JP3299618B2 - Developer container filled with developer and developing 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 developer container filled with a developer used in a developer supply device of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like, and a developing device provided with the developer supply device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a developer storage container and a developing device that can prevent excessive developer from being discharged immediately after the plug is removed from an opening of the developer storage container sealed with a plug in the replenishing device. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electrophotographic method in which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photoconductive photoreceptor, the latent image is developed with charged colored particles, and the resulting image of a developer is transferred to transfer paper. Copiers, facsimile machines, printers, and the like that use the printer are widely used. In the image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic method, when the developer is no longer consumed from the developer tank, the developer is supplied to the developer tank and is used continuously. Conventionally, a mechanism for replenishing a developer has been disclosed in JP-A-59-188.
JP-A-678 and JP-A-60-146265, a cylindrical container containing developer powder, opening one end of the entire surface and serving as a discharge port is rotated, and the developer powder is discharged from the discharge port with the rotation. For supplying the developer to a developer tank of an image forming apparatus has been proposed. In this developer replenishing device, at the time of the developer replenishing operation, the container mounting holder horizontally provided on the image forming apparatus main body is swung downward around one end so as to be in a vertical state, and the developer is developed in that state. After replacing the container with a new container filled with the agent, the container mounting holder is returned to the horizontal position, which is the operating position. To replace the container in this vertical state, remove the cap attached to the opening, and attach a new container to the mounting holder with the opening upward so that the developer powder as the content does not spill. That's why.

[0003]

However, in this developer replenishing device, a new container is attached to the holder described above after the cap with the opening is removed, so that a general user removes the cap. After that, there is a possibility that toner may be spilled from the opening before the new container is attached to the mounting holder.

In order to solve such a problem, the inventors of the present invention have developed a developing device in which a developer container is mounted on a container mounting holder and a stopper sealing an opening of the container can be removed. (For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-3610).
No. 12). The developer supply device communicates with a developer introduction part to a development part, and closes the developer storage container with the developer introduction part in a state where the opening is sealed by a removable stopper. Container holding means for holding the container, the stopper removing means for removing the stopper from the opening, and driving means for rotating the storage container. And, as the developer storage container, the opening is provided on one end wall of the storage container,
The one end wall is formed to have a diameter smaller than the maximum diameter of the shoulder inner surface, and a part of the shoulder inner surface is formed from the shoulder inner surface portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening. Use a protruding shape that protrudes to the edge of.

The developer replenishing device has the following advantages. Unlike the case where the developer storage container exchanger opens the opening of the developer storage container and then places the developer storage container on the container holding means of the developer supply device, the developer storage container is opened. Therefore, there is no possibility that the developer leaks from the opening until the mounting on the container holding means is completed. As compared with the case where an opening having substantially the same diameter as the maximum diameter of the inner surface of the shoulder at the one end wall is formed as in the developer container of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-146265 (see FIG. 9). As a result, the amount of developer adhered to the opening is small, and unexpected scattering or dropping of the developer through the opening is small. Since the opening is relatively small as described above, a small sealing plug can be used, and a small plug removing means can be employed. Since a part of the inner surface of the shoulder portion of the developer container is formed in a predetermined protruding shape, the developer in the developer container can be removed though the small-diameter opening is formed in one end wall of the container. It can be used up to the end.

However, according to a subsequent study by the present inventors, at the time of replenishing the developer by rotating the container immediately after holding the new developer container in the container holding means (hereinafter, referred to as the start of replenishment of the new container). In addition, it was found that excess developer was discharged from the opening of the container, and the developer could not be completely received by the developer introduction portion for receiving the discharged developer, and the developer might be scattered to the outside. In order to prevent such developer leakage at the start of replenishment of the new container, it is conceivable to set the size of the developer introduction portion in accordance with the amount of developer discharged at the start of replenishment of the new container. It is not preferable to increase the size of the developer introduction section only for the measure of mass discharge only at the time of start, also for miniaturization of the entire apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to seal an opening of a developer storage container in a state in which the container holding means of the developer supply device holds the developer storage container. An object of the present invention is to provide a developer container and a developing device capable of performing good developer replenishment by removing a stopper that has been removed, and suppressing a large amount of developer from being discharged from the opening at the start of replenishment of a new container.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a developer filled state in which a developer introduction part to a developing part is communicated and an opening thereof is sealed with a stopper. The developer container has container holding means for holding the opening toward the developer introduction portion, plug removing means for removing the plug from the opening, and driving means for rotating and driving the container. In the developer container filled with the developer used for the developer supply device, the opening is formed in one end wall of the container so as to have a diameter smaller than a maximum diameter of a shoulder inner surface of the one end wall. Formed on the shoulder inner surface portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening so that the developer can be lifted to the edge of the opening by rotation of the container. Lifting protruding inner surface protruding from the shoulder inner surface portion to the edge Minute was formed.

