JP2002072654A - Consumable agent operating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and simply constituted consumable agent operating device capable of effectively using excessive developer and recovered toner generated in plural image forming devices mounted with a developer successive- replacing system developing device, and also, capable of avoiding the problem of individually coping with the device, the problem of the reduction of an operation rate due to the standstill of the device. SOLUTION: As for the consumable agent operating device for supplying the consumable agent to plural image forming devices A to C mounted with the developer successive-replacing system developing device 4 for replenishing the developer and also recovering the excessive developer and then forming the image, the operating device is provided with a developer replenishing part 14 arranged outside the image forming devices A to C, developer carrying paths 24 and 26 linking between the developer replenishing part 14 and the developing device 4... of respective image forming devices A to C, a toner storing part 12 arranged outside the image forming devices A to C, and a toner carrying path 22 linking between the toner storing part 12 and the developing device 4... of respective image forming devices A to C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a consumable agent operating apparatus for an image forming apparatus equipped with a so-called developer sequential replacement type developing apparatus for replenishing a developer and forming an image while collecting an excess developer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a consumable material operation device for supplying a consumable material such as a developer to a plurality of image forming apparatuses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, OA has been remarkably advanced, and various types of OA have been developed.
The cost of equipment has been reduced, and in the past it was large and expensive, so multiple copiers were often installed side by side even where only one copier was installed. . With the advancement of network technology, the usage status of consumables of these multiple copiers and the operation status of the image forming apparatus are collectively managed by a specific computer to improve serviceability and minimize the occurrence of troubles. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 60-263163, 62-186275, and 4-2
No. 65780, for example.

In this type of electrostatic copying machine, visualization (development) of an electrostatic latent image on the surface of a photoreceptor is performed using a two-component developer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "developer") comprising a magnetic carrier and a toner.
Is widely used. In this type of developing device, the toner is consumed by the developing operation, but the magnetic carrier remains in the developing device without being consumed. Therefore, as the frequency of agitation of the magnetic carrier stirred with the toner in the developing device increases, a situation such as peeling of the resin coat layer on the surface or adhesion of the toner to the surface occurs, and the magnetic carrier deteriorates. The charging performance gradually decreases, which causes deterioration in copy image quality.

Therefore, apart from replenishment of toner consumed by the developing operation, an apparatus which replenishes the magnetic carrier little by little in the developing device to suppress the deterioration of the charging performance is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 2-21591. It is disclosed in the gazette. In such an apparatus, the developer in the developer tank that has become excessive due to the replenishment of the magnetic carrier overflows from a developer overflow port provided on the wall of the developer tank, is discharged, and is collected in a developer collection container. ing. By successively repeating such supply and discharge, the deteriorated developer in the developing tank is replaced by newly supplied toner and magnetic carrier, thereby maintaining the charging performance,
An attempt is made to suppress a decrease in copy image quality.

[0005]

As described above, when the use status and operation status of a plurality of image forming apparatuses are collectively managed, the serviceability can be improved, and an appropriate countermeasure can be taken when a trouble occurs. Become. However, even when such collective management is performed, for example, when an out-of-toner condition is notified, it is necessary to stop the operation of each image forming apparatus and supply toner individually. Therefore, even when a plurality of image forming apparatuses are collectively managed as described above, problems such as the trouble of individually coping with each image forming apparatus and the decrease in the operation rate due to the stoppage of the apparatus due to the maintenance work are not solved. Was left.

By the way, in the developer successively replacing system, the developer can be replaced little by little before the developer reaches the end of its life, so that the developer contained in the developing device does not reach the end of its life as a whole. This is a preferable method because a stable degree of fatigue can be maintained. However, the developer discharged outside the developing device as surplus developer is not limited to the one that has reached the end of its life as a developer (some of the developer that has not reached the end of its life is also partially discharged). ) Is not rational in terms of effective utilization.

On the other hand, for example, an image forming apparatus equipped with a toner recycling system collects a developer once discharged out of a developing device as surplus developer and uses a system capable of reusing the developer. It is conceivable to mount it on a forming apparatus. However, when such a system is configured, there is a problem that the whole apparatus becomes large and the mechanism becomes complicated. Further, even in this case, the problem caused by the individual handling (such as the individual supply of the consumable agent) to each image forming apparatus still remains without being solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can effectively utilize surplus developer and collected toner generated in a plurality of image forming apparatuses equipped with a developing device of a developer sequential replacement system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact and simple consumable material operation device capable of avoiding the problem of individually coping with the problem and the problem of a decrease in the operation rate due to the device stoppage.

