JP2010061009A - Powder toner processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a powder toner processing apparatus capable of continuously processing a powder toner, and processing the powder toner at a low cost with a simple configuration. <P>SOLUTION: The powder toner processing apparatus 1 causes the powder toner 17a to fall onto warm water 2a, make the powder toner be melted by the warm water 2a and cools and solidifies the toner. The powder toner processing apparatus includes: a thermostatic chamber 2 which houses the warm water 2a; a circulating means 3 which circulates the warm water 2a overflowing from one end 8a of the thermostatic chamber 2 to the other end of 8b and forms water flow within the thermostatic chamber 2; a heating means 4 which heats the warm water 2a and maintains the same at a temperature ranging from 78 to 100&deg;C, a powder toner supply means 5 which houses the powder toner 17a, makes the powder toner 17a fall onto an upstream side of the water flow formed in the thermostatic chamber 2 and supplies the toner; and a cooling and solidifying means 6 which filters the molten toner heated and melted by the warm water 2a and cools solidifies the toner. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder toner processing apparatus.

  Powder toner used for image formation in copying machines, printers, facsimiles and the like is stored in a toner storage container and supplied to the market, but powder toner not stored in the toner storage container in the manufacturing process is It is treated as waste without being recycled.

  Conventionally, in order to process the powder toner, it is burned little by little. However, in such a method, a large amount of powder toner cannot be processed at one time. There is a risk of dust explosion.

  Therefore, a powder comprising a kneading means for kneading an aqueous solution in which a thickener is dissolved in water and a powder toner, and a molding means for forming a kneaded product obtained by kneading by the kneading means into a sheet shape or a rod shape. A body toner processing apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, the conventional powder toner processing apparatus requires a thickener, which increases the processing cost.

  Further, as an apparatus for processing in combination with the powder toner and sludge, a sealed tank for storing the powder toner and sludge, a stirring and mixing means having a plurality of blades capable of high-speed rotation in the sealed tank, There is known a powder toner processing apparatus including a drying unit that dries and solidifies a mixture obtained by mixing by a stirring and mixing unit (for example, see Patent Document 2).

  In the powder toner processing apparatus using the sludge, the sludge and the powder toner are accommodated in the sealed tank, and the blades of the stirring and mixing means are rotated at a high speed to form a scattered flow of the sludge and the powder toner. Thus, the sludge and powder toner are mixed, and the resulting mixture is introduced into the drying means and dried with hot air, whereby the powder toner can be solidified with the sludge.

However, the powder toner processing apparatus using the sludge has a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated and large.
JP 2006-187890 A JP 2006-341535 A

  The present invention provides a powder toner processing apparatus capable of solving such problems, processing powder toner continuously, and processing powder toner with a simple configuration and low cost. With the goal.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a powder toner processing apparatus for dropping powder toner onto hot water, melting it with the hot water, and then cooling and solidifying the powder toner, and a constant temperature bath for storing the hot water; Circulating the warm water overflowing from one end of the thermostat to the other end, circulating means for forming a water stream in the thermostat, and heating the warm water in a range of 78 to 100 ° C. Heating means for maintaining the temperature, powder toner supply means for containing the powder toner, and supplying the powder toner by dropping it to the upstream side of the water flow formed in the thermostat, and heated by the hot water And a cooling and solidifying means for filtering and solidifying the molten toner melted in this manner from the hot water overflowing from the constant temperature bath.

  In the powder toner processing apparatus of the present invention, hot water overflowing from one end of the thermostat is circulated to the other end by the circulation means, whereby a water flow is formed in the thermostat. Moreover, the warm water accommodated in the said thermostat is heated by the said heating means, and is maintained at the temperature of the range of 78-100 degreeC.

  As a result, the powder toner dropped onto the warm water upstream of the water flow of the thermostat by the powder toner supply means flows while flowing from the upstream to the downstream of the thermostat together with the hot water. It is melted by heat to become a molten toner. Here, when the temperature of the hot water in the thermostat is lower than 78 ° C., the powder toner does not melt. Moreover, since the said thermostat is under atmospheric pressure, the temperature of the said warm water does not become 100 degreeC or more.

  Thereafter, the molten toner and warm water overflow from the thermostatic bath. At this time, the molten toner is separated from the hot water by the cooling and solidifying means and cooled and solidified. The hot water from which the molten toner has been filtered is circulated to the thermostatic bath by the circulation means.

