JP2007148339A - Toner supply actuator and toner supply device provided with toner supply actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner supply actuator which can properly control the supply of toner from respective toner cartridges and is compact in size, light in weight and low in cost, and to provide a toner supply device provided with the toner supply actuator. <P>SOLUTION: The toner supply actuator 61 is for rotating a toner cartridge 21 itself or a toner stirring member 41 and a stirring member 51 in a conveying path. The toner supply actuator 61 includes: a motor 61c; a transmission member for transmitting a driving force to a plurality of systems; a first output shaft 61a for transmitting output from the motor 61c to the toner cartridge 21 itself or the toner stirring member 41; a second output shaft 61b for transmitting the output from the motor 61c to the stirring member 51 in the conveying path; and a housing case L which houses the motor 61c and in which a first projection hole for projecting the first output shaft 61a and a second projection hole for projecting the second output shaft 61b are formed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner supply actuator and a toner supply device including the toner supply actuator. More specifically, the present invention relates to a toner supply actuator and a toner supply that are reduced in size and weight and can be arranged in a small space. The present invention relates to a toner supply device including an actuator.

In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, toner stored in a toner cartridge is supplied to a developing unit, and image formation is performed using the supplied toner.
In recent years, these image forming apparatuses have been colorized, and a plurality of types of toner are required for each color. For this reason, a plurality of toner cartridges for storing toner are also required.
Further, the pursuit of high quality images tends to increase the color of toner, and accordingly, the number of necessary toner cartridges also tends to increase.
For this reason, a toner supply device has been devised that includes a plurality of toner cartridges and supplies toner of a necessary color from these toner cartridges.

For example, a technique for forming a color image using a plurality of cartridges storing toner of each color has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus provided with a plurality of toner cartridges, and toner is transported from each toner cartridge to a developing device and used for image formation.
Each toner cartridge is provided with a screw provided in the toner cartridge and a conveying screw provided in the conveying means, and the toner is efficiently conveyed by driving these screws.

JP 2000-258981 A (pages 3 and 4; FIGS. 3 and 4)

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, these screws are configured to be driven based on a toner presence / absence detection signal from a sensor such as a toner sensor provided in the developing device.
As described above, when the screws provided in the toner cartridges are simultaneously driven by one signal, the efficiency is deteriorated and fine control cannot be performed according to the state of each toner cartridge. there were.
In other words, even if multiple colors of toner are provided, the frequency of use varies depending on the color of the toner, so if the drive can be controlled according to the frequency of use, the screw can be driven with minimum energy. Can do.
In addition, as in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when each screw is driven using a single motor, a power transmission mechanism such as a link mechanism for transmitting the motor output to each screw is provided. There is a problem that the installation space becomes large.
In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to provide a motor for each toner cartridge and to operate each motor independently as necessary.

On the other hand, each toner cartridge is provided with a conveyance path for supplying toner from the toner cartridge to the developing unit. In addition, a stirring member for transporting is provided in the transporting passage so that the toner can pass efficiently, and power for operating the stirring member is also necessary.
For this reason, in order to operate the toner supply device, a motor is provided for each toner cartridge, and a motor for operating the stirring member for conveyance is also required.
As described above, when a large number of motors are used, there is a problem that a space for installing the motors is required and the toner supply device itself is increased in size.
Also, since the drive time and timing may differ depending on the amount of toner supply, the toner carrying out from the toner cartridge and the toner transport in the transport path may differ, and the transport It has also been desired to develop an apparatus capable of separately driving a stirring member for use.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to appropriately control the toner supply from each toner cartridge, and for toner supply in which a reduction in size, weight, and cost are realized. An object of the present invention is to provide a toner supply apparatus including an actuator and a toner supply actuator.

  According to the toner supply actuator of the present invention, the above-described problem is a toner agitating member disposed in a toner cartridge itself filled with toner or a toner cartridge filled with toner, and the toner cartridge. A toner supply actuator for rotating a stirring member in a transport path disposed in a transport path serving as a path for transporting toner from the toner to the developing unit, the toner supply actuator having a drive source And a transmission member composed of a plurality of rotating bodies that transmit the output from the motor to a plurality of systems, and the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member connected to one of the plurality of systems. And a first output shaft for transmitting the output from the motor to the other system of the plurality of systems, A second output shaft for transmitting the output from the motor to the member; and an end of the first output shaft on the side connected to the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member while accommodating the motor and the transmission member A housing case in which a first projecting hole for projecting a part and a second projecting hole for projecting an end of the second output shaft on the side connected to the stirring member in the transport path are provided. It is solved by becoming.

According to the toner supply actuator of the present invention, the driving force of one motor can be output to a plurality of systems.
That is, the first output shaft and the second output shaft can be driven by driving one motor.
For this reason, the operation of the toner stirring member (or the toner cartridge itself) connected to the first output shaft and the operation of the stirring member in the transfer path for transfer connected to the second output shaft are performed by one motor. be able to.
Therefore, the number of necessary motors can be halved (that is, it is sufficient to install as many motors as toner cartridges).
The parts constituting the toner supply actuator according to the present invention are accommodated in a housing case. The housing case includes a first projecting hole for projecting an end of the first output shaft, and a second output shaft end. A second projecting hole for projecting the part is formed.
For this reason, the positioning of the first output shaft and the second output shaft is facilitated.

At this time, the toner supply actuator selectively switches the output direction according to the rotation direction of the motor, and is indirectly connected to the first output shaft and the second output shaft via the transmission member. The clutch mechanism transmits a driving force to the one system when the motor rotates in one direction, drives the first output shaft, and the motor rotates in the other direction. In this case, the second output shaft is driven by transmitting a driving force to the other system.
Also, at this time, the toner supply actuator is connected to the rotation shaft of the motor, and transmits the rotation of the rotation shaft to the next stage only when the rotation shaft rotates in one direction, and the transmission member The first one-way clutch mechanism indirectly connected to the first output shaft and the rotation shaft connected to the rotation shaft and transmitting the rotation of the rotation shaft to the next stage only when the rotation shaft rotates in the other direction And a second one-way clutch mechanism that is indirectly connected to the second output shaft via the transmission member.
Further, at this time, the toner supplying actuator is engaged with the gear disposed on the rotation shaft of the motor and the gear, and the rotation shaft and the gear rotate only in one direction. A third one-way clutch mechanism that transmits rotation to the output side, and a fourth one-way that meshes with the gear and transmits the rotation of the rotary shaft to the output side only when the rotary shaft and the gear rotate in the other direction. A clutch mechanism; a first worm gear coupled to the output side of the third one-way clutch mechanism; a second worm gear coupled to the output side of the fourth one-way clutch mechanism; and the meshing with the first worm gear. And a first reduction gear that directly or indirectly transmits the rotational output transmitted from the first worm gear to the first output shaft, and the second worm gear. The output shaft is configured to include a second reduction gear for transmitting the rotational output transmitted from the second worm gear directly or indirectly.

As described above, by using the clutch mechanism or the one-way clutch mechanism, one motor is rotated forward and backward to be disposed in the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member disposed in the toner cartridge and the transport path. The agitation member in the conveyance path can be driven independently.
That is, using the one-way clutch mechanism, it is possible to switch between driving of the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member disposed in the toner cartridge and the stirring member in the transport path disposed in the transport path.
For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a motor for driving the toner cartridge itself or a toner stirring member disposed in the toner cartridge and a motor for driving the stirring member in the transport path disposed in the transport path. The number of motors to be used can be reduced, and one stirring member can be selected and driven.
Therefore, the space for installing the motor can be reduced, the size of the toner supply device can be reduced, and the number of motors can be reduced, so that power consumption can be reduced.
Further, the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member disposed in the toner cartridge and the stirring member in the transport path disposed in the transport path are not driven, and either one is stopped. Therefore, energy saving can be achieved.
In addition, since the clutch mechanism or the one-way clutch mechanism is used, the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member disposed in the toner cartridge and the transport path are arranged with a simple mechanism without using a complicated mechanism. The drive of the stirring member in a conveyance path | route provided can be switched.

Further, the housing case includes a first space portion in which the motor is accommodated, and a second space portion in which at least a part of the transmission member is accommodated, and the second space portion includes the toner. When the cartridge is disposed on the side where the first space portion is formed on the opposite side of the second space portion on the side where the toner cartridge is disposed, the transmission member and the motor Are arranged in a stacked state in the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge, which is preferable without increasing in the radial direction of the toner cartridge. For this reason, the toner supplying actuator can be made compact.
In addition, since the motor serving as a heat source is disposed on the side opposite to the side where the toner cartridge is disposed (that is, the inner side), the side opposite to the side (that is, the outer side). Since the member is disposed on the side where the toner cartridge is disposed (that is, inside), noise is reduced.

In addition, it is preferable that the first output shaft is disposed so as to be positioned above the second output shaft.
Usually, since the toner cartridge is disposed above the conveyance path, if the first output shaft connected to the toner cartridge side is disposed above the second output shaft connected to the conveyance path side, Assembly is easy because the connection positions are close.

Further, the rotating shaft protrudes on both sides of the motor, the first one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on one protruding side of the rotating shaft, and on the other protruding side of the rotating shaft. It is preferable that the second one-way clutch mechanism is arranged.
Since it is comprised in this way, the load concerning a rotating shaft is disperse | distributed to the axial direction both sides.
Therefore, since it is not necessary to support a large load, it is not necessary to make the rotating shaft thick.

The rotating shaft protrudes from one of the motors, and either the first one-way clutch mechanism or the second one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the motor base end side of the rotating shaft. It is preferable that the other is disposed on the free end side of the rotating shaft.
Since it is configured in this way, the motor body and the clutch mechanism can be separated. Therefore, when the motor main body breaks down, it is possible to easily replace only the motor main body, and it is possible to quickly recover.

