JP2959173B2 - Developing material supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing material supply apparatus for supplying a toner or a starter in which a toner and a carrier are mixed at a predetermined ratio to an image forming apparatus using a two-component developer. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus using a two-component developer, since the amount of charge of the developer charged in an empty developing device tends to be high, the toner density is slightly increased when the developing device is started. A developer called a higher starter is used.

[0003]

However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, a starter input section and a toner input section are provided, and the toner and the starter are separately input from the respective locations. However, since it was possible to input the toner, a trouble that the toner was immediately input to the empty developing device often occurred. In particular, in recent years, personal type image forming apparatuses have become widespread, and in these image forming apparatuses, the starter is turned on by the user. Therefore, there has been an urgent need to develop a measure for preventing the trouble.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in response to the above-mentioned demands. One of a starter-storing bottle and a toner-storing bottle is mounted on a bottle mounting portion, and a starter or a developer is supplied from a developing material supply portion. A developing material supply device configured to supply a toner, wherein a mounting prohibition member for prohibiting mounting of a toner storage bottle is detachably provided on the bottle mounting portion, and the starter storage bottle is mounted on the starter storage bottle. A prohibition member removing unit for removing the mounting prohibition member by being attached to or detached from the unit.

[0005]

According to the above-described developing material supply device, the mounting of the toner storage bottle is prohibited when the mounting prohibition member is mounted on the bottle mounting portion. The mounting prohibition member is removed by attaching and detaching the starter storage bottle to and from the bottle mounting portion. That is, it is impossible to supply the toner to the developing device by mounting the toner storage bottle in the bottle mounting portion without the starter being supplied.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. (1) First Embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 4) In this embodiment, the imaging unit IU is integrally formed by combining a developing device 1, a cleaning device 2, a developing material supply device 3, and a photoconductor (not shown). It is detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

The supply device 3 generally comprises a supply unit 4 and a drive unit 5 provided at an upper portion of one end of the supply unit 4. An upper portion of the supply section 4 is a bottle mounting section 6, and a developing material supply port 7 is formed at one end thereof, and a transport device 8 is disposed below the supply port 7. In the drive unit 5, a bearing recess 10 having a bearing hole 10 and an opening on the outside is formed in a side wall 9, and a drive gear 13 is fixed to a protrusion of a drive shaft 12 rotatably inserted into the bearing hole 10. A shaft 14 is removably inserted into the bearing recess 11. A conical bulging portion 15 is formed at the protruding end of the shaft 14, and a cross-shaped slit 1 is formed from the front end thereof.
6 are formed. Further, a shaft 17 is supported on the extension of the bearing recess 11 so as to be able to advance and retreat toward the bearing recess 11.

The starter storage bottle 20 comprises a substantially cylindrical bottle body 21 having both ends closed and a drive transmission gear 22. The bottle main body 21 has a guide portion 23 projecting inward on the outer peripheral portion in a spiral shape, an opening portion 24 formed on one end side of the guide portion 23, and one end side of the starter storage bottle 20 (see FIG. 2). A boss 25 having a recess 26 at the end is formed at the center of the left side wall, and a bearing recess 27 protruding inward is formed at the center of the other side wall (the right side in FIG. 2). At the center of the drive transmission gear 22, a large-diameter portion 28 having the same shape as the boss portion 25,
Through-hole 30 composed of small-diameter portion 29 smaller in diameter than concave portion 26
Is formed, and the boss portion 25 is fitted to the large-diameter portion 28 and fixed to the bottle main body 21.

As shown in FIG. 4, the toner storage bottle 20a differs from the starter storage bottle 20 only in that the shaft 14a is already fitted in the through hole 30a of the drive transmission gear 22a, and the other components are completely different. Are identical. That is, the two bottles 20 and 20a differ in whether or not they have the shaft 14.

In the starter storage bottle 20, a starter S in which toner and carrier are mixed at a predetermined ratio is stored in a bottle main body 21, and an opening 24 is sealed by an appropriate means. The bottle 20 containing the starter S is peeled off, the seal is peeled off, the bottle 20 is placed in the bottle mounting portion 6 with the opening 24 facing upward, the shaft 14 is inserted into the through hole 30 of the drive transmission gear 22, and the gear 22 and the gear 13 are connected. The shaft 17 is inserted into the bearing recess 27 at the rear part of the bottle and rotatably supported.
At this time, the shaft 14 inserted into the through hole 30 has the bulging portion 15 at the tip thereof located in the concave portion 26 of the boss portion 25, and is engaged with the step between the large diameter portion 28 and the small diameter portion 29 to prevent the shaft 14 from falling off. It is planned.

When the drive gear 13 is rotated by the motor (not shown) of the drive unit 5, the starter storage bottle 20 mounted on the bottle mounting unit 6 is rotated by the drive transmission gear 2.
2 to rotate. The starter S moves forward while being guided by the guide portion 23 based on the rotation of the bottle 20, and is periodically dropped and supplied to the transport device 8 through the opening 24 and the supply port 7. Further, the starter S supplied to the transport device 8 is transported to the developing device 1.

[0012] The starter storage bottle 20 is attached to the bottle mounting section 6.
When the bottle 20 is taken out, the shaft 17 supporting the rear part of the bottle 20 is retracted backward, and the bottle 20 is moved backward. Thereby, the shaft 14 is removed integrally with the starter storage bottle 20.

The toner storage bottle 20a is a bottle main body 21.
a is filled with the toner T, and the opening 24a is sealed.
When the toner storage bottle 20a is mounted on the bottle mounting section 6, the opening 24 is similar to the starter storage bottle 20.
a, and the shaft 14a attached to the drive transmission gear 22a with the opening 24a facing upward is placed in the bearing recess 11
, And a shaft is inserted into the concave portion 17 at the rear to support the shaft rotatably. The supply of the toner T is performed in the same manner as the starter S.

However, unlike the starter storage bottle 20, the toner storage bottle 20a is provided with the shaft 14a from the beginning.
4, the shaft 14 of the drive unit 5 hinders the mounting of the toner storage bottle 20a.

(2) Second Embodiment (see FIGS. 5 and 6) In this embodiment, the starter accommodating bottle 20b is provided on the outer periphery of the bottle body 21b on the same circumference as the starter supply opening 24b. A concave portion 32b is formed at the position.
The supply port 7b of the supply section 4b is provided with a lid member 33b shown in FIG.
Sealed by. The lid closing member 33b includes a flat plate main body 34b and a protruding portion 35b rising from a substantially central portion of the main body 34b. Further, a cross-shaped cut 37b is formed in the bulging portion 36b from the upper end. The closing member 33b is provided with the bulging portion 3
6b is directed upward, and is lightly fixed with an adhesive or the like so as to cover the supply port 7b. On the other hand, the toner storage bottle
Although not shown, there is no recess 32b unlike the starter storage bottle 20b.

The starter accommodating bottle 20b is supplied to the supply unit 5
b, the front shaft 38b is supported by the bearing recess 39b of the drive unit 5b, and the drive transmission gear 22b is connected to the drive gear 1b.
3b, the bulging portion 36b of the lid member 33b is fitted into the concave portion 32b, and the shaft 17b is inserted and fixed into the rear bearing concave portion 27b. And the starter storage bottle 20
b forcibly rotates the cover member 33b into the supply section 4b.
And rotates with the bottle 20b.

When the toner storage bottle is mounted on the supply unit 4b, the lid 33b is already removed from the supply unit 4b, so that the toner storage bottle can be mounted without difficulty. However, before the starter storage bottle 20b is attached, the supply unit 4b
Since there is a lid member 33b, the lid member 33b
Can hinder the toner storage bottle from being mounted on the supply section 4b.

(3) Third Embodiment (see FIGS. 7 to 10) In this embodiment, a developing material supply section 51 of the developing device 50 is used.
Has a bottle insertion part 52 for inserting a bottle from the side,
The storage unit 53 is configured to temporarily store the developing material dropped and supplied from the bottle inserted into the insertion unit 52 and to supply the developing material to the developing unit as needed. The insertion port 54 of the bottle insertion section 52 has a cylindrical portion 56 having a smaller diameter than the insertion port 54, and an engagement portion 57 formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 56.
Is detachably provided.

The starter-storing bottle 60 has an axial opening 62 sealed with a seal 63 and a cylindrical bottle body 61 containing a starter therein, and a cap 64 provided at one end of the bottle body 61. The bottle body 61
The outer diameter D1 is substantially the same as the inner diameter D1 ′ of the discriminating member 55, and an engaging portion 65 is formed around the cap 64.

The toner storage bottle 70 includes a cylindrical bottle main body 71 in which an opening 72 in the axial direction is sealed with a seal and toner is stored therein, and a cap 74 provided at one end of the bottle main body 71. , The outer diameter D of the bottle body 71
2 is substantially the same as the inner diameter D2 'of the insertion port 54.
The cap 74 includes the starter storage bottle 60.
Unlike the cap 64, there is no engaging portion, and the outer diameter D3 of the cap 64 is larger than the inner diameter D2 'of the insertion port 54.

In the above configuration, the starter storage bottle 6
0 is inserted into the bottle insertion part 52 through the discrimination member 55. At this time, the engaging portion 65 of the cap 64 is
5, the two engaging portions 65 and 57 are unseparably integrated. Therefore, when the starter storage bottle 60 is pulled out from the insertion portion 52, the discriminating member 55 is removed from the supply portion 51 together with the starter storage bottle 60. Therefore, thereafter, the toner storage bottle 70 can be inserted into the insertion portion 52. However, in the state where the starter has not been loaded, the discriminating member 55 is present in the supply unit 51, so that the starter storage bottle 60 is not provided.
The toner storage bottle 70 having a larger diameter than that cannot be inserted, and only the toner is not supplied to the developing device 50 in a state where the starter is not supplied.

(4) Fourth Embodiment (See FIGS. 11 and 12) This embodiment is directed to a developing material of a form in which the supply port of a bottle-shaped bottle is directed obliquely downward and the development material is dropped and supplied while rotating the bottle. The developing material supply device 80 includes a cylindrical container-shaped gear holding member 82 on a mounting plate 81 arranged obliquely, and a bottom plate 8 of the holding member 82.
An agitating rod 84 is provided at substantially the center of 3. Also, the mounting plate 8
A drop supply port 85 penetrating the contact member 1 and the bottom plate 83 of the holding member 82 is formed at the contact portion between the contact member 1 and the bottom plate 83.
6 are arranged.

Inside the holding member 82, a gear 87 having a gear portion 88 on an outer peripheral portion, a screw portion 89 on an inner peripheral surface, and a plurality of inwardly protruding cutting plates 90 at a lower end portion is held. The outer peripheral gear portion 88 is rotatably arranged along the inner peripheral surface of the member 82, and meshes with a drive gear 93 fixed to a drive shaft 92 of a motor 91. Also, the gear 87
A ring-shaped discriminating member 94 having a screw portion 95 on the inner peripheral surface is attached to the inside.

The mouth 97 of the starter storage bottle 96 has a screw 9 having a size corresponding to the screw 95 of the discriminating member 94.
8, and the toner storage bottle (not shown) has a screw portion (not shown) having a size corresponding to the screw portion 89 of the gear 87.

In the above configuration, the starter storage bottle 96 is attached by screwing the screw 98 to the screw 95 of the discriminating member 94. When the gears 93 and 88 and the discriminating member 94 are rotated by the driving of the motor 91,
The toner in the starter storage bottle 96 is supplied to the transport device 86 via the drop supply port 85.

The starter storage bottle 96 is lifted obliquely upward and removed from the supply device 80. At this time, since the discriminating member 94 is engaged with the screw portion 98 of the bottle 96, the discriminating member 94 is also removed from the supply device 80 together with the bottle 96.

The toner storage bottle is attached by screwing its screw portion to the screw portion 89 of the holding member 87. However, in a state where the starter has not been supplied, the determination member 94 is present in the supply device 80, and it is impossible to mount the toner storage bottle.

[0028]

As is apparent from the above description, the developing material supply apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a mounting prohibition member for prohibiting the mounting of the toner storage bottle at the bottle mounting portion, and the starter storage bottle is provided with the mounting prohibition member. A prohibiting member removing unit is provided for removing the mounting prohibiting member by attaching and detaching the starter storage bottle to and from the bottle mounting unit.

Therefore, the mounting prohibition member for the toner storage bottle is removed by first mounting and removing the starter storage bottle on the bottle mounting portion. In other words, the toner storage bottle cannot be mounted on the bottle mounting portion without the starter being supplied, and the toner can be supplied only when the starter is supplied to the developing device. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the toner from being erroneously supplied to the empty developing device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a developing material supply device and an imaging unit according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the developing material supply device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the developing material supply device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the toner storage bottle according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of a developing material supply device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a discriminating member according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a developing device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line AA of a developing device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a starter storage bottle according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a toner storage bottle according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a developing material supply apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a developing material supply device according to a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Developing apparatus, 3 ... Development material supply apparatus, 4 ... Supply part, 5
... Driving part, 6 ... Bottle mounting part, 7 ... Supply port, 14 ... Shaft,
20: starter storage bottle, 30: toner storage bottle.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akio Kimura 2-3-13 Azuchicho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. In-house (56) References JP-A-61-194460 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Hei 3-43664 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 15/08-15/09 G03G 15/00 550

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A developing material supply device in which one of a starter accommodating bottle and a toner accommodating bottle is mounted on a bottle mounting section, and a starter or toner is supplied from a developing material supplying section. A mounting prohibition member for prohibiting the mounting of the toner storage bottle is provided detachably, and a prohibition member removing unit for removing the mounting prohibition member by mounting and dismounting the starter storage bottle on the bottle mounting unit is provided on the starter storage bottle. A developing material supply device.