JPH0756439A - Powder housing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively prevent powder from being leaked outside a powder container from the vicinity of the smallest gap part of a pair of rollers comprising a powder housing part. CONSTITUTION:A developer housing part is composed of a photosensitive body 9 and a pair of the roller composed of a developing roller 23, arranged roughly in parallel so as to keep a developing gap B and a developing container 25. The side plate 25a of the container 25 is disposed to obtain a gap with respect to the surfaces of a pair of the rollers and a gap sealing member 4 is arranged so as to come into slidable contact with a pair of the rollers via an elastic member 5 and keep a prescribed gap, for inserting the member 4 into the developing gap B, on the gap. Therefore, the leakage of a developer to the outside from the developing gap B can be surely prevented by the gap sealing member 4, without adversely affecting the formation of the developing gap B.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder accommodating device for accommodating powder, and more particularly to a copying machine, a facsimile,
The present invention relates to a powder container suitable for an image forming apparatus equipped with a powder container containing a developer such as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a pair of rotatable rollers arranged substantially parallel to each other constitutes a part of a powder container for storing a powder as shown in FIGS. Something is known.

An example of the above-mentioned conventional powder container will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A roller pair 101 consisting of two rollers arranged in contact with each other in a substantially solid shape is provided rotatably in the direction of the arrow, and the powder container 102 is mounted on the roller pair 101. Is provided with a predetermined gap between the peripheral wall of the roller and the surface of the roller pair 101, and these both form a powder container.

The peripheral wall of the powder container 102 has a pair of rollers 10.
The left and right side plates 102a, which are arranged substantially at right angles to the central axis of the roller pair 101 and have a predetermined gap with respect to the surface of the roller pair 101 at positions corresponding to the peripheral portions of both ends of the roller pair 101, The front and rear side plates 102b are arranged substantially parallel to each other. The inside of the powder container 102 is filled with powder and sealed by a container cover 103.

In the space between the roller pair 101 and the end surface portions 102c of the left and right side plates 102a, a side seal member 106 having a good lubricity such as Teflon felt is slid on the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 101 with a predetermined pressure. It is arranged so as to be in contact with each other, and prevents the powder from leaking out between the left and right side plates 102a and the periphery of the end portions of the roller pair 101. Further, in the gap between the roller pair 101 and the end surface portions 102d of the front and rear side plates 102b positioned parallel to the central axis of the roller pair 101, the PET having a thickness of about 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm is used.
A thin film sheet member 107 such as a sheet or a urethane sheet,
It is arranged in contact with the roller pair 101 with a predetermined pressure to prevent the powder from leaking between the front and rear side plates 102b and the surface of the roller pair 101.

In the present embodiment, the powder container is taken as an example, but the powder is a developer, the roller pair 101 is a photosensitive member and a developing roller, and the powder container 102 is a developer container containing a developer. It may be a powder accommodating device used in an existing image forming apparatus.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned structure, the gap between the front and rear side plates 102b and the roller pair 101 is surely sealed by the thin film sheet member 107, but the left and right side plates 102a and the roller pair 101 are separated from each other. It is difficult to reliably seal the gap between the contact portion, that is, the vicinity of the nip portion, even with the minimum curvature range of the side seal member 106 having a uniform thickness, and a gap shown by 100A is formed, resulting in powder leakage. Is causing

On the other hand, a method of molding the end faces 102c of the left and right side plates 102a into a shape along the periphery of the nip portion of the roller pair 101 and inserting the end faces 102c to seal the gap 100A is also conceivable. However, in this case, since the sliding contact portion for sealing with the roller pair 101 is a rigid body by the left and right side plates 102a, the powder sealing ability is insufficient, and the required positioning accuracy of the left and right side plates 102a with respect to the roller pair 101 is high. There are many problems such as becoming unrealistic.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the purpose thereof is to insert a gap seal near the nip portion of the roller pair 101 (gap 100A) and to contact the outer periphery of the surface of the roller pair 101. An object of the present invention is to provide a powder container that can solve the above problems by arranging the members skillfully.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a pair of rotatable rollers arranged in contact with each other or in close proximity to each other and a gap between the surfaces of the pair of rollers. A powder container having a powder container having a peripheral wall including left and right side plates arranged in parallel with each other, and a powder container that is substantially perpendicular to the center axis of the roller pair at the end of the roller pair on the peripheral wall. A gap seal member that is attached to the end faces of the left and right side plates facing each other via an elastic member, is inserted in the vicinity of the nip portion of the roller pair, and is arranged so as to contact the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair; A side seal member located outside the member and disposed in a gap between the left and right side plates and the roller pair so as to come into pressure contact with the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair;
It is a feature of. Further, the roller pair is a rotatable photoconductor used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a rotatable developing roller which is arranged substantially in parallel with a gap regulating member with a predetermined gap, and the powder is developed. The second characteristic is that it is an agent.

In the first and second features, the third feature is that the gap seal member is made of a resin material.

In the third feature, the contact surface of the gap seal member with the roller pair is formed in a substantially Y shape extending from the minimum gap portion to both sides along the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair, and is formed on both sides. A fourth characteristic is that the vicinity of the end of each extended portion has flexibility.

In the fourth feature, the fifth feature is that the bonding surface of the gap seal member to the elastic member has a curved surface shape with a radius of 1 mm or more.

