JP4708374B2 - Image forming unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine, for example, a printer, an image forming unit is provided, and a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, and a developing device are provided in the image forming unit Etc. are arranged. Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum uniformly and uniformly charged by the charging roller is exposed by an LED head to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device to form a toner. An image is formed, the toner image is transferred onto a sheet by a transfer roller, and fixed by a fixing device, thereby forming an image and printing.

By the way, in the image forming unit, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum after the transfer is scraped off by a cleaning blade, sent to a transport unit by a spiral, and transported by a developer transport member in the transport unit. It is discharged from the discharge portion by a driven spiral having a gear shape (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3281595

  However, in the conventional printer, all of the toner on the transport belt cannot be removed by the driven spiral, and the toner remains on the transport belt. As a result, the torque for running the conveyor belt increases.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus capable of solving the problems of the conventional printer and reducing the torque for running a developer conveying member.

  Therefore, in the image forming unit of the present invention, the cleaning device for removing the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier after the transfer, and the developer removed by the cleaning device are accommodated in a plurality of recesses. A developer conveying member that conveys; a developer collecting unit that collects and stores the developer; and a scraping and conveying member that sends the developer conveyed by the developer conveying member to the developer collecting unit. .

  The scraping / conveying member includes a collar for scraping off the developer in each of the recesses.

  According to the present invention, in the image forming unit, the cleaning device for removing the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier after the transfer, and the developer removed by the cleaning device are accommodated in the plurality of recesses. A developer conveying member that conveys; a developer collecting unit that collects and stores the developer; and a scraping and conveying member that sends the developer conveyed by the developer conveying member to the developer collecting unit. .

  The scraping / conveying member includes a collar for scraping off the developer in each of the recesses.

  In this case, since the scraping and conveying member includes a flange for scraping off the developer in each of the recesses, the developer accommodated in the recesses is effective without being pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the recesses. It is scraped off. Therefore, the torque for running the developer conveying member can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this case, a printer as an image forming apparatus will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of the image forming unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, 51 is a lower frame, 52 is an upper frame, and a paper feed cassette 11 as a medium accommodating portion is disposed at a lower portion of the lower frame 51. Unused paper is stored. A paper feed mechanism is provided adjacent to the front end of the paper feed cassette 11 for separating and feeding paper one by one.

  The paper feed mechanism includes a paper feed roller 12 and a separation roller 13, and the paper fed to the transport path Rt by the paper feed mechanism is sent to the transport roller 14 disposed above, and further to the transport roller 15. Then, after the paper thickness is detected by the medium thickness detection unit 54, it is supplied to the image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C as image forming units that form images of each color of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan. Is done.

  Each of the image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C is detachably disposed as a process cartridge with respect to the main body of the printer, that is, the apparatus main body, and the photosensitive drums 31Bk, 31Y, 31M, and 31C as image carriers. Etc. In correspondence with the image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C, LED heads 22Bk, 22Y, 22M, and 22C as exposure devices face the photoconductor drums 31Bk, 31Y, 31M, and 31C, respectively. The surface of each photoconductor drum 31Bk, 31Y, 31M, 31C is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image as a latent image.

  A transfer unit u1 is disposed along each of the image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C. The transfer unit u1 includes a driving roller r1, a driven roller r2, and the driving roller r1 and the driven roller r2. A medium conveying belt 17 as a medium conveying member that is stretched between the two and movably disposed, and the medium conveying belt 17 is interposed between the photosensitive drums 31Bk, 31Y, 31M, and 31C. And transfer rollers 21Bk, 21Y, 21M, and 21C as transfer members.

  The sheet is conveyed as the medium conveying belt 17 is run, and passes between the image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C and the transfer rollers 21Bk, 21Y, 21M, and 21C. The rollers 21Bk, 21Y, 21M, and 21C sequentially transfer the toner images as the developer images of the respective colors formed in the respective image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C onto the paper, thereby forming a color toner image. To do.

  Subsequently, the paper is sent to a fixing device 18 as a fixing device, and a color toner image is fixed on the paper in the fixing device 18 to form a color image. The paper discharged from the fixing device 18 is transported by the transport roller 19 and then discharged to the stacker 55 by the discharge transport roller 20.

  Next, the image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C will be described. Since the image forming units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, and 16C have the same structure, the image forming unit 16Bk will be described, and the description of the image forming units 16Y, 16M, and 16C will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a toner cartridge 41 as a developer cartridge containing toner as a developer is detachably disposed on the main body of the image forming unit 16 </ b> Bk, that is, the image forming unit main body 37. The toner is supplied from the toner cartridge 41 to the developing device 30 disposed in the image forming unit main body 37. Therefore, a toner supply port 44 as a developer supply port is formed on the lower surface of a case 43 as a developer container in the toner cartridge 41, and a shutter 42 as an opening / closing member is provided to open and close the toner supply port 44. In the present embodiment, it is arranged to be freely movable. An opening 42a is formed in the shutter 42, and an operation lever (not shown) as an operation unit formed integrally with the shutter 42 is rotated to move the shutter 42. In the present embodiment, the shutter 42 is rotated. The toner supply port 44 can be opened by combining the toner supply port 44 and the opening 42a. Further, the toner supply port 44 can be closed by rotating the operation lever, rotating the shutter 42 and shifting the shutter 42 from the toner supply port 44 and the opening 42a.

  On the other hand, the image forming unit main body 37 is provided with a concave mounting surface for setting the toner cartridge 41, and a toner supply port as a developer supply port corresponding to the toner supply port 44 on the mounting surface. 45 is formed. Therefore, when the toner supply port 44 is opened, the toner in the toner cartridge 41 is supplied into the image forming unit main body 37 through the toner supply port 45.

  By the way, the image forming unit 16Bk has a photosensitive drum 31Bk, a charging roller 32 as a charging device that uniformly and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 31Bk, and a developing as a developer carrier that holds toner. A roller 33, a toner supply roller 34 as a developer supply member for supplying toner to the developing roller 33, and a developing blade 35 as a developer layer regulating member for uniformly thinning the toner supplied onto the developing roller 33 And a cleaning blade 36 as a cleaning device for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 31Bk after the transfer of the toner image.

  The photoconductive drum 31Bk is formed of a conductive base layer made of aluminum or the like and a surface layer made of an organic photoconductor, and the charging roller 32 has a conductive metal shaft made of semiconductive roll-like rubber such as epichlorohydrin rubber. The developing roller 33 is formed by coating a conductive metal shaft with a semiconductive rubber such as silicone, and the toner supply roller 34 provides toner transportability to the conductive metal shaft. In order to improve, it is formed by coating a rubber formed by adding a foaming agent during kneading.

  The charging roller 32, the developing roller 33, and the cleaning blade 36 are disposed in contact with the photosensitive drum 31Bk, and the toner supply roller 34 and the developing blade 35 are disposed in contact with the developing roller 33. Further, a power supply for a developing roller, a power supply for a toner supply roller, and a power supply for a development blade (not shown) are connected to the development roller 33, the toner supply roller 34, and the development blade 35, respectively, and the development roller 33, the toner supply roller 34, and A negative polarity voltage is applied to the developing blade 35 as a bias voltage.

  In the printer having the above-described configuration, at the time of printing, the developing roller 33 and the toner supply roller 34 are both rotated counterclockwise by a drive motor (not shown) as a developer supplying drive unit, and the toner supply roller 34 Toner is supplied to the developing roller 33. Then, the toner supplied to the developing roller 33 is sent to a contact portion between the developing roller 33 and the developing blade 35 as the developing roller 33 rotates, and the excess toner is scraped off by the developing blade 35 to be thin. Then, it is sent to the photosensitive drum 31Bk as the developing roller 33 rotates.

  On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 31Bk is rotated in a predetermined direction (arrow direction) by driving a drum motor (not shown) as a driving unit for image formation, and the photosensitive drum 31Bk is rotated along with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 31Bk. The surface of the body drum 31Bk is uniformly and uniformly charged by the charging roller 32, and is exposed by the LED head 22Bk to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is formed on the developing roller 33. Toner is electrostatically attached to form a toner image.

  When a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 31Bk in this way, the toner image is transferred to a sheet by the transfer roller 21Bk. For this purpose, a positive polarity voltage is applied to the medium transport belt 17 and the transfer roller 21Bk.

  After the toner image is transferred, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 31Bk is scraped off by the cleaning blade 36 and removed.

