JPH11223985A - Toner supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of the erroneous detection of an emptiness detecting sensor caused by a toner absence space formed at the inside of a toner carrying path by a cleaning member by providing an arm member attaching the cleaning member in a state where the plate face is obliquely crossed on a specified side to the rotary shaft of a toner carrying member. SOLUTION: A cleaning wire is attached to two arm members 7 provided so as to project in the state of nealy standing straight at a part in the vicinity of both sides of the detecting surface of the emptiness detection sensor out of the rotary shaft 35 of a spiral agitator 26. The arm member 7 is formed into a plate-like shape, and is provided in the state where the plate face (side face) 7a is obliquely crossed by a specified crossing angle θ (the range of 60-85 deg.) to the rotary shaft 35 of the spiral agitator 26. At this time, the plate face 7a is obliquely crossed on the side of moving toner in the same direction as a carrying direction (e) while pushing through the toner when the arm member 7 is rotated in a rotating direction (d) with the spiral agitator 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner supply device for supplying a toner to a device such as a developing device using a toner for developing a latent image, and more particularly, to a toner conveyance device for conveying the toner. The present invention relates to an improved toner supply device for preventing occurrence of erroneous detection by an empty detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of toner in a road.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer using an electrophotographic system, a developing device for developing a latent image formed on a latent image holding member such as a photoreceptor with a toner is used. There is one configured to supply new toner stored in a storage tank, a toner cartridge, or the like. FIGS. 13 and 14 show a toner supply device used to supply the toner T from the toner cartridge 100 to the developing device 102 through the toner conveyance path 101 in such an image forming apparatus.

That is, the illustrated toner supply device supplies the toner T stored in the toner cartridge 100 to the toner cartridge 100.
The toner is conveyed in the direction of arrow a by a toner conveying member 103, which is a spirally wound linear member rotating in the cartridge 100, and is sent out from the toner discharge port 100a to the toner conveying path 101 side.
The toner is conveyed in the direction of arrow b by a toner conveying member 104 formed of a spirally wound linear member or the like that rotates in the direction of arrow c.
By feeding the toner to the second toner transport path 105 side connected to the developing device 102, the toner is sent to the developing device 102, which is the supply destination. Reference numeral 106 in FIG. 13 denotes a gear mechanism for transmitting rotational power to the toner conveying members 103 and 104.

In such a toner supply device,
Usually, an empty detection sensor 107 for detecting the presence or absence of toner in the toner conveying path 101 is provided as shown in FIG. The empty detection sensor 107 is generally provided with a detection surface 107a capable of detecting the presence / absence of toner depending on whether or not a predetermined amount of toner touches the inside of the transport path 101. As a result, it is detected that the toner in the toner conveying path 101 has run out. Based on the detection information of the absence of toner (empty) from the empty detection sensor 107, for example, a warning display is displayed on the main body side of the image forming apparatus to prompt the user to supply the toner to the toner storage tank or replace the toner cartridge 100. It is configured as follows.

[0005] Further, in a toner supply device provided with such an empty detection sensor, generally, the detection surface 107a of the empty detection sensor 107 is designed to prevent a detection failure or an undetectable state due to adhesion of toner during conveyance. Detection surface 107
A cleaning member 108 is provided for removing the toner attached to a and cleaning the detection surface 107a.

As the cleaning member 108, for example, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, a wire such as a wire is provided upright on a rotating shaft 104a of the toner conveying member 104 extending in the toner conveying path 101. Arm member 10
9 may be attached to the front end portion 9 in a protruding state. Reference numeral 109a in the figure denotes a protrusion for attaching the winding part of the cleaning member 108. And such an arm member 1
09 is a cleaning member attached to the arm member 1.
09 rotates in the direction of the arrow c around the rotation shaft 104a with the rotation of the toner conveying member 104 in the direction of the arrow c, so as to pass so as to contact the detection surface 107a of the empty detection sensor 107, and The toner adhering to the detection surface 107a is scraped off.

[0007]

However, in the above-described toner supply device using the cleaning member 108 attached to the arm member 109, as shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 14B, the toner is transported in a state of being unevenly distributed on one side of the toner transport path 104 (a state shown by a dotted line in FIG. 14), and finally, the toner transport including the detection surface 107 a of the empty detection sensor 107 is performed. A toner absence space (hollow portion) 110 in which toner does not exist is formed in a part of the path 104, and as a result, the empty detection sensor 107 outputs “ There is a problem that erroneous detection that "no toner" is detected occurs.