Further, the motor is disposed below the first one-way clutch mechanism and the second one-way clutch mechanism, and the rotating shaft protrudes upward in the axial direction of the motor,
It is preferable that the first one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the motor base end side of the rotating shaft and the second one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the free end side of the rotating shaft. It is.
If comprised in this way, since the member and motor main body by the side of the 1st output shaft which apply many loads are arrange | positioned below, stability improves.

Further, the motor is disposed below the first one-way clutch mechanism and the second one-way clutch mechanism, and the rotating shaft protrudes upward in the axial direction of the motor,
It is preferable that the second one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the motor base end side of the rotating shaft, and the first one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the free end side of the rotating shaft. It is.
With this configuration, the first output shaft side member that applies a large amount of load and the heavy motor body are disposed in a distributed manner, so the strength of the housing case needs to be changed depending on the location. The strength can be made uniform.

The transmission member includes a plurality of gears, and the gear that transmits the output of the motor to the first output shaft is more than the gear that transmits the output of the motor to the second output shaft. Is preferably set to a low rotational high torque.
Because of this structure, the toner cartridge with a large weight for filling the toner and the toner agitating member for agitating a large amount of toner can be easily rotated with a large force, and the agitating member in the conveyance path can be moved at a high speed. By rotating, the toner in the transport path can be moved efficiently.

The toner supply actuator includes a control unit that controls the motor.
The control unit is configured to control the motor such that a series of operations for rotating the second output shaft for a predetermined time after the first output shaft for a predetermined time is continuously performed. It is preferable that
Since it is configured in this manner, it is possible to eliminate the waste of both sides being driven until one of the rotations is unnecessary, and the toner can be efficiently conveyed from the toner cartridge to the developing unit.

In addition, the toner supply device includes the toner supply actuator.
For this reason, it is possible to reduce the size of the toner supply device.

According to the present invention, the toner agitating member for agitating the toner cartridge itself or the toner filled in the toner cartridge and the agitating member in the conveyance path for moving the toner in the conveyance path by one motor are provided. Can be driven.
For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a separate motor for rotating the toner stirring member and the transport path stirring member, and the number of motors can be reduced.
Therefore, the toner supply actuator can be reduced in size.
Further, the housing case has a two-layer shape, and the drive portion including the motor and the transmission member are individually disposed, so that the space for attaching the toner supply actuator can be reduced.

  Further, by providing the clutch mechanism, the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member in the toner cartridge and the stirring member in the conveyance path can be independently driven, so that fine control can be performed and energy saving can be performed. Contributes to

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Note that the configuration described below does not limit the present invention and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
The present embodiment relates to a toner supply actuator and a toner supply apparatus that can appropriately control the toner supply from each toner cartridge, and that are reduced in size, weight, and cost.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 to FIG. 11 show a first embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a toner supply device, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration of the toner cartridge and its peripheral members constituting the toner supply device, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another configuration of the toner cartridge and its peripheral members, and FIG. 6 to 8 are explanatory views of the clutch mechanism, and FIGS. 9 to 11 are explanatory views showing modified examples of the clutch mechanism according to the first embodiment.
In FIG. 2, the toner cartridge support 1b and the cover 3a are indicated by broken lines for the sake of explanation.
For the sake of explanation, the teeth of each gear are not shown in FIGS.

First, the toner supply device S1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
The toner supply device is a device for supplying toner to a developing unit in a color copier or a color printer.
The toner cartridge provided in the toner supply device S1 may be replaced with a new toner cartridge after the toner stored in the inside is used up, or the toner is replenished from a toner replenishing hole (not shown). It may be possible. Further, when the toner filled in any of the toner cartridges is used up, the entire toner supply device S1 may be replaced with a new toner supply device S1.

The toner supply device S1 according to the present embodiment includes a support substrate 1, a toner cartridge 2, a toner transport path 3, a toner stirring member 4, a transport path stirring member 5, and a toner supply actuator 6.
The support substrate 1 according to the present embodiment is formed by bending a flat plate into a substantially L shape, and includes a support flat plate portion 1a and a toner cartridge support portion 1b.
The support flat plate portion 1a is a substantially rectangular plate, and is fixed in a state of being placed on the supply device support base D.

The toner cartridge support portion 1b is formed continuously with the support flat plate portion 1a, and stands substantially vertically from one of the long sides of the support flat plate portion 1a.
In the toner cartridge support portion 1b, toner cartridge fixing holes 1c, 1d, 1e, and 1f are formed in parallel in a direction substantially parallel to the long side of the toner cartridge support portion 1b.
The toner cartridge fixing holes 1c, 1d, 1e, and 1f are for penetrating and fixing the toner cartridge 2, and the inner diameter thereof is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the toner cartridge 2 to be fixed.

The toner cartridge 2 according to the present embodiment is a known toner cartridge, and a substantially cylindrical bottle is filled with toner.
The toner cartridge 2 is provided for the number of types of toner colors to be used.
In the present embodiment, since toners of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are used, four toner cartridges 2 are provided.
Hereinafter, the toner cartridge 2 filled with yellow toner is referred to as “toner cartridge 21”, the toner cartridge 2 filled with magenta toner is referred to as “toner cartridge 22”, and the toner cartridge 2 filled with cyan toner is referred to as “toner cartridge”. 23 ”, the toner cartridge 2 filled with black toner is referred to as“ toner cartridge 24 ”, and the toner cartridge 2 is a generic term.

In this embodiment, the capacity of the toner cartridge 24 is configured to be larger than that of the other toner cartridges 21, 22, and 23.
This is because the consumption amount of black toner is usually larger than the consumption amount of other color toners.
However, the configuration is not limited to this, and all the toner cartridges 2 may have the same shape and volume.
Further, the number of toner cartridges 2 provided in one toner supply device S1 is not limited to the present embodiment, and a necessary number is appropriately selected.
Furthermore, a substantially circular hole is formed on the bottom surface of the toner cartridge 2 (the bottom surface on the side not disposed on the upper portion of the support flat plate portion 1a). A first output shaft 61a, which will be described later, is inserted from this hole. Hereinafter, this bottom surface provided in the toner cartridge 21 is referred to as “bottom surface 21 a”, this bottom surface provided in the toner cartridge 22 is referred to as “bottom surface 22 a”, this bottom surface provided in the toner cartridge 23 is referred to as “bottom surface 23 a”, and toner cartridge 24. This bottom surface provided is referred to as a “bottom surface 24a”.

  Further, the toner cartridge 2 is provided with a toner discharge port on the side surface for discharging toner. The toner discharge port provided in the toner cartridge 21 is a “toner discharge port 21b”, and the toner discharge port provided in the toner cartridge 22 is provided. The outlet is referred to as “toner outlet 22b”, the toner outlet provided in the toner cartridge 23 as “toner outlet 23b”, and the toner outlet provided in the toner cartridge 24 as “toner outlet 24b”.

  The toner cartridge 21 penetrates the toner cartridge fixing hole 1c, the toner cartridge 22 penetrates the toner cartridge fixing hole 1d, the toner cartridge 23 penetrates the toner cartridge fixing hole 1e, and the toner cartridge 24 penetrates the toner cartridge fixing hole 1f. It is fixed with.

The toner transport path 3 according to the present embodiment is a transport path for transporting toner to the developing unit G, and is arranged outside the toner cartridge support unit 1b (the surface on which the support flat plate unit 1a is not provided). It is installed.
As shown in FIG. 1, the toner conveyance path 3 is covered with a substantially prismatic cover 3a.
The toner transport path 3 is a path for transporting toner from the toner cartridge 2 to the developing unit G. One end side is connected to the toner cartridge 2 and the other end side is connected to the developing unit G. In addition, an insertion hole for inserting a stirring member 5 in the transport path, which will be described later, is formed on the side surface of the toner transport path 3.
The toner transport path 3 is provided in each toner cartridge 2. Hereinafter, the toner transport path 3 provided in the toner cartridge 21 is referred to as “toner transport path 31”, and the toner transport path 3 provided in the toner cartridge 22 is referred to as “ The toner transport path 32, the toner transport path 3 provided in the toner cartridge 23 is referred to as “toner transport path 33”, and the toner transport path 3 provided in the toner cartridge 24 is referred to as “toner transport path 34”. These are generic names.

The toner stirring member 4 according to the present embodiment is a member for stirring the toner filled in the toner cartridge 2 and is disposed in the toner cartridge 2.
In this embodiment, the toner agitating member 4 is formed as a spiral screw, but the shape is not limited to this, and the shape allows the toner charged in the toner cartridge 2 to be agitated efficiently. Any shape can be used.
The toner stirring member 4 is provided in each toner cartridge 2. Hereinafter, the toner stirring member 4 provided in the toner cartridge 21 is referred to as “toner stirring member 41”, and the toner stirring member 4 provided in the toner cartridge 22 is referred to as “toner”. The agitation member 42 ”, the toner agitation member 4 provided in the toner cartridge 23 is referred to as“ toner agitation member 43 ”, the toner agitation device 4 provided in the toner cartridge 24 is referred to as“ toner agitation device 44 ”, These are generic names.

The transport path stirring member 5 according to the present embodiment is a member for moving the toner passing through the toner transport path 3 while stirring, and is disposed in the toner transport path 3.
In this embodiment, the agitation member 5 in the conveyance path is formed as a spiral screw, but the shape is not limited to this, and the toner in the toner conveyance path 3 can be moved efficiently. Any shape can be used as long as it can be formed.
The agitation member 5 in the conveyance path is provided in each toner conveyance path 3. Hereinafter, the agitation member 5 in the conveyance path provided in the toner conveyance path 31 is provided in the “agitation member 51 in the conveyance path” and the conveyance path 32. The agitation member 5 in the conveyance path is the “agitation member 52 in the conveyance path”, the agitation member 5 in the conveyance path provided in the conveyance path 33 is the “agitation member 53 in the conveyance path”, and the agitation member in the conveyance path is provided in the conveyance path 34. 5 is referred to as “transport path stirring member 54”, and the transport path stirring member 5 is a generic term for these.