According to the powder toner processing apparatus of the present invention, a water flow is formed by the hot water heated to the temperature in the range in the constant temperature bath, and the powder toner is melted by the water flow to form the molten toner. The powder toner can be processed with a simple configuration. Also, according to the powder toner processing apparatus of the present invention, the powder toner is dropped onto the warm water in the thermostat by the powder toner supply means. As a result, it is possible to process continuously, and it is not necessary to divide and transfer the powder toner, so that dust explosion can be prevented.

  Further, according to the powder toner processing apparatus of the present invention, since the powder toner is melted by the hot water heated to the temperature in the range, a thickener, It is not necessary to use other materials such as sludge, and processing costs can be reduced. Moreover, since the warm water can be repeatedly used by being circulated by the circulation means, the processing cost can be further reduced.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view of the powder toner processing apparatus of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the powder toner processing apparatus of this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a powder toner processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment circulates hot water 2a from one end of the thermostat 2 to the other end, and a constant temperature bath 2 for containing the hot water 2a. Circulating means 3 for forming a water flow in the tank 2, heating means 4 for heating the hot water 2 a, powder toner supply means 5 for supplying powder toner to the water flow formed in the constant temperature tank 2, and the constant temperature tank 2 Cooling and solidifying means 6 is provided for cooling and solidifying the molten toner that has been heated and melted by the hot water 2a inside the hot water 2a that overflows from the thermostat 2 and is cooled and solidified.

  The thermostat 2 has a rectangular shape in plan view, and includes a water channel 7 in which the water flow is formed along the length direction. The constant temperature bath 2 is provided with an outflow portion 9 projecting in a bowl shape further from the upper part of the side wall to the downstream end 8a of the water flow (indicated by an arrow in the constant temperature bath 2), and the warm water 2a flows out. It overflows from part 9. In addition, the thermostatic chamber 2 includes a cover 10 that seals the upper portion of the water channel 7 and extends to the upper portion of the outflow portion 9.

  The circulation means 3 is provided below the outflow part 9 of the thermostatic bath 2, and a hot water recovery unit 11 that recovers the hot water 2 a overflowing from the outflow part 9, and takes out the hot water 2 a from the bottom of the hot water recovery unit 11. 2, a conduit 12 that is circulated to the upstream end 8 b of the water flow, and a rotary pump 13 provided in the middle of the conduit 12. The conduit 12 feeds the warm water 2a into the thermostat 2 from a water supply port 14 provided at the upstream end 8b of the thermostat 2.

  The heating means 4 includes an electric heater 15 provided at the bottom of the thermostat 2 on the side of the water supply port 14 and a temperature sensor 16 provided at the upstream end 8 b of the thermostat 2. The electric heater 15 is controlled by a detection signal of the temperature sensor 16 to heat the hot water 2a in the thermostat 2 and maintain the temperature of the hot water 2a in a range of 78 to 100 ° C. where the powder toner 17a can be melted. .

  The powder toner supply means 5 includes a hopper 17 provided above the upstream end 8b of the thermostat 2, a powder toner storage 18 provided outside the thermostat 2, the hopper 17 and the powder toner. A conduit 19 that connects the accommodating portion 18 and a suction pump 20 provided in the middle of the conduit 19 are provided. The hopper 17 can supply the powder toner 17 a onto the water surface of the hot water 2 a from the window 10 a provided in the cover 10.

  As the powder toner storage unit 18, for example, a flex container that stores and transports the powder toner 17a recovered from the manufacturing process of the toner cartridge can be used as it is. Further, the suction pump 20 sucks the powder toner 17 a from the powder toner container 18 such as a flex container and supplies it to the hopper 17 through the conduit 19.

  The cooling and solidifying means 6 can be, for example, a mesh conveyor 21 whose belt portion is mesh-shaped. The upstream end 21a of the mesh conveyor 21 is located below the outflow portion 9 that projects in a downstream shape from the downstream end 8a of the thermostat 2 and further below the upstream end 21a. A hot water recovery unit 11 of the circulation means 3 is disposed. As a result, the hot water 2 a overflowing from the outflow part 9 of the thermostatic bath 2 surely falls on the mesh conveyor 21 and is further recovered by the hot water recovery part 11. A collection container 22 is provided below the downstream end 21 b of the mesh conveyor 21.

