JP2550576Y2 - Liquid developer supply container - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a replenishing container for an electrophotographic liquid developer, and more particularly to a replenishing container for a high-viscosity electrophotographic liquid developer.

(Prior art)

Conventionally, the liquid developer for electrophotography has been supplied by a feeder cap of a supply container as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. That is, a solenoid or the like is actuated by the supply signal, the plate 1 pushes up the packing 3 of the feeder cap 2, and the developer is supplied through a gap created between the packing 3 and the cap. When there is no supply signal, the gap is closed by the spring 4 and supply is stopped. In this conventional replenishing means, although there is no problem in replenishing the low-viscosity developer, there has been a problem that the high-viscosity developer does not drop naturally.

In order to solve such a problem, as a supply container for a high-viscosity developer, a conventional pressurized type of Freon gas, LP
Seprocans, bag-in cans, piston cans, aerosol cans using G, dimethyl ether, etc. are known,
Freon gas has pollution problems, and LPG and dimethyl ether have safety problems.
There were some drawbacks.

〔Purpose〕

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid developer replenishing container free of the above-mentioned drawbacks.

〔Constitution〕

The present inventors have conducted intensive studies to achieve the above object. As a result, a small chamber having an opening in the top of the container and a passage having a check valve in the bottom, and a storage liquid having a check valve in the top are provided. In a container for storing a developer containing a coloring agent, a resin and an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier liquid provided with a discharge part and a storage liquid discharge device slidably fitted with a piston having a passage with a small chamber at the bottom, A shaft fixed to the bottom of the small chamber in the small chamber of the storage liquid discharge device, having a shape penetrating a passage with the small chamber at the bottom of the piston and closing the passage, and having a gap with the surrounding wall of the passage and the shaft. A developer supply container characterized in that a spring is provided at the center of the small chamber bottom and the piston bottom.
Have been found to achieve the above object by providing

The present invention relates to a container for stably replenishing a liquid developer for electrophotography, particularly a high-viscosity replenishing liquid developer, and is a so-called pump type container.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the normal type container of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic view of the normal replenishing container of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged explanatory view of a piston for sending out a developer and its periphery.

When the container head 5 is pushed by a solenoid or a cam (not shown) in response to a supply signal from the sensor, the piston 6
And the liquid developer in the small chamber 7 is returned to the check ball valve 8.
Is replenished through. When the pressing force of the solenoid or the cam is lost, the head 5 is returned to the original state by the spring 9. At this time, air is evacuated by the air hole 10 and the liquid developer enters the small chamber 7 from inside the container through the check ball valve 11. By repeating this operation, a sufficient amount of liquid developer can be replenished and a quantitative amount of liquid developer can be replenished. And Komuro 7
The shaft 9 is fixed to the bottom of the small chamber and has a shaft 13 whose tip penetrates a passage at the bottom of the piston 6 and can seal the passage. The spring 9 is provided around this shaft.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the inverted supply container of the present invention, FIG. 3A is a schematic explanatory view thereof, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged explanatory view of a piston for sending out a developer and its periphery.

The liquid developer in the small chamber 7 is supplied through the check ball valve 8 while the piston 6 is pushed up by the solenoid or the cam in response to the supply signal of the sensor, and the flow of air is adjusted through the air introduction pipe 10 '. When the pressing force of the solenoid or the cam is removed, the piston 6 is returned by the action of the spring 9, and the liquid developer is introduced from the container body into the small chamber 7 through the check ball valve 11. By repeating this operation, the liquid developer is supplied quantitatively.

In the above description, the container body is fixed, but it is also possible to fix the container discharge section 12 and move the container up and down.

The replenishing container of the present invention has a relatively high viscosity, for example, a developer having a viscosity of 500 millipascal seconds (mPa-s) or more,
Alternatively, it is suitable for use in a developer having a relatively high solid content.

The liquid developer used here is obtained by dispersing toner particles composed of a colorant and a binder resin in a carrier liquid having a high insulating property and a low dielectric constant. In some cases, a polarity controlling agent may be added.

Examples of the aliphatic hydrocarbon generally used as a carrier liquid include Isopar L (boiling point: 183 to 210) manufactured by Exxon.
C), Isopar M (205-252 ° C), Isopar G (15
8-177 ° C), Isopar H (174-190 ° C), IP Solvent 2028 (210-265 ° C), IP Solvent 2835 (275-350 ° C), IP Solvent 1620 (166-205)
° C), ISOSOL 400 (206-257) manufactured by Nisseki Chemical Co., Ltd.
C.) and isododecane (176-185 ° C.) manufactured by BP Chemical Co., Ltd. In addition, isooctane, ligroin (boiling point: 120-190 ° C.) and the like can also be used.

