JP2003270919A - Toner storing container, image forming apparatus using the same and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner storing container equipped with a position for an air vent aperture part for stably stirring and fluidizing toner by air regardless of the amount of toner in the toner storing container, and to provide an image forming apparatus using the toner storing container and an image forming method. <P>SOLUTION: The toner storing container has a powder transfer means for transferring powder, and an air supply means for supplying the air to the powder transferred by the powder transfer means and uses the powder transfer means and the air supply means respectively as powder transfer devices driven and controlled independently. The container is provided with the air vent aperture part on a surface different from a surface opposed to an air supply port. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner storage container for storing toner for replenishing toner used in a developing device, an image forming apparatus using the toner storage container, and an image forming method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine or a facsimile, a toner container such as a toner bottle or a cartridge is arranged in or near a unit having a developing device, and the toner container is directly connected to the toner container. Alternatively, the toner is replenished into the developing device via the toner hopper. In this case, the toner is transferred from the toner storage portion to the developing device by a mechanical auger means such as a screw or a paddle. However, when the toner is transferred by such a mechanical auger means, the toner storage portion and the toner replenishing device have to be installed at a position integral with or very close to the developing device because the screw is arranged only in a substantially straight line. There wasn't. For this reason, the configuration of the toner replenishing device becomes complicated, which impairs high cost, low productivity, and machine maintainability, and it is difficult to protect and maintain toner quality characteristics. There was a problem in operability.

Further, since the conventional toner storage container is made of a hard bottle such as a cartridge or a bottle, a great problem occurs in discarding the used container when the toner storage container is replaced. That is, the used toner storage container is collected from the user site by the manufacturer and is recycled, reused, or incinerated. However, the container has a large capacity and requires a high physical distribution cost for collection.

[0004]

By the way, the replenishment performance can be stably maintained even if a toner storage container whose volume can be reduced is used, and further, the toner is directly transferred from the container and replenished to the developing device. Possible toner transfer devices have been proposed. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-175083, an image is provided in which an air supply unit that supplies air for stirring and fluidizing toner to a toner storage container and an opening for reducing the internal pressure of the toner storage container are provided. A forming apparatus is disclosed. Here, air supply means for supplying air for stirring and fluidizing the toner to the toner storage container,
An air vent opening is provided in the toner container to reduce the internal pressure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the structures of a toner transfer device and a toner storage container provided in the image forming apparatus. As described above, in the toner storage container 20 used in the method of supplying air to the toner storage container 20 to agitate and fluidize the toner to suck and discharge the toner by using the uniaxial stretching suction pump 10, the internal pressure of the container increases due to the supply air. The container is provided with an air bleeding opening 22 for holding down. Figure 9
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an opening provided in the toner storage container and a flow of air inside the opening. Normally, air supply port 30
Is located coaxially with the toner discharge port 30. When a large amount of toner is present in the toner container 20, the toner discharge port 3
The toner around 0 is evenly fluidized and can be discharged. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the toner storage container is low in toner and the flow of air inside the container. When the amount of toner decreases, an air path is formed between the air supply port 30 and the toner powder surface, the toner is not fluidized even if the air supply is continued, and the air only escapes from the air vent opening 22. Air is discharged from the toner discharge port 30, resulting in unstable toner discharge, resulting in an increase in the amount of remaining toner.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an air vent opening portion that enables stable stirring and fluidization by air regardless of the amount of toner in the toner container. It is an object to provide a toner storage container having a position. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus including a toner storage container having a position of an air bleeding opening that enables stable stirring and fluidization by air regardless of the amount of toner in the toner storage container. .
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method using this toner container.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a powder transferring means for transferring powder, and an air for the powder transferred by the powder transferring means. A toner storage container used in a powder transfer device for independently controlling the driving of the powder transfer means and the air supply means, the toner storage container facing the cross section of the air supply nozzle. It is assumed that the toner storage container is provided with an air bleeding opening on a surface different from that on which the toner is stored. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the toner storage container according to the first aspect, the toner storage container is a toner storage container in which an air vent opening is installed near a toner discharge port. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the toner storage container according to the first aspect, the toner storage container has an air bleeding opening portion provided on a surface different from the lowest angle surface of the toner storage container. Use as a container. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the toner storage container according to the second aspect, the toner storage container is provided with a plurality of air vent openings, and one of the air vent openings is installed above the toner storage container. Use a toner storage container. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the toner storage container according to the second aspect,
The toner container has a plurality of air vent openings,
One of the air vent openings is installed above the toner storage container, and the air vent opening has a smaller air flow rate than the other air vent openings.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a developing device in which toner is transferred from a toner storage container, wherein the image forming apparatus includes powder transfer means for transferring powder and powder. An image forming apparatus comprising an air supply unit for supplying air to powder transferred by a body transfer unit and a powder transfer device for independently controlling drive of the powder transfer unit and the air supply unit. An image forming apparatus, wherein the toner storage container used in the apparatus is the toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming method for visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member by a developing device containing a toner, wherein the image forming method is a powder transfer device. , The powder transfer means for transferring the powder and the air supply means for supplying air to the powder transferred by the powder transfer means are independently driven and controlled to transfer the toner from the toner container to the developing device. The image forming method is to transfer. The invention according to claim 8 is the image forming method according to claim 7, wherein the toner storage container is the toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 9, the toner storage container 20 is configured as a unit separate from the developing device 1, and is arranged at an appropriate position in the image forming apparatus main body. The toner container 20 has a closed structure,
A seal valve 21 made of a resin such as polyethylene or nylon or paper, and an elastic body, preferably a foam sponge or the like, is provided as a self-closing valve at the bottom thereof.
As the toner storage container 20, it is possible to use a hard case toner container in which a cap portion formed by a blow molding method and the toner storage portion have an integrated structure. Further, here, the container is made by forming a resin or paper flexible sheet having a thickness of, for example, about 80 to 200 μm in a single layer or a plurality of layers. Applying aluminum vapor deposition to the front or back surface of these sheets is effective as a countermeasure against static electricity and moisture. Since such a toner storage container 20 is flexible, the toner storage container 20 is easier to handle during transportation and storage than a hard case, and does not require a storage space. Further, the used toner storage container 20 is collected from the user to the manufacturer for recycling / reuse or incineration, but since the toner storage container 20 is a flexible bag-like container, it can be folded and transported. The advantages of good handling during storage and storage, and further saving of storage space during transportation and storage are further enhanced, and the cost of collection and distribution from users to manufacturers can be greatly reduced. In addition, a flexible toner storage container 20 is provided in the hard case.
You may set and use. In this case, by having a hard case, operability at the time of attachment / detachment is improved. It should be noted that if the toner container 20 and the seal valve 21 are made of the same material or the same system material, it is advantageous because it is possible to save the trouble of separating the both during recycling.