The amount of the developer to be charged into the developer container is increased as compared with the conventional case. Specifically, when storing the two-component developer, the toner was filled in an amount corresponding to 40 to 50% of the volume of the container in a sufficiently calm state after filling. When the one-component developer is stored, the container volume is preferably reduced to 7 to 7 in a sufficiently calm state after filling.
It was filled in an amount corresponding to 80% of the volume.

[0010]

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an electrophotographic copying machine using a toner supply device according to an embodiment. The toner replenishing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is provided at an upper portion on the front side of a copying machine, and has a bottle holder 3 as a container holding means for holding a toner bottle 2 as a developer container in a substantially horizontal state.
have. The bottle holder 3 is configured to be rotatable around a rotation center Z of a rotation shaft 4 at the right end of the toner replenishing device within a substantially horizontal plane within a range of substantially 90 degrees, and is indicated by A in the figure.
The left side of the toner replenishing device is located at the position A for placing the toner bottle 2 drawn out in front of the copier as shown by the arrow B, and the entire toner replenishing device is located at the front of the copier as shown by B in FIG. And the toner replenishing position B which is parallel to the position B. At least at the toner replenishing position B, an opening for dropping toner formed in the lower wall of the bottle holder 3 communicates with a hopper section set in a developing device in the copying machine and extends to a position closer to the front side than the front side plate of the copying machine. It is located on the existing toner receiving portion 5. The toner replenishing device 1 is provided inside a front cover (not shown) that covers the front of the copying machine. With the front cover opened, the toner replenishing device 1 can be pulled out to the bottle mounting position A. I have.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the toner replenishing device 1 at a toner replenishing position B, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toner replenishing device, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams showing the vicinity of the toner discharge port when the toner replenishing device 1 is at the bottle mounting position A when the toner replenishing device 1 is at the toner replenishing position B. FIG. It is.

The toner replenishing apparatus 1 of this embodiment holds a toner bottle 2 and rotates it to sequentially feed the toner stored therein from its toner discharge port 6 to the toner receiving section 5.
It is configured to supply to. This toner receiving section 5
Has a gutter shape with an open top, and a toner conveying screw 7 extends from inside the hopper portion to transfer the toner dropped from the toner discharge port 6 of the toner bottle 2 into the hopper portion. ing.

The toner replenishing apparatus 1 of this embodiment has the bottle holder 3, a bottle locking member 8 for positioning the toner bottle 2 on the bottle holder 3 in the axial direction, and is held by the bottle holder 3. Bottle rotation drive motor 9 for rotating and driving toner bottle 2, cylindrical rotation transmission member 10 for transmitting the drive from bottle rotation drive motor 9 to toner bottle 2, toner bottle on bottle holder 3 It has a collet chuck 12 for holding the second stopper 11, a core 13 slidably attached to the collet chuck 12, a cam device 14 for moving the collet chuck 12 forward and backward, and the like.

The bottle holder 3 is mounted on a movable bracket 15, and the movable bracket 15 is rotatably supported by a lower pin 17 of a fixed bracket 16 fixed to a front side plate of the copying machine. Bottle holder 3
The upper part is rotatably locked by the upper pin 18 of the fixed bracket 16, whereby the upper part is rotatable around a substantially vertical straight line (Z-Z) connecting the upper and lower pins 17.

The bottle holder 3 is provided with a lid-like cover 19 for covering the head on the side of the toner discharge port 6 of the toner bottle 2. Cylindrical stopper 20 for airtightly covering the portion
Is housed. The cylindrical stopper 20 is provided with a link accommodating portion for accommodating the cylindrical rotation transmitting member 10 rotatably and a core accommodating portion for accommodating the core 13. An opening 21 for toner drop is provided on the lower wall of the core accommodating portion.
A hole for supporting the collet chuck 12 slidably and a boss 22 are formed in the end wall.
The core 13 is always stored in the core container in the toner bottle 2.
A bamboo shoot-shaped core spring 23 biased to the side is also accommodated.

