JP2000267414A - Toner housing container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner housing container constituted so that air can be fed into the housing container without using a pipe. SOLUTION: A toner suction pipe 22 being the toner path and an air supply nozzle 23 are fused and integrally coupled to the upper part of the toner housing container 21 by ultrasonic waves or the like. The lower end of the pipe 22 arrives at the vicinity of the bottom part of the container 21 and the upper end thereof arrives at a position projecting from the container 21 a little. Besides, the nozzle 23 is formed as far as the upper end part of the container 21. Then, the inside of the container 21 is made to communicate with an air flow path 24 formed by a partition wall 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner container for accommodating powder toner used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A facsimile machine using an electrophotographic system for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductive photoreceptor, developing the latent image with powder toner, and transferring the obtained image to transfer paper. Image forming apparatuses such as printers are widely used. In such an image forming apparatus, in order to supply powder toner to a built-in developing unit, a storage container filled with toner formed in a hard case is mounted and toner is supplied. Almost all of the toner storage containers are filled with toner, sold as independent products separate from the image forming apparatus main body, and supplied to customers.

Further, since the conventional toner container is made of a hard bottle such as a cartridge or a bottle, there has been a great problem in discarding the used container accompanying the replacement of the toner container. That is, the used toner storage container is collected by the manufacturer from the user, and is recycled, reused, and incinerated. However, the container is bulky and requires a high distribution cost until it is collected.

Incidentally, although not yet known, a mechanism for supplying air to the toner storage container, discharging the toner from the container by the air or air and the suction force of the powder pump, and replenishing the toner to the developing unit. Has been proposed by the present applicant. Even if the toner container in this case is constituted by a foldable container, there is no problem in function, and such a flexible toner container can greatly improve the above-described deterioration of the transport efficiency and can reduce the hard case. It has been found that there is an advantage that toner coagulation hardly occurs in the toner container.

[0005]

In the above-described toner container for supplying air, there is a toner container that uses a pipe when air is supplied. However, such a container with a pipe has a problem that the pipe not only hinders the volume reduction of the container, but also increases the cost and makes it difficult to recycle and reuse the used container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner container that can feed air into the container without using a pipe.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a toner container mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for use, provided with a flow passage for air supplied into the container. It is characterized by:

The present invention is effective when the storage container is a bag, and the air flow passage is formed by processing the bag itself. Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the storage container is a bag formed by heat welding a sheet material, and the air flow passage is formed by heat welding simultaneously with the formation of the container.

Further, the present invention is effective when the air flow passage is formed to have a diameter smaller than a diameter of an air supply port through which air is supplied to the flow passage. Furthermore, the present invention is effective when a plurality of air blowing openings are formed in the air flow passage.

Further, in the present invention, the angle between the toner filling direction in which the toner is filled in the storage container and the air blowing direction from the blowing opening of the air flow passage is 90 degrees.
If it is less than the degree, it is effective.

Further, the present invention is effective when the blow-out opening is bonded and sealed with an adhesive force weaker than air pressure.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a toner replenishing mechanism of an image forming apparatus most suitable for using a toner storage container according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of a developing device on which the toner is replenished. FIG.

In FIG. 1, the agent replenishing device of the present embodiment replenishes toner to the developing device 10. The toner replenishing device is a toner storing container 20 as a storing means for storing toner, and is stored in the toner storing container 20. And a powder pump means 40 for transferring the toner to the developing device 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the developing device 10 includes a developing sleeve 11 as a developer carrying member disposed opposite to the photosensitive member 1 as an image carrying member, and an axis line with the developing sleeve 11. A first stirring screw 12 and a second stirring screw 13 are provided as parallel conveying members. The developer in the developing device 10 is circulated so as to be conveyed from left to right in FIG. 2 by the first stirring screw 12 and from right to left by the second stirring screw 13. During this circulation, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 1 is developed with the toner of the developer transferred to the developing sleeve 11 in the middle of the transport path.

As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device 10 is provided with a powder pump means 40 at the front end of the developing apparatus. The powder pump means 40 includes a suction type uniaxial eccentric screw pump 41. I have. The configuration of the screw pump 41 is such that a rotor 42 formed in an eccentric screw shape with a rigid material such as a metal, and a two-screw shape formed on the inside with an elastic body such as rubber are fixed and installed. It has a stator 43 and a holder 44 made of a resin material or the like that wraps the stator 43 and forms a powder conveyance path.
Reference numeral 46 denotes a motor as driving means for driving the rotor 42. For example, a stepping motor, a servo motor, or the like is used.

The developing device 10 includes a magnetic permeability detector 18.
The detector 18 detects a change in the mixing ratio of the toner and the carrier in the developing device 10. When the magnetic permeability detector 18 detects that the amount of toner is small, the motor 46 rotates forward, and the uniaxial eccentric screw pump 41 is operated to suck and replenish the toner in the toner container 20. Is done. And the developing device 1
When the concentration of the developer in the ink reaches a predetermined concentration, the motor 46
Is turned off, and toner supply is stopped. The developing device 10 may adopt a method of detecting the reflection density of the toner image formed on the photoconductor and controlling the toner supply amount.

