JPH09106157A - Toner / developer supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: Toner capable of reliably supplying toner and developer and recovering deteriorated developer with a simple configuration having a small number of parts and preventing an increase in size of the entire apparatus. A developer supply device is provided. A supply unit that receives a toner or a developer discharged from a container and sends the toner or the developer to a developing unit by a rotating operation, and a collecting unit that lifts the developer sent from the developing unit by a rotating operation. With.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a laser printer, and more particularly, to development in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image using a two-component developer consisting of carrier and toner. The present invention relates to a toner / developer replenishing device attached to a device, which enables toner replenishment due to toner consumption, replacement of a carrier that deteriorates with time, and replacement of a developer including the carrier in some cases. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a bottle for supplying toner to a developing device, it is disclosed in JP-A-60-159769 and JP-A-7-15.
A configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9769 is known. These are to discharge the toner contained in the horizontal installation state by the action of the spiral fin (projection) provided inside the bottle container at the time of rotation. However, these bottles are used only for supplying toner and have no other use.

In a two-component developing apparatus, in addition to toner replenishment to supplement consumption, supply of a developer containing a new carrier and recovery of the developer containing a deteriorated carrier for replacement of the deteriorated carrier. Is required. Regarding the toner replenishment and the developer replacement, for example, JP-A-4-29271 discloses a developer supply / discharge mechanism provided with a unit for discharging a part of a used developer and a unit for supplying a new developer. In this mechanism, the used developer is collected after supplying the new developer to the container containing the new developer. However, according to the technology disclosed in the publication, the serviceman simply attaches the emptied container to a collection position different from the supply position, and accordingly, the apparatus automatically adds the empty container to the container after the developer is supplied. It does not collect the used developer, and furthermore, it is necessary to mount two containers in the apparatus, resulting in an increase in the size of the apparatus.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-6978 proposes a toner storage container in which a toner supply container and a toner collection container are integrally formed, and which is detachably attached to a developing device.
In this container, the toner is collected in the separated collection toner storage unit, so a waste space is required for the toner replenishment container, which is the collection unit. Space is needed.

[0005]

For this purpose, it is required to automatically collect the deteriorated used developer without increasing the size of the apparatus and without bothering a service person or a user. From the viewpoint of effective use of space, it is desirable to collect deteriorated spent developer in a toner container for replenishing toner. However, as described above, a configuration for efficiently discharging toner is added to the toner supply container. For example, in the technique of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-159768, a spiral fin is provided internally, and in the technique of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-20705, a part of the inner surface of the container shoulder further has a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening. It has a protruding shape that protrudes from the inner surface of the shoulder to the edge of the opening. These effective means for discharging toner, however, may cause performance degradation for toner recovery. As a result, the amount to be collected may not be collected.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably supply toner and developer and recover the deteriorated developer with a simple structure having a small number of parts, and it is possible to prevent the overall size of the apparatus from becoming large. An object is to provide an agent supply device.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, a toner / developer replenishing device according to the present invention receives a toner or a developer discharged from an accommodating container and rotates the toner or the developer. And a recovery unit that lifts the developer sent from the developing unit by a rotating operation.

With respect to the supply part, a turning member with a central opening having a space defined by a peripheral side wall and an inner peripheral wall and having a bottom portion which becomes shallower toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the supply part,
And an intermediate member having a flat plate portion capable of forming a supply space by sliding on the upper edge of the side wall and the inner peripheral wall of the rotating member and a supply hole for discharging the toner or the developer lifted by the rotation of the rotating member. Is preferred.

Further, in the collecting part, the turning member is provided with a scooping part capable of rotating and transferring the developer when rotating in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the supply part, and the collecting member is rubbed against the central opening of the turning member. Is provided with an intermediate member having support blades capable of forming a developer recovery space and a recovery hole for sending the developer conveyed from the developing section to the collecting section, and opening and closing the opening of the toner / developer container and developing agent. It is preferred that a closure plug with a recovery ramp is provided.

It is more effective if a plurality of developer receiving blades are provided on the slope of the closure plug. Further, when circulating and stirring the developer, if the storage container is controlled so as to be sealed by the closing plug, the developer sent from the collection hole to the collection unit is sent to the development unit from the supply hole. Become.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a developing device 2 equipped with a toner / developer replenishing device 1 according to the present invention. As is known, a latent image on a photoconductor (not shown) is visualized using a developing roller or the like in the developing device 2. Toner / developer supply device 1
Is a powder container 3 for containing toner and a two-component developer composed of toner and carrier, toner or developer discharged from the container to the developing device 2, and developing device 2
The toner / developer transport device 4 circulates the developer derived from.

The powder container 3 is apparently a single container, but the first powder container 11 and the second powder container 12 are integrally connected, and the toner and the developer are formed on a common end plane. Is to be supplied. The configuration is, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 7-171.
No. 157 is disclosed in detail, and according to the rotation of the container in the A direction and the B direction, the spiral protrusions attached to the inner peripheral surface of each container cause the first powder container 11 and the first powder container 11 to move. Two
Different powders contained in the powder containers 12 are separately discharged from the containers. Generally, unused developer is stored in the first powder container 11 and unused toner is stored in the second powder container 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the toner / developer conveying device 4 contains a first conveying screw 21 and a second conveying screw 22, and the developer sent from the developing device 2 by the first conveying screw 21. Is transferred to the second conveying screw 22 on the front side of the drawing and returned to the developing device 2 by the second conveying screw 22.

At least a part of the developer from this circulation system is, as shown in FIG. 3, from the dropping space 24 formed below the second conveying screw 22 to the lower side wall of the conveying screw 21, 22 case 23. The developer is fed into the developer turning space 25 through the provided hole and is returned to the circulation system from the hole 26 provided on the upper side wall of the case 23 by the rotation of the turning space 25. The circulation system may be formed only by the developing device 3 without passing through the toner / developer carrying device 4.

The intermediate connecting member 27 and the turning body 33 which form the developer turning space 25 will be described with reference to FIG. Intermediate connecting member 2 integrally molded or screwed to the case 23
7 is one end surface of the developer turning space 25, and the holes 2 are located in the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant when viewed from the turning main body 33 side.
6, 32 and a flat plate portion 28 having a central opening opening, a ring-shaped flange 29 surrounding the flat opening portion 28, a developer supply supporting blade 30 protruding toward the opposite side of the case 23 so as to surround the opening of the flat plate portion, and a developer recovery. The support blades 31 are provided. The supply support blade 30 and the recovery support blade 31 are not continuous, and a gap exists at an upper and lower intermediate portion. By arranging the supply hole 26 and the recovery hole 32 in the second and fourth quadrants, not in the vertical and vertical positions, the end of the transport screw can be located at a location excellent in space efficiency.

The turning body 33 fitted to the intermediate connecting member 27 has a shallow cup shape having a relatively large central opening. A gear 34 for transmitting rotational drive from a drive unit (not shown) is attached to the outer peripheral side wall, and rotates in the direction of arrow A when returning the developer to the circulation system, for example. Further, on the inner surface of the turning main body 33, there are a developer supply unit 35 for sending out the toner or the developer to the toner / developer conveying device, and a developer collecting unit 36 for returning the collected developer to the powder container. The developer supply section 35 and the developer recovery section 36 are composed of at least one pair, and the number of pairs is determined by the timing of developer supply and recovery and the developer capacity (two pairs in the illustrated example). Further, the numbers may be different from each other, for example, two developer supply units 35 and one developer recovery unit 36. When there are more supply units 35, the supply capacity increases, and when there are more collection units 36, the collection capacity increases. The developer supply unit 35 includes the peripheral side wall of the turning body 33 and the support blade 30 of the intermediate connecting member 27.
Is defined by an inner peripheral wall that rubs from the outside, and the bottom surface between these walls has a slope that is higher on the downstream side than on the upstream side during rotation of the developer supply. The developer collecting unit 36 has a bottom surface that is a flat surface having the same height as the downstream end of the developer supply unit, and a scooping unit 37 that is extended by an inner peripheral wall of the developer supply unit.
And transports the recovered developer during the developer recovery rotation (direction B).

When the intermediate connecting member 27 and the turning main body 33 are fitted with each other, the flat plate portion 28 of the intermediate connecting member 27, the bottom of the supply portion and the collecting portion of the turning main body 33, the peripheral side wall and the inner peripheral wall of the turning main body 33, and The developer rotation space 25 is defined by the supply support blade 30 and the recovery support blade 31 of the intermediate connecting member 27. A first seal member 38 is mounted between the intermediate connecting member 27 and the turning main body 33 so that the developer does not enter the gap when the turning main body 33 rotates. The sealing member 38 is a rubber-based V-ring, G-seal, or an alternative thereof, such as a sponge. A second seal member 39 is also attached to the inner peripheral edge of the turning main body 33 for holding and sealing when the powder container 3 is set in the toner / developer replenishing device.

FIG. 3 further shows a closing plug 40 for the powder container 3 in the inner peripheral space of the supply support blade 30 and the recovery support blade 31 of the intermediate connecting member 27. The stopper 40 first closes the respective end openings of the first powder container 11 and the second powder container 12 to prevent leakage of the developer and the toner. It is pulled out by a predetermined amount by a chuck device (not shown) so as to open each opening.
The details are shown in FIG. The first powder container is closed by the outer peripheral plug portion 41, and the second powder container is closed by the central plug portion 42. The central plug portion 42 includes a conical surface 43 protruding toward the container and a plurality of (eight in the illustrated example) blade portions 44 uniformly distributed on the conical surface 43. The conical surface 43 has a repose angle of the developer or more, and is, for example, at least 20 degrees. As a result, the developer that has fallen is naturally collected in the container.
The conical surface 43 and the blade portion 44 effectively function when the deteriorated developer is collected, and the developer falling from above is reliably picked up by the blade portion 44 and slips on the conical surface 43 to move the second surface. The powder is collected in the powder container 12. Opening and closing the stopper 40
It is performed by a gripping device (not shown) gripping the knob 45.

A series of operations in this embodiment will be described below. For example, if it is determined that the toner is not in the powder container 3 even though the toner density of the developing device 3 is lowered and the toner needs to be replenished, the user is informed of the container 3
Prompt for replacement. When a new container 3 is attached, the stopper 40 is opened by a chuck device (not shown). When the stopper 40 is opened, the turning main body 33 is driven by a drive unit (not shown) via the gear 34 and is rotated in the A direction. At the same time, the powder container 3 is also rotated in the same direction A by a drive unit (not shown), and the toner is discharged from the second powder container 12. Depending on the spiral state of the spiral projection provided on the inner peripheral surface of the second powder container 12, the toner may be discharged by rotating in the B direction. When supplying the developer, the powder storage container 3 is rotated in the opposite direction to the toner supply, so that the developer is rotated from the first powder container 11 provided with the spiral projection on the inner peripheral surface. Discharge to 25. That is, the first powder container 11 and the second powder container 12
When the powder container is rotated to one side, the spiral protrusions attached to the respective inner peripheral surfaces of the powder container are rotated in one direction, and one of the powder contained in each of the first powder container and the second powder container is Is sent to the end opening, and the other powder is sent to the inside of the container.

The toner or the developer discharged from the opening falls into the turning space 25, and the turning main body 33 rotates in the direction A to move upward in the developer feeding portion 35 and the inclined surface of the feeding portion causes the toner / developer carrying device. 4, and is eventually sent out onto the second conveying screw 22 that is rotationally driven through the case 23 and the hole 26 provided on the upper side wall of the intermediate coupling member 27. When the toner or the developer is rotated and transported by the developer supply unit 35 in the turning space, the toner or the developer is transported in a space defined by the inclined bottom portion, the peripheral side wall, and the inner peripheral side wall,
Therefore, there is no particular inconvenience even if the supply support blades 30 that slide against the inner peripheral side wall are omitted. Second transport screw 2
When the powder container 3 is rotationally driven, the second and first transport screws 21 start to be driven at least at the same time. Therefore, the developer is circulated and transported from the developing device 2, and especially when toner is supplied. In the first embodiment, mixing with the developer is started before reaching the developing device 2, and it is possible to minimize the unevenness of the toner density in the developing device 2.

After supplying a predetermined amount of toner or developer, the rotation of the powder container 3 is stopped and the stopper 40 closes the container opening. At this time, the turning body 33 and the first transport screw 2
The driving of the first and second conveying screws 22 may be stopped, or may be kept driven. When the first conveying screw 21 and the second conveying screw 22 constitute a part of the inside of the developing device 2, it is preferable to always operate the first conveying screw 21 and the second conveying screw 22 from the viewpoint of stirring the developer in the developing device 2.

When the toner is completely discharged from the second powder container 12, the empty powder container 12 is used as a recovery container for the deteriorated developer. In the case of collecting the deteriorated developer, the first transport screw 21 and the second transport screw 22 are driven in the same manner as in the case of supplying the toner or the developer, and the rotating main body 33 is rotated in the reverse direction in the case of supplying the toner or the developer. In the direction B. The stopper 40 can be opened to the position shown in FIG. The timing of developer collection is
It is reasonable to adjust to the point in time when toner replenishment becomes necessary due to a decrease in toner concentration by using a magnetic toner concentration sensor, an optical toner concentration sensor, or a sensor for sensing the toner concentration on the photoconductor in the developing device 2. It is. The second powder container 1 is determined by various sensors to determine a decrease in toner concentration.
A mode is set for collecting the developer when the toner runs out in 2.

The deteriorated developer sent out from the developing device 2 passes from a dropping space 24 formed below the second conveying screw 22 through a hole 32 provided in the case 23 to the side wall lower side of the intermediate connecting member 27. , Enters the rotating turning space 25. The developer that has entered the turning space 25 accumulates in a space surrounded by the peripheral side wall of the turning main body 33 and the collecting support blades 31, and is lifted upward by the scooping unit 37 of the developer collecting unit 30, and then the developer supporting unit 31 returns. It falls at the position where it is interrupted, is picked up by the blade portion 44 of the stopper 40, slides on the conical surface 43, and is collected in the second powder container 12. At this time, by rotating the second powder container 12 in a direction opposite to the direction at the time of toner replenishment, the collected developer is taken into the container inner side by the action of the inner peripheral spiral projection. The same amount of the deteriorated developer as the developer stored in the first powder container 11 and supplied to the developing device 2 is supplied to the second powder container 11.
The collection is terminated when the powder container 12 is stored, and the user is urged to replace the container. Replace the old and new developer with the developing device 2
May be all or only a part.

[0024]

According to the toner / developer replenishing device according to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a supply unit for receiving the toner or the developer discharged from the container and sending the toner or the developer to the developing unit by the rotation operation. , And a collecting unit for lifting the developer sent from the developing unit by a rotating operation, so that the toner and the developer can be supplied and the deteriorated developer can be collected with a simple structure having a small number of parts and a limited space. This can be performed reliably, and it is possible to prevent the overall size of the device from increasing.

According to the toner / developer replenishing device of the second aspect of the invention, the rolling device with a central opening is provided with a space having a bottom portion defined by the peripheral side wall and the inner peripheral wall and becoming shallower toward the downstream side in the rotational direction of the supply section. And a flat plate portion capable of forming a supply space by sliding on the upper edge of the side wall and the inner peripheral wall of the rotating member, and a supply hole for discharging the toner or the developer lifted by the rotation of the rotating member. Since the intermediate member is provided, the toner / developer can be easily and surely supplied by the rotation of the turning member.

According to the toner / developer replenishing device of the third aspect, the turning member is provided with the scooping portion that allows the developer to be rotatably transferred when rotating in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the supply portion.
The intermediate member is provided with a support blade that allows a developer collecting space to be formed by rubbing the central opening of the turning member and a collecting hole that sends the developer conveyed from the developing unit to the collecting unit. Since the closing plug that opens and closes the opening of the container and has the slope for collecting the developer is provided, the developer can be collected easily and surely by the rotation of the turning member. Since it is reversed from the time of supplying the toner / developer, the control of supply / collection is easy.

According to the toner / developer replenishing device of the fourth aspect, since the plurality of developer receiving blades are provided on the inclined surface of the closing plug, it is possible to ensure the delivery of the recovered developer that naturally falls. Get higher According to the toner / developer replenishing device of claim 5, when the developer is circulated and stirred, the container is controlled so as to be closed by the closing plug, so that the turning member rotates in either direction. Even if it tries, the developer sent from the collecting hole to the collecting section is sent out to the developing section from the supply hole,
Easy to control. Moreover, the developer can be constantly circulated by being used as the turning member, the fluidity of the developer can be secured without providing a shutter for the turning member, and the developer supply property to the developing unit is excellent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a main configuration of a toner / developer supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the main configuration of the same toner / developer replenishing device as in FIG. 1, and is a schematic view in which a toner / developer conveying device is partially opened.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a toner / developer transporting device, an intermediate connecting member, and a turning main body showing a configuration around a turning space in which toner / developer is circulated.

4A and 4B are perspective views showing configurations of an intermediate connecting member and a turning body that are fitted to each other, FIG. 4A shows an intermediate connecting member that is connected to a toner / developer transport device, and FIG. 4B shows a turning body.

FIG. 5 shows a structure of a closure plug, (a) is an end view,
(B) is a front view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Powder Storage Container 11 First Powder Container 12 Second Powder Container 21 First Conveying Screw 22 Second Conveying Screw 23 Screw Case 24 Dropping Space 25 Turning Space 26 Hole 27 Intermediate Connecting Member 28 Flat Plate 33 Turning Main Body 34 Gear 38 Seal member 40 Closure plug

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A supply unit that receives toner or developer discharged from a container and sends the toner or developer to a developing unit by a rotating operation, and a recovery unit that lifts the developer sent from the developing unit by a rotating operation. Toner / developer replenishing device comprising: 2. A turning member with a central opening, which includes a space defined by a peripheral side wall and an inner peripheral wall and having a bottom portion that becomes shallower toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the supply section, and upper edges of the side wall and the inner peripheral wall of the turning member. 7. An intermediate member comprising: a flat plate portion that can be rubbed against an end to form a supply space; and a supply hole that discharges toner or developer lifted by rotation of the rotating member. 1. The toner / developer supply device according to 1. 3. The developer collecting space, wherein the turning member includes a scooping portion that allows the developer to be rotatably transferred when rotating in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the supply unit, and is rubbed against the central opening of the turning member. The intermediate member includes a support blade capable of forming the toner and a recovery hole that sends the developer conveyed from the developing section to the recovery section,
2. The toner / developer replenishing device according to claim 1, further comprising a closing plug that opens and closes an opening of the toner / developer containing container and has a slope for collecting the developer. 4. The toner / developer replenishing device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of developer receiving blades are provided on the slope of the closure plug. 5. The toner / developer replenishing device according to claim 3, wherein when the developer is circulated and stirred, the container is controlled to be closed by a closing plug.