In the fourth and fifth features, the tip of the gap seal member facing the nip portion of the roller pair reaches the minimum gap portion of the nip portion, and corresponds to the minimum gap portion of the gap seal member. The sixth characteristic is that the thickness is smaller than the gap size of the minimum gap portion and extends from that portion to both sides with a radius of curvature substantially the same as the roller diameter of each roller pair.

In any one of the fourth to sixth characteristics, the shape of the inner end of the sliding contact portion along the outer periphery of the surface of the photosensitive member, which is one roller of the roller pair of the gap seal member, is
A seventh characteristic is that the photosensitive member is inclined outward in the rotation direction downstream.

Further, in any one of the fourth to seventh characteristics, a developing roller, which is one roller of a roller pair rotating in a direction from the nip portion to the inside of the powder container, is provided at a position downstream of the developing roller in the rotational direction. A surface of the developing roller of the gap sealing member, the developer scraping member being configured integrally with the powder container in a range corresponding to the image area and collecting the developer on the developing roller into the powder container. An eighth feature is that the developer scraping member is disposed downstream of the end portion of the extension portion extending in the rotation direction along the outer circumference.

In the eighth feature, the ninth feature is that the side seal member extends downstream in the rotation direction of the developing roller and overlaps with the developer scraping member.

In the second feature, the tenth feature is that a gap expansion preventing means for restricting the expansion amount of the gap in the nip portion to 1 mm or less is provided.

An eleventh feature is that, in any one of the first to tenth features, the gap seal member also serves as the side seal member.

In the fourth feature, a gap regulating member is integrally formed with the gap sealing member on the outer side of the gap sealing member, and is arranged so as to come into contact with the outer circumferences of the surfaces of the photoconductor and the developing roller. The 12th thing to have
It is a feature of.

The twelfth feature is that the twelfth feature is provided with a gap restricting member integrally formed with the gap seal member on an outer portion of the side seal member.

In the fourth feature, among the photoconductor as a roller pair and the developing roller, a magnet is provided at least inside the photoconductor, and an inner end portion of the gap seal member is a magnet inside the photoconductor. The fourteenth feature is that it is outside the both ends.

In the fourth feature, among the photoconductor as a roller pair and the developing roller, at least the developing roller has a magnet, and the inner walls of the left and right side plates are:
A fifteenth feature is that both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller are equal to or inside the both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller.

In the fifteenth feature, the photoconductor as a roller pair and the developing roller each have a magnet inside,
A sixteenth feature is that both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller are equal to or opposite to both ends of the magnet inside the photoconductor or outside the both ends of the magnet inside the photoconductor.

[0026]

According to the above-mentioned constitution of the first feature of the present invention, the gap seal member is arranged on the left and right side plates forming the peripheral wall of the powder container in contact with the outer periphery of the surface of the roller pair through the elastic member, and the roller pair is provided. Since the gap seal member is inserted and positioned around the nip part of, the gap between the left and right side plates and the nip part of the roller pair is kept extremely small, and the powder from the space between them to the outside of the left and right side plates is prevented. Leakage can be easily prevented without imposing a burden on the assembly accuracy of the gap seal member.

In addition to the nip portion, since the side seal members forming the contact surface with the roller pair are arranged outside the gap seal members on the end surfaces of the left and right side plates, the side seal members are disposed outside the left and right side plates of the powder container. The leakage of the powder can be reliably prevented.

According to the above configuration of the second feature, the rotatable photoconductor and the developing roller used in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus form a roller pair, and a predetermined gap is provided between the two by a gap regulating member substantially in parallel. Is maintained to form a development gap, and the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor is passed while the developer, which is powder contained in the powder container, is passed through the development gap by rotation of the photoconductor and the developing roller. It can be developed and visualized.

According to the above-mentioned structure of the third feature, the gap seal member is made of a resin material, and when the elastic member is brought into contact with the roller pair at a predetermined pressure, it slides well with the roller pair, and the roller pair is well slid. It is possible to prevent the positional deviation due to the biting into these due to the rotation of the.

According to the above-mentioned structure of the fourth feature, the contact surface of the gap seal member with the roller pair is formed in a substantially Y shape extending on both sides along the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair, and each extension portion extending on both sides. Since the vicinity of the end has flexibility, it can be stably brought into contact with the surface of the roller pair by pressing with a predetermined pressure via the elastic member.

According to the above-mentioned structure of the fifth characteristic, the surface of the gap seal member to be bonded to the elastic member is formed in a curved shape having a radius of 1 mm or more, and the surface fits well to the elastic member, so that the gap seal is formed. The member can be bonded to the elastic member without a gap, and the powder can be reliably prevented from leaking laterally from between the bonding surfaces.

According to the above structure of the sixth feature, there is a gap seal member having a predetermined gap at a position corresponding to the minimum gap portion of the nip portion, and this minimum gap portion is provided between the photoconductor and the developing roller. Even when the developing gap is formed, the leakage of the powder can be reliably prevented without adversely affecting the size of the gap.

According to the above-mentioned structure of the seventh characteristic, the inner end shape of the sliding contact portion of the gap seal member along the outer periphery of the surface of the photosensitive member is inclined outward toward the downstream in the rotational direction of the photosensitive member to develop. By widening the passage width of the developer, it is possible to prevent the developer that has entered the gap between the gap seal member and the photoconductor from sticking to the photoconductor.

According to the above structure of the eighth characteristic, the powder container is integrated with the powder container downstream of the end portion of the extension portion of the gap seal member extending from the nip portion to both sides along the outer circumference of the surface of the photosensitive member and the developing roller. The configured developer scraping member is located, and the developer that has entered the gap seal member and the developing roller can be scraped off and collected in the powder container, and unnecessary accumulation of the developer near the end of the gap seal member can be prevented. Can be prevented.

According to the structure of the ninth feature, since the side seal member extends downstream in the rotation direction of the developing roller and overlaps with the end of the developer scraping member, the developer scraping member is formed. The seams of the powder container and the powder container can be reliably sealed by the elastic seal, and leakage from these seams to the outside can be surely prevented.

According to the above-mentioned structure of the tenth feature, even if either the photosensitive member or the developing roller forming the roller pair is movable in the direction to widen the developing gap, the predetermined gap is prevented by the gap expansion preventing means. It can be regulated so as not to exceed the developing gap, and it is possible to prevent the developer from dropping, scattering and leaking downward from the vicinity of the minimum gap of the nip portion of the roller pair.

According to the above-mentioned structure of the eleventh feature, since the gap seal member also serves as the side seal member, the side seal parts made of an elastic material such as felt, which have been conventionally required, can be eliminated. This can contribute to the reduction of points and cost reduction.

According to the structure of the twelfth feature, since the gap regulating member is integrated with the gap sealing member on the outer side of the gap sealing member, the gaps such as the gap ring and the gap spacer which have been conventionally used are formed. The restriction member can be eliminated, which can contribute to a reduction in the number of parts and cost reduction.

According to the above-mentioned structure of the thirteenth feature, since the outer side portion of the side seal member is provided with the gap regulating member which is integral with the gap seal member, the gap in the nip portion can be further increased without increasing the number of parts. It can be regulated with certainty.

According to the above construction of the fourteenth feature, in the construction in which at least the inside of the photoconductor of the photoconductor and the developing roller has a magnet, the inner end portion of the gap seal member is provided at both ends of the magnet inside the photoconductor. By arranging it outside the area, it is possible to prevent the magnetic developer from being attracted to the gap between the gap seal member and the photoconductor by the magnet, and to prevent unnecessary developer from adhering to the photoconductor during development with the magnetic developer. can do.

According to the structure of the fifteenth feature, in the structure in which at least the developing roller among the photosensitive member and the developing roller has a magnet, the inner walls of the left and right side plates are equal to both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller. Alternatively, by arranging the magnets inside both ends of the developing roller, the magnetic developer can be reliably held around the inner walls of the left and right side plates, and leakage and scattering of the magnetic developer can be prevented.
It is also possible to prevent unnecessary developer from adhering to the photosensitive member.

According to the above structure of the sixteenth feature, both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller are equal to or both ends of the magnet inside the photosensitive member in the structure in which the photoconductor and the developing roller have magnets inside. By arranging the magnets inside the photoconductor outside both ends of the magnet, the magnetic developer can be surely held on the developing roller in the area where the magnet inside the photoconductor does not exist, and unnecessary development on the photoconductor is performed. Adhesion of the agent can be prevented.

[0043]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The powder container of several embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 show a powder container as a first embodiment of the present invention.

The powder accommodating apparatus of this embodiment is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 4, the roller pair 1 and the powder container 2 having a peripheral wall disposed on the upper portion of the roller pair 1 with a predetermined gap therebetween are provided.

The roller pair 1 is a pair of rollers arranged in contact with each other in a substantially parallel shape having a solid shape, and is rotatable in the arrow direction.

The peripheral wall of the powder container 2 is arranged substantially at right angles to the central axis of the roller pair 1 with a predetermined gap with respect to the surface of the roller pair 1 at positions corresponding to the peripheral portions of both ends of the roller pair 1. It is composed of left and right side plates 2a and front and rear side plates 2b arranged substantially parallel to the central axis of the roller pair 1. The powder container 2 is filled with powder and sealed by a container cover 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the inner portion of the gap between the roller pair 1 and the end surface portions 2c of the left and right side plates 2a facing the roller pair 1, a polyamide which can be inserted into the gap A near the nip portion 1a of the roller pair 1, A gap seal member 4 made of a resin material such as polyacetal is provided, and is attached to the end face portion 2c through an elastic member 5 such as polyurethane foam so as to be lightly slid on the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sliding contact surface of the gap seal member 4 with the roller pair 1 is the nip portion 1a of the roller pair 1.
The roller pair 1 is formed in a substantially Y shape having extension portions 4a extending from both sides along the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1. The extension portion 4a is formed to have a thickness of 0.5 mm or less, and has flexibility and is elastic member 5 so that the roller pair 1
The shape is similar to that of the outer peripheral surface, and is provided so that it can be slidably contacted lightly. Therefore, the positioning of the gap seal member 4 with respect to the roller pair 1 is performed so that the gap seal member 4 follows the roller pair 1.

Further, in the vicinity of the nip portion 1a of the roller pair 1, by disposing the gap seal member 4 with a predetermined gap such that the powder does not leak, an unnecessary load is not applied to the roller pair at all times. It can be stabilized in place.