The bottle locking member 8 has a base end rotatably supported by the cylindrical stopper 20 and a distal end formed on an outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle 2 in the form of a protruding link. (Hereinafter, referred to as a projecting ring-shaped portion) 24.

The cylindrical rotation transmitting member 10 has gear teeth 26 formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof so as to mesh with the gear 25 on the bottle rotation driving motor 9 side, and a hole through which a discharge port collar 27 of the toner bottle 2 can penetrate. A protrusion (hereinafter, referred to as a transmission member rib) 29 that engages with a protrusion (hereinafter, referred to as a bottle rib) 28 formed on the end wall of the toner bottle 2 is formed on the inner surface of the end wall in which is formed. . In the example shown in the figure, the rotation transmission is performed so that the gear 25 on the bottle rotation driving motor 9 mounted on the movable bracket 15 can engage with the gear teeth 26 on the outer periphery of the cylindrical rotation transmission member 10. An opening for gear engagement is formed in a lower portion of the peripheral wall of the cylindrical stopper 20 that accommodates the member 10.

The collet chuck 12 has a plurality of cuts and cracks. When no external force is applied to the collet chuck 12, for example, as shown in FIG. 31 is formed to be larger than the maximum diameter.

The core 13 has a flange 33 which can come into contact with the flange 32 of the plug 11 and a cylindrical slider 34 on which the collet chuck 12 slides.

The cam device 14 is used for the bottle holder 3.
Moves the collet chuck 12 away from the toner bottle 2 in conjunction with being moved from the toner replenishing position B to the bottle mounting position A, while the bottle holder 3 is moved to the bottle mounting position A. To toner supply position B
The collet chuck 12 is advanced so as to approach the toner bottle 2 in conjunction with the movement of the collet chuck 12. In the present embodiment, for example, a plate cam member 35 attached to the front plate of the copying machine via the fixing bracket 16 as shown in FIG.
And a roller 37 that is rotatably attached to a chuck shaft 36 fixed to the rear end. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the plate cam member 35 has a first cam surface portion 38 that guides the roller 37 from the rotation center Z side of the bottle holder 3 and a side opposite to the rotation center Z. And a second cam surface portion 39 for guiding the roller 37 from above.

In the above configuration, the bottle holder 3 of the toner supply device 1 is located at the toner supply position B during a normal copying operation. At this toner supply position B,
As shown in FIG. 1, the toner bottle 2 on the bottle holder 3 is positioned by the bottle locking member 8, and the bottle rib 28 on the end wall on the toner discharge port 6 side is connected to the transmission member rib of the cylindrical rotation transmission member 10. 29 can be engaged. The collet chuck 12 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the stopper 11 is narrowed by the core 13 urged by the core spring 23 and the plug 11 is closed.
When the stopper 11 is held by holding the knob 31 of the toner bottle 2, the toner bottle 2 is at the most retracted position from the toner bottle 2, and the toner discharge port 6 of the toner bottle 2 is open. The toner receiving portion 5 of the hopper 16 on the copying machine main body side is located below the toner dropping opening 21 of the cylindrical stopper 20.

In response to the output signal of a toner density sensor (not shown), the bottle motor 9 starts rotating in conjunction with the start of rotation of the toner supply roller in the developing device, and the drive thereof is driven by the gear 25 and the cylindrical rotation transmitting member 10. And the toner bottle 2 is rotated. The inner surface of the toner bottle 2 has a spiral ridge 40 (see FIG. 3).
Is provided, the toner contained therein is gradually sent out to the toner discharge port 6 and the toner discharge port 6
And the toner drop opening 21 of the cylindrical stopper 20
Is received by the toner receiving portion 5 of the hopper 16 and is conveyed by the toner conveying screw 7 to the hopper portion on the far side from the front plate of the copying machine. This operation is continued until, for example, the toner concentration in the developing unit reaches a predetermined value and the toner supply roller stops again.

