JP3349625B2 - Toner supply and developer recovery device - 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 replenishing / developer collecting device attached to an apparatus, in which toner replenishment accompanying toner consumption and developer exchange for exchanging a carrier deteriorated with time can be performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As bottles for supplying toner to a developing device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
A configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 705 is known.
These are caused by the action of the spiral fins (protrusions) installed inside the bottle container during rotation,
This is to discharge the toner stored inside. However, these bottles are only used for toner supply,
Has no other uses.

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 developer to a container containing the new developer. However, according to the technology disclosed in this publication, a serviceman simply attaches an empty container to a collection position, and therefore, the device automatically collects used developer in the container after the developer is supplied. In addition, the device requires two containers to be mounted, resulting in an increase in the size of the device.

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, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing and developer collecting apparatus which can prevent the entire apparatus and a replenishing container to be mounted on the apparatus from being enlarged.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a toner replenishing and developer collecting apparatus according to the present invention is installed substantially horizontally, and rotates around its axis to supply toner in the axial direction. A small-diameter opening is formed in the end face of the bottle, and a protruding part for promoting discharge is formed inside the shoulder of the same bottle end face. A collection member for feeding used developer into the collection container is provided, and at the time of collection of the developer, the discharge promoting portion is retracted upward so as not to hinder the carry-in of the developer. The rotation is controlled to be stopped.

It is more preferable that the stop position in the intermittent rotation operation of the bottle at the time of toner replenishment is controlled so as to coincide with the stop position at the time of developer collection.

The annular developer supply bottle may be fitted to the toner supply bottle to form an integral container.

[0010]

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 toner storage bottle 1 mounted on a toner replenishing apparatus according to the present invention, and a conveyance path and a recovery path. A spiral inward projection is formed on the peripheral surface of the bottle 1. When a driving device (not shown) is started in response to a toner supply signal and the bottle 1 is rotated, the toner stored in the bottle is It is discharged to the transport path by the sending action of the direction projection. The discharged toner is conveyed to a developing device (not shown) by the conveying member 2 arranged on the conveying path. The toner supply signal occurs intermittently, and each time,
The bottle 1 is rotated to supply toner. However, when the toner in the bottle 1 runs out, the empty bottle becomes a collection container for the deteriorated developer. That is, when it is detected that the bottle 1 is empty, the developer that has already been subjected to the development is carried out of the developing device, and is sent into the bottle 1 via the collection member 3. At this time, the bottle 1 is stopped or rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of toner supply so as not to hinder the collection of the deteriorated developer fed. The collected bottle is replaced with a new bottle by a user or a service person.

FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate toner supply and developer recovery using the improved toner storage bottle. As is apparent from FIG. 2A, the bottle 5 has a spiral inward projection and a smaller opening than the bottle main body, similar to the above example. A part of the inner surface of the shoulder at the end surface of the main body has a flat surface for lifting the toner in the rotation direction, and further, as shown in FIG. Also protrudes to a position close to the center of the bottle, and forms a protruding portion 7 for lifting and discharging the toner. When a toner supply signal is generated, a driving device (not shown) starts to rotate the bottle 5, and the toner stored in the bottle is discharged to the transport path by the inward projection and the feeding action of the protruding portion 7. In particular, when the protruding portion 7 is located on the lower side, more efficient discharge is performed as is apparent from comparison between FIGS. 3A and 3B. The discharged toner is transported to a developing device (not shown) by a transport member 8 arranged in a transport path. The toner supply signal occurs intermittently, and each time,
The toner is supplied by rotating the bottle 5, but when the toner in the bottle 5 runs out, the empty bottle becomes a collection container for the deteriorated developer.

When collecting the deteriorated developer, the protruding portion 7 needs to be stopped above the bottle 5. The deteriorated developer is sent from the developing device into the empty bottle 5 via the collection member 9. As shown in FIG. 4A, at this time, if the protruding portion 7 is above the bottle 5, Although it does not hinder the collection of the deteriorated developer sent in, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the protruding portion 7 is below the bottle 5, the developer conveyed via the collection member 8 is used. Is prevented by the protruding portion 7 and leaks to the transport path without being collected in the bottle 5, making it difficult to perform satisfactory collection. If the stop position of the toner storage bottle 5 that is intermittently rotated at the time of toner replenishment matches the stop position at the time of developer collection, that is, the position where the protruding portion 7 comes above the bottle 5, control is performed. Is simplified.

