JPH05119618A - Toner supplying roller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a toner supplying roller having excellent out-of-roundness in the shape of a cross-section and capable of uniformly and stably supplying toner and easily manufacturing through the use of a press cut method by forming at least the surface layer thereof with a flexible foamed material. CONSTITUTION:In the toner supplying roller, at least, whose surface layer part is formed with the flexible foamed material, the growth direction X of the foamed material cell S of a part 2 formed with the foamed material, is in parallel with a roller rotary shaft 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner supply roller for supplying toner from a toner hopper to a developing device main body in a developing device in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of devices for supplying toner to a developing device main body of an image forming apparatus are known.
One of the widely known ones is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-1.
21067 and U.S. Pat. No. 27,876 teach. This is because at the outlet of the toner hopper containing the toner, a toner supply roller at least the surface layer of which is made of a flexible foaming material is arranged, and the protrusion edge of the hopper outlet is brought into contact with the surface of the roller so that the roller surface has this protrusion. By moving while contacting the edge, a predetermined amount of toner on the surface is dropped onto the developing device main body.

The foam material portion including the surface layer portion of the toner supply roller of this type is conventionally manufactured from a foam material such as polyurethane foam or polyethylene foam by a polishing method, a heat ray cutting method, a press cutting method or the like. this house,
The press-cut method is often used because it is easier to manufacture than other methods and has good processing accuracy.

[0004]

By the way, this type of toner supply roller is desired to have a good circularity in cross section as a whole so that stable and accurate toner supply can be performed without unevenness. However, according to the press cut method,
There is a problem that the cross-sectional shape of the foam material portion including the surface layer portion is likely to be elliptical, and as a result, uneven toner supply is likely to occur and the toner supply accuracy is reduced.

The reason why the foam material has an elliptical cross-section is considered as follows. That is, according to the press-cut method, normally, as shown in FIG. 3, the foam material M is placed on the female die D having a circular hole H having a predetermined inner diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the toner supply roller, and is placed in this hole. By advancing the male dies P having circular cross sections arranged opposite to each other toward the hole H, the material M
While being compressed, it is punched into a circular cross section.

As shown in FIG. 1, the foamed material M is usually formed into a plate shape, and the growth direction of the cells S (long axis direction of the cells) coincides with the thickness direction X of the material. There is. In forming the toner supply roller member from one material M, the direction Y, which is longer than the thickness and is perpendicular to the X direction, is used in order to obtain a predetermined length of the member.
From 1 to the side surface m2 facing this, press cutting is performed as shown by a broken line 2b. As a result, the cutting direction becomes the cell minor axis direction Y which is perpendicular to the growth direction X of the cells S, and as shown in FIG. 3, when punched by the male die P, the material M as a whole is compressed, but each cell S As to the above, it is pushed and stretched in the cell minor axis direction Y, so that it is cut in multiple directions (including the X direction) perpendicular to the Y direction while the extension is uneven. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the punched member is elliptical as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the present invention is a toner supply roller in which at least the surface layer portion is formed of a flexible foaming material, the circularity of the cross-sectional shape is good, and the toner can be stably supplied without unevenness.
Moreover, it aims at providing what can be easily manufactured using a press cut method.

[0008]

According to the present invention, according to the above object, in a toner supply roller having at least a surface layer portion formed of a flexible foam material, a growth direction of a foam material cell in a portion formed of the foam material and a roller rotation shaft. Are parallel to each other. Typical examples of the foam material include polyurethane foam and polyethylene foam.

[0009]

The toner supply roller of the present invention is installed at the outlet of the toner hopper, and its surface layer portion is brought into contact with the protruding edge of the outlet and rotated so that a predetermined amount of toner on the roller surface is transferred to the developing device main body. Can be supplied.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plate-shaped foam material, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a toner supply roller of an embodiment. The toner supply roller 1 includes a cylindrical portion 2 made of the foam material M shown in FIG. 1 and a shaft 3 inserted in the center of the cylindrical portion 2 and fixed by a hot melt adhesive.

The size of the cells S of the material M forming the cylindrical portion 2 is set to 13 to 20 cells / inch in order to stabilize the toner supply amount. As shown by 2a in FIG. 1, the cylindrical portion 2 is formed by press-cutting in parallel with the growth direction of the cell S that coincides with the thickness direction of the material M, in other words, the long axis direction X of the cell S. Is. As the material M, a material whose thickness can obtain the required length of the cylindrical portion 2 is adopted.

The hole for inserting the shaft 3 is formed in advance prior to this press cutting. As a result of the press cut direction coinciding with the long axis direction X of the cell S, each cell S is uniformly stretched in each short axis direction perpendicular to the cut direction X during press cutting, so that the punched cylindrical portion 2 is Elasticity is uniformly restored in each direction. Therefore, the circularity of the cross-sectional shape of the cylindrical portion 2 is extremely good over the entire length.

Thus, the toner supply roller 1 can be easily manufactured by utilizing the conventional press cut method, and the cross-sectional shape of the toner supply roller 1 is good as a whole, and the toner supply roller 1 is arranged in the toner hopper to be used for toner supply. The toner can be supplied in a stable and accurate manner without unevenness.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least the surface layer portion is a toner supply roller formed of a flexible foaming material, has a good circularity in cross section, and can stably supply toner evenly. Also, it is possible to provide a product that can be easily manufactured by using the press-cut method.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a foam material.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a press cut method.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Toner Supply Roller 2 Cylindrical Part Made of Foamed Material 3 Roller Axis M Foamed Material S Cell X Cell Growth (Long Axis) Direction Y Cell Short Axis Direction

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tamotsu Shimizu 2-3-13 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka Inside Osaka Kokusai Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiko Matsuura 2-chome, Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka No. 13 Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A toner supply roller in which at least a surface layer portion is formed of a flexible foam material, and a growth direction of a foam material cell in a portion formed of the foam material is parallel to a roller rotation axis.