JPH0350580A - Hopper - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the storage amount of powder and to prevent powder from remaining in a container by mounting a vibration plate which vibrates with the rotation of a rotary conveyor shaft on the inside wall of the container. CONSTITUTION:The powder stored in the container 38 falls down along the top surfaces of vibration plates 46 - 48 mounted on the internal wall of the container 38 and the powder falling on the bottom part is conveyed in a specific direction by the rotary conveyor shaft 39, and the vibration plates 46 - 48 vibrate with the rotation of the conveyor shaft 39. Therefore, even when the tilt angle of the internal wall of the container 38 is made small so as to increase the storage capacity, the powder falls by the vibration. Consequently, the storage capacity of the powder can be increased and the powder is prevented from remaining in the container 38.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a hopper that accommodates powder and is equipped with a rotating conveyance shaft that conveys the powder in a predetermined direction.

[Conventional technology]

Hereinafter, a toner hopper used in a developing device such as a copying machine will be explained as an example.

A developing device of a copying machine is provided with a toner hopper (hereinafter simply referred to as a hopper) to store toner for replenishment. The hopper usually has a lower portion having a V-shaped cross section when viewed from the side, and has an inclined inner wall. The stored toner falls to the bottom along the sloping inner wall, and the rotation of a replenishment roller provided at the bottom causes the toner to fall downward toward the developer container. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The slope of the inner wall of the hopper is preferably set at a gentle angle from the viewpoint of the amount of toner stored. That is, by making the inclination angle gentler, it is possible to increase the toner storage capacity in that direction. However, if the inclination angle is made too loose, the toner will not fall to the bottom of the hopper, and the amount of toner remaining in the hopper will increase, which may lead to toner sticking. On the other hand, if the inclination angle of the side wall is made steep, the toner will fall more easily, but the toner storage capacity will be reduced. Furthermore, if the inclination angle is made too steep, a bridge of toner will form above the replenishment roller, creating a cavity above the replenishment roller, resulting in poor toner replenishment performance.

Incidentally, in order to improve the workability of replacing the developing device, etc., a developing device is proposed in which the hopper and the developing device are separated, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-22367. In such a split type developing device,
A conveying member is required on the hopper side to convey the toner to the communication path between the hopper and the developing device.This conveying member is usually constructed of a rotatable spiral, etc. It is thought that if vibration is applied to the toner in the hopper using vibration, residual toner can be prevented even if the inclination angle of the hopper side wall is made gentler in order to increase the amount of toner that can be accommodated.

The problem of the inclination angle of the container in such a hopper, that is, the storage capacity of the powder stored inside and the problem of the powder remaining in the container, is not limited to toner hoppers used in developing devices. , which can similarly occur in hoppers containing any powder.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hopper that can increase the storage capacity of powder such as toner in a copying machine and can prevent powder from remaining in the container. [Means for Solving the Problems] A hopper according to the present invention has an inclined inner wall and includes a container for storing powder, a rotation conveyance shaft, and a rocking plate. The rotary conveyance shaft is rotatably provided at the bottom of the container, and has a conveyance member on its outer periphery for conveying the powder in a predetermined direction. The diaphragm has an upper part attached to the inclined inner wall of the container, and a lower part of the diaphragm is located within a range of a locus drawn when the rotary conveyance shaft operates, and vibrates due to rotation of the rotary conveyance shaft. It is something to do.

Note that as the rotary conveyance shaft, for example, a spiral shaft having a spiral on the outer periphery or a rotor shaft having a plurality of blade members on the outer periphery is used.

[Effect]

In this invention, the powder contained in the container falls downward along the upper surface of the diaphragm attached to the inner wall of the container. The powder that has fallen to the bottom is conveyed in a predetermined direction by the rotating conveyance shaft. At this time, due to the rotation of the conveyor shaft,
The diaphragm vibrates. Therefore, even if the slope of the inner wall of the container is made gentle in order to increase the storage capacity, the powder will fall to the bottom due to the vibrations mentioned above.
This prevents powder from remaining inside the container. [Embodiment] Fig. 1 is an overall structural diagram of an electrostatic copying machine employing a hopper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The copying machine main body 1 consists of an upper main body 1a and a lower main body 1b. The upper part 1a and the lower part 1b of the main body can be opened and closed on the right side in the figure, centering around a hinge l8 on the left side in the figure. A document table 2 is fixed to the upper surface of the copying machine main body 1, and a document holder 3 is attached to the upper part of the document table 2 so as to be openable and closable. Paper feed cassettes 4 and 5 are removably installed on the right side of the copying machine main body l. Further, a paper ejection tray 6 is installed on the left side to eject copied sheets.

Inside the copying machine main body 1, an optical system 7 for reading image information of a document is provided on the upper side la of the main body. The optical system 7 consists of a light source, a mirror lens, etc. A photosensitive drum 8 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is disposed at the center of the lower part of the main body 1b. Around the photoreceptor drum 8, there are a charging device t9 that charges the photoreceptor drum 8 to a predetermined charge, a developing device 10 that develops the electrostatic latent image, and a transfer device l that transfers the toner image onto paper.
1. A paper separating device 12 for separating paper from the photosensitive drum 8 and a cleaning device 13 for removing toner from the photosensitive drum 8 are arranged in this order. A paper feed conveyance path 14 for conveying paper is provided between the paper feed cassette 4.5 and the image forming bottom section constituted by the photoreceptor drum 8, etc. A wandering conveyance path 15 is provided. A fixing device l6 that fixes the transferred image on the transported paper is provided between the paper discharge conveyance path 15 and the paper discharge tray 6. Further downstream of this fixing device 16, a wandering paper roller 17 is provided. is provided. FIG. 2 shows a detailed exploded view of the developing device 10. The developing device 10 mainly includes a developing device 20 and a hopper 21 that supplies toner to the developing device 20. The developing device 20 is installed between a front side plate 22 (hereinafter, the front side of the copying machine body is referred to as the front and the back side is referred to as the rear side) and a rear side plate (not shown), and is attached to the shaft of the photoreceptor drum 8. It can be attached and detached in a direction perpendicular to the above direction (up and down in this embodiment). The front plate 22 is provided at the front inside the lower part 1b of the main body, and is rotatable upward (clockwise) about a fulcrum 23 from the state shown in FIG. Further, the rear side plate is provided at the rear inside the lower part 1b of the main body, and is rotatable like the front side plate 22. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, which is a cross-sectional plan view of the support portion of the developing device 20, the walls of the front side plate 22 and the rear side plate on the inside side of the device have a structure for guiding the developing device 20 to a predetermined position. Guides 24 and 25 are shown. On the other hand, supporting members 26 and 27 are provided on the side of the developing device 20 and protrude outward.
are provided, and each support member 26,27 is provided with a first pocket portion Pl formed by the guides 24 and 25.
and is supported by the second pocket portion P2.

In the first pocket P1, the surface of the guide 25 that comes into contact with the supporting member 26 on the side of the developing device 20 is a part of an arc having a radius R and centered on the axis of the photosensitive drum 8. Further, a handle 28 is attached to the upper part of the developing device 20, so that the developing device 20 can be easily pulled out from above. Inside the developing device 20, as in the conventional device, there are a developing roller 29 that supplies toner to the photoreceptor drum 8, and a pumping rotor that pumps the developer consisting of toner and carrier toward the developing roller 29 side. 30 and an agitation roller 3l for agitating the developer in the developing device 20 are each rotatably provided.

Above the stirring roller 3l is a spiral 3 for conveying toner supplied from a hopper 21, which will be described later, in the width direction of the developing device 20 (in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in the second drawing).
2 (see Figure 4) is rotatably provided. Furthermore, above the spiral 32 and in front of the copying machine main body 1, there are
A communication opening 20a with the hopper 21 is formed (
(See Figure 4). A connecting member 34 is rotatably attached to the upper part of one end side (left side in FIG. 2) of the front plate 22 that supports the developing unit 20 and the photosensitive drum 8 by means of a pin 33. The upper end side of the connecting member 34 is rotatably attached to the upper part 1a of the copying machine main body 1. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, which is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV, the hopper 21 is disposed in front of the main body of the copying machine on the front side plate 22, and the support plate 35 and 36 are fixed to the front side plate 22. Ho? The par 21 mainly consists of a hopper body 37 and a toner cartridge 42.

The main hopper main body 37 has a toner container 38 containing toner.
have. As shown in FIG. 4, the toner container 38 has both side walls (inside walls) in the width direction inclined, and has a V-shaped cross section when viewed from the side. Furthermore, the side walls (inside walls) in the direction perpendicular to the width direction are also inclined.

The upper part of the container 38 is open. Further, at the upper ends of both left and right sides of the toner container 38, locking portions 4 having a U-shaped cross section are provided.
0.41 are formed respectively.

A flange portion 43 formed in the opening end of a toner cartridge 42, which will be described later, is attached to this locking portion 40.41.
can be locked. As shown in Figure 4,
A locking portion 44 is also formed in a portion of the rear of the toner container 38, and the flange portion 43 of the toner cartridge 42 can be locked to this locking portion 44, as described above. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, a toner supply port 38a is formed at the bottom of the toner container 38 for allowing the toner to fall downward. Note that FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the inside of the toner container 38. , FIG. 6 is a partial plan view thereof, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the toner supply port 38a portion. The toner supply port 38a is arranged slightly to the right in FIG. 2 from the center of the toner container 38 in the width direction so as to correspond to the communication opening 20a of the developing device 20. Further, at the bottom of the toner container 38, a transport member 39 is rotatably arranged to transport the toner in the container to the toner supply port 38a. The conveyance member 39 has a rotor portion 39a having four blade members 45 at a position directly above the toner supply port 38a, and a rotor portion 39a having four blade members 45 is formed on both sides of the rotor portion 39a. Spiral parts 39b and 39c for conveying to 39a are formed.

As is clear from FIGS. 6 and 7, the rotor portion 39a covers the toner supply port 38a with its blade member 45, so that a large amount of toner is not supplied at once.

As shown in FIG. 5, on the inner surface of the inclined side wall of the toner container 38, there are transverse diaphragms 46 (only one of which is shown in the figure) formed of elastic members such as polyester films, and Front diaphragm 47 and rear diaphragm (
Auxiliary diaphragm) 48 is attached. Each diaphragm 46~
On the 4th day, only the upper part was stuck to the inner surface of the container 38, and the lower part was in a free state. The lower end of the lateral diaphragm 46 is in contact with the end of the conveying member 39, that is, the outer periphery of the end of the spiral 39b. Further, the lower end of the rear diaphragm 48 on the side of the lateral diaphragm 46 is arranged so as to overlap the upper surface of the lateral diaphragm 46, so that the rear diaphragm 48 can vibrate due to the vibration of the lateral diaphragm 46. Front diaphragm 47
A protrusion 47a is formed on a portion of the lower end. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the protrusion 47a is in contact with the upstream side of the blade member 45 formed in the rotor portion 39a of the conveying member 39 in the clockwise direction. Note that the rotational direction of the three conveying members is the direction of arrow A in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a cylindrical casing 49 is provided below the toner container 38 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying member 39 inside the toner container 38. As shown in FIGS. A toner supply pipe 50 is slidably inserted into the cylindrical casing 49 .

An upper opening 50a is formed in the upper part of the toner supply pipe 50 over a predetermined range, and in the sliding range of the toner supply pipe 50, this upper opening 50a and the toner supply port 38a on the third side of the toner container are formed. The two are now in communication. Further, a lower opening 50b is formed at the tip of the toner supply pipe 50 (right end in FIG. 4) over the lower half circumference. Inside the toner supply pipe 50,
A spiral 5l is rotatably provided for conveying the toner that has fallen from the toner container 38 to the tip side of the toner supply pipe 46. Axis 51a of this spiral 51
passes through the rear end of the toner supply pipe 50 (the front end of the copying machine main body), and also through the rear end of the cylindrical casing 49, and projects forward (in the near direction) from the flopper 21. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, when the front cover 19 of the copying machine main body 1 is closed, the inner wall surface of the front cover 19 comes into contact with the rear end portion of the spiral shaft 51a, and the toner supply pipe 50 is opened. Push it forward so that the tip is aligned with developer unit 2.
0 into the communication opening 2Oa.

A pipe 5 is provided on the outer periphery of the tip of the toner supply pipe 50.
A cover 52 is provided to cover the lower opening 50b of 0. The cover 52 is slidable around the outer periphery of the toner supply pipe 50 and is normally urged toward the tip of the toner supply pipe 50 by a spring 53.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a drive gear 55 connected to a drive motor (not shown) is provided at the right end of the hopper 21. This drive gear 55 is connected to the conveying member 3 via a first intermediate gear 56 and a toner supply gear 57.
It is connected to the 9th axis. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a first bevel gear 58 is fixed to the first intermediate gear 56 via a shaft, and the first bevel gear 58 is formed integrally with the second bevel gear 59. 2nd intermediate gear 60
It is connected to the small gear 61 via. Small gear 6l is
It is fixed to a spiral shaft 51a protruding from the hopper 21, and as the drive gear 55 rotates, the spiral 5l is rotated. Toner Cartridge The toner cartridge 42 is for storing toner and replenishing the toner container 38 with the toner. The toner cartridge 42 has a box-like shape with an opening on one side, and the opening side has a tapered inclined wall.

Further, a flange portion 43 is formed on the outer periphery of the edge on the opening side, and as described above, by locking this flange portion 43 with the locking portion 40.41 on the hopper main body side and sliding it, It is removable. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, locking holes 43a are formed at a plurality of locations on the flange portion 43, and lock holes 43a are formed in the toner cartridge 4.
2 to the main body 37 of the toner container 38.
A locking pawl 38b provided at the upper end of the holder engages with the hole 43a and is fixed.

As shown in FIG. 8, the opening of the toner cartridge 42 is sealed by a folded seal member 62 when it is not in use. And toner cartridge 4
2 is attached to the hopper main body 37, a mechanism for winding up the two-fold seal member 62 is attached to the flange portion 43.
It is set in. This mechanism is shown in Figure 2, Figure 4 and...
As shown in FIG. 8, the support member 63 and the winding roll 6
4 and a pressure contact member 65. Support member 6
3 is formed integrally with the flange portion 43 at both left and right ends of the flange portion 43 on the front side of the copying machine main body.

A U-shaped groove 63a is formed in the support member 63, and a winding roll 64 is rotatably supported in this U-shaped groove 63a. One end of the two-fold sealing member 62 is adhered to the winding opening roll 64. Winding opening rule 6
One end of 4 has a crank shape (see Fig. 2) for easy operation by the operator. The pressure contact member 65 is made of a resilient resin material such as sponge.
As shown in FIG. 2, the folding seal member 62 is provided below the side of the winding opening roll 64 over almost the entire width thereof. Therefore, this pressure contact member 65 is attached to the two-fold sealing member 62 wound up on the winding roll 64.
It is designed so that it can be pressed against the outer peripheral surface of.

When the developing device 1O is set in the copying machine main body 1 and the front cover 19 is closed, the hopper 21 and the developing device 20 are
and are connected as shown in Figure 4. That is, the spiral shaft 51a is moved rearward (
(right side in the figure), and the tip of the toner supply pipe 50 has entered the communication opening 20a of the developing device 20. At this time, the cover 52 provided on the outer periphery of the toner replenishing vibrator 50
is relatively retreated against the spring 53 as its tip abuts against the end of the communication opening 20a of the developing device 20, and the lower opening 50b of the toner supply pipe 50 is opened. It becomes.

Next, the toner replenishment operation in the above state will be explained. The spiral 32 on the developing device 20 side is constantly rotated by a drive system (not shown). Further, the conveying member 39 and the spiral 5l on the hopper 21 side are stopped.

When toner is consumed during a copying operation and a toner replenishment command is output, a drive motor (not shown) is turned on and the drive gear 55 of the hopper 21 rotates. The rotation of the drive gear 55 is transmitted to the conveyance member 39 via the first intermediate gear 56 and the toner replenishment gear 57. *When the feeding member 39 rotates, the toner on the left side of FIG. 2 is conveyed to the rotor portion 39a by the spiral portion 39b, and the toner on the right side of FIG. 2 is conveyed to the rotor portion 39a by the spiral portion 39c. ，
The rotor portion 39a transfers the transported toner to the blade member 4.
5, a certain amount of toner is dropped downward through the toner supply port 38a. Further, simultaneously with the rotation of the conveying member 39, the rotation of the first intermediate gear 56 is transmitted to the small gear 61 via the bevel gears 58, 59 and the second intermediate gear 60. As a result, the spiral shaft 51a to which the small gear 61 is fixed rotates, and the spiral 51 rotates. Therefore, the toner container 38
The toner that has fallen into the toner supply pipe 50 from the supply port 38a is conveyed to the right side in FIG. The toner conveyed by the spiral 51 is supplied into the developing device 20 through the lower opening 50b of the toner replenishing vibrator 50.

The toner supplied into the developing device 20 is conveyed in the width direction of the developing device 20 by the spiral 32 at the top of the developing device 20. Below the spiral 32, there is a groove 2 that continues in the width direction.
0b (see Figure 4), and this groove 20b
Through this, toner is supplied to the stirring roller 31 and pumping rotor 30 portions in the developing device 20. When the toner concentration reaches a predetermined concentration, the toner replenishment command is turned off, the drive motor of the hopper 21 is turned off, and the toner replenishment operation is completed. In the toner replenishment operation of this embodiment, the toner supply port 38a is provided approximately at the center rather than at the ends in the width direction, so that the left and right toner transport paths within the toner container 38 are shortened. Therefore, the toner does not stay at both ends for a long period of time, and it is possible to prevent the toner from sticking to the wall surface.

Furthermore, the conveying member 39 is provided with a rotor portion 39a, so that the toner can be sent in fixed amounts to the next conveying path, and when the rotor portion 39a is stopped, the toner supply port 38a is opened by the blade members 45 of the rotor portion 39a. covered. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a large amount of toner from being supplied at once, and it is possible to prevent over-toner and toner from scattering into the machine.

Toner: In the above-described toner replenishment operation, the rotation of the conveying member 39 causes the spiral portion 39b to rotate. Since the lower end of the lateral diaphragm 46 is in contact with the spiral blade at the end of the spiral portion 39b, the rotation of the spiral portion 39b causes the lower end of the lateral diaphragm 46 to run on and off the spiral blade. repeat. In this way, the horizontal diaphragm 46 vibrates such that the lower end portion rotates around the upper end portion. Moreover, on the horizontal diaphragm 46,
Since the ends of the rear diaphragm 48 are arranged so as to overlap, the vibration of the lateral diaphragm 46 as described above causes the rear diaphragm 4 to
8 also vibrates. Further, since the protruding portion 47a of the front diaphragm 47 is locked to the blade member 45 of the rotor portion 39a, the lower end of the front diaphragm 47 is lifted or unlatched by the rotation of the rotor portion 39a. The front diaphragm 47 also vibrates in the same manner as described above as the front diaphragm 47 repeats the operation of coming off and falling.

In this way, the vibration plates 46 to 48 provided on each inclined surface of the toner container 38 vibrate in conjunction with the toner replenishment operation. Therefore, the toner in the toner container 38 falls to the bottom, and it is possible to prevent the toner from remaining in the container 38.

Next, the operation when replacing the developing device 20 in order to change the developed color will be explained. Normally, toner of a specific color (for example, black) that is used most frequently is stored on the printer 21 side. For example, when changing the developing color to red, first the upper part ta of the copying machine main body 1 and the lower part 1 of the main body
b, and then move the upper part 1a of the main body to the hinge part 18.
Rotate counterclockwise around the center to open the main body 1.
As the connecting member 34 is pulled upward as the main body upper part 1a opens, the front plate 22 and the rear plate connected to the connecting member 34 via the bottle 33 are connected to the fulcrum 23.
Rotate a predetermined angle clockwise around . This state is shown in Figure 10. In the state shown in FIG. 10, the developing device 20 can be taken out from above the main body of the copying machine. Next, from the front side of the copying machine, hopper 2
Pull the spiral shaft 51a of No. 1 forward. As a result, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 4, the spiral shaft 51a and the toner supply pipe 50 move to the left side in the figure, and the tip of the toner supply pipe 50 comes out of the communication opening 20a of the developing device 20. The connection between the hopper 2l and the developing device 20 is released. In this state, when the handle 28 is grasped and pulled upward, the supporting members 26 and 27 of the developing unit 20 will come out of the pockets PI and P2 of the side plate, respectively, and will move along the guides 24 and 25 of the copying machine. The developing device 20 can be taken out from the main body 1.

Next, a developing device 20 containing red toner is prepared, and the supporting members 26 and 27 of this red developing device 20 are inserted into the copying machine main body along the guides 24 and 25 of the side plate 22. Each support member 26,27 is supported in each pocket portion P1, P2 along guides 24 and 25. At this time, as described above, the contact surface of the guide 25 with the support member 26 is shaped like an arc with a radius R centered on the photoreceptor 8, so that the upper and lower positions of the support member 26 are in the normal position. Even when the developing roller 29 and the photosensitive drum 8 deviate from each other, the gap between the developing roller 29 and the photosensitive drum 8 is maintained at a constant gap. When the developing device 20 is supported in each pocket portion PI, P2, the hopper 21
Push the spiral shaft 51a. At this time, the developing device 20 containing toner other than black is not provided with the communication opening 20a and the spiral 32 that are formed in the black developing device. Therefore, even if the toner supply pipe 50 of the hopper 21 is pushed, there is no part that comes into contact with the cover 52, and the lower opening 50b of the toner supply pipe 50 remains covered by the cover 52 due to the bias of the spring 53. The situation is as follows. Additionally, if a developer other than black is set, this is detected by a switch, etc., and the toner replenishment motor is not driven. When resetting the developing device 20 to the original black developing device, move the black developing device 20 to each pocket P1 using the same operation as described above.
and support within P2. Then, by pushing the spiral shaft 51a in the same manner as described above, the tip of the toner supply pipe 50 is caused to enter the communication opening 2Oa of the developing device 20.
At this time, even if the operator forgets to push the spiral shaft 51a, by closing the front cover 19, the inner wall surface of the front cover l9 will push the spiral shaft 51a.
The tip of the toner supply pipe 50 enters the communication opening 20a of the developing device 20. In the replacing work of the developing device 20 according to this embodiment, since the developing device 20 is vertically removable and guided by the guides 24 and 25, the photosensitive drum 8 is This can prevent damage to the surface. Also, when changing the development color,
Since only the developing unit 20, that is, the main body part, is replaced, the work becomes easier. Moreover, since toner of a specific color can be stored in the toner cartridge 42 of the ho-7 bar 21, it is possible to sufficiently cope with the case where a large number of copies are to be made. Furthermore, in the developing device of this embodiment, the toner replenishment pipe 50 is inserted into the developing device 20 side in conjunction with the operation of closing the front cover 19 of the copying machine main body 1. The developing device 20 can be automatically connected. Furthermore, when using a developing device of a color other than a specific color (black in the above example), the lower opening 50b at the tip of the toner replenishing vibrator 50 is covered by the cover 52.
It is possible to prevent toner from leaking into the machine.

Furthermore, in the developing device of this embodiment, when replacing the developing device 20, as shown in FIG.
2 is also inclined. Therefore, the toner accumulated on the horizontally inclined portion 42a of the toner cartridge 42 falls to the bottom of the container when the toner cartridge 42 is inclined. This makes it possible to prevent toner from accumulating even when the toner cartridge 42 is laterally protruded to increase its capacity.

Next to the toner cartridge 42, the installation operation of the toner cartridge 42 will be explained. First, the empty toner cartridge 42 is pulled out horizontally while pushing the lock claw 38b downward, and then discarded. After that, prepare a new toner cartridge 42 and attach the flange portion 43 to the locking portion 4 of the toner container 38.
Lock it at 0.41 and slide it horizontally. As a result, the lock claw 38b engages with the hole 43a formed in the flange portion 43 of the toner cartridge 42 and is locked.

Next, the take-up roll 64 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 8, and the two-fold seal member 62 is
Wind it up as shown in Figure B.

During this winding, the outer circumferential surface of the sealing member 62 wound up on the winding roll 64 is pressed by a pressing member 65 . The final rolled-up state is shown in FIG. 9C.

In such a toner cartridge mounting operation of this embodiment, the outer periphery of the seal member 62 is pressed even after winding of the seal member 62 is completed, so the seal member 62 rebounds after winding and the winding diameter is reduced. It's not going to get bigger. Furthermore, during winding, toner adhering to one surface of the sealing member 62 can be cleaned by the pressing member 65, thereby preventing toner staining inside the machine. Therefore, in the conventional seal member winding mechanism, it was necessary to regulate the winding direction so that the toner-attached surface of the seal member was on the inside of the roll, but in the winding mechanism of this embodiment, the winding direction There is no need for a one-way mechanism to regulate this. Furthermore, as described above, the seal member 62
Since the seal member 62 does not rebound after winding is completed, there is no need to limit the material of the seal member 62, and the degree of freedom in selecting the seal material increases.

[Other Examples]

(a) In the above embodiment, the copying machine main body 1 has an upper main body 1.
Although the present invention has been applied to a talamusiel-type copying machine, which consists of a main body 1a and a lower part 1b, both of which can be opened and closed, copying machines to which the present invention is applied are limited to such clamshell-type copying machines. It's not a thing. In other words, in devices with a movable document table, the developing device can be replaced from the opening at the top while the document table is moved from the top of the device body. The invention can be applied.

(b) In the embodiments described above, the case where the developing device of the present invention is employed in a copying machine has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as printers and facsimile machines.

(C) In the above embodiment, the rotor portion 3 of the conveying member 39
9a is provided with four blade members 45, but the rotor portion 39a may be a sponge roller that covers the toner supply port 38a. (A) In the above embodiment, the front diaphragm 47 has a protrusion 47a which is brought into contact with the blade member 45 of the rotor section 39a. but not limited to.

For example, as shown in FIG.
The projections 47b may be formed at a plurality of locations so as to fit within one pitch of the projections 47b. In such an embodiment, the rotation of the spiral portion 39b causes the front diaphragm 47 to vibrate in the horizontal and vertical directions, making it possible to prevent toner from remaining.

(e) The structure of the diaphragms 46 to 48 is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the diaphragm may be formed of a plate-like member with good toner slippage, and the diaphragm may be made rotatable around its upper end, and the plate-like member may be rotated by the movement of a spiral portion or the like. good.

(f) In the above embodiment, the double-fold sealing member 62
When winding up, the winding roll 64 is rotated clockwise to wind it up, but the winding roll 64 may be wound in the opposite direction. When the take-up roll 64 is wound counterclockwise, the surface to which the toner is attached is wound inside the roll, and toner scattering is further reduced.

In the above embodiment, the pressure contact member 65 is connected to the seal member 62.
Although the pressure contact members 65 are provided continuously over almost the entire width direction, the pressure contact members 65 may be provided partially at a plurality of locations.

(b) In the above embodiments, the hopper of the present invention was applied to the developing device of a copying machine, but it can be similarly applied to all hoppers that accommodate other powders.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In this way, in the present invention, since the diaphragm that vibrates due to the rotation of the rotary conveyance shaft is attached to the inner wall of the container, it is possible to increase the amount of powder stored and to prevent the powder from remaining in the container. can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a copying machine to which a hopper according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the developing unit of the copying machine, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of the attachment of the developing unit. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line TV-IV in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an inclined view showing the inside of the toner container in the developing device, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the bottom of the toner container, FIG. 8 is a sectional configuration diagram showing the sealing member winding mechanism of the toner cartridge, and FIGS. 9A to 9A.
FIG. 9C is a diagram for explaining the operation of the sealing member winding mechanism, FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the developing unit replacement operation, and FIG. IF is a part showing other configurations of the diaphragm. This is a plan view. 37... Hopper body, 38... Container, 38a...
・Toner supply port, 3 9 a-” rotor part, 39 b, 3
9c...Spiral part, 46...Transverse diaphragm, 47.
...Front diaphragm, 47a, 47b...Protrusion, 4B...
- Rear diaphragm.

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A container having an inclined inner wall and accommodating powder, and a rotary conveying shaft rotatably provided at the bottom of the container and having a conveying member on the outer periphery for conveying the powder in a predetermined direction. , a diaphragm whose upper part is attached to the inclined inner wall of the container and whose lower part is located within the range of the locus drawn when the rotary conveyance shaft operates, and which vibrates by the rotation of the rotary conveyance shaft; , a hopper with. (2) The hopper according to claim 1, wherein the rotary conveyance shaft is a spiral shaft having a spiral on its outer periphery. (3) The hopper according to claim (1), wherein the rotary conveyance shaft is a rotor shaft having a plurality of blade members on the outer periphery. (4) The hopper according to any one of claims (1) to (3), wherein the diaphragm is provided on an inner wall of the container that intersects with the powder conveyance direction of the rotary conveyance shaft. (5) Claims (1) to (3) wherein the diaphragm is provided on an inner wall of the container that intersects with the powder transport direction of the rotary transport shaft and on an inner wall of the container that runs along the powder transport direction. Hopper described in any of ). (6) Of the inner wall of the container along the powder conveyance direction,
Further comprising an auxiliary diaphragm provided on the inner wall of the container in a direction in which the rotational direction of the rotary conveyance shaft is from above to below, so as to overlap with a diaphragm provided on the inner wall of the container that intersects with the powder conveyance direction. The hopper according to claim (4) or (5).