JP7605020B2 - Toner storage container and image forming apparatus equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a toner storage container that stores toner that is no longer being used for image formation in an image forming device or toner that is to be used in the future.

In image forming devices such as printers that transfer a toner image formed on an image carrier such as a photoreceptor drum or intermediate transfer belt to a receiving medium such as a recording sheet, it is common for the residual toner remaining on the image carrier to be removed using a cleaner or the like after the transfer, and the removed residual toner is stored in a toner storage container as waste toner.

Patent document 1 discloses a configuration in which a toner storage container has an inlet for waste toner, and waste toner that enters through the inlet and accumulates on the bottom surface of the container body is scraped off by the scraping surface of a scraping member that reciprocates around a crankshaft, and sent to the back of the container body.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-325521

Due to the demand for smaller image forming devices, there are often restrictions on the installation space for toner storage containers inside the image forming device.

Figure 13(a) is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a toner storage container 900 that is subject to installation space constraints. The toner storage container 900 has a shape in which the waste toner receiving portion 902 protrudes to the right from the upper portion of the side wall 908 of the container body 901, which has a larger internal space (toner storage space) than the waste toner receiving portion 902. The space indicated by the dashed line 910 on the right side of the side wall 908 is the space where the size of the toner storage container 900 had to be reduced due to constraints on device miniaturization.

In a toner storage container 900 having such a shape, in order to prevent waste toner T that has fallen from an receiving port 903 provided on the upper surface of the receiving section 902 onto the bottom surface 904 of the receiving section 902 from accumulating on the bottom surface 904, it is necessary to scrape off the waste toner T on the bottom surface 904 and send it to the container body 901. As a member for scraping off this waste toner T, it is possible to use a scraping member 905 having the same configuration as the scraping member in Patent Document 1, that is, a scraping member 905 that reciprocates around a crankshaft, but since the internal space 906 of the receiving section 902 becomes somewhat narrow, it is necessary to move the scraping member 905 within that space.

Figure 13(b) is a schematic diagram showing the movement trajectory of the lower end of the scraping surface 951 of the scraping member 905 by a dashed line 952. The narrower the internal space 906 of the receiving section 902, the larger the area of the bottom surface portion 953 (filled in portion) that deviates from the movement trajectory on the bottom surface 904 tends to become. The scraping surface 951 is unable to scrape off the waste toner T on the bottom surface portion 953, and the waste toner T remains on the bottom surface portion 953.

Figure 13(c) is a schematic plan view taken along the line P-P in Figure 13(a). As shown in Figure 13(c), the scraping member 905 is located between side walls 911 and 912 spaced apart in the width direction, and some of the waste toner T that has fallen from the receiving opening 903 has accumulated in areas 957 and 958 between the scraping member 905 and the side wall 912. In particular, a large amount of waste toner T has accumulated in area 957 next to the bottom portion 953.

In area 958, even if a small amount of waste toner T accumulates and forms a mountain, the mountain of waste toner T collapses and flows in the width direction. If the waste toner T enters the movement path of the scraping surface 951, it will be scraped off by the scraping surface 951. On the other hand, in area 957, it collides with the waste toner T accumulated on the bottom surface portion 953 next to it and cannot enter the movement path of the scraping surface 951, and gradually piles up.

When the amount of waste toner Ta that has accumulated over a long period of time increases and a mountain of waste toner Ta forms, the waste toner Ta is likely to become coagulated and solidified. If the sliding resistance between the side surface 955 of the scraping member 905, which moves in the direction of arrow Q, and the mountain of solidified waste toner Ta increases, this may hinder the smooth movement of the scraping member 905, reducing scraping performance.

In addition, when the height of the pile of waste toner Ta reaches the ceiling surface 907 (FIG. 13(a)) of the receiving section 902, the pile of waste toner Ta acts as a bridge between the bottom surface 904 and the ceiling surface 907. If new toner T that enters through the receiving port 903 is piled up on the pile of waste toner Ta, the pile of waste toner Ta grows, and when it eventually reaches the receiving port 903, part of the receiving port 903 may become blocked, which may hinder the reception of waste toner T.

In recent years, toners with low melting temperatures have come to be used more frequently for low-temperature fixing in order to save energy. Such low-temperature fixing toners tend to form clumps at lower temperatures than conventional normal toners, so the accumulated waste toner Ta tends to solidify.

Conventionally, there has been no means for breaking up the waste toner accumulated on the bottom surface 904 of the receiving section 902, and there is a demand for more effective transport of waste toner.

Although the above describes an example of a toner storage container that stores waste toner that is no longer being used in image formation in an image forming device, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in an image forming device that supplies new toner in a toner supply bottle to a developing unit through a toner hopper as toner to be used in image formation, a similar problem can occur even in a configuration in which the toner hopper has a receiving unit and a container body similar to those described above.

This disclosure was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a toner storage container and an image forming device that can more effectively transport toner that enters through the receiving port.

To achieve the above object, the toner storage container according to the present disclosure is a toner storage container that stores in a container body toner that is no longer used for image formation in an image forming device or toner that is to be used in the future, and is characterized by having a receiving section that is interposed between a toner discharge port already provided in the image forming device and the container body and receives through an receiving port the toner discharged from the toner discharge port, a scraping member that scrapes off toner that has fallen onto the bottom surface of the receiving section through the receiving port and sends it to the container body, and a rotating member that is supported on a shaft that stands upright from the scraping member in a direction that intersects with the scraping direction of the scraping member.

The rotating member may also be in the form of a gear with teeth on its circumferential surface.