The surface 4b for attaching the gap seal member 4 to the elastic member 5 has a bent portion 4c corresponding to the nip portion 1a.
Also, in the above, the curved surface has a radius of at least 1 mm or more, so that the bonding surface 4b and the bonding portion of the elastic member 5 are well fitted to each other and can be bonded without generating an unnecessary gap.

Therefore, the leakage and scattering of the powder from the gap A in the vicinity of the nip portion 1a of the roller pair 1 can be surely prevented by the gap seal member 4, which has been a problem in the past.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, on the outside of the gap seal member 4 in the gap between the end surface portion 2c of the left and right side plates 2a and the roller pair 1, a side seal member 6 such as Teflon felt having good lubricity is provided. Are arranged along the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1 so as to be slidable with a predetermined pressure. The side seal member 6 has higher contact adhesion to the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1 than the gap seal member 4, and has high powder leakage prevention performance. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the powder that has entered the gap between the gap seal member 4 and the sliding contact portion of the roller pair 1 from leaking between the side plate 2a and the roller pair 1.

In this embodiment, polyurethane foam is used as the elastic member 5 pressing the gap seal member 4, but
There is no problem even if various elastic materials such as felt are used. Further, the side seal member 6 is also made of Teflon-based felt, but if various low friction members such as Teflon-based felt are used at least at the contact portion with the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1,
There is no problem even if it is a composite product with various elastic materials such as polyurethane foam and felt.

In the gap between the roller pair 1 and the end surface portion 2d of the side plate 2b positioned parallel to the central axis of the roller pair 1, a PET sheet, a urethane sheet or the like having a thickness of about 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm is used. The thin film sheet member 7 is arranged in contact with the roller pair 1 with a predetermined pressure to prevent the powder from leaking from the side plate 2b.

5 to 11 show an image forming apparatus using a developing device as a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the exposure LE is applied to the photosensitive member 9 located in the substantial center of the main body.
The image information is exposed using D8 to form an electrostatic latent image. Therefore, the photoconductor 9 is rotated, and the surface before exposure is uniformly charged by the charger 10.

The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 9 is visualized by the developing device 11 using toner.

On the other hand, the recording paper 13 stored in the paper feed cassette 12 on the main body side is fed out one by one by the feeding roller 14 at a predetermined timing, and the feeding roller pair 1
When the toner is fed to and passes through the photoconductor 9 through 5, the transfer discharger 16 transfers the visualized toner image formed on the photoconductor 9 onto the recording paper 13. After that, the recording paper 13 separated from the photoconductor 9 is guided to a fixing device 17 and subjected to heat fixing processing, and then discharged onto a tray 19 by a paper discharge roller 18.

The residual toner on the photosensitive member 9 after transfer is the cleaning blade 21 of the cleaner unit 20.
Are removed by. The cleaner unit 20 includes the photoconductor 9
Is fixed in a predetermined positional relationship.

On the other hand, the developing device 11 includes the collecting roller 2
3 and the gap regulating member 24 below the photoconductor 9
It is supported so that it can be connected to and separated from. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a pressing spring 22 is applied to the developing device 11 from the rear, and the gap regulating member 24 is pressed with a predetermined pressure so as to come into contact with the photoconductor 9. Collection roller 23
Is provided in a state where a predetermined developing gap is maintained by the gap regulating member 24 with respect to the photoconductor 9 and is rotated in the direction of the arrow.

In the present embodiment, the gap regulating member 24 is shown as a shape integrated with the developing device 11, but in order to maintain the developing gap with higher accuracy, a gap ring arranged coaxially with the collecting roller 23, There is no problem even if a gap spacer or the like is used. Further, in this embodiment, the cleaner unit 20 and the developing device 11 are not particularly engaged with each other, but the side plates of both units are connected by a predetermined rotating shaft so that the developing device 11 can swing with respect to the photoconductor 9. There is no problem in taking a shape to hold it.

The photosensitive member 9 and the collecting roller 23 are rotatable in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIGS.
Are arranged in parallel with each other with a predetermined developing gap B, and form a part of the developer container 25. In this development method, the development gap B is 200 μm to 400 μm.
It is composed of a minute gap of about m.

Inside the photoconductor 9, a photoconductor magnet 29 is built in at least in a range corresponding to the image area. The photoconductor magnet 29 is provided on the fixed photoconductor support shaft 3
0, and the photoconductor 9 is rotatably supported by the photoconductor support shaft 30.

Further, a recovery magnet 31 is built in the recovery roller 23 at least in a range corresponding to the image area, and the magnet end of the recovery magnet 31 is located outside the magnet end of the photosensitive magnet 29. Moreover, it exists at a position where it overlaps with the side seal member 6. This recovery magnet 3
1 is configured integrally with a fixed collection roller support shaft 32, and the collection roller 23 is rotatably supported by the collection roller support shaft 32.

The main developing device 11 is used for a developing method using a magnetic developer, and after the electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive member 9 by the charging device 10 and the exposure LED 8, the developing device 11 develops the electrostatic latent image. The developer is brought into contact with the developer, and the developer is attracted to the surface of the photoreceptor 9 by the magnetic force of the photoreceptor magnet 29. Therefore, when the surface of the photoconductor 9 passes this developer portion, the developer layer adheres to the entire surface of the electrostatic latent image on the surface. When the surface of the photoconductor 9 passes through the collecting roller 23 to which a predetermined voltage is applied, the non-image portion of the developer image of the developer having the developer adhered to the entire surface is adsorbed and collected on the collecting roller 23. To visualize the developer image. The developer collected on the collecting roller 23 is again collected by the developer scraping member 27 integrally formed with the developer container 25 located downstream in the rotation direction.
Will be recovered in.

In the vicinity of the developing gap B, the photoconductor magnet 29
The collecting magnet 31 is fixed to the photosensitive member supporting shaft 30 and the collecting roller supporting shaft 32, which are attached to the collecting magnet 31 so as to be substantially opposed to each other. Therefore, even when the photoconductor 9 and the collecting roller 23 are not rotated, the developer in the vicinity of the development gap B is retained by the magnetic force of the magnets 29 and 31, and the developer from the development gap B to the downstream in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 9 is retained. No splashes, leaks or drops occur. Further, even during image formation, that is, when the photoconductor 9 and the collecting roller 23 are rotating in the direction of the arrow, near the developing gap B, the collecting roller 23 collects the developer, and the spikes are formed. Similarly, the developer is held, and the developer does not scatter, leak, or fall from the developing gap B to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 9.

Next, the gap sealing means according to the present invention will be described.

The roller pair 1 in this embodiment means the photoconductor 9
And a pair of rollers composed of the collecting roller 23.

The developer container 25 has a predetermined gap with respect to the surface of the roller pair 1 at positions corresponding to the peripheral portions of both ends which are non-image areas of the roller pair 1, and is substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the roller pair 1. The left and right side plates 25a arranged and the front and rear side plates 2 arranged substantially parallel to the central axis of the roller pair 1.
5b forms a peripheral wall, and the developer container 25 and the roller pair 1
Constitutes a developer accommodating portion. The inside of the developer container 25 is filled with a magnetic developer and is sealed by a developer container cover 26.

As shown in FIG. 7, the gap between the roller pair 1 and the end surface portions 25c of the left and right side plates 25a facing the roller pair 1 is made of a resin material such as polyamide or polyacetal which can be inserted into the developing gap B of the roller pair 1. The gap seal member 4 is provided, and is bonded to the end surface portion 25c via the elastic member 5 such as polyurethane foam so as to be lightly slidably contacted with the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1.

As shown in FIG. 8, the sliding contact surface of the gap seal member 4 with the roller pair 1 has substantially the same radius of curvature as the roller diameter of each roller pair 1 from the developing gap B of the roller pair 1 to the roller pair 1. Is formed in a substantially Y shape extending to both sides along the outer periphery of the surface. The extension parts 4a extending on both sides are
It is formed with a thickness of 0.5 mm or less, and has a flexible property and is elastically contacted by the elastic member 5 so as to be in light contact with the outer peripheral shape of the roller pair 1. Therefore, the positioning of the gap seal member 4 with respect to the roller pair 1 is performed so that the gap seal member 4 follows the roller pair 1.

Further, the nip portion 1a of the gap seal member 4
The thickness corresponding to the development gap B is smaller than the dimension of the development gap B. Therefore, the gap seal member 4 is provided with a predetermined gap such that the developer does not leak in the development gap B, and can always stabilize at a predetermined position without giving an unnecessary load to the roller pair 1. In addition, the developing gap B is not changed unnecessarily.

The surface 4b of the gap seal member 4 to be attached to the elastic member 5 has a curved surface with a radius of at least 1 mm even at the portion 4c corresponding to the developing gap B. It is possible to join the elastic members 5 without creating an unnecessary gap in the bonded portion.

Therefore, the leakage and scattering of the developer to the outside from the gap between the left and right side plates 2a and the roller pair 1 in the vicinity of the developing gap B of the roller pair 1 which has been a problem in the past, is as follows.
The gap seal member 4 can surely prevent it.

The substantially Y-shaped gap seal member 4 is also provided.
Of the developer that has entered the sliding contact portion between the photosensitive member 9 and the photosensitive member 9.
The developer released in the rotation direction of # 1 is usually solidified at the sliding contact portion and visualized on the surface of the photoconductor 9 as an unnecessary image such as a black stripe. However, the shape of the inner end portion of the sliding contact portion in the gap seal member 4 is, as shown by a line C in FIG. Since the width of the passage is widened, solidification of the developer does not occur at the sliding contact portion.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the gap seal member 4 is disposed outside the photoconductor magnet 29, and the inner end C of the gap seal member 4 is the end 29 of the photoconductor magnet 29.
It is outside of a. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the developer magnet 29 from attracting the developer to the sliding contact gap between the gap seal member 4 and the outer periphery of the surface of the photoreceptor 9, and to prevent unnecessary developer from adhering to the photoreceptor 9. You can

The end portion 31a of the collecting magnet 31 is located outside the end portion 29a of the photosensitive magnet 29 and overlaps the side seal member 6, and the inner wall 25 of the left and right side plates 2a has the collecting magnet 31. Is the same as the end portion 31a of the above or is located inside the end portion 31a of the recovery magnet 31. Therefore, the developer around the inner wall F of the left and right side plates 25a can be surely held by the collecting magnet 31, and the leakage of the developer can be prevented. Further, the developer can be surely held by the collecting magnet 31 even in the region where the photoconductor magnet 29 does not exist, and unnecessary adhesion of the developer onto the photoconductor 9 can be prevented.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the developer that has entered the sliding contact portion between the Y-shaped gap seal member 4 and the recovery roller 23 shown in FIG. 8 is located downstream of the end portion of the extension portion 4a in the rotational direction. It is scraped off by the developer scraping member 27 provided in the developer container 25 and collected in the developer container 25.

