JP6222007B2 - Toner stirring mechanism, toner container, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner stirring mechanism for stirring toner in a toner container, a toner container including the toner stirring mechanism, and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.

  A developing device is mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer that forms an image on printing paper by an electrophotographic method. A developer containing toner is accommodated in the developing device. The developing device develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum with toner contained in the developer. As a result of the development, the toner in the developing device is reduced. Therefore, the image forming apparatus includes a toner container that contains toner, and is configured to replenish the toner from the toner container to the developing device. The toner container is configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus. When all the toner in the toner container is consumed, the toner container is replaced with a new toner container filled with toner.

  An agitation mechanism for agitating the accommodated toner is provided inside this type of toner container. The stirring mechanism includes a rotating shaft and a stirring member. The rotating shaft is rotatably supported inside the toner container. The stirring member is a film member formed of a resin film or the like. The film member is fixed to the rotating shaft and extends in a direction perpendicular to the rotating shaft. The film member is formed in a shape longer than the size up to the inner wall of the toner container. When the rotating shaft is rotated, the stirring member rotates in the same direction as the rotating shaft. As a result, the toner inside the toner container is agitated by the film member (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-197636 A

  In the conventional stirring mechanism, since the film member is formed long in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, as the film member rotates, the film member is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the toner container with the leading end side of the film member being bent. However, the cross-sectional shape of the toner container is not a perfect circle, and the toner container is formed in various shapes depending on the restrictions such as the toner container mounting space in the image forming apparatus and the factors such as the position and shape of the toner conveying member provided inside. May be. In this case, since the distance between the rotation shaft and the inner wall is not constant, when the film member is rotated inside the toner container, the amount of bending of the film member changes, and depending on the rotation angle, the film member may move to the toner inner wall. There is a case where it rotates without being bent without contact. As described above, when the amount of bending changes depending on the rotation angle of the film member, or when there is a state where the film member rotates without causing the bending itself, abnormal noise may occur due to contact between the film member and the inner wall. For example, when the film member changes from a state in which the film member is bent against the inner wall to a state in which the film member is not bent and is not in contact with the inner wall, the elastic force (restoration) that the bent film member attempts to return to the original state. The sound is suddenly restored by force), and a playing sound is generated at that time. Also, when the film member changes from a largely bent state to a small bent state, or when the film member is caught by an internal conveyance member or the like, the hooking sound is also released. Or a collision sound is produced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner stirring mechanism and a toner capable of reducing unpleasant noises such as a repelling sound and a collision sound generated when stirring toner in a toner container An object is to provide an image forming apparatus including a container and a toner container.

  A toner stirring mechanism according to one aspect of the present invention includes a rotating shaft member and a stirring piece. The rotating shaft member is rotatably provided inside a toner container that contains toner. The stirring piece is juxtaposed to the rotary shaft member along the axial direction of the rotary shaft member, and extends from the rotary shaft member in a plurality of directions orthogonal to the axial direction. The toner container has a plurality of film shapes longer than the distance to the inner surface and the bottom surface of the toner container.

  A toner container according to another aspect of the present invention includes the toner stirring mechanism.

  An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes the toner container and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium using toner supplied from the toner container.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce unpleasant noises such as a flipping sound and a collision sound generated when the toner in the toner container is agitated.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state where the toner container is mounted on the intermediate transfer unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the toner container and its mounting portion. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the toner container in the longitudinal direction. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the toner container in the short direction. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the rotating shaft member. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the stirring mechanism. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a stirring member of the stirring mechanism. FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of the stirring mechanism. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the elongated portion viewed from the direction of the arrow H1 in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state that a film piece can take. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a stirring member according to another embodiment. FIG. 13 is an external perspective view of a stirring mechanism according to another embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the following description, the vertical direction 6 is defined with reference to a state (the state shown in FIG. 1) in which the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is installed on a flat support surface. Also, the front-rear direction 7 is defined with the left side of the paper surface of FIG. 1 as the front side (front side) of the image forming apparatus 10. Further, a horizontal direction 8 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1) is defined when the image forming apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 is viewed from the front. Accordingly, the front side is the right side of the image forming apparatus 10 and the back side is the left side with respect to the paper surface of FIG.

[Image forming apparatus 10]
The image forming apparatus 10 is an apparatus having at least a printing function. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called tandem type color printer. The image forming apparatus 10 prints an image on a sheet-like printing paper using a developer containing toner. The image forming apparatus 10 only needs to have a printing function. For example, the image forming apparatus 10 may be an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions including the printing function, a FAX apparatus, and a copying machine. Good. Of course, not a color image but a single color image may be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 mainly includes four image forming units 21, an intermediate transfer unit 22, a paper feeding device 25, a fixing device 26, a secondary transfer device 27, and an exposure device. 24 and four toner containers 50 (50A to 50D). These components are attached to an apparatus main body 28 as a casing constituting an external frame (not shown) and an internal frame (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 10. The toner container 50 is an example of a toner container in the image forming apparatus 10.

  The four image forming units 21 are disposed below the intermediate transfer unit 22 inside the apparatus main body 28. The image forming units 21 are arranged in parallel along the front-rear direction 7. Each image forming unit 21 executes an image forming process for forming an image on printing paper based on a so-called electrophotographic system. Specifically, each image forming unit 21 prints an image on printing paper based on image data input from the outside via a network communication unit (not shown). The image forming unit 21 includes a photosensitive drum 11, a charging device (not shown), a developing device 12, a primary transfer device 13, and the like. The image forming unit 21 forms a toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 using toner supplied from the toner container 50, and sequentially superimposes and transfers the toner image onto a transfer belt 23 provided in the intermediate transfer unit 22. The transfer belt 23 moves in the direction of the arrow 19 and the toner images are sequentially transferred onto the moving transfer belt 23. In the example shown in FIG. 1, image forming units 21 corresponding to black, cyan, magenta, and yellow are sequentially arranged from the downstream side in the moving direction of the transfer belt 23 (the direction of the arrow 19) inside the apparatus main body 28. Arranged in a row.

  The intermediate transfer unit 22 is disposed above the image forming unit 21. A driving pulley 31 and a driven pulley 32 are provided at both ends in the front-rear direction 7 of the intermediate transfer unit 22. The transfer belt 23 is supported so as to hang over the driving pulley 31 and the driven pulley 32. Thereby, the belt surface extends in the front-rear direction 7 in a horizontal state. Further, since the transfer belt 23 is supported by the driving pulley 31 and the driven pulley 32, the transfer belt 23 can move (run) in the direction of the arrow 19 while the surface thereof is in contact with the surface of each photosensitive drum 11. . The transfer belt 23 is an endless annular belt made of a material such as rubber or urethane.

  The secondary transfer device 27 transfers the toner image composed of a plurality of colors transferred to the transfer belt 23 onto the printing paper. The printing paper on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 26. The fixing device 26 fixes the toner image transferred to the printing paper on the printing paper by heat. The fixing device 26 includes a heating roller 26A that is heated to a high temperature, and a pressure roller 26B that is disposed to face the heating roller 26A. The printing paper conveyed to the fixing device 26 is conveyed while being nipped by a predetermined urging force at the nip portion between the heating roller 26A and the pressure roller 26B, so that the toner image is fused to the printing paper. Thereafter, the printing paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray 29 provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 28.

  The image forming apparatus 10 may have a configuration in which the transfer belt 23 is used as a conveyance belt, and the toner image is directly superimposed and transferred onto a printing sheet conveyed on the conveyance belt. Further, the image forming apparatus 10 may be configured to use a roller-shaped intermediate transfer member instead of the transfer belt 23.

  The four toner containers 50 (50 </ b> A to 50 </ b> D) are disposed above the intermediate transfer unit 22. The four toner containers 50 are arranged in a line along the transfer belt 23 in the front-rear direction 7 inside the apparatus main body 28. The toner container 50 is configured to supply toner to the corresponding color developing device 12.

[Configuration of Mounting Unit 34]

  As shown in FIG. 2, a mounting portion 34 for mounting a plurality of toner containers 50 is provided inside the apparatus main body 28. Specifically, the mounting portion 34 is provided on the upper portion of the intermediate transfer unit 22. A top cover 33 at the top of the apparatus main body 28 is supported so as to be openable and closable around a support shaft 33A (see FIG. 1) of the apparatus main body 28. When the top cover 33 is rotated upward (in the opening direction), the mounting portion 34 to which the toner container 50 is mounted is exposed. The mounting portion 34 is integrally formed on the upper portion of the intermediate transfer unit 22, and each toner container 50 is mounted so as to be stored in the mounting portion 34. The mounting portion 34 is not limited to being integrally formed on the upper portion of the intermediate transfer unit 22, and may be attached to the apparatus main body 28 as a separate member from the intermediate transfer unit 22.

  Each toner container 50 stores toner of a color corresponding to each color of the image forming unit 21. Specifically, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow toners are individually stored in the respective toner containers 50 (50A to 50D). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the toner container 50A located at the rearmost among the four toner containers 50 is of a larger capacity than the other toner containers 50B to 50D. Contains black toner. Further, the toner containers 50B to 50D have the same shape and the same capacity. The toner container 50B contains cyan toner, the toner container 50C contains magenta toner, and the toner container 50D contains yellow toner.

[Configuration of Toner Container 50]
Hereinafter, the configuration of the toner container 50 will be described. Here, the large-capacity type toner container 50A and the other toner containers 50B to 50D have the same configuration except that the size of the toner container is different. Further, the toner containers 50B to 50D have the same configuration except that the arrangement positions are different. Therefore, in the following description, the toner containers 50A to 50D will be described as the toner container 50.

  The toner container 50 stores toner supplied to the developing device 12. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the toner container 50 includes a casing 51 (container body), a toner discharge port 52 (see FIG. 4), an operation unit 54, and a cover 72. The toner is accommodated in the housing 51. As shown in FIG. 4, the toner discharge port 52 is formed in the housing 51. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 54 is provided in the housing 51 so that it can be operated by the user.

  The toner container 50 is mounted on the mounting unit 34 of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the apparatus main body 28 includes support plates 42 and 43 to which the housing 51 is attached. Both ends of the casing 51 of the four toner containers 50 are supported by the support plates 42 and 43. When the operation unit 54 is operated in a state where the toner container 50 is mounted on the mounting unit 34, an opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is operated to open / close the toner discharge port 52.

  The casing 51 is made of a resin material and is formed in a box shape long in the left-right direction 8 as shown in FIG. In other words, the longitudinal direction of the casing 51 coincides with the left-right direction 8 of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 51 includes a container main body 55 and a lid portion 56. The lid part 56 closes the open part of the upper part of the container main body 55. The container main body 55 is formed in a box shape with a bottom having an open top. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the container body 55 has a shape in which the size in the vertical direction 6 (direction perpendicular to the bottom surface) is longer than the size between both the side walls 55 </ b> A and 55 </ b> B in the front-rear direction 7. Is formed. In other words, the container body 55 has a vertically long shape that is longer in the vertical direction than the horizontal width. The container body 55 has a bottom wall 57 having a generally arc shape that curves downward.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the toner discharge port 52 is formed in the container main body 55. Specifically, the toner discharge port 52 is formed at the right end of the bottom wall 57 of the container body 55 as shown in FIG. The toner discharge port 52 is formed so as to penetrate the bottom wall 57 of the container main body 55 downward.

  Inside the container main body 55, an agitating mechanism 61 (toner agitating mechanism) for agitating the toner and a conveyance member 62 for conveying the toner to the toner discharge port 52 are provided. In addition, in FIG. 4, illustration of the film piece 115 mentioned later of the stirring member 112 is abbreviate | omitted.

  The conveyance member 62 is a so-called spiral shaft having spiral blades around the shaft. The conveying member 62 is disposed above the toner discharge port 52, and the support shafts at both ends thereof are rotatably supported by the side walls 59A and 59B. When a rotational driving force is input to the conveying member 62 from the outside, the conveying member 62 is rotated, and the toner is conveyed to the toner discharge port 52 by the blades.

  The agitating mechanism 61 agitates the toner stored in the toner container 50. The stirring mechanism 61 includes a rotating shaft member 111 and a stirring member 112.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rotation shaft member 111 is rotatably provided inside a toner container 50 that stores toner. The rotating shaft member 111 is a shaft member formed in a shape that is long in the left-right direction 8. The rotating shaft member 111 is rotatably supported by the side walls 59A and 59B at both ends of the container body 55 in the left-right direction 8. As shown in FIG. 5, the rotating shaft member 111 has a shaft main body 120. As shown in FIG. 6, the shaft main body 120 has a shape that is long in the axial direction of the rotating shaft member 111. The shaft body 120 has support shafts 121 at both ends in the longitudinal direction (only one is shown in FIG. 6). The support shaft 121 is rotatably supported by the side walls 59A and 59B. A joint 129 is connected to one of the support shafts 121. When a rotational driving force is input through the joint 129, the rotary shaft member 111 is rotated.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotating shaft member 111 is provided at a position equidistant from the inner surfaces (inner surfaces) of the side walls 55 </ b> A and 55 </ b> B of the toner container 50 and the inner surface (bottom surface) of the bottom wall 57. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the shaft main body 120 includes a flat plate-like base portion 127 </ b> A extending in the axial direction and a plurality of support portions 127. The support portion 127 is for supporting the attached portion 114 (an example of the supported portion; see FIG. 7) of the stirring member 112. A plurality of support portions 127 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the axial direction.

  The support portion 127 includes a large plate piece portion 1201 and a small plate piece portion 128. The small plate piece 128 has a shorter length in the axial direction and in the direction orthogonal to the base 127A than the large plate piece 1201. The large plate piece portion 1201 and the small plate piece portion 128 extend parallel to each other from the base portion 127A, and the small plate piece portion 128 is provided so as to face the large plate piece portion 1201 with a small gap therebetween. The attached portion 114 of the stirring member 112 is inserted into the minute gap, and is supported by being sandwiched between the large plate piece portion 1201 and the small plate piece portion 128 of the shaft main body 120. Also, some of the small plate pieces 128 are provided with protrusions 1281. The protrusion 1281 will be described together with a stirring member 112 described later.

  Of the two support portions 127 adjacent in the axial direction, the position of the support portion 127 on one side in the axial direction is rotated by a predetermined angle from the position of the support portion 127 on the other side in the axial direction to one side in the axial direction of the rotary shaft member 111. Position. Hereinafter, this arrangement mode of the support portion 127 is referred to as a helical arrangement. The predetermined angle is 90 ° in the present embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the stirring member 112 is made of thermoplastic PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and is formed into a thin film shape.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the stirring member 112 is attached to the rotating shaft member 111. In the present embodiment, the stirring member 112 is attached to the entire length of the rotating shaft member 111 in the longitudinal direction. The shape of the stirring member 112 is different between the state before being attached to the rotating shaft member 111 and the state where it is attached.

  In a state before being attached to the rotating shaft member 111, the stirring member 112 forms a long sheet shape along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft member 111, as shown in FIG. The agitating member 112 includes a mounted portion 114 that is long along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft member 111 and a stirring portion 113 that extends from the mounted portion 114. The stirring portion 113 is provided with a plurality of cuts extending in the longitudinal direction from the distal end portion 112A of the stirring member 112 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. Thus, a space S1 is provided between two axially adjacent film pieces 115, and a plurality of film pieces 115 (an example of stirring pieces) are formed in the stirring portion 113 so as to be separated from each other. Yes. For this reason, the adjacent film pieces 115 can be bent around the axis of the rotary shaft member 111 independently of each other.

  The agitating member 112 is attached by being sandwiched between the support portions 127 while the attached portion 114 is wound around the rotating shaft member 111 in correspondence with the spiral arrangement of the plurality of support portions 127. That is, when the attached portion 114 is sandwiched between the support portions 127, the stirring member 112 is twisted in the direction around the axis by the predetermined angle (90 ° in the present embodiment).

  Here, as described above, the protrusions 1281 are provided on some of the small plate pieces 128. An engagement piece portion 116 is provided on the attached portion 114 of the stirring member 112. The engagement piece portion 116 is provided at a position corresponding to the support portion 127 in the attached portion 114. The engagement piece 116 is provided with an engagement hole 1161. In the stirring member 112, the engagement hole portion 1161 of the engagement piece portion 116 is engaged with the protrusion 1281 of the support portion 127 when the attached portion 114 is sandwiched by the support portion 127. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the stirring member 112 from falling off the rotating shaft member 111. In consideration of the workability of the engagement work, an opening T1 (see FIG. 7) is provided in a portion of the large plate piece 1201 that faces the small plate piece 128. In addition, as another example of the fixing method of the attached portion 114, adhesion between the support portion 127 and the attached portion 114 can be applied.

  By such attachment, the stirring member 112 is attached in a form wound around the rotating shaft member 111. Of the two stirring pieces adjacent in the axial direction, the stirring piece on one side in the axial direction makes a predetermined angle around the axis of the rotary shaft member 111 from the position of the film piece 115 on the other side in the axial direction. It is provided in a separated position. The film piece 115 is extended from the rotating shaft member 111 in a plurality of directions orthogonal to the axial direction. That is, the plurality of film pieces 115 attached to the rotating shaft member 111 are arranged in parallel to the rotating shaft member 111 so as to be arranged in a spiral shape in one axial direction. As a result, the shaft body 120 extends radially from the axial direction. In order to enable such attachment, the width R1 (see FIG. 8) of the attached portion 114 is secured to a sufficient length according to the amount of winding around the rotating shaft member 111.

  As described above, the stirring member 112 is attached to the rotating shaft member 111 by the attached portion 114. A plurality of film pieces 115 are extended from the attached portion 114 in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the rotary shaft member 111. That is, the plurality of film pieces 115 are integrally formed as the stirring member 112 by being connected to each other by the attached portion 114 supported by the rotating shaft member 111. By supporting the stirring member 112 on the rotating shaft member 111, the plurality of film pieces 115 are orthogonal to the axial direction of the rotating shaft member 111 so that each of the film pieces 115 can be bent about the axis independently. Maintain a posture that extends in the direction that you do.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the cut has a substantially volumetric flask shape. That is, the two film pieces 115 adjacent to each other in the axial direction are separated from each other by a predetermined distance D1 in the axial direction at the front end portion 112A, and the concave portion 117 is formed at a substantially central portion in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. Have. The concave portion 117 is formed at one or both side end portions in the axial direction (longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft member 111) in the plurality of film pieces 115. Specifically, one recess 117 is formed in the film piece 115 located at one end (the end on the diagonally lower left side in FIG. 8) of the plurality of film pieces 115. Moreover, the recessed part 117 is not formed in the film piece 115B located in the other end (edge part diagonally upper right of the paper surface of FIG. 8) among the plurality of film pieces 115. This is because the film piece 115B is narrower than the other film pieces 115 and has a small elastic force (restoring force) when bent, and therefore it is not necessary to have the recess 117. And the recessed part 117 is formed in each of both side edge parts in the film piece 115 other than these among several film pieces 115. FIG. In the present embodiment, the concave portion 117 is formed in a shape recessed from a side end portion of each film piece 115 in a triangular shape having a curved top portion, and is recessed toward the axially central side of the film piece 115. The film piece 115 positioned at the one end is not limited to the one having the one concave portion 117 formed, and may be one having the concave portions 117 formed at both ends in the axial direction. Further, the film piece 115B at the other end may have one recess 117 at the end on the side of the adjacent film piece 115.

  The notch is provided in a form that does not reach the mounted portion 114 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction from the tip end portion 112A of the stirring member 112. Therefore, a portion 118 (see FIG. 8) adjacent to the space S1 in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the stirring member 112 is a part of the attached portion 114 (hereinafter referred to as a first portion) 114A and the stirring portion 113. Part (hereinafter referred to as a second part) 112B. Since the stirring member 112 is made of an elastic material (expandable material), the second portion 112B extends when the stirring member 112 is twisted. Therefore, by attaching the stirring member 112 to the rotating shaft member 111 while being twisted, the second portion 112B has an extending portion 119 (see FIG. 9) that is inclined with respect to a plane orthogonal to the axial direction in the extended state. Form. The extending portion 119 connects the extended base end X1 side of the two film pieces 115 on both sides to each other. When the stirring member 112 is attached to the rotating shaft member 111, the extending portion 119 can be formed by extending the second portion 112B by heating. As shown in FIG. 10, the extending portion 119 is inclined in the axial direction Z1 with respect to the reference plane M1 orthogonal to the axial direction Z1.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the toner container 50 passing through the film piece 115. As shown in FIG. 5, each film piece 115 of the stirring member 112 is formed in a shape longer than the size from the rotating shaft member 111 to the side walls 55 </ b> A and 55 </ b> B of the toner container 50. Each film piece 115 is formed in a shape longer than the size from the rotating shaft member 111 to the bottom wall 57. Each film piece 115 is formed in a shape shorter than the size from the rotating shaft member 111 to the lid portion 56. That is, the size of the stirring member 112 from the mounted portion 114 to the tip end portion 112A (extending end) is longer than the distance from the rotation shaft member 111 to the side walls 55A and 55B and the bottom wall 57 of the toner container 50, and the lid portion. The distance is shorter than 56. Therefore, in the state where the stirring member 112 is supported by the rotating shaft member 111 inside the toner container 50, the side surface of the front end portion 112 </ b> A of each film piece 115 is the inner surface of the side walls 55 </ b> A and 55 </ b> B of the toner container 50 or the inner surface of the bottom wall 57. Surface contact is possible. On the other hand, when the stirring member 112 is positioned on the lid portion 56 side, the tip end portion 112A does not contact the lid portion 56 and is not bent.

  Each film piece 115 of the stirring member 112 can take the following state by the rotation of the stirring member 112. That is, for example, when the film piece 115 is positioned on the lid 56 side as indicated by an arrow E1 in FIG. Further, when the stirring member 112 rotates from this first state, the film piece 115 enters a second state where it abuts against the side wall 55B, as indicated by an arrow E2 in FIG. At this time, a contact sound (collision sound) due to the contact between the film piece 115 and the side wall 55B is generated. Further, when the agitating member 112 is rotated from this second state, the film piece 115 smoothly slides along the curved shape of the bottom wall 57 as indicated by an arrow E3 in FIG. It becomes. Thereafter, a fourth state (not shown) in which the film piece 115 reaches the conveying member 62 is obtained. When reaching the conveying member 62, a contact sound is generated due to the contact between the film piece 115 and the conveying member 62. Further, when the film piece 115 passes through the conveying member 62 while being further bent by the contact with the conveying member 62 due to the rotation of the agitating member 112, as shown by an arrow E4 in FIG. 115 is in the fifth state in which it contacts the side wall 55A. At this time, a playing sound is generated due to a change in the deflection of the film piece 115 during passage, and a contact sound with the side wall 55A is generated. Further, when the stirring member 112 is rotated, the film piece 115 moves to the lid 56 side away from the side wall 55A and enters a sixth state (not shown). At this time, the bending is abruptly eliminated by the elastic force (restoring force) that the film piece 115 tries to return to the original state. For this reason, a playing sound is generated when the film piece 115 is restored.

  Although the film pieces 115 can be mainly in the first to sixth states by the rotation of the stirring member 112, the film pieces 115 are extended in different directions around the axis of the rotating shaft member 111. Therefore, not all the film pieces 115 are in the same state at the same time. Therefore, sounds based on the same state are not generated simultaneously from all the film pieces 115, and sounds such as contact sounds (collision sounds) and playing sounds generated by the respective film pieces 115 are dispersed in time. It becomes. As a result, it is possible to suppress a particular sound such as a contact sound (collision sound) or a playing sound due to all the film pieces 115 being simultaneously in the same state, and to reduce an unpleasant noise. Can do.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in order to reduce such abnormal sounds as contact sounds and playing sounds, the concave portion 117 is formed at a position where the abnormal sounds are hardly generated. Specifically, the concave portion 117 is formed in a bending portion 115A (see FIG. 5) in which the film piece 115 of the stirring member 112 rotates and is bent in surface contact with the inner surfaces of the side walls 55A and 55B and the bottom surface of the bottom wall 57. Is formed. Specifically, the concave portion 117 is provided in a portion that is most curved in the bent portion 115A, in other words, in a portion having the largest curvature. Here, a locus L10 through which the bent portion 115A of the film piece 115 passes when the stirring member 112 rotates is shown in FIG. A straight line L11 corresponding to the locus L10 is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the formation position of the recess 117 is determined so that the straight line L <b> 11 passes through the center of the recess 117. The concave portion 117 plays a role of allowing a smooth passage without being damaged when contacting the conveyance member 62.

  Further, the concave portion 117 serves as an opening through which the toner passes when the stirring member 112 rotates. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, in each of the film pieces 115 adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the rotating shaft member 111, the recesses 117 are formed at positions facing each other. Thereby, a substantially rhombus-shaped opening is realized by combining two adjacent recesses 117. Thus, the toner can smoothly pass through the recess 117 when the stirring member 112 is rotated, and the toner can be appropriately stirred.

  Since the stirring mechanism 61 is configured in this way, when the stirring member 112 is rotated and the film piece 115 is bent, an elastic force (restoring force) for returning to the original shape is generated in the film piece 115. Since the concave portion 117 is formed in the bent portion 115 </ b> A of the film piece 115, the elastic force (restoring force) of the film piece 115 when actually bent is smaller than when the concave portion 117 is not provided. For this reason, even if the elastic force changes due to a change in the amount of bending, or the film piece 115 is restored to its original shape due to the absence of the bending, abnormal sounds such as a collision sound and a playing sound can be suppressed.

  By the way, in the said embodiment, in the stirring member 112 before attaching to the rotating shaft member 111, the separation distance of the two film pieces 115 adjacent to the said axial direction is made into the said distance D1. However, as shown in FIG. 12, it is more preferable that the separation distance is a distance D2 larger than the distance D1 in that the extending portion 119 has a toner conveyance capability or a high conveyance capability.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, in the twisted state of the agitating member 112, a larger elongated portion 119 is formed as compared with the case where the distance D1 is set. And in this embodiment, the rotating shaft member 111 is rotated in the direction according to the positional relationship in the axial direction of the two film pieces 115 adjacent to each other in the axial direction. That is, when the position of the downstream film piece 115 when viewed from one axial direction is the position obtained by rotating the upstream film piece 115 in the clockwise direction, the rotational shaft member 111 is viewed from the one axial direction. It is rotated counterclockwise. On the contrary, when the position of the downstream film piece 115 when viewed from one side in the axial direction is the position obtained by rotating the upstream film piece 115 counterclockwise, the rotary shaft member 111 is viewed from the one side in the axial direction. Is rotated clockwise. Accordingly, the extending portion 119 has a function of conveying the toner in the toner container 50 when the agitating member 112 is rotated along with the rotation of the rotating shaft member 111 around the axis. The extension unit 119 in the present embodiment is an example of the transport unit of the present invention.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13, the film piece 115 is formed to have a shorter length in the axial direction as it is located on the downstream side in the toner conveyance direction by the conveyance member 62, in other words, closer to the toner discharge port 52. More preferably. This is because when the length of the film piece 115 in the axial direction is shortened, the waist of the film piece 115 becomes smaller, but since the toner is discharged from the toner discharge port 52, the toner in the toner container 50 is located downstream in the transport direction. The smaller the position, the greater the agitation force is not required on the upstream side. Further, as the toner is located on the downstream side, the more film pieces 115 are sufficiently stirred. Therefore, even if the length of the film piece 115 in the axial direction is shortened, there is no particular problem in terms of agitation. Therefore, the volume of the contact sound (collision sound) and the flipping sound is reduced by forming the film piece 115 in the axial direction to be shorter as it is located on the downstream side in the toner transport direction by the transport member 62. be able to. In this embodiment, the lengths of all the film pieces 115 in the axial direction are made different from each other, and the lengths are set as W1> W2> W3> W4> W5> W6> W7. The lengths of the pieces 115 in the axial direction need not be different from each other. For example, when the plurality of film pieces 115 are divided into two groups, a side closer to the toner discharge port 52 and a far side, the lengths of the film pieces 115 in the same group are the same. Further, it is possible to adopt a form in which the length of the film piece 115 in the near side group is shorter than the length of the film piece 115 in the far side group.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to the thing of the content mentioned above, A various modification is applicable.

  In the above-described embodiment, the stirring member 112 is manufactured using PET (polyethylene terephthalate) as a material, and the elongated portion 119 is formed on the second portion 112B by stretching by heating. However, the method of creating the elongated portion 119 is not limited to the stretching process, and may be formed by the following method, for example. For example, the notch is provided in a form that reaches the mounted portion 114 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction from the tip end portion 112A of the stirring member 112. After that, the following film body is provided by adhesion at a portion corresponding to the second portion 112B in the embodiment. This film body has the same shape as the second portion 112B and is made of an elastic material (stretchable material) such as a polyurethane resin having thermoplasticity. Thereby, when the stirring member 112 is attached to the rotating shaft member 111, the extension part 119 similar to the above-mentioned embodiment is formed.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the concave portion 117 is formed at the position facing the adjacent film piece 115 is not limited to this, and the concave portion 117 is not formed at the facing position. Also good.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the structure with which the several film piece 115 was connected in the to-be-attached part 114 was illustrated, this invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of film pieces 115 may be provided completely independently, and each film piece 115 may be individually fixed to the rotating shaft member 111.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 including the four toner containers 50 is illustrated. However, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus including the single toner container 50.

10: Image forming apparatus 50: Toner container (toner container)
61: Stirring mechanism (toner stirring mechanism)
62: Conveying member 111: Rotating shaft member 112: Stirring member 114: Mounted portion (supported portion)
115: Film piece (stirring piece)
117: Concave part 119: Extension part (conveyance part)

Claims (10)

A rotating shaft member rotatably provided inside a toner container for containing toner;
The whole is formed in a film shape, and is supported in parallel along the axial direction of the rotary shaft member in a state where the supported portion is supported by the rotary shaft member and the supported portion is supported by the rotary shaft member. e Bei a stirring member having a plurality of撹拌片extending in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction from the supported portion is, the,
The plurality of stirring pieces are provided at equal intervals in the axial direction at a predetermined distance, and the supported portion is configured to rotate the rotating shaft while the stirring member is twisted around the axis of the rotating shaft member. extending from a plurality of said rotary shaft member in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction by being mounted to a member, are long rather than the distance from the rotary shaft member to the inner surface and the bottom surface of the toner container,
The stirring member is
The extension base end side of the stirring piece on one side of the two stirring pieces adjacent in the axial direction and the extension base end side of the stirring piece on the other side are connected to each other, and the inside of the toner container It further has a film-like transport unit capable of transporting toner in the axial direction,
When the stirring member is twisted around the axis of the rotary shaft member, the conveying portion extends to a reference plane orthogonal to the axial direction by extending a portion between the extended base ends of the adjacent stirring pieces. A toner stirring mechanism formed in a shape inclined with respect to the toner. The toner stirring mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit is made of an elastic material . Of the two stirring pieces adjacent to each other in the axial direction, the stirring piece on one side is provided at a position separated from the position of the stirring piece on the other side by a predetermined angle around the axis of the rotary shaft member. The toner stirring mechanism according to claim 1 or 2 . A transport member that transports the toner in the toner container in a transport direction toward the toner discharge port;
Of the two stirring pieces adjacent to each other in the axial direction, the stirring piece on the downstream side in the transport direction is the predetermined angle in the clockwise direction from the stirring piece on the upstream side in the transport direction. 4. The toner according to claim 3 , wherein the conveyance unit is formed by being provided at a position spaced apart from each other, and the conveyance unit conveys toner in the conveyance direction by rotating the rotating shaft member counterclockwise. Agitation mechanism. Before SL said axial length of the downstream side the agitation piece of the toner stirring mechanism according to the axial direction of the shorter claim 4 than the length of the agitator blades of the upstream side. The toner stirring mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a concave portion that is recessed toward the center of the stirring piece is formed at one or both side end portions in the axial direction of the plurality of stirring pieces. The toner stirring mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the recesses are formed at positions facing each other in the stirring piece adjacent in the axial direction before the stirring member is twisted around the shaft .   8. The toner agitation mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is formed in a shape having a long size in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface with respect to a distance between the opposing inner side surfaces.   A toner container comprising the toner stirring mechanism according to claim 1. A toner container according to claim 9;
An image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium using toner supplied from the toner container;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

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