[0009]

According to the present invention, means for solving the above-mentioned problems are constituted as follows.

(1) A stirring tank for stirring the developer and a developing roller for supplying the developer to the photoreceptor are rotatably provided in a developing tank containing a two-component developer composed of a toner and a magnetic carrier. While discharging surplus developer through a developer discharge portion formed in the developing tank while receiving successive replenishment of the developer containing the carrier, the toner density in the developing tank detected by a toner density sensor is reduced. A consumables supply device that supplies consumables to a plurality of image forming apparatuses each including a developing device configured to supply toner into the developing tank from a toner replenishing unit based on the consumables. A developer supply section provided outside the image forming apparatus; a developer conveying path connecting the developer supply section to the developing apparatus of each image forming apparatus; and a toner storage section provided outside the image forming apparatus. Characterized in that and a toner conveying path connecting the developing device with the toner accommodating portion wherein each of the image forming apparatus.

[0011] According to this configuration, since the toner replenishment of the plurality of image forming apparatuses is performed collectively via the toner accommodating section, it is troublesome to individually supply the toner to the individual apparatuses. The problem can be solved. Further, since the stoppage of the apparatus due to the toner supply does not occur, the operation rate of each image forming apparatus is improved.

Further, since it is not necessary to attach a large-capacity toner hopper to the developing device mounted on each image forming apparatus, the size of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. In addition, by performing image formation using the sequential developer exchange method with a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the developer needs to be replaced each time the developer life is reached, and the apparatus is shut down accordingly. , The operation efficiency of each image forming apparatus is improved.

[0013] Since each image forming apparatus is used in a different state, a difference occurs in the stress applied to the developer. Therefore, although the degree of fatigue and the degree of performance degradation are different, the development provided outside the image forming apparatus is different. Since the developer discharged as the surplus developer is collectively mixed and stirred in the developer supply section, the performance of the developer is averaged and stabilized, and stable image quality can be secured in each image forming apparatus.

(2) In each of the image forming apparatuses, there is provided a collecting device for collecting untransferred toner remaining on the photoreceptor, and a waste toner conveying path for guiding the collected collected toner to the toner container. The image forming apparatus further includes a toner recycling system that returns the collected toner to each of the image forming apparatuses via the toner storage unit.

According to this configuration, the reuse efficiency of the toner is improved by reusing the collected toner. Also,
Since it is not necessary to mount a large-scale and mechanically complicated toner recycling system in each image forming apparatus, the size of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

(3) A recycling device for recycling the collected toner is provided on the waste toner conveying path.

According to this configuration, by providing the recovery system of the recovered toner on the recycling system, the performance of the recovered toner whose performance has been reduced can be recovered, and the utilization efficiency of the toner can be improved and the image quality can be reduced. Prevention can be achieved.

(4) The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the toner storage section provided outside the image forming apparatus can receive unused toner.

According to this configuration, the toner supply of a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be collectively performed via the toner storage section, so that the problem of individually coping with each apparatus can be solved. Accordingly, since the apparatus does not stop due to the toner supply on an individual basis, the operation rate of each image forming apparatus is improved.

(5) A mixing / stirring mechanism for mixing / stirring waste toner or recycled toner and unused toner is provided in a toner storage section provided outside the image forming apparatus.

According to this configuration, the mixing / stirring mechanism provided in the toner accommodating unit provided independently outside the image forming apparatus mixes and stirs the waste toner or the regenerated toner with the unused toner. As a result, the properties of the toner are made uniform, and stable image quality can be obtained in each image forming apparatus.

Further, even if there is an image forming apparatus which is not used for a long time in the system, as long as the other apparatuses are operating, the mixing / stirring mechanism of the toner container is operated and the toner The adverse effects such as solidification and pseudo-solidification hardly occur.

(6) The developer supply section provided outside the image forming apparatus is provided with a mixing and stirring mechanism for mixing and stirring the developers discharged from the plurality of image forming apparatuses. .

