JP5978909B2 - Developer transport device, developing device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer conveying device, a developing device, and an image forming apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a pressure from the second screw to the first screw in a developing device that supplies and recovers the developer with respect to the developer carrier while circulating the developer by the first screw and the second screw. However, a technique for making the pressure larger than the pressure from the first screw to the second screw is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 has a conveyance screw for agitating and conveying a developer composed of toner and a carrier and conveying it to a developing roller, and a portion for increasing the agitation force in a conveyance portion after replenishing the developer (the axial center on the outer periphery of the screw). A technique of providing fins oriented in parallel to the above is disclosed.

  In Patent Document 3, a supply-side transport space that is formed by partitioning the inside of the developing tank by a partition portion and supplies the developer toward the developer carrier, and a recovery side space that collects the developer from the developer carrier, And a communicating part configured to communicate with each other by a lack part provided in the partition part, and a technique in which a developer agitation and mixing part that moves in the developer transport space is provided in the communicating part is disclosed. Yes.

JP-A-11-202626 JP 2006-163292 A JP 2011-059602 A

  An object of the present invention is to reduce toner aggregates in a developer.

The invention according to claim 1, provided in the transfer path for conveying the developer in the horizontal direction, has a chain member, a conveying member for conveying the developer rotated to the rotation axis direction, the chain-like member The one end is attached to the transport member, the other end is a free end, and contacts the inner wall surface of the transport path provided with the transport member .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveyance member that is provided in a conveyance path that conveys the developer, includes a chain member, and rotates to convey the developer in the rotation axis direction. The chain member is spirally wound around the rotating shaft portion, and both ends are attached to the rotating shaft portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing member for developing the latent image formed on the latent image holding member with a developer, and the developer conveying according to the first or second aspect , wherein the developer is transferred to the developing member. An apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a latent image holding body on which a latent image is formed, and a developing device according to the third aspect that develops the latent image of the latent image holding body.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, toner aggregates in the developer can be reduced as compared with the case where the chain member is not provided on the conveying member.

Further, the toner aggregate in the developer can be effectively reduced as compared with the case where the other end of the chain member is a fixed end.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, compared to a case where the chain member is not spirally wound around the rotation shaft portion of the transport member, the chain member has a function of reducing toner aggregates in the developer. And a transport function for transporting the developer.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, compared to the case where the developer conveying device according to the first or second aspect is not provided, the toner concentration caused by the toner aggregate of the developer held by the developing member. Unevenness can be reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, image defects caused by toner aggregates can be suppressed as compared with the case where the developing device according to the third aspect is not provided.

1 is an overall configuration diagram schematically showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a developing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a developing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view in which a main part of FIG. 3 is enlarged. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating toner aggregates in a developer. It is a table | surface which shows an experimental result. It is a cross-sectional view showing a developing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view in which a main part of FIG. 7 is enlarged. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the developing device of the 1st variation of other embodiment of this invention. It is the expanded cross-sectional view which expanded the principal part of the image development apparatus of the 2nd variation of other embodiment of this invention.

An example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
<Overall configuration>
First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, the vertical direction (vertical direction) of the image forming apparatus 10 is referred to as the Y direction, the horizontal direction is referred to as the X direction, and the depth direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction is referred to as the Z direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 transfers the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 12 to the photoconductor 12, the scorotron charger 14, the exposure device 16, the developing device 100, and a sheet member (recording medium) P. A transfer roll 22, a fixing device 24, and a cleaning device 26 are provided.

  A scorotron charger 14 as an example of a charging unit charges the surface of a drum-shaped photoconductor 12 as an example of a latent image holding member. The exposure device 16 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 12 by irradiating the photosensitive member 12 with the surface charged with the laser beam L based on the image data. The developing device 100 selectively transfers toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 12 and visualizes it as a toner image. The transfer roll 22 as an example of a transfer unit transfers the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor 12 to a sheet member (recording medium) P as an example of a transfer target supplied along the conveyance path 20. The fixing device 24 heats and pressurizes the toner image on the sheet member P to fix it on the sheet member P. The cleaning device 26 cleans the toner remaining on the photoconductor 12 after the toner image is transferred.

  A sheet feeding device 40 that feeds the sheet members P one by one is provided below the image forming apparatus 10. The sheet feeding device 40 includes sheet member accommodating portions 41 and 42 on which a plurality of sheet members P are stacked. The sheet members P stacked in the sheet member accommodating portions 41 and 42 are sequentially taken out by take-out rolls 43 and 44 and are conveyed one by one. A plurality of conveying rolls 48 are provided along the conveying path 20 of the sheet member P, and the sheet member P is conveyed along the conveying path 20 to the downstream side (hereinafter simply referred to as the downstream side) in the conveying direction of the sheet member P. It is configured to be.

  Further, the fixing device 24 described above is provided on the downstream side of the conveyance path 20. The fixing device 24 includes a heating roll 24H and a pressure roll 24N, and the toner image transferred to the sheet member P when the sheet member P passes between the heating roll 24H and the pressure roll 24N. Is fixed to the sheet member P. A discharge roll 38 for discharging the sheet member P on which the toner image is fixed to the discharge unit 50 is provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 24.

  A developer cartridge 150 is replaceably provided on the upper side in the image forming apparatus 10. The developer cartridge 150 is filled with a developer G (see FIG. 2) including a magnetic carrier CA and toner T. Then, the developer G (see FIG. 2) is supplied from the developer cartridge 150 to the developing device 100 via the developer conveyance path 152.

  Further, the waste toner collected by the cleaning device 26 described above is transported to the waste toner container 30 via the waste toner transport path 28.

(Image formation process)
Next, an image forming process of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.

  First, the scorotron charger 14 charges the surface of the photoreceptor 12. Subsequently, the exposure device 16 exposes the charged surface of the photoreceptor 12 based on image data read by a scanner (not shown) or data sent from the outside, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 12. To do. The developing device 18 develops the electrostatic latent image and visualizes it as a toner image.

  On the other hand, the sheet member P is sent out from the sheet member accommodating portion 41 or the sheet member accommodating portion 42 to the conveyance path 20. The sheet member P sent to the conveyance path 20 passes through a transfer portion 31 formed between the photosensitive member 12 holding the toner image and the transfer roll 22, and the toner image is transferred to the sheet member P by the transfer roll 22. The The toner image transferred to the sheet member P is fixed to the sheet member P by passing between the heating roll 24H and the pressure roll 24N of the fixing device 24. The sheet member P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge unit 50 by the discharge roll 38.

<Developing device>
Next, the developing device 100 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the developing device 100 includes a housing 102 in which the developer G is accommodated, a developing roll 106 as an example of a developing member, and a developer G held on the outer peripheral surface of the developing roll 106. A trimmer 108 as an example of a developer regulating member that regulates the thickness of the developer layer, and a developer stirring and conveying unit 125. The developer agitation transport unit 125 includes a first agitation transport chamber 123 and a second agitation transport chamber 124. The first agitating and conveying chamber 123 is provided with a first auger 109, and the second agitating and conveying chamber 124 is provided with a second auger 111. In plan view, the first auger 109 and the second auger 111 are developed. It is comprised so that the agent G may be circulated and conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the developer G includes, as an example, two components including a toner T as an example of charged particles that are negatively charged and a magnetic carrier CA as an example of magnetic particles that are positively charged. It is considered as a developer.

  The housing 102 includes a container main body 103 and a cover member 104 that closes an upper portion of the container main body 103. The housing 102 includes a developing roll chamber 122 in which the developing roll 106 is accommodated, a first stirring / conveying chamber 123 provided below the developing roll chamber 122, and a second stirring that is adjacent to the first stirring / conveying chamber 123. And a transfer chamber 124.

  The container main body 103 includes a bottom wall 103A that is curved at two locations in the X direction so as to protrude downward when viewed in the Z direction, an overhang portion 103B formed at the left end of the bottom wall 103A, and a bottom wall 103A includes a side wall 103C that is erected at the right end of 103A, and a partition wall 103D that is erected at the center of the bottom wall 103A and partitions the first agitation transport chamber 123 and the second agitation transport chamber 124. Yes.