  Next, the operation of the powder toner processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the powder toner processing apparatus 1, first, the suction pump 20 is operated to transfer the powder toner 17a stored in the powder toner storage portion 18 into the hopper 17 through the conduit 19 (STEP 1). The transfer of the powder toner 17a by the suction pump 20 may be performed continuously or intermittently.

  Next, the powder toner 17a is continuously dropped from the hopper 17 onto the hot water 2a of the thermostat 2 at a predetermined speed (STEP 2). At this time, the hot water 2a is maintained at a temperature in the range of 78 to 100 ° C. by the electric heater 15, and the water flow formed by the circulation means 3 causes the powder toner 17a that has fallen on the hot water 2a to flow for 20 seconds or more. The flow rate is adjusted so as to flow to the outflow portion 9.

  As a result, the powder toner 17a is melted by the heat of the hot water 2a while flowing from the upstream side of the thermostat 2 to the outflow portion 9 by the water flow to form a melted toner (not shown) (STEP 3). At this time, the molten toners are adjacent to each other to form a granular lump having a predetermined size.

  Next, the molten toner is dropped on the mesh conveyor 21 along with the warm water 2a overflowing from the outflow part 9 of the thermostat 2 (STEP 4), and is separated from the hot water 2a by the mesh conveyor 21 (STEP 5). ). On the other hand, the hot water 2a from which the molten toner has been filtered off passes through the mesh conveyor 21 and is collected by the hot water collection unit 11, and is circulated by the pump 13 to the water supply port 14 of the thermostat 2 via the conduit 12 (STEP 6). ).

  Next, the molten toner filtered off in STEP 5 is cooled and solidified while being conveyed by the mesh conveyor 21 (STEP 7), and the solidified toner lump 22a is transferred from the downstream end 21b of the mesh conveyor 21 to the recovery container 22. It is dropped and collected (STEP 8).

  According to the powder toner processing apparatus 1, the powder toner 17 a is subdivided by using the flex container for storing and transporting the powder toner 17 a collected from the manufacturing process of the toner cartridge as the powder toner storage unit 18 as it is. There is no need to transport it. Therefore, when the powder toner 17a is processed, there is no possibility that the powder toner 17a is scattered, and dust explosion can be prevented.

  Further, according to the powder toner processing apparatus 1, the powder toner 17 a can be continuously processed by dropping the powder toner 17 a from the hopper 17 onto the hot water 2 a of the thermostat 2. The speed at which the powder toner 17a is dropped from the hopper 17 onto the hot water 2a in the thermostat 2 is such that the powdered toner 17a flows while flowing from the upstream side of the thermostat 2 to the outflow portion 9 by the water flow. It is adjusted so that it can be reliably melted by the heat of 2a. Further, the powder toner 17a may be intermittently dropped from the hopper 17 onto the hot water 2a of the thermostat 2 as desired.

  In the powder toner processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the hot water 2a is heated by the electric heater 15 disposed at the bottom of the thermostat 2. However, the means for heating the hot water 2a is limited to this. The heat exchanger using combustion gas etc. may not be used. Moreover, when using the said heat exchanger as a means to heat the said warm water 2a, this heat exchanger may be provided in the middle of the conduit | pipe 12.

  Further, in the powder toner processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the mesh conveyor 21 is employed as the cooling and solidifying means 6. However, the cooling and solidifying means 6 is not limited to this as long as it can filter the molten toner from the hot water 2a and can cool and solidify the filtered molten toner.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view of the powder toner processing apparatus according to the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the powder toner processing apparatus of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Powder toner processing apparatus, 2 ... Constant temperature bath, 3 ... Circulation means, 4 ... Heating means, 5 ... Powder toner supply means, 6 ... Cooling solidification means.

Claims (2)

A powder toner processing apparatus that drops powder toner onto hot water, melts the hot water, and then cools and solidifies the powder toner,
A thermostatic chamber for containing the warm water;
Circulating means for circulating the warm water overflowing from one end of the thermostat to the other end, and forming a water flow in the thermostat;
Heating means for heating the hot water and maintaining it at a temperature in the range of 78-100 ° C;
Powder toner supply means for storing the powder toner and supplying the powder toner by dropping it to the upstream side of the water flow formed in the thermostat;
A powder toner processing apparatus comprising: a cooling and solidifying means for filtering and solidifying the molten toner heated and melted by the hot water from the hot water overflowing from the constant temperature bath.   2. The powder toner processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling and solidifying means is a mesh conveyor.

Images