JP2008216898A - Toner container, image forming unit, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner container which can secure a sufficient quantity of recovered waste toner and with which the problem that recovered waste toner is pushed back toward a waste toner recovery port can be solved. <P>SOLUTION: The inside of the toner container is divided into an unused toner chamber 17 having a toner supply port 22 and a waste toner recovery chamber 16 having the waste toner recovery port 12 by a flexible partition member 19 made of a polyester sheet. The partition member is provided with a guide mechanism 14A that displaces the partition member only in the direction in which toner in the unused toner chamber is conveyed toward the toner supply port. A guide mechanism is a clutch mechanism composed of a guide rail 13 and a guide member 14. The guide member is mounted between the both ends of two polyester sheets. As the toner in the unused toner chamber is consumed, the partition member naturally falls down toward the bottom of the unused toner chamber from the waste toner recovery chamber by the weight and so on of the guide member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner container used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an image forming unit and a process cartridge including the toner container, and an image forming apparatus including the image forming unit or the process cartridge. In particular, the present invention relates to a toner container excellent in the function of containing toner in the container and the function of supplying toner to the developing device side.

  In recent years, as the size of image forming devices has been reduced, a waste toner container has been proposed and put into practical use without a dedicated space in order to save space and the toner container also serves as a waste toner collection container. Has been. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure a sufficient amount of waste toner collection in the toner container, and the collected waste toner is pushed back to the opposite side of the developing device in the toner container (backflow).

  By the way, although many inventions are known regarding the toner container used in the image forming apparatus, examples of the invention related to the present invention include those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 below.

  Patent Document 1 (see FIG. 3 of the document) describes an integrated toner container that can be filled and collected without being contaminated when unused toner is filled or refilled and when waste toner is collected. . The toner container includes an unused toner chamber having an unused toner replenishing port, a waste toner collecting chamber having a waste toner collecting port, a flexible partition member (made of a polyester sheet) that divides both chambers, and an unused toner. An integral toner container having a filling port is characterized in that a flat weight member (for example, a resin plate) is attached to the flexible partition member.

  Patent Document 2 (see FIG. 4 of the document) describes a toner cartridge that also serves as a waste toner collection container in which collected waste toner is not pushed back. This toner cartridge is provided with a container main body that serves as both a replenishing toner container and a waste toner container, a partition plate that slides in the replenishing toner pushing direction along the inner wall of the container main body, and the toner cartridge as a developing device. A replenishing port for discharging replenishing toner into the developing device and a waste toner collecting opening for introducing the collected waste toner into the container body. The interior of the container body is partitioned by the partition plate into a replenishment toner storage portion and a waste toner storage portion, and a spring is attached to the partition plate for biasing it toward the supply port side. Since the partition plate has an action of pushing down the toner in the container body by its own weight and the elastic force of the spring, it is effective for preventing the toner from being left behind and ensuring the space for storing the waste toner.

  The invention related to the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 3 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 of the document) is characterized by the structure of the image forming unit, and this image forming unit is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body. In this case, the image forming operation is always executed after the initialization process is completed. In other words, the optical sensor detects whether toner is present in the cleaning case of the cleaning device, thereby determining whether the image forming unit is a used unit or a new unit that is not used. It can be done.

  Further, in the image forming unit before being attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, the internal space of the developer case is partitioned into two spaces S1 and S2 by a partition member and a flexible toner supply sheet, which is opposite to the developing roller. The toner is accommodated in the right space S1 on the side. That is, the space S1 is formed by a partition member, a toner supply sheet, and a developer case bottom surface. One end of the toner replenishment sheet is locked to the lower part of the developer case, and the other end of the toner replenishment sheet exits from the developer case through the slit-shaped gap at the upper part of the developer case, and the upper wall of the unit case and the developer case It is latched by the peripheral surface of the winding roller arrange | positioned in space S3 between upper walls.

When a new image forming unit is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the operator pulls out the partition member toward the front side. At this time, the toner replenishing sheet is wound around the winding roller. As a result, the toner replenishment sheet moves to the space S2 side, so that the toner in the space S1 is pushed by the toner replenishment sheet and supplied to S2, and finally the toner replenishment sheet partitions the two spaces S1 and S2 into the toner. Is accommodated only in the space S2 on the developing roller side.
In this way, the toner is moved to the space S2 on the developing roller side and used for development, so that it can be used without leaving the toner, and the toner is moved to the space S2 by the flexible toner supply sheet. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the toner.

JP 2003-2955922 A JP-A-5-107918 Japanese Patent No. 3598215

However, the inventions described in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3 have the following structural differences from the present invention, and these inventions have the following problems.
(1) Invention of Patent Document 1 The flexible partition member moves downward (in the direction of gravity) by a flat plate weight member, but if the direction of the toner container is changed, the flat plate weight member may be reversed by its own weight. Moreover, there is no space for storing the flexible partition member. The toner container replenishment toner capacity and waste toner collection capacity are small. Furthermore, the plate-like weight member is not specified at all regarding its color.
(2) Invention of Patent Document 2 Since the partition plate is pressed downward by a spring, it does not reverse, but the shape of the toner container is limited by the shape of the partition plate. A partition plate does not have a freedom degree of a shape, and is not limited regarding the color.
(3) Invention of Patent Document 3 The toner replenishing sheet has a structure that is wound around a winding roller and therefore does not reverse, but the winding mechanism is expensive and the amount of waste toner collected is small. Further, the presence / absence of toner in the waste toner tank is detected, but this is not a method for detecting the flexible partition plate (white portion). Although waste toner presence / absence detection is performed, a dedicated waste toner tank is required, the unit becomes large, and the amount of waste toner collected is small.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances of the prior art, and its main purpose is to provide a toner container that can secure a sufficient amount of waste toner and has an excellent toner supply function to the developing device side. The object is to solve the problem that the collected waste toner is pushed back (backflowed) to the opposite side of the developing device in the toner container.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an image forming unit and a process cartridge including such a toner container, and an image forming apparatus including the image forming unit or the process cartridge.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the inside of the container is divided into a replenishing toner chamber having a toner replenishing port and a waste toner collecting chamber having a waste toner collecting port by a flexible partitioning member, and the partitioning member includes the partitioning member. A toner container provided with a displacement control means for controlling the displacement of the toner container, wherein a part of the displacement control means is provided in a partition member, and the partition member is displaceable only in one direction. It is. Accordingly, in this aspect, the partition member forms the bottom surface of the waste toner collecting chamber.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a replenishing toner chamber (unused toner chamber) having a toner replenishing port for supplying toner into the developing device by a flexible partition member inside the container, and waste recovered from the developing device. A guide mechanism for displacing the partition member only in a direction for moving the toner in the replenishing toner chamber toward the toner replenishing port in a toner container partitioned into a waste toner collecting chamber having a waste toner collecting port for receiving toner. Is provided on the partition member. Accordingly, in this aspect as well, the partition member forms the bottom surface of the waste toner collecting chamber.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the toner container according to claim 2, wherein the guide mechanism comprises a guide member attached to a partition member and a guide rail for guiding the displacement of the guide member. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a replenishing toner chamber (unused toner chamber) having a toner replenishing port for supplying toner to the inside of the developing device by a flexible partition member inside the container, and waste recovered from the developing device. A toner container that is partitioned into a waste toner collection chamber having a waste toner collection port that receives toner, and the partition member is displaced as the toner in the supply toner chamber moves toward the toner supply port. In this case, the toner container has a partition member storage portion on the toner supply port side in which a part of the partition member is stored when the partition member is displaced.

  The invention according to claim 5 includes at least the toner container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, an image carrier, and a developing device that forms a toner image on the image carrier, and these elements are integrated. The partition member included in the toner container has a substantially white (including white) portion, and the density of the substantially white portion is set near the toner container. An image forming unit comprising a detecting device for detecting and detecting the new product of the image forming unit unit by the detecting device.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge in which a toner container, an image carrier, and at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit are integrated to be detachable from an image forming apparatus main body. And a toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the toner container is a toner cartridge.

  The invention according to claim 7 is an image forming apparatus comprising the image forming unit according to claim 5, and the invention according to claim 8 attaches and detaches the process cartridge according to claim 6. An image forming apparatus is provided freely.

  The toner container according to the first or second aspect has a space-saving effect because the toner container serves as both a replenishing toner container and a waste toner collecting container. In addition, since the flexible partition member can be displaced only in one direction, the partition member does not return backward, so that the collected waste toner can be prevented from being pushed back. As described above, according to these inventions, it is possible to provide a toner container that can secure a sufficient amount of waste toner recovery and has an excellent toner supply function to the developing device side.

  In the toner container according to claim 3, the guide mechanism for displacing the partition member only in the direction in which the toner in the replenishment toner chamber is moved toward the toner replenishment port, the guide member attached to the partition member, and the displacement of the guide member The guide mechanism structure is simple and can be provided at low cost.