  The cover member 104 includes an upper wall 104A disposed on the second stirring / conveying chamber 124, an inclined wall 104B extending obliquely upward and leftward from the left end portion of the upper wall 104A and covering the developing roll chamber 122, and an upper end of the inclined wall 104B. And a fitting wall 104C that extends downward from the end of the upper wall 104A and is fitted into the container body 103. Further, a developer supply port 136 is provided on the upper wall 104A, and a downstream end portion of the developer transport path 152 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the developer supply port 136.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing roll 106 is formed in a columnar shape, and a magnet roll 106 </ b> A as an example of a magnetic force generation unit fixed and supported on the container body 103 via a shaft 106 </ b> C, and a cylindrically formed magnet roll 106 </ b> A. And a developing sleeve 106B as an example of a developer holding member rotatably supported on the outside of the developing sleeve 106B. That is, the magnet roll 106A is disposed inside the developing sleeve 106B.

  Support walls 103E and 103F that support the shaft 106C protruding outward in the + Z and −Z directions from both ends of the magnet roll 106A are formed at positions on both ends in the axial direction (+ Z direction) of the developing roll 106 in the container body 103. ing. Further, the container main body 103 has a length of the first agitation transport chamber 123 and the second agitation transport chamber 124 in the −Z direction that is longer than the interval between the support walls 103E and 103F, and the protruding portion 126 is formed. Yes. A wall portion (not shown) is connected between the support walls 103E and 103F below the developing roll 106, and a trimmer 108 (see FIG. 2) is fixed to the wall portion with a screw (not shown). .

  In the partition wall 103D, a first inflow port 132 penetrating in the X direction is formed near the end portion in the −Z direction, and a second inflow port 133 penetrating in the X direction is formed in the end portion in the + Z direction. As a result, when the first auger 109 and the second auger 111 rotate, the developer G circulates in the arrow K direction through the first inlet 132 and the second inlet 133.

  A developer for supplying new developer G into the developing device 100 from the developer cartridge 150 via the developer transport path 152 (see FIG. 1) is provided above the second stirring transport chamber 124 in the protruding portion 126. A supply port 136 is formed (see also FIG. 2). The magnet roll 106A of the developing roll 106 is provided with a plurality of magnetic poles along the outer peripheral surface (circumferential direction).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing sleeve 106 </ b> B has cap-shaped support members 137 </ b> A and 137 </ b> B that are attached to both ends in the Z direction. The support members 137A and 137B are formed in an annular shape, and bearings 138A and 138B whose axial direction is the Z direction are fixed inside. The shaft 106C is inserted into the bearings 138A and 138B, so that the developing sleeve 106B can rotate in the circumferential direction with respect to the magnet roll 106A. Note that minute irregularities are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 106B.

  A bearing 142 is fixed to the support wall 103F with the Z direction as an axial direction, and a part of the support member 137B is inserted into the bearing 142. A gear 144 that rotates about the Z direction as an axial direction is attached to the end of the support member 137B in the + Z direction. Accordingly, when the gear 144 rotates, the support members 137A and 137B rotate around the shaft 106C, and the developing sleeve 106B rotates outside the magnet roll 106A.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the developer G in the first stirring / conveying chamber 123 is conveyed by the rotation of the developing sleeve 106B in the + R direction while being held on the developing sleeve 106B. The developer G held on the developing sleeve 106B enters between the outer peripheral surface of the developing sleeve 106B and the front end portion 108A of the trimmer 108, whereby the thickness of the layer is regulated, and the photosensitive member 12 (see FIG. 1). ) To the development area opposite to. The trimmer 108 is a plate-like member whose longitudinal direction is the Z direction. The direction inclined from the Y direction to the X direction is the short direction, and the front end portion 108A is directed toward the shaft 106C, so that the outer periphery of the developing roll 106 is It is arranged opposite to the surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a first auger 109 that conveys the developer G while stirring is disposed in the first stirring and conveying chamber 123. The first auger 109 has a rotating shaft 109A disposed along the Z direction, a spiral forward conveying blade 109B supported on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 109A, and a reverse conveying blade 109C. The forward conveying blade 109B is provided from the second inlet 133 to the first inlet 132 in order to convey the developer G in the −Z direction.

  The reverse conveying blade 109C conveys the developer G from the first agitating and conveying chamber 123 to the second agitating and conveying chamber 124 by conveying the developer G in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the forward conveying blade 109B. Further, the rotation shaft 109A is rotatably supported by the front side wall 103G at the −Z direction end portion of the protrusion 126 and the rear side wall 103H at the + Z direction end portion of the container body 103, and the rotation shaft 109A in the + Z direction is supported. A gear 145 is attached to the end.