According to this configuration, the developer having a different use history for each image forming apparatus is mixed by the mixing / stirring mechanism provided in the developer supply section independently provided outside the image forming apparatus. The uniformity stabilizes the developer performance, so that a stable image quality can be obtained in each image forming apparatus.

Even if there is an image forming apparatus that is not used for a long time in the system, as long as the other apparatuses are operating, the mixing / stirring mechanism of the developer replenishing section is operated, and the developer is supplied. Evils such as solidification and solidification hardly occur.

(7) A plurality of image forming apparatuses provided with a recording device for forming an image using the recording material, and the recording material is supplied to the recording device of each of the image forming devices. It is characterized by including a recording agent accumulation section that can be stored, and a recording agent conveyance path that conveys the recording agent from the recording agent accumulation section to a recording device of each of the image forming apparatuses.

According to this configuration, when a plurality of image forming apparatuses are used, the replenishment of the recording agent can be performed collectively instead of individually for each image forming apparatus. In addition, it is possible to simplify the operation of replenishing the recording agent.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a consumable material operation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a consumable material operation device (hereinafter, referred to as “this device”). This apparatus includes three image forming apparatuses A to C, and each of the image forming apparatuses A to C is of the same model. It should be noted that the number of image forming apparatuses is arbitrary, and the models are not limited to the same type, and may have any configuration that can be applied to the present apparatus.

The image forming apparatus A (B, C) includes a toner container (toner hopper) 2 as a toner replenishing unit, a developing device (recording device) 4, a photosensitive member 6, and a cleaning device 8 as a collecting device. ing.

Then, the toner supplied to the toner container 2 is applied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 6 by the developing device 4 to form a toner image on the photoconductor 6.
The toner image is transferred onto a recording paper (not shown) or the like (in some cases, via an intermediate transfer member) to form an image. Unnecessary developer (recording agent) remaining on the photoconductor 6 is removed by the cleaning device 8.

The developing device 4 has a developing tank 4a for storing the developer, a stirring roller 4b for stirring the developer, and a developing roller 4c for supplying the developer to the photosensitive member 6. Further, in the developing device 4, while receiving toner supply from the toner storage unit 2, excess developer is discharged from a developer discharge unit to a developer server 14 as a developer supply unit described later. The replenishment of the toner is performed based on the toner density detected by a toner density sensor provided in the developing tank 4a.

Here, illustration and description of other components of the image forming apparatus are omitted,
The image forming apparatus has other general components such as an exposure system.

In the present apparatus, a toner server 12, a developer server 14, and a waste toner box 16 are provided outside the image forming apparatuses A to C as toner storage units (or recording agent storage units). I have. The toner server 12 is a toner supply pipe 22 as a toner conveyance path (or a recording material conveyance path), the developer server is a developer discharge pipe 24 and a developer re-supply pipe 26, and the waste toner box 16 is a waste toner discharge pipe. A pipe 28 is connected to each of the image forming apparatuses A to C.

The toner server 12 holds toner and is composed of a large-capacity server. The toner server 12 is supplied with new toner. Then, the toner stored in the toner server 12 is supplied to the toner storage unit 2 of each of the image forming apparatuses A to C via the toner supply pipe 22. That is, it is sufficient to collectively supply toner only to the toner server 12 without separately supplying toner to each of the image forming apparatuses A to C, and to reduce the number of toner supply times as compared with the case where toner is supplied individually. Thus, the frequency and complexity of the replenishment operation at the time of toner empty can be suppressed. (Basically, in this system, unless trouble occurs on the transport route to the toner server and each image forming apparatus,
No stop occurs due to toner empty. Note that the toner server 12 is provided with an agitation mechanism and the like for preventing aggregation of the toner and breaking up the toner mass, similarly to the conventional toner hopper.

As a toner supply mechanism of the toner supply pipe 22, for example, a screw conveyor or the like can be considered.
Further, the toner may be transported by the flow of air. The same applies to a developer discharge pipe 24, a developer resupply pipe 26, and a waste toner discharge pipe 28, which will be described later. However, as a toner supply mechanism in a pipe other than the waste toner discharge pipe 28, a mechanism that minimizes the stress applied to the toner during conveyance is preferable.

The developer server 14 collects the used developer (toner and carrier) having undergone the developing operation in the developing device 4 through a developer discharge pipe 24 and resupplies the developer to the developing device 4. This is for supplying again through the pipe 26. Even if the collected developer is left for a long period of time in the developer server 14, in order to prevent collection and disintegrate the soul, it is necessary to mix and mix ordinary developing devices.
A member such as a screw auger or a stirring blade in which a plurality of notched elliptical blades are continuously arranged at equal intervals on a rotating shaft is incorporated as a stirring mechanism.

The developer collected by the developer server 14 is
The toner is supplied into the developing casing from an unused state or is re-supplied from the developer server 14. The toner is mixed and stirred with the toner by the mixing and stirring mechanism of the developing device 4, and is engaged in charging the toner. The developer collected here does not always reach the end of its life, and includes a developer having sufficient developing ability and charging ability. Here, “developer reaches the end of its life” means that as the frequency of stirring increases, mechanical or thermal stress is applied due to contact and friction between members and the developer, and the resin coat layer on the carrier surface. Of the toner, adhesion of the toner to the surface, or loss of the charging ability of the toner.

By using the developer server 14, a method of successively replacing a plurality of image forming apparatuses A to C (a method of forming an image while replenishing the developer and collecting an excess developer) is used. By performing development,
The trouble of replacing the developer, which is performed each time the developer life of each of the image forming apparatuses A to C reaches, can be eliminated.

Further, since the mixing / stirring mechanism is provided in the developer server 14 as described above, the developers having different usage histories for each of the image forming apparatuses A to C are mixed and uniformized. Can be done. Thereby, the developer performance is stabilized, and stable image quality can be obtained in each of the image forming apparatuses A to C.

The unused toner is supplied to the developing device via the toner server 12, the toner supply pipe 22, and the toner container (toner hopper) 2 of each image forming apparatus. This is performed as follows.

That is, in an electrostatic copying machine or the like, a developing device for visualizing (developing) an electrostatic latent image on the surface of a photoreceptor using a two-component developer including a carrier and a toner is often used.
In such a developing device, while the toner is consumed by the developing operation, the carrier is not consumed and remains in the developing device.

Accordingly, as the frequency of agitation of the carrier stirred with the toner in the developing device increases, the carrier coat layer on the surface is peeled off or the toner adheres to the surface, and the carrier deteriorates. The charging performance of the developer gradually decreases.

Therefore, separately from the replenishment of the toner consumed by the developing operation, it is necessary to replenish the carrier in the developing device little by little so that the deterioration of the charging performance can be suppressed. The excess developer in the developing device due to the replenishment of the carrier overflows from a developer overflow port provided on the wall surface of the developing device, is discharged, and is collected in a developer collecting container.

By successively repeating such supply and discharge, the deteriorated developer in the developing tank is replaced by newly supplied toner and carrier, thereby maintaining the charging performance and deteriorating the copy image quality. Can be suppressed.

The sequential replacement of the developer will be described in more detail. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the developing device 4 has a container-like developing tank 4a, and inside the developing tank 4a, A developing roller 4c composed of a magnet roller;
The stirring roller 4b is rotatably disposed.

The developer contained in the developing tank 4a is composed of a carrier and a toner, and the carrier made of a magnetic material has a resin coating layer on its surface for suppressing adhesion of the toner. When the carrier and the toner are stirred by the stirring roller 4b, the toner is frictionally charged.

The developing roller 4c attracts the carrier by magnetic force, forms a magnetic brush, and conveys the toner. The toner adhered to the carrier by the Coulomb force is supplied to the photosensitive member 6, and the toner is transferred to the photosensitive member 6. The development is performed by being attracted to the latent image. Note that the height of the ears of the magnetic brush is regulated by the doctor 19.

An opening for supplying a developer is formed in the upper wall 4d of the developing tank 4a, and a developer supply unit 20 is fitted into the opening for supplying the developer from above. The interior of the developer supply unit 20 is divided into two chambers, a toner storage chamber 20a as a toner supply section and a carrier developer storage chamber 20b as a carrier supply section.

In one toner storage chamber 20a, toner is stored, and in the other carrier developer storage chamber 20b, a developer consisting only of a carrier or a developer in which toner is mixed with a carrier at a predetermined ratio ( Hereinafter, referred to as a carrier developer).

At the bottom of each of the storage chambers 20a and 20b, a toner supply roller 21a and a carrier developer supply roller 21b are provided.
Are provided respectively, and the toner supply roller 21a
Is rotationally driven, the toner in the toner storage chamber 20a is rotated, and the carrier developer supply roller 21b is rotationally driven to rotate the carrier developer storage chamber 2a.
The carrier developer in the developing tank 4a flows down by an amount corresponding to the driving time of each of the rollers 21a and 21b.
Supplied into.

On the other hand, the used developer from the inside of the developing tank 4a is filled with the developer discharging pipe 24 on the side wall 4e of the developing tank 4a.
A discharge opening 40 (see FIG. 5) leading to (see FIG. 1) is formed, and an opening / closing mechanism 41 that opens and closes the discharge opening 40 is provided along the outer surface of the side wall 4e.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the opening / closing mechanism 41 has a plate-shaped opening / closing lid 42 slidably disposed along the outer surface of the side wall 4e, and a sliding operation of the opening / closing lid 42. A pair of guide plates 43, 43 provided on both sides of the opening / closing lid 42 to guide the opening / closing lid 42, and a discharge solenoid 44 connected to the opening / closing lid 42 at the tip of a plunger 44a.

When the discharge solenoid 44 is not energized (O
In FF), the plunger 44a is held at the advanced position, whereby the opening / closing lid 42 is held in a closed state covering the discharge opening 40.

On the other hand, the discharge solenoid 44 is energized (O
N) Then, the plunger 44a retreats, whereby
The opening / closing lid 42 is retracted from the position covering the discharge opening 40, and the discharge opening 40 is switched to the open state. In this open state, the developer in the developing tank 4a flows into the developer discharging pipe 24 through the discharging opening 40, and is discharged from the developing tank 4a.

When the copying operation is repeated, the toner in the developer contained in the developing tank 4a of the developing device 4 is gradually consumed, and the ratio of the toner to the carrier, that is, the toner concentration is reduced. A toner concentration sensor 30 for detecting a change in the toner concentration is provided in the developing tank 4a, and the drive control of the toner replenishing roller 21a based on the toner concentration sensor 30 is performed by a control device (not shown).

That is, when it is detected that the detection signal from the toner density sensor 30 has decreased to the lower limit of the appropriate range required for development, the driving of the toner supply roller 21a is started. As a result, the toner in the toner storage chamber 20a is supplied to the developing tank 4a, and the toner concentration in the developing tank 4a increases. When it is detected that the toner concentration has reached the upper limit of the appropriate range, the toner supply roller 21a
Stop driving.

By such control, the toner concentration in the developing tank 4a is maintained within an appropriate range. In the present embodiment, the toner concentration sensor 30 is provided on the bottom wall 4f of the developing tank 4a below and near the discharge opening 40.

The toner replenished as described above is agitated with the developer in the developing tank 4a, controlled to a fixed charge amount, supplied to the photoreceptor 6, and used for development. on the other hand,
Since the carrier in the developer does not decrease and is used repeatedly, the carrier gradually deteriorates due to the stirring by the developing roller 4c and the stirring roller 4b and the contact with the photoconductor 6, as described above.

When the carrier deteriorates in this manner, a predetermined amount of charge cannot be applied to the toner, and the image quality deteriorates. Thus, by additionally replenishing the carrier in the developing tank 4a and replacing the carrier with the deteriorated carrier in the developing tank 4a, the above-described decrease in the charging performance can be suppressed.

For this purpose, the carrier developer is supplied from the carrier developer storage chamber 20b and the developing tank 4a
The replenishment / discharge control for discharging the developer inside is also performed by the above-described control device. This replenishment and discharge control
For example, replenishment and discharge are performed at substantially the same timing or at different timings for each copy count value n that is fixed or appropriately changed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the toner concentration sensor 30 is connected to the discharge opening 40 formed in the lower wall portion of the developing tank near the discharge opening 40 of the developing device 4, ie, the side wall portion 4e. Is provided on the bottom wall 4f in the vicinity of, so that the toner density can be accurately detected by the toner density sensor 30.

That is, the developer surely exists below the vicinity of the discharge opening 40 where the developer is discharged, and the discharge opening 4 in the developing tank 4a.
Every time the developer is discharged from 0, a flow of the developer in the direction of the discharge opening 40 occurs. Therefore, even before and after the discharge of the developer, a substantially constant amount of the developer is surely present below the vicinity of the discharge opening 40.

For this reason, the developer always comes into contact with the toner concentration sensor 30 in a stable state, and the bulk density of the developer hardly changes at this portion.
Therefore, the toner density sensor 30 always performs detection under certain conditions, and accurately detects the toner density.

Further, even if a large amount of developer is discharged from the developing tank 4a due to the impact or inclination of the copying machine provided with the developing device 4 during the movement, the location of the toner density sensor 30 Is easy to contain a developer. As a result, the inside of the developing tank 4a can always be set to an appropriate toner concentration, and good image quality can be maintained.

The waste toner box 16 (see FIG. 1) collects the residual toner removed from the surface of the photoconductor 6 by the cleaning device 8 of each of the image forming apparatuses A to C via the waste toner discharge pipe 28 in a lump. It is for doing. In this apparatus, the waste toner box 16 only collects toner, and the toner collected in the waste toner box 16 is discarded.

As described above, the present apparatus includes a toner server 12 for collectively supplying toner to a plurality of image forming apparatuses A to C, a developer server 14 for collectively circulating developer, and a And a waste toner box 16 for collecting waste toner. As a result, operations such as toner supply and waste toner collection can be performed collectively without performing each device individually. That is,
Toner server 12 is empty (toner empty)
And only when the waste toner box 16 becomes full.

Accordingly, maintenance of the image forming apparatuses A to C is simplified. Further, a period in which the image forming apparatuses A to C are stopped
The number of times can be reduced, and the operation rate of the image forming apparatuses A to C can be improved.

Although the configuration including all of the toner server 12, the developer server 14, and the waste toner box 16 has been described above, for example, a configuration including only the toner server 12 may be employed. Has the above-mentioned effect on the supply of toner.

Next, a consumable material operation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire configuration of a consumable material operation device (hereinafter, referred to as “this device”). The components having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

The present apparatus is different from the apparatus of the first embodiment in that the waste toner box 16 is not provided and a waste toner discharge pipe 34 as a waste toner conveying path is connected to the toner server 32. Is different. That is, in the present apparatus, the toner collected by the cleaning device 8 is collected by the toner server 32, so that the toner is mixed with the unused toner in the toner server 32 and is used again for image formation (the toner is recycled). Has become. For this purpose, a mixing / stirring mechanism is preferably provided in the toner server 32, although not shown.

This eliminates the need for the process of discarding waste toner, and further simplifies maintenance of the image forming apparatuses A to C. Further, in the present apparatus, since the waste toner can be reused, the amount of new toner used can be reduced, and the cost for image formation can be reduced.

Next, a consumable material operation device according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an entire configuration of a consumable material operation device (hereinafter, referred to as “this device”). The components having the same functions as those described in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The present apparatus is different from the apparatus of the second embodiment in that a silica re-external addition device 36 is provided in the middle of a waste toner discharge pipe 34 as a regenerating device. The difference is that the replenishing device 38 is connected.

Here, as the silica re-external addition device 36,
A miniaturized toner re-addition apparatus as used in a normal toner manufacturing process can be employed, and a Henschel mixer or the like is preferable. Although it depends on the conditions such as the toner storage capacity (Henschel mixer capacity) and the number of image forming apparatuses that perform centralized management, the toner storage capacity is 100 g.
In the case of ２2 kg, this is a type having substantially the same stirring blade shape as that incorporated in the developer server 14, and the external rotation with stirring is set at a set rotation speed of about 100 to 3000 rpm.

Although the silica replenishing device 38 is not generally present as a single unit, it has a capacity of 50 grams (1
000c. c. 4), a structure such as a toner replenishing device (toner hopper) as shown by 20a in FIG. 4 is preferably used, and a replenishing roller as shown by 21a in FIG.
Replenish the silica. Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which silica is supplied while the supply amount is adjusted by an opening / closing mechanism of a flat shutter member. The silica replenishment amount is appropriately determined according to the amount of collected toner stored in the silica re-external addition device.