According to the study of the present inventor, the main cause of the toner absence space 110 in the toner conveying path 104 is that the rotation shaft 104 of the toner conveying member is in a state as shown in FIGS. Arm member 109 provided for
Rotates in a state in which the toner conveyed by the toner conveying member 104 in the conveying direction b is pressed and traversed in the conveying path 101, so that the toner T during the conveyance is rotated.
It is presumed that this temporarily blocks the flow of toner and hinders the flow of toner.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning member for cleaning the detection surface of the empty detection sensor as described above, and the erroneous detection of the empty detection sensor caused by the toner absence space formed in the toner conveying path. An object of the present invention is to provide a toner supply device capable of preventing the occurrence of toner.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner supply device which achieves the above object, and includes a toner transport path through which toner is transported, and a transport path within the toner transport path. A toner conveying member that rotates around a rotation axis parallel to the conveying direction and conveys the toner in the conveying direction, and is provided so that a detection surface is exposed in the toner conveying path, and detects the presence or absence of toner in the conveyance. An empty detection sensor, an arm member which is provided in a state protruding from a portion of the rotation shaft near the detection surface of the empty detection sensor and rotates integrally with the rotation shaft, and a tip of the arm member A cleaning member that is attached in a state protruding from the portion and that touches the detection surface of the empty detection sensor by cleaning of the empty detection sensor by rotation of the arm member to clean the detection surface. Together consist Jo member, in which the plate surface is provided on and intersecting the toner during rotation with respect to the axis of rotation of the toner conveying member at an angle to the side can be moved in the same direction as the transport direction.

According to such an apparatus, the arm member for attaching the cleaning member is provided with its plate surface obliquely intersecting a specific side with respect to the rotation axis of the toner conveying member. When rotated with the rotation of the conveying member, a conveying force is generated to move the toner in the toner conveying path in the same direction as the conveying direction. This allows
When the arm member rotates together with the toner conveyance member in the toner conveyance path, the arm member temporarily stops the toner being conveyed in the conveyance path and does not stop merely to hinder the flow of the toner. Will be assisted. Therefore, the possibility that a toner-absent space large enough to cause erroneous detection of the empty detection sensor in the toner conveyance path is extremely reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device, the crossing angle at which the plate surface of the arm member crosses the rotation axis of the toner conveying member is 60 to 85 °.
Are set within the range of.

When the crossing angle of the arm members is set as described above, the toner conveying force can be reliably obtained, and the toner-absent space as described above can be surely formed in the toner conveying path. Is prevented. If the crossing angle is smaller than 60 °, the arm member will rotate by pressing more of the toner in the toner conveying path and rotate. On the other hand, if the angle exceeds 85 °, the above-described toner conveyance force cannot be obtained, and the object cannot be reliably achieved. The intersection angle is 70 to 75
More preferably, it is within the range of °.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 3 show a toner supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the toner supply device, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 are cross-sectional views of main parts along line BB in FIG.

This toner supply device is for supplying new toner contained in a toner cartridge to a developing device in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a printer. Basically, a cartridge mounting section 1 for detachably mounting a toner cartridge 10 containing a toner T, and a toner cartridge 10
Reserve tank 2 for temporarily storing the toner T sent out of the developing device 90 and sending it out to the developing device 90 by a necessary amount when necessary.
And a driving device 4 serving as a driving source of a rotating member in the toner cartridge 10 and the reserve tank 2.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a toner cartridge 10 has a cartridge body 11 formed in a cylindrical shape, and a lid which is attached to both ends of the cartridge body 11 to seal the inside of the body 11. Body 12,13
A spiral agitator 14 as a toner conveying member formed by spirally winding a metal wire having elasticity at least close to the inner peripheral surface of the cartridge body 11, and rotating around the center of one lid 12. The coupling 15 is freely mounted, and comprises a coupling 15 which rotatably supports the spiral agitator 14 in the cartridge body 11 and is coupled to a connection portion of the drive transmission shaft of the drive device 4. Also, on one end side of the cartridge body 11,
A toner discharge port 17 for discharging toner to the reserve tank 2 and opening a shutter (not shown) when the shutter is mounted is opened.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cartridge mounting portion 1 has a cylindrical main body 11 of the toner cartridge 10.
And a support frame having a shape capable of supporting and fixing when mounted. The cartridge 1 in the mounting section 1
At a position corresponding to the toner discharge port 17 of 0, a toner passage port 1a is opened.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the reserve tank 2 contains a toner T supplied from a toner cartridge 10.
Are temporarily stored and transported so as to circulate, and are disposed between the toner storage transport paths 20 and 21, and the toner T is connected to the developing device 90. And a toner supply unit 31 that supplies the toner to the second toner transport path 30. A partition wall 22 is formed between the toner containing transport paths 20 and 21 and the toner supply unit 31. On the other hand, communication paths 23 and 24 are formed in areas not partitioned by the partition wall 22 so that the toner storage transport paths 20 and 21 and the toner supply unit 31 communicate with each other. Further, a toner introduction port 25 (see FIG. 3) through which the toner T sent out of the toner cartridge 10 is introduced opposite to the toner discharge port 17 of the toner cartridge 10 is provided above the toner storage conveyance path 20 facing the communication path 24. Is indicated by a two-dot chain line).

Spiral agitators 26 and 27 serving as toner conveying members in which a metal wire having elasticity is spirally wound are arranged in the toner accommodating conveying paths 20 and 21 in parallel with each other. One end of each of the agitators 26 and 27 is attached to couplings 28 and 29 connected to a connection portion of the drive transmission shaft of the driving device 4, and the other end is rotatably supported. The spiral agitators 26 and 27 rotate in the same direction d, but their winding directions and the like are set such that the toner conveyance directions are opposite to the directions of arrows e and f in the figure.

A toner supply port 32 for supplying toner from the reserve tank 2 to the toner relay conveyance path 30 is opened at a predetermined position on the bottom of the toner supply section 31. A dispense auger 3 for feeding toner to the toner supply port 32 is provided between the toner supply section 31 and the communication path 23.
3 is arranged in parallel with the two spiral agitators 26 and 27 described above. The rotating shaft 33a of the dispense auger 33 is supported so as to protrude outside the tank so as to be connected to the driving shaft (40) of the driving device 4. A paddle 34 having two blades radially protruding from the rotation shaft is attached to a portion of the rotation shaft 33a corresponding to the communication passage 24. Further, an auger 39 that is rotationally driven so as to convey the toner is provided inside the second toner conveying path 30.

The drive unit 4 has a drive shaft 40 for rotating the dispense auger 33 of the reserve tank 2, and the drive shaft 40 is driven to rotate by an electric motor (not shown). And the drive shaft 40
The rotational power of the spiral agitators 26, 2 of the toner storage transport paths 20, 21 is transmitted by a predetermined gear transmission mechanism 41.
7 (couplings 28 and 29) and the spiral agitator 14 of the toner cartridge 10 (coupling 1)
5) and transmitted through each coupling.

The reserve tank 2 is provided with an empty detection sensor 5 on a side wall portion located closer to the center than the toner introduction port 25 of the toner accommodating and conveying path 20. The empty detection sensor 5 is provided with its detection surface 50 exposed in the passage, detects the presence or absence of toner present in the transport path 20, and thereby indirectly determines the presence or absence of toner in the toner cartridge 10. It is intended to detect the situation. As this sensor 5, for example, its detection surface 5
A piezoelectric sensor that detects the presence or absence of toner based on whether or not the toner being conveyed is in contact with a predetermined ratio at 0 is used.

In addition, this reserve tank 2 has
As shown in FIG. 4, a cleaning wire 6 as a cleaning member for cleaning the detection surface 50 of the empty detection sensor 5 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, this cleaning wire 6 is formed by winding a single wire into a linear cleaning section 6a, bending the cleaning section 6a vertically at both ends thereof, and coiling the wire several times. It is bent so as to have a form having a wound portion 6b and a free end portion 6c extending from the wound portion 6b by a predetermined length. The cleaning wire 6 is almost upright at a portion of the rotation axis 35 of the spiral agitator 26 (actually, the center axis of the coupling 28) which is near both sides of the detection surface 50 of the empty detection sensor 5. Are attached to two arm members 7 provided so as to protrude.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the arm member 7 has a plate-like shape having a plate thickness w of about 1.2 mm, and its plate surface (side surface) 7a has the above-described spiral agitator. It is provided so as to obliquely intersect with the rotation shaft 35 at a predetermined intersection angle θ. At this time, when the arm member 7 rotates in the rotation direction d together with the agitator 26, the plate surface 7a obliquely intersects a side on which the toner T can be moved in the same direction as the transport direction e while pressing the toner T apart. The intersection angle θ of the arm member 7 with respect to the rotation shaft 35 is appropriately set within a range of 60 to 85 °, but in this example, is set to about 70 °, for example. The height of the arm member 7 is set slightly shorter than the radius of rotation of the spiral agitator 26.