The toner container 20 is set in the main body of the image forming apparatus from above, and a nozzle 30 to be inserted into the seal valve 21 is provided upright at the set position of the main body of the image forming apparatus. The nozzle 30 is provided with an apex member 31 formed in a pyramidal cross-section at the upper part by integrally molding or fixing,
An air supply path 32 and a toner discharge path 33 are provided following the pointed member 31. The inside of the nozzle 30 has a double structure, and the toner discharge path 33 is bent to the left at the lower end of the nozzle 30, and a toner connection port 35 is provided at the tip thereof. In addition, the inside of the nozzle 30 is
You may make it a single layer structure. The air supply path 32 is bent rightward in the drawing above the toner discharge path 33, and the air connection port 3
Has reached 4. In the case of this embodiment, the air connection port 34 is connected to the air pump 40 as an air supply means via the air transfer pipe 41. This air pump 40
Is activated, air is ejected from the pump into the toner storage container 20 through the air transfer pipe 41 and the air supply passage 32. The air jetted into the toner container 20 passes through the toner layer to fluidize the toner while diffusing the toner.

The developing device 1 is provided with a uniaxial eccentric screw pump which is a suction type powder pump 3 in the vicinity thereof or integrally therewith. The powder pump 3 has a structure in which a rotor 4 made of a material having rigidity such as a metal and formed in an eccentric shape, and a stator 5 made of an elastic body such as rubber and formed in a two-screw shape. , And a holder 6 made of a resin material or the like for wrapping these and forming a powder conveyance path. A toner discharge unit 7 is provided at the tip of the holder 6, and the toner discharge unit 7 is connected to the toner supply unit 2 of the developing device 1 by a pipe 8. Further, a buffer 10 as a toner storage means for storing an appropriate amount of toner is provided so as to be connected to the suction side of the powder pump 3. In this buffer 10,
A screw 11 serving as a toner feeding unit is provided, and one end of the screw 11 jumps out of the buffer 10 and is drivingly connected to a driving device (not shown) to rotationally drive the screw 11. The other end of the screw 11 is connected to the rotor 4 of the powder pump 3, so that the powder pump 3 and the screw 11 are simultaneously operated.