Further, the end portion of the extension portion 4a of the gap seal member 4 on the side of the collecting roller 23 and the developer scraping member 2 are provided.
By abutting the tips of 7 and making sure contact with the roller pair 1, and the gap seal member 4 also serving as the side seal member 6, the side seal parts made of an elastic material such as felt which have been conventionally required are eliminated. It is possible to prevent the developer leakage here, and it is possible to contribute to the reduction of the number of parts and the cost reduction.

As described above, the gap seal member 4 can reliably prevent the developer from leaking from the vicinity of the developing gap B of the roller pair 1 on the left and right side plates 25a toward the outer side of the end of the roller pair 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the end face portions 25d of the left and right side plates 25a located outside the gap seal member 4 are formed.
In the gap between the roller pair 1 and the roller pair 1, a side seal member 6 having good lubricity such as Teflon felt is provided along the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1 so as to be slidable with a predetermined pressure. The side seal member 6 is the gap seal member 4
Compared with, the contact adhesion to the outer periphery of the surface of the roller pair 1 is high and the developer leakage prevention performance is high. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent leakage of the developer from the side plate 25a that has entered the gap of the sliding contact portion between the extended portion 4a of the gap seal member 4 and the roller pair 1. Further, the side seal member 6 is formed so as to extend downstream of the gap seal member 4 in the rotation direction of the collection roller 23 and cover the developer scraping member 27. Therefore, the side seal member 6 can prevent the developer from leaking or scattering from the joint between the side plate 25a and the developer scraping member 27.

Further, in the space between the end surface portion 25d of the front and rear side plates 25b positioned parallel to the central axis of the roller pair 1 and the photosensitive member 9, a PET sheet, a urethane sheet, etc. having a thickness of about 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm, etc. The thin film sheet member 7 is provided in contact with the photoconductor 9 with a predetermined pressure, and prevents the developer from leaking from between the front and rear side plates 25b and the roller pair 1.

In this embodiment, polyurethane foam is used as the elastic member 5 pressing the gap seal member 4, but
There is no problem even if various elastic materials such as felt are used. Further, the side seal member 6 is also made of Teflon-based felt, but if various low friction members such as Teflon-based felt are used at least at the contact portion with the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair 1,
There is no problem even if it is a composite product with various elastic materials such as polyurethane foam and felt.

Further, in this embodiment, the developing unit 11 supporting the collecting roller 23 and the cleaner unit 20 are provided as separate bodies,
Although the developing device 11 is configured to be pressed against the photoconductor 9 by the pressing spring 22 until the gap regulating member 24 contacts the photoconductor 9, the developing unit B and the developing unit 11 are maintained.
May be configured with the same frame, and only the collecting roller 23 may be movable to urge the photoconductor 9 to maintain the developing gap B.

12 to 13 show an image forming apparatus using a developing device as a third embodiment of the present invention, and the same components as those in the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and overlapped. The description is omitted.

The present embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that a gap expansion preventing member 28 for preventing the development gap B from expanding beyond a predetermined gap by an unnecessary external force is provided. As shown in FIG. 13, the developing device 11 includes a pressing spring 22.
Is pressed against the photoconductor 9 by a predetermined pressing force, and the predetermined developing gap B is maintained by the gap regulating member 24. At this time, even if the developing device 11 moves in a direction to expand the developing gap B by an unnecessary external force, the rib 11a of the developing device 11 comes into contact with the restricting portion 28a of the gap expansion preventing member 28 to restrict the movement. , The development gap B does not expand beyond a predetermined expansion amount D. The maximum expansion amount D here is 1 m in the case of the present embodiment.
It is designed with m. The enlargement amount D is set within a range in which the developer holding magnetic force of the photoconductor magnet 29 and the recovery magnet 31 which are arranged at positions substantially opposite to each other in the vicinity of the developing gap B are exerted. The developer in the vicinity of the development gap B is held by the magnetic forces of both magnets, and the developer is not scattered, leaked, or dropped from the development gap B to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 9. Furthermore, it is also effective in preventing the developer from leaking out from the gap seal member 4 and scattering, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the developer from leaking.

14 and 15 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the following description, the constituents common to those of the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be omitted.

The present embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the gap regulating member 24 integrally formed outside the gap sealing member 4 is provided.

The gap regulating member 24 is formed integrally with the gap sealing member 4 while extending outside the gap sealing member 4 and in contact with the outer circumference of the surface of the photoconductor 9 and the collecting roller 23. The seal member 6 is arranged outside the gap regulating member 24.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the clearance regulating member 2
The size of the E portion of 4 is formed to be the development gap B,
The sliding contact surfaces 24a and 24b with the roller pair 1 are arranged in a state of surely contacting the photoconductor 9 and the collecting roller 23.

By thus forming the gap regulating member 24 integrally with the gap sealing member 4, it is possible to eliminate the gap regulating parts such as the gap spacer and the gap ring, which are conventionally required separately, and the number of parts is increased. It can contribute to reduction and cost reduction.