On the outer side surface of the arm member 7, a support shaft portion 70 for rotatably supporting the winding portion 6a of the cleaning wire 6 and a free end 6b of the cleaning wire 5 are provided. An engagement portion 72 having an engagement groove 71 for supporting the support shaft portion 70 and the rotation shaft 35 in a locked state is provided. From the viewpoint of minimizing the resistance (load) during rotation of the arm member 7, the support shaft portion 70 and the engagement groove 71 minimize the amount (height) of the arm member protruding from the plate surface 7a. It is desirable to form it.

With respect to such an arm member 7, the cleaning wire 6 is engaged with the wound portion 6b inserted into the support shaft portion 70 and the free end portion 6c abutted on the rotary shaft 35. It is attached by fitting it into the engagement groove 73 of the stop portion 72. Thereby, the cleaning portion 6a of the cleaning wire 6
Are mounted in a state where they protrude from the distal end of the arm member 7 and can be elastically deformed around the winding portion 6b.

Further, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, an agitator fixing portion 36 for inserting and fixing one end of the spiral agitator 26 to the coupling 28 of the rotating shaft 35, and the agitator A shape-retaining support portion 37 for supporting the spiral shape of the spiral agitator 26 having one end fixed to the fixing portion 36 is formed. The shape-retaining support portion 37 has a notch groove 37a
Are formed in the notch groove 37a.
Is supported in a hooked state.

In this toner supply device,
The driving device 4 is driven according to a predetermined control signal transmitted from a control unit of the image forming apparatus main body, and the toner T in the toner cartridge 10 is developed via the reserve tank 2 and the second toner conveying unit 30 by the developing device. 90 is set to be executed. If the empty detection sensor 5 detects “no toner (empty)”, it is assumed that the toner in the toner cartridge 10 is empty, and a warning display for urging replacement of the toner cartridge 10 is displayed. Is set.

Next, the operation of the toner supply device will be described.

First, the drive device 4 is driven by input of a control signal, and the spiral agitator 14 of the toner cartridge 10 and the spiral agitator 2 of the reserve tank 2 are driven.
When the toner cartridges 6 and 27 rotate, the toner cartridge 1
The toner T in the cartridge main body 11 is rotated by a spiral agitator 14 rotating in the cartridge main body 11 so that the toner T is discharged from the toner outlet 17.
And is sent out toward the reserve tank 2 through the outlet 17 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Next, the toner T sent out from the toner cartridge 10 is
After being accommodated in the toner accommodating conveyance path 20 through the toner introduction port 25 of the reserve tank 2, the toner is conveyed in the arrow e direction by a spiral agitator 26 rotating in the d direction in the conveyance path 20 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

The toner T conveyed to the end side of the toner accommodating conveyance path 20 in the conveyance direction e is sent to the communication path 23 side, and a part of the toner T is dispensed by the dispense auger 33 in the communication path 23. And the remaining part is sent to the toner container 31 side.

Of the toner, the toner T sent to the toner accommodating and conveying path 21 is conveyed in the direction of arrow f by the spiral agitator 27 rotating in the direction d in the accommodating portion 21 and continuously connected at the end side in the conveying direction f. After being sent to the passage 24 side, the dispense auger 3
The paddle 34 is rotated by the pad 3 and is again fed into the toner containing conveyance path 20 and returned. Therefore, a part of the toner T sent to the reserve tank 2 is circulated in a circulation path including the toner storage transport path 20, the communication path 23, the toner storage transport path 24, and the communication path 24.

On the other hand, the toner T sent to the toner supply unit 31 is sent to the toner supply port 32 by the dispense auger 33 which rotates for a predetermined time when the toner supply to the developing device 90 is necessary. The second from the supply port 32
To the toner transport unit 30. Then, the toner T sent out from the reserve tank 2 to the toner transport unit 30
Is sent to the developing device 90 as a supply destination by the auger 39 rotating in the transport path 30.

In this toner supply device,
As long as a sufficient amount of toner T is present in the toner storage conveyance path 20 and the toner T is in contact with the detection surface 50 of the empty detection sensor 5, “toner present” is detected by the sensor 5. .