Further, the buffer 10 is provided with a toner receiving section 12, and the toner receiving section 12 and the toner connection port 35 provided in the nozzle 30 are connected by a toner transfer tube 15 as a transfer hollow pipe 41. There is. As the toner transfer tube 15, it is extremely preferable to use a flexible tube having a diameter of 4 to 10 mm and made of a rubber material having excellent toner resistance (for example, polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, silicone, etc.). Effective and flexible tubes can be easily piped in any direction up, down, left or right.
The toner replenishing device configured as described above is used in the powder pump 3
It is known that the uniaxial eccentric screw pump as described above is capable of continuous quantitative transfer at a high solid-gas ratio, and an accurate toner transfer amount proportional to the rotation speed of the rotor 4 can be obtained.
Therefore, when a toner replenishment command is issued due to image density detection or the like, the powder pump 3 operates and the required amount of toner is replenished to the developing device 1. At this time, by providing the buffer 10 immediately in front of the powder pump 3, the input toner of the powder pump 3 is stably secured and there is no variation in the input toner, so that reliable toner supply can be obtained. Moreover, since the screw 10 is provided in the buffer 10, the toner does not stay in the buffer 10.
Further, when the suction type powder pump 3 is operated, the system from the toner storage container 20 to the pump is closed, so the toner stored in the toner storage container 20 is sucked by the suction pressure of the pump, and the toner transfer tube It is sent from the toner receiving unit 12 to the buffer 10 via 15.

By the way, when the toner is sucked by the powder pump 3, if the angle of the inclined surface toward the bottom of the toner container 20 is small, the toner is gravitated by the toner 30.
It becomes difficult to fall to the vicinity and becomes residual toner. The residual toner in this container can be easily sucked by supplying a large amount of air into the toner storage container 20 to sufficiently stir and fluidize the toner, so that the residual amount can be greatly reduced. You can However, since the amount of air that can be supplied to the toner storage container 20 is limited to the amount corresponding to the volume, there is a possibility that the toner cannot be sufficiently stirred due to insufficient air.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of the toner container of the present invention. The air vent opening 22 is provided on a surface other than the surface facing the air supply port 30. Here, it is provided on the side surface of the toner storage container 20. The surface and height at which the air bleeding opening 22 is provided are not limited to the positions shown in FIG. By arranging the air vent opening 22 at this position, not only the air passes through the inside of the container, but also the air hits the inner wall of the toner storage container 22 once and flows toward the air vent opening 22. As a result, even if the amount of toner decreases, the air is not directly discharged from the air bleeding opening 22 and is discharged from the air bleeding opening 22 after rotating inside the toner storage container 20. . This air vent opening 2
2 is provided with an air bleeding filter 23 so that only air is allowed to pass and toner is not allowed to pass.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the state of air flow when the toner container of the present invention is low in toner.
When the air vent opening 22 is located in the vicinity of the toner outlet 30, the air is concentrated in the air vent opening 22 after the internal pressure of the toner container 20 rises. It is moved by air in the direction of the discharge port 30, that is, in the direction of the air vent opening 22. Here, the results of the toner discharge property experiment are shown in graphs in FIGS. In the graph, the vertical axis represents the toner supply amount with respect to the driving time of the uniaxial stretching suction pump 10, the horizontal axis represents the toner remaining amount, and the right side of the graph represents the experiment start.
In FIG. 3, when the opening 23 is provided at the position shown in FIG. 10, if the air supply port 30 and the opening 22 are in the same direction as the air supply direction, the toner is fluidized even if the air supply is continued. Instead, the air only escapes from the air vent opening 22.
Therefore, the toner discharge amount becomes 0 g even though the toner remaining amount is not 0 g. In FIG. 4, when the opening 22 is provided at the position shown in FIG. 1, it has been confirmed that the toner is replenished up to near the toner remaining amount of 0 g.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the toner container of the present invention in which the air vent opening is provided on the side surface and on the surface of the toner container having a low angle. The air flow concentrates on that portion, and as a result, the toner also concentrates. Normally, when there is a difference in angle between the toner storage containers 22, the toner on the surface with a high angle is discharged first, and when the toner is no longer present, air only flows to the opening portion 22 and the toner is not discharged. As shown in FIG. 5, the toner storage container 20
When the air bleeding opening 22 is installed on a surface other than the surface with the lowest angle, the air and the toner gather there, so that it is possible to settle the toner while maintaining the powder surface equivalent to the toner on the surface with the low angle.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the toner container of the present invention, in which a plurality of air vent openings are provided on the side surface. This allows the powder surface to settle more uniformly. When the toner is present above the air bleeding opening 22 depending on the state of the toner, air bleeding may be reduced and the internal pressure of the toner container 20 may rise. Therefore, a plurality of air bleeding openings 22 are provided. One air vent opening 22 may be installed above the toner container 20. FIG. 7 shows a toner container of the present invention,
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a toner storage container in which air vent openings are provided on an upper surface and a side surface. In this case, air permeability of the air vent opening 22 near the toner outlet 30 of the toner container 20 is increased, and when the toner is reduced, air flows near the toner outlet 30. As a result, a part of the air can be made to settle on the surface of the toner evenly because there is air that rotates inside the toner container 20 from the opening 22 on the upper surface. The air permeability is adjusted by the area of the air vent opening 22 and the type of the air vent filter 23.