FIG. 16 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, if the side seal member 6 is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the gap seal member 4 and the gap regulation member 24 that is integrally formed with the gap seal member 4, the radial shape of the gap seal member 4 can be obtained. The developer that has entered the gap between the portion formed on the surface of the roller pair 1 and the sliding contact portion of the roller pair 1 is absorbed by the side seal member 6
By this, it is possible to prevent the developer from intruding into the gap regulating member 24 in advance, and it is possible to form the development gap B with higher accuracy.

[0095]

As described above, according to the present invention, the gap seal members are disposed on both side plates of the powder container in contact with or close to the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair through the elastic members, and the nip portion of the roller pair is provided. Since there is a gap seal member around the minimum gap part and the gap here is kept to a minimum, leakage of powder from between the left and right side plates and the nip part to the outside is burdened to the assembly accuracy of the gap seal member. It can be easily prevented without putting a call.

Further, also in portions other than the nip portion, since the side seal member forming the contact surface with the roller pair is arranged outside the gap seal member, the powder leaks from the periphery of the side plate of the powder container. Can be reliably prevented.

When the roller pair is the photosensitive member and the developing roller which are arranged in close proximity to each other with a predetermined developing gap by the gap regulating member, the rotation of these causes the developer as powder contained in the powder container to be transferred. It is possible to achieve electrophotographic image formation in which the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor is developed while being sent out and passing through the development gap.

Further, since the gap seal member is made of a resin material, the elastic member slides well so as to be brought into contact with the roller pair at a predetermined pressure, and is caused by unnecessary biting into the roller pair as the roller pair rotates. It is possible to exert a stable sealing function without causing positional displacement.

Further, the contact surface between the gap seal member and the roller pair is formed in a Y shape extending along the outer circumference of the surface of the roller pair, and the vicinity of the ends of the extended portions extending on both sides has flexibility, Through the elastic member, the roller pair can be stably contacted with a predetermined pressure, and the sealing function can be improved.

Further, since the elastic member bonding surface of the gap seal member is formed in a curved shape with a radius of 1 mm or more, the surface fitting with the elastic member is improved, and the elastic member is bonded to the elastic member without any gap. It is possible to reliably prevent the powder from leaking from the part.

Further, in the case where the photosensitive member, which is a roller pair, and the developing roller are arranged close to each other with a predetermined developing gap maintained substantially in parallel by the gap regulating member as in the powder accommodating device used in the image forming apparatus. However, the presence of the gap seal member having the predetermined gap at the position corresponding to the minimum gap portion of the developing gap does not adversely affect the formation of the developing gap, and therefore does not reduce the developing performance. Leakage can be reliably prevented.

Further, the inner end shape of the sliding contact portion along the outer periphery of the surface of the photosensitive member of the gap seal member is inclined outward along the downstream in the rotational direction of the photosensitive member so that the width of the developer passage is increased. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the developer, which has entered the gap between the gap seal member and the photoconductor, from sticking to the photoconductor, and to eliminate image stains due to this.

Further, a developer scraping member integrally formed with the powder container is provided at a position downstream of the end of the extended portion of the gap seal member extending along the outer circumference of the developing roller from the minimum gap of the nip portion. As a result, the developer that has entered between the gap seal member and the developing roller can be scraped off and collected in the powder container, and unnecessary accumulation of the developer near the end of the gap seal member can be prevented. .

Further, in the above structure, the elastic extension portion of the gap seal is arranged on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the developing roller so as to overlap with the end portion of the developer scraping member, so that the developer scraping member and the powder can be removed. The seam of the body container can be surely sealed, and the leakage of the powder from the seam to the outside can be surely prevented.

Even when either the photosensitive member or the developing roller forming the roller pair is movable in the direction to widen the developing gap, a gap expansion preventing means should be provided to prevent the developing gap from exceeding a predetermined value. Allows the developer to drop downward from the vicinity of the minimum gap of the nip portion of the roller pair,
It is possible to prevent scattering and leakage.

Since the gap seal member also serves as the side seal member, the side seal parts made of an elastic material such as felt, which have been conventionally required, can be eliminated, contributing to the reduction of the number of parts and the cost reduction. can do.

Further, by forming the gap regulating member integrally with the gap sealing member on the outer side of the gap sealing member,
It is possible to eliminate the gap restriction members such as the gap ring and the gap spacer that have been conventionally used, and it is possible to contribute to the reduction of the number of parts and the cost reduction.

Also, in the developing system using a magnetic developer as the developer, even if the magnet is provided inside at least the photoconductor of the photoconductor and the developing roller, the inner end portion of the gap seal member is located inside the photoconductor. By arranging the magnets outside both ends of the magnet, it is possible to prevent the developer from being attracted to the gap between the gap seal member and the photoconductor by the magnet, and to prevent unnecessary developer from adhering to the photoconductor, thus preventing image stains. You can prevent it from happening.

Further, in the developing system using a magnetic developer as the developer, in the structure having a magnet inside at least the developing roller among the photoconductor and the developing roller, the inner walls of the left and right side plates are
By equipping both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller or inside the both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller,
The magnetic developer can be more surely held around the inner wall of the left right side plate, and leakage and scattering of the magnetic developer can be prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent unnecessary developer from adhering to the photosensitive member and prevent image stains.

Further, in the developing system using a magnetic developer as the developer, in which the photoconductor and the developing roller each have a magnet inside, both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller are equal to both ends of the magnet inside the photoconductor. Alternatively, by arranging the magnets inside the photosensitive member outside both ends of the magnet, the magnetic developer can be reliably held on the developing roller even in the area where the magnet inside the photosensitive member does not exist, which is unnecessary on the photosensitive member. It is possible to prevent the adherence of various developers and prevent image stains.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a powder container according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a gap seal member pasted portion of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a shape of a gap seal member of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a side seal member attached portion of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus using a developing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the developing device of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a gap seal member attachment portion of FIG.

8 is a diagram showing the shape of the gap seal member of FIG.

9 is a schematic front view showing the positions of the photoconductor magnet and the recovery magnet of FIG.

10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a sliding contact portion between the gap seal member and the recovery roller of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a side seal member pasting portion of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus using a developing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view showing the developing device of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a gap restricting member of a developing device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a view showing the shape of the gap regulating member of FIG.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a gap restricting member of a developing device showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a powder container showing a conventional example.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a side seal member pasting portion of FIG. 17.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Roller Pair 2 Powder Container 2a Left Right Side Plate 2b Front and Back Side Plates 2c, 2d End Face 4 Gap Seal Member 4a Extension 5 Elastic Member 6 Side Seal Member 9 Photoreceptor 23 Collecting Roller 24 Gap Regulator 25 Developer Container 25a Left Right Plate 25b Front / rear side plates 25c, 25d End surface part 27 Scraping member 28 Gap expansion preventing member 29, 31 Magnet B Development gap C Inner end part of sliding contact part D Expansion amount F Inner wall of left-hand side plate

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A powder comprising a pair of rotatable rollers arranged substantially in contact with each other or close to each other, and a peripheral wall including left and right side plates arranged with a gap between the surfaces of the pair of rollers. A powder container that constitutes a powder container with a container, and is bonded to an end surface of the roller pair on the peripheral wall at an end surface of the left and right side plates facing each other substantially at right angles to a central axis of the roller pair via an elastic member. , A gap seal member inserted near the nip portion of the roller pair and arranged so as to contact the outer periphery of the surface of the roller pair, and located on the outer side of the gap seal member and on the outer periphery of the surface of the roller pair. A powder container, comprising a side seal member disposed in a space between the left and right side plates and the roller pair so as to be pressed against each other. 2. The roller pair is a rotatable photoconductor used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a rotatable developing roller which is disposed substantially in parallel with a gap regulating member with a predetermined gap, and is a powder. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the body is a developer. 3. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the gap seal member is made of a resin material. 4. The contact surface of the gap seal member with the roller pair is formed in a substantially Y shape extending from the nip portion to both sides along the outer circumference of both roller surfaces of the roller pair. The powder container according to claim 3, wherein the vicinity of the end has flexibility. 5. The powder container according to claim 4, wherein a surface of the gap seal member to be attached to the elastic member has a curved surface shape with a radius of 1 mm or more. 6. The tip of the gap seal member facing the nip portion of the roller pair reaches the minimum gap portion of the nip portion, and the thickness corresponding to the minimum gap portion of the gap seal member is the minimum gap portion. 6. The powder accommodating device according to claim 4, wherein the powder accommodating device has a shape that is smaller than the gap size and extends from that portion to both sides with a radius of curvature substantially the same as the roller diameter of each roller pair. . 7. The inner end shape of the sliding contact portion along the outer periphery of the surface of the photoconductor, which is one roller of the roller pair of the gap seal member, is inclined outward toward the downstream in the rotation direction of the photoconductor. The powder accommodating device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: 8. The powder container integrated with the powder container at a position downstream of a developing roller, which is one roller of a pair of rollers rotating in a direction from the nip portion into the powder container, in a range corresponding to an image region. And a developer scraping member for collecting the developer on the developing roller into the powder container, wherein the end portion of the extension portion extending in the rotation direction along the outer circumference of the surface of the developing roller of the gap sealing member. Downstream,
The powder container according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the developer scraping member is provided. 9. The powder container according to claim 8, wherein the side seal member extends downstream in the rotation direction of the developing roller and overlaps with an end of the developer scraping member. 10. The expansion amount of the minimum gap portion of the nip portion is 1 m.
The powder accommodating apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a gap expansion preventing unit that regulates the height to m or less. 11. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the gap seal member also serves as a side seal member. 12. A gap regulating member, which is integrally formed with the gap sealing member on the outer side of the gap sealing member and is arranged so as to come into contact with the outer periphery of the surface of the photoconductor as a roller pair and the developing roller. The powder container according to claim 4, wherein 13. The powder container according to claim 12, further comprising a gap regulating member integrally formed with the gap sealing member on an outer side portion of the side seal member. 14. A photoconductor and a developing roller as a roller pair, which has a magnet at least inside the photoconductor, and an inner end of the gap seal member is outside the both ends of the magnet inside the photoconductor. The powder container according to claim 4, characterized in that 15. A photoconductor and a developing roller as a roller pair, which has a magnet at least inside the developing roller, and inner walls of the left and right side plates are equal to both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller or inside the developing roller. 5. The powder container according to claim 4, which is located inside both ends of the magnet. 16. A photoreceptor as a roller pair and a developing roller each have a magnet therein, and both ends of the magnet inside the developing roller are equal to both ends of the magnet inside the photoreceptor or a magnet inside the photoreceptor. The powder container according to claim 15, wherein the powder container is outside the both ends.