When taking out the toner bottle 2 from the bottle holder 3 for replacing the toner bottle 2 or the like, first, the bottle holder 3 is moved to the toner supply position B.
From the position to the bottle mounting position A. While the bottle holder 3 is moving, the first cam surface of the cam device 14
The collet chuck 12 holding the stopper 11 is moved toward the toner discharge port 6 of the toner bottle 2 while guiding the stopper 7, and the flange 33 of the core 13 is moved through the flange 32 of the stopper 11 to the toner bottle 2. In contact with the edge of the discharge port collar 27. As a result, even after the movement of the core 13 is restricted, the roller 37 is guided by the second cam surface portion 39 of the cam device 14 along with the movement of the bottle holder 3, and the collet chuck 12 is further moved. Is disengaged from the collet chuck 12, the holding portion 30 is opened by the restoring force of the collet chuck 12, and the holding of the knob 31 of the plug 11 is released. By the movement of the collet chuck 12 so far, the stopper 11 is inserted into the discharge port collar 27 of the toner bottle 2 to seal the toner discharge port 6. And bottle holder 3
When the movement of the collet chuck 12 to the bottle mounting position A is completed, as shown in FIGS.
Is wider than the knob 31 of the plug 11.

Next, in a state where the bottle holder 3 is located at the bottle mounting position A, the person who replaces the toner bottle 2 pulls the bottle locking member 8 upward, and
From the cylindrical stopper 20 and remove the bottle holder 3
The toner bottle 2 from the printer. Then, the head of a new toner bottle 2 filled with toner and having the toner discharge port 6 sealed with the stopper 11 is inserted into the cylindrical stopper 20 of the bottle holder 3. During this insertion operation, the positioning by the bottle locking member 8 is also performed.

Next, the bottle holder 3 is moved from the bottle mounting position A to the toner replenishing position B. While the bottle holder 3 is moving, the collet chuck 12 holding the stopper 11 is moved away from the toner outlet 6 of the toner bottle 2 while guiding the roller 37 with the first cam surface of the cam device 14. At the initial stage of the movement of the collet chuck 12, the holding portion 30 narrows the holding portion 31 of the collet chuck 12 and holds the stopper 11 by holding the knob 31 of the stopper 11. During the subsequent movement, the engagement between the core 13 and the collet chuck 12 is maintained by the urging force of the core spring 23 to keep holding the plug 11, and the plug 11 is removed from the toner discharge port 6 to remove the toner discharge port. 6 is released, and FIGS. 2 and 4 (a), (b)
As shown in FIG.
Complete the move to. As a result, the toner can be discharged from the toner discharge port 6 by the rotation of the toner bottle 2 as described above. (Hereinafter, margin)

As described above, the toner replenishing device 1 of the present embodiment
According to the above, the toner bottle 2 can be replaced without causing toner leakage from the toner discharge port 6 of the toner bottle 2 only by moving the bottle holder 3 and replacing the toner bottle 2 on the bottle holder 3. it can.

Next, the toner bottle 2 used in the toner supply device 1 of the present embodiment will be described. In the toner bottle 2 of the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a toner discharge port 6 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical main body is formed on one end wall. A spiral ridge 40 for feeding toner is formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the bottle body. And
In a state in which the toner discharge port 6 is held substantially horizontally on the bottle holder 3 of the toner replenishing device 17 so as to face sideways, the toner discharge port 6 is positioned higher than the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the cylindrical main body. In order to discharge the stored toner satisfactorily, the toner present on the inner peripheral surface of the lower portion of the cylindrical main body can be lifted up to the toner discharge port 6 and discharged by rotating the toner bottle.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show the toner bottle 2 according to the embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the toner bottle 2 shown in FIG.
6C is a plan view of the toner bottle 2, FIG. 7A is a partial cross-sectional view of the toner bottle 2, and FIG. 7B is a toner discharge port 7. It is explanatory drawing of a vicinity. In the toner bottle 2, a part of the shoulder inner surface, which is a peripheral wall portion near the head side end wall 41 where the toner discharge port 6 is formed, is moved upstream of the bottle internal space in the rotation direction K in the toner replenishing device 1. The toner is lifted by protruding from the inner surface of the peripheral wall to the edge of the inner surface of the discharge port collar 27 so as to form an inner wall surface substantially perpendicular to the direction K, that is, an inner wall surface standing substantially in the radial direction at the side position. (Hereinafter, referred to as a lifting protruding surface) 42 (a reference numeral 42a in the figure indicates an outer surface of the container corresponding to the protruding surface 42).

