JP6120108B2 - Powder conveying apparatus and image forming unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a powder conveyance device and an image forming unit.

  Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a photosensitive drum of a developing device is uniformly charged and initialized, a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum by optical writing, and the latent image is converted into a toner image (development). Then, the toner image is directly or indirectly transferred to a printing medium and fixed by a fixing device.

  In the image forming apparatus, after the developed toner image is transferred onto the photosensitive drum, the toner (powder) remaining on the photosensitive drum is collected by a cleaning device, and a helical body such as a coil spring is placed inside. A technique is disclosed in which residual toner (powder) is conveyed to a collection bag or the like in a toner hopper by rotating the helical body through a pipe that passes through (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the image forming apparatus, in order to collect the toner (powder) to the full capacity of the collection bag in the toner hopper, the toner (powder) conveyed to the toner hopper is spirally wound on the rotating shaft. Are collected evenly in the collection bag by the rotation of the conveying screw provided.

JP 2010-20117 A

  However, in the above prior art, the toner (powder) is gradually fixed between the blades of the conveying screw in the toner hopper and is buried and fixed to the height of the blades (in a round bar shape). The toner (powder) transport is delayed, and there is a problem that some trouble occurs around the toner (powder) transport source.

  In addition, the toner (powder) may stick inside the transport pipe with the built-in transport screw, which causes the transport screw to lock and stop rotating, and the toner (powder) transport is delayed. Alternatively, there is a problem that the conveying screw and its surroundings are damaged.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to prevent powder from sticking in a transport pipe and perform efficient transport.

The powder conveying device according to the present invention includes a conveying pipe in which a conveying screw having a spiral blade provided on a rotation shaft is accommodated, and powder extruded from the conveying pipe as the conveying screw rotates. And the transport pipe is at least partially covered by the recovery bag, and an opening is formed in the region covered by the recovery bag along the extending direction of the transport pipe. is provided, wherein the transport screw in a region corresponding to at least the opening, has a protrusion to deflect the rotation axis of the conveying screw with the rotation of the conveying screw, the protrusion, the JP at least the tip is provided so as run off the opening portion side from the inside of the conveying pipe, that the protrusion portion when positioned on the opening side with the rotation of the conveying screw To.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a powder conveyance device including a conveyance pipe containing a conveyance screw having a spiral blade provided on a rotation shaft, and pushed out of the conveyance pipe as the conveyance screw rotates. A recovery bag for recovering the collected powder, and at least a part of the transport pipe is covered with the recovery bag, and an area covered with the recovery bag is arranged in the extending direction of the transport pipe. An opening is provided along the blade, and the blade has a protrusion that abuts against the inner wall of the transport pipe at least in a region corresponding to the opening. It is characterized by being provided so that at least the tip of the projection protrudes from the inside of the transport pipe to the opening side when positioned on the opening side .

The image forming unit according to the present invention collects a transport pipe that houses a transport screw having a spiral blade provided on a rotation shaft, and toner that is pushed out of the transport pipe as the transport screw rotates. The transport pipe is at least partially covered by the recovery section, and an opening is provided in the region covered by the recovery section along the extending direction of the transport pipe. is, the conveying screw, in a region corresponding to at least the opening, has a protrusion to deflect the rotation axis of the conveying screw with the rotation of the conveying screw, the protrusion, the conveyor screw at least the tip is provided so as to run off the opening side from the inside of the conveying pipe, this protrusion portion when positioned on the opening side with the rotation of the The features.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit comprising: a transport pipe that houses a transport screw having a rotating blade spirally provided on a rotation shaft; and A collecting unit that collects the extruded toner, and the conveying pipe is at least partially covered by the collecting unit, and an area covered by the collecting unit is arranged in a direction in which the conveying pipe extends. An opening is provided along the blade, and the blade has a protrusion that abuts against the inner wall of the transport pipe at least in a region corresponding to the opening. It is characterized by being provided so that at least the tip of the projection protrudes from the inside of the transport pipe to the opening side when positioned on the opening side .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the powder from sticking in the transport pipe and perform efficient transport.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining a recovery path for residual toner of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the conveyance pipe and conveyance screw by this embodiment. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the motion of the conveyance screw 9 by this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a residual toner collecting path of an image forming apparatus according to a modification of the present invention. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining a residual toner collecting path of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, an image forming unit 1 is provided with a collection bag 3 for storing toner in an upper toner hopper 2 and collecting residual toner, and a charging roller (not shown), a developing roller (not shown), a photosensitive roller at the lower part. A body drum 4 is provided.