The toner supply actuator 6 according to the present embodiment is a driving means for driving the toner stirring member 4 and the stirring member 5 in the conveyance path, and is not disposed on the bottom surface of the toner cartridge 2 (above the support flat plate portion 1a). It is disposed at a position facing the bottom surface on the side.
The toner supply actuator 6 is provided for each toner cartridge 2 and the transport path 3. Hereinafter, the toner supply actuator 6 provided in the toner cartridge 21 and the toner transport path 31 is referred to as “toner supply actuator 61”, toner. The toner supply actuator 6 provided in the cartridge 22 and the toner conveyance path 32 is the “toner supply actuator 62”, and the toner supply actuator 6 provided in the toner cartridge 23 and the toner conveyance path 33 is the “toner supply actuator 63”. The toner supply actuator 6 provided in the cartridge 24 and the toner transport path 34 is referred to as a “toner supply actuator 64”, and the toner supply actuator 6 is a generic term.
The detailed configuration of the toner supply actuator 6 will be described later.

With reference to FIG. 3, the configuration of each toner cartridge 2 and its peripheral members constituting the toner supply device S1 will be described.
In the following, since the configuration of each toner cartridge 2 and its peripheral members is the same, the description will be given by taking the toner cartridge 21 and its peripheral members as an example.
A hole is formed in the bottom surface 21a of the toner cartridge 21, and a bearing 41b is attached to the hole.
A first output shaft 61 a and a second output shaft 61 b protrude from the toner supply actuator 61 toward the toner cartridge 21 and the toner transport path 31.
The first output shaft 61a protrudes from above the second output shaft 61b.

The end of the first output shaft 61a (the end protruding from the toner supply actuator 61) is inserted into the toner cartridge 21 via the bearing 41b, and the toner agitating member 41 is connected to the tip of the first output shaft 61a. Has been.
With this configuration, when the first output shaft 61a rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 by driving the toner supply actuator 61, the toner stirring member 41 rotates in the same direction together with the first output shaft 61a.
By rotating the toner stirring member 41, the toner in the toner cartridge 21 is stirred, and the toner can be easily carried out to the toner transport path 31.

The toner conveyance path 31 includes a toner receiving portion 31a and a conveyance path 31b.
The toner receiving portion 31a according to the present embodiment is a substantially prismatic hollow body having a toner receiving port 31c at the top and a toner outlet 31d at the bottom.
The toner receiving port 31 c is a substantially cylindrical receiving port, and is disposed immediately below the toner discharge port 21 b formed in the toner cartridge 21.
The toner outlet 31d is a substantially circular outlet, and is connected to a conveyance path 31b described later.

The conveyance path 31b according to the present embodiment is a substantially cylindrical pipe bent at an obtuse angle at a substantially central portion, the upper end is connected to the toner discharge port 21b, and the lower end side is connected to the developing unit toner receiving port G1 of the developing unit G. It is connected.
A toner sensor G2 is provided in the vicinity of the developing unit toner receiving opening G1, and detects the presence or absence of toner.
Further, an agitation member insertion hole 31e in the conveyance path is formed on the side surface of the conveyance path 31b.
The shaft portion of the agitation member 51 in the conveyance path passes through the agitation member insertion hole 31e in the conveyance path, and the portion where the screw of the agitation member 51 in the conveyance path is formed is disposed in the toner conveyance path 31. Has been.

Further, the end of the second output shaft 61b (toner) is provided at the end of the transport path stirring member 51 on the side where the screw is not formed (the end disposed on the outside of the toner transport path 31). The ends projecting from the supply actuator 61 are connected.
With this configuration, when the second output shaft 61b rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 by driving the toner supply actuator 61, the agitation member 51 in the conveyance path also rotates in the same direction.
By rotating the agitation member 51 in the conveyance path, the toner in the toner conveyance path 31 can be agitated and efficiently conveyed to the developing unit G.

Thus, the toner in the toner cartridge 21 is stirred by the toner stirring member 41 by driving the first output shaft 61a.
The agitated toner is efficiently carried out to the toner conveyance path 31.
On the toner conveyance path 31 side, the received toner is conveyed to the developing unit G.
At this time, by driving the second output shaft 61b, the agitation unit 51 in the conveyance path is rotated, and the toner is efficiently conveyed to the developing unit G.

As will be described later, the toner supply actuator 61 is provided with a motor 61c as a drive source, and the toner supply device S1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a control unit 80 for controlling the motor 61c. It has been.
A switch 90 is connected to the controller 80. When the switch 90 is turned on, the motor 61c is driven.
In the present embodiment, the switch 90 is turned on in response to a supply request signal output from the toner sensor G2 provided in the developing unit G.

In the present embodiment, when the switch 90 is turned on, the motor 61c is rotated forward for 0.2 second to 1 second (during this time, the toner agitating member 41 rotates 1/4 to 1), and once stopped, the motor is stopped. 2 seconds to 1 second (during this time, the stirring member 51 in the conveyance path rotates 2 to 4 times) The motor 61c is reversely rotated, and a series of controls for stopping the motor 61c is continuously performed.
However, the control is not limited to this, and the number of forward / reverse rotations, timing, time, and the like can be appropriately changed.

Next, another configuration of the toner cartridge 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
In addition, when using the same member as the said 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol was attached | subjected.
Further, in the present configuration, the toner transport path 31 and the stirring member 51 in the transport path are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore only the configuration different from that in the first embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, the toner cartridge 2 itself becomes an agitating unit, and the toner filled inside is agitated by rotating the toner cartridge 2 itself.
As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the configuration of the toner cartridge is different from that in the first embodiment.

Since a plurality of toner cartridges have the same configuration as in the above embodiment, only the toner cartridge 210 filled with yellow toner will be described below.
As in the above embodiment, only the toner cartridge filled with black toner has a large capacity.
The toner cartridge 210 is a known toner cartridge, and a substantially cylindrical bottle is filled with yellow toner.
A substantially circular hole is formed on the bottom surface 210a of the toner cartridge 210 (the bottom surface on the side not disposed on the upper portion of the support flat plate portion 1a). From this hole, a first output shaft 61a protruding from a toner supply actuator 61 described later is inserted and fixed.

The toner cartridge 210 has a spiral protrusion 210c on the inner side surface and a toner discharge hole 210b on the side surface.
Further, the first output shaft 61a is fixed to a hole formed in the bottom surface 210a via a fixing member 410b.
Therefore, when the toner supply actuator 61 is driven and the first output shaft 61a rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4, the toner cartridge 210 also rotates in the same direction.

As described above, when the toner cartridge 210 rotates, the toner filled therein is guided to the toner discharge port 210b along the spiral protruding edge 210c while being agitated by the rotational motion.
At this time, the toner receiving port 31c formed in the toner receiving portion 31a is preferably a funnel shape having a wide upper opening area. If formed in this way, even if the toner is scattered by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the toner cartridge 210, the scattered toner can be received.

Next, the configuration of the toner supply actuator 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Since the structure of the toner supply actuator 6 is the same, the toner supply actuator for driving the toner stirring member 41 disposed in the toner cartridge 21 and the conveyance path stirring member 51 disposed in the toner carry-out path 31 is used. The actuator 61 will be described as an example.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the inside of the toner supply actuator 61 and is a plan view of the toner supply actuator 61 as viewed from the direction B of FIG.

The toner supply actuator 61 includes a motor 61c, a worm gear 61d, a first gear 61e as a first reduction gear, a second gear 61f as a first reduction gear, a third gear 61g as a second reduction gear, a clutch mechanism K, It is comprised. These components are housed in the housing case L.
The motor 61c according to the present embodiment is a known motor, and a known worm gear 61d is attached to the output shaft.
The worm gear 61d meshes with a clutch mechanism K described later, and the clutch mechanism K switches the output direction depending on the rotation direction of the worm gear 61d.
The clutch mechanism K is engaged with a first gear 61e and a third gear 61g, which are known gears. Although described in detail later, the clutch mechanism K switches the operation of the first gear 61e and the third gear 61g according to the rotation direction of the motor 61c (rotation direction of the worm gear 61d).
The second gear 61f is a known gear and meshes with the first gear 61e. The output shaft is a first output shaft 61 a and is connected to the toner stirring member 41.
The third gear 61g is a known gear, and its output shaft is the second output shaft 61b, which is connected to the agitation member 51 in the conveyance path.

Next, the configuration of the clutch mechanism K will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state during the output switching operation of the clutch mechanism K. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the clutch mechanism K according to the present embodiment includes a center gear 71 (worm wheel), a shaft 72, a cartridge side connecting part 73, a transport path side connecting part 74, a cartridge side output gear 75, and a transport path side. An output gear 76 is provided.
The center gear 71 is a known worm wheel, and rotates in the direction of the arrow in response to the rotation of the worm gear 61d.

The shaft 72 is a known gear shaft and serves as an output shaft of the center gear 71.
At both ends of the shaft 72, substantially cylindrical pins 72 a and 72 b project from the shaft 72 in the radial direction.
Note that the pins 72 a and 72 b protrude in parallel in the vertical direction of the shaft 72.
Further, the pin disposed on the upper side (cartridge side) is a pin 72a, and the other is a pin 72b.

The cartridge side connecting part 73 and the transport path side connecting part 74 are constituted by substantially cylindrical main body parts 73a and 74a and bevel gears 73b and 74b arranged at one end thereof.
On the side surfaces of the main body portions 73a and 74a, slide holes 73c and 74c having substantially elliptical shapes are formed. The sliding holes 73c and 74c are formed so as to be inclined downward from above.
The distance from the upper end to the lower end of the sliding holes 73c and 74c is the vertical movement distance of the cartridge side connecting part 73 and the transport path side connecting part 74.
Further, shaft through holes 73e and 74e for allowing the shaft 72 to pass therethrough are formed in the vertical direction at substantially the center of the cartridge side connecting component 73 and the conveyance path side connecting component 74.
The cartridge-side output gear 75 and the conveyance path-side output gear 76 are gears for transmitting power to the first gear 61e and the third gear 61g, respectively, and connecting part engagement holes 75a and 76a are formed in a known gear. Is.
The connecting part engagement holes 75a and 76a are formed on the bottom surfaces of the cartridge side output gear 75 and the conveyance path side output gear 76, and grooves that mesh with the bevel gears 73b and 74b are formed on the inner surfaces thereof. .

  In this embodiment, the cartridge side connecting part 73 and the transport path side connecting part 74 are connected to the cartridge side output gear 75 and the transport path side output gear 76 by using a bevel and a groove that meshes with the bevel. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is not limited to this. The cartridge-side connecting part 73 and the transport path-side connecting part 74 are connected to the cartridge-side output gear 75 and the transport path-side output gear 76. Any shape may be used as long as both are interlocked by friction when pressed.

The center gear 71 is fixed to a substantially central portion of the shaft 72.
Further, on the upper side of the shaft 72 (above the center gear 71), a cartridge side connecting component 73 is disposed with the bevel gear 73b facing upward.
The upper side of the shaft 72 (above the center gear 71) passes through a shaft through hole 73e formed in the cartridge side connecting part 73, and the free end side of the pin 72a is connected to the cartridge side connecting part 73. It slightly protrudes from the formed sliding hole 73c.
The shaft 72 passes through the shaft through-hole 73e formed in the cartridge-side connecting component 73, but is not fixed, and if the shaft 72 rotates and no other force is applied, the cartridge The side connection component 73 is configured not to rotate in conjunction with the shaft 72.

In addition, on the further upper side of the shaft 72 (the portion protruding upward from the shaft through hole 73e formed in the cartridge side connecting part 73), the cartridge side output gear 75 directs the connecting part engaging hole 75a downward. It is arranged.
The upper end side of the shaft 72 (portion protruding upward from the shaft through hole 73e formed in the cartridge side connecting part 73) passes through the substantially central portion of the cartridge side output gear 75 in the vertical direction.
A substantially annular gear retaining member 73f is fixed to a portion of the upper surface of the cartridge side output gear 75 where the upper end of the shaft 72 protrudes.
The shaft 72 passes through the inside of the cartridge-side output gear 75, but is not fixed. Even if the shaft 72 rotates and no other force is applied, the cartridge-side output gear 75 is connected to the shaft 72. It is configured not to rotate in conjunction with.

On the lower side of the shaft 72 (below the center gear 71), a transport path side connecting component 74 is disposed with the bevel gear 74b facing downward.
The lower side of the shaft 72 (below the center gear 71) passes through a shaft through hole 74e formed in the conveyance path side coupling component 74, and the free end side of the pin 72b is the conveyance path side coupling component. 74 slightly protrudes from the sliding hole 74c formed in 74.
Further, the shaft 72 passes through the shaft through hole 74e formed in the transport path side connecting component 74, but is not fixed, and even if the shaft 72 rotates, no other force is applied. The conveyance path side connecting component 74 is configured not to rotate in conjunction with the shaft 72.

Further, on the further lower side of the shaft 72 (portion protruding downward from the shaft through hole 74e formed in the conveying path side connecting part 74), the conveying path side output gear 76 moves the connecting part engagement hole 76a upward. It is arranged toward.
The lower end side of the shaft 72 (portion projecting downward from the shaft through hole 74e formed in the transport path side connecting component 74) penetrates in a substantially central portion of the transport path side output gear 76 in the vertical direction.
A substantially annular gear retaining member 73g is fixed to a portion of the lower surface of the transport path side output gear 76 where the lower end of the shaft 72 protrudes.
The shaft 72 passes through the inside of the transport path side output gear 76, but is not fixed, and even if the shaft 72 rotates and no other force is applied, the transport path side output gear 76 is It is configured not to rotate in conjunction with the shaft 72.

Next, the movement of the clutch mechanism K will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the state shown in FIG. 6, neither the cartridge side connection component 73 nor the conveyance path side connection component 74 meshes with the cartridge side output gear 75 and the conveyance path side output gear 76.
In this state, when the motor 61c is rotated forward, the worm gear 61d rotates in the direction of the arrow.

With this rotation, the center gear 71 rotates in the direction of the arrow, and with the rotation of the center gear 71, the shaft 72 rotates.
However, since the cartridge side connecting part 73 and the conveyance path side connecting part 74 do not move together with the shaft 72, the pin 72a and the pin 72b fixed to the shaft 72 are along the sliding hole 73c and the sliding hole 74c, respectively. Start sliding in the direction of the arrow.
Further, since the shaft 72 performs only rotational movement, and the sliding holes 73c and 74c are perforated in an oblique direction with respect to the horizontal plane, the cartridge-side connecting component 73 and the conveyance are carried as the pins 72a and 72b slide. The path-side connecting component 74 is pushed up by the pins 72a and 72b and starts moving upward.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the pins 72a and 72b have reached the lowest ends of the sliding holes 73c and 74c in this way.
At this time, the bevel gear 73 b of the cartridge side connecting part 73 is engaged with the connecting part engaging hole 75 a of the cartridge side output gear 75.
Thus, when the pin 72a and the pin 72b reach the lowermost end of the sliding hole 73c and the sliding hole 74c, the pin 72a and the pin 72b cannot move any more, and therefore the sliding hole 73c and the sliding hole 74c. The ends of the cartridge 72 are pressed in the rotation direction by the pins 72 a and 72 b, and the cartridge side connection component 73 and the conveyance path side connection component 74 start to rotate in the same direction as the rotation direction of the shaft 72 by this pressing force.

Further, since the bevel gear 73b of the cartridge side connecting part 73 is engaged with the connecting part engaging hole 75a of the cartridge side output gear 75, the cartridge side output gear 75 rotates as the cartridge side connecting part 73 rotates. start.
The rotation of the cartridge side output gear 75 is transmitted to the first gear 61e and the second gear 61f, and the first output shaft 61a that is the output shaft of the second gear 61f starts to rotate.
As the first output shaft 61a rotates, the toner stirring member 41 (or the toner cartridge 21) rotates.

Next, in this state, when the rotation direction of the motor 61c is changed to reverse rotation, the clutch mechanism K performs an operation opposite to the above operation.
First, since the rotation direction of the motor 61c is reversed, the rotation directions of the worm gear 61d and the center gear 71 are also reversed.
As shown in FIG. 8, the pin 72a and the pin 72b move in the direction of the arrow, and accordingly, the cartridge side connecting part 73 and the conveyance path side connecting part 74 move downward.

When the pin 72a and the pin 72b reach the uppermost ends of the sliding hole 73c and the sliding hole 74c, the bevel gear 74b of the conveying path side connecting component 74 is connected to the connecting component meshing hole 76a of the conveying path side output gear 76. It is in mesh.
Thus, when the pin 72a and the pin 72b reach the lowermost end of the sliding hole 73c and the sliding hole 74c, the pin 72a and the pin 72b cannot move any more, and therefore the sliding hole 73c and the sliding hole 74c. The ends of the cartridge 72 are pressed in the rotation direction by the pins 72 a and 72 b, and the cartridge side connection component 73 and the conveyance path side connection component 74 start to rotate in the same direction as the rotation direction of the shaft 72 by this pressing force.
Further, the bevel gear 74 b of the transport path side connecting component 74 is meshed with the connecting part engaging hole 76 a of the transport path side output gear 76, so that the transport path side output gear is rotated with the rotation of the transport path side connecting component 74. 76 begins to rotate.

The rotation of the transport path side output gear 76 is transmitted to the third gear 61g, and the second output shaft 61b which is the output shaft of the third gear 61g starts to rotate.
As the second output shaft 61b rotates, the agitation member 51 in the transport path rotates.
As described above, by using the clutch mechanism K, when the motor 61c is rotated forward, the toner stirring member 41 (or the toner cartridge 21) is rotated, and when the motor 61c is rotated reversely, the stirring member 51 in the conveyance path is rotated. Rotates.

9 to 11 show modified examples of the clutch mechanism K. FIG.
The clutch mechanism K ′ according to the present embodiment is obtained by reducing the number of parts forming the mechanism and integrating the operations of the center gear 71, the cartridge side connecting part 73, and the transport path side connecting part 74.
As shown in FIG. 9, the clutch mechanism K ′ according to this embodiment includes a center gear 171 (worm wheel), a shaft 172, a cartridge side output gear 175, and a conveyance path side output gear 176.

The center gear 171 is a modification of a known worm wheel, and rotates in the direction of the arrow in response to the rotation of the worm gear 61d.
Bevel gears are disposed on the upper bottom surface and the lower bottom surface of the center gear 171. Hereinafter, the bevel gear disposed on the upper bottom surface is referred to as “cartridge side bevel gear 171a”, and the bevel gear disposed on the lower bottom surface is referred to as “conveyance path side bevel gear 171b”.
A shaft through hole 171c for allowing the shaft 172 to pass therethrough is formed in the vertical direction at a substantially central portion of the center gear 171.
A screw thread 171d is formed on the inner surface of the shaft through hole 171c.

The shaft 172 is a modification of a known shaft, and a screw groove 172a that meshes with a screw thread 171d formed in the center gear 171 is formed in a substantially central portion thereof.
The cartridge-side output gear 175 and the conveyance path-side center gear 176 are modified known gears. Each of the cartridge-side output gear 175 and the conveyance-path-side center gear 176 has a cartridge-side bevel gear meshing portion 175a and a conveyance-path-side bevel gear meshing portion 176a. The cartridge side bevel gear meshing portion 175a and the conveyance path side bevel gear meshing portion 176a have grooves that mesh with the cartridge side bevel gear 171a and the conveyance path side bevel gear 171b. Yes.
Note that shaft through holes 175b and 176b for allowing the shaft 172 to pass therethrough are formed in the vertical direction at substantially the center of the cartridge side output gear 175 and the transport path side output gear 176.