  As described above, the first auger 109 is aligned with the developing sleeve 106B in the rotation axis direction (Z direction), rotates the forward conveying blade 109B to convey the developer G in the rotation axis direction, and develops the developer into the developing sleeve 106B. G is supplied.

  In the second stirring / conveying chamber 124, a second auger 111 for conveying the developer G while stirring is disposed. The second auger 111 has a rotating shaft 111A disposed along the Z direction, a spiral forward conveying blade 111B supported on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 111A, and a reverse conveying blade 111C. The forward conveying blade 111B is provided from the first inlet 132 to the second inlet 133 in order to convey the developer G in the + Z direction.

  The reverse conveyance blade 111C is provided in the vicinity of the second inlet 133, and conveys the developer G from the second agitation conveyance chamber 124 by conveying the developer G in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction of the forward conveyance blade 111B. It is made to flow into the first stirring / conveying chamber 123. The rotating shaft 111A is rotatably supported by the front side wall 103G and the rear side wall 103H, and a gear 146 is attached to an end portion in the + Z direction of the rotating shaft 111A.

  The gear 144 of the developing roll 106 meshes with the gear 145 of the first auger 109, and the gear 145 meshes with the gear 146 of the second auger 111. The gear 144 is arranged so that the rotational force of a motor (not shown) as a drive source is transmitted.

  When the gear 144 rotates by driving a motor (not shown), the gear 145 rotates in the −R direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 2), which is the opposite direction to the gear 144, and the gear 146 also rotates in the + R direction (in FIG. 2). Rotate counterclockwise. That is, the first auger 109 and the second auger 111 rotate in opposite directions. As the first auger 109 and the second auger 111 rotate, the developer G in the first agitating and conveying chamber 123 and the second agitating and conveying chamber 124 is conveyed and circulated in opposite directions in the Z direction. Then, the developer G conveyed by the first auger 109 is supplied to the developing roll 106.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, a chain member 200 is attached to the rotating shaft 111 </ b> A and the forward conveying blade 111 </ b> B of the second auger 111 in the second stirring and conveying chamber 124. The chain member 200 is configured by connecting a plurality of annular rings 202 made of resin (made of polyester in this embodiment).

  One end portion 200A of the chain member 200 is fixed to the rotating shaft 111A or the forward conveying blade 111B of the second auger 111. Further, the other end portion 200B of the chain member 200 is a free end. The chain member 200 is long enough to hit the inner wall surface 124 </ b> A of the second agitation transport chamber 124.

  In this embodiment, based on the experimental results described below, chain members 200 each having a plurality of resin (polyester) rings 202 having a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 5 mm are provided at four locations (chains). There are four shaped members 200).

<Action and effect>
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner T in the developer G circulated and conveyed by the developer agitating and conveying unit 125 may aggregate to form a toner aggregate (about 100 μm) TG. The toner aggregate TG is broken and reduced by the chain member 200 that rotates together with the second auger 111 shown in FIGS. Specifically, when the rings 202 of the chain member 200 collide with each other, the toner aggregate TG (see FIG. 5) is sandwiched between the rings 202 and collapsed. Alternatively, when the chain member 200 collides with the inner wall surface 124A, the toner aggregate TG (see FIG. 5) is sandwiched between the chain member 200 and the inner wall surface 124A and is destroyed.

  Since the chain member 200 moves freely (because the shape is free), excessive stress and pressure applied to the developer G compared to a member that does not move freely or is more difficult to move than the chain member. Is suppressed.

  Here, when the toner aggregate TG passes between the developing sleeve 106 </ b> B of the developing roll 106 and the trimmer 108, the toner aggregate TG collapses and becomes a streak shape. As a result, the toner density in the portion of the developer G held by the developing roll 106 where the toner aggregate TG has collapsed becomes a streaky (local) increase. That is, when the toner aggregate TG is not broken, uneven toner density occurs in the developer G held by the developing roll 106. The portion of the developer G held by the developing roll 106 having a high streaky toner density appears as a dark streak (hereinafter referred to as “color streak”) in the toner image, and the image quality is degraded.

  However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the toner aggregate TG (see FIG. 5) in the developer G is a chain member that rotates together with the second auger 111 as shown in FIGS. By 200, the toner aggregate TG is broken and reduced. Therefore, the occurrence of uneven toner density in the developer G held by the developing roll 106 due to the toner aggregate TG described above is prevented or suppressed. Then, occurrence of toner density unevenness is prevented or suppressed, so that occurrence of color streaks in the toner image is prevented or suppressed. That is, deterioration of image quality is prevented or suppressed.

