JP6503741B2 - Rotational drive transmission device and image forming apparatus provided with the rotational drive transmission device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotational drive transmission device capable of reliably transmitting a driving force from a power source to a rotating body and easily separating the rotational body from the power source, and an image forming apparatus provided with the rotational drive transmission device. .

  Generally, in an apparatus for operating a plurality of drive systems by rotational drive such as an image forming apparatus etc., a rotational drive transmission apparatus for transmitting rotational power from a drive source to each mechanism is provided. Then, in order to control a plurality of drive systems, a one-way clutch, a torque limiter or the like consisting of a large number of components using a spring or a bearing is used as such a rotational drive transmission device so that the controlled object can operate independently. It is adopted (refer to patent documents 1 and 2).

  The rotational drive transmission device in Patent Document 1 is configured by a mechanical clutch mechanism that switches driving via a plate-like elastic intermediate, and is used in a drive mechanism extending from a drive motor to a developing roller. The rotational drive transmission device in Patent Document 2 is configured to include connection / disconnection control means by a torque limiter gear, and is used in a drive mechanism for transmitting rotational power of a drive source to a paper feed roller.

Patent No. 4371785 gazette Patent No. 3557057

  The rotational drive transmission device in Patent Document 1 is configured to execute connection control by a plate-like elastic intermediate, and therefore is not suitable for use in a high torque mechanism, and bending of the plate-like elastic intermediate is There may be a response error or plastic deformation due to the variation. Further, in the rotational drive transmission device in Patent Document 2, the drive force connecting / disconnecting means and the connection / disengagement control means are constituted by the rotating bodies of different shafts, so the device configuration becomes large. Furthermore, the rotational drive transmission device in Patent Document 2 not only needs to be provided with a stop member to stop the reverse rotation of the drive force connecting / disconnecting means, but the stop member is plate-like, so There is a risk that the lock may be released.

  In view of such problems, the present invention has an object to provide a rotational drive transmission device which can be miniaturized and has a sufficient response accuracy, and an image forming apparatus including the rotational drive transmission device.

In order to achieve the above object, the rotary drive transmission device of the present invention comprises an input gear that is rotated by a rotational force from a drive source, and is coaxially installed with the input gear to receive rotation from the input gear and rotate. And an output gear, wherein the input gear and the output gear are coaxial with each other, and an intermediate gear is disposed between the input gear and the output gear. A control receiving unit provided on the input gear side, the control receiving unit receiving the connection control unit of the input gear, the connection control unit including a connection control unit protruding toward the intermediate gear; The output gear side is provided with a fitting portion to be fitted to a fitting portion of a gear, and when the input gear is rotated in the forward direction, the connection / disengagement control portion is caused to act on the control receiving portion to perform the above Intermediate gear axially to the output gear side And the rotation of the input gear is transmitted to the output gear by fitting the engagement portion of the intermediate gear to the engagement portion of the output gear, while the input gear is reversed. When rotating in a direction, the connection / disengagement control section is caused to act on the control receiving section to slide the intermediate gear in the axial direction toward the input gear side, and from the fitted portion of the output gear By separating the fitting portion of the intermediate gear, transmission of rotation from the input gear to the output gear is released, and the output gear projects from the center of the fitted portion toward the input gear. The movement restricting portion is made to abut, and the movement restricting portion is brought into contact with the end face of the input gear to move the axial direction movement amount of the intermediate gear to the end face of the input gear and the fitted portion of the output gear And regulation .

Further, the rotational drive transmission device of the present invention comprises an input gear that is rotated by a rotational force from a drive source, and an output gear that is coaxially installed with the input gear and that receives rotation from the input gear. A rotary drive transmission device, wherein an intermediate gear is disposed coaxially with the input gear and the output gear and between the input gear and the output gear, the input gear being directed to the intermediate gear And a control receiving portion for receiving the connection / disconnection control portion of the input gear on the input gear side, and the engaged portion of the output gear A fitting portion to be fitted on the output gear side, and when the input gear is rotated in the forward direction, the connection / disengagement control portion is caused to act on the control receiving portion to output the intermediate gear to the output gear Sliding along the axial direction to the side, The rotation of the input gear is transmitted to the output gear by fitting the engagement portion of the intermediate gear to the engagement portion of the power gear, and when the input gear rotates in the reverse direction, The connection / disengagement control unit is caused to act on the control receiving portion to slide the intermediate gear axially toward the input gear side, and from the fitted portion of the output gear to the fitting portion of the intermediate gear Separating the transmission of the rotation from the input gear to the output gear, and configuring the length of the control receiving portion to be equal to or less than a half turn of the intermediate gear, and the control Each of the unit and the connection control unit is provided at two or more locations for each of the intermediate gear and the input gear.

  In the above rotational drive transmission device, the output gear is provided with a guide groove outside the movement restricting portion, the intermediate gear is fitted in the guide groove, and the intermediate gear is inserted by the input gear and the output gear. It does not matter as what was covered.

  In each of the rotational drive transmission devices, the output gear is provided with a guide groove on the outer side of the movement restricting portion, the intermediate gear is fitted in the guide groove, and the intermediate gear is formed by the input gear and the output gear. Was coated.

  In the above-mentioned rotation drive transmission apparatus, the control receiving portion may be constituted by a notch portion for loosely fitting the connection / disengagement control portion, and may have an inclined portion to be in contact with the top portion of the connection / disengagement control portion. . Further, the control receiving portion is provided at one end of the inclined portion farthest from the input gear with a first contact portion to be in contact with one side portion of the connection / disengagement control portion. The axial length may be shorter than the axial length of the connection control unit. Furthermore, the control receiving portion may be provided with a second contact portion contacting the other side of the connection / disconnection control portion at the other end closest to the input gear of the inclined portion. .

  In each of the rotational drive transmission devices, the fitted portion and the fitting portion may have shapes that are drawn in each other in the axial direction.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the rotation drive mechanism includes any one of the above-described rotation transmission devices.

  According to the present invention, forward and reverse drive by a single drive source makes it possible to switch between the transmission state and non-transmission state of the rotary drive transmission device, and a plurality of rotary drive mechanisms can be controlled by a single drive reduction. Become. In addition, by using an intermediate gear that is coaxially arranged, drive control can be performed without degrading response accuracy even under high-speed processing or high load conditions, and corotation or rotation on the rotary drive mechanism side can be achieved. An increase in drive torque due to the component parts can also be eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to realize space saving and cost reduction by reduction of parts in the rotation drive mechanism while being able to be configured in a simple and limited device space and ensuring the reliability of the drive performance and the response performance.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a rotational drive transmission apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [FIG. 2] is a partially developed view showing the relationship between an input gear and an output gear and an intermediate gear in the rotary drive transmission device shown in FIG. These are side views which show a structure when it will be in a drive transmission state in the rotational drive transmission apparatus shown in FIG. These are side views which show a structure when it will be in a drive cancellation | release state in the rotational drive transmission apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a rotational drive transmission apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a rotational drive transmission device shown in FIG. These are sectional drawings which show the structure of the rotational drive transmission apparatus shown in FIG. These are partial expanded views of an output gear and an intermediate gear, and each (a)-(c) shows another structural example of the fitting part by an output gear and an intermediate gear. These are partial developments which show another structural example of the connection / disconnection control mechanism by an input gear and an intermediate gear. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration view showing an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. These are perspective views which show the structure of a toner bottle and a sub hopper. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing the positional relationship between the toner bottle and the sub-hopper. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of a toner bottle, a sub hopper, and a developing device. These are perspective views which show the structure of a bottle rotation mechanism. These are the perspective views from the other side which show the structure of the bottle rotation mechanism of FIG. These are external views which show the structure of a sub hopper drive mechanism. These are schematic which shows the structure of the input gear periphery of the rotational drive transmission apparatus in the sub hopper drive mechanism of FIG. These are schematic which shows the structure of the output gear periphery of the rotational drive transmission apparatus in the sub hopper drive mechanism of FIG.

First Embodiment
A rotational drive transmission apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a rotational drive transmission device in the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a partially developed view of the rotational drive transmission device shown in FIG. Moreover, FIG.3 and FIG.4 is a side view which shows operation | movement of the rotational drive transmission apparatus in this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rotational drive transmission apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes an input gear 101 that receives power from the drive source side, an output gear 102 that rotates by receiving power from the input gear 101, and an input gear 101. And an intermediate gear 103 for transmitting the power from the motor to the output gear 102. The input gear 101, the output gear 102, and the intermediate gear 103 are coaxially disposed, and the intermediate gear 103 is disposed between the input gear 101 and the output gear 102.

  The input gear 101 has a disk shape having gear teeth 113 on the outer peripheral surface, and is a connection / disconnection control unit projecting toward the intermediate gear 103 on one end surface (end surface on the intermediate gear 103 side) 114 opposed to the output gear 102 A (protrusion) 111 is provided. The input gear 101 is provided around a through hole 112 axially penetrated so as to be axially supportable, and the connection / disconnection control unit 111 is protruded toward the intermediate gear 103 outside the through hole 112. There is. The connection control unit 111 positions the intermediate gear 103 in the axial direction to connect and disconnect the power transmission to the output gear 102 as described later.

  The output gear 102 has a movement restricting portion (projection) 121 to be in contact with the end surface 114 of the input gear 101, and a ratchet portion (engaged portion) 122 provided with wavelike ratchet teeth 125 on the outer periphery of the movement restricting portion 121; And a gear portion 123 having gear teeth 126 on the outer peripheral surface. The output gear 102 is provided around a through hole 124 that is axially penetrated so as to be axially supportable. The output gear 102 has a movement restricting portion 121 projecting from the center of one end surface (end surface on the intermediate gear 103 side) of the ratchet portion 122 toward the input gear 101, and a gear portion 123 is provided on the other end surface of the ratchet portion 122. ing. That is, the output gear 102 is provided with the movement restricting portion 121 and the gear portion 123 on both sides in the axial direction with the ratchet portion 122 as the center.

  The movement restricting portion 121 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter smaller than that of the ratchet portion 122, and is fitted into the intermediate gear 103 as described later. The ratchet teeth 125 are formed protruding from one end surface of the ratchet portion 122 toward the intermediate gear 103, and are configured to be engageable with ratchet teeth 133 of the intermediate gear 103 described later. The ratchet teeth 125 of the output gear 102 and the ratchet teeth 133 of the intermediate gear 103 form a fitting portion between the output gear 102 and the intermediate gear 103.

  The intermediate gear 103 is formed in a cylindrical shape in which the through hole 131 in the axial direction is penetrated so as to externally fit the movement restricting portion 121 of the output gear 102. The intermediate gear 103 is provided with a control receiving portion (notch portion) 132 for loosely fitting the connection / disengagement control portion 111 to one end surface (the end surface on the input gear 101 side) of the intermediate gear 103, while the other end surface (output gear) A ratchet tooth 133 fitted to the ratchet tooth 125 of the output gear 102 is provided on the end face 102 side to constitute a fitting portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the control receiving portion 132 of the intermediate gear 103 is recessed in the axial direction, and an inclined surface 132a inclined in the circumferential direction and an axial direction provided at both ends of the inclined surface 132a. A trapezoidal shape having contact surfaces 132 b and 132 c having different lengths is provided. That is, the control receiving portion 132 includes an abutting surface 132b having a short axial length, an abutting surface 132c having a long axial length, and one end surface of the input gear 102 from the abutting surface 132b toward the abutting surface 132c. And an inclined surface 132a inclined to be separated from 114.

  The control receiver 132 brings the inclined surface 132 a into contact with the top 111 a of the connection / disconnection controller 111 to determine the axial position of the intermediate gear 103 with respect to the input gear 101. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the axial length L2 of the contact surface 132c in the control receiving portion 132 is set to be shorter than the axial length L1 of the connection / disconnection control portion 111, whereby the input gear 101 is obtained. Since the contact surface between the intermediate gears 103 can be reduced to reduce the friction, the intermediate gears 103 can operate smoothly.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control receiving portion 132 causes the contact surface 132 b to contact the one side portion 111 b of the connection / disconnection control portion 111, thereby connecting the intermediate gear 103 to the output gear 102. The rotation in the forward direction 101 (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3) is transmitted to the intermediate gear 103. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in a state where the intermediate gear 103 is separated from the output gear 102 by bringing the contact surface 132 c into contact with the other side portion 111 c of the connection / disconnection control unit 111, The rotation of the input gear 101 in the reverse direction (direction of arrow B in FIG. 4) is transmitted to the intermediate gear 103.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ratchet teeth 133 of the intermediate gear 103 have a tooth surface shape in which inclined surfaces 133a and 133b are provided on both sides along the circumferential direction, and the predetermined period along the circumferential direction It is made to project continuously by. The inclined surface 133a of the ratchet tooth 133 is inclined to the opposite side to the inclined surface 132a of the control receiving portion 132, and the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined surface 133a is from the inclination angle θ2 (θ1 <θ2 ≦ 90 °) of the inclined surface 133b. It is also considered loose. The inclined surface 133b is a vertical surface having an inclination angle θ2 of 90 degrees or an inclined surface inclined to the opposite side to the inclined surface 133a.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ratchet teeth 125 of the input gear 102 are paired with the ratchet teeth 133 of the intermediate gear 103, and are configured to be capable of meshing with the ratchet teeth 133. That is, the tooth surface shape of the ratchet teeth 125 is provided with the inclined surfaces 125a and 125b which abut on the inclined surfaces 133a and 133b respectively. Therefore, the ratchet teeth 125 and 133 are configured to be mutually slidable by the inclined surfaces 125a and 133a, while being mutually restrained by the inclined surfaces 125b and 133b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the input gear 101 is rotated by the forward rotational force transmitted from a drive source (not shown), the connection / disconnection control unit 111 follows the inclined surface 132 a of the control receiving unit 132, It moves to the contact surface 132 b side of the control receiver 132. As a result, the intermediate gear 103 is pressed toward the output gear 102 by the connection control unit 111 of the input gear 101, and slides toward the output gear 102 along the axial direction.

  Then, when one side portion 111 b of the connection / disconnection control unit 111 contacts the contact surface 132 b of the control receiving unit 132, forward rotation of the input gear 101 is transmitted to the intermediate gear 103. At this time, the ratchet teeth 133 of the intermediate gear 103 and the ratchet teeth 125 of the output gear 102 mesh with the inclined surfaces 125 b and 133 b, and the rotational force of the input gear 101 is transmitted to the output gear 102 via the intermediate gear 103.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the input gear 101 is rotated by the rotational force in the reverse direction (the direction of arrow B in the figure) transmitted from a drive source (not shown), It moves to the contact surface 132 c side of the control receiver 132 along the inclined surface 132 a. Thus, the intermediate gear 103 can slide toward the input gear 101 along the axial direction so as to be separated from the output gear 102.

  Then, when the other side portion 111 c of the disconnection control unit 111 contacts the contact surface 132 c of the control receiving unit 132, the rotational force of the input gear 101 is transmitted to the intermediate gear 103. At this time, since the ratchet teeth 125 of the output gear 102 and the ratchet teeth 133 of the intermediate gear 103 slide on the inclined surfaces 125a and 133a, the intermediate gear 103 slides toward the input gear 101 along the axial direction. As a result, the meshing of the ratchet teeth 125 and 133 is released, and only the intermediate gear 103 is rotated, and the rotation transmission from the input gear 101 to the output gear 102 is released, and the rotation of the output gear 102 is stopped.

  The axial length L 3 of the intermediate gear 103 is shorter than the axial length L 4 of the movement restricting portion 121 in the output gear 102. Therefore, the intermediate gear 103 can slide along the axial direction between the one end surface 114 of the input gear 101 and the ratchet portion 122 of the output gear 102. That is, the moving length of the intermediate gear 103 is restricted by the axial length L4 of the movement restricting part 121 in the output gear.

  Further, in the intermediate gear 103, a plurality of control receivers 132 are provided such that the circumferential length of the control receivers 132 is shorter than the length of the half circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate gears 103. The input gear 101 is provided with the connection / disconnection control unit 111 in the same cycle as the control receiving unit 132 so as to correspond to the control receiving unit 132. As a result, the connection / disconnection period between the intermediate gear 103 and the output gear 102 can be at least a half period or less.

  Therefore, while being able to shorten the response time by the rotational drive transmission apparatus 100 at the time of drive control, the load added to each gear 101-103 is equally divided, and the bias of breakage or degradation is prevented, and the endurance of the rotational drive transmission apparatus 100 I can improve the nature. In the present embodiment, an example in which two control receivers 132 are provided in the intermediate gear 103 is shown, but three or more control receivers 132 may be provided.

Second Embodiment
A rotational drive transmission apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the rotational drive transmission device in the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an exploded sectional view showing the configuration of the rotational drive transmission device in the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the rotational drive transmission device in the present embodiment. In the rotational drive transmission device of the present embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to parts used for the same purpose in the rotational drive transmission device in the first embodiment, and the detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rotational drive transmission apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment has an input gear 101 and an intermediate gear similar in configuration to the rotational drive transmission apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 1 etc.). And an output gear 202 which rotates in response to the power from the input gear 101. Unlike the rotation drive transmission device 100 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 1 etc.), this rotation drive transmission device 200 covers the intermediate gear 103 with the input gear 101 and the output gear 202, and the output gear 202 and the intermediate gear It becomes the structure which shielded the fitting part with 103 from the exterior. Therefore, the configuration of the rotation drive transmission apparatus 200 of the present embodiment will be described below focusing on the configuration of the output gear 202.

  The output gear 202 has a guide groove 221 excavated in the axial direction along the outer peripheral surface, and a ratchet tooth 125 is provided at the bottom of the guide groove 221 to constitute a ratchet portion 222. In the output gear 202, gear teeth 126 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall of the guide groove 221 to form a gear portion 223, and the movement restricting portion 121 is formed by a cylindrical portion forming an inner peripheral wall of the guide groove 221. The output gear 202 is provided at the center of a through hole 124 that is axially penetrated so as to be axially supportable. That is, the output gear 202 has a double cylindrical shape in which the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall of the guide groove 221 are connected by the ratchet portion 222.

  In the output gear 202, a gear portion 223 is provided on the outer peripheral side of one end surface which is the opening side (input gear 101 side) of the guide groove 221, and one end of the movement restricting portion 121 is closer to the input gear 101 than the outer peripheral wall of the guide groove 221. It is projected to That is, by making the axial length L11 of the movement restricting portion 121 constituting the inner peripheral wall of the guide groove 221 longer than the axial length L12 of the outer peripheral wall of the guide groove 221, the end surface 114 of the input gear 101 The movement restricting portion 121 to be brought into contact with the end face of the output gear 202 is protruded. Thus, the output gear 202 brings only one end of the movement restricting portion 121 into contact with the input gear 101, and the contact surface between the input gear 101 and the output gear 202 can be reduced to reduce friction.

  By configuring the output gear 202 in this manner, as shown in FIG. 7, the intermediate gear 103 is fitted in the guide groove 221 such that the ratchet 133 of the intermediate gear 103 faces the ratchet teeth 125 at the bottom of the guide groove 221. It is inserted. Further, on the opening side of the guide groove 221, a connection / disconnection control unit 111 of the input gear 101 is inserted so as to face the control receiving unit 132 of the inserted intermediate gear 103. As a result, the intermediate gear 103 slides in the guide groove 221, and the fitting portion between the output gear 202 and the intermediate gear 103 is covered with the outer peripheral wall of the guide groove 221 in the output gear 202. The configuration can be made less susceptible.

  In addition, although it was set as the structure shown to the expanded view of FIG. 2 about the fitting part shape of the intermediate gear 103 and the output gear 102,202 in the rotational drive transmission apparatus 100,200 of 1st and 2nd embodiment, The configuration is not limited, and may be another configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, each of the ratchet teeth 125 and 133 may have a trapezoidal shape in which horizontal surfaces 125c and 133c are provided between the inclined surfaces 125a and 133a and the inclined surfaces 125b and 133b. I do not care. By providing the horizontal surfaces 125c and 133c, an axial pressing force can be applied from the intermediate gear 103 to the output gears 102 and 202, and rotational power from the input gear 101 can be transmitted with high efficiency.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, in each of the ratchet teeth 125 and 133, the inclination direction of the inclined surfaces 125a and 133a and the inclined surfaces 125b and 133b is opposite to the inclined surface 132a of the control receiving portion 132. It does not matter. That is, the inclination angle θ2 of the inclined surface 133b is set to be larger than 90 °. As a result, when the intermediate gear 103 and the output gears 102 and 202 are fitted, the intermediate gear 103 and the output gears 102 and 202 are mutually pulled in by the inclined surfaces 125 b and 133 b of the ratchet teeth 125 and 133. It is possible to prevent the fitting portion between the gear 103 and the output gears 102 and 202 from falling off.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8C, the configurations of FIGS. 8A and 8B may be combined. That is, in each of the ratchet teeth 125 and 133, the inclination direction of the inclined surfaces 125a and 133a and the inclined surfaces 125b and 133b is opposite to the inclined surface 132a of the control receiving portion 132, and the inclined surfaces 125a and 133a and the inclined surfaces 125b, The horizontal surfaces 125c and 133c may be provided between them and 133b.

  The configuration of the connection / disconnection control mechanism by the connection / disconnection control unit 111 of the input gear 101 and the control receiving unit 132 of the intermediate gear 103 in the rotational drive transmission devices 100 and 200 according to the first and second embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. Although the configuration shown in the developed view is described, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and may be another configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the control receiving portion 132 of the intermediate gear 103 may be formed into a triangular shape by the inclined surface 132a and the contact surface 132c, and the contact surface 132b may be omitted.

<Example of application of rotational drive transmission device>
Hereinafter, as an application example of the rotation drive transmission apparatus of each of the above-described embodiments, an application to an image forming apparatus will be described as an example.

(Configuration of image forming apparatus)
The configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, and FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration view showing the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming unit 2 for printing an image on recording paper and an image reading unit 3 for reading an image from a document, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and reads the image above the image forming unit 2. It has a configuration in which the unit 3 is placed. The image forming apparatus 1 also includes an operation panel 116 that performs various displays for the user and receives input operations by the user.

  The image reading unit 3 is a known one that reads a document placed on a document glass plate by moving a scanner. The original image is color-separated into three colors of red (R), green (G) and blue (B), converted into electrical signals by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor, and R, G, B image data Is obtained. The image data of each color component obtained by the image reading unit 3 is subjected to various processes in an image control unit 11 (see FIG. 7) described later, and cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black It is converted into image data of each reproduction color of (K).

  The image forming unit 2 includes an imaging device 4 for transferring a toner image based on image data onto recording paper, a fixing device 5 for fixing the toner image transferred onto the recording paper by the imaging device 4, and printing the image. And a sheet discharge mechanism 7 for discharging the recording sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 5 and the image is formed. Further, the image reading unit 3 is provided with a scanner device 31 for reading an image from a document, and an automatic document feeder (ADF: Auto Document Feeder) which is provided above the scanner unit 31 and conveys the document one by one to the scanner device 31. And 32.

  The image forming device 4 located at the central portion in the image forming unit 2 plays a role of transferring a toner image formed on a photosensitive member, which is an example of an image carrier, to the recording material P. A belt 42 and a total of four imaging mechanisms 41 corresponding to each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K) are provided. In FIG. 11, for convenience of explanation, symbols Y, M, C, and K are added to the respective image forming mechanisms 41 in accordance with the reproduction color.

  The intermediate transfer belt 42 is stretched between the drive roller 43 and the driven roller 44, and the intermediate transfer belt 42 is tensioned by urging the driven roller 44 in the left direction of FIG. 2 by a spring (not shown). It is done. The drive roller 43 rotates counterclockwise by power transmission from a transfer drive motor (not shown). The intermediate transfer belt 42 uses a resin material such as polycarbonate, polyimide, polyimideamide or the like. A transfer belt cleaner 421 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of a portion of the intermediate transfer belt 42 wound around the driven roller 44. The transfer belt cleaner 421 is for removing untransferred toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 42 and is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 42.

  Below the intermediate transfer belt 42, image forming mechanisms 4 of respective colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K) are disposed at predetermined intervals. The primary transfer roller 46 is disposed at a position facing the photosensitive drum 45 of the image forming mechanism 41 with the intermediate transfer belt 42 interposed therebetween. A charger 47, a developer 48, a primary transfer roller 46, and a photoreceptor cleaner 49 are disposed on the outer periphery of the photoreceptor drum 45 in order along the clockwise rotation direction in FIG.

  The photosensitive drum 45 is negatively charged, and is configured to be rotationally driven clockwise in FIG. 11 by power transmission from a photosensitive motor (not shown). The charging device 47 is a roller charging type, and a voltage for charging the photosensitive member is applied to the charging device 47 at a predetermined timing from a charging power source (not shown). The developing device 48 makes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 45 be manifested by reversal development, using toner exhibiting negative polarity.

  The primary transfer roller 46 is located on the inner peripheral side of the intermediate transfer belt 42, and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 11 as the intermediate transfer belt 42 rotates. A primary transfer nip portion, which is a primary transfer area, is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 42 and the primary transfer roller 46 (contact portion). The photosensitive body cleaner 49 is for removing untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive body drum 45 and is in contact with the photosensitive body drum 45. An exposure unit 50 is disposed below the four imaging mechanisms 41. The exposure unit 50 forms an electrostatic latent image on each photosensitive drum 45 with a laser beam based on image data. The image data is subjected to correction for positional deviation correction, and then read out for each scanning line in synchronization with the supply of the recording paper, and becomes a drive signal of the light emitting diode provided in the exposure unit 50.

  A secondary transfer roller 51 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of a portion of the intermediate transfer belt 42 wound around the drive roller 43. The secondary transfer roller 51 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 42, and a portion (contact portion) between the intermediate transfer belt 42 and the secondary transfer roller 51 forms a secondary transfer nip portion in which a secondary transfer region is formed. ing. The secondary transfer roller 51 rotates clockwise in FIG. 11 with the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 42 or with the movement of the recording sheet nipped and conveyed by the secondary transfer nip portion.

  After the surface of the photosensitive drum 45 is charged by the charger 47, the image forming device 4 forms an electrostatic latent image according to the image data in the exposure unit 50, and toner from the To form a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 45. The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 45 is in the order of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black when the intermediate transfer belt 42 passes between the photosensitive drum 45 and the primary transfer roller 46 (primary transfer nip portion). Primary transfer onto the intermediate transfer belt 42. The untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 45 is scraped off by the photosensitive cleaner 49 and removed from the photosensitive drum 45. Then, when the recording sheet passes through the secondary transfer nip portion, the superposed four color toner images are collectively secondarily transferred onto the recording sheet. Untransferred toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 42 is scraped off by the transfer belt cleaner 421, removed from the intermediate transfer belt 42, and stored in a waste toner box (not shown).

  The fixing device 5 located above the secondary transfer roller 51 includes a heating roller 55 which is long in a direction perpendicular to the recording paper conveyance direction, and a pressure roller 56 which extends in parallel with the heating roller 55. The pressure roller 56 is in contact with the heating roller 55, and a portion (contact portion) between the heating roller 55 and the pressure roller 56 forms a fixing nip portion in which a fixing area is formed. When the recording sheet carrying the unfixed toner image passes through the secondary transfer nip portion of the secondary transfer roller 51 passes through the fixing nip portion between the heating roller 55 and the pressure roller 56, The pressure roller 56 heats and presses the recording sheet to fix the unfixed toner image on the recording sheet.

  The sheet feeding device 6 positioned below the image forming device 4 includes a plurality of (two in the embodiment) sheet feeding cassettes for containing recording sheets, and a feeding roller 62 for feeding the recording sheets in the sheet feeding cassette 61 one by one. And a pair of resist rollers 63 for conveying the fed recording paper to a secondary transfer nip portion (secondary transfer area) at a predetermined timing. Further, the paper discharge mechanism 7 includes a discharge roller 71 for discharging the recording paper on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 5 to the outside of the apparatus, and a paper discharge tray 72 for receiving the discharged recording paper.

  Each paper feed cassette 61 is detachably disposed at the lower part of the image forming unit 2. The recording paper in each of the paper feeding cassettes 61 is delivered to the transport path 30 one by one from the uppermost one by the rotation of the corresponding delivery roller 62. The conveyance path 30 passes from the sheet feeding cassettes 61 of the sheet feeding device 6 to the nip portion between the two registration rollers 63 and the secondary transfer nip portion (secondary transfer area) of the image forming device 4. It reaches the fixing nip. The conveyance path 30 extends from the fixing nip portion of the fixing device 5 to the sheet discharge tray 72 on the upper surface of the image forming unit 2 through the pair of discharge rollers 71.

(Configuration of toner supply path)
The image forming apparatus 1 is configured such that a toner bottle (toner container) 81 can be attached and detached in order to supply the developing device 48 with toner. As shown in FIG. 11, a bottle storage chamber 80 is provided above the intermediate transfer belt 42, and in the bottle storage chamber 80, a toner bottle 81 for storing replenishment toner supplied to each developing device 48. Are detachably arranged. In FIG. 11, for convenience of explanation, the bottle storage chamber 80 and the toner bottle 81 are also attached with symbols Y, M, C, and K depending on the reproduced color. The details of the toner supply path from the toner bottle 81 to the developing device 48 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, the developing unit 48 of the imaging mechanism 41 is provided with a sub hopper (toner storage unit) 82 for replenishing a predetermined amount of toner, and from here a developing unit via a joint 83 Supplied to 48. Above the sub hopper 82, a toner bottle 81 is detachably provided. When the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 82 is reduced, toner is supplied from the toner bottle 81. When the toner in the toner bottle 81 runs out, it is replaced with a new toner bottle 81. In FIG. 12, for convenience of explanation, the toner bottle 81 and the sub hopper 82 are also attached with symbols Y, M, C, and K depending on the reproduced color.

  The toner bottle 81 has a bottle portion 812 for storing toner, a cap portion 813 having a supply port 813a formed on the outer peripheral surface, and a shutter portion 815 for opening and closing the supply port 813a. The bottle portion 812 and the cap portion 813 are rotatably attached relative to each other. A knob 814 for rotating the toner bottle 81 is formed on the front side of the cap portion 813. Each cap portion 813 of the toner bottle 81 provided for each color is mounted on the upper surface integrally formed with the sub-hoppers 82 for different colors.

  On the back side of the toner bottle 81, a bottle rotating mechanism 811 for rotating the bottle portion 812 is provided. The bottle rotation mechanism 811 includes a stepping motor 811 a serving as a drive source, and transmits the rotational force of the stepping motor 811 a to the toner bottle 81 via a gear mechanism described later. When the bottle portion 812 is rotated by the bottle rotation mechanism 811, the toner stored in the bottle portion 812 is covered by the spiral groove 817 (first toner supply portion) formed on the inner peripheral surface of the bottle portion 812. It is led to the supply port 813a of 813. Then, the toner is dropped and supplied to the sub hopper 82 from the supply port 813 a.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the supply port 813 a of the cap portion 813 in the cap portion 813 of the toner bottle 81 is located above the sub hopper 82. In the sub hopper 82, a float member 824 for detecting the upper surface level of the toner is provided so as to be pivotable about a shaft 824a. A cam 822 rotating with the stirring shaft is provided below the float member 824, and the float member 824 swings up and down by the rotation of the cam 822.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, the developing device 48 is provided with a toner concentration sensor 481, and when the toner concentration of the developing device 48 becomes low, the sub hopper 82 is set to have a predetermined toner concentration. The replenishing roller (second toner replenishing unit) 823 rotates to replenish the developing device 48 with toner. The stirring shaft and the replenishment roller 823 are driven by the sub hopper driving mechanism 821. The sub hopper driving mechanism 821 includes a stepping motor 821 a serving as a driving source, and transmits the rotational force of the stepping motor 821 a to the sub hopper 82 via a gear mechanism (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 13, the float member 824 is provided with a detection member 824b, and moves up and down in conjunction with the float member. An empty sensor (first detection unit) 830 is attached to the outer surface of the sub hopper 82. A photo sensor is used as the empty sensor 830, and an ON or OFF signal can be obtained according to the position of the detection member 824b.

  When there is sufficient toner in the sub hopper 82, the float member 824 is located at the upper side, and the empty sensor 830 is in the OFF state. On the other hand, when the amount of toner in the sub hopper 82 decreases, the upper surface of the toner decreases, the float member 824 lowers, and the empty sensor 830 is turned on.

  When the empty sensor 830 is turned on, the bottle rotation mechanism 811 is driven to rotate the bottle portion 812 of the toner bottle 81 for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) to supply the toner from the toner bottle 81 into the sub hopper 82. When the sub hopper 82 is replenished with toner from the toner bottle 81, the float member 824 is moved upward, so that the empty sensor 830 turns from the ON signal to the OFF signal. However, when the toner bottle 81 has no toner, the toner is not replenished into the sub hopper 82 even if the bottle portion 812 is rotated. Since both the cam 822 and the replenishment roller 823 are rotationally driven by the sub hopper drive mechanism 821, when the cam 822 is operated to confirm the change of the empty sensor 830, the replenishment roller 823 also rotates simultaneously. .

  On the other hand, the developing device 48 is provided with a toner density sensor (second detection unit) 481 for detecting the toner density in the two-component developer. Then, when the toner concentration in the developing device 48 becomes low, the replenishment roller 823 of the sub hopper 82 is rotated by the sub hopper driving mechanism 821 so as to maintain a predetermined toner concentration, and the toner in the developing device 48 is Supply For example, in the case where the normal setting value of the toner concentration is 5%, when the toner concentration becomes 4.5% or less, the replenishment roller 823 rotates and toner replenishment from the sub hopper 82 to the developing device 48 is performed. Then, when the toner concentration reaches 5%, the rotation of the replenishment roller 823 is stopped.

  In addition, when the image forming apparatus 1 rotates the toner bottle 81, if the empty sensor 830 changes from the ON signal to the OFF signal, the image forming apparatus 1 recognizes that the toner is supplied from the toner bottle 81 to the sub hopper 82. It is determined that 81 is replaced with a new one. Further, when the replenishment roller 823 rotates once, a predetermined number of grams of toner is sent to the developing device 48, so that the amount of toner to be delivered to the developing device 48 can be controlled by the number of revolutions of the replenishment roller 823. Then, since the capacity of the sub hopper 82 is determined, the toner bottle 82 is replaced if the toner density detected by the toner density sensor 821 does not decrease even though the toner is consumed more than the capacity of the sub hopper 82 It can be determined that it has been done.

(Configuration of bottle rotation mechanism)
The rotational drive transmission apparatus 100 in the first embodiment is applied to the bottle rotation mechanism 811 as a mechanical clutch. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the bottle rotating mechanism 811 includes a stepping motor 811a serving as a driving source, bottle driving gears 816Y to 816K for rotating the toner bottles 81Y to 81K, and a bottle portion 812 of the toner bottles 81Y to 81K. And coupling shafts (couplings) 817Y to 817K. The bottle rotation mechanism 811 includes rotation drive transmission devices 100a and 100b having input gears 101a and 101b rotationally driven by the stepping motor 811a.

  Further, the bottle rotation mechanism 811 transmits the rotation of the output gear 102a of the rotation drive transmission device 100a to the bottle drive gear 816K and the rotation of the output gear 102b of the rotation drive transmission device 100b corresponds to the bottle drive gears 816M, 816C. And a relay gear 105 for relaying the rotation of the bottle drive gear 816M to the bottle drive gear 816Y. The rotational drive transmission devices 100a and 100b, the input gears 101a and 101b, the output gears 102a and 102b, and the intermediate gears 103a and 103b in FIGS. 15 and 16 respectively correspond to the rotational drive transmission device 100 according to the first embodiment. , The input gear 101, the output gear 102, and the intermediate gear 103, respectively.

  When comprised in this way, the bottle rotation mechanism 811 has provided the relay gear not shown between the stepping motor 811a and the input gear 101b of the rotational drive transmission apparatus 100b. Therefore, when the stepping motor 811a rotates in the forward direction, the input gear 101a of the rotational drive transmission device 100a rotates in the forward direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3) while the input gear 101b of the rotational drive transmission device 100b rotates in the reverse direction. (The direction of arrow B in FIG. 4) It becomes rotation. In the rotational drive transmission device 100a, the intermediate gear 103a is connected to the output gear 102a, and the rotational force of the input gear 101a is transmitted to the output gear 102a, while in the rotational drive transmission device 100b, the intermediate gear 103b is an output gear. At a distance from 102b, the transmission of the rotational force of the input gear 101b to the output gear 102b is cut off.

  As a result, the rotational force of the stepping motor 811a is transmitted only to the bottle drive gear 816K via the rotational drive transmission device 100a and the relay gear 104a, so only the toner bottle 81K is rotated, and the toner in the toner bottle 81K is It is supplied to the hopper 82K. At this time, since the rotational drive transmission device 100b is in the disconnected state, the rotational force of the stepping motor 811a is not transmitted to the relay gear 104b, and the toner bottles 81Y, 81M, and 81C are stopped.

  On the other hand, when the stepping motor 811a rotates in the reverse direction, the input gear 101a of the rotational drive transmission device 100a rotates in the reverse direction (direction of arrow B in FIG. 4) while the input gear 101b of the rotational drive transmission device 100b rotates in the forward direction The direction of arrow A in FIG. 3) is rotated. Therefore, while the rotational drive transmission device 100a is in the disconnected state, the rotational drive transmission device 100b is in the connected state. As a result, the rotational force of the stepping motor 811a is transmitted to the bottle drive gears 816Y, 816M, and 816C through the rotational drive transmission device 100b and the relay gears 104b and 105, so that the toner bottles 81Y, 81M, and 81C rotate. The toner in the toner bottles 81Y, 81M, 81C is supplied to the sub hoppers 82Y, 82M, 82C. In addition, since the rotation of the relay gear 104a is stopped, the toner bottle 81K is stopped.

  In the rotation drive transmission devices 100a and 100b, the rotation control of the toner bottle 81K and the rotation control of the toner bottles 81Y, 81M and 81C, with the configuration of the control receiving portion 132 and the ratchet teeth 125 and 133 being opposite to each other May be implemented independently. As described above, by switching the connection and disconnection of the rotation drive transmission devices 100a and 100b according to the rotation direction of the stepping motor 811a, it is possible to optimally replenish the sub hoppers 82Y to 82K.

(Configuration of sub hopper drive mechanism)
The rotational drive transmission device 200 in the second embodiment is applied to the sub hopper drive mechanism 821 as a mechanical clutch. In the following, a configuration in which the sub hopper rotating mechanism 821 performs rotation control on the two sub hoppers 82a and 82b will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 17, the sub hopper rotating mechanism 821 includes a stepping motor 821a serving as a driving source, stirring gears 826a and 826b for rotating toner stirring shafts 825a and 825b of the subhoppers 82a and 82b, and a subhopper 82a. , And 82b, and includes supply gears 827a and 827b for rotating the respective supply rollers 823a and 823b.

  The sub hopper driving mechanism 821 transmits the rotational drive transmission devices 200a and 200b and the relay gears 204a and 204b to transmit the rotational force from the stepping motor 821a to the stirring gears 826a and 826b and the replenishment gears 827a and 827b, respectively. Prepare. Further, the sub-hopper drive mechanism 821 transmits between the relay gears 851 and 852 for transmitting the rotational force from the stepping motor 821a to the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission device 200a, and between the input gears 101 of the rotational drive transmission devices 200a and 200b. And relay gears 854 to 857 to be relayed.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission apparatus 200a meshes with the relay gear 852 to transmit the rotational force of the stepping motor 821a via the relay gears 851 and 852. Also, the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission device 200a transmits the rotational force of the stepping motor 821a to the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission device 200b via the relay gears 854 to 857 by meshing with the relay gear 854. Do. As a result, the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission devices 200a and 200b rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the stepping motor 821a.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 19, the output gear 202 of the rotational drive transmission device 200a meshes with a relay gear 204a that transmits rotational force to the stirring gear 826a and the replenishment gear 827a. Therefore, when the rotational drive transmission device 200a is in the connected state, the rotational force of the stepping motor 821a is transmitted to the stirring gear 826a and the replenishment gear 827a via the relay gear 204a. Similarly, the output gear 202 of the rotation drive transmission device 200b is in mesh with the relay gear 204b interlocked with the stirring gear 826b and the replenishment gear 827b, and when the rotation drive transmission device 200b is in the connected state, the relay gear 204b The torque of the stepping motor 821a is transmitted to the stirring gear 826b and the replenishment gear 827b via the

  Thus, when the sub hopper drive mechanism 821 is configured, four relay gears 854 to 857 are provided between the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission device 200a and the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission device 200b. . Therefore, the rotation direction by the input gear 101 of the rotation drive transmission device 200a and the rotation direction by the input gear 101 of the rotation drive transmission device 200b are opposite to each other. Therefore, assuming that the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission device 200a rotates in the forward direction (the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 3) when the stepping motor 821a rotates forward, the input gear 101 of the rotational drive transmission device 200b is reversed. It becomes rotation in the direction (direction of arrow B in FIG. 3).

  Thus, when the stepping motor 821a rotates in the normal direction, the rotation drive transmission device 200a is in the connection state, while the rotation drive transmission device 200b is in the disconnection state. Therefore, by the rotation of the output gear 202 of the rotation drive transmission device 200a, the stirring gear 826a and the replenishment gear 827a are rotated, and the toner in the sub hopper 82a is simultaneously supplied to the developing device 48. On the other hand, when the stepping motor 821a rotates in the reverse direction, the rotational drive transmission device 200a is in the disconnection state, while the rotational drive transmission device 200b is in the connection state. Therefore, the rotation of the output gear 202 of the rotation drive transmission device 200b causes the stirring gear 826b and the replenishment gear 827b to rotate, and the toner in the sub hopper 82b is supplied to the developing device 48 at the same time.

  The image forming apparatus may be an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) having a copy function, a scanner function, a printer function, and a fax function, or may be a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or the like. In addition to the bottle rotation mechanism and the sub hopper drive mechanism, the rotation drive transmission device of the present invention may be used as a mechanical clutch of another rotation mechanism. Further, the configuration of each part in the above description is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1 image forming apparatus 2 image forming unit 3 image reading unit 4 image forming unit 5 fixing device 6 sheet feeding mechanism 7 sheet discharging mechanism 11 image control unit 12 engine control unit 31 scanner device 32 automatic document feeder 41 image forming mechanism 42 intermediate transfer Belt 43 Drive roller 44 Follower roller 45 Photosensitive drum 46 Primary transfer roller 47 Charger 48 Developer 49 Photoreceptor cleaner 50 Exposure unit 51 Secondary transfer roller 55 Heating roller 56 Pressure roller 61 Paper feed cassette 62 Delivery roller 63 Registration roller 71 Discharge Roller 72 Paper Discharge Tray 80 Bottle Storage Room 81 Toner Bottle 82 Sub-Hopper 100 Rotational Drive Transmission Device 101 Input Gear 102 Output Gear 103 Intermediate Gear 111 Connection Control Unit 111a Top 111b One Side 111c Other Side 112 Penetration 113 gear teeth 114 end face 121 movement restricting part 122 ratchet part 123 gear part 124 through hole 125 ratchet tooth 125 a inclined surface 125 b inclined surface 126 gear tooth 131 through hole 132 control receiving part 132 a inclined surface 132 b contact surface 132 c contact surface 133 ratchet surface Tooth 133a Inclined Surface 133b Inclined Surface 200 Rotational Drive Transmission Device 202 Output Gear 221 Guide Groove 222 Ratchet Part 223 Gear Part 421 Transfer Belt Cleaner 481 Toner Density Sensor 811 Bottle Rotation Mechanism 811a Stepping Motor 812 Bottle 813 Cap Part 813a Supply Port 814 Thumb 815 Shutter 817 Spiral groove 821 Sub hopper drive mechanism 821a Stepper motor 822 Cam 823 Supply roller 824 Float Material 824a shaft 824b detecting member 830 empty sensor

Claims (8)

A rotary drive transmission device comprising: an input gear that is rotated by a rotational force from a drive source; and an output gear that is disposed coaxially with the input gear and that receives and rotates from the input gear.
An intermediate gear is disposed coaxially with the input gear and the output gear and between the input gear and the output gear,
The input gear includes a connection / disengagement control unit protruding toward the intermediate gear,
The intermediate gear has a control receiving portion for receiving the connection / disconnection control portion of the input gear on the input gear side, and has a fitting portion on the output gear side to be fitted to a fitted portion of the output gear. Yes,
When the input gear rotates in the forward direction, the connection control unit acts on the control receiving unit to slide the intermediate gear axially toward the output gear side, and By fitting the fitting portion of the intermediate gear to the fitting portion, the rotation of the input gear is transmitted to the output gear,
When the input gear rotates in the reverse direction, the connection control unit acts on the control receiving portion to slide the intermediate gear axially to the input gear side, and the object of the output gear is moved. By separating the fitting portion of the intermediate gear from the fitting portion, the transmission of rotation from the input gear to the output gear is released .
The output gear includes a movement restricting portion protruding toward the input gear from the center of the fitted portion, and the movement restricting portion abuts on an end face of the input gear to form the intermediate gear. A rotational drive transmission device characterized in that an axial movement amount of the gear is restricted by an end face of the input gear and a fitted portion of the output gear . A rotary drive transmission device comprising: an input gear that is rotated by a rotational force from a drive source; and an output gear that is disposed coaxially with the input gear and that receives and rotates from the input gear.
An intermediate gear is disposed coaxially with the input gear and the output gear and between the input gear and the output gear,
The input gear includes a connection / disengagement control unit protruding toward the intermediate gear,
The intermediate gear has a control receiving portion for receiving the connection / disconnection control portion of the input gear on the input gear side, and has a fitting portion on the output gear side to be fitted to a fitted portion of the output gear. Yes,
When the input gear rotates in the forward direction, the connection control unit acts on the control receiving unit to slide the intermediate gear axially toward the output gear side, and By fitting the fitting portion of the intermediate gear to the fitting portion, the rotation of the input gear is transmitted to the output gear,
When the input gear rotates in the reverse direction, the connection control unit acts on the control receiving portion to slide the intermediate gear axially to the input gear side, and the object of the output gear is moved. By separating the fitting portion of the intermediate gear from the fitting portion, the transmission of rotation from the input gear to the output gear is released.
The length of the control receiving portion may be equal to or less than a half turn of the intermediate gear,
A rotary drive transmission device characterized in that a pair of the control receiving portion and the connection / disengagement control portion are provided at two or more locations for each of the intermediate gear and the input gear . The output gear is provided with a guide groove outside the movement restricting portion, and the intermediate gear is fitted in the guide groove, and the intermediate gear is covered with the input gear and the output gear. The rotational drive transmission apparatus according to claim 1 .   The said control receiving part is comprised by the notch part which carries out the loose fitting of the said connection / disconnection control part, It is provided with the inclination part made to contact with the top of the said connection / disconnection control part. The rotational drive transmission apparatus according to any one of the above.   The control receiving portion is provided at one end of the inclined portion most separated from the input gear, with a first contact portion contacting with one side portion of the connection / disengagement control portion, and an axial direction of the first contact portion The rotational drive transmission apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a length is shorter than an axial length of the connection control unit.   5. The control receiver according to claim 4, wherein the control receiver is provided at the other end closest to the input gear of the inclined portion with a second contact portion that contacts the other side of the connection control unit. The rotational drive transmission device according to 5. The rotational drive transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the fitted portion and the fitting portion have shapes that are drawn in each other in the axial direction. An image forming apparatus comprising the rotational drive transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 in a rotational drive mechanism.

Images