  In the present embodiment, the cartridge side bevel gear 171a and the conveyance path side bevel gear 171b are connected to the cartridge side bevel gear engagement portion 175a and the conveyance path side bevel gear engagement portion 176a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any shape, or the cartridge side bevel gear 171a and the conveyance path side bevel gear 171b can be used. Any shape may be used as long as both are interlocked by friction when pressed against the cartridge side bevel gear meshing portion 175a and the conveyance path side bevel gear meshing portion 176a.

The center gear 171 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the shaft 172 (a position where the screw thread 171d is formed). The shaft 172 passes through the shaft through hole 171c, and the screw thread 171d formed on the inner surface of the shaft through hole 171c and the screw groove 172a formed on the shaft 172 are screwed together.
The cartridge-side output gear 175 is disposed at the upper portion of the center gear 171 with the surface on which the cartridge-side bevel gear engagement portion 175a is disposed facing downward, and the shaft through-hole 175b has the shaft 172. The upper end penetrates.
The shaft 172 passes through the cartridge-side output gear 175, but is not fixed. Even if the shaft 172 rotates, the shaft 172 and the cartridge-side output gear 175 do not apply any other force. It is configured not to be linked.

The transport path side output gear 176 is disposed at the lower part of the center gear 171 with the surface on which the transport path side bevel gear meshing part 176a is disposed facing upward, and a shaft through hole 176b has a shaft. The lower end of 172 penetrates.
Although the shaft 172 passes through the transport path side output gear 176, it is not fixed. Even if the shaft 172 rotates, other forces are applied to the shaft 172 and the transport path side output gear 176. Otherwise, it is configured not to be linked.
Further, substantially annular gear retaining members 173f and 173g are fixed to the shaft protruding portion on the upper surface of the cartridge side output gear 175 and the shaft protruding portion on the lower surface of the conveyance path side output gear 176, respectively.

Next, the movement of the clutch mechanism K ′ will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.
In the state shown in FIG. 9, neither the cartridge side bevel gear 171a nor the conveyance path side bevel gear 171b meshes with the cartridge side output gear 175 or the conveyance path side output gear 176.
In this state, when the motor 61c is rotated forward, the worm gear 61d rotates in the direction of the arrow.
With this rotation, the center gear 171 rotates in the direction of the arrow.

Thus, when the center gear 171 rotates, the screw thread 171d formed on the inner surface of the shaft through hole 171c and the screw groove 172a formed on the shaft 172 are screwed together. 171 rises.
Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the cartridge side bevel gear 171 a formed on the center gear 171 meshes with the cartridge side bevel gear meshing portion 175 a formed on the cartridge side output gear 175.
When the two mesh with each other in this way, the cartridge-side output gear 175 rotates in the same direction as the center gear 171, and this rotation is transmitted to the first gear 61 e and the second gear 61 f, and is output by the output shaft of the second gear 61 f. A certain first output shaft 61a starts to rotate.
As the first output shaft 61a rotates, the toner stirring member 41 (or the toner cartridge 21) rotates.

Next, in this state, when the rotation direction of the motor 61c is changed to reverse rotation, the clutch mechanism K ′ performs an operation reverse to the above operation.
First, since the rotation direction of the motor 61c is reversed, the rotation directions of the worm gear 61d and the center gear 171 are also reversed.
As shown in FIG. 11, when the center gear 171 rotates in the direction opposite to the direction shown in FIG. Therefore, the center gear 171 descends along this screw groove.

Next, the conveyance path side bevel gear 171 b formed on the center gear 171 meshes with the conveyance path side bevel gear meshing part 176 a formed on the conveyance path side output gear 176.
When both mesh with each other in this way, the transport path side output gear 176 rotates in the same direction as the center gear 171, and this rotation is transmitted to the third gear 61 g, and the second output that is the output shaft of the third gear 61 g. The shaft 61b starts to rotate.
As the second output shaft 61b rotates, the agitation member 51 in the transport path rotates.
As described above, by using the clutch mechanism K ′, when the motor 61c is rotated forward, the toner stirring member 41 (or the toner cartridge 21) rotates, and when the motor 61c is rotated reversely, the stirring member in the conveyance path is rotated. 51 rotates.

In the present embodiment, the second gear 61f is configured to have higher torque and lower rotation than the third gear 61g.
This is because the toner stirring member 4 needs to move more toner than the stirring member 5 in the conveyance path.

In the present embodiment, the toner supply actuator 64 has a larger capacity than the other toner supply actuators 61, 62, 63.
This is because the toner cartridge 24 has a larger capacity than the other toner cartridges 21, 22, and 23, and thus a larger device is required to stir the toner.

Note that the toner agitating member 44 and the conveyance path agitating member 54 mounted on the toner cartridge 24 are also larger than the others.
This is because black toner is used frequently and the size of the toner cartridge 24 is larger than that of other toners, so that more toner needs to be moved.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the toner cartridges 21, 22, 23, and 24 can be provided with the toner supply actuators 61, 62, 63, and 64, and the toner stirring members 41, 42, 43, and 44 and the agitation members 51, 52, 53, and 54 in the conveyance path can be separately driven by one motor.
Therefore, stirring control and conveyance control can be performed for each toner cartridge 21, 22, 23, 24, and the number of motors used can be reduced.
Therefore, the installation space of the motor can be reduced, and the toner supply device S1 itself can be reduced in size.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIGS. 12 to 16 show a second embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a toner supply device, and FIG. 13 is a direction in which a toner cartridge is provided for a toner supply actuator. FIG. 14 to FIG. 16 are explanatory views showing modified examples of the toner supply actuator according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates the toner supply device S2 according to this embodiment.
The toner supply device S2 according to the present embodiment includes a support substrate 1, a toner cartridge 2, a toner transport path 3, a toner stirring member 4, a transport path stirring member 5, and a toner supply actuator 16.
The toner supply device S2 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the toner supply device S1 according to the first embodiment except for the configuration of the toner supply actuator 16, and thus the configuration of the toner supply actuator 16 I will explain only.

The configuration of the toner supply actuator 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Since the toner supply actuator 16 has the same structure, the toner supply member for driving the toner stirring member 41 provided in the toner cartridge 21 and the stirring member 51 in the conveyance path provided in the toner carry-out route 31 is used. The actuator 161 will be described as an example.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the inside of the toner supply actuator 161, and is a plan view of the toner cartridge 2 as viewed from the direction in which the toner cartridge 2 is disposed.

  The toner supply actuator 161 includes a first output shaft 161a, a second output shaft 161b, a motor 161c, a first worm gear 161d, a second worm gear 161e, a first clutch 161f, a second clutch 161g, and a first gear (worm wheel) 161h. , Second gear 161i and third gear (worm wheel) 161j. In addition, these components are accommodated in the housing case L as a housing case.

The motor 161c according to the present embodiment is a known motor, and a first clutch 161f and a second clutch 161g are attached to the output shafts 161A and 161B protruding from both ends.
The first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g according to the present embodiment are known one-way drive small clutches (so-called one-way clutches).
This one-way drive type small clutch is configured to transmit the driving of the shaft when the shaft rotates in a predetermined direction, idle when the shaft rotates in the other direction, and not transmit the driving of the shaft. It is a clutch.
As the first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g, as long as they are known small-diameter one-way drive type small clutches, a plurality of needle rollers are arranged in an outer race, a spring is wound around a rotating shaft, and the like is contacted. Any form may be used.

The first clutch 161f according to the present embodiment is configured to be driven when the motor 161c rotates forward, and the second clutch 161g is configured to be driven when the motor 161c rotates reversely.
That is, the first clutch 161f idles when the output shaft 161A rotates in the reverse direction, and the rotation of the output shaft 161A is not transmitted to the next stage. Similarly, the second clutch 161g idles when the output shaft 161B rotates forward, and the rotation of the output shaft 161B is not transmitted to the next stage.

The first worm gear 161d and the second worm gear 161e according to the present embodiment are known worm gears, and are connected to the first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g, respectively.
Note that the first clutch 161f and the first worm gear 161d, and the second clutch 161g and the second worm gear 161e may be configured integrally or may be configured separately.

The first gear 161h, the second gear 161i, and the third gear 161j according to the present embodiment are known gears.
The first gear 161h meshes with the first worm gear 161d, and when the first worm gear 161d rotates, the first gear 161h rotates.
The first gear 161h meshes with the second gear 161i, and when the first gear 161h rotates, the second gear 161i rotates.
Further, the output shaft of the second gear 161 i is a first output shaft 161 a, and the first output shaft 161 a is connected to the toner stirring member 41.
The third gear 161j meshes with the second worm gear 161e, and when the second worm gear 161e rotates, the third gear 161j rotates.
Furthermore, the output shaft of the third gear 161j is the second output shaft 161b, and is connected to the agitation member 51 in the transport path.

As described above, the output shaft of the motor 161c protrudes at both ends in the axial direction, the first clutch 161f and the first worm gear 161d are attached to one protruding side (output shaft 161A), and the other protruding side (output shaft 161B). ), The second clutch 161g and the second worm gear 161e are respectively attached.
Further, as described above, the first clutch 161f is configured to be driven when the output shaft 161A rotates in the normal direction together with the normal rotation of the motor 161c, and the second clutch 161g is rotated in the reverse direction of the output shaft 161B of the motor 161c. It is configured to be driven when.
Therefore, when the motor 161c rotates forward and the output shaft 161A rotates forward accordingly, the output of the motor 161c is transmitted to the first worm gear 161d, the first gear 161h, and the second gear 161i, and the first output shaft 161a rotates. Therefore, when the motor 161c rotates forward, the toner stirring member 41 connected to the first output shaft 161a operates.
At this time, since the output shaft 161B also rotates in the forward direction, the second clutch 161g rotates idly and the second worm gear 161e does not operate, so the agitation member 51 in the conveyance path does not operate.

Conversely, when the motor 161c rotates in reverse and the output shaft 161B rotates in reverse, the output of the motor 161c is transmitted to the second worm gear 161e and the third gear 161j, and the second output shaft 161b rotates. Therefore, when the motor 161c rotates in the reverse direction, the conveyance path stirring member 51 connected to the second output shaft 161b operates.
At this time, since the output shaft 161A also rotates in the reverse direction, the first clutch 161f rotates idly and the first worm gear 161d does not operate, so the toner stirring member 41 does not operate.
As described above, in the present embodiment, only the toner stirring member 41 operates when the motor 161c rotates forward, and only the stirring member 51 in the conveyance path operates when the motor 161c rotates reversely. Yes.
For this reason, either the toner stirring member 41 or the transport path stirring member 51 can be operated by switching the rotation direction of the motor 161c between forward and reverse.

Thus, by providing two one-way drive type clutches, the first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b can be independently operated, so that a complicated mechanism is unnecessary and the first It is possible to easily switch between the output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b.
In addition, since the first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g are provided at both ends of the rotating shaft of the motor 161c, the load on the rotating shaft is distributed.
Therefore, it is not necessary to make the rotating shaft of the motor 161c strong.
Further, the adjustment of the output to each of the first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b can be performed independently by changing the gear ratio, and the output adjustment becomes easy.
The configuration of each gear and the like in the present embodiment is an example, and is not limited to this. That is, the number, the number of teeth, the size, the arrangement, and the like of the gears for reduction can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In addition, the first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g, and the first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b may be directly connected without using a speed reduction mechanism.

Next, modified examples will be described with reference to FIGS.
14 and 15 show the first clutch 161f, the second clutch 161g, the first worm gear 161d, the second worm gear 161e, the first gear 161h, the second gear 161i, and the third component, which are the components used in the above embodiment. The arrangement of the gear 161j is changed.

In the modification shown in FIG. 14, a second motor 461c having an output shaft 461A that protrudes in one direction long is used.
In this modification, the first clutch 161f is attached to the base end side of the second motor 461c of the output shaft 461A, and the second clutch 161g is attached to the free end side of the output shaft 461A. The first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g are rotatably inserted into the output shaft 461A.
A first worm gear 161d is connected to the first clutch 161f, and the first worm gear 161d rotates as a result of the operation of the first clutch 161f.
The first gear 161h meshes with the first worm gear 161d, the second gear 161i meshes with the first gear 161h, and the output shaft of the second gear 161i is the first output shaft 161a. This is the same as in the above embodiment.
The second worm gear 161e meshes with the second clutch 161g, and the second worm gear 161e rotates when the second clutch 161g is operated.
The third gear 161j meshes with the second worm gear 161e, and the output shaft of the third gear 161j is the second output shaft 161b, as in the above embodiment.
The first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b are connected to the toner agitating member 41 and the agitating member 51 in the conveyance path via other members according to the arrangement positions of the toner cartridge 21 and the toner conveyance path 31. It may be configured to project outward from an appropriate position of the housing case L.
Further, since the configurations of the first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, when the second motor 461c rotates in the forward direction, the first clutch 161f is operated, and finally the toner stirring member 41 Operates. Further, when the second motor 461c rotates in the reverse direction, the second clutch 161g is actuated, and finally the in-conveyance path stirring member 51 is actuated.

In this modified example, since the second motor 461c main body and the speed reduction unit can be separated, when the second motor 461c main body fails, only the second motor 461c main body can be easily replaced and recovered quickly. Can be made.
Further, in this modified example, heavy components such as the first gear 161h and the second gear 161i in the vicinity of the first output shaft 161a to which a large load is applied and the main body of the second motor 461c are disposed downward. ,Stabilize.
Note that the configuration of each gear and the like in this modified example is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the number, the number of teeth, the size, the arrangement, and the like of the gears for reduction can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In addition, the first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g, and the first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b may be directly connected without using a speed reduction mechanism.

The modified example shown in FIG. 15 uses the second motor 461c as in the modified example shown in FIG. 14 and changes the arrangement positions of the first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b.
In this modification, a second clutch 161g is attached to the base end side of the second motor 461c of the output shaft 461A, and a first clutch 161f is attached to the free end side of the output shaft.
A first worm gear 161d is attached to the first clutch 161f, and the first worm gear 161d rotates when the first clutch 161f is operated.
The third gear 161j is disposed on the side where the first gear 161h and the second gear 161i are disposed and on the symmetric side with respect to the output shaft 461A of the second motor 461c. This is the same as the modified example shown in FIG.
In this modified example, since the second motor 461c main body and the speed reduction unit can be separated, when the second motor 461c main body fails, only the second motor 461c main body can be easily replaced and recovered quickly. Can be made.
In the present modification, the first gear 161h and the second gear 161i in the vicinity of the first output shaft 161a to which a large load is applied and the second motor 461c main body having a large weight are arranged in a vertically dispersed manner. The strength of the housing case L can be made uniform.
Note that the configuration of each gear and the like in this modified example is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the number, the number of teeth, the size, the arrangement, and the like of the gears for reduction can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In addition, the first clutch 161f and the second clutch 161g, and the first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b may be directly connected without using a speed reduction mechanism.

FIG. 16 shows another modification example.
In this modification, a fourth gear 361k is attached to the output shaft 361A of the third motor 361c.
The third clutch 361f and the fourth clutch 361g are engaged with the fourth gear 361k. The third clutch 361f and the fourth clutch 361g are unidirectionally driven small clutches as in the embodiment and the modified example, and the third clutch 361f is operated when the fourth gear 361k rotates in the forward direction. A rotational force is transmitted to the worm gear 361d, and when it rotates in the reverse direction, it idles and no rotational force is transmitted to the third worm gear 361d.
Similarly, the fourth clutch 361g operates when the fourth gear 361k rotates in the reverse direction, and transmits the rotational force to the fourth worm gear 361e. When the fourth gear 361g rotates in the forward direction, the fourth clutch 361g idles and does not transmit the rotational force to the fourth worm gear 361e.

A third worm gear 361d is connected to the output side of the third clutch 361f, and a fifth gear 361h serving as a first reduction gear meshes with the third worm gear 361d.
In the present modification, the output shaft of the fifth gear 361h is the first output shaft 161a.
The fifth gear 361h is disposed outside the housing case L.
A fourth worm gear 361e is connected to the output side of the fourth clutch 361g, and a sixth gear 361j as a second reduction gear meshes with the fourth worm gear 361e.
In the present embodiment, the output shaft of the sixth gear 361j is the second output shaft 161b.
The sixth gear 361j is disposed outside the housing case L.
For this reason, when the third motor 361c rotates and the output shaft 361A and the fourth gear 361k rotate forward, the third clutch 361f operates, and the first output shaft 161a moves via the third worm gear 361d and the fifth gear 361h. Rotate. Therefore, the toner stirring member 41 connected to the first output shaft 161a is operated. At this time, since the fourth clutch 361g is idling, the second output shaft 161b is not driven.

Conversely, when the third motor 361c rotates in the reverse direction and the output shaft 361A and the fourth gear 361k rotate in the reverse direction, the fourth clutch 361g operates, and the second output is output via the fourth worm gear 361e and the sixth gear 361j. The shaft 161b rotates. Therefore, the in-conveyance path stirring member 51 connected to the second output shaft 161b operates. At this time, since the third clutch 361f is idling, the first output shaft 161a is not driven.
Therefore, by switching the rotation direction of the third motor 361c between forward and reverse, either the toner stirring member 41 or the transport path stirring member 51 can be operated.
In the present embodiment, the fifth gear 361h and the sixth gear 361j are disposed outside the housing case L. For this reason, the size of the housing case L can be reduced.
Note that the configuration of each gear and the like in this modified example is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the number, the number of teeth, the size, the arrangement, and the like of the gears for reduction can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In addition, the third clutch 361f and the fourth clutch 361g, and the first output shaft 161a and the second output shaft 161b may be directly connected without using a speed reduction mechanism.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the toner cartridges 21, 22, 23, and 24 can be provided with the toner supply actuators 161, 162, 163, and 164, and the toner stirring members 41, 42, 43, 44 and the agitation members 51, 52, 53, and 54 in the conveyance path can be separately driven by one motor.
Therefore, stirring control and conveyance control can be performed for each toner cartridge 21, 22, 23, 24, and the number of motors used can be reduced.
Therefore, the installation space of the motor can be reduced, and the toner supply device S2 itself can be reduced in size.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIGS. 17 to 22 show a third embodiment according to the present invention, FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a toner supply device, and FIG. 18 is a plan view and a partial cross section on the drive unit side of the toner supply actuator. FIG. 19 is a plan view and a partial cross-sectional equivalent view of the output portion side of the toner supply actuator, and FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional equivalent view in a state where the output portion and drive portion of the toner supply actuator are assembled. 22 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of the toner supply actuator according to the third embodiment (corresponding to a cross section in a state where the output part and the drive part of the toner supply actuator are assembled).

FIG. 17 illustrates the toner supply device S3 according to this embodiment.
The toner supply device S3 according to this embodiment includes a support substrate 1, a toner cartridge 2, a toner transport path 3, a toner stirring member 4, a transport path stirring member 5, and a toner supply actuator 26 as main components.
The toner supply device S3 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the toner supply device S1 according to the first embodiment except for the configuration of the toner supply actuator 26, and thus the configuration of the toner supply actuator 26. I will explain only.