Moreover, in the illustrated example, a pair of the lifting protruding surfaces 42 are formed at 180 ° intervals around the axis so as to be symmetrical about the axis. Further, in the example shown in the figure, the lifting protruding surface 42 is protruded from the edge of the toner discharge port 6 in the direction of the rotation axis, as is apparent from FIG. A restricting portion 52 for restricting a large amount of toner in the bottle from being discharged at a time when the amount of toner is large is formed. By this regulating portion 52, for example, a substantial opening area corresponding to a hatched area 6a in FIG. 7B is reduced. Here, unlike the illustrated example, the lifting protruding surface 42 is
In the case of forming only the individual portions, the restricting portion 52 may be formed by protruding the protruding surface 42 in the direction of the rotation axis from the edge of the toner discharge port 6, or alternatively or additionally. A part of the shoulder inner surface, which is a peripheral wall portion in the vicinity of the head side end wall 41, separately from the protruding surface 42, protrudes in the rotation axis direction from the edge of the toner discharge port 6, and the regulating portion 52 is moved. It may be formed. Note that in FIG.
Bottle rib 28 engaged with cylindrical rotation transmitting member 10 of the main body
Is not shown.

According to the toner bottle 2, the toner on the inner surface of the large-diameter peripheral wall can be lifted and discharged to the toner discharge port 6 located above the large-diameter peripheral wall by the lifting projection surface 42. Moreover, the illustrated toner bottle 2
According to this, while the toner bottle 20 makes one rotation, the guide of the toner to the toner discharge port 6 is performed twice in total by the pair of lifting projection surfaces 42, so that the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 2 is reduced. In this stage, the toner can be satisfactorily discharged from the toner discharge port 6.

However, when the toner bottle 2 is set in the toner replenishing unit 1 and toner replenishment is performed, a large amount of toner is discharged from the toner discharge port 6 at a time at the start of replenishment of the new container. The toner was not received by the toner receiving portion 5 (see FIG. 1), causing toner leakage or scattering. Therefore, as a result of intensive research on the countermeasures, it has been found that by increasing the amount of toner charged into the toner bottle 2 as compared with the conventional case, the toner discharge amount at the start of refilling a new container can be suppressed as compared with the conventional case. .

FIG. 8A is a graph showing a change in the amount of discharged toner after storing the bottle with the charged amount according to the embodiment in a certain environment, and FIG. FIG. 9 (c) is a graph showing the change in the amount of toner discharged after storage in the above environment, FIG. 9 (c) is a graph showing the change in the amount of toner discharge after storing the same bottle of the conventional filling amount in the above-mentioned other environment, and FIG. 8 is a graph showing a change in toner discharge amount after storing a bottle having a different length or the like from that of FIG. 8 according to the embodiment in a certain environment. FIG. FIG. 7C is a graph showing a change in the amount of toner discharged after storage in another environment, and FIG. 7C is a graph showing a change in the amount of toner discharge after storing the same bottle of the conventional filling amount in the other environment. In the experiment shown in the above graph, the toner filling amount according to the above-described embodiment is a ratio to the container volume in a state where the toner is sufficiently settled after filling, and is 0.43 (weight is shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B). 315 g) and 0.4 (weight of 730 g) in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b). The conventional filling amount is about 30% of the container volume in a sufficiently calm state after filling. It is a filling amount corresponding to a minute. 8 (a) and 9 (a) is a room temperature of 43 ° C., and the other environment in FIGS. 8 (b) and 9 (b) is a room temperature of 23 ° C. . Further, for example, the length of the toner bottle 2 in FIGS. 8A to 8C is 180 mm, and the length of the toner bottle 2 in FIGS. 9A to 9C is 294 mm, for example. In these graphs, the symbol a indicates the measurement result of the amount of toner discharged when the bottle is rotated once at the time of each remaining amount of toner on the horizontal axis, and the symbol b indicates the result of measurement of the bottle at each remaining amount of toner on the horizontal axis. Almost 2
The measurement results of the toner discharge amount when the image is rotated by / 3 rotation (the required time is 1 second) are shown.

FIGS. 8 (c) and 9 show the filling amounts of the conventional example.
As can be seen from (c), with such a conventional filling amount, the amount of toner at a time far exceeding the proper range of the toner discharge amount determined by the volume of the toner receiving portion 5 at the start of refilling a new container is obtained. Has been exhausted. On the other hand, FIG. 8A, FIG. 9B, FIG.
As can be seen from (b), by increasing the filling amount as compared with the conventional case, the toner discharge amount at the start of refilling a new container could be kept within the above-mentioned appropriate range.