The screw pump 41 includes a rotor 42
A strong self-suction force is generated by the rotation of, and toner can be sucked from the toner storage container 20. The sucked-in toner is transferred into the developing device 10 by the supply hole 17 formed between the screw pump 41 and the first stirring screw 12, and during the transfer process when the two-component developing system is used. The toner replenished with the developer is mixed with the developer in the developing device 10 with stirring, so that a uniform developer concentration and an appropriate charge amount are obtained. The developing device includes a deaeration hole 14a and the deaeration hole 14a.
a is provided, and air transported together with the toner is degassed from the developing device 10.
It is configured to prevent the toner from scattering. The tube 15 as a toner transfer pipe connected to the suction part of the single-axis eccentric screw pump 41 has a diameter of, for example, 4 to 10 m.
It is extremely effective to use a tube made of a rubber material (for example, polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, silicone, etc.) which is tube-shaped and has a wall thickness of about 1 to 2 mm and is flexible and has excellent toner resistance. It is.

If the flexible tube 15 is used as the toner transfer tube, the restriction on the installation of the toner container 20 with respect to the developing device 10 is reduced, the installation place is effectively used, and the workability such as machine maintenance is improved. I do. The suction amount of the screw pump 41 is
The screw pump 41 used in the present embodiment has a performance of a toner suction distance of about 1 m, depending on the rotation speed of the rotor, the cross-sectional area and the amount of eccentricity of the rotor 42, the fluidity of the toner, and the like. The direction can be freely selected in any direction up, down, left, and right.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing an example of the toner storing means 20. Referring to FIG.
Has a toner storage container 21 formed in a bag shape. The toner storage container 21 is made of a resin such as polyethylene or nylon, and is made of a single-layer or multi-layer flexible sheet having a thickness of about 80 to 120 μm. It is constructed by heat welding the surroundings. In addition, it is effective to deal with static electricity by subjecting the surface of these sheets to aluminum vapor deposition.

A toner suction pipe 22 serving as a toner passage and an air supply nozzle 23 are welded by ultrasonic waves or the like and integrally connected to the upper portion of the toner storage container 21. The lower end of the toner suction pipe 22 reaches near the bottom of the toner container 21, and the upper end thereof reaches a position slightly protruding from the toner container 21. Also,
The air supply nozzle 23 extends to the upper end of the container, and the inside of the container communicates with an air flow passage 24 formed by a partition 25. Although the toner suction pipe 22 is not shown, the tube 15 is connected thereto, and the air supply nozzle 23 is also connected to a tube (not shown) from an air pump not shown.

The air flow passage 24 in this embodiment is
When the toner storage container 21 is manufactured, the toner storage container 21 is formed by thermal welding at a position near the side edge of the container and along the side edge. The lower portion of the air flow passage 24 in this example reaches near the bottom of the toner container 21, and the position serves as an air outlet 26.

The toner container 21 constructed as described above
When the screw pump 40 and the air pump are operated, air is supplied from the air outlet 26 of the air flow passage 24, and the toner fluidizes the toner in the container. The developer is smoothly transferred from the container to the developing device 10 by the suction force of the pump 40. And the air flow passage 24
Is formed using the toner container 21 itself, so that an air supply pipe or the like is not required. Moreover, the air flow passage 24 can be easily formed by heat welding without adding a process at the time of manufacturing the container.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the diameter of the air flow passage 24 is set to be smaller than the diameter of the air supply nozzle 23. That is, the opening area of the cross section of the air flow passage 24 is set to be smaller than that of the air supply nozzle 23.

With this configuration, the air supplied into the toner storage container 21 is restricted to the air flow passage 24, so that the air pump is strengthened to increase the air blowing force without increasing the amount of air. be able to. Therefore, the toner loosening action by air can be promoted without supplying an excessive amount of air.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a plurality of air outlets 26 are formed in a partition 25 forming an air flow passage 24 as openings for blowing out a plurality of air. , 27, 28 are formed. In this case, the air flow passage 24 extends from the top to near the bottom similarly to FIG. 3, and the air outlets 26, 272, and 28 are provided at different heights.

With this configuration, air can be blown out from each of the air blowout ports 26, 27, and 28, so that air is blown out over a wide area in the toner storage container 21 and the toner loosening effect can be enhanced.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 5, when the air outlets 26, 27, 28 are provided on the side of the air flow passage 24, when the toner container 21 is filled with the toner, the air outlets 26, 27, 28 are provided. There is a possibility that the toner may enter the air flow passage 24 from 27 and 28, block the flow passage, and cause a problem that air is not supplied from the lower air outlet 26 or the like.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can suppress the occurrence of such a problem. In FIG. 6, air outlets 26, 27, and 28 are provided in the air flow passage 24. The angle between the air blowing direction of each of the air outlets 26, 27, and the toner filling direction is represented by θ. Then, the angle θ is set to 90 degrees or less. In addition,
At the time of filling the toner, a short pipe as shown in this figure is used instead of the pipe 22 whose end reaches near the bottom of the container. In this case, since the pipe at the time of filling does not need to have the tip deeply penetrating into the container, the toner suction pipe 22 whose position has been changed can be used.

With this configuration, the air outlets 26, 27, 28 are directed sideways or downward, so that the toner filled from above does not easily enter the outlets 26, 27, 28. In this case, it is convenient to make the angle θ as small as possible.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment for preventing the air flow passage 24 from being blocked. In this embodiment, the portions corresponding to the air outlets 26, 27 and 28 are replaced by air. It is sealed by a seal portion 29 that is weaker than the pressure. That is, the air flow passage 24
When making the toner storage container 21 with the air outlet 2
The portions 6, 27, and 28 are sealed with a weakly heat-sealed seal portion 29, and the adhesive force is weaker than the air pressure, so that the air can be peeled off at the time of toner supply.

With this configuration, since the air outlets 26, 27, and 28 are initially sealed by the seal portions 29, the toner flows through the air flow passages 24 at the time of filling.
When the air is supplied after the start of use, the seal portion 29 is peeled off by air pressure, and the air can be blown into the toner storage container 21 from the air outlets 26, 27, 28. it can. Therefore,
Intrusion of toner into the air flow passage 24 can be more reliably prevented.

Incidentally, the toner container 21 of the above-described embodiment has an air supply nozzle 23 provided at an upper part thereof,
Toner suction pipe 22 inserted into the container from above
FIG. 8 through FIG.
As shown in the figure, the air supply nozzle 23 provided in the lower part
Also, the present invention can be applied to the toner storage container 21 having the toner suction pipe 22.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and the air flow passage 24 is formed by subjecting the bag itself to heat welding. The embodiment shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and the diameter of the air flow passage 24 is set to be smaller than the diameter of the air supply nozzle 23. Furthermore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 corresponds to the embodiment of FIG. 5, and a plurality of air outlets 26, 27, 28 are provided in the air flow passage 24. 8 to 10 have the same functions and effects as the corresponding embodiments of FIGS. 3 to 5, and the toner suction pipe 22 can be short and hardly inserted into the container. Does not hinder container volume reduction. In addition, the toner suction pipe 22 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 is more advantageous because the pipe for filling the toner can be used without changing the position.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the toner suction pipe and the air supply nozzle are both provided at the upper or lower side, but one of the toner suction pipe and the air supply nozzle may be provided above and the other may be provided below. In particular, it is preferable to provide the toner suction pipe at the lower part of the container and the air supply nozzle at the upper part of the container, since there is no pipe in the container and the volume is reduced.

[0035]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, an air flow passage can be formed in a container without using a pipe or the like.

According to the configuration of the third aspect, the air flow path can be provided without increasing the number of manufacturing steps when manufacturing the container. According to the configuration of claim 4, the pressure of the air supplied into the container can be increased without using a powerful air pump or the like.

According to the fifth aspect, a wide range of toner in the container can be easily loosened. According to the configuration of the sixth aspect, it is possible to suppress the intrusion of the toner into the air flow passage and suppress the passage from being clogged with the toner.

According to the configuration of claim 7, it is possible to reliably prevent toner from entering the air flow passage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a configuration of toner transfer in which a container of the present invention can be used.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a toner receiving unit of the developing device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the toner container according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the toner container according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory sectional view showing still another embodiment of the toner container according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory sectional view showing still another embodiment of the toner container according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view showing an improved example of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory sectional view corresponding to the embodiment of FIG. 3 in which a toner suction pipe and an air supply pipe are provided at a lower portion of a container.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory sectional view corresponding to the embodiment of FIG. 4 in which a toner suction pipe and an air supply pipe are provided at a lower portion of a container.

FIG. 10 is a sectional explanatory view corresponding to the embodiment of FIG. 4 in which a toner suction pipe and an air supply pipe are provided at a lower portion of a container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Toner Storage Container 22 Toner Suction Pipe 23 Air Supply Pipe 24 Air Flow Path 26, 27, 28 Opening 29 Sealing Section

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A toner container mounted and used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein a passage for air supplied into the container is formed by processing the container itself. Toner container. 2. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the container is a bag, and the air flow path is formed by processing the bag itself. container. 3. The toner storage container according to claim 1, wherein the storage container is a bag formed by heat-welding a sheet material, and the air flow passage is formed by heat welding simultaneously with the formation of the container. A toner container characterized by being formed. 4. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the air flow path is formed to have a diameter smaller than a diameter of an air supply port through which air is supplied to the flow path. A toner container. 5. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of air blowing openings are formed in the air flow path. 6. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which the container is filled with toner and a direction in which air is blown out from a blowing opening of an air flow path. A toner container having an angle of 90 degrees or less. 7. The toner storage container according to claim 5, wherein the blow-out opening is adhered and sealed with an adhesive force weaker than air pressure.