JPH04369670A - Toner replenishment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To evenly and uniformly house toner in a toner hopper by efficiently and surely demolishing the pile of the toner without causing solidity. CONSTITUTION:A supporting piece part 23 obtained by rotatably disposing a pinion gear 22 on the lower surface side of a hopper cover 2A and a rail part 24 are respectively provided on the left and the right of an aperture for receiving toner 17. Besides, one end sides of a pair of uniformizing plates 25 and 26 are respectively joined to the rail part 24 so as to freely slide and the other end sides are mounted on the piece part 23 at the same time. Then, the rack parts thereof are respectively meshed with the gear 22. Besides, the respective plates 25 and 26 are moved to the central part of the toner replenishment of the aperture 17 of the toner hopper 2 from the front and the back end parts thereof in accordance with the loading of a toner cartridge 16 and moved to the front and the back end parts from the central part of the toner replenishment of the aperture 17 in accordance with the unloading of the cartridge 16.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device that is used in image forming apparatuses such as electronic copying machines and printers and is composed of a toner cartridge and a toner hopper.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, for example, the developing section of an electronic copying machine is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the developing device 1 is composed of a developing device 1 and a toner hopper 2, which is a toner replenishing device that replenishes toner to the developing device 1. First, the developing device 1 develops the dry toner supplied from the toner hopper 2 with a mixing roller 3. After mixing with the developer housed in the housing 4 (a two-component developer in which carrier (iron powder, etc.) and toner are mixed at a certain ratio), the stirring paddle 5 stirs the developer, and this stirring mixes the carrier and toner. The frictionally charged developer is conveyed to the side of the developing roller 7 disposed opposite to the photoreceptor drum 6, and the conveyed developer is rubbed against the photoreceptor drum 6 by the developing roller 7. The latent image formed thereon is developed by attaching toner to it. Here, the developing roller 7 has a structure in which a developing sleeve is rotatably provided on the outside of an internally fixed magnet structure, and the toner is electrostatically attached to the surface of the developing sleeve by the magnetic force from the magnet structure. A magnetic brush of the carrier is formed, and this magnetic brush is applied to the photoreceptor drum 6 by rotation of the developing sleeve.
The toner is applied by rubbing it against the surface of the paper. Note that 8 is a cutting plate for regulating the height of the magnetic brush, and 9 is a developing partition plate.

[0003] When the toner sensor 10 detects that the ratio of the amount of carrier in the developer has increased from the standard due to toner adhesion and consumption, toner is replenished from the toner hopper 2. There is. That is, the toner replenishing roller (sponge roller) 11 rotates to replenish the toner in the toner hopper 2 into the developing housing 4 of the developing device 1 through the replenishing port 12. At this time, the toner stirring rods 13, 14, and 15 are rotated to stir the toner in the toner hopper 2 to prevent coagulation (blocking) and cavities (bridging). Toner replenishment into the toner hopper 2 is carried out by mounting the toner cartridge 16 containing toner for replenishment on the hopper cover 2A of the toner hopper 2, which has a toner receiving opening 17, and then inserting the toner cartridge 16 into the toner cartridge 16. of toner is dropped into the toner hopper 2. Here, 18 is a hopper lid that opens and closes the toner receiving opening 17 of the toner hopper 2, and is normally locked in a closed state, but is unlocked and opened when the toner cartridge 16 is installed. A toner supply opening 19 of the toner cartridge 16 facing the toner receiving opening 17 is also closed by a shutter 20. Note that 21 is a cartridge lid.

[0004] When replenishing the toner, it is necessary to prevent so-called toner mounds from occurring, so that the toner is replenished in the toner hopper 2 unevenly and the toner does not accumulate in a mound near the toner receiving opening 17. Therefore, in the past, a leveling plate was provided to level the toner supplied in the toner hopper 2 (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-34564
(see publication).

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the toner leveling structure of the conventional toner replenishing device, only a single leveling plate slides in one direction, and dense toner piles with poor fluidity are removed. As the amount of toner consumed has increased due to the increased speed of copiers in recent years, a large amount of toner has been replenished into the toner hopper, and when the pile of toner becomes large, However, there are problems in that the pile of toner cannot be broken up and becomes lopsided, or the toner cannot be stored in the toner hopper and is spilled and scattered outside, causing toner stains. Furthermore, since the toner pile is broken up only by sliding in one direction by a single leveling plate, there has been a problem in that the toner pile is crushed and solidified, impairing its fluidity. The present invention has been made in view of these points, and provides a toner replenishing device that can efficiently and reliably break up piles of toner without causing coagulation and evenly store the toner in a toner hopper. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a toner cartridge containing toner for replenishment, and a toner hopper to which the toner cartridge is attached and to which the toner in the toner cartridge is replenished. The toner replenishing device is provided with a leveling means that moves in opposite directions within the toner hopper to smooth out the supplied toner. a pair of levelers that move from both ends of the toner receiving opening to the toner replenishing center of the toner receiving opening, respectively, and move from the toner replenishing center of the toner receiving opening to both ends of the toner receiving opening as the toner cartridge is removed; It is made into a board.

[0007]

[Operation] According to this structure, when replenishing toner from a toner cartridge, a pair of leveling plates are positioned at the center of toner replenishment of the toner receiving opening, and from that state, each of the toner receiving openings is By moving the toner to both ends, the pile of toner generated by toner replenishment is divided into two parts, and is efficiently broken down and leveled in opposite directions.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The toner replenishing device of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the same parts as those in the prior art will be given the same reference numerals and the explanation thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, pinion gears 2 are provided on the lower surface of the hopper cover 2A on the left and right sides of the toner receiving opening 17.
A supporting piece part 23 and a rail part 24 are provided, and one end 25A, 2 of a pair of leveling plates 25, 26 are provided, respectively.
The 6A side is slidably assembled to the rail portion 24, and the other ends 25B and 26B are attached to the support piece 2.
3, and its rack portions 27 and 28 are meshed with the pinion gear 22, respectively. As the toner cartridge 16 is installed, each leveling plate 2 is
5 and 26 from the front and rear ends of the toner receiving opening 17 of the toner hopper 2, respectively, to the toner replenishing center thereof;
As the toner cartridge 16 is removed, each leveling plate 25
, 26 are moved from the toner supplying center of the toner receiving opening 17 to its front and rear ends, respectively. Here, one leveling plate 25 is attached to the toner cartridge 16 along with the toner cartridge 16 in the front-back direction of the toner receiving opening 17 (arrow A , B direction), and therefore, for example, when installing the toner cartridge 16, the toner cartridge 16 is moved in the middle of installation (arrow A direction).
During the slide in the direction), one of the leveling plates 25 moves in the direction of arrow A due to contact between the connecting pin 29 and the end of the connecting slot 30.
When the leveling plate 26 is moved in the direction shown in FIG. The hopper lid 18 is assembled to the rail portions 31 and 32 on the upper surface side of the hopper cover 2A so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum 6 to open and close the toner receiving opening 17. Place the hopper cover 2A on the mounting surface 2AB from above and slide it (that is, attach the flanges 33 and 34 to the rail portion 3
1 and 32 and slide in the direction of arrow A)
When the projecting wall 35 on the hopper lid 18 side and the toner cartridge 1
It is opened by fitting into the recess 36 on the 6 side.

Therefore, when replenishing toner from the toner cartridge 16 into the toner hopper 2, the toner cartridge 16 is first inserted into the hopper cover 2A from above as shown in FIG.
placed on the mounting surface 2AB (see FIG. 3) of the recess 36.
A projecting wall 35 is fitted into the rail, and its flanges 33 and 34 are opposed to the rail portions 31 and 32. And that state (
When the toner cartridge 16 is slid in the direction of the arrow A at the cartridge removal position), the hopper lid 18 is also slid in the direction of the arrow A due to the fitting relationship between the recess 36 and the projecting wall 35, and the toner receiving opening 17 begins to open. The flanges 33 and 34 engage with the rail portions 31 and 32 to prevent the toner from coming off the hopper 2. Then, in this assembled state, the toner cartridge 16
When the toner replenishment opening 19 of the toner cartridge 16 is slid in the direction of arrow A, the toner replenishment opening 19 of the toner cartridge 16 connects to the toner receiving opening 17.
The toner receiving opening 17 is completely opened at the same time as the hopper lid 18 is brought to the specified cartridge mounting position (see FIG. 6) opposite to the toner cartridge. At this time, leveling board 25
The connecting pin 29 comes into contact with the end of the connecting elongated hole 30 in the fitting relationship during the installation (while sliding in the arrow A direction) (see FIG. 4), so that the toner cartridge 16 is moved in the arrow A direction from the middle. The leveling plate 26 is also moved from the rack portion 27 to the pinion gear 2.
2- Since the rack portions 28 are moved in the direction of arrow B due to the meshing relationship (see FIG. 5), they are moved in opposite directions from the front and rear ends of the toner receiving opening 17, respectively, to the center of the toner replenishment area. It will be located in

[0010] Then, with this cartridge attached, when the toner replenishment opening 19 is opened by hooking a finger on the handle 20A of the shutter 20 and sliding the shutter in the direction of arrow B, the toner in the toner cartridge 16 is released into the toner replenishment opening 19. The toner is then dropped into the toner hopper 2 through the toner receiving opening 17 and replenished. At this time, since each of the leveling plates 25 and 26 is located at the center of the toner receiving opening 17 for toner supply, each of the leveling plates 25 and 26
, 26, the toner is dispersed into two parts and falls. When the toner supply is finished, the shutter 2
0 again in the direction of arrow A to close the toner replenishment opening 19, and then slide it in the direction of arrow B to remove the toner cartridge 16. Accordingly, the hopper lid 18 also closes the recess 39 and the protruding wall 38. Due to the fitting relationship, the toner receiving opening 17 starts to be closed by sliding in the direction of arrow B. At this time, the leveling plate 25 comes into contact with the end of the connecting elongated hole 30 in which the connecting pin 29 is inserted in the middle of the separation (during the slide in the direction of arrow B) (see FIG. 7). The toner cartridge 16 is moved in the direction of the arrow B, and the leveling plate 26 is also moved in the direction of the arrow A due to the meshing relationship between the rack portion 27, the pinion gear 22, and the rack portion 28 (FIG. 8). ), its toner receiving opening 1
The pile of toner generated near 7 is divided into exactly two parts by the leveling plates 25 and 26, and is efficiently broken down in the front-rear direction of the toner receiving opening 17. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 16 is slid in the direction of arrow B and brought to the cartridge removal position (see FIG. 3), the toner receiving opening 17 of the toner hopper 2 is closed by the hopper lid 18 and The toner inside is also evenly leveled in the front and back direction of the toner receiving opening 17, that is, in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum, and at this time, each of the leveling plates 25 and 26 is placed at the front and rear ends of the toner receiving opening 17. It is in a state where it is located respectively in the section. In this embodiment, the pair of leveling plates are moved in opposite directions as the toner cartridge is attached and removed, but they may also be moved in opposite directions as the shutter is opened and closed. Further, the number and shape of the impellers are not limited to these. For example, instead of using a plate, a pair of impellers may be rotated in opposite directions. Further, in this embodiment, only the breaking of the toner pile has been described, but each leveling plate may be formed with a hanging piece that extends downward into the toner hopper so as to break up the toner pile and stir the toner internally. .

[0011]

As described above, according to the toner replenishing device of the present invention, when replenishing toner from a toner cartridge, a pair of leveling plates are positioned at the center of the toner receiving opening, From this state, move the toner to both ends of the toner receiving opening to remove two piles of toner.
Since the toner is separated and crushed in opposite directions, the toner can be efficiently and reliably leveled in the toner hopper and evenly stored evenly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a toner replenishing device of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] A perspective view of the main parts.

FIG. 3 is a top view of main parts showing the start of mounting the toner cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a top view of main parts showing the toner cartridge being installed.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the main parts showing the movement of the leveling board.

FIG. 6 is a top view of main parts showing a state in which the toner cartridge is installed.

FIG. 7 is a top view of essential parts showing the toner cartridge in the middle of removal.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the main parts showing the movement of the leveling board.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional toner replenishment configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Toner hopper 16 Toner cartridge 17 Toner receiving opening 18 Hopper lid 19 Toner supply opening 20 Shutter 25, 26 Leveling board 27, 28 Rack part 29 Connecting pin 30 Connection long hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a toner replenishing device consisting of a toner cartridge containing toner for replenishment and a toner hopper to which the toner cartridge is attached and the toner in the toner cartridge is replenished, the toner replenishing device moves in opposite directions within the toner hopper. A toner replenishing device characterized by being provided with a leveling means for leveling the replenished toner. 2. The leveling means moves from both ends of the toner receiving opening of the toner hopper to the toner supply center as the toner cartridge is installed, and moves to the toner receiving opening as the toner cartridge is removed. 2. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of leveling plates that move from the toner replenishing center of the toner opening to both ends thereof, respectively.