  Next, a collection device for collecting the toner scraped and removed by the cleaning blade 36 will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure inside a side frame of an image forming unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the image forming unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 6 is a front view of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 4, the image forming unit main body 37 includes a side frame 61 at one end, in the present embodiment, at the left end in the sheet transport direction, and above the toner cartridge 41. In this embodiment, in the present embodiment, a waste toner collecting chamber 66 as a developer collecting unit for collecting and storing the toner scraped by the cleaning blade 36 (FIG. 3) is disposed on the side frame 61 side. Established.

  In the image forming unit main body 37, the first developer conveying portion is below the cleaning blade 36, the second developer conveying portion is in the side frame 61, and the side frame 61 is disposed between the waste toner collecting chamber 66 and the waste toner collecting chamber 66. A third developer transport unit is set, and a spiral 62 as a first developer transport member and a recovery transport member is rotatably disposed in the first developer transport unit. A transport belt 64 as a second developer transport member and as a main transport member is movably disposed in the developer transport section, and the third developer transport section is disposed in the third developer transport section. A discharge spiral 65 as a member and as a scraping and conveying member is rotatably disposed.

  The toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 36 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A as the spiral 62 is rotated, and is sent to the side frame 61. In the side frame 61, a guide groove 61m is formed in a predetermined shape as a guide path for guiding and running the transport belt 64, and the transport belt 64 is disposed in the guide groove 61m. As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor belt 64 is formed with a plurality of teeth 64a protruding at a predetermined pitch on the outer surface, and a tooth groove 64b as a recess for accommodating toner between the teeth 64a. The transport belt 64 is formed and travels in a state in which toner is accommodated in each tooth groove 64 b, and the carry-out portion set to face the discharge spiral 65 from the carry-in portion set to face the spiral 62. The toner is conveyed to the part.

  In addition, a gear 63 as a rotating element is disposed to run the transport belt 64, and the gear 63 is meshed with the transport belt 64, and a motor (not shown) serving as a developer transport drive unit. Concatenated with Then, when the motor is driven as the developing device 30 is operated, the rotation generated accordingly is transmitted to the gear 63, and the gear 63 is rotated in the arrow B direction.

  Along with this, the conveyor belt 64 travels in the direction of arrow C along the guide groove 61m, conveys the toner sent to the side frame 61 while being accommodated in the tooth groove 64b, and sends it to the discharge spiral 65. . Reference numeral 67 denotes a pulley that is rotated in the direction of the arrow D, guides the conveyor belt 64, and smoothly runs.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the discharge spiral 65 includes a head 65a as an engagement member and a scraping member, and a spiral 65b as a conveying member formed integrally with the head 65a, The head 65a and the conveyor belt 64 are engaged with each other.

  In the present embodiment, the head 65a is formed with a plurality of claw-like claw-like shapes, in the present embodiment, eleven teeth 68 protruding at an equal pitch and radially outward. A tooth gap 69 is formed between the gaps 68. And the scraping part 70 as a collar part is made to protrude at the front-end | tip of each tooth | gear 68 toward the downstream in the rotation direction of the discharge spiral 65. When the conveyor belt 64 is run, the discharge spiral 65 is rotated in the direction of arrow E, scraping off the toner stored in the tooth groove 64b of the conveyor belt 64, and removing the scraped toner in the direction of arrow F. The toner is conveyed and sent to a waste toner collecting chamber 66.

  The developer scraping surface on the downstream side in the rotation direction of each tooth 68, that is, the developer scraping surface s1, functions as a developer guide for guiding the toner to the waste toner collecting chamber 66 side. For this purpose, the developer scraping surface s1 extends radially outward from the center of the discharge spiral 65 and from zero (0) [°] with respect to the axis of the discharge spiral 65. It is formed to be inclined by a large predetermined angle α. Note that when the side of the head 65a in contact with the spiral 65b is the spiral 65b side and the opposite side of the spiral 65b is the head 65a side, the developer scraping surface s1 is positioned closer to the downstream side in the rotation direction toward the head 65a side. The closer to the spiral 65b, the higher the position in the rotational direction.

  Next, the operation when the discharge spiral 65 scrapes off the toner will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a first diagram showing the operation of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a second diagram showing the operation of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a third diagram showing the operation of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the function of the developer scraping surface in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the conveyor belt 64 is caused to travel in the direction of arrow C, and the discharge spiral 65 is rotated in the direction of arrow E. In this case, since the scraping portion 70 is formed at the tip of each tooth 68 in the discharge spiral 65, the toner 71 accommodated in the tooth groove 64b of the conveying belt 64 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the tooth groove 64b. Without being scraped effectively.

  Further, since the developer scraping surface s1 of each tooth 68 is inclined by an angle α with respect to the axis of the discharge spiral 65, the toner 71 thus scraped off is developed as the discharge spiral 65 rotates. It is guided and moved to the spiral 65b side along the scraping surface s1, and is forcibly discharged from the head 65a. Therefore, since the toner 71 in the tooth gap 69 is removed by the timing when each tooth 68 meshes with the next tooth groove 64b, a sufficient amount of toner 71 can be scraped off.

  As a result, the amount of the toner 71 remaining in the tooth gap 64b can be reduced while the conveyance belt 64 returns from the discharge spiral 65 to the spiral 62, so that the torque for running the conveyance belt 64 can be reduced. can do.

  Next, the operation of the comparative example of the discharge spiral will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a first diagram showing the operation of the comparative example of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a first diagram showing the operation of the comparative example of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 and FIG. 14 are third views showing the operation of the comparative example of the discharge spiral in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 64 is a conveyor belt, 165 is a discharge spiral, 64a and 168 are teeth, and 64b and 169 are tooth grooves. The teeth 168 are formed such that the tooth width decreases as the distance from the root increases.

  In this case, when the transport belt 64 is moved in the direction of arrow C and the discharge spiral 165 is rotated in the direction of arrow E, the toner 71 accommodated in the tooth groove 64b of the transport belt 64 is scraped by the teeth 168. . However, since the scraping portion is not formed at the tip of the tooth 168, the toner 71 in the tooth groove 64b is not sufficiently scraped off and is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the tooth groove 64b.

  As described above, in the comparative example, the toner 71 cannot be sufficiently scraped off from the conveyance belt 64, so that the toner 71 remains on the conveyance belt 64.

  Further, since the developer scraping surface of the tooth 168 is not inclined, the toner 71 in the tooth gap 169 is difficult to be removed, and the toner on the conveying belt 64 is again left with the toner 71 scraped off last time remaining. Trying to scrape 71. Therefore, it becomes difficult to scrape off a sufficient amount of toner 71.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the same embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 15 is a view showing the structure inside the side frame of the image forming unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the discharge spiral according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 18 is a YY sectional view of FIG. 17. FIG. 18 is a front view of the discharge spiral in the second embodiment.

  In this case, a first developer conveying unit is provided below the cleaning blade 36 as a cleaning device in the image forming unit main body 37 (FIG. 3), a second developer conveying unit is provided in the side frame 61, and the side frame 61. And a waste toner collecting chamber 66 as a developer collecting unit, a third developer conveying unit is set, and the first developer conveying unit serves as a first developer conveying member and collects and conveys the first developer conveying unit. A spiral 62 as a member is rotatably disposed, and a transport belt 64 as a second developer transport member and a main transport member is movably disposed in the second developer transport unit. A discharge spiral 265 as a third developer conveying member and as a scraping conveying member is rotatably disposed in the third developer conveying portion.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the discharge spiral 265 includes a head 265a as a meshing member and a scraping member, and a spiral 265b as a conveying member formed integrally with the head 265a, The head 265a and the conveyor belt 64 are engaged with each other.

  In the head 265 a, a plurality of piece-like, in the present embodiment, eleven teeth 268 are formed at an equal pitch and projecting radially outward, and between the teeth 268. A tooth space 269 is formed. Then, a scraping portion 270 as a flange is formed at the tip of each tooth 268 so as to protrude toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the discharge spiral 265. When the conveyor belt 64 is run, the discharge spiral 265 is rotated in the direction of arrow E, and scrapes off the toner stored in the tooth groove 64b of the conveyor belt 64.

  The developer scraping surface s2 on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the teeth 268 functions as a first developer guide portion that guides the toner 71 (FIG. 14) as the developer toward the waste toner collection chamber 66 side. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, the developer scraping surface s2 has a predetermined value larger than zero [°] with respect to a surface extending radially outward from the center of the discharge spiral 265. It is formed to be inclined toward the downstream side in the rotation direction by an angle γ. Further, the bottom surface s3 of the tooth groove 269 functions as a second developer guide portion that guides the toner 71 to the waste toner collection chamber 66 side. For this purpose, the bottom surface s3 is inclined with respect to the axis of the discharge spiral 265 by a predetermined angle β greater than zero [°]. When the side in contact with the spiral 265b in the head 265a is the spiral 265b side and the opposite side to the spiral 265b is the head 265a side, the bottom surface s3 is positioned radially outward as the head 265a side is located, and the spiral 265b side It is positioned radially inward as

  Next, the operation when the discharge spiral 265 scrapes off the toner will be described.

  FIG. 19 is a first diagram showing the operation of the discharge spiral in the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 20 is a second diagram showing the operation of the discharge spiral in the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 22 is a third view showing the operation of the discharge spiral in the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining the function of the bottom surface of the tooth space of the discharge spiral in the second embodiment of the present invention. .

  As shown in the figure, the conveyor belt 64 is caused to travel in the direction of arrow C, and the discharge spiral 265 is rotated in the direction of arrow E. In this case, since the scraping portion 270 is formed at the tip of each tooth 268 in the discharge spiral 265, the toner 71 accommodated in the tooth groove 64 b of the transport belt 64 is effectively scraped off.

  Further, since the developer scraping surface s2 is formed to be inclined toward the downstream side in the rotation direction by the angle γ, the scraped toner 71 is radially inward as the discharge spiral 265 rotates. Is biased toward and moved.

  The bottom surface s3 of the tooth groove 269 is inclined by a predetermined angle β larger than zero [°] with respect to the axis of the discharge spiral 265, so that the toner 71 moved radially inward is obtained. As the discharge spiral 265 rotates, it is guided and moved along the bottom surface s3 toward the spiral 265b, and is forcibly discharged from the head 265a. Therefore, since the toner 71 in the tooth groove 269 is removed by the timing when each tooth 268 engages with the next tooth groove 64b, a sufficient amount of toner 71 can be scraped off.

  In each of the above embodiments, a printer has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a multifunction machine, and the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the gist of the present invention, and they are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure in a side frame of the image forming unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an image forming unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the discharge spiral in the 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the discharge | emission spiral in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. It is a 1st figure which shows the operation | movement of the discharge spiral in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a 2nd figure which shows operation | movement of the discharge spiral in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a 3rd figure which shows the operation | movement of the discharge spiral in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the developer scraping surface in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a 1st figure which shows operation | movement of the comparative example of the discharge spiral in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a 2nd figure which shows operation | movement of the comparative example of the discharge spiral in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a 3rd figure which shows the operation | movement of the comparative example of the discharge spiral in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure in the side frame of the image forming unit in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the discharge | emission spiral in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the discharge | emission spiral in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is YY sectional drawing of FIG. It is a 1st figure which shows operation | movement of the discharge spiral in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a 2nd figure which shows operation | movement of the discharge spiral in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a 3rd figure which shows operation | movement of the discharge spiral in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the bottom face of the tooth space of the discharge spiral in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C Image forming units 31Bk, 31Y, 31M, 31C Photosensitive drum 36 Cleaning blade 62 Spiral 64 Conveying belt 64b Tooth groove 65, 265 Discharge spiral 65a, 265a Head 65b, 265b Spiral 66 Waste toner collection chamber 68 268 teeth 70, 270 scraping portion 71 toner s1, s2 developer scraping surface s3 bottom surface

Claims (7)

(A) a cleaning device for removing the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier after transfer;
(B) a developer transport member that transports the developer removed by the cleaning device in a state of being accommodated in a plurality of recesses;
(C) a developer recovery unit that recovers and stores the developer;
(D) having a scraping and conveying member that sends the developer conveyed by the developer conveying member to the developer collecting unit;
(E) The scraping and conveying member includes an eaves portion for scraping off the developer in each of the recesses.   The scraping and conveying member is provided rotatably, and includes a scraping member that scrapes off the developer in each of the recesses, and a conveying member that sends the scraped developer to the developer collecting unit. The image forming unit described. (A) The scraping and conveying member includes a plurality of teeth,
(B) The image forming unit according to claim 1, wherein the flange is formed at a tip of the tooth.   The image forming unit according to claim 1, wherein the scraping conveyance member includes a developer guide portion that guides the developer scraped off to the developer collecting portion side.   The image forming unit according to claim 4, wherein the developer guide portion is a developer scraping surface on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the teeth.   The image forming unit according to claim 4, wherein the developer guide portion is a bottom surface of a tooth gap between the teeth.   An image forming apparatus on which the image forming unit according to claim 1 is mounted.

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