JPH04178671A - developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a developing device having a stirring member that stirs developer in a developer container and conveys the developer to a developer carrier.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, many of the developing devices δ of electrophotographic equipment have a stirring/conveying mechanism for conveying/supplying the developer to a developer carrier while stirring the developer in the developer container.

An example of a conventional developing device using a one-component magnetic developer (hereinafter referred to as "toner") is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 of the accompanying drawings. In the figure, a developer container 1 has an opening facing a photoreceptor 2 as a latent image carrier that is rotationally driven in six directions of arrows, and a cylindrical developer carrier (hereinafter referred to as A developing screen (referred to as a "developing screen") 3 is provided and rotated in the direction of arrow B. Inside the developing screen 3, a magnet (not shown) having a plurality of magnetic poles is provided so as to be fixed or rotationally driven. A developer regulating member (hereinafter referred to as "developing plate") 4 is provided hanging from the opening L of the developer container l.
The toner layer supported on the surface of the developing sleeve 3 is regulated to a predetermined thickness. This toner layer is transported and supplied to the photoreceptor 2 by the rotation of the developing sleeve or magnet. Also,
A stirring rod is provided in the developer container 1 to stir the developer. The stirring rod 5 is a rigid rod-shaped member bent into a rank shape as shown in FIG.
It is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow C to agitate the toner inside the developer container 1 and transport it toward the developing sleeve 3 . In order to increase the toner conveyance force of the stirring rod 5, a tongue piece 6 such as a thin rubber film may be provided at the radial tip portion as shown in FIG.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, a dead space is created outside the rotation area of the stirring rod 5 inside the developer container 1.
This toner remains without being conveyed to the developing sleeve. There was a problem. This is the area shown by the shaded area in FIG.

Of course, it is possible to eliminate the above-mentioned dead space by reducing the volume of the developer container 1, but it also increases the frequency of replenishing toner or replacing the developer, which is troublesome for the user and is not economical. There is also.

Therefore, as shown in Figure 13, it would be possible to reduce the dead space by additionally arranging another stirring rod 5'', or the rotation drive mechanism would become complicated and the number of sealing points around the rotating shaft would increase. -1-1 There is a problem that the required rotational drive torque increases and the load on the motor increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of such conventional devices and to provide a developing device that has a simple mechanism, has little dead space, and minimizes residual toner.

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, the above object is as follows: a first stirring member that is rotationally driven within a developer container; a support member attached to the first stirring member; and a support member that is attached to the first stirring member. and a second stirring member supported by and substantially parallel to the axial direction, the second stirring member being swingably attached to either the supporting member or the first stirring member, and being rotated by the rotation of the first stirring member. This is achieved by resting on the inner bottom surface of the developer container and reciprocatingly interlocked.5 A speed difference is provided between the operating speeds of the forward and return paths of the reciprocating movement.

[Function] In the present invention having such a configuration, when the first stirring member performs a stirring operation by being rotationally driven, the second stirring member mounted so as to be swingable therewith also moves against the bottom surface of the developer container. make a reciprocating motion along the Therefore, the developer is agitated not only by the first agitating member but also by the second agitating member which extends over a wide area behind the first agitating member.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 9 of the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, parts common to the conventional apparatus shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a cross section r'jI of a device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, a first stirring member z3 is provided in the developer container 1 behind a developing device 3 which is a developer carrier. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the third stirring member 23 is formed by bending a rod member into a crank shape.
A gear 22 is attached to the end of the shaft, which meshes with another not-shown gear to receive rotational drive.

The bent stirring portion 23A of the first stirring member 23 includes:
A plate-shaped second stirring member 21 supported by the elongated hole 21' is rotatably provided around the elongated hole 21'. Therefore, both ends of the stirring section 23A also function as supporting members. The second stirring member 21 is in contact with the bottom surface of the developer container 1 at the other end due to its own weight, and has spring portions 21A and 21B formed by leaf springs that contact the inner wall surface of the developer container 1. There is. The first stirring member 23 and the second stirring member 21 both extend substantially parallel to the central axis of the developing sleeve 3 over a length that is equal to or longer than the effective developing length.

Thus, in the device of this embodiment, the first stirring member 23 is rotated around the axis S by the rotation of the gear 22, and the second stirring member 21 is accordingly driven around the elongated hole and then rotated back and forth ( In the figure, it reciprocates in the xyx directions.

3 is a front view of the gear 22 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the state of toner in the device shown in FIG. 1. gear 2
2 has teeth in range X as shown in Figure 3, and the remaining range y
The shape has no teeth. Therefore, when one gear 22 is driven by another gear, in the range The rotation of 22 is stopped. When this gear 22 is coupled to the shaft end of the first stirring section side 23 and driven from the outside,
The drive of the external gear is transmitted to the gear 22 and rotates only in the range X.

In this embodiment of the apparatus, when the first stirring member 23 rotates in the P direction, the second stirring member 22 also moves back and forth linearly along the inside of the bottom surface of the developer container l in conjunction with the first stirring member 23. Let's hit. At that time, first, during the period when the gear 22 is receiving the driving force from the external gear in the range X, the second stirring member 21 moves in the X direction, and the second stirring member 21
Spring portions 21, A and 21.8 provided in the developer container L
The second stirring member 21 is compressed against the inner wall thereof, and a restoring force is generated that pushes the second stirring member 21 in the X direction. Next, when the teeth of the external gear enter the range y, the gear 22 no longer meshes with the external gear, so the gear 22 becomes free and the second stirring member 2
The second stirring member 21 moves back in the X direction due to the restoring force of the spring portions 21A and 21B of I. At this time, the toner t on the second stirring member 21 is moved to the vicinity of the developing sleeve 3, and the toner t is transported.

5 and 6 show examples of changes to the spring portion in this embodiment.・Figure 5 shows the spring part 51
By providing C and SID closer to the developing sleeve 3 than the joint of the first and second stirring members 23.51, the reciprocating motion of the second stirring member 51 is controlled by spring pressure when moving in the X direction. , when moving in the X direction, this is done by gear drive. On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows an example in which the spring pressure force is obtained by a coil spring 62 instead of the leaf spring of FIG. 1.

In this way, since the reciprocating motion in one direction is performed by the spring pressure regardless of the drive speed by the gear, the drive speed is not limited. Also, the above driving speed and the speed due to the spring pressure.

(The conveyance of toner can be adjusted by providing a speed difference between the + path and the return path.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 7 to 9 of the accompanying drawings.

This embodiment is characterized in that the second stirring member is reciprocated by a cam.

In No. 711, the first stirring member and supporting member are omitted.

The second stirring member 81 is in contact with a cam 82 attached to a shaft 83 extending substantially parallel to the central axis of the developing sleeve 3 at one end, and the other end is a spring in contact with the inner wall of the developer container 1. Parts 81A and 81. It has B. Cam 82 or Q
By rotating in the direction, one end of the second stirring member 81 is pressed in the range of the convex part g of the cam 82, and separated from the cam in the other part. Therefore, the spring 'f! provided on the second stirring member 81! B81A, 1318 is compressed in the range of the convex part g, and pushes back the stirring member 81 by restoring force in the X direction due to spring pressure in the other range. Thereby, the second stirring member 81 reciprocates in the X and X directions to convey the toner.

FIG. 9 shows a modification of the spring portion of this embodiment, in which a coil spring 92 is used in place of the leaf spring in FIG. 7 to cause the stirring member 91 to reciprocate.

In this embodiment, the movement of the stirring member can be adjusted by the shape of the cam.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention includes a rotating first stirring member and a second stirring member whose one end is supported by a support member, and the second stirring member or the developer container. By reciprocating along the inside of the bottom surface of the developing device and having a speed difference between the forward and backward paths, a simple component configuration and a simple drive mechanism allow the development device to operate without significantly increasing the required rotational torque. It becomes possible to efficiently agitate and transport the developer inside, resulting in the effect that residual toner acid can be significantly reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a developing device as an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the stirring member of the device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the stirring member of the device shown in Fig. 1.
Figure 4 is a front view of the gear of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a diagram showing the moving state of toner in the apparatus shown in Figure 1, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a modification of the stirring member of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, and Figure 6 is the 7 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the developing device, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the stirring member of the device shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the stirring member of the device;
Figure 10 shows the conventional device I! 11 is a perspective view of the stirring member of the device shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another example of the stirring member of the device shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another conventional device. ! FIG. 1...Developer container 21...-Second stirring member 21, A, 21. B;62:81A,81B;92...
...Elastic part (spring part) 23...First stirring member

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) a first stirring member that is rotationally driven within the developer container;
a supporting member attached to the first stirring member; and a second stirring member supported by the supporting member and substantially parallel to the axial direction, the supporting member being oscillated by the first stirring member. The second agitation member is freely attached and is reciprocated along the inner bottom surface of the developer container by the rotation of the first agitation member, and a speed difference is provided between the operating speeds in the outward and return paths of the reciprocating slow movement. A developing device characterized by: (2) Claim (1) wherein the second stirring member disposed inside the developer container is provided with an elastic portion at at least one location.
). (3) The reciprocating movement of the second stirring member is performed in one direction by an external drive, and in the other direction by the restoring force of the elastic portion of the second stirring member. 2) The developing device according to item 2).