner replenishment amount to the developing unit 5 can be stabilized and the toner replenishment delay as described above can be achieved. Can be prevented.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the toner supply port 40 is disposed on the side farther from the drive gear train 42 than the center as shown in FIG. 5, so that the side closer to the first opening 45 a of the second toner conveying member 36 is Although the paddle shape is used, when the axial distance L between the toner supply port 40 and the first opening 45a is long, the first opening 45a side of the second toner conveying member 36 is a toner conveying screw (spiral shape). Also good.

  In the present embodiment, the first to fourth four toner conveying members 35, 36, 37, and 38 are arranged in the sub hopper 32, but the third toner conveying member 37 is omitted and three toner conveying members 37 are omitted. Can also be configured. However, the provision of the third toner conveying member 37 can increase the amount of toner stored in the sub hopper 32 and stabilize the amount of toner replenished to the developing unit 5, as in this embodiment. It is preferable to provide four.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which all of the first to fourth toner conveying members 35 to 38 are configured by toner conveying screws as employed in the prior art. The sub hopper configured as shown in FIG. 6 is obtained by replacing the first and second toner conveying members 35 and 36 in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 5 with screws. The toner conveyance state at this time is compared with the toner flow in this embodiment. In the example of FIG. 6, the first toner conveying member 35 at the uppermost stream in the toner conveying path is constituted by a toner conveying screw, and the toner conveying direction of the second toner conveying member 36 is opposite to that of the present embodiment. It has become. The same components as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  The toner stored in the toner bottle 31 falls freely into the sub hopper 32 from the toner supply port 40 opened in the upper cover 39, and is conveyed in the axial direction (arrow D4 direction) of the first toner conveying member 35. Then, the toner is transferred to the second toner conveying member 36 at the end of the first toner conveying member 35 on the drive gear train 42 side (in the direction of arrow D5). The toner delivered to the second toner transport member 36 is further transported by the second toner transport member 2 to the counter driving gear train side (in the direction of arrow D6), and the third toner is transferred to the end of the counter driving gear train side. The toner is transferred to the toner conveying member 37 (in the direction of arrow D7). Next, the toner is transported in the axial direction (arrow D8 direction) of the third toner transport member 37 and transferred to the fourth toner transport member 38 at the end on the drive gear train 42 side (arrow D9 direction). Finally, the fourth toner conveying member 38 is conveyed to the counter driving gear train side along the axial direction of the fourth toner conveying member 38 and is replenished to the developing unit 5 from the toner replenishing port 47.

  At that time, the toner dropped from the toner supply port 40 to the region R1 (on the side opposite to the driving gear train of the first toner transport member 35) or the region R2 (on the side of the driving gear train of the first toner transport member 35) Is conveyed in the axial direction (below the arrow D4) by the toner conveying member 35. Further, the toner dropped from the toner supply port 40 to the region R3 (on the side perpendicular to the axial direction of the first toner conveying member 35) is axially (in the direction of arrow D6) by the second toner conveying member 36. In such a configuration, the replenished toner is immediately carried out from the region R1, and the toner hardly exists in the region R1, which is downstream of the toner supply port 40 in the toner conveyance direction. Therefore, when there is no toner, the toner is not supplied from the upstream side, so that there is a portion where there is no toner corresponding to the volume of the region R1, and the amount of toner stored in the sub hopper 32 is reduced accordingly. It will decrease.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the toner is distributed almost evenly in the regions R1 to R3, and in this state, the toner is transported in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction with respect to the second toner transport member 36, so that no toner is present. This area does not occur. As a result, the toner can be efficiently stored in the sub hopper 32.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the positional relationship between the toner bottle and the toner replenishing device differs depending on the image forming station, the first and second transport members 35 and 36 can store the first bottle 34 in the first space 34a. Since the uneven distribution of the toner is suppressed and the toner is sent out from the first and second openings 45a and 45b to the second space 34b, the toner supply can be stabilized and the toner supply delay can be minimized. it can.

  Further, the toner is distributed almost evenly in the regions R1, R2 and R3 shown in FIG. 6, and in this state, the toner is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction with respect to the second toner conveying member 36. An area that does not exist does not occur. As a result, the toner can be efficiently stored in the sub hopper 32.

  In this embodiment, the developing device in the claims is in the developing unit 5, the toner container is in the toner bottle 31, the toner container is in the reference numeral 34, and the toner conveying means is the first to fourth toner conveying members 35. , 36, 37, 38, the axis is 35s, 36s, 37s, 38s, the first space is 34a, the second space is 34b, the partition is the first partition 45, The opening is indicated by reference numeral 45a, the second opening is indicated by reference numeral 45b, the toner supply port is indicated by reference numeral 40 (40Y, 40C, 40M, 40K), the first conveying member is provided by the first and second paddles 35a, 35b, The second conveying member corresponds to the conveying screws 36a, 37a, and 38a, the toner replenishing device corresponds to the sub hopper 32, and the image forming apparatus corresponds to the reference numeral 100.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and all the technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are all included. The subject of the present invention. The above embodiment shows a preferable example, but those skilled in the art can realize various alternatives, modifications, variations, and improvements from the contents disclosed in this specification, These are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

5 Development Unit 31 Toner Bottle 32 Sub Hopper 34 Toner Storage Unit 34a First Space 34b Second Space 35 First Toner Transport Member 35s, 36s, 37s, 38s Shaft 35a First Paddle 35b Second Paddle 36 Second Toner conveying member 36a conveying screw 37 third toner conveying member 37a conveying screw 38 fourth toner conveying member 38a conveying screw 40 toner supply port 45 first partition wall 100 image forming apparatus

JP 2010-256758 A

Claims (8)

A toner replenishing device for replenishing toner to a developing device,
A toner storage unit for storing toner supplied from the toner storage container;
Three or more toner conveying units installed in the toner storage unit and arranged such that the respective axes are parallel to each other on the same virtual plane;
A partition that divides a first space in which at least two toner conveying means on the most upstream side as viewed from the toner conveying direction is installed and a second space in which toner conveying means on the downstream side thereof is installed;
The partition is provided at a position corresponding to both end portions of the toner conveying means in the axial direction for transferring the toner from the toner conveying means in the first space to the toner conveying means in the second space. First and second openings;
A toner replenishing device comprising: The toner replenishing device according to claim 1,
A toner replenishing device, wherein a toner supply port for supplying toner to the toner storage portion is provided above one of the two toner conveying means in the first space. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1,
A toner replenishing device, wherein a toner supply port for supplying toner to the toner storage unit is provided above the two toner conveying means in the first space. The toner replenishing device according to claim 2 or 3,
The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the toner is supplied from the toner container into the toner supply port by a natural drop. The toner replenishing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Of the toner conveying means installed in the first space, the toner conveying means on the most upstream side when viewed from the toner conveying direction is provided with a first conveying member that conveys toner in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the toner conveying means. Prepared,
The toner replenishing device, wherein the toner conveying means downstream of the most upstream side includes a second conveying member that conveys toner in an axial direction of the toner conveying means. The toner replenishing device according to claim 5,
A toner replenishing device, wherein a part of the second conveying member is formed in the same shape as the first conveying member. The toner replenishing device according to claim 6,
A toner replenishing device, wherein a part of the second conveying member formed in the same shape as the first conveying member is provided at a position corresponding to the first opening. An image forming apparatus comprising the toner supply device according to claim 1.