JPH045672A - Developer stirring roller and electrophotographic recording device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make structure simple and to reduce cost by constituting a stirring roller of plural segments divided by a plane passing a center axis line and making the respective segments resin molded forms having the same shape. CONSTITUTION:The stirring roller 10 is equally divided into three by three planes passing the center axis line and constituted of three segments 10A, 10B and 10C having the same shape. Since the segments 10A-10C have nearly fan- shaped cross sections and the pattern-draw-molding thereof can be executed toward the inside and the outside in a radial direction, they can be produced by resin molding at low cost. In the case of butting three segments 10A-10C produced by molding and allowing them to mutually adhere, ribs 10a are allowed to mutually adhere on the roller 10, so that adhesive area becomes large and excellent adhesion is accomplished. Thus, the structure is made simple, the number of parts is reduced and the roller is easily produced at low cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developer stirring roller used to stir developer in a developing device used in an electrophotographic recording apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a developing device using a two-component developer has been proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 33583/1983. This developing device is a packet roller configured by passing a bucket between the outer peripheries of a pair of disks, and includes a packet roller rotatably installed in a developing tank, and a packet roller inside the packet roller. It consists of a hollow cylinder provided concentrically, a developer inlet and a developer outlet provided at both ends of the cylinder, and a developer guide member (blade) attached to the bucket of the packet roller. a developer guide member that transports the developer in the developer tank from the developer discharge port toward the reception port by rotation of a packet roller;
It has a conveying means arranged in the cylinder and conveying the developer from the developer inlet to the developer outlet, and the packet roller and the conveying means in the cylinder convey the developer in the axial direction of the packet roller. The developer is circulated in and out of the cylinder for mixing, and the packet roller supplies the developer to the developing roller.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in such conventional devices, the packet roller used to stir the developer has a structure in which a pair of discs and a large number of packets are separately manufactured and then assembled. Since the bucket has a structure in which a large number of developer guide members (wings) are fixed with screws or the like, there are problems in that the number of parts is large, and assembly is time-consuming and expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is a simple and inexpensive developer stirring device that can be placed outside a hollow pipe for replenishing toner and used to mix and stir developer. The purpose is to provide rollers.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by using a stirring roller,
A substantially cylindrical structure having a plurality of ribs provided parallel to the central axis and equidistant from the central axis, and a plurality of blades provided integrally with the ribs and inclined with respect to the axial direction. Furthermore, the stirring roller is constituted by a plurality of segments divided by a plane passing through the central axis thereof, and each segment is made of a resin molded product having the same shape.

Function: As described above, the stirring roller of the present invention has a structure divided into a plurality of segments, so each segment has a substantially fan-shaped cross section, and therefore it is possible to perform mold cutting inside and outside the segment. Yes, it can be easily made by molding resin. In this way, the stirring roller can be assembled into a resin molded product! 7 and can be manufactured at low cost. Furthermore, by making each segment the same shape, the number of types of parts can be reduced.

Embodiment FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a developing device equipped with a developer stirring roller according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a developing device for developing images.

The developing device 2 includes a developing box 4 containing a developer 3 made of toner and carrier, a developing roller 5 disposed inside the developing box 4, and an agitating device that supplies the developer to the developing roller 5 while stirring. It includes a roller 6, a developer stirring device 7, etc. that replenishes toner and stirs and mixes it with developer.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show the developer stirring device 7, and the developer stirring device 7 is an embodiment of the present invention in which a hollow pipe 9 made of, for example, aluminum is rotatably arranged around the outer circumference of the hollow pipe 9. It has a stirring roller 10 and a screw 11 provided in a hollow pipe 9. This hollow pipe 9 is
A downward outlet 12 is provided near one side wall 4a of the developing box 4, and an upward receiving port 13 is provided near the opposite side wall 4b.
It further extends outward from the side wall 4b and is connected to a vertical toner supply pipe 14 (see FIG. 4). The screw 11 described above transports the toner supplied to the hollow pipe 9 from the toner supply pipe 14 and the developer that entered the hollow pipe 9 from the receiving port 13 toward the discharge port 12 at the tip, as shown by arrow A. It is something to do.

The stirring roller 10 has one end rotatably held in the hollow pipe 9 via a bearing 15, and the other end fixed to the shaft of the screw 11. This stirring roller 10 is generally cylindrical as a whole, as shown schematically in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 2 as a cross section taken along arrow If-4. A plurality of ridges 10a provided at positions equidistant from the axis, a plurality of blades 10b provided integrally with the ribs 10a and inclined in the same direction with respect to the axial direction, and opposite to the blade 1ob. It has blades 10c provided at an angle in the direction. Here, one of the blades 10b is formed in most of the groove of the stirring roller 1o, and only a small number of blades 10c are formed at one end of the stirring roller 10. In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the inclination direction of the blade 10b is set opposite to that of the blade of the screw 11,
As a result, when the stirring roller 1o rotates in the same direction as the screw 11, the blades 10b transport the developer outside the hollow pipe 9 in the direction shown by arrow B (that is, in the opposite direction to the transport direction by the screw 11). be able to. Note that the blade 10C is provided to return the developer that has passed through the reception port 13 of the hollow pipe 9 to the reception port 13 side, and therefore, the formation position of the blade 10c depends on the position of the reception port 13. To be determined as appropriate.

The stirring roller 1o has a generally cylindrical shape as described above, and is further divided into three equal parts 10A, 10B, 10 along three lines passing through its central axis.
C (see Figure 3). These segments 1oA, 10B.

10C has the same shape and is made by injection molding of resin. These segments have a substantially fan-shaped cross section and can be cut out in the radial direction from inside to outside, so they can be manufactured at low cost by molding resin.

The stirring roller 10 has three segments (10A, 10B) made by molding.

The 10Cs are made into a monolithic structure by butting them together and gluing them together. Here, ribs 10a are located on both side edges of each segment, and when the three segments 10A, 1oB, and 1oC are butted and joined, these ribs 10a are glued to each other. The bonding area is large and good bonding is possible. Each segment 10A
, 10B.

The blade 10b formed at 10C may be formed into a continuous spiral blade when these segments are joined, or may be discontinuous as in the illustrated embodiment. . 3 segments 1oA, 1oB, 1
When joining 0C, the bearing 15 (see FIG. 5) is also fixed at a predetermined position on the stirring roller 10 at the same time.

Next, the operation of the developing device using the developer stirring roller configured as described above will be explained.

In FIG. 4, during the developing operation, the photosensitive drum 1.degree. developing roller 6 and stirring roller 6.10 are rotating in the direction shown by the arrow. 5 and 6, the toner supplied from the toner supply pipe into the hollow pipe 9 is conveyed by the screw 11 in the direction of the arrow, and is discharged from the discharge port 12 near the side wall 4a of the developing box 4, and is discharged from the outside. Mixed into developer.

On the outside of the hollow pipe 9, as the developer rotates due to the rotation of the stirring roller 10, as shown by arrow B, the side wall 4a
It is conveyed from one side toward the opposite side wall 4b, and mixed and stirred. The developer enters the hollow pipe 9 from the receiving port 13 near the side wall 4b, is conveyed in the opposite direction by the screw 11, and is discharged from the discharge port 12. In this way, the developer circulates in and out of the hollow pipe 9 in the axial direction, and is uniformly mixed and stirred.

In FIG. 4, the developer mixed and stirred by the developer stirring device 7 is further stirred by the stirring roller 6.
The latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 conveyed by the developing roller 5 is developed.

Development is performed as described above.

Note that in the developing device described above, the developer stirring device 7
New toner is replenished and the developer is stirred and mixed by the stirring roller 10 and screw 11, and the developer is further stirred by the next stirring roller 6.
Since the developer is supplied to the developing roller 6, mixing of the developer is ensured, and there is also an advantage that the developer is reliably supplied to the developing roller 5.

In the above embodiment, the stirring roller 1o is composed of three segments, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be composed of two segments or four or more segments.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the stirring roller of the present invention includes a plurality of ribs provided parallel to the central axis and equidistant from the central axis, and integrally with the ribs and extending in the axial direction. By rotating the blades, the developer can be stirred and mixed while being fed in the axial direction. It is made up of multiple segments divided by a plane that passes through, and each segment is a resin molded product of the same shape, making it extremely easy to manufacture, reducing the number of parts, and manufacturing at low cost. It contains effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a developer stirring roller according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the developer stirring roller shown in FIG. 1.
3 is an exploded schematic perspective view showing the developer stirring roller of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a developing device equipped with the developer stirring roller in the embodiment; FIG. The figure is a schematic sectional view of a developer stirring device used in the developing device, and FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the developer stirring device shown in FIG. 5. 1...Photosensitive drum, 2...Developing device,
4...Developing box, 5...Developing roller, 6...Stirring roller, 7...Developer stirring device, 9...Hollow Pipe, 1o...
・Agitating roller, 10A, 10B, 10C...segment, 10a...rib, 1Qb, 1oc...
...Blade, 11...Screw, 12.
・Self...Discharge port, 13...Intake port, 14...
...Toner supply pipe, 15...Bearing. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and 1 other person Takemitsu Drum Trap @ikN Ring 1 Elegance Transport It tt, Tsuwanu Choku 0-La M O-Fit II II”J Jli Agitation 441 in 9 Pipe Ml Scale Laurus Ri Ryu - Tofu Kusunoki Kagaya

Claims (1)

[Claims] A substantially cylindrical stirring device having a plurality of ribs provided parallel to and equidistant from the central axis, and a plurality of blades provided integrally with the ribs and at an angle with respect to the axial direction. 1. A developer stirring roller comprising a plurality of segments divided by a plane passing through a central axis thereof, each segment being a resin molded product having the same shape.