(Experiment)
Next, an experiment in which the occurrence frequency of color streaks due to the presence / absence of the chain member 200 and the structure of the chain member 200 is examined will be described.

  In the experiment, 1000 test images, in which a high-density image (solid image) accounts for 25% of the whole, are printed on A4 paper. Then, evaluation is performed based on the number of color streaks generated during printing 1000 sheets. Note that one or several color streaks were counted as one.

  In addition, the experiment was performed under three conditions of the material of the ring 202 of the chain member 200: metal (aluminum), resin (polyester), and paper. In addition, the experiment was performed under the three conditions of one, three, and five rings 202. Furthermore, the experiment was conducted under four conditions of one, two, four, and eight chain members 200. The thickness of the ring 202 was 1 mm and the diameter was 5 mm.

  The result of this experiment is shown in FIG. In the color streak column shown in FIG. 6, “○” indicates that no color streak is generated, and “Δ” indicates that the number of color streak is 1 to 4 (1 or more and 4 or less). "X" indicates that there are five or more color streaks.

  As can be seen from FIG. 6, it can be seen that the generation of color streaks is suppressed by providing the chain member 200. Further, it can be seen that the larger the number of rings 202 of the chain member 200, the higher the effect of suppressing the generation of color stripes, and the higher the number of chain members 200, the higher the effect of suppressing the generation of stripes.

  It can also be seen that the material of the ring 202 of the chain member 200 is more effective in the order of paper <metal (aluminum) <resin (polyester).

  Metal (aluminum) and resin (polyester) rings (chain members) are more effective than paper because the specific gravity (density) of the rings 202 is the toner aggregate TG (FIG. 4). This is probably because the effect of breaking the toner aggregate TG is high.

  The reason why the resin (polyester) ring 202 is more effective than the metal (aluminum) is that the metal (aluminum) ring 202 has a higher specific gravity (density) and is more suitable for the developer G. Although sinking, the resin-made (polyester) ring 202 is below the specific gravity (density) of the developer G and floats in the developer G. Therefore, it is considered that the developer G has a high effect of breaking the toner aggregate TG that exists in the vicinity of the surface.

  From the result of this experiment, considering both the effect of breaking the toner aggregate TG and the cost, as described above, in this embodiment, the chain member 200 in which a plurality of resin (polyester) rings 202 are connected. There are four (four places). From the results of this experiment, three rings 202 need only be connected.

<Second embodiment>
Next, the developing device of the second embodiment will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member same as 1st embodiment, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted. Since the developing device of the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the second auger is different, the description of the structure other than the second auger is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a second auger 300 is disposed in the second agitation transport chamber 124 of the developer agitation transport unit 127 of the developing device 101 of the second embodiment. The second auger 300 has a rotating shaft 111A and a reverse conveying blade 111C arranged along the Z direction. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a chain member 350 is spirally wound around the rotating shaft 111A. The chain member 350 is configured by connecting a plurality of annular rings 202 made of resin (made of polyester in this embodiment).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the chain member 350 has one end 350A fixed to the end in the −Z direction of the rotating shaft 111A of the second auger 300 and the other end 350B in front of the reverse conveying blade 111C (−Z (Direction side). Note that the portion between the one end portion 350A and the other end portion 350B of the chain member 350 may be partially fixed to the rotating shaft 111A as appropriate.

<Action and effect>
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

  As the second auger 300 rotates, the developer G is conveyed in the Z direction while being stirred by the chain member 350 spirally wound around the rotation shaft 111A. Further, the toner aggregate TG (see FIG. 5) in the developer G is broken and reduced by the chain member 350. That is, the chain member 350 has two functions: a function of transporting the developer G and a function of reducing the toner aggregate TG.

  As in the first embodiment, the toner aggregate TG (see FIG. 5) is broken by the chain member 350, so that the developing roll caused by the toner aggregate TG (see FIG. 5) in the developer G is obtained. Occurrence of toner density unevenness of developer G held by 106 is prevented or suppressed. Then, occurrence of toner density unevenness is prevented or suppressed, so that occurrence of color streaks in the toner image is prevented or suppressed. That is, deterioration of image quality is prevented or suppressed.

<Other embodiments>
Next, another embodiment (variation) will be described.

(First variation)
In the second embodiment, there is no forward conveying blade 111B of the second auger 111 of the first embodiment, and the chain member 350 is spirally wound around the rotation shaft 111A. However, a part of the forward conveying blade 111B may be left.

  For example, a configuration in which the chain member 350 is spirally wound around the rotation shaft 111A around a part of the second auger in the Z direction and the forward conveying blade 111B is provided on the remaining part of the Z direction may be adopted. .

  For example, like the second auger 302 shown in FIG. 9, the chain member 350 may be provided in the upstream half of the Z direction, and the forward conveying blade 111B may be provided in the downstream half. In the case of such a configuration, the chain member 200 of the first embodiment may be provided on the downstream forward conveying blade 111B or the rotating shaft 111A.

(Second variation)
As in the second auger 304 shown in FIG. 10, the chain shape of the second embodiment is formed so as to form a double helix with the forward transport blade 111B along the forward transport blade 111B (between the forward transport blades 111B). The member 350 may be wound spirally. Furthermore, you may provide the chain member 200 of 1st embodiment in the forward conveyance blade | wing 111B.

<Others>
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the second auger of the second agitation transport chamber 124, but the present invention may be applied to the first auger of the first agitation transport chamber 123, which is not limited thereto.

  Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the developing device, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, the present invention may be applied to the developer conveyance path 152 that conveys the developer G from the developer cartridge 150 illustrated in FIG. 1 to the developing device 100.

  Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to the waste toner conveyance path 28 that conveys the waste toner from the cleaning device 26 shown in FIG. In the case of image formation in which the toner image is transferred from the photosensitive member to an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt and the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer member to a recording medium, the waste toner is removed from the cleaning device for cleaning the intermediate transfer member. The present invention may be applied to a waste toner transport path for transporting waste toner to the storage unit. Note that when applied to such a waste toner conveyance path, no image defect due to the toner aggregate TG occurs. However, if the toner aggregate TG is large, the conveyance performance may be reduced and clogging may occur. Therefore, by destroying the toner aggregate TG in the waste toner conveyance path, a decrease in the conveyance performance is suppressed, and the occurrence of clogging is suppressed or prevented.

  In short, the present invention can be applied to all apparatuses for conveying a developer.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the development method is the two-component development method, but is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to a magnetic one-component development system.

  Further, the configuration of the image forming apparatus is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and various configurations can be employed. For example, the image forming apparatus is a single color printer, but is not limited thereto. A color printing printer may also be used. In the case of color printing, a method may be used in which each color toner image is transferred from the photosensitive member 12 corresponding to each color to an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt and transferred to a recording medium in a lump.

  Furthermore, it cannot be overemphasized that it can implement with a various aspect in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

  Further, the configuration of the image forming apparatus is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and various configurations can be employed. Furthermore, it cannot be overemphasized that it can implement with a various aspect in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 12 Photosensitive body (an example of a latent image holding body)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Developing apparatus 101 Developing apparatus 106 Developing roll (an example of developing member)
108 Trimmer (an example of a developer regulating member)
111 Second auger (an example of a conveying member)
111A Rotating shaft 124 Second stirring and conveying chamber (an example of a conveying path)
125 Developer stirring and conveying section (an example of developer conveying device)
127 Developer stirring and conveying section (an example of developer conveying device)
200 Chain member 300 Second auger (an example of a conveying member)
350 Chain member
G Developer
TG toner aggregate

Claims (4)

Provided in a transport path for transporting the developer in the horizontal direction, having a chain member, comprising a transport member that rotates and transports the developer in the direction of the rotation axis ,
One end of the chain member is attached to the transport member, the other end is a free end, and the developer transport device contacts the inner wall surface of the transport path where the transport member is provided . Provided in a transport path for transporting the developer, including a chain member, provided with a transport member that rotates and transports the developer in the rotation axis direction;
The conveying member has a rotating shaft portion,
The developer conveying apparatus , wherein the chain member is wound around the rotation shaft portion in a spiral shape, and both ends are attached to the rotation shaft portion .   A developing member for developing the latent image formed on the latent image holding member with a developer;
  The developer conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the developer is transferred to the developing member.
  A developing device comprising:   A latent image carrier on which a latent image is formed;
  The developing device according to claim 3, which develops a latent image of the latent image holding member,
  An image forming apparatus comprising: