DE4017457A1 - Developer feed appts. for copier, printer, facsimile appts. etc. - b is supported at ends by shafts and rotated by one driven by motor - Google Patents

Abstract

The developer container (1) is cylindrical with a spiral groove (4) on its circumferential surface extending in the axial direction. An aperture (6) is provided for the supply of developer.$ The developer feed is driven by a motor, a drive wheel and a flywheel (26) rotating the container. The latter is supported by end shafts (27, 28). The first shaft (27) is driven by the drive components. A spring tensions the second shaft (28) onto the container.$ ADVANTAGE - Stable rotation. No tangential force applied which could lead to spillage. Regular, even supply easily controlled by speed and irrespective of amt. of developer contained.

Description

The invention relates to an developer supply device for Supplying a developer to a developer device of an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a prin ter, a facsimile machine or the like, in which a powder ent winder is used.

U.S. Patent 4,641,945 describes developer delivery direction for feeding a developer by turning egg cylindrical element with a spiral groove (spiral groove) formed on its inner peripheral surface is.

The developer supply device has a developer feed container, a holder for holding the developer  driving container, a drive device for rotating the Developer supply container, which is mounted in the holder and a transport area for transporting a developer supplied from the developer supply container to the developer Development area of an imaging device.

The developer supply container points to one on the inner surface of the cylindrical element in axial Direction extending helical groove, one on the peripheral surface trained drive element and one on its front richly trained opening. The developer bracket driving container points to a developer supply opening, a Cap into the front end of the developer supply container can be introduced, and a support frame for support the rear of the developer supply container and Bias the developer supply container toward the cap. The drive area is on along the bracket ordered and points to a drive wheel that is engaged stands with a peripheral wheel of the developer supply container, which is mounted in the bracket. The transportation area communicates with the developer receiving opening of the stop tion and has developer means of transport.

In the developer supply device, the developer is closed driving container so included in the holding area that be Front part with the developer feed opening in the cap is introduced and its rear part through the support ge  is supported. In this state, the support ge is tensioned set the developer supply container toward the Cap. The peripheral wheel is in engagement with the drive wheel of the drive area.

The developer supply container is activated by the rotation of the on drive wheel turned. As a result, it is included developers along the helical groove towards the Conveyed the front end of the cylindrical element. To this Wise the developer from the developer supply port through the developer intake opening into the transport area transported. Then the in the Transportbe richly transported developers in the developer area transported.

This is the case with the developer supply device described vorese on the peripheral surface of the developer supply container hene gear meshes with the drive gear on the Bracket is provided. That means the developer feed container by a tangential force that the circumference surface of the developer container is fed, rotated becomes. However, the tangential force does not become uniform the scope of the developer supply container.

The axis of rotation of the developer supply container in the Bracket is mounted, is thus moved so that the Developer supply container is shaken in the holder.  

Because of this, the frictional force varies between the zy cylindrical developer supply container and the holder, so that the load on the drive wheel varies to a large extent iert. Furthermore, the developer opening is aligned not with the developer receiving opening of the Bracket that mates with the opening of the developer supply container ters communicates. As a result, developers will fill the gap sprayed between the two openings so that the reverse the developer supply container becomes dirty. Of the developer, splashed out of the gap, penetrates further the gap between the developer supply container and the Stopping area. The frictional force between the developer driving container and the holding area thus becomes large and The load on the drive wheel is increased.

Accordingly, the invention is based on the object the above described disadvantages in a developer to avoid driving device.

To solve these and other tasks according to a be preferred embodiment of the present invention a developer feeder created with a Ent winding container of substantially cylindrical shape the circumferential surface of a helical groove around in the axial Direction extends, and the rotatable for the transport of a developer included therein by means of the spiral groove, wherein the container further feed means in the form of an opening  tion for supplying developer thereby, and where in the developer supply device further drive means for rotating the container and proppant with a first one Has shaft and a second shaft, the container both ends rotatable by the two shafts gert and the drive means the first shaft for turning of the container.

The container in the developer feeder is through the first and through the second wave, which on its two Ends are provided, stored and the torque is on transmitted to him via the drive means. Hence rotates the container is stable about its axis, so that on the drive system of the container applied load can be reduced.

In the developer supply device, the container is passed through the support means like that arranged at both ends Waves rotated.

Because of this, since the axis of rotation of the container is not ver is pushed, is on the drive system of the container lying load stable. Because the proppant of the container will not be moved, the developer case will also open the developer case path or not from the developer receiving opening of a developer transport device ver pushed. Because of this, no developer penetrates sideways  from the developer case opening, so that the environment of the Ent winder feeder is not dirty.

Embodiments of the invention are based on the attached ten drawings explained. Show it:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a Entwicklerzufuhrbe hälters,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a developer supply container,

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of the Entwicklerzufuhrbehäl ters and a toner transport device,

Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of the Entwicklerzufuhrbehäl ters and the toner transport device,

Fig. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between the number of rotations of the Ent wicklerzufuhrbehälters according to the invention, and the proportion of each rotation of supplied developer,

Fig. 6 to 8 is a longitudinal sectional view and partially sectional views of a developer supply container according to an embodiment of he invention,

FIGS. 9 to 11 is a perspective view, a cross section and a longitudinal section of Behäl ters for receiving the cylindrical member according to another embodiment of the invention He,

Fig. 12 and 13 show a perspective view and a longitudinal section of a container according to a wei direct embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 14 (a) is a side view of a cylindrical elemene tes according to a modification of the invention,

Fig. 14 (b) is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 14 (a),

Fig. 15 is a sectional view of the in Fig. 14 Darge presented cylindrical element in which the shaft of the drive device is attached, and

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the drive transmission element shown in Fig. 15.

During the following description and in the drawings the same components are provided with the same reference numbers.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a developer supply container 1 ei ner developer supply apparatus is shown according to an embodiment of the invention. The container 1 has a zy-cylindrical element 2 , one end of which is open to the outside and the other end is closed, and a cover 10 which is detachably mounted on the open end of the cylindrical member 2 . The other end of the cylindrical element 2 can be closed with a cover ver.

The cylindrical member 2 is integrally formed by injection molding or blow molding a thermoplastic resin. A projection 3 is helically formed along the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 2 so that a spiral groove 4 is formed between the projections 3 on the inner peripheral surface. An opening 6 is provided near the end 5 of the groove 4 , and a notch 8 which protrudes inward is formed in the center of the rear wall 7 (right side in Fig. 1) of the cylindrical element 2 .

The cover 10 , which projects inwards, namely in the direction of the rear wall 7 , is conical and forms a conical regulation region 11 , the vertex of the conical regulation region 11 being aligned with the axis of the cylindrical element 2 . An engagement recess 12 is formed in the middle of the outer surface of the cover 10 . The regulating region 11 can be hemispherical or semi-elliptical.

A toner X is accommodated in the container 1 , the opening 6 of the cylindrical element 2 being covered with a sealing tape (not shown). Then the cylindrical element 2 is sealed with the cover 10 . A toner and magnetic carrier starter can be used instead of the X toner.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, a toner conveying device 20 is shown, on which the container 1 is mounted and a U-shaped substantially frame 21 and a toner transport pipe 24 has connected with a Entwicklervor direction. The frame 21 has a toner feed opening 22 on its lower part. The toner X falls out of the container 1 into the toner transport device 20 through the toner supply opening 22 , which communicates with the toner transport line 24 . Sealing elements 23 made of plastic, foam or the like are mounted on both longitudinal axes of the opening 22 , which forms the inner surface of the U-shaped frame 21 , and a transport blade 25 accommodated in the toner transport line 24 is rotated by a motor, not shown. The transport blade 25 can be designed, for example, in the form of a helical screw. A Antriebsvor direction 26 is formed on the side of the frame 21 . A drive shaft 27 of the drive device 26 is introduced in this position 21 Ge. The rear wall 7 of the cylindrical element 2 is provided with a shaft 28 which can be moved coaxially with the drive shaft 27 and along its axis.

The container 1 is mounted on the toner transport device 20 as follows. One end of the container 1 is supported by the Ge stell 21 and the tip of the drive shaft 27 is inserted into the recess 12 of the cover 10 . The tip of the shaft 28 is inserted into the recess 8 at the other end of the cylindrical element 2 and biased against it. In this way, the container 1 is essentially horizontally rotatable about the axes 27 and 28 . The container is mounted on the toner transport device 20 by positioning the opening 6 of the cylindrical element 2 upwards. Before or after the assembly of the container 1 on the toner transport device 20 , the sealing tape is removed so that the opening is open to the outside.

When the drive shaft 27 of the drive device 26 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow a , the container 1 mounted on the toner transport device 20 rotates in the direction of the direction indicated by the arrow a in FIG. 4 about the opposing shafts 27 and 28 .

The toner X contained in the container 1 is transported as a whole toward one end of the cylindrical member 2 along the groove 4 upon rotation of the container in the direction indicated by arrow a . When the toner X in the regulating space 13 between the regulating area 11 and the cover 10 and the inner surface regards the Behäl ters 1, the movement of the toner X is regulated by the cross sectional area of Regulierraumes 13 that gradually descend in the direction of one end of the cylindrical member 2 diminishes. Because of this, the amount of toner present in the vicinity of the opening 6 is constant.

The toner X , which has reached the end of the cylindrical element 2 along the groove 4 , falls and is supplied through the opening 6 of the toner transport line 24 through the toner supply guide opening 22 when the opening 6 points downward when the container 1 is rotated. That is, the container 1 supplies the toner X to the toner transport line 24 with a constant amount every time the container is rotated and 360 °. The toner X supplied to the toner transport line 24 is supplied to the developer device by rotating the transport blade 25 .

The proportion of the toner X supplied from the container 1 to the toner transport line 24 is constant per rotation as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, except immediately after the container 1 is mounted on the toner transport device 20 and when the toner X is not therein is included. In the graph, the vertical axis indicates the amount of toner supplied from the container 1 to the toner transfer device 24 per rotation of the container 1 , and the horizontal axis indicates the number of rotations of the container. Since the opening 6 is arranged near the end 5 of the groove 4 , the toner X falls smoothly into the opening 6 and is poured in a constant amount without Ver or transported back.

The curve shown by the dashed line of the graph of Fig. 5 denotes the result obtained when the opening 6 is spaced from the end 5 of the helical groove 4 be. The curve indicates that the amount of toner falling out of the container 1 is stable per rotation of the container 1 . This means that when toner is transported along the spiral groove 4 over the end of the spiral groove 4 , the movement of the toner X is not regulated. As a result, the toner X is splashed or transported back.

In Fig. 6, the engagement recess 12 a of a cover 30 and the recess 8 a in the rear wall 7 of the cylindri's element 2 deep compared to the cover of Fig. 1. The drive shafts 27 and 28 are in the gene gene 12 a and 8 a introduced. Since the recesses 12 a and 8 a are deep, the cylindrical element 2 can be reliably supported, so that the rotation of the cylindrical element 2 is ensured.

In Fig. 7 ring members 31 and 32 made of urethane foam or the like. In the same configuration between the cover and a wall 21 a , which is opposite the cover 30 and are formed on the frame 21 , so that the ring members 31 and 32 in the Environment of the drive shaft 27 are arranged. The ring members 31 and 32 slide in contact with each other when the cylindrical member 2 is rotated. The ring elements 31 and 32 prevent toner splashed from the cylindrical element 2 from adhering to the drive shaft or penetrating into the recess 12 . In this way, the drive system of the cylindrical member 2 can be prevented from being contaminated by toner. The load on the drive system of the cylindrical element 2 can be reduced by an element with low friction properties made of polytetrafluoroethylene or the like, which is attached to the surfaces of the ring elements 31 and 32 , which are in sliding contact with one another, who the.

Fig. 8 shows a configuration of the shaft 28 for supporting one end of the cylindrical member 2. The shaft 28 is on a rotatably attached to a support shaft 33 arm 34 be fastened. The arm 34 is biased by a spring 35 in the direction indicated by the arrow. In this way, the shaft 28 is pressed against the recess 8 a of the cylindrical element 2 . The arm 34 is pivoted counter to the arrow direction when the cylindrical member 2 is removed from the shaft 28 . becomes.

Another embodiment of the invention is described in the following with reference to FIGS. 9, 10 and 11.

In the toner transport device according to this embodiment, the construction of the lower part 40 for receiving the cylindrical element 2 corresponds to the circumferential configuration of the cylindrical element 2 . An opening 41 is connected to a toner supply line 42 . A connecting line 43 extends from the toner transport line 45 , in which a toner transport blade 46 is received. The toner supply line 42 is connected to the connecting line 45 . The contact surface between the toner supply line 42 and the connecting line 43 is sealed with an annular sealing element 44 .

Accordingly, in the toner transport device, the container 40 can be rotated in directions f and f 'through the areas where the toner supply pipe 42 and the connecting pipe 43 are connected to each other. As a result, the container 40 can be moved out of the image forming apparatus and the developer supply container 1 can be mounted in or removed from the image forming apparatus without colliding with other elements of the apparatus. Furthermore, toner from the container 1 , which has contaminated the container 40 , cannot penetrate into the environment. In addition, the side walls of the container 40 are high enough so that toner that has contaminated the container 40 from the container 1 is prevented from passing over the side walls even if toner is transported by the rotation of the container 1 in the circumferential direction of the container 40 . The developer supply container 1 can be replaced without taking the container 40 out of the developer transport device, since the container 40 is made of elastic material such as plastic and the container 1 can be removed using the elastic properties of the container 40 . Since the opening 40 a at one end of the loading container 40 , into which the shaft 27 is inserted, extends transversely, the shaft 27 does not prevent the horizontal rotation of the container 40 for exchange.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the container 40 may have a motor cover 40 b adjacent to one end of the container 40 , in which a motor 40 c is received and fastened via a motor fastening element 40 d , so that the shaft 27 of the motor 40 c does not prevent the rotation of the container 40 for the exchange. The exchange process of the container 40 can be carried out in a simple manner if the container 40 has a cutout 40 e on each of its sides, as shown in FIG. 12, and if the recess 8 is flat, so that the shaft 28 in can be easily removed from the recess 8 ago.