While the spiral agitator 26 is rotating in the toner accommodating conveyance path 20, the cleaning wire 6 attached to the rotating shaft 35 of the agitator 26 via the arm member 7 rotates together with the agitator 26. .

As the cleaning wire 6 rotates,
Since the cleaning unit 6a passes while touching the detection surface 50 of the empty detection sensor 5, the toner T adhering to the detection surface 50
Is scraped off. As a result, the detection surface 50 of the sensor 5 is always cleaned and maintained in a state where good detection can be performed.

In addition, when the cleaning wire 6 rotates, the arm member 7 also rotates in the rotation direction d in the toner accommodating conveyance path 20. At this time, the arm member 7
The toner T that is being conveyed in the conveying direction e by the spiral agitator 26 is pressed and rotated. However, since the arm member 7 is provided so that its plate surface 7a obliquely intersects the rotation axis 35 of the agitator 26 at a predetermined intersection angle θ as described above, Due to the rotation of the arm member 7, the flow of the toner T in the transport path 20 is hardly hindered, and is moved in the same direction as the transport direction e by the agitator 26.

It is presumed that the rotation of the arm member 7 causes the toner T in the toner storing and conveying path 20 to behave as follows. That is, all the toners T in the toner accommodating conveyance path 20 are first conveyed in the conveyance direction e by the spiral agitator 26, but as shown in FIG. Member 7
Progression toner grouping T ₁ present in a direction forward of the is moved is guided to the front side of the plate surface 7a in the toner transport direction e side as shown by a chain line in the drawing to the inclination, moreover, the arm member 7, a toner group T ₂ existing in the rear in the traveling direction.
Is not completely blocked by the inclined rear side plate surface 7a, and continues to move in the transport direction e as shown by a dotted line in the drawing while being guided by the plate surface 7a.

Therefore, the toner T conveyed by the spiral agitator 26 in the toner accommodating conveyance path 20 is not blocked by the rotation of the arm member 7 in the conveyance path 20 and its flow is not hindered. The transfer path 20 is moved in the transfer direction e.
It is transported smoothly without uneven distribution inside. Also,
Since the arm member 7 has a thin plate thickness of about 1.2 mm, the amount of toner to be pressed during rotation is small, so that the flow of the toner T is less hindered. For this reason, the toner storage conveyance path 20
On the downstream side of the inner arm member 7 in the transport direction e, a toner-absent space (cavity) is not formed on the detection surface 50 side of the empty detection sensor 5 as in the related art in which the toner T does not exist. As a result, the toner T
Erroneous detection that the empty detection sensor 5 detects "no toner" despite the existence of the "flag" does not occur.

When the above-described toner supply operation is repeated and the toner T in the toner cartridge 10 is not consumed, the toner T fed from the cartridge 10 to the toner accommodating conveyance path 20 of the reserve tank 2 is discharged. Therefore, the amount of the toner T existing in the transport path 20 is reduced, and the amount of the toner T touching the detection surface 50 of the empty detection sensor 5 is drastically reduced. At this point, the sensor 5 detects "no toner".

When the empty detection sensor 5 detects that there is no toner, a warning display for urging replacement of the toner cartridge 10 is displayed based on the detection information.

In the above-described embodiment, the arm member 7 has a tip 7b having a slightly angular shape as shown in FIG. 4, but a tip having a rounded tip is used. You may. Further, as the arm member 7, an example in which the line of the edge is angular is illustrated, but the edge may have a round shape. In the case where the arm member 7 is formed into a rounded plate shape as a whole as described above, the load at the time of rotation in the transport path 20 is reduced, and the rotation of the agitator 26 is not hindered. In addition, it becomes more difficult to form a toner absence space.

The front and back plate surfaces 7a of the arm member 7 are also provided.
The other surface 7c may be formed on a surface parallel to the rotation direction d (that is, a surface perpendicular to the rotation axis 35).
Also in this case, the load at the time of rotation is further reduced so that the rotation of the agitator 26 is not hindered.
It becomes more difficult to form a toner absence space.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show an arm member 7 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Except that an auger 39 used in the second toner transport path 30 is used instead of the spiral agitator 26 as the toner transport means, and an arm member 7 for attaching the cleaning wire 7 to the auger 39 is provided. It has the same configuration as the above embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the arm member 7 has a plate-like shape in which a mounting hole 70 for inserting and mounting the cleaning wire 6 is formed at the center. Are obliquely intersected with the rotation shaft 35 of the auger 39 at the intersection angle θ as in the above embodiment. Then, the cleaning wire 6 is inserted into the arm member 7 so that the bent end portion 6d and the winding portion 6b are accommodated in the mounting hole 70, and the cleaning portion 6a projects from the distal end portion of the arm member 7. It is designed to be attached so that it is in a state of being done.