The configuration of the toner supply actuator 26 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Since the structure of the toner supply actuator 26 is the same, the toner supply member that drives the toner stirring member 41 disposed in the toner cartridge 21 and the transport path stirring member 51 disposed in the toner carry-out path 31 is used. The actuator 261 will be described as an example.
The toner supply actuator 261 according to this embodiment includes a drive unit M and an output unit N, and is formed by assembling the drive unit M and the output unit N.
The drive part M (drive part casing L1) and the output part N (output part casing L2) are connected by screw fixing. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be. For example, a concave portion may be formed on the output portion N side, and a convex portion may be formed on the driving portion M side, and the two may be fixed by fitting.

As shown in FIG. 18, the drive unit M according to this embodiment includes a motor 261c, a worm gear 261d, a first gear 261e (worm wheel), a second gear 261f, a third gear 261g, and a connecting shaft 261h. Has been.
Moreover, these components are stored in the drive part casing L1.
The drive unit casing L1 includes a first part L11 and a second part L12.
The first part L11 and the second part L12 are housings having a concave cross section, and by combining both opening sides, a drive unit casing L1 that is a closed housing having one space is formed.
On the inner wall surfaces of the first component L11 and the second component L12, irregularities for holding the components constituting the drive unit M are appropriately formed. A projecting hole L111 for projecting the connecting shaft 261h is formed on the bottom surface of the first component L11.

The motor 261c according to the present embodiment is a known motor, and a known worm gear 261d is attached to an output shaft protruding in one direction.
The first gear 261e, the second gear 261f, and the third gear 261g according to the present embodiment are known reduction gears, and transmit the output of the motor 261c to the lower stage.
The first gear 261e meshes with the worm gear 261d, and rotates by receiving the output of the motor 261c via the worm gear 261d.
The second gear 261f is disposed coaxially with the first gear 261e and rotates in the same direction as the first gear 261e.
The third gear 261g meshes with the second gear 261f and rotates in response to the rotation of the second gear 261f.
The connecting shaft 261h is an output shaft of the third gear 261g, and rotates in the same direction when the third gear 261g rotates.
The connecting shaft 261h is a D-cut shaft, and the free end side thereof is D-cut.
In this embodiment, the D-cut is made on the free end side of the connecting shaft 261h. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an oval shape, a cross shape, a hole shape, etc. Any shape may be used on the free end side as long as it can be reliably connected. Moreover, you may connect both via a connection joint.
As described above, when the motor 261c is driven, the output of the motor 261c is transmitted in the order of the worm gear 261d, the first gear 261e, the second gear 261f, and the third gear 261g, and is finally connected to the output shaft of the third gear 261g. The shaft 261h rotates.

As shown in FIG. 19, the output unit N according to the present embodiment includes a fourth gear 261i, a fifth gear 261j, a sixth gear 261k, a seventh gear 261l, a first output shaft 261a, and a second output shaft 261b. Configured.
Moreover, these components are stored in the output part casing L2.
The output portion casing L2 includes a third part L13 and a fourth part L14.
The third part L13 and the fourth part L14 are casings having a concave cross section, and an output casing L2 that is a closed casing having one space is formed by combining both opening sides.
On the inner wall surfaces of the third component L13 and the fourth component L14, irregularities for holding the components constituting the output portion N are appropriately formed. Further, on the bottom surface of the third component L13, a projecting hole L131 as a first projecting hole for projecting the first output shaft 261a and a projecting hole L132 as a second projecting hole for projecting the second output shaft 261b are provided. Is formed. Furthermore, an insertion hole L141 for holding the first output shaft and inserting the connecting shaft 261h is formed on the bottom surface of the fourth component L14. The protruding hole L132 and the insertion hole L141 are formed so as to be arranged at positions facing each other when the third part L13 and the fourth part L14 are assembled to form the output portion casing L2.

The fourth gear 261i, the fifth gear 261j, the sixth gear 261k, and the seventh gear 261l according to the present embodiment are known reduction gears, and transmit power sequentially to the lower stage.
The output shaft of the fourth gear 261i is a second output shaft 261b, and a connecting shaft 261h is connected to the second output shaft 261b. As shown in FIG. 19, the second output shaft 261b is formed with a connecting hole H from the bottom surface in the axial direction, and a D-cut portion of the connecting shaft 261h is inserted and fixed in this connecting hole H. Thus, the connecting shaft 261h and the second output shaft 261b are connected.
The fifth gear 261j meshes with the fourth gear 261i and rotates with the rotation of the fourth gear 261i.
The sixth gear 261k is arranged coaxially with the fifth gear 261j, and rotates in the same direction as the fifth gear 261j rotates.
The seventh gear 261l meshes with the sixth gear 261k, and rotates with the rotation of the sixth gear 261k. The first output shaft 261a is an output shaft of the seventh gear 261l, and rotates in the same direction as the seventh gear 261l rotates.
Because of this configuration, when the connecting shaft 261h rotates, the second output shaft 261b and the fourth gear 261i rotate. Further, power is transmitted from the fourth gear 261i to the fifth gear 261j, the sixth gear 261k, and the seventh gear 261l, and finally the first output shaft 261a that is the output shaft of the seventh gear 261l rotates.

FIG. 20 shows a state in which the drive unit M and the output unit N are assembled.
The motor 261c, the worm gear 261d, the first gear 261e, the second gear 261f, the third gear 261g, and the connecting shaft 261h are stored in the drive unit casing L1. At this time, the connecting shaft 261h, which is the output shaft of the third gear 261g, is stored in a state where the free end side on which the D cut is made is protruded from the protruding hole L111.
The fourth gear 261i, the fifth gear 261j, the sixth gear 261k, the seventh gear 261l, the first output shaft 261a, and the second output shaft 261b are housed in the output portion casing L2.
At this time, the second output shaft 261b is stored in a state where the end on the side where the connecting hole H is drilled is held in the insertion hole L141 and the other end is projected from the projecting hole L132.
Further, the first output shaft 261a is stored in a state where the free end side is protruded from the protruding hole L131.

Thus, the drive part M and the output part N in which each component is arrange | positioned are assembled | attached as shown in FIG.
That is, the output portion N is oriented in the direction in which the third component L13 of the output portion casing L2 is disposed on the toner cartridge 21 side (that is, the first output shaft 261a and the second output shaft 261b protrude toward the toner cartridge 21 side). Arranged). The drive unit M is disposed so that the fourth component L14 of the output unit casing L2 and the first component L11 of the drive unit casing L1 are stacked.
At this time, the drive part M and the output part N are arrange | positioned so that the insertion hole L141 formed in the 4th component L14 and the protrusion hole L111 formed in the 1st component L11 may match.
The connecting shaft 261h protruding from the protruding hole L111 formed in the first component L11 passes through the insertion hole L141 formed in the fourth component L14 and is inserted into the connecting hole H formed in the second output shaft 261b. Is done.
The toner supply actuator 26 configured as described above is attached to a sheet metal of an actual machine using a connecting component such as a screw.

Since the toner supply actuator 26 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, the output of the motor 261c is transmitted in the order of the worm gear 261d, the first gear 261e, the second gear 261f, and the third gear 261g. Finally, the connecting shaft 261h, which is the output shaft of the third gear 261g, rotates.
When the connecting shaft 261h rotates, the second output shaft 261b connected to the connecting shaft 261h rotates. By this rotation, the agitation member 51 in the conveyance path rotates.
Further, when the connecting shaft 261h and the second output shaft 261b rotate, the fourth gear 261i rotates, and this output is sequentially transmitted to the fifth gear 261j, the sixth gear 261k, and the seventh gear 261l, and finally the first gear 261i. The first output shaft 261a that is the output shaft of the 7 gear 261l rotates. This rotation causes the toner stirring member 41 to rotate.

As described above, by driving the motor 261c, the toner stirring member 41 and the transport path stirring member 51 can be simultaneously rotated.
In addition, the drive unit M and the output unit N are not arranged on one plane, but the drive unit M and the output unit N are divided and arranged three-dimensionally, so that the mounting space can be reduced. It becomes possible.
Further, since the drive unit M and the output unit N are separate bodies, different types and capacities of motors are set on the drive unit M side, or the first output shaft 261a and the second output shaft 261b are set on the output unit N side. It is possible to freely combine the drive unit M and the output unit N, for example, by setting different pitch dimensions. Therefore, the degree of freedom in design increases.

Next, FIGS. 21 and 22 show a modified example of the present embodiment.
The modification shown in FIG. 21 is obtained by changing the configurations of the drive unit casing L1 and the output unit casing L2 of the above embodiment.
In this example, the fourth component L14 and the first component L11 of the above embodiment are integrated into a fifth component L15.
In this example, the drive part M and the output part N are divided | segmented by the 5th component L15. The fifth component L15 is formed with a through hole L151 for allowing the connecting shaft 261h to pass therethrough. The connecting shaft 261h passes through the through hole L151 and is formed in the second output shaft 261b. Inserted and fixed.

Further, the modified example shown in FIG. 22 is also a modification of the configuration of the drive unit casing L1 and the output unit casing L2 of the above embodiment.
In this example, the first part L11 and the sixth part L16 cover the entire drive unit M and the output part N, and the seventh part L17 divides the drive part M and the output part N.
The sixth component L16 of the present example is configured as a frame having a substantially concave cross section having a depth that can store both the drive unit M and the output unit N.
The seventh component L17 in this example is a plate having a function as an inner lid that divides the drive unit M and the output unit N. The front and back surfaces of the seventh component L17 are provided with irregularities for holding the respective components of the drive unit M and the output unit N, and a through hole L171 for penetrating the connecting shaft 261h is formed.
The sixth component L16 is attached with the seventh component L17 so as to cover the opening after the components constituting the driving unit M such as the motor 261c are disposed. At this time, the end portion (the side on which the D cut is applied) of the connecting shaft 261h is protruded from the through hole L171.
Next, after attaching the parts constituting the output part N to the seventh part L17 (surface on the output part M side), the integrated part of the sixth part L16 and the seventh part L17 is located on the opening side of the first part L11. Installed to cover. At this time, the connection shaft 261h protruding through the through hole L171 is inserted into the connection hole H formed in the second output shaft 261b and fixed.