Furthermore, the outer periphery of the rotating member may be circular.

The rotating member may also rotate due to frictional force with the toner when the rotating member comes into contact with the toner that has fallen onto the bottom surface of the receiving section during the scraping operation of the scraping member.

Furthermore, the scraping member may have a protruding portion on an edge facing the bottom surface of the receiving section, and the tip of the protruding portion may scrape off the toner that has fallen onto the bottom surface of the receiving section.

Here, the tip of the convex portion may be formed in a curved shape that is convex toward the bottom surface of the receiving portion when viewed from the front of the scraping member.

The shaft portion may also be provided on the protrusion.

Furthermore, the convex portion and the rotating member may have a relationship in which, in a direction toward the bottom surface of the receiving portion, the rotating member is located closer to the bottom surface of the receiving portion than the convex portion, or the rotating member and the convex portion are the same distance from the bottom surface of the receiving portion.

The container may also include a stirring and transporting member that stirs and transports the toner on the bottom surface of the container body by rotating, and a motion conversion unit that converts the rotational motion of the stirring and transporting member into movement of the scraping member in the scraping direction.

Here, the motion conversion unit may be a crankshaft that rotates integrally with the agitating and transporting member on a circle of a predetermined rotation radius centered on the rotation axis of the agitating and transporting member, and the scraping member may perform a scraping action by a reciprocating motion accompanying the rotation of the crankshaft.

The receiving portion may also be arranged to protrude laterally from the upper portion of the side wall of the container body.

Furthermore, it may have a drive unit that rotates the rotating member.

Here, the drive unit may rotate the rotating member in a direction such that, when the rotating member hits the toner on the bottom surface of the receiving section, a force acts on the toner in the same direction as the scraping direction.

In addition, the toner that is no longer used for image formation may be waste toner discharged from the toner discharge port of the image forming device, and the waste toner may be received from the receiving port.

The image forming device according to the present disclosure is characterized in that the toner storage container can be attached.

With the above configuration, when the rotating member supported on the shaft part of the scraping member hits the toner that entered through the receiving port and accumulated on the bottom of the receiving section, the force in the rotational direction of the rotating member breaks it up, preventing the toner from accumulating on the bottom of the receiving section and reaching a height that would allow it to reach the receiving port. Furthermore, if a non-rotating fixed member is provided, for example, the force of the rotating member in the rotational direction acts on the toner that has accumulated on the bottom of the receiving section, so that the fixed member is less likely to press the toner against the bottom of the container body from above and harden it. This makes it possible to transport toner from the receiving section to the container body more effectively.

FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a printer according to an embodiment. 2 is an overall perspective view of a toner storage container removed from a printer body as viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 . 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line U-U in FIG. 2. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line WW shown in FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a second lever is swung by a reciprocating motion; FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view taken along line DD in FIG. 4. 7A is a schematic exploded perspective view of the scraping unit and the rotating member as viewed from the direction of the arrow H shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is a schematic side view of the scraping unit and the rotating member as viewed from the direction of the arrow Xa shown in FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing, by a broken line, a movement trajectory of the tip of a protrusion when the scraping portion reciprocates during a scraping operation. FIG. 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams showing how a pile of waste toner accumulated on the bottom surface of a receiving section is broken down by a rotating member. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of the configuration of a rotating member according to a modified example. 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a drive mechanism for a rotating member according to a modified example. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of the configuration of a toner hopper according to a modified example. 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a configuration in which a conventional scraping member is applied to a toner storage container.

The following describes an embodiment of a toner storage container and an image forming device according to the present disclosure, using as an example a case where the toner storage container and the image forming device are applied to a color printer (hereinafter simply referred to as "printer").

(1) Printer Configuration Figure 1 is a schematic front view illustrating the configuration of the printer 10. In this figure, the X-axis direction corresponds to the left-right direction when the printer 10 is viewed from the front, and the Y-axis direction corresponds to the up-down direction. The direction perpendicular to both the X-axis and Y-axis is called the Z-axis direction (depth direction).

As shown in the figure, the printer 10 is an electrophotographic image forming device equipped with an image forming unit 11, a paper feed unit 12, a fixing unit 13, a toner storage container 50, etc., and is capable of executing a print job to print a color image on a recording sheet based on image data sent from an external terminal device (not shown) via a network (e.g., a LAN).

Color printing is performed by transferring and fixing multiple toner images consisting of yellow, magenta, cyan and black onto a recording sheet. Hereinafter, the reproduced colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black will be represented as Y, M, C and K.

The image forming unit 11 includes imaging units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K, which correspond to the colors Y to K, and an intermediate transfer belt 21.

The image forming unit 20K includes a photoconductor drum 1 and a charging unit 2, an exposure unit 3, a developing unit 4, a primary transfer roller 5, a cleaner 6 for cleaning the photoconductor drum 1, and other components arranged around the photoconductor drum 1, and forms a K-color toner image on the photoconductor drum 1, which is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow A. The rotation axis of the photoconductor drum 1 is parallel to the Z-axis direction.

The other image forming units 20Y, 20M, and 20C have the same configuration as image forming unit 20K, and form toner images of the corresponding colors (Y, M, or C) on the photoconductor drum 1. Note that reference numerals are omitted for image forming units 20Y to 20C.

The intermediate transfer belt 21 is an endless belt that is stretched around a drive roller 22 and a driven roller 23 and travels in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure.

The paper feed section 12 includes a paper feed cassette 31 that stores sheets S, a feed roller 32, a pair of transport rollers 33, a pair of timing rollers 34, and a secondary transfer roller 35.