The same experiment was conducted by changing the filling amount in addition to FIGS. 8 and 9. As a result, the toner of the two-component developer described above was bottled in a state where the bottle was sufficiently settled after filling. It has been found that the above effect can be obtained by filling an amount corresponding to 40 to 50% of the volume. It was also found that the above-mentioned effect can be obtained by filling the one-component developer in an amount corresponding to 70 to 80% of the volume of the bottle container in a sufficiently calm state after filling.

As described above, the amount of toner corresponding to a predetermined volume in a calm state after filling as described above is bulky because air is interposed between the toners at the moment when the toner is filled in the bottle. Since it is larger than the volume, when trying to perform high-speed filling with the normal filling method, after filling only a part of the desired amount, leave it for a predetermined time to let the filled toner fall, and then refill it again. The work time may be longer than before. For example, FIG.
In (b), even if the bulk of the filled toner reaches the height H ₀ immediately after filling by the normal toner filling method, if the toner is settled by leaving to stand, the bulk decreases to the level indicated by H ₁ in the figure. . Therefore, as in the case of the toner bottle 2 of the present embodiment, in order to make the volume (bulk) a predetermined volume in this calm state, it is necessary to fill a volume exceeding the volume when filling. There is a possibility that it is necessary to leave for a predetermined time as described above without being able to fit in.

Accordingly, the present inventors have also developed a toner filling method suitable for increasing the filling amount as compared with the related art, such as the toner bottle 2 of the present embodiment, and this will be described below. . FIG. 10A is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner filling device suitable for carrying out a toner filling method suitable for filling the toner into the toner bottle 2 of the present embodiment, and FIG. It is a schematic structure figure of an apparatus. FIGS. 11A and 11B are process diagrams of a toner filling method suitable for filling the toner into the toner bottle 2 of the present embodiment.

In FIG. 10A, a portion on which the toner bottle 2 is placed is a vertical vibration device 131. Above the vibration device 131, a filling hopper 125 that can move up and down by the air cylinder 101 and the piston rod 102 is provided. This filling hopper 125
A toner input port 125a that can enter the toner discharge port 6 of the toner bottle 2 is formed at a lower portion of the toner input port 1a.
A gasket for sealing is mounted above 25a. The filling hopper 125 is provided with an air suction pipe 104 extending downward through the toner inlet 125a of the hopper, and a portion extending outside the hopper is reduced by the three-way valve 105 to the pressure source 108 and the pressure reducing source. It is connected to a compressed air source 109. The air suction pipe 10
The filter 103 is attached to the air suction section at the lower end of the filter 4. Further, a toner supply device 121 including a weighing hopper 122, a supply conveyor 123, a conveyor motor 124, and the like is provided so as to be located in the upper opening of the hopper 125. In this example, the air suction pipe 104 is attached to the filling hopper 125 so as to be able to move up and down integrally. However, as shown in FIG. 10B, the filling hopper 125 and the air suction pipe 104 are separately provided. May be provided.

Referring to FIG. 11A, FIG.
The procedure of toner filling by the filling device of (b) will be described. First, (I) the toner bottle 2 of the above embodiment is set immediately below the filling hopper 125, and (II) the toner input port 125a of the toner bottle 2 The filling hopper 125 is lowered so as to enter the upper toner discharge port, and the gasket is pressed against the upper surface of the bottle to seal it. (III) The toner supply device 121 is driven to drive the toner into the bottle via the filling hopper 125. (IV) After filling, the air suction tube 103 is inserted into the bottle to suck air in the filled toner, and (V) the toner bottle is retracted after the air suction tube 103 and the filling hopper 125 are retracted upward. Is sealed with a stopper. As shown in (I) and (II) of FIG. 11B, the insertion of the air suction pipe 103 into the bottle can be performed simultaneously with the insertion of the toner input port 125 of the filling hopper 125 into the bottle. Good, you may go ahead. Further, air suction is also performed by the toner supply device 121.
May be performed at the same time as the toner supply. FIG.
As shown in (III) to (VI) of (b), after filling the toner with air suction, additional toner filling without air suction or air suction may be performed.