  In the toner container according to the fourth aspect, since the partition member storage portion in which a part of the partition member is stored when the partition member is displaced is provided on the toner supply port side, the toner container has an omitted space effect. A sufficient amount of waste toner can be secured.

  The image forming unit according to the fifth aspect includes a detection device that detects the density of the substantially white portion of the partition member provided in the toner container. Therefore, when there is no waste toner on the partition member (the waste toner recovery chamber is In the empty state), the detection device detects the substantially white portion at the bottom of the waste toner collection chamber. Further, when there is waste toner on the partition member (a state where toner is present in the waste toner collecting chamber), the substantially white portion becomes dirty and cannot be detected. For this reason, the detection operation of whether or not the image forming unit is new can be easily performed.

Since the process cartridge according to the sixth aspect includes a toner container having a predetermined configuration, the above-described effects can be achieved by the toner container.
Since the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect includes an image forming unit having a predetermined configuration, the above-described effects of the image forming unit can be obtained.
Since the image forming apparatus according to the eighth aspect includes a process cartridge having a predetermined configuration, the above-described effects of the process cartridge can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, an integrated toner container according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment described below, unless the summary is exceeded.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a main part structure of an image forming apparatus including an integrated toner container according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view in which a central portion in a longitudinal direction of the toner container is cut vertically. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the structure of the main part in the toner container, that is, the structure of the guide mechanism and the structure of attaching the guide mechanism to the flexible partition member.

  In the image forming apparatus 30 shown in FIG. 1, in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 1, a charging member 2 such as a charging roller, an exposure device 3, a transfer medium 4 such as paper, a transfer device 5, a developing unit 6, and a fixing device 7. A cleaning device 8, a charge eliminating member 9, a waste toner conveying member 10, an integrated toner container 11 according to the present invention, and the like are disposed. When an electrophotographic process is performed by the respective members and apparatuses corresponding to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1 in the direction of the arrow, a target image is printed through the fixing device 7 and output. Since the functions and the like of the above processes are already well-known techniques, detailed description of the parts belonging to the scope of the known techniques is omitted here unless necessary.

  In the image forming apparatus 30 of FIG. 1, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 on which the photosensitive layer is applied and formed is uniformly charged to a required potential by the discharge from the charging roller 2. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target print or image pattern is formed on the charged photosensitive drum 1 by the exposure device 3. Toner is developed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by transporting toner from the developing unit 6 to the electrostatic latent image, transferred to the transfer medium 4 such as paper by the transfer device 5, and fixed by the fixing device 7. Is output.

  On the other hand, residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1 is wiped off by the cleaning device 8. The photosensitive drum 1 thus cleaned is discharged by the discharging device and then returned to the initial charging process position. As described above, the toner in the developing unit 6 is consumed every cycle by the electrophotographic process, and is thus replenished from the integrated toner container 11 according to a predetermined schedule.

The position of the waste toner collection port 12 is formed in the vicinity of the upper side of the box-like shape constituting the toner container 11 and in the longitudinal direction, and the size of the hole is, for example, a circle of φ10 mm.
Residual toner on the surface of the photoreceptor 1 is collected by the cleaning device 8 and is transported as waste toner from the cleaning device 8 to the toner container 11 by a spiral rotating shaft (not shown) constituting the waste toner transport member 10, and from the recovery port 12. It is fed into the container 11. The waste toner that has entered the waste toner collection chamber 16 in the container 11 slides down the inclined portion of the polyester sheet 19 just below the collection port 12 and is collected by its own weight. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 22 denotes a toner supply port. The polyester sheet (flexible partition member) 19 will be described in detail later.

  The integrated toner container 11 has (1) a guide mechanism 14A for displacing the partition member 19 only in a direction in which toner in an unused toner chamber (replenishment toner chamber) 17 to be described later is moved toward the toner supply port 22. (2) The guide mechanism 14A is a clutch mechanism including a guide member 14 attached to the partition member 19 and a guide rail 13 that guides the displacement of the guide member 14. Has the main features.

  The toner container 11 extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and includes a toner storage portion 11 a for storing new filled toner and a substantially rectangular parallelepiped lid body 11 b that covers the upper portion of the toner storage portion. Further, they are configured to be detachably coupled to each other via packing (not shown). A transparent member 18 made of colorless plastic, hard plastic or glass is attached to an appropriate position of the top plate of the lid 11b. As shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the toner container 11 is made into a waste toner collection chamber 16 and an unused toner chamber 17 (replenishment toner chamber) by a flexible partition member 19 made of a polyester sheet having a thickness of, for example, 0.02 mm. It is partitioned. In FIG. 1, the partition member 19 is indicated by a solid line and a dotted line, but the solid line indicates a state before the toner in the unused toner chamber 17 is used, and the dotted line indicates the toner in the unused toner chamber 17. It shows the state when most are used.

  The partition member 19 is composed of two rectangular sheets 19a and 19b extending left and right in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and in the partition member 19 shown by the solid line in FIG. (3 sides) is fixed to the connecting portion between the toner storage portion 11a and the lid 11b. Also, a guide member extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIGS. 1 and 2 between the other end (the remaining one side of the rectangle) of the sheet 19a and the other end (the remaining one side of the rectangle) of the sheet 19b. 14 is attached. That is, the sheets 19a and 19b are connected via the guide member 14 and are substantially one sheet. The size of the polyester sheet is set to be sufficiently longer than the passing length of the toner container in consideration of the respective required amounts of the unused toner and the waste toner and the relative change amount.

  In FIG. 2, a guide member 14 is a plastic member having a U-shaped cross section, and an elongated rectangular through hole 14a is formed at the center. A plastic plate-like guide rail 13 extending perpendicularly to the paper surface of FIG. 2 is inserted into the through-hole 14a, and the lower end of the guide rail is the bottom plate of the toner storage portion 11a as shown in FIG. The upper end is a free end. In the guide member 14, an upward claw clutch 14c is formed on one surface of the plate body 14b on one side, and the step surface of the claw clutch faces upward. Moreover, in this guide member 14, the inner surface of the plate 14d on the other side is a flat surface. As shown in FIG. 2, a passive pawl clutch 13a that can mesh with the pawl clutch 14c is formed on one side of the guide rail 13. The opposite surface of the guide rail 13 is a flat surface and faces the flat surface of the plate body 14d. The flat surface of the plate body 14 d is slidable on the flat surface of the guide rail 13.

  Thus, the guide rail 14 and the guide member 14 constitute a guide mechanism 14A (clutch mechanism). In this clutch mechanism, the guide member 14 can be easily moved only in one direction along the guide rail 13 (only in the downward direction in FIG. 2), and the guide member 14 moves along the guide rail 13 in FIG. Even when trying to move in the middle or upward direction, the pawl clutch 14c and the passive pawl clutch 13a mesh with each other, and the guide rail 13 functions as a stopper for the guide member 14. Absent.

  The toner container 11 is partitioned into a waste toner collection chamber 16 and an unused toner chamber 17 in an airtight state by a flexible partition member 19. That is, the end portion of the flexible partition member 19 is fixed to the joint portion between the toner storage portion 11a and the lid 11b, and the joint portion is in an airtight state due to the interposition of the packing. There is no concern that the toner enters the unused toner chamber 17 or that new toner in the unused toner chamber 17 enters the waste toner collecting chamber 16.

  Further, not only gravity always acts on the guide member 14 and the polyester sheet, but also the weight of the waste toner collected in the waste toner collection chamber 16 due to the consumption of the toner in the unused toner chamber 17 is added to the polyester sheet. As a result, the guide member 14 moves naturally and smoothly along the guide rail 13 downward in FIG. 2, that is, from the lid 11b side to the toner storage portion 11a side. For this reason, the waste toner can be reliably collected in the waste toner collection chamber 16, and the backflow of the waste toner is prevented.

  Further, a storage portion 15 in which a part of the flexible partition member 19 can be stored is disposed on the unused toner chamber 17 side, and a part of the polyester sheet that moves downward as the toner in the unused toner chamber 17 is consumed is stored. It is assumed to be configured. As a result, a large amount of unused toner and waste toner can be stored.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 30 of FIG. 1 includes a new / old discriminating unit capable of confirming whether or not the image forming unit provided in the image forming apparatus is new. The new / old discriminating means includes an optical sensor 20 for detecting the presence state of toner on the surface of the polyester sheet 19 in the toner container 11 through a translucent member 18 provided on the lid 11b of the toner container 11, and a detection signal of the optical sensor 20. The image forming unit mounted on the image forming apparatus main body includes a control device (not shown) that determines whether the mounted image forming unit is a used unit or a new unit depending on the level. Is a new unit, an initialization process related to the image forming unit is performed.

  In the illustrated example, the translucent member 18 is provided in the toner container 11. However, when the toner container portion facing the optical sensor 20 or the entire case thereof is made of a transparent material that allows light to pass therethrough. It is not necessary to provide the independent translucent member 18. Moreover, although the part which opposes the optical sensor 20 among the polyester sheets 19 is made white so that the optical sensor 20 may function appropriately, the whole sheet | seat is good also as white. The color is preferably white, but is not particularly limited as long as it can be detected by the optical sensor.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the main structure of the integral toner container according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the guide rail 13 is fixed to the inner surface of the container wall of the toner container 11, and the guide member 14 is configured to descend while being guided by the guide rail 13.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing the main structure in the integrated toner container according to this embodiment. A bristle brush 13 b is provided on the outer surface of the guide rail 13, and a bristle brush 14 e is provided on the inner surface of the guide member 14. The bristle brushes 13b and 14e are in contact with each other and fall down so that the guide member 14 moves in the downward direction. Since the bristle brushes 13b and 14e are entangled with each other, the guide member 14 is smoothly lowered along the guide rail 13 but does not move in the reverse direction. As the hair of the bristle brush, a strong synthetic fiber such as polyester or nylon is used. In this embodiment as well, the partition member 19 is integrated with the guide member 14.

[Fourth Embodiment]
FIGS. 5A and 5B show a main part structure in the integrated toner container according to this embodiment. FIG. 5A is a front view and FIG. 5B is a plan view. A groove is cut in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the guide rail 13 fixed to the inner surface of the container wall of the toner container 11. The guide member 14 has a one-way roller 14B that moves only in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5A. The roller 14B engages with the groove and descends along the groove. The roller 14B is made of rubber, for example. Also in this embodiment, the partition member 19 is integrated with the guide member 14.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a main part structure of an image forming apparatus including an integrated toner container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main part structure in the toner container of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a main part structure in an integral toner container according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a main part structure in an integrated toner container according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The principal part structure in an integrated toner container based on the 4th Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a top view.

Explanation of symbols

1: Photosensitive drum 2: Charging member (charging roller)
3: Exposure apparatus 4: Transfer object (paper, etc.)
5: Transfer device 6: Development unit 7: Fixing device 8: Cleaning device 9: Static elimination member 10: Waste toner conveying member 11: Integrated toner container 11a: Toner storage portion 11b: Cover 12: Waste toner collection port 13: Guide Rail 13a: Passive claw clutch 13b: Bristle brush 14: Guide member 14A: Guide mechanism (clutch mechanism)
14B: One-way roller 14a: Through hole 14b: Plate body 14c: Claw clutch 14d: Plate body 14e: Bristle brush 15: Storage unit 16: Waste toner collection chamber 17: Unused toner chamber (replenishment toner chamber)
18: Translucent member 19: Partition member (polyester sheet)
19a: Rectangular sheet 19b: Rectangular sheet 20: Optical sensor 22: Toner supply port 30: Image forming apparatus

Claims (8)

Displacement control means for partitioning the inside of the container into a replenishing toner chamber having a toner replenishing port and a waste toner collecting chamber having a waste toner collecting port by a flexible partitioning member and controlling the displacement of the partitioning member to the partitioning member A toner container provided with
A toner container, wherein a part of the displacement control means is provided in a partition member, and the partition member can be displaced only in one direction. In a toner container in which the inside of the container is divided into a replenishing toner chamber having a toner replenishing port and a waste toner collecting chamber having a waste toner collecting port by a flexible partitioning member,
A toner container, wherein a guide mechanism for displacing the partition member only in a direction in which the toner in the supply toner chamber is moved toward the toner supply port is provided in the partition member.   The toner container according to claim 2, wherein the guide mechanism includes a guide member attached to a partition member and a guide rail that guides the displacement of the guide member. The container is partitioned by a flexible partition member into a replenishing toner chamber having a toner replenishing port and a waste toner collecting chamber having a waste toner collecting port, and the toner in the replenishing toner chamber moves toward the toner replenishing port. A toner container in which the partition member is displaced as it does,
A toner container, comprising: a partition member storage portion on a toner supply port side in which a part of the partition member is stored when the partition member is displaced. An image forming unit comprising at least the toner container according to claim 1, an image carrier, and a developing device for forming a toner image on the image carrier, wherein these elements are integrated. Because
The partition member provided in the toner container has a substantially white portion, and includes a detection device that detects the density of the substantially white portion in the vicinity of the toner container, and detects the newness of the image forming unit unit. An image forming unit characterized by that   A process cartridge in which a toner container, an image carrier, and at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit are integrated, and is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. A process cartridge, which is the toner container according to any one of 1 to 5.   An image forming apparatus comprising the image forming unit according to claim 5.   An image forming apparatus comprising the process cartridge according to claim 6 detachably.

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