FIG. 5 shows a state of toner supply, developer supply, and collection of deteriorated developer in a supply container in which the developer supply bottle is integrally formed with the toner storage bottle. FIG.
1A, an annular developer supply bottle 10 is fitted into a small-diameter opening of the toner storage bottle 1 shown in FIG. 1 to integrally form a supply container 11, and the integrated supply container 11 is not shown. Of the toner storage bottle 1
The toner stored in the container and the developer stored in the developer supply bottle 10 are discharged to the transport path. When the toner and the developer are to be supplied separately, a spiral inward projection opposite to the toner storage bottle 1 is formed on the peripheral surface of the developer supply bottle 10 so that the replenishing container 11 is provided as required. Reverse the direction. The discharged toner or developer is conveyed to a developing device (not shown) by the conveying member 2 arranged on the conveying path.
When the toner and / or the developer are intermittently supplied and the toner in the toner storage bottle 1 runs out, the empty bottle is used as a collection container for the deteriorated developer. The collection of the deteriorated developer is the same as that described with reference to FIG. The replenishment container in which the collection of the deteriorated developer is completed is replaced with a new container by a user or a service person.

In FIG. 5B, an annular developer supply bottle 10 is fitted into a small-diameter opening of the toner storage bottle 5 shown in FIG. 2 to form a supply container 12 integrally therewith. The container 12 is rotated by a driving device (not shown), and the toner stored in the toner storage bottle 5 and the developer stored in the developer supply bottle 10 are discharged to the transport path. The empty toner storage bottle 5 is used as a collection container for the deteriorated developer, and in this case, the protruding portion 7 needs to be positioned above the bottle 5 and stopped, as in the description of FIG. That is the reason.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the toner replenishing device is installed substantially horizontally, rotates about its axis, and is provided inside the shoulder portion of the bottle end surface having the small-diameter opening to facilitate discharge. The toner supply bottle that forms the protruding part is used as a used developer collection container, and a collection member for sending used developer to the collection container is attached. The rotation of the bottle is stopped by retracting the protruding part upward so as not to obstruct the toner, so that the deteriorated developer can be collected at the same time by replacing the toner supply bottle, and two operations can be performed in one operation. You can do it. Further, it is not necessary to separately provide a developer collection container or to attach a developer collection section to the toner supply bottle, and the apparatus and the container can be reduced in size. A convenient means for discharging the toner formed in the bottle does not hinder the collection of the developer.

[0016]

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the stop position in the intermittent rotation operation of the bottle at the time of toner supply coincides with the stop position at the time of developer collection. There is no need to add a complicated mechanism for the configuration and the stop control at a plurality of positions.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the annular developer supply bottle is fitted to the toner supply bottle to form an integral container, the toner supply and development can be performed by a single replacement operation. Agent supply and developer recovery can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIGS. 2A and 2B schematically show a toner bottle in an apparatus according to another embodiment different from FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view and FIG.

3A and 3B are schematic diagrams illustrating a main configuration of a toner replenishing apparatus using the toner bottle of FIG. 2; FIG. 3A illustrates a case where a protruding portion of the bottle is located on an upper side, and FIG. It shows the case.

4A and 4B show a state in which the deteriorated developer is collected by using the toner replenishing device in FIG. 3, wherein FIG. 4A shows a good recovery state and FIG. 4B shows a state of poor recovery.

5A and 5B are schematic diagrams of a main configuration of a toner supply device according to a configuration including a supply container in which a developer supply bottle and a toner storage bottle are integrated. FIG. 5A corresponds to FIG.
Corresponds to FIG.

[Description of Signs] 1 Toner storage bottle 2 Transport member 3 Collection member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-7-20705 (JP, A) JP-A-55-67768 (JP, A) JP-A-6-258943 (JP, A) JP-A-4- 204972 (JP, A) Hikaru 2-19069 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bottle which is installed substantially horizontally, and which rotates around its axis to replenish toner in the axial direction. A protruding portion for promoting discharge is formed inside the portion, and the bottle is used as a used developer collecting container, and a toner replenishing unit is provided with a collecting member for sending used developer to the collecting container. In the developer collection device, when the developer is collected, the protruding portion is retracted upward to stop the rotation of the bottle so as not to hinder the carry-in of the developer, and the rotation of the bottle is stopped. Collection device. 2. The toner supply and developer collection according to claim 1, wherein the stop position in the intermittent rotation operation of the bottle at the time of toner supply is controlled to coincide with the stop position at the time of developer collection. apparatus. 3. The toner replenishing and developer collecting device according to claim 1, wherein an annular developer replenishing bottle is fitted to the toner replenishing bottle to form an integral container.