As shown in FIG. 9 and the like, when the auger 39 provided with such an arm member 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow d, the toner in the toner storage and transport path 20 is transported in the direction of the arrow e. You. Further, with the rotation of the auger 39, the cleaning wire 6 also rotates via the arm member 7,
By passing so as to touch the detection surface 50 of the sky detection sensor 5, the detection surface 50 is cleaned.

In addition, even when the arm member 7 rotates, the toner in the accommodating and conveying path 20 causes the flow of the toner in the arm member 7 similarly to the arm member in the above embodiment.
And is conveyed in the direction of arrow e. In particular, since the arm member 7 does not have the support shaft portion 70 and the engagement groove 71 formed in a state protruding from the plate surface 7a like the arm member in the above-described embodiment, the load during rotation is reduced. , So that the transport path 20
The possibility of obstructing the flow of the toner inside is reduced. Accordingly, even when the arm member 7 is used, no toner-absent space is formed in the transport path 20 as in the case of the above-described embodiment, and the empty detection sensor due to the toner-absent space is not formed. The effect of preventing occurrence of erroneous detection is obtained.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the arm member for attaching the cleaning member is provided in a state where its plate surface obliquely intersects a specific side with respect to the rotation axis of the toner conveying member, the arm member moves with the rotation of the toner conveying member. When rotated, the toner in the toner conveying path is moved in the same direction as the conveying direction, so that the toner is temporarily blocked and the flow is less obstructed. As a result, the possibility that the above-described toner absence space is formed in the vicinity of the empty detection sensor detection surface of the toner conveyance path is extremely reduced, and erroneous detection of the sky detection sensor caused by the toner absence space occurs. Can be easily and reliably prevented from occurring.

When the crossing angle of the plate surface of the arm member is set within the range of 60 to 85 °, the toner conveying force can be reliably obtained and a toner-free space is formed in the toner conveying path. As a result, the effect of preventing the occurrence of the erroneous detection can be more reliably obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of a toner supply device.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part along line BB in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an attachment structure of a cleaning wire.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a cleaning wire.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view illustrating a configuration of an arm member.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the arm member.

FIG. 8 is a main part plan view showing another configuration of the arm member.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing another configuration example of the cleaning wire mounting structure.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a main part showing a structure for attaching the cleaning wire of FIG. 9;

11 is a plan view showing the configuration of the arm member shown in FIG.

12 is a cross-sectional view of a main part along line CC in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a conventional toner supply device.

14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the toner supply device of FIG.

FIGS. 15A and 15B show a cleaning wire mounting structure in the apparatus shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, wherein FIG. 15A is a front view and FIG.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem (such as generation of a toner absence space) in the conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

5: Empty detection sensor, 6: Cleaning wire (cleaning member), 7
... Arm member, 7a plate surface, 20 toner transfer path (toner transfer path), 26 spiral agitator (toner transfer member), 35 rotation axis, 39 auger (toner transfer member), 50 detection surface, T: toner, e: transport direction,
θ ... intersection angle.

Claims (2)

[Claims] A toner conveyance path for conveying the toner, a toner conveyance member that rotates around a rotation axis parallel to the conveyance direction in the toner conveyance path and conveys the toner in the conveyance direction; An empty detection sensor that is provided so that a detection surface is exposed in the transport path and detects the presence or absence of toner in the transport, and a state in which the empty shaft is protruded from a portion of the rotating shaft that is near the detection surface of the empty detection sensor. An arm member that rotates integrally with the rotation shaft, and is attached to the arm member so as to protrude from a tip end thereof, and the rotation of the arm member touches a detection surface of the empty detection sensor to detect the empty detection sensor. A cleaning member for cleaning a surface of the toner supply member, wherein the arm member is formed of a plate-shaped member, and the plate surface rotates when the plate surface rotates with respect to a rotation axis of the toner conveyance member. Toner supply device, characterized in that provided in the state of crossed obliquely to the side can be moved in the same direction as the transport direction. 2. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein an intersection angle at which the plate surface of the arm member intersects the rotation axis is set in a range of 60 to 85 °.