  In the third embodiment, when the motor 261c is driven, both the first output shaft 261a and the second output shaft 261b are driven. However, the configuration is not limited to this. Even if the clutch mechanism described in the embodiment and the second embodiment is incorporated, only one of the first output shaft 261a and the second output shaft 261b is driven depending on the driving direction of the motor 261c. Good.

1 is a perspective view showing a toner supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which looked at FIG. 1 from the A direction. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a toner cartridge and its peripheral members constituting the toner supply device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a toner cartridge and its peripheral members according to a modified example. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the toner supply actuator according to the first embodiment of the present invention viewed from a direction B in FIG. 3. It is explanatory drawing which shows the clutch mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the clutch mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the clutch mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the clutch mechanism which concerns on the example of a change. It is explanatory drawing which shows the clutch mechanism which concerns on the example of a change. It is explanatory drawing which shows the clutch mechanism which concerns on the example of a change. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a toner supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the actuator for toner supply which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the actuator for toner supply which concerns on the example of a change. It is explanatory drawing which shows the actuator for toner supply which concerns on the example of a change. It is explanatory drawing which shows the actuator for toner supply which concerns on the example of a change. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a toner supply device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the drive part which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the output part which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the actuator for toner supply of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the actuator for toner supply which concerns on the example of a change. It is explanatory drawing which shows the actuator for toner supply which concerns on the example of a change.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Support substrate, 1a ... Support flat plate part, 1b ... Toner cartridge support part, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f ... Toner cartridge fixing hole,
2. Toner cartridge,
3. Toner transport path, 3a ... Cover,
4. Toner stirring member
5. Stirring member 16 in transport path ... Toner supply actuators 21, 22, 23, 24 ... Toner cartridge, 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a ... bottom surface,
21b, 22b, 23b, 24b ... toner discharge port,
31, 32, 33, 34... Toner transport path 31 a .. toner receiving portion, 31 b... Transport path, 31 c .. toner receiving port, 31 d. Toner stirring member,
41b... Bearings 51, 52, 53, 54... Stirring member in the conveyance path (first embodiment)
6 (61, 62, 63, 64) ... Toner supply actuator 61a ... first output shaft, 61b ... second output shaft, 61c ... motor, 61d ... worm gear, 61e ... first reduction gear (first gear), 61f ... 1st reduction gear (2nd gear), 61g ... 2nd reduction gear (3rd gear)
71 ... Center gear,
72 ... shaft, 72a, 72b ... pin 73 ... cartridge side connecting part, 73a ... main body, 73b ... bevel gear, 73c ... sliding hole, 73e ... shaft through hole, 73f, 73g ... gear retaining member 74 ... transport path Side connection parts, 74a ... main body, 74b ... bevel gear, 74c ... sliding hole, 74e ... shaft through hole 75 ... cartridge side output gear, 75a ... connection part gear hole 76 ... conveyance path side output gear, 76a ... connection Component meshing hole 80... Control section, 90... Switch 171 Center gear, 171a Cartridge side bevel gear, 171b Transport path side bevel gear, 171c Shaft through hole, 171d Screw thread 172 Shaft, 172a Screw groove 173f, 173g · Gear retaining member 175 · Cartridge side output gear, 175a · Cartridge side bevel gear meshing portion 175b... Shaft through hole 176... Transport path side output gear, 176a... Transport path side bevel gear meshing part, 176b... Shaft through hole 210. Toner cartridge, 210a. Fixing member D ... supply device support base, G ... developing unit, G1 ... developing unit toner receiving port, G2 ... toner sensor, K, K '. Form)
16 (161, 162, 163, 164) ... Toner supply actuator 161A ... output shaft, 161B ... output shaft, 161a ... first output shaft, 161b ... second output shaft, 161c ... motor, 161d ... first worm gear, 161e 2nd worm gear, 161f 1st one-way clutch mechanism (first clutch), 161g 2nd one-way clutch mechanism (second clutch), 161h 1st gear, 161i 2nd gear, 161j 3rd gear,
461A ... Output shaft, 461c ... Second motor 361A ... Output shaft, 361c ... Third motor, 361d ... First worm gear (third worm gear), 361e ... Second worm gear (fourth worm gear), 361f ... Third one-way Clutch mechanism (third clutch), 361g ... fourth one-way clutch mechanism (fourth clutch), 361h ... first reduction gear (fifth gear), 361j ... second reduction gear (sixth gear), 361k ... gear (first 4 gears),
D: supply device support base, L: housing case, S2: toner supply device (third embodiment)
26 (261, 262, 263, 264) ... toner supply actuator 261a ... first output shaft, 261b ... second output shaft, 261c ... motor, 261d ... worm gear, 261e ... first gear, 261f ... second gear, 261g 3rd gear, 261h Connection shaft, 261i 4th gear, 261j 5th gear, 261k 6th gear, 261l 7th gear,
H ... Connection hole, L ... Housing case, L1 ... Drive part casing, L2 ... Output part casing, L11 ... First part, L12 ... Second part, L13 ... Third part, L14 ... Fourth part, L15 ... Fifth Parts, L16... Sixth part, L17... Seventh part, L111... Protruding hole, L131... Protruding hole, L132. ... Output unit, S3 ... Toner supply device

Claims (13)

The toner cartridge itself filled with toner or the toner stirring member disposed in the toner cartridge filled with toner, and the inside of the transport path serving as a path for transporting the toner from the toner cartridge to the developing unit A toner supply actuator for rotating the stirring member in the conveyance path disposed in
The toner supply actuator includes:
A motor as a drive source;
A transmission member comprising a plurality of rotating bodies that transmit the output from the motor to a plurality of systems;
A first output shaft connected to one of the plurality of systems and transmitting an output from the motor to the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member;
A second output shaft connected to another system among the plurality of systems, and transmitting an output from the motor to the agitation member in the transport path;
A first projecting hole for housing the motor and the transmission member and projecting an end of the first output shaft on the side connected to the toner cartridge itself or the toner stirring member, and a second output shaft A housing case formed with a second projecting hole for projecting an end portion on the side connected to the stirring member in the transport path;
And a toner supply actuator. The toner supply actuator includes:
A clutch mechanism coupled to the first output shaft and the second output shaft indirectly via the transmission member, while selectively switching the output direction according to the rotation direction of the motor;
When the motor rotates in one direction, the clutch mechanism transmits a driving force to the one system to drive the first output shaft, and when the motor rotates in the other direction, 2. The toner supply actuator according to claim 1, wherein a driving force is transmitted to the second system to drive the second output shaft. 3. The toner supply actuator includes:
Connected to the rotation shaft of the motor and transmits the rotation of the rotation shaft to the next stage only when the rotation shaft rotates in one direction and indirectly to the first output shaft via the transmission member A first one-way clutch mechanism,
Only when the rotation shaft is connected to the rotation shaft and rotates in the other direction, the rotation of the rotation shaft is transmitted to the next stage and indirectly connected to the second output shaft via the transmission member. The toner supply actuator according to claim 1, further comprising a second one-way clutch mechanism. The toner supply actuator includes:
A gear disposed on a rotating shaft of the motor;
A third one-way clutch mechanism that meshes with the gear and transmits the rotation of the rotating shaft to the output side only when the rotating shaft and the gear rotate in one direction;
A fourth one-way clutch mechanism that meshes with the gear and transmits the rotation of the rotating shaft to the output side only when the rotating shaft and the gear rotate in the other direction;
A first worm gear coupled to the output side of the third one-way clutch mechanism;
A second worm gear coupled to the output side of the fourth one-way clutch mechanism;
A first reduction gear that meshes with the first worm gear and that directly or indirectly transmits the rotational output transmitted from the first worm gear to the first output shaft;
A second reduction gear that meshes with the second worm gear and that directly or indirectly transmits the rotational output transmitted from the second worm gear to the second output shaft;
The toner supply actuator according to claim 1, further comprising: The housing case is
A first space in which the motor is housed;
A second space in which at least a part of the transmission member is accommodated,
The second space is disposed on a side where the toner cartridge is disposed,
2. The toner supply actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first space portion is formed on a side of the second space portion opposite to a side where the toner cartridge is disposed. 5. The toner supply actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first output shaft is disposed so as to be positioned above the second output shaft. 6. The rotating shaft protrudes on both sides of the motor,
The first one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on one projecting side of the rotating shaft, and the second one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the other projecting side of the rotating shaft. The toner supply actuator according to claim 2. The rotating shaft protrudes to one side of the motor, and either the first one-way clutch mechanism or the second one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the motor base end side of the rotating shaft, The toner supply actuator according to claim 2, wherein the other end is disposed on a free end side of the rotation shaft. The motor is disposed below the first one-way clutch mechanism and the second one-way clutch mechanism,
The rotating shaft protrudes upward in the axial direction of the motor,
The first one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the motor base end side of the rotating shaft, and the second one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the free end side of the rotating shaft. The toner supplying actuator according to claim 2, wherein the toner supplying actuator is provided. The motor is disposed below the first one-way clutch mechanism and the second one-way clutch mechanism,
The rotating shaft protrudes upward in the axial direction of the motor,
The second one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the motor base end side of the rotating shaft, and the first one-way clutch mechanism is disposed on the free end side of the rotating shaft. The toner supply actuator according to claim 2, wherein the actuator is a toner supply actuator. The transmission member is configured to have a plurality of gears,
The gear that transmits the output of the motor to the first output shaft is set to a lower rotational high torque than the gear that transmits the output of the motor to the second output shaft. The toner supplying actuator according to claim 4. The toner supply actuator includes a control unit that controls the motor.
The control unit controls the motor to continuously perform a series of operations for rotating the second output shaft for a predetermined time after the first output shaft has been rotated for a predetermined time. The toner supply actuator according to claim 1, wherein the toner supply actuator is a toner supply actuator. A toner supply device comprising the toner supply actuator according to claim 1.

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