  The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 4 is scraped off into the cleaner 5 by a cleaning blade (not shown), and is sequentially transported in the directions of arrows A, B, and C by a spiral body (coil spring or the like) that rotates in the transport pipe 6. Then, it is conveyed to the collection bag 3 in the toner hopper 2. The collection bag 3 is coupled to the transport pipe 7 so as to cover an opening formed along the longitudinal direction of the transport pipe 7. The toner conveyed to the collection bag 3 is collected in the collection bag 3 almost evenly from the opening (described later) of the conveyance pipe 7 while being conveyed along the longitudinal direction of the conveyance pipe 7 as indicated by an arrow. It has become so.

  2A to 2C are perspective views showing the external structure of the transport pipe 7 and the transport screw 9 in the toner hopper 2 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2A, an opening 8 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the transport pipe 7 to which the collection bag 3 is coupled. A conveying screw 9 is disposed in the conveying pipe 7. As shown in FIG. 2B, the conveying screw 9 is formed with a blade portion 10 spirally along the rotation axis.

  The conveyance screw 9 is formed of, for example, a member such as ABS resin, and has a flexibility that does not hinder rotation in the conveyance pipe 7. Moreover, the blade | wing part 10 of the conveyance screw 9 is provided with the projection part 11 formed integrally with the blade | wing part 10 in the predetermined position, as shown in FIG.2 (b), (c). In the example shown in the figure, there are three places, both ends and the center, but the number and position are not limited as long as there are at least one.

  Further, the conveying screw 9 including the blade portion 10 has a diameter such that the blade portion 10 does not contact the inner wall of the conveying pipe 7 when the conveying screw 9 rotates in the conveying pipe 7. The projecting portion 11 provided on the abutting portion is in contact with the inner wall of the transport pipe 7 and has a size (height) enough to bend and deflect the rotational axis of the transport screw 9 having flexibility. . The toner transported to the entrance of the transport pipe 7 is transported in the direction of the arrow 20 along the longitudinal direction of the transport pipe 7 when the transport screw 9 rotates in the direction of the arrow 21 in the transport pipe 7. 7 is pushed out into the collection bag 3 from the opening.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the movement of the conveying screw 9 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, when the conveying screw 9 rotates in the conveying pipe 7, for example, as shown in the state a or the state c, while the protruding portion 11 is in contact with the inner wall of the conveying pipe 7, the conveying screw 9. As shown in state b, the shaft center C of the conveying screw 9 is returned to the center of rotation while the projection 11 is not in contact with the inner wall of the conveying pipe 7 as shown in state b. It will be.

  As a result, when the protrusion 11 that is in contact with the inner wall of the transport pipe 7 comes out of the opening 8, or when it hits the edge of the opening 8 when entering the transport pipe 7 from the opening 8, The conveyance pipe 7 and the conveyance screw 9 vibrate and the toner is prevented from adhering due to the vibration, so that the toner easily falls into the collection bag 3.

  Further, since the protrusion 11 rotates while contacting the inner wall of the transport pipe 7, the shaft center C of the transport screw 9 moves in a meandering manner, so that the behavior of the toner transported by the transport screw 9 is also disturbed. More difficult to stick.

B. Modified Example FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a residual toner collecting path in the image forming unit 30 according to a modified example of the present embodiment. In the image forming unit 30, the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 4 is scraped off into the cleaner 5 by a cleaning blade, and is sequentially conveyed in the directions of arrows D and E by a spiral body (coil spring or the like) that rotates in the conveyance pipe 6. Then, it is conveyed from the front of the toner hopper 2 to the collection bag 3. As described above, even in a structure in which the toner is transported from the front of the toner hopper 2 to the collection bag 3, the toner transport direction is reversed, but the same effect can be obtained with the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiment. it can.

  According to the above-described embodiment, since the blade portion 10 of the conveying screw 9 built in the conveying pipe 7 is provided with the protrusion 11 that abuts the inner wall of the conveying pipe 7 and deflects the conveying screw 9. When the projection 11 that is in contact with the inner wall of the transport pipe 7 comes out of the opening 8 or when it hits the edge of the opening 8 when entering the transport pipe 7 from the opening 8, the transport pipe 7 In addition, the conveying screw 9 vibrates and the toner can be prevented from adhering due to the vibration, and the toner easily falls into the collection bag 3. Further, since the protrusion 11 rotates while contacting the inner wall of the transport pipe 7, the shaft center C of the transport screw 9 moves in a meandering manner, so that the behavior of the toner transported by the transport screw 9 is disturbed. As a result, sticking in the transport pipe 7 can be prevented, and efficient transport can be performed.

  Moreover, according to embodiment mentioned above, since the projection part 11 was made into the blade | wing part 10, it can manufacture easily.

  Moreover, according to embodiment mentioned above, since the conveyance screw 9 was formed from the elastic member, rotation of the conveyance screw 9 can be made to meander with a simple structure.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where residual toner that has not been used is collected has been described. However, as the residual toner, in addition to normal color toner (CMYK), fabric products such as T-shirts, trainers, work clothes, and the like. It is a binder toner used in the technology to transfer a desired image to a transfer medium such as wood or metal plate, and serves to bind the toner layer of the image to be transferred to the transfer medium and the transfer medium. May be. In particular, the binder toner is more effective because it has a larger particle size and higher viscosity than a normal color toner, and is more easily fixed in the transport pipe 7.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the shape of the inner wall of the transport pipe 7 opposite to the opening 8 (back side) is an arc shape will be described, and the shape of the opening 8 of the transport pipe 7 is rectangular. In the case of a simple shape, a protrusion is randomly provided on the opposite side (back side) of the opening 8 of the transport pipe 7 so that the protrusion 11 hits and the transport screw 9 vibrates irregularly. Alternatively, the dents 10 around the projections 11 are provided so that the projections 11 are curvedly provided on the inner wall surface of the transport pipe 7 so that the projections 11 are caused to meander. Alternatively, the movement of the toner may be disturbed by the movement of the conveying screw 9 meandering in the longitudinal direction of the conveying pipe 7, or the protrusion 11 at the edge of the opening 8 shaped like a rectangle. It hits the position where it hits Part 11 may be provided with projections so as to vibrate the.

As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these, The invention described in the claim, and its equal range are included.
Below, the invention described in the claims of the present application is appended.

(Appendix 1)
The invention according to appendix 1 is a powder carrier device for conveying powder to a collection bag, a carrier screw having a spiral blade provided on a rotating shaft, and a carrier containing the carrier screw and having an opening. A pipe, and the conveyance screw has a protrusion that bends the rotation shaft of the conveyance screw when contacting the inner wall of the conveyance pipe as the conveyance screw rotates. It is a powder carrier device.

(Appendix 2)
The invention described in appendix 2 is the powder conveying apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the protrusion is formed at a protruding end of the blade portion.

(Appendix 3)
The invention described in appendix 3 is the powder transport device according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the transport screw is formed of an elastic member.

(Appendix 4)
In the invention according to appendix 4, the opening is configured such that, when the conveying screw rotates, the protrusion that contacts the inner wall of the transport pipe is released from contact in the opening, or / and the opening Supplementary notes 1 to 3, wherein the protrusion is formed so as to vibrate the transport pipe and / or the transport screw when the projecting portion that is out of contact with the inner surface of the transport pipe contacts the inner wall of the transport pipe. 4. The powder carrier device according to claim 3.

(Appendix 5)
The invention according to appendix 5 is an image forming unit having a collecting device that supplies toner and collects residual toner, and the collecting device includes a conveying screw having a spiral blade provided on a rotating shaft; A conveying pipe that accommodates the conveying screw and has an opening, and the conveying screw rotates the rotating shaft of the conveying screw when contacting the inner wall of the conveying pipe as the conveying screw rotates. An image forming unit having a projecting portion to bend.

(Appendix 6)
The invention according to appendix 6 is an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit having a collecting device for collecting toner, the collecting device including a conveying screw provided with a blade portion spirally on a rotation shaft, and the conveying A conveying pipe that accommodates a screw and has an opening, and the conveying screw flexes the rotating shaft of the conveying screw when contacting the inner wall of the conveying pipe as the conveying screw rotates. An image forming apparatus having a protruding portion.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,30 Image formation unit 2 Toner hopper 3 Collection bag 4 Photoconductor drum 5 Cleaner 6, 7 Conveyance pipe 8 Opening part 9 Conveyance screw 10 Blade | wing part 11 Protrusion part 20, 21 Arrow

Claims (8)

A transport pipe in which a transport screw having a blade portion spirally provided on a rotation shaft is accommodated;
A collection bag for collecting the powder extruded from the inside of the carrying pipe as the carrying screw rotates;
With
The transport pipe is at least partially covered with the recovery bag, and an opening is provided in the region covered with the recovery bag along the extending direction of the transport pipe,
The conveying screw has a protrusion that bends the rotating shaft of the conveying screw as the conveying screw rotates, at least in a region corresponding to the opening.
The protrusion is provided so that at least the tip of the protrusion protrudes from the inside of the transfer pipe to the opening when the transfer screw is positioned on the opening side.
A powder carrier characterized by the above. The protruding portion is formed at the protruding end of the blade portion,
The powder conveying apparatus according to claim 1. A transport pipe in which a transport screw having a blade portion spirally provided on a rotation shaft is accommodated;
A collection bag for collecting the powder extruded from the inside of the carrying pipe as the carrying screw rotates;
With
The transport pipe is at least partially covered with the recovery bag, and an opening is provided in the region covered with the recovery bag along the extending direction of the transport pipe,
The blade portion has a protrusion that abuts against the inner wall of the transport pipe at least in a region corresponding to the opening.
The protrusion is provided so that at least the tip of the protrusion protrudes from the inside of the transfer pipe to the opening when the transfer screw is positioned on the opening side.
A powder carrier characterized by the above. The conveying screw is formed by an elastic member,
The powder conveyance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The blade portion has a rotation radius smaller than an internal radius of the transport pipe.
The powder conveyance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the powder conveyance device is provided. A transport pipe in which a transport screw having a blade portion spirally provided on a rotation shaft is accommodated;
A collection unit that collects toner pushed out of the conveyance pipe as the conveyance screw rotates;
With
The transport pipe is at least partially covered with the recovery part, and an area covered with the recovery part is provided with an opening along the extending direction of the transport pipe,
The conveying screw has a protrusion that bends the rotating shaft of the conveying screw as the conveying screw rotates, at least in a region corresponding to the opening.
The protrusion is provided so that at least the tip of the protrusion protrudes from the inside of the transfer pipe to the opening when the transfer screw is positioned on the opening side.
An image forming unit. A transport pipe in which a transport screw having a blade portion spirally provided on a rotation shaft is accommodated;
A collection unit that collects toner pushed out of the conveyance pipe as the conveyance screw rotates;
With
The transport pipe is at least partially covered with the recovery part, and an area covered with the recovery part is provided with an opening along the extending direction of the transport pipe,
The blade portion has a protrusion that abuts against the inner wall of the transport pipe at least in a region corresponding to the opening.
The protrusion is provided so that at least the tip of the protrusion protrudes from the inside of the transfer pipe to the opening when the transfer screw is positioned on the opening side.
An image forming unit. A cleaning blade that guides the toner into the conveying pipe by scraping off the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum from the photosensitive drum;
The collecting unit collects the toner guided into the transport pipe by the cleaning blade and transported in the transport pipe;
The image forming unit according to claim 7 .

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