JPH11184232A - Developer supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stabilize the quantity of developer in a developer storage part, to eliminate such a state that the developer becomes like a cave and to reduce a manufacturing cost by obtaining such constitution that a stirring member is actuated at the same time that a carrying screw is actuated when toner is carried to a developing unit from the storage part. SOLUTION: When a toner bottle 5 is rotated by the action of a driving source for a toner bottle 15 through a rotor 11, a one-way clutch incorporated in a gear 32 is actuated, integrated with the driving shaft 29 of the stirring member 28 and connected to the driving source 15. On the other hand, a gear 30 becomes free from the shaft 29 of the stirring member 28 by the action of the incorporated one-way clutch. That means, when the bottle 5 is rotated so that the toner is supplied to the storage part 1, the stirring member 28 is also actuated at the same time that the bottle 5 is actuated. On the other hand, when the toner is carried to the developing unit G from the storage part 1, the stirring member 28 can be actuated at the same time that the carrying screw 22 is actuated. Thus, since a driving source is not required for the stirring member, the manufacturing cost is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developer replenishing device used for a developing device such as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a developer is supplied to a developer storage section, the discharge port of a developer container (toner bottle) accommodating the developer is put into the replenishing port at a stretch, but the developer is supplied at once. A phenomenon in which the developer is scattered like smoke (smoke generation phenomenon) occurs, and there is a possibility that the periphery of the developer storage unit is stained.

Therefore, in recent years, a toner bottle has been installed on the upper surface of the developer storage portion so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction, and the toner bottle is rotated in the circumferential direction to form a spiral groove (rib) provided on the circumferential surface. ), A developer replenishing device has been used in which the developer is moved to one side and gradually supplied from a discharge port provided on one side to a developer replenishing port.

In the developer storage section, a conveying screw for conveying the replenished developer to the developing device is provided, and the pile of the replenished developer in the storage section is leveled, A stirring member for mixing with the developer is provided.

[0005]

However, in the conventional apparatus, the operation of replenishing toner by rotating the toner bottle in the circumferential direction is performed independently, and the stirring member in the storage unit develops the replenished developer. It was operated at the timing of operating the transfer screw for transferring to the container. For this reason, there is a problem that the toner replenished from the toner bottle peaks in the storage unit, and the amount of toner is unstable.

Further, when the toner bottle is rotated in the circumferential direction to supply the toner to the storage section, the stirring member is simultaneously operated, and when the developer in the storage section is transported to the developing device, the stirring member is not operated. When only the transport screw is operated alone, there is a disadvantage that only the toner around the transport screw moves and the toner remains around the transport screw.

Further, if the operation of rotating the toner bottle in the circumferential direction to supply the toner to the storage unit, the operation of the stirring member, and the operation of the conveying screw in the storage unit are simultaneously performed, the operation from the toner bottle is prevented. When the amount of toner supplied to the storage unit and the amount of conveyance to the developing device by the conveyance screw are not the same, there is a problem that the amount of toner in the storage unit is gradually reduced, or there is a possibility that the amount of toner overflows and the operation is not stable. is there.

Further, a driving source for rotating the toner bottle in the circumferential direction, a driving source for the stirring member, and a driving source for the transport screw are separately provided, and these are operated independently to prevent the above problem. It is conceivable to control the respective operation timings, but providing individual drive sources raises the problem of increasing the manufacturing cost.

In order to solve the above various problems, the present invention stabilizes the amount of developer held in a developer storage,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a developer replenishing apparatus that does not cause the developer to be in a stuck state in the storage unit and that can be expected to reduce manufacturing costs.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a developer storing portion for storing a developer and a developing device having a spiral groove formed on a peripheral surface by rotating the developer storing portion. A developer accommodating container for transferring the developer from the trunk portion to the neck portion and supplying the developer from a discharge port provided on one side of the neck portion to a supply port of the developer storage portion; and developing the developer from the developer storage portion. A developer screw for transporting the developer to the developer container, and a stirring member for stirring the developer in the developer storage unit, wherein the stirring member is a driving source of the developer storage container. And a drive source of the transport screw is connected via a one-way clutch so that the developer container (toner bottle) and the transport screw can be driven independently of each other, and toner is supplied from the toner bottle to the storage unit. Also stirring member simultaneously activated when the toner bottle is actuated when, during the transport of the toner to the developing device from the storage unit, configured to be able to operate the agitating members simultaneously operating the feeding screw.