According to the above-described toner filling with air suction, the air between the toners in the toner bottle can be removed by air suction, which is almost the same as the state where the toner is calmed down by leaving it for a long time. Can be filled to a bulk density state. Therefore, a larger amount of toner can be filled in a shorter time than in the related art. For example, FIG. 12 (a) shows the bulk density (shown by a closed circle in the figure) of the filled toner bottle with air suction after 10 minutes. Arrows extending up and down from the circle indicate the bulk density. 3 shows the variation range) and the bulk density measured after one week (indicated by a black circle in the figure). Here, the bulk density shown on the vertical axis is represented by the ratio of the toner pool volume to the container volume. As is clear from this figure, according to the toner filling with air suction, after 10 minutes, the bulk can be reduced to the same level as one week after the bulk hardly decreases. Note that a straight line P in the figure is a reference to a place where the value of the filling rate is equal to the value of the bulk density.

As described above, according to the toner bottle 2 of the present embodiment, which is filled at a higher density than in the conventional case, the amount of toner discharged at the start of refilling a new container can be suppressed within the above-described appropriate range.

In the toner bottle 2 of the above embodiment, a spiral ridge is provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the bottle main body to feed the toner to the toner discharge port side. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-205, the toner bottle 2 itself is tilted so that the ejection port side is slightly lower,
Alternatively, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 61-24756, the toner in the bottle is shifted toward the toner discharge port by making the toner discharge port side gradually conical with the toner discharge port side gradually expanding. By doing so, the ridge can be omitted.

[0042]

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the opening is formed in one end wall of the container so as to have a diameter smaller than the maximum diameter of the inner surface of the shoulder at the one end wall, and The inner surface of the shoulder having a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening so that the developer on the inner surface of the shoulder having a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening can be lifted to the edge of the opening by rotation of the container. Since the lifting protruding inner surface portion protruding from the portion to the edge is formed, the following effects can be obtained similarly to the developer accommodating container used in the developer replenishing device of the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application No. 4-361012. There is. That is, the above-mentioned JP-A-60-14
Adhesive development to the opening compared to a case where an opening having a diameter substantially the same as the maximum diameter of the inner surface of the shoulder at one end wall is formed as in the developer container of JP-A-6265 (see FIG. 9 in the publication). The amount of the developer is small, and unexpected scattering or dropping of the developer through the opening is small. Also, since a part of the inner surface of the shoulder of the developer container is formed in a predetermined protruding shape, the developer in the developer container is formed despite the small-diameter opening being formed in one end wall of the container. Can be used up to the end. Also, since the opening is relatively small, a small sealing plug can be used,
There is an effect that a small stopper removing means can be employed on the side of the main body of the developer supply device.

Further, since the amount of the developer to be stored is set to a predetermined value which is higher than the conventional amount, a large amount of the developer can be suppressed from being discharged from the opening at the start of refilling a new container. There is.

Further, according to the third or fourth developing device, a state is provided in which the developer container is communicated with the developer introducing section to the developing section, and the developer accommodating container is sealed with a removable plug. Since it has container holding means for holding the opening toward the developer introduction portion, plug removing means for removing the plug from the opening, and driving means for rotating the storage container, Similarly to the developer replenishing device of Japanese Patent Application No. 4-361012, the stopper closing the opening is removed while the developer holding container is held by the container holding means of the developer replenishing device. There is an effect that the developer can be replenished with ease. Also, unlike the case where the developer storage container exchanger opens the opening of the developer storage container and then places the developer storage container on the container holding means of the developer supply device, after opening the opening, Therefore, there is no possibility that the developer leaks from the opening until the mounting on the container holding means is completed.

Further, since the developer storage container according to claim 1 or 2 is used as the developer storage container, the amount of the developer to be stored is set to a predetermined higher amount than the conventional one. There is an effect that a large amount of developer discharged from the opening at the start of replenishment can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a schematic configuration of a toner supply device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a copying machine using the toner supply device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toner supply device.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory views of a collet chuck of the toner supply device.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are other explanatory views of a collet chuck of the toner replenishing device, respectively.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the vicinity of a toner discharge port of the toner bottle according to the embodiment. (B) is a view of the bottle as viewed from the toner discharge port side. (C) is a vertical sectional view taken along the line YY in (a).

FIG. 7A is a partial cross-sectional view of the bottle. (B) is an explanatory view of the vicinity of the toner discharge port of the bottle.

FIG. 8A is a graph showing a change in toner discharge amount after a bottle having a toner filling amount according to the embodiment is stored in an environment. (B) is a graph showing a change in the amount of discharged toner after storing the same filled bottle in another environment. (C) is a graph showing a change in toner discharge amount after the same filled bottle of the related art is stored in the above other environment.

FIG. 9A is a graph illustrating a change in toner discharge amount after a bottle having a different length or the like from that of FIG. 8 is stored in a certain environment according to the embodiment. (B) is a graph showing a change in the amount of discharged toner after storing the same filled bottle in another environment. (C) is a graph showing a change in toner discharge amount after the same filled bottle of the related art is stored in the above other environment.

FIG. 10A is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner filling device.
(B) is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner filling device according to a modification.

FIG. 11A is a process diagram of a toner filling method. (B) is a process drawing of another toner filling method.

FIG. 12A is a graph illustrating a measurement result of a change in bulk in the toner bottle over time. (B) is an explanatory diagram of a change in bulk in the toner bottle due to toner filling.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner supply device 2 Toner bottle 3 Bottle holder 6 Toner discharge port 8 Bottle locking member 9 Bottle motor 10 Cylindrical rotation transmission member 11 Plug 12 Collet chuck 13 Core 14 Cam device 19 Cover part 20 Cylindrical stopper 21 Toner drop Opening 23 Core spring 27 Discharge port collar 31 Knob 42 Lifting surface A Bottle mounting position B Toner supply position Z Rotation center

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroaki Sugiyama 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Kotaro Koide 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo (56) References JP-A-3-2881 (JP, A) JP-A-53-146639 (JP, A) JP-A-4-87901 (JP, A) JP-A-3-78707 (JP) , U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 13/08-13/095 G03G 15/08-15/095

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A developer container filled with a developer, which communicates with a developer introduction part to a development part using a two-component type developer and whose opening is sealed with a stopper, is connected to the opening. Used for a developer supply device having container holding means for holding a portion toward the developer introduction portion, stopper removing means for removing the stopper from the opening, and driving means for rotating the storage container.
In a developer container filled with developer, the opening is formed in one end wall of the container so as to have a diameter smaller than a maximum diameter of a shoulder inner surface of the one end wall; From the shoulder inner surface portion having a diameter larger than the opening, so that the developer on the shoulder inner surface portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening can be lifted to the edge of the opening by rotating the container. In a container having a lifting protruding inner surface portion protruding to the edge, the toner of the two-component developer is filled in a sufficiently calm state after filling, which corresponds to 40 to 50% of the volume of the container. A developer container filled with developer, characterized by being filled in an amount. 2. A developer container filled with developer, which communicates with a developer introduction portion to a development portion using a one-component developer and whose opening is sealed with a stopper, Used for a developer supply device having container holding means for holding a portion toward the developer introduction portion, stopper removing means for removing the stopper from the opening, and driving means for rotating the storage container.
In a developer container filled with developer, the opening is formed in one end wall of the container so as to have a diameter smaller than a maximum diameter of a shoulder inner surface of the one end wall; From the shoulder inner surface portion having a diameter larger than the opening, so that the developer on the shoulder inner surface portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening can be lifted to the edge of the opening by rotating the container. In a container having a protruding inner surface portion for lifting that protrudes to the edge, fill the one-component developer in an amount equivalent to 70 to 80% of the container volume in a sufficiently settled state after filling. A developer container filled with a developer, characterized by being filled. 3. A developer container filled with the developer, which is in communication with a developer introduction section to a development section using a two-component developer and whose opening is sealed with a stopper, is connected to the opening. A developer supply device having a container holding unit for holding the unit toward the developer introduction unit, a plug removing unit for removing the plug from the opening, and a driving unit for driving the storage container to rotate. 2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developer container filled with the developer is used as the developer container filled with the developer. 4. A developer-containing container filled with a developer, which communicates with a developer introduction part to a development part using a one-component developer and whose opening is sealed with a stopper, A developer supply device having a container holding unit for holding the unit toward the developer introduction unit, a plug removing unit for removing the plug from the opening, and a driving unit for driving the storage container to rotate. 3. A developing device, wherein the developer storage container filled with the developer according to claim 2 is used as the developer storage container filled with the developer.