The fixing unit 13 includes a fixing roller and a pressure roller that are pressed against each other, as well as a heater for heating the fixing roller.

In this configuration, when the printer 10 receives an instruction to execute a print job, it acquires image data from an external terminal. Based on the acquired image data, it drives a light source such as a laser diode of the exposure unit 3 for each of the imaging units 20Y to 20K. This causes a light beam L to be emitted from the light source of each exposure unit 3, and the photosensitive drum 1 is exposed and scanned.

Before this exposure scanning, the photoconductor drum 1 for each of the imaging units 20Y to 20K is uniformly charged by the charging unit 2, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor drum 1 by the exposure scanning of the light beam L. The formed electrostatic latent image is developed (visualized) by a developer containing toner contained in the corresponding developing unit 4, and a toner image is formed on the photoconductor drum 1.

For each of the image forming units 20Y to 20K, the toner image on the photoconductor drum 1 is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 by electrostatic force acting between the photoconductor drum 1 and the primary transfer roller 5. At this time, the image forming operation for each color is performed with a staggered timing so that the toner images are transferred and superimposed on the same position on the intermediate transfer belt 21. Note that residual toner that remains on the photoconductor drum 1 and is not primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 is removed from the photoconductor drum 1 by the blade 6a of the cleaner 6. The removed residual toner is stored in the toner storage container 50 as toner that is no longer used in image formation (waste toner).

The color toner images transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 are moved to the secondary transfer position 351, which is the contact position between the secondary transfer roller 35 and the intermediate transfer belt 21, as the intermediate transfer belt 21 rotates.

In accordance with the timing of the image-forming operation, one recording sheet S is fed from a paper feed cassette 31 by a feed roller 32 from the paper feed section 12 and transported along a transport path 37 via a transport roller pair 33 and a timing roller pair 34. When the recording sheet S passes between the intermediate transfer belt 21 and the secondary transfer roller 35, which are rotating, the electrostatic force of the secondary transfer roller 35 causes the toner images of each color on the intermediate transfer belt 21 to be secondarily transferred collectively onto the recording sheet S at a secondary transfer position 351.

After passing through the secondary transfer position 351, the recording sheet S is transported to the fixing unit 13. As the recording sheet S passes through the fixing unit 13, the toner image on the recording sheet S is heated and pressurized to be fixed, and the recording sheet S is then discharged via the discharge roller pair 36 and stored in the storage tray 38.

Residual toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 21 that has not been secondarily transferred to the recording sheet S at the secondary transfer position 351 is removed from the intermediate transfer belt 21 by the blade 241 of the cleaner 24 arranged around the intermediate transfer belt 21. The removed residual toner is stored in the toner storage container 50 as waste toner.

The toner storage container 50 is located closer to the front of the device than the imaging units 20Y-20K, the intermediate transfer belt 21, and the cleaner 24, and is removably attached to the device housing (main body) 28. An openable front cover (not shown) is located further to the front of the device than the toner storage container 50 attached to the device main body 28, and when the user opens the front cover, the toner storage container 50 is visible to the user.

The user can replace the toner storage container 50 by opening the front cover, removing the currently installed toner storage container 50 from the device body 28, and installing a new, empty toner storage container 50 in the device body 28.

(2) Overall Configuration of Toner Storage Container FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the toner storage container 50 removed from the device main body 28 when viewed from the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line U-U shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the toner storage container 50 has a front plate 51, a back plate 52, side plates 53 and 54 connected to the left and right ends of these plates, and a top plate 55 and a bottom plate 56 connected to the top and bottom ends of these plates, and a space 59 surrounded by each of these plate surfaces forms the internal space of the container body 58. Of the front plate 51 to the bottom plate 56, the top plate 55 can be considered as the ceiling wall, the bottom plate 56 as the bottom wall, and the other plates as side walls.

The front plate 51 to the bottom plate 56 form the exterior of the toner storage container 50, and the housing formed by connecting these plates forms the container body 58. The container body 58 is made of resin, such as ABS (a copolymer synthetic resin of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) or PS (polystyrene), but other materials may also be used.

Five waste toner receiving sections 61 to 65 are provided on the upper surface of the top panel 55, spaced apart along the X-axis direction. The waste toner receiving section 61 has an receiving opening 611 that receives waste toner discharged from the toner discharge opening 242 (FIG. 1) of the cleaner 24. The receiving opening 611 is connected to the internal space 59 of the container body 58 through the internal space 610 (FIG. 3) of the waste toner receiving section 61. The waste toner receiving section 61 can be said to be interposed between the toner discharge opening 242 already provided in the image forming apparatus and the container body 58.

The waste toner receiving section 62 has an receiving port 621 that receives waste toner discharged from a toner discharge port (not shown) of the cleaner 6 of the Y-color imaging section 20Y. The receiving port 621 is connected to the internal space 59 of the container body 58 through the internal space 620 of the waste toner receiving section 62.

Similarly, the waste toner receiving sections 63, 64, 65 have receiving openings 631, 641, 651 that receive waste toner discharged from the toner discharge openings (not shown) of the cleaners 6 of the M, C, K imaging sections 20M, 20C, 20K. The receiving openings 631, 641, 651 communicate with the internal space 59 of the container body 58 through the internal spaces 630, 640, 650 of the waste toner receiving sections 63, 64, 65. This allows the waste toner entering through the receiving openings 611-651 to be stored in the container body 58.

As shown in FIG. 3, the container body 58 includes a stirring and transporting member 70 for stirring and transporting the waste toner accumulated on the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58, a scraping section 80 for scraping off the waste toner adhering to the bottom surface 612 (FIG. 4) of the receiving section 61, and a waste toner stacking section 90 for detecting whether the waste toner tank is full.

The stirring and conveying member 70 is disposed above the bottom surface 560 and includes a shaft body 71 that is long in the X-axis direction, a screw member 72 attached to the shaft body 71, and stirring members 73, 74, 75, and 76. The screw member 72 is provided around the shaft body 71 along the rotation axis of the shaft body 71. Each of the stirring members 73 to 76 is fixed so as to protrude from the shaft body 71 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft body 71.

One end 711 of the shaft 71 protrudes outside the container body 58 via a bearing 712 provided on the side plate 53, and a gear 713 is attached to the protruding portion. The other end 716 of the shaft 71 is supported by a bearing 714 provided on the side plate 54.

A crankshaft 715 is provided between the agitating member 76 and the other end 716 of the shaft body 71 in the X-axis direction. The crankshaft 715 is a shaft that rotates integrally with the agitating and conveying member 70 on a circle with a predetermined rotation radius centered on the rotation axis of the shaft body 71.

In this configuration, when the driving force of the drive motor 19 (FIG. 1) provided in the device body 28 is transmitted to the gear 713 shown in FIG. 3 and rotates in a certain direction, the rotation of the gear 713 rotates the stirring and transporting member 70, that is, the screw member 72, the stirring members 73 to 76, and the crankshaft 715 rotate integrally with the shaft body 71 in the same direction as the gear 713. The drive motor 19 is driven to rotate, for example, while a print job is being executed.

By rotating the screw member 72, the waste toner T accumulated on the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58, which is closer to the gear 713 than the waste toner stacking section 90, is transported in a direction approaching the waste toner stacking section 90. In addition, by rotating the stirring members 73 to 76, the waste toner T accumulated on the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58 is stirred, and is prevented from becoming lumpy or solidified.

When the amount of waste toner T stored in the container body 58 reaches a predetermined amount, the waste toner stacking section 90 receives a portion of the liquid surface of the waste toner T from an opening 92 at the top end of the cylindrical storage section 91 and stores it in the storage section 91. When the volume of the waste toner T in the storage section 91 reaches a certain level or more, a known optical detection sensor (not shown) provided on the device body 28 detects that the toner storage container 50 is full of waste toner T.

(3) Configuration of the scraping unit The scraping unit 80 has a first lever 81 made of a long flat plate connected to the crank shaft 715, and a second lever 82 (scraping member) made of a long flat plate connected to the first lever 81 and inserted into the internal space 610 between the side walls 615, 616 spaced apart in the X-axis direction of the receiving unit 61, which constitute a reciprocating slider crank mechanism. The first lever 81 and the second lever 82 are made of resin, such as PC (polycarbonate) or PS, but other materials may be used.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line W-W in Figure 3, showing the configuration of the scraping unit 80. In Figure 4, the X-axis direction (perpendicular to the page) corresponds to the thickness direction of the plate-like first lever 81 and second lever 82, and the inner surface (approximately flat) of the side panel 54 is approximately parallel to the main surface 810 of the first lever 81 and the main surface 820 of the second lever 82. Additionally, pins 541 and 542 are arranged on the inner surface of the side panel 54, protruding in the X-axis direction, i.e., toward the internal space 59 of the container body 58.

As shown in FIG. 4, the receiving portion 61 of the toner storage container 50 protrudes laterally (here, in the direction of the arrow Z) from the upper portion of the side wall 52 of the container body 58, which has a larger waste toner storage space (internal space).

The receiving opening 611 of the receiving section 61 is provided on the upper surface 619 of the receiving section 61, and the bottom surface (receiving section bottom surface) 612 of the receiving section 61 is provided directly below the receiving opening 611, and the receiving section bottom surface 612 is an inclined surface that slopes toward the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58. Hereinafter, the receiving section bottom surface 612 will be abbreviated to bottom surface 612.

Waste toner T that enters the internal space 610 of the receiving section 61 through the receiving port 611 falls under its own weight onto the bottom surface 612. The bottom surface 612 is an inclined surface that slopes toward the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58, so if all of the waste toner T that falls onto the bottom surface 612 through the receiving port 611 rolls under its own weight over the inclined bottom surface 612 and falls onto the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58, the waste toner T will not accumulate on the bottom surface 612; however, in reality, the waste toner T may remain attached to the bottom surface 612 and gradually accumulate there.

Therefore, a scraping section 80 is provided to forcibly scrape off the waste toner T adhering to the bottom surface 612 and send it to the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58.

One longitudinal end (lower end) 811 of the first lever 81 of the scraping unit 80 is rotatably connected to the crankshaft 715. The other longitudinal end (upper end) 812 of the first lever 81 has a circular hole 813 penetrating in the thickness direction, and a pin 829 protruding in the X-axis direction from one longitudinal end (base end) 821 of the second lever 82 fits into this hole 813 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow N.

A long hole 815 is drilled through the first lever 81 in the thickness direction at approximately the center of the longitudinal direction, and a pin 541 erected on the side plate 54 fits into the long hole 815. Similarly, a long hole 825 is drilled through the second lever 82 in the thickness direction at approximately the center of the longitudinal direction, and a pin 542 erected on the side plate 54 fits into the long hole 825.