The coloring materials used in the present invention include PRINTEX G, PRINTEX V, PRINTEX U, Special Black 15, and Special Black 4 manufactured by Degussa Corporation Mitsubishi Kasei Corporation # 44, # 30, MR-11, MA-100 Cabot Mogal L, Black Pearl 1300, 1100, 90
0, Regal 400,660 Colombia Neo Spectra II, Raven 1035,125
2, phthalocyanine blue, phthalocyanine green, sky blue, rhodamine lake, malachite green lake, methyl violet lake, peacock blue lake, naphthol green B, naphthol green Y,
Naphthol Yellow S, Naphthol Red, Risor Fast Yellow 2G, Permanent Red 4R, Brilliant Fast Scarlet, Hansa Yellow, Benzicin Yellow, Risor Red, Lake Red C, Lake Red D, Brilliant Carmin 6B, Permanent Red F5R, Pigment Scarlet 3B, Organic pigments such as indigo, thioindigo, oil pink, and Bordeaux 10B are used.

The resin used in the present invention has a general formula With a vinyl monomer A represented by the general formula A vinyl monomer represented by and vinyl pyridine, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate styrene, divinyl benzene, and monomer B selected from the group consisting of vinyl toluene, each one kind, or several kinds of copolymers, graft copolymers used.

Other, Eastman Chemical Company N-10, N-11, N-12, N-14, N-34, N-45, C-10, C-13, C
−15, C−16, E−10, E−11, E−12, E−14, E−15 Mitsui Petrochemical Company 110P, 220P, 220MP, 320MP, 410MP, 210MP, 310MP, 405MP, 200
P, 4202E, 4053E Sanyo Chemical 131P, 151P, 161P, 171P, E-300, E-250P Sasol H1, H2, A1, A2, A3, A14 BASF OA WAX, A WAX Petrolite BARECO 500, BARECO 2000, E-730, E-2018, E2020, E1040,
Petronava C, Petronava C-36, Petronava C-400, Petronava C-7500 Hoechst PE580, PE130, PED121, PED136, PED153, PED521, PED522, PED
534 Union Carbide DYNI, DYNF, DYNH, DYNJ, DYNK Monsanto ORLIZON 805,705,50 Dupont ALATHON 3,10,12,14,16,20,22,23 Allied Chemical Company AC polyethylene 6,6A, 615, etc. Polyethylene, polypropylene and modified versions thereof.

Natural waxes such as carnauba wax, montan wax, candelilla wax, sugar cane wax, auricurie wax, beeswax, wood wax, Nuka wax, natural resins such as ester gum, hardened rosin, natural resin modified maleic resin, natural resin modified A modified natural resin such as a phenol resin, a modified natural resin polyester resin, a modified natural resin pentaerythritol resin, or an epoxy resin can be used as appropriate.

The coloring material may be treated with a synthetic polyethylene, a natural resin, a modified natural resin, or the like. These colorants, resins, and solvents are used in ball mills, kitty mills,
It is put into a dispersing machine such as a disc mill or a pin mill to perform dispersion and kneading. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the following examples.

Examples The viscosities were 50 millipascal seconds (mPa-s) and 100 mP, respectively.
a-s, 200mPa-s, 500mPa-s, 1000mPa-s, 2000mP
Liquid replenishing electrophotographic liquid developers of as-s and 5000 mPa-s were prepared and placed in respective replenishing containers as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and a replenishment test was conducted. .

When a conventional supply container as shown in FIG. 1 is used, a developer having a viscosity of 50 to 200 mPa-s can be supplied, but a developer having a viscosity of 500 mPa-s or more is substantially supplied. Could not be replenished. Also, 50,100,200mP
As the as and viscosity increased, the amount of developer supplied during one cycle of supply operation gradually decreased.

In contrast, when the supply container of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is used, a developer having a viscosity of up to 5000 mPa-s can be supplied, and the supply amount in one cycle is also reduced. It was constant.

〔effect〕

According to the supply container of the present invention, it is possible to supply high-viscosity toner, and it is possible to supply a fixed amount of toner regardless of the viscosity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a schematic explanatory view of a conventional developer supply container,
FIG. 1B is an enlarged explanatory view of the vicinity of the feeder cap. FIG. 2A is a schematic explanatory view of the normal-type replenishing container of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged explanatory view of a piston for sending out a developer and its periphery. FIG. 3A is a schematic explanatory view of the inverted supply container of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged explanatory view of a piston for sending out the developer and its periphery. 1 ... plate, 2 ... feeder cap 3 ... packing, 4,9 ... spring 5 ... container head, 6 ... piston 7 ... compartment, 8,11 ... check ball valve 10 ... air hole , 10 '…… Air inlet tube 12 …… Outlet, 13 …… Shaft

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Kazuhiko Umemura 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Kazuko Nagai 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A 63-13280 (JP, U) JP-A 54-1209 (JP, U) JP-A 53-112811 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A small chamber having an opening at the top and a check valve at the bottom at the top of the container, a liquid discharge section having a check valve at the top, and a small chamber at the bottom. In a container for storing a developer containing a colorant, a resin and an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier liquid provided with a storage liquid discharge device slidably fitted with a piston, the storage liquid discharge device has a small chamber at the bottom of the small chamber. A shaft that is fixed and has a shape that penetrates the passage with the small chamber at the bottom of the piston and closes the passage at its tip, and has a wall surrounding the passage and a gap, and springs are provided at the bottom of the small chamber and the bottom of the piston around the shaft A developer supply container, characterized in that: