JP3310506B2 - Toner / developer supply device and toner / developer supply structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a laser printer, etc., and more particularly to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus which forms an image using a two-component developer comprising a carrier and a toner. The present invention relates to a toner / developer replenishing device attached to an apparatus, which can perform toner replenishment due to toner consumption, exchange of a carrier that deteriorates with time, and in some cases, exchange of a developer containing the carrier. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As bottles for supplying toner to a developing device, JP-A-60-159768 and JP-A-7-15-15
A configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9769 is known. These are to discharge the toner contained in the horizontal installation state by the action of the spiral fin (projection) provided inside the bottle container at the time of rotation. However, these bottles are used only for supplying toner and have no other use.

In a two-component developing apparatus, in addition to toner replenishment to supplement consumption, supply of a developer containing a new carrier and recovery of the developer containing a deteriorated carrier for replacement of the deteriorated carrier. Is required. Regarding the toner replenishment and the developer replacement, for example, JP-A-4-29271 discloses a developer supply / discharge mechanism provided with a unit for discharging a part of a used developer and a unit for supplying a new developer. In this mechanism, the used developer is collected after supplying the new developer to the container containing the new developer. However, according to the technology disclosed in the publication, the serviceman simply attaches the emptied container to a collection position different from the supply position, and accordingly, the apparatus automatically adds the empty container to the container after the developer is supplied. It does not collect the used developer, and furthermore, it is necessary to mount two containers in the apparatus, resulting in an increase in the size of the apparatus.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-6978 proposes a toner storage container in which a toner supply container and a toner collection container are integrally formed, and which is detachably attached to a developing device.
In this container, the collected toner is collected in the separated collected toner storage section. Therefore, a waste space for the toner supply container is required as a collection section, which increases the size of a device to be mounted and wastes inventory space. Need a lot of space.

[0005]

For this purpose, it is required to automatically collect the deteriorated used developer without increasing the size of the apparatus and without bothering a service person or a user. In terms of effective use of the space, it is desirable to collect the used developer deteriorated in the toner container for supplying the toner. However, as described above, a configuration for efficiently discharging toner is added to the toner supply container. For example, in the technique of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-159768, a spiral fin is provided internally, and in the technique of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-20705, a part of the inner surface of the container shoulder further has a diameter larger than the diameter of the opening. It has a protruding shape that protrudes from the inner surface of the shoulder to the edge of the opening. These effective means for discharging toner, however, may cause performance degradation for toner recovery. As a result, the amount to be collected may not be collected.

Accordingly, the present invention can reliably supply toner and developer with a simple structure having a small number of parts,
A first object is to provide a toner / developer replenishing device capable of preventing the entire device from being enlarged. A second object is to ensure that the deteriorated developer can be collected by the same device.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a container for accommodating toner or developer, a turning member mounted on an end face of the container, A toner / developer replenishing device comprising an intermediate connecting member fitted to the revolving member, wherein the revolving member has a shallow cup shape and has a central portion into which a toner or developer discharge port of the container is inserted. An opening is formed at the bottom, and further, the turning member has a bottom surface that becomes shallower toward the downstream side in the rotation direction for supplying the toner or the developer,
The bottom surface, the peripheral side wall, and the inner peripheral wall define a space, and the intermediate connecting member has a ring-shaped flange and a supply hole surrounded by the ring-shaped flange for discharging toner or developer. When the turning member and the intermediate connecting member are fitted to each other, the flat plate portion comes into contact with the peripheral side wall of the turning member and each edge of the inner peripheral wall to form a supply space. The supply space moves with the rotation of the turning main body, so that the toner or the developer existing in the supply space can be lifted and discharged from the supply hole.

Further, in order to solve the second problem, a scooping section which enables the developer to be rotatably transported when the rotating body is rotated in a direction opposite to the rotation direction for supplying the toner or the developer. The turning member is provided with a support blade that contacts the peripheral edge of the central opening of the turning member to form a developer collecting space, and a collecting hole for receiving the developer in the collecting space is connected to the intermediate connection. Be prepared for the flat part of the member.

It is preferable that the storage container further include a stopper capable of opening and closing the discharge port and having a slope for collecting the developer. Further, it is more effective if a plurality of developer receiving blades are provided on the slope of the closure plug.

[0010] Further, according to the turning member and the intermediate connecting member having the above-mentioned structure, the toner and the developer can be easily and surely delivered with a unique structure.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a developing device 2 equipped with a toner / developer replenishing device 1 according to the present invention. As is known, a latent image on a photoconductor (not shown) is visualized using a developing roller or the like in the developing device 2. Toner / developer replenishing device 1
Is a powder container 3 containing a toner and a two-component developer composed of a toner and a carrier; a toner or a developer discharged from the container to the developing device 2;
And a toner / developer conveying device 4 that circulates the developer derived from the toner.

Although the powder container 3 is apparently a single container, the first powder container 11 and the second powder container 12 are integrally connected to each other, and the toner, developer and Supply of The configuration is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 7-171.
No. 157, the first powder container 11 and the first powder container 11 are formed by the action of a spiral projection attached to the inner peripheral surface of each container in accordance with the rotation of the container in the directions A and B. 2
The different powders contained in each of the powder containers 12 are separately discharged from the containers. Generally, unused developer is stored in a first powder container 11, and unused toner is stored in a second powder container 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the toner / developer conveying device 4 includes a first conveying screw 21 and a second conveying screw 22 therein, and the developer conveyed by the first conveying screw 21 from the developing device 2. Is transferred to the second transport screw 22 on the near side in the drawing, and is returned to the developing device 2 by the second transport screw 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, at least a part of the developer from the circulation system is transferred from a drop space 24 formed below the second conveying screw 22 to a lower side of the side wall of the case 23 for the conveying screws 21 and 22. The developer is fed into the developer turning space 25 through the provided hole, and is returned to the circulation system from the hole 26 provided on the upper side wall of the case 23 by the rotation of the turning space 25. The circulation system may be formed only by the developing device 3 without passing through the toner / developer conveying device 4.

The intermediate connecting member 27 and the turning main body 33 forming the developer turning space 25 will be described with reference to FIG. Intermediate connecting member 2 integrally molded or screwed to case 23
Reference numeral 7 designates one end of the developer turning space 25 and the holes 2 located in the second quadrant and the fourth quadrant as viewed from the turning main body 33 side.
6, 32, and a flat plate portion 28 having a central opening, a ring-shaped flange 29 surrounding the flat plate portion, a developer supply support blade 30 and a developer recovery projecting to the side opposite to the case 23 so as to surround the central opening of the flat plate portion. A supporting blade 31 is provided. The supply support blade 30 and the recovery support blade 31 are not continuous, and a gap exists at an upper and lower intermediate portion. By arranging the supply hole 26 and the recovery hole 32 in the second and fourth quadrants, not in the vertical and vertical positions, the end of the transport screw can be located at a location excellent in space efficiency.

The turning body 33 fitted to the intermediate connecting member 27 has a shallow cup shape having a relatively large central opening. A gear 34 for transmitting rotational drive from a drive unit (not shown) is attached to the outer peripheral side wall. For example, when returning the developer to the circulation system, the developer rotates in the direction of arrow A. Further, on the inner surface of the turning main body 33, there are a developer supply unit 35 for sending out the toner or the developer to the toner / developer conveying device, and a developer collecting unit 36 for returning the collected developer to the powder container. The developer supply section 35 and the developer recovery section 36 are composed of at least one pair, and the number of pairs is determined by the timing of developer supply and recovery and the developer capacity (two pairs in the illustrated example). Further, the numbers may be different from each other, for example, two developer supply units 35 and one developer collection unit 36. When there are more supply units 35, the supply capacity increases, and when there are more collection units 36, the collection capacity increases. The developer supply unit 35 includes a peripheral side wall of the turning main body 33 and the support blade 30 of the intermediate connecting member 27.
And the inner peripheral wall rubbed from the outside, and the bottom surface between the walls is higher on the downstream side than on the upstream side during the developer supply rotation, and forms a slope. The developer collecting unit 36 has a bottom surface that is a flat surface having the same height as the upstream end of the developer supply unit, and a scooping unit 37 that is extended by an inner peripheral wall of the developer supply unit.
And transports the recovered developer during the developer recovery rotation (direction B).

When the intermediate connecting member 27 and the turning main body 33 are fitted with each other, the flat plate portion 28 of the intermediate connecting member 27, the bottom of the supply portion and the collecting portion of the turning main body 33, the peripheral side wall and the inner peripheral wall of the turning main body 33, and The developer rotation space 25 is defined by the supply support blade 30 and the recovery support blade 31 of the intermediate connecting member 27. A first seal member 38 is mounted between the intermediate connecting member 27 and the turning main body 33 so that the developer does not enter the gap when the turning main body 33 rotates. The sealing member 38 is a rubber-based V-ring, G-seal, or an alternative thereof, such as a sponge. A second seal member 39 is also attached to the inner peripheral edge of the turning main body 33 for holding and sealing when the powder container 3 is set in the toner / developer replenishing device.

FIG. 3 further shows a closure plug 40 for the powder container 3 in the inner peripheral space of the supply support blade 30 and the recovery support blade 31 of the intermediate connecting member 27. The stopper 40 first closes the respective end openings of the first powder container 11 and the second powder container 12 to prevent leakage of the developer and the toner. It is pulled out by a predetermined amount by a chuck device (not shown) so as to open each opening.
The details are shown in FIG. The closing of the first powder container is performed by the outer peripheral plug 41, and the closing of the second powder container is performed by the central plug 42. The central plug portion 42 includes a conical surface 43 protruding toward the container and a plurality of (eight in the illustrated example) blade portions 44 uniformly distributed on the conical surface 43. The conical surface 43 takes an angle of repose greater than the angle of repose of the developer and is, for example, at least 20 degrees. As a result, the dropped developer is collected in the container by natural force.
The conical surface 43 and the blade portion 44 function effectively at the time of collecting the deteriorated developer, and the developer falling from above is reliably picked up by the blade portion 44 and slides on the conical surface 43 to form the second portion. It is collected in the powder container 12. The opening and closing of the stopper 40
This is performed by a chuck device (not shown) gripping the knob 45.

A series of operations in this embodiment will be described below. For example, if it is determined that there is no toner in the powder container 3 even though the toner concentration of the developing device 3 has decreased and the toner needs to be replenished,
Prompt for replacement. When a new container 3 is mounted, the stopper 40 is opened by a chuck device (not shown). When the stopper 40 is opened, a drive unit (not shown) drives the turning body 33 via the gear 34 to rotate in the direction A. At the same time, the powder container 3 is also rotated in the same direction A by a drive unit (not shown), and the toner is discharged from the second powder container 12. Depending on the spiral state of the spiral projection provided on the inner peripheral surface of the second powder container 12, the toner may be discharged by rotating in the B direction. When supplying the developer, the powder storage container 3 is rotated in the opposite direction to the toner supply, so that the developer is rotated from the first powder container 11 provided with the spiral projection on the inner peripheral surface. Discharge to 25. That is, the first powder container 11 and the second powder container 12
The spiral projections attached to the respective inner peripheral surfaces are opposite to each other, and when the powder container rotates to one side, any one of the powder stored in the first powder container and the powder stored in the second powder container, respectively. Is sent to the end opening, and the other powder is sent to the back of the container.

The toner or developer discharged from the opening falls into the turning space 25, and is rotated upward in the developer supply section 35 by the rotation of the turning body 33 in the direction A, and by the inclined surface of the supply section, the toner / developer conveying device. 4, and is then sent out onto the second transport screw 22 which is driven to rotate via the hole 26 provided on the upper side wall of the case 23 to the intermediate connecting member 27. When the toner or the developer is rotated and transported by the developer supply unit 35 in the turning space, the toner or the developer is transported in a space defined by the inclined bottom portion, the peripheral side wall, and the inner peripheral side wall,
Therefore, there is no particular inconvenience even if the supply support blade 30 rubbing the inner peripheral side wall is omitted. Second transport screw 2
When the powder container 3 is rotationally driven, the second and first transport screws 21 start to be driven at least at the same time. Therefore, the developer is circulated and transported from the developing device 2, and especially when toner is supplied. In the first embodiment, mixing with the developer is started before reaching the developing device 2, and it is possible to minimize the unevenness of the toner density in the developing device 2.

After a predetermined amount of toner or developer is supplied, the rotation of the powder container 3 is stopped, and the stopper 40 closes the container opening. At this time, the turning body 33 and the first transport screw 2
The driving of the first and second conveying screws 22 may be stopped, or may be kept driven. When the first conveying screw 21 and the second conveying screw 22 constitute a part of the inside of the developing device 2, it is preferable to always operate the first conveying screw 21 and the second conveying screw 22 from the viewpoint of stirring the developer in the developing device 2.

When all the toner is discharged from the second powder container 12, the empty powder container 12 is used as a collection container for the deteriorated developer. In the case of collecting the deteriorated developer, the first transport screw 21 and the second transport screw 22 are driven in the same manner as in the case of supplying the toner or the developer, and the rotating main body 33 is rotated in the reverse direction in the case of supplying the toner or the developer. In the direction B. The stopper 40 is opened to the position shown in FIG. The timing of developer collection is
It is reasonable to adjust to the point in time when toner replenishment becomes necessary due to a decrease in toner concentration by using a magnetic toner concentration sensor, an optical toner concentration sensor, or a sensor for sensing the toner concentration on the photoconductor in the developing device 2. It is. The second powder container 1 is determined by various sensors to determine a decrease in toner concentration.
A mode is set for collecting the developer when the toner runs out in 2.

The deteriorated developer sent out from the developing device 2 passes from a drop space 24 formed below the second transport screw 22 through a hole 32 provided on a lower side of the side wall of the case 23 or the intermediate connecting member 27. , Enters the rotating turning space 25. The developer that has entered the turning space 25 accumulates in a space surrounded by the peripheral side wall of the turning main body 33 and the collecting support blades 31, and is lifted upward by the scooping unit 37 of the developer collecting unit 30, and then the developer supporting unit 31 returns. It falls at the position where it is interrupted, is picked up by the blade portion 44 of the stopper 40, slides on the conical surface 43, and is collected in the second powder container 12. At this time, by rotating the second powder container 12 in a direction opposite to the direction at the time of toner replenishment, the collected developer is taken into the container inner side by the action of the inner peripheral spiral projection. The same amount of the deteriorated developer as the developer stored in the first powder container 11 and supplied to the developing device 2 is supplied to the second powder container 11.
The collection is terminated when the powder is stored in the powder container 12, and the user is prompted to replace the container. Replace the old and new developer with the developing device 2
May be all or only a part.

[0024]

According to the toner / developer replenishing apparatus of the first aspect, the supply of the toner and the developer can be reliably performed with a simple structure having a limited number of parts and a limited space. Can be prevented from increasing in size.

According to the toner / developer replenishing device of the second aspect, it is possible to reliably recover the deteriorated developer. In addition, since the toner / developer is reversed in supply, the supply / recovery control is easy.

According to the toner / developer replenishing device of the third aspect, careless supply of the replenishing toner / developer can be avoided.

According to the toner / developer replenishing device of the fourth aspect, since a plurality of developer receiving blades are provided on the slope of the closure plug, it is possible to reliably transfer the collected developer that falls naturally. Get higher.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a main configuration of a toner / developer replenishing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a main configuration of the same toner / developer replenishing device as in FIG. 1 and partially opening a toner / developer conveying device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a toner / developer conveying device, an intermediate connecting member, and a turning main body, showing a configuration around a turning space for circulating toner / developer;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views showing the configuration of an intermediate connecting member and a turning main body that are fitted to each other. FIG. 4A shows an intermediate connecting member connected to a toner / developer conveying device, and FIG.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of a closure plug, (a) is an end view,
(B) is a front view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 powder storage container 11 first powder container 12 second powder container 21 first transport screw 22 second transport screw 23 screw case 24 dropping space 25 turning space 26 hole 27 intermediate connecting member 28 flat plate portion 33 turning main body 34 Gear 38 Seal member 40 Stopper

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-273272 (JP, A) JP-A-3-62364 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15 / 08

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A toner / developer replenishing device comprising a container for storing toner or developer, a turning member mounted on an end face of the container, and an intermediate connecting member fitted to the turning member. The turning member has a shallow cup shape, and has a bottom opening formed with a central opening into which the toner or developer outlet of the container is inserted. Further, the turning member includes a toner or developer material. There is a bottom surface that becomes shallower toward the downstream side in the rotation direction for supply, and the space is defined by the bottom surface, the peripheral side wall, and the inner peripheral wall, and the intermediate coupling member includes a ring-shaped flange, A flat plate portion provided with a supply hole for discharging toner or developer, which is surrounded by the ring-shaped flange, and when the turning member and the intermediate connecting member are fitted, the flat plate portion surrounds the turning member. With side walls A supply space is formed in contact with each edge of the peripheral wall, and the supply space moves with the rotation of the turning main body, thereby lifting up the toner or developer present in the supply space, A toner / developer replenishing device, wherein the toner / developer replenishing device can be discharged from the supply hole. 2. A revolving member comprising a scooping part capable of revolving and transferring a developer when the revolving body is rotated in a direction opposite to a rotational direction for supplying the toner or the developer. The flat plate portion of the intermediate connecting member is provided with supporting blades that can form a developer collecting space by contacting a peripheral edge of a central opening of the member and a collecting hole for receiving the developer in the collecting space. The toner / developer replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The toner / developer replenishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stopper capable of opening and closing an outlet of the storage container and having a developer collecting slope. 4. The toner / developer replenishing device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of developer receiving blades are provided on a slope of the closure plug. 5. A toner / toner for a developer replenishing device, comprising a turning member and an intermediate connecting member fitted to each other.
In the developer supply structure, the turning member has a shallow cup shape, a central opening is formed at the bottom, and the turning member is further provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction for supplying the toner or the developer. There is a bottom surface that gradually becomes shallower, and the space is defined by the bottom surface, the peripheral side wall, and the inner peripheral wall. The intermediate connecting member includes a ring-shaped flange, and a toner or developer surrounded by the ring-shaped flange. When the turning member and the intermediate connecting member are fitted to each other, the flat plate portion comes into contact with each edge of the peripheral side wall and the inner peripheral wall of the turning member. In contact with each other to form a supply space, and the supply space moves with the rotation of the revolving main body, thereby lifting up the toner or developer present in the supply space and from the supply hole. Such as can be out of toner /
Developer supply structure.