The other longitudinal end (tip) 822 of the second lever 82 fits into the space 610 between the receiving opening 611 and the bottom surface 612 located directly below it. The tip 822 of the second lever 82 is provided with three protrusions 101, 102, 103, and the protrusions 101, 102, 103 are provided with corresponding rotating members 151, 152, 153. The configurations of the protrusions 101-103 and the rotating members 151-153 will be described later.

When the crankshaft 715 rotates integrally with the stirring and conveying member 70, the first lever 81 connected to the crankshaft 715 swings up and down within the range in which it can move in the length direction of the long hole 815 relative to the pin 541, while the second lever 82 rotatably connected to the first lever 81 also swings left and right within the range in which it can move in the length direction of the long hole 825 relative to the pin 542.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the second lever 82 swinging due to reciprocating motion.

As shown in the figure, during one rotation of the crankshaft 715, the second lever 82 performs a reciprocating motion in which the second lever 82 descends in the direction of arrow 831 toward the bottom surface 612 from a first position indicated by a dashed line, passes through an intermediate position indicated by a broken line, to a second position indicated by a solid line, moves on the bottom surface 612 in the direction of arrow 832 (scraping direction), and then ascends in the direction of arrow 833 to return to the first position indicated by the dashed line.

During this reciprocation, as the second lever 82 moves in the scraping direction, which is the direction of the arrow 832, on the bottom surface 612, the waste toner T that has fallen onto the bottom surface 612 is scraped off by the convex portions 101-103 and the rotating members 151-153, and is then allowed to fall along the slope of the bottom surface 612 and sent to the bottom surface 560 of the container body 58.

The dimensions of each component of the scraping unit 80, such as the first lever 81, the second lever 82, the long holes 815, 825, etc., are determined in advance so that the second lever 82 performs the above-mentioned reciprocating motion in response to the rotation of the crankshaft 715. In this sense, the crankshaft 715 constitutes a motion conversion unit that converts the rotational motion of the stirring and conveying member 70 into reciprocating slider movement of the scraping member (second lever 82) during scraping. Note that the motion conversion unit is not limited to a configuration using a crankshaft as long as the scraping member can perform reciprocating motion, and other configurations may be used.

Figure 6 is a plan view taken along line D-D in Figure 4, Figure 7(a) is a schematic exploded perspective view of the convex portions 101-103 and the rotating members 151-153 as viewed from the direction of the arrow H in Figure 6, and Figure 7(b) is a schematic side view of the convex portion 101 and the rotating member 151 as viewed from the direction of the arrow Xa in Figure 7(a).

As shown in Figure 6 and Figures 7(a) and (b), the second lever 82 has three protrusions 101, 102, and 103 that protrude downward (toward the bottom surface 612) from an edge 100 that faces the bottom surface 612 and are arranged at intervals from each other in the Z-axis direction.

The lower ends (tips) 121, 122, 123 of the protrusions 101-103 are curved downwardly when viewed from the front in the direction of the arrow Xa, and are arc-shaped in this case. Note that the shape of the tips 121-123 of the protrusions 101-103 is not limited to a curved shape, and the contour of the tip can be U-shaped, V-shaped, rectangular, or the like.

Shafts 111, 112, 113 are provided along the X-axis direction on side surfaces 131, 132, 133 of protrusions 101, 102, 103. Here, side surfaces 131 to 133 can be said to be surfaces facing side wall 616.

The erected positions of the shafts 111-113 on the side surfaces 131-133 are equal to the positions corresponding to the centers of the arcs of the arc-shaped tips 121-123 of the convex portions 101-103. The convex portions 101-103 and the shafts 111-113 may be integrally molded from resin or metal, or the shafts may be attached to the convex portions by gluing or welding. The shafts 111-113 may have elasticity such that they bend when a certain amount of force is applied in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. The side surfaces 131-133 of the convex portions 101-103 are parallel to the YZ plane (vertical plane), and the shafts 111-113 are erected in a direction intersecting the scraping direction (the direction of the arrow 832 shown in FIG. 5), or in the example of FIG. 7(a) in a direction perpendicular to the side surfaces 131-133 (90°).

The shafts 111-113 are not limited to being provided on the protruding portions 101-103, and can be provided, for example, in an area above the edge 100. The axial angle of the shafts 111-113 relative to the scraping direction is not limited to 90°, and can be an angle smaller than 90°, for example, an angle in the range of 60° to 90°, as long as the rotating members 151-153 described below can effectively break up the piles of waste toner T.

The rotating members (rotating bodies) 151-153 are gear-shaped with teeth on the circumferential surface, and the shafts 111, 112, 113 fit into through holes 161, 162, 163 in the X-axis direction drilled in the center of the rotating members 151-153. The diameters of the through holes 161, 162, 163 are slightly larger than the diameters of the shafts 111, 112, 113, so that the rotating members 151-153 are rotatably supported by the shafts 111-113. The rotating members 151-153 are formed of the same size, shape, and material, such as ABS or iron, but may be different in shape, size, and material. Here, the rotating members 151-153 and the arcs of the tips 121-123 of the arc shapes of the convex portions 101-103 form concentric circles.

The outer diameter of the rotating member 151, that is, the diameter of the tooth tip circle 157 (FIG. 7(b)) centered on the shaft portion 111 and passing through the tooth tips 156 of each tooth 155 of the rotating member 151, is slightly larger than the diameter of the arc of the tip 121 of the convex portion 101. The difference in diameter is, for example, about 0.5 to 1 mm. As a result, when the rotating member 151 comes into contact with the bottom surface 612 as shown in FIG. 5, the tip 121 of the convex portion 101 appears to be slightly raised above the bottom surface 612. In other words, the convex portion 101 and the rotating member 151 have a relationship in which the rotating member 151 protrudes slightly toward the bottom surface 612 than the convex portion 101 in the direction toward the bottom surface 612 (the rotating member 151 is closer to the bottom surface 612 than the convex portion 101).

The relationship between the outer diameters is not limited to the above. For example, the diameter of the arc of the tip 121 of the convex portion 101 and the outer diameter of the rotating member 151 may be the same size, or the outer diameter of the rotating member 151 may be smaller than the diameter of the arc of the tip 121 of the convex portion 101. In other words, the rotating member 151 and the convex portion 101 may be at the same distance from the bottom surface 612, or the convex portion 101 may be located closer to the bottom surface 612 than the rotating member 151.

It is sufficient that the size relationship allows the convex portion 101 to efficiently scrape off the waste toner T and the rotating member 151 to efficiently break up the piles of waste toner T. For example, if the rotating member 151 mainly breaks up the piles of waste toner T and the convex portion 101 mainly transports the scraped (or broken) waste toner T, then in a configuration in which piles of waste toner T are likely to form, the rotating member 151 can be made larger, and in a configuration in which it takes time for the piles of waste toner T to grow, the convex portion 101 can be made larger to improve the transportability of the waste toner T. The same applies to the convex portions 102 and 103 and the rotating members 152 and 153.

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing with dashed lines the movement trajectories of the tips 121-123 and end 822 of the convex portions 101-103 when the convex portions 101-103 move back and forth in a scraping operation, and the rotating members 151-153 are not shown.

During the scraping operation, the tips 121-123 of the convex portions 101-103 move in the scraping direction indicated by the arrow G (corresponding to the arrow 832 in FIG. 5) along the movement trajectory, and from among the waste toner T that has fallen onto the bottom surface 612, the waste toner T that falls within the range of the movement trajectory of the convex portions 101-103 is scraped off and sent to the container body 58.

On the other hand, as explained in the above section "Problems to be Solved by the Invention," waste toner T may remain attached to area 253 (corresponding to bottom surface portion 953 in FIG. 13B) that is outside the movement trajectory on bottom surface 612 of receiving section 61. Even if waste toner T accumulates on area 253, if the top of the waste toner T enters the movement trajectory of the convex portion, it is scraped off by the convex portion, so that waste toner T does not pile up any further on area 253 like a mountain.

Waste toner T on bottom surface 612 is scraped off by convex portions 101-103 and gradually transported on bottom surface 612 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the direction of arrow G (scraping direction). Therefore, when waste toner T scraped off in area 259 enters adjacent area 253 on the downstream side in the direction of arrow G, the waste toner T accumulated on area 253 at that point is pushed by the waste toner T entering area 253 from area 259, and is divided into some that moves downstream from area 253 and some that moves in the X-axis direction (corresponding to the width direction in Figure 13(c)).

As the waste toner T moves little by little in the X-axis direction on the area 253, it eventually reaches the area 255 between the second lever 82 and the side wall 616 on the bottom surface 612 shown in FIG. 6. In addition, some of the waste toner T that hits the lower ends 122, 122 of the convex parts 102, 103 may escape in the X-axis direction and reach the area 255. Furthermore, the waste toner T that enters from the receiving port 611 may accumulate on the area 255, or may accumulate in the areas 258, 258 adjacent to the area 255 between the second lever 82 and the side wall 616. The waste toner T that has accumulated in the areas 255, 258 in this way is broken down and stirred by the rotating members 151 to 153 located in the space between the second lever 82 and the side wall 616 before it piles up or hardens into a large mountain.

(4) Agitation of Waste Toner by Rotating Member FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams showing how a pile of waste toner T accumulated in area 255 of bottom surface 612 is broken up by rotating member 152. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9(a), the rotating member 152 descends in the direction of the arrow I toward the area 255 of the bottom surface 612, and when the teeth 155 of the rotating member 152 come into contact with the pile of waste toner T, the rotating member 152 rotates in the direction of the arrow J around the shaft 112 due to the frictional force with the waste toner T while sliding in the direction of the arrow G (scraping direction) as shown in FIG. 9(b).

The tips 156 of the teeth 155 of the rotating member 152 bite into the pile of waste toner T, breaking down the pile of waste toner T, while as the rotating member 152 rotates in the direction of arrow J, the force with which the rotating member 152 tries to press down on the pile of waste toner T from above is dispersed in the direction of rotation, and the rotational force Pf acts on the waste toner T, causing some of the waste toner T to be scattered (agitated) upstream of the rotating member 152 in the scraping direction (to the right in the figure), thereby breaking down the pile of waste toner T.

When the scattered waste toner T enters the movement trajectory of the convex parts 101 to 103, it is scraped off by the convex parts 101 to 103. The other rotating members 151 and 153 also rotate in the same manner as the rotating member 152, stirring the waste toner T on the bottom surface 612.

As a result, even if waste toner T accumulates in areas on the bottom surface 612 of the receiving section 61 that cannot be scraped off by the convex portions 101 to 103, it is stirred by the rotating members 151 to 153, preventing the waste toner T from gradually growing and solidifying as in the past, which would cause problems with the transport of the waste toner.

<Modification>
While the present disclosure has been described above based on the embodiments, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following modified examples are possible.

(1) In the above embodiment, the rotating members 151 to 153 as the rotating bodies that break up the piles of waste toner T are gear-shaped, but this is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a cylindrical or columnar rotating body 159 that can rotate freely on the shaft portion 111 erected on the convex portion 101, that is, a rotating body with a circular outer periphery, can be used. In a cylindrical or columnar configuration, since there are no teeth 155 on the outer periphery, it is not possible to make it easier to break up the piles of waste toner T by having the teeth 156 bite into them, but it is still a rotating body. When the peripheral surface 158 of this cylindrical or columnar rotating body hits the waste toner T on the bottom surface 612, it rotates in the direction of arrow J as shown in FIG. 9(b), and a force Pf in the rotational direction can be applied to the waste toner T, thereby breaking up the piles of waste toner T.

(2) In the above embodiment, three protrusions 101-103 for scraping off waste toner T on the bottom surface 612 of the receiving section 61 are provided, and a total of three rotating members 151-153 corresponding to each protrusion are provided as stirring members for the waste toner T. However, this number is not limited to this. Depending on the device configuration, there may be one protrusion and one rotating member, or two or more.

(3) In the above embodiment, the rotating members 151-153 rotatably supported on the shafts 111-113 erected on the convex portions 101-103 move together with the convex portions 101-103 in the scraping direction, and when they hit the waste toner T on the bottom surface 612, they rotate due to friction with the waste toner T. However, this is not limited to the above. For example, it is also possible to provide a separate drive unit that imparts a rotational drive force to at least one of the three rotating members 151-153, and to forcibly drive the rotating member to rotate using the drive force.

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the drive unit of the rotating member.

As shown in the figure, the drive unit 450 for the rotating member is configured by attaching an ultra-compact motor 451 to the side surface 105 of the second lever 82, connecting a worm shaft 453 to the rotating shaft 452 of the motor 451, and forming one rotating member 553 into a worm wheel shape that meshes with the worm shaft 453. This rotating member 553 corresponds to the rotating member 153 described above.

When the rotating shaft 452 of the motor 451 rotates, the worm shaft 453 rotates in the same direction together with the rotating shaft 452, and the rotational force of the worm shaft 453 is transmitted to the rotating member 553, which is a worm wheel, and the rotating member 553 is rotated in the direction of arrow J. Power is supplied to the motor 451 by running a lead wire (not shown) along the side wall of the container body 58 with a sufficient length so as not to affect the scraping operation, and by leading the tip of the lead wire out of a through hole (not shown) provided in the container body 58 and connecting it to a power supply unit (not shown) provided in the device body 28. Power is supplied from the power supply unit to the motor 451 when, for example, a print job is executed, and ends when the job is completed.

In the above, one rotating member 553 is rotated, but one or both of the other two rotating members 151 and 152 may also be rotated. This can be achieved by further extending the worm shaft 453 shown in FIG. 11 in the Z-axis direction.

In addition, although the rotating member 553 is described above as being rotationally driven in the direction of arrow J, the rotation direction of the motor 451 may instead be set so that the rotating member 553 rotates in the direction of arrow Ja (dashed line), which is the opposite direction to the direction of arrow J. The direction of arrow Ja corresponds to the same direction as the scraping direction of the convex portion 103 on the bottom surface 612, that is, the direction approaching the container body 58. Therefore, when the teeth 555 of the rotating member 553 hit the waste toner T on the bottom surface 612, a force in the same direction as the scraping direction acts on the waste toner T, and the waste toner T to which this force is applied moves in the same direction as the convex portion 103, making it easier to be stored in the container body 58.

Note that the configuration is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration having a worm shaft or worm wheel, and other configurations may be used as long as the drive unit is capable of rotating the rotating member.

(4) In the above embodiment, a configuration example in which the receiving portion 61 is provided so as to protrude laterally from the upper portion of the side wall 52 of the container body 58 has been described, but this is not limited to this. For example, the scraping portion 80 described above can also be applied to a configuration in which the receiving portion 61 protrudes laterally from the middle portion of the side wall 52 of the container body 58.

(5) In the above embodiment, an example of a toner storage container 50 that stores waste toner that is no longer used in image formation has been described, but this is not limiting. For example, the technology disclosed herein can also be applied to a toner hopper that supplies replenishment toner to the developing unit 4. Since replenishment toner is consumed for image formation in the developing unit 4, it can be said to be toner that should be used for image formation in the future.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the toner hopper 40. As shown in the figure, the toner hopper 40 is disposed above the developing unit 4, and has a container body 401 and a receiving portion 402 that extends to the right from the top of the container body 401.

The receiving portion 402 has an upper surface provided with a receiving port 403, which is connected to a toner discharge port 411 of a toner supply bottle 41 that contains refill toner Tb. This toner discharge port 411 is also an existing discharge port in the image forming device.

A supply screw 404 is provided at the bottom of the container body 401 to supply replenishment toner Tb to the developing unit 4.

The toner hopper 40 accumulates a certain amount of toner Tb in the container body 401 by replenishing toner Tb from the toner replenishing bottle 41, and when the amount of toner in the developing unit 4 decreases, it performs known toner replenishing control to supply toner Tb in the container body 401 to the developing unit 4.

In other words, when a sensor or the like detects that the amount of toner in the developing unit 4 is less than a specified value, the supply screw 404 is driven to supply toner Tb from the toner hopper 40 to the developing unit 4. When the amount of toner in the developing unit 4 reaches the specified value, the drive of the supply screw 404 is stopped, and toner supply is stopped.

When the amount of toner Tb in the container body 401 becomes less than a predetermined amount due to the supply of toner Tb from the toner hopper 40 to the developing unit 4, a supply screw (not shown) in the toner supply bottle 41 supplies the remaining amount of toner Tb in the toner supply bottle 41 to the container body 401 through the discharge port 411 and the receiving port 403 of the receiving unit 402.