[0011]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the developer may be referred to as a toner.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a developer storage section (toner storage section) for storing a developer (toner) to be supplied to a developing device G. On the upper surface of the toner storage section 1, a toner supply port 2 is provided. ing. On the upper surface of the toner storage unit 1 provided with the toner supply port 2, a continuous rack 4 is provided horizontally via a stepped portion 3 so that a developer storage container (toner bottle) 5 can be held in a lying position. Has become.

The toner bottle 5 has a large-diameter trunk portion 5a for accommodating toner, a small-diameter neck portion 5b having a toner discharge port 6 on one side, and is narrowed from the trunk portion 5a to the neck portion 5b. And a shoulder portion 5c.

On the peripheral surface of the toner bottle 5, a spiral groove (rib) 7 is provided.
When is rotated in the circumferential direction, the toner stored inside can be moved from the trunk portion 5a to the neck portion 5b. Further, two concave grooves 8 into which two claw pieces 12 of the rotor 11 described later are fitted are provided on the top surface of the neck portion 5b. Further, a cap 9 that can be opened when toner is stored is press-fitted into the center of the bottom surface of the trunk portion 5a.

At the end of the rack 4, there is provided a pressing plate 10 which can press the buttocks of the body 5a of the toner bottle 5 toward the neck 5b. The pressing plate 10 moves forward by operating a handle (not shown). That is, when the toner bottle 5 is placed on the rack 4 with the pressing plate 10 retracted by the handle operation, and the pressing plate 10 is moved forward, the toner bottle 5 can be set at a regular position and the position can be maintained. It has become.

The normal position of the toner bottle 5 means that the concave groove 8 provided on the top surface of the neck portion 5b of the toner bottle 5 engages with the claw piece 12 provided on the opposed rotor 11, and
When the toner discharge port 6 provided on one side surface of the neck portion 5b rotates in the circumferential direction, the toner discharge port 6 is brought into a position where it can match the toner supply port 2.

The rotor 11 is connected to a gear 14 fixed to an end of a shaft 13 through an intermediate gear 18 meshed with a gear 17 fixed to an output shaft 16 of a drive source 15, and the rotation from the drive source 15 is performed. In response to this, it can rotate in a predetermined direction. Accordingly, the toner bottle 5 having the concave groove 8 on the top surface with which the claw piece 12 of the rotor 11 engages can be rotated by the drive source 15 alone in the circumferential direction.

The toner stored in the bolt by the rotation of the toner bottle 5 in the circumferential direction moves from the trunk portion 5a to the neck portion 5b by the action of the spiral groove 7 on the peripheral surface.
Finally, the toner is discharged from the discharge port 6 provided on one side of the neck portion 5b, and is gradually supplied to the toner storage unit 1 from the toner supply port 2.

The toner discharged from a toner discharge port 6 provided on one side of the neck portion 5b of the toner bottle 5 is
A seal member 19 for reliably guiding the toner to the toner supply port 2 of the toner storage unit 1 can be slidably fitted.

The seal member 19 can be installed on the toner storage unit 1 by the support frame 21 so that the toner through hole 20 provided on one side thereof matches the toner supply port 2 (FIG. 2). reference). The support frame 21 can sandwich and fix the seal member 19 from above and below by a U-shaped lower frame 21a and a flat upper frame 21b.
It is intended to stably hold so as not to rotate following the rotation of.

As an auxiliary means for stably holding the seal member 19 on the support frame 21, in the case of FIG.
b 'is provided so that the projection 21b' is fitted into a receiving hole 19 'provided on the upper surface of the seal member 19.

If it is necessary to stably hold the seal member 19 with the support frame 21, the U-shaped lower frame 21 may be used.
a, a double-sided adhesive tape (not shown) is interposed between the U-shaped lower frame 21 a and the sealing member 19.
Needless to say, a nested projection and a concave portion (not shown) may be formed between them.

In the developer storage section 1, a transport screw 22 for transporting the developer from the storage section 1 to the developing device G is provided. A gear 2 is provided at the end of the conveying screw 22.
3 is fixed, and the gear 23 can rotate independently via an intermediate gear 27 meshed with a gear 26 fixed to the output shaft 25 of the drive source 24.

Further, a stirring member 28 for stirring the toner is provided in the storage section 1, and a driving shaft 2 of the stirring member 28 is provided.
A gear 30 incorporating a one-way clutch is fixed to the shaft end of the shaft 9. The gear 30 incorporating the one-way clutch is
It is connected via a second intermediate gear 31 meshed with an intermediate gear 27 meshed with a gear 26 fixed to an output shaft 25 of the drive source 24 for the transport screw.

Therefore, the drive source 2 for the transport screw
When the conveying screw 22 is actuated by the drive of the gear 4, the stirring member 2 is actuated by the action of the one-way clutch built in the gear 30.
8 and is connected to the drive system of the transport screw 22.

A gear 32 having a one-way clutch built therein is fixedly attached to the drive shaft 29 of the stirring member 28 in addition to the gear 30. The gear 32 including the one-way clutch is provided with a driving source 1 for the toner bottle.
5 and a second intermediate gear 33 and a third intermediate gear 34 meshed with the intermediate gear 18 meshed with the gear 17 fixed to the output shaft 16 of FIG.
Are linked through.

Therefore, when the toner bottle 5 is rotated by the drive of the drive source 15, the gear 32 is integrated with the drive shaft 29 of the stirring member 28 by the action of the one-way clutch built in, and is connected to the drive system of the toner bottle 5. Will be done.

In the apparatus of the present invention shown in the above embodiment, when the image forming apparatus is started and the rotor 11 is rotated by being connected to gears from the driving source 15, the toner bottle 5 is rotated in the circumferential direction by receiving the power, and The toner contained in the developer container 1 is moved from the trunk portion 5a to the neck portion 5b by the action of the spiral groove 7 and discharged from the toner discharge port 6 provided in the neck portion 5b. Replenish gradually to 2.

When the toner bottle 5 is rotated via the rotor 11 by the action of the toner bottle drive source 15, a one-way clutch built in the gear 32 is operated to agitate the stirring member 28.
And is connected to the drive source 15 integrally with the drive shaft 29. on the other hand,
The gear 30 is provided with a stirring member 2 by the function of a built-in one-way clutch.
8 is free from the drive shaft 29.

Conversely, when the transport screw 22 is rotated by the action of the drive source 24 for the transport screw, a one-way clutch built in the gear 30 operates to drive the drive shaft 2 of the stirring member 28.
9 and connected to the drive source 24. On the other hand, the gear 32 is free from the drive shaft 29 of the stirring member 28 by the function of a built-in one-way clutch.

In other words, when the toner bottle 5 rotates to supply the toner to the storage unit 1, the stirring member 28 also operates at the same time as the operation of the toner bottle, while the toner is transferred from the storage unit 1 to the developing device G. At the time of conveyance, the stirring member 28 can be operated simultaneously with the operation of the conveyance screw 22.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the drive shaft of the stirring member is connected to the drive source of the toner bottle and the drive source of the transport screw via the one-way clutch, respectively. When the toner is supplied to the developing device, the stirring member also operates at the same time as the operation of the toner bottle, and when the toner is conveyed from the storage unit to the developing device, the stirring member operates at the same time as the operation of the conveying screw. Therefore, the amount of toner held in the toner storage unit is stabilized, and the toner does not become in a stuck state in the storage unit. Further, since a drive source is not required for the stirring member, a reduction in manufacturing cost is expected. Various excellent effects that can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the device of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a relationship between a seal member and a toner bottle used in the apparatus of the present application.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a drive system of a developer storage container and a drive system of a transport screw.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Developer storage part (toner storage part) 2 Developer supply port (toner supply port) 3 Step part 4 Rack 5 Developer storage container (toner bottle) 5a Body part 5b Neck part 5c Shoulder part 6 Developer discharge port ( 7 A spiral groove (rib) 8 A concave groove provided on the top surface of the neck portion of the toner bottle 9 A cap press-fitted into the opening of the bottom surface of the body portion of the toner bottle 10 A bottom surface of the body portion of the toner bottle Pressing plate 11 Rotor 12 Claw piece provided on front of rotor 13 Rotor shaft 14 Gear 15 Drive source 16 Output shaft 17 Gear 18 Intermediate gear 19 Seal member 20 Toner through hole 21 Support frame 22 Transfer screw 23 Gear 24 Transfer screw Drive source 25 output shaft 26 gear 27 intermediate gear 28 stirrer 29 drive shaft of stirrer 30 gear with built-in one-way clutch 3 Second intermediate gear 32 gear 33 having a built-in one-way clutch second intermediate gear 34 a third intermediate gear

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 19, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All figures

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A developer storage portion for storing a developer, and a developer is moved from a body portion to a neck portion by means of a circumferential groove provided on a peripheral surface by rotating in a circumferential direction. A developer storage container adapted to be replenished to a supply port of the developer storage unit from a discharge port provided on a side of the developer storage unit; a transport screw for transporting developer from the developer storage unit to a developing device; A stirring member that stirs the developer, and a drive shaft of the stirring member,
A developer replenishing device, which is connected to a drive source of the developer storage container and a drive source of the transport screw via a one-way clutch.