The developer case opening 6 can be formed on the cover 10 instead of forming it on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical element 2 of the container 1 .

In the embodiments described above, the drive shaft 27 is introduced into the recess 12 a ( 12 ) of the cover 30 ( 10 ), and the shaft 28 is introduced into the recess 8 a ( 8 ) of the cylindrical element 2 . In this way, the shafts 27 and 28 are supported by the depressions 12 a ( 12 ) and 8 a ( 8 ). But the cylindrical member 2 may be supported by transmitting a rotating force on a shaft provided on the cover 30 (FIG. 10 ) and a shaft provided on the rear end of the cylindrical member 2 , or by any shaft is provided on a cover on the opening which is formed at each open end of the cylindrical member 2 .

It is possible to mount the container 1 in a removable manner, where the opening 6 of the cylindrical element 2 is aligned with the receiver opening. Fig. 14 shows the cylindrical element in a further modification of the invention. Fig. 14 (a) is a side view of a cover 10 a of the cylindrical element 2 . A on the outer surface of the cover 10 a mounted rib 50 receives a rotary shaft 51 a egg ner drive device 52 . The rib 50 has a shaft receiving area 50 a , a shaft guide area 50 b and a driving force transmission area 50 c . The shaft receiving area 50 a , which is arranged in the middle of the cover 10 a , is cut cylindrical and partially wegge to take the shaft 51 a of the drive device 52 . The wave guide area 50 b leads the shaft 50 a and normally prevents that with the shaft receiving area 50 a engaging shaft 51 a comes out of engagement. The angle formed by the ribs of the driving force transmission area 50 c with respect to the line AA in FIG. 14 (a) is greater than the angle formed by the ribs of the shaft guide area 50 b . FIG. 14 (b) is a cross section along the line AA of FIG. 14 (a), namely a top view of the cylindrical element 2 .

Fig. 15 is a sectional view of the cylindrical ele ment 2 , in which the shaft 51 a of the drive device 52 is introduced. The introduction of the cylindrical member 2 in the container 40 in the direction of arrow g is ended when the cylindrical member 2 comes into contact with the driving force transmission element 51 of the drive device 52 . The driving force transmission element 51 has a shaft 51 a and a driving force transmission section 51 b . The driving force transmission portion 51 b is formed as shown in Fig. 16 that it fits in the driving force transmission portion 50 c of the rib 50 .

If the cylindrical member 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow h with respect to the toner receiving opening, the shaft 51 a is inserted into the shaft receiving region 50 a of the rib 50 , and the shaft 28 is fitted into the recess 8 at the rear end of the cylindrical member 2 .

In this way, the drive device 52 transmits the driving force to the cylindrical element 2 via the shaft 51 a , so that the cylindrical element 2 is rotated. Consequently, developer is fed therefrom to the toner transport device.

The cylindrical member 2 can be replaced without spacing the opening 6 of the cylindrical member 2 from the toner supply opening of the toner transport device by rotating the cylindrical member 2 in the opposite direction of the arrow h .

Claims (5)

1. developer supply device with a developer container ter of substantially cylindrical shape, on the circumferential surface of which a helical groove is formed in the axial direction thereof and for the transport of a developer accommodated therein is rotatable by means of the helical groove, the container also being supply means in the form of an opening on, characterized in that the developer supply device further comprises drive means ( 26 , 40 c , 52 ) for rotating the container and has support means with a first shaft ( 27 ) and a second shaft ( 28 ), the container ( 1 , 55 ) is rotatably supported at its ends by both shafts and wherein the Antriebsmit tel rotate the first shaft to rotate the container. 2. Developer feeder according to claim 1, characterized characterized in that a wall opposite the Container on the side on which the drive means are arranged are provided, with a ring element around the first Wave and between the wall and one end of the Be is arranged.   3. developer supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that the second shaft by Fe dermittel ( 35 ) is biased towards the container. 4. developer supply device according to claim 1, characterized in that the container is rotatably supported by holding means ( 40 ) having the second shaft. 5. developer supply device according to claim 4, characterized in that the holding means have guide means ( 42 ) for guiding the developer supplied by the supply means and are rotatable in the horizontal direction around the guide means.