By applying a scraping unit 480 similar to the scraping unit 80 described above to a toner hopper 40 configured in this way and equipping it with a mechanism for converting the rotational driving force of the supply screw 404 into the reciprocating motion of the second lever 82 through a crankshaft similar to the crankshaft 715 described above, it is possible to scrape off the toner Tb on the bottom surface 421 of the receiving section 402. This makes it possible to prevent toner Tb from accumulating on the bottom surface 421, causing a mountain of accumulated toner Tb to rise up to the receiving port 403 and interfere with the reception of toner Tb from the toner supply bottle 41 through the receiving port 403.

(6) In the above embodiment, an example of a toner storage container that stores waste toner cleaned by the cleaners 6 and 24 as waste toner that is no longer used for image formation has been described, but this is not limited to this. For example, in a trickle development method, specifically a development method in which a small amount of replenishment developer containing toner is replenished little by little from a refill port of a housing that contains developer in a development unit, and a portion of the developer containing toner that becomes excessive as a result of the replenishment is discharged from the housing through a discharge port of the housing, the developer discharged from the development unit can be regarded as waste toner, and the toner storage container can be configured to store this waste toner.

(7) In the above embodiment, a configuration example was described in which the rotational driving force of the stirring and conveying member 70 is transmitted from the drive motor 19 on the device main body 28 side via the gear 713, but this is not limited thereto. For example, a configuration in which a drive unit such as a drive motor is provided in the toner storage container 50 may also be adopted.

(8) In the above embodiment, a color printer was described as an example of the configuration of the image forming device, but this is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a printer that can only form monochrome images. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to image forming devices in general, such as copying machines, facsimile machines, and MFPs (Multiple Function Peripherals), without being limited to printers.

Note that the shapes, sizes, materials, etc. of the toner storage container 50, scraping portion 80, protrusions 101-103, rotating members 151-153, etc. are not limited to those described above, and appropriate shapes, etc. are determined according to the device configuration.

The above embodiments and variations may be combined as much as possible.

This disclosure can be applied to a toner storage container that stores toner.

6, 24 Cleaner 10 Printer 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20K Imaging unit 28 Device body 40 Toner hopper 50 Toner storage container 58, 401 Container body 61, 402 Receiving unit 70 Stirring and conveying member 80, 480 Scraping unit 82 Second lever (scraping member)
100 Edge of scraping member facing bottom surface of receiving portion 101, 102, 103 Convex portion 111, 112, 113 Shaft portion 121, 122, 123 Tip of convex portion 151, 152, 153, 159, 553 Rotating member 155, 555 Teeth 242, 411 Toner discharge port 403, 611 Receiving port 450 Driving portion 612 Bottom surface of receiving portion 715 Crank shaft T Waste toner

Claims (15)

A toner storage container that stores toner that has not been used for image formation in an image forming apparatus or toner that is to be used in the future in a container body,
a receiving portion interposed between a toner discharge port already provided in the image forming apparatus and the container body, and receiving the toner discharged from the toner discharge port through a receiving port;
a scraping member for scraping off the toner that has passed through the receiving opening and fallen onto the bottom surface of the receiving portion and sending the toner to the container body;
a rotating member supported on a shaft portion erected from the scraping member in a direction intersecting the scraping direction of the scraping member;
A toner storage container comprising: The toner storage container according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotating member is in the shape of a gear with teeth on its circumferential surface. The toner storage container according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer periphery of the rotating member is circular. The toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the rotating member rotates due to frictional force with the toner when the rotating member comes into contact with the toner that has fallen onto the bottom surface of the receiving section during the scraping operation of the scraping member. The toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the scraping member has a protruding portion on an edge facing the bottom surface of the receiving section, and the tip of the protruding portion scrapes off the toner that has fallen onto the bottom surface of the receiving section. The toner storage container according to claim 5, characterized in that the tip of the convex portion is formed in a curved shape that is convex toward the bottom surface of the receiving portion when viewed from the front of the scraping member. The toner storage container according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the shaft portion is provided on the protrusion. The toner storage container according to claim 7, characterized in that the protrusion and the rotating member have a relationship in which, in a direction toward the bottom surface of the receiving portion, the rotating member is located closer to the bottom surface of the receiving portion than the protrusion, or the rotating member and the protrusion are the same distance from the bottom surface of the receiving portion. a stirring and conveying member that stirs and conveys the toner on the bottom surface of the container body by a rotating operation;
a motion conversion unit that converts a rotational motion of the stirring and conveying member into a movement of the scraping member in a scraping direction;
The toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: the motion conversion unit is a crankshaft that rotates integrally with the agitating and transporting member on a circle having a predetermined rotation radius around a rotation axis of the agitating and transporting member,
10. The toner storage container according to claim 9, wherein the scraping member performs the scraping action by a reciprocating motion accompanying the rotation of the crankshaft. The toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the receiving portion is provided so as to protrude laterally from the upper portion of the side wall of the container body. The toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a drive unit that drives the rotating member to rotate. The toner storage container according to claim 12, characterized in that the driving unit rotates the rotating member in a direction such that, when the rotating member hits the toner on the bottom surface of the receiving section, a force acts on the toner in the same direction as the scraping direction. The toner container according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the toner that is no longer used in the image formation is waste toner discharged from the toner discharge port of the image forming device, and the waste toner is received from the receiving port. An image forming device capable of mounting a toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images