The waste toner collected by the cleaning device 8, that is, the waste toner collected in the silica re-external addition device 36, is in a state where silica originally added to the toner has been separated and almost disappeared. Often. Therefore, silica is replenished by the silica re-external addition device 36 and externally re-added, thereby recovering the performance of the toner. The toner to which the silica has been re-added is restored to almost the same characteristics as the unused toner.

In this embodiment, silica (SiO ₂ ) is taken as an external additive, but titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ) is used.
₂ ) or aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ). In some cases, either one of these may be used alone or a plurality of types may be used in combination. A plurality of steps of adding the additive may be provided.

The reason why silica (SiO ₂ ) is added as an external additive is to ensure fluidity, cleaning properties, charging properties, and storability, for the following reasons.

The fluidity is ensured by (a) taking into consideration the replenishment from the toner server 32 to the developing device 4 mounted on each of the image forming apparatuses A to C, and there is no external additive. Alternatively, if the addition amount is extremely small, the fluidity is insufficient, and toner cannot be supplied to the developing device 4.

(B) Regardless of the one-component developing method or the two-component developing method, the fluidity of the developer greatly affects the developing method.

(C) Toner recovery device (cleaning device)
This is because the transportability is significantly reduced on the way from to the waste toner box, and troubles such as clogging occur in the transport path.

(D) It is necessary to promote friction with the carrier and improve the triboelectric charging property.

As for the cleaning property, when the amount of the external additive decreases, the toner collecting device (cleaning device)
This is because the cleaning blade described in the above causes cleaning failure and causes deterioration in image quality.

For ensuring the chargeability, silica (Si
This is because the contact between O ₂ ) and the carrier causes the silica to exhibit the same polarity as the normal charging polarity of the toner, thereby avoiding affecting the charging properties of the toner itself. Also,
This is because the toner having the negative charge polarity also has an effect as a charge control agent.

This is because it is necessary to prevent the toner from aggregating and blocking (large toner soul) from occurring during long-term storage at a high temperature.

In the toner server 32 of the present embodiment, the unused toner and the waste toner whose performance has been restored are mixed and supplied to the toner container 2. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a mixing / stirring mechanism in the toner server 32.

As described above, in the present apparatus, the waste toner is returned to the toner server and reused, so that waste toner is not generated and the toner use efficiency can be improved. In addition, when the waste toner is reused, by re-adding silica to the waste toner, it is possible to suppress the performance deterioration of the toner used for image formation and the image quality of the image to be formed. .

[0088]

The present invention configured as described above has the following effects.

According to the first aspect, since the toner replenishment of a plurality of image forming apparatuses is performed collectively via the toner storage section, the trouble of individually coping with the individual toner replenishment for each individual apparatus is solved. Can be solved. Further, since the stoppage of the apparatus due to the toner supply does not occur, the operation rate of each image forming apparatus is improved.

Further, since it is not necessary to attach a large-capacity toner hopper to the developing device mounted on each image forming apparatus, the size of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. In addition, by performing image formation using the sequential developer exchange method with a plurality of image forming apparatuses, the developer needs to be replaced each time the developer life is reached, and the apparatus is shut down accordingly. , The operation efficiency of each image forming apparatus is improved.

Since the use conditions of the respective image forming apparatuses are different, a difference occurs in the stress applied to the developer. Therefore, although the degree of fatigue and the degree of performance deterioration are different, the development provided outside the image forming apparatus is different. Since the developer discharged as the surplus developer is collectively mixed and stirred in the developer supply section, the performance of the developer is averaged and stabilized, and stable image quality can be secured in each image forming apparatus.

According to the second aspect, the reuse efficiency of the toner is improved by reusing the collected toner. Also,
Since it is not necessary to mount a large-scale and mechanically complicated toner recycling system in each image forming apparatus, the size of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the performance of the recovered toner, whose performance has deteriorated, can be recovered by providing a recovery device for the recovered toner on the recycling system. Can be prevented.

According to the fourth aspect, since the toner replenishment of a plurality of image forming apparatuses can be performed collectively via the toner accommodating section, it is possible to solve the problem of individually coping with each apparatus. Accordingly, since the apparatus does not stop due to the toner supply on an individual basis, the operation rate of each image forming apparatus is improved.

According to the fifth aspect, the mixing / stirring mechanism provided in the toner accommodating section independently provided outside the image forming apparatus controls the mixing / stirring of the waste toner or the regenerated toner and the unused toner. By doing so, the properties of the toner are made uniform, and stable image quality can be obtained in each image forming apparatus.

Further, even if there is an image forming apparatus which is not used for a long time in the system, as long as the other apparatuses are operating, the mixing / stirring mechanism of the toner container operates and the toner The adverse effects such as solidification and pseudo-solidification hardly occur.

According to the present invention, the developer having a different use history for each image forming apparatus is mixed by the mixing / stirring mechanism provided in the developer supply section independently provided outside the image forming apparatus. As a result, the developer performance is stabilized and uniform image quality can be obtained in each image forming apparatus.

Even if there is an image forming apparatus that is not used for a long time in the system, as long as the other apparatuses are operating, the mixing / stirring mechanism of the developer replenishment unit operates, and the developer Evils such as solidification and solidification hardly occur.

According to the seventh aspect, when a plurality of image forming apparatuses are used, the replenishment of the recording agent can be performed collectively instead of individually for each image forming apparatus. Therefore, the operation of replenishing the recording agent can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a consumable agent operation device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a consumable material operation device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a consumable material operation device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a developing device applied to each embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along line XX of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

2-toner replenishing unit (toner storing unit) 4-developing device, recording device 4a-developing tank 4b-stirring roller 4c-developing roller 8-collecting device (cleaning device) 12-toner storing unit, recording agent accumulating unit (toner server) 14-developer supply section (developer server) 22-toner transport path, recording agent transport path (toner supply pipe) 24,26-developer transport path (developer transport path and developer re-supply pipe) 30-toner Density sensor 34-Waste toner transport path (Waste toner discharge pipe) 36-Regeneration device (Silica re-external addition device)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G03G 15/08 507C 21/00 312 326 F term (Reference) 2H034 AA06 CA01 CA04 CA08 CB01 2H077 AA12 AA14 AA25 AA31 AA37 AB01 AB13 AB15 AB18 AC04 AC16 AD02 AD06 BA02 BA03 BA08 BA10 CA19 DA10 DA12 DA35 DA51 DB01 EA01 GA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] An agitating roller for agitating a developer and a developing roller for supplying a developer to a photoreceptor are rotatably provided in a developing tank containing a two-component developer composed of a toner and a magnetic carrier. While discharging the surplus developer through a developer discharge portion formed in the developing tank while receiving the successive supply of the developer containing, based on the toner density in the developing tank detected by a toner density sensor. A consumable agent operation device for supplying a consumable agent to a plurality of image forming apparatuses each including a developing device configured to supply toner into the developing tank from a toner replenishing unit. A developer supply section provided outside the forming apparatus; a developer transport path connecting the developer supply section to the developing device of each image forming apparatus; and a toner storage section provided outside the image forming apparatus. A consumable agent operating device comprising: a toner conveying path that connects the toner container and a developing device of each of the image forming apparatuses. And a collection device for collecting untransferred toner remaining on a photoreceptor in each of the image forming apparatuses, and a waste toner conveying path for guiding the collected toner to the toner storage unit. 2. The consumable agent operation device according to claim 1, further comprising a toner recycling system that recirculates the collected toner to each of the image forming apparatuses via a storage unit. 3. The consumable agent operating device according to claim 2, wherein a regenerating device for regenerating the collected toner is provided on the waste toner conveying path. 4. The consumable according to claim 1, wherein the toner storage unit provided outside the image forming apparatus is configured to receive a supply of unused toner. Operational device. 5. A mixing / stirring mechanism for mixing / stirring waste toner or recycled toner and unused toner is provided in a toner storage section provided outside the image forming apparatus. Or the consumables operating device according to 3. 6. A mixing / stirring mechanism for mixing / stirring the developer discharged from a plurality of image forming apparatuses is provided in a developer supply section provided outside the image forming apparatus. Item 4. The consumable agent operation device according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 7. A plurality of image forming apparatuses each including a recording device that forms an image using a recording agent, and storing the recording agent in order to supply the recording agent to a recording device of each of the image forming apparatuses. A consumable material operation device, comprising: a recording material accumulating unit capable of conveying the recording material from the recording material accumulating unit to the recording device of each of the image forming apparatuses.