[0019]

As described above, in the toner container according to the first aspect, it is possible to stably stir and fluidize the toner, and it is possible to reduce the remaining toner amount. In the toner container according to the second aspect of the present invention, the direction in which the air escapes can be aligned with the direction of the toner discharge port, and the toner can be collected at the discharge port, and the toner remaining amount can be reduced. In the toner storage container according to the third aspect, the toner powder surface is formed by forming a place where the air escapes in the shape of the container other than a portion where the toner most remains, thereby collecting the toner at the place where the air escapes. It can be lowered stably, the short path of air can be prevented, and the remaining amount of toner can be reduced.
In the toner container according to the fourth aspect, when the amount of toner is large, air is evacuated from the upper air bleeding opening,
The internal pressure of the container can be made constant regardless of the amount and state of the toner. In the toner storage container according to the fifth aspect, when the toner is reduced, the toner can be collected in the discharge port by escaping air from the air vent opening below the container,
The remaining amount of toner can be reduced.

In the image forming apparatus according to the sixth aspect,
Since the toner can be stably supplied from the toner storage container,
It is possible to prevent image density reduction or image blurring before a warning such as toner empty detection. In the image forming method according to the seventh and eighth aspects, since the toner can be stably supplied from the toner storage container, it is possible to prevent the image density from being lowered or the image from being blurred before the warning such as the toner empty detection. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a structure of a toner storage container of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state of air flow when the toner container of the present invention is low in toner.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a result of an experiment of toner discharging property using a conventional toner storage container.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the results of an experiment of toner dischargeability using the toner storage container of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the toner storage container of the present invention, in which the air bleeding opening is provided on the side surface and the toner storage container has a low angle surface.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the toner storage container of the present invention in which a plurality of air vent openings are provided on the side surface.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the toner storage container of the present invention, in which the air vent openings are provided on the upper surface and the side surface.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a toner transfer device and a toner storage container with which the image forming apparatus is provided.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an opening provided in the toner storage container and a flow of air inside the opening.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a state when the toner is small in the toner storage container and a flow of air inside the container.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Development device 3 powder pump 4 rotor 5 Stator 6 holder 7 Toner discharge section 8 pipes 10 Uniaxial stretching suction pump 11 screw 12 Toner receiving section 15 Toner transfer tube 20 Toner storage container 21 seal valve 22 opening 23 Air bleeding filter 24 outer box 30 Air supply port, toner discharge port 31 Tip member 32 Air supply path 33 Toner discharge path 34 Air connection port 35 Toner connection port 40 Air supply device 41 Air transfer pipe 43 tubes Solid arrow: Air flow Wavy arrow: Toner flow

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A powder transfer means for transferring the powder, and an air supply means for supplying air to the powder transferred by the powder transfer means. The powder transfer means and the air supply means are provided. A toner storage container used in a powder transfer device that is independently driven and controlled, wherein the toner storage container is provided with an air vent opening on a surface different from the surface facing the cross section of the air supply nozzle. 2. The toner storage container according to claim 1, wherein the toner storage container has an air vent opening near the toner discharge port. 3. The toner storage container according to claim 1, wherein the toner storage container has an air bleeding opening provided on a surface different from a surface of the toner storage container having the lowest angle. Storage container. 4. The toner storage container according to claim 2, wherein the toner storage container has a plurality of air vent openings.
A toner container, wherein one of the air vent openings is installed above the toner container. 5. The toner storage container according to claim 2, wherein the toner storage container has a plurality of air vent openings.
A toner container in which one of the air bleeding openings is installed in the upper part of the toner storage container, and this air bleeding opening has a smaller air flow rate than the other air bleeding openings. 6. An image forming apparatus comprising a developing device in which toner is transferred from a toner storage container, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises powder transfer means for transferring powder and powder transferred by the powder transfer means. In an image forming apparatus equipped with an air supply unit for supplying air to a body and a powder transfer device for independently driving and controlling the powder transfer unit and the air supply unit, a toner storage container used for the powder transfer unit is An image forming apparatus comprising the toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. An image forming method for visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier by a developing device containing a toner, wherein the image forming method is a powder transfer device for transferring powder. The powder transfer means and the air supply means for supplying air to the powder transferred by the powder transfer means are independently driven and controlled, and the toner is transferred from the toner container to the developing device. Image forming method. 8. The image forming method according to claim 7, wherein the toner storage container is the toner storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 5.