JP3814506B2 - Toner supply container and toner supply method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a developing device of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as an image forming apparatus) such as an electrostatic copying machine or a printer, and a toner replenishing container and a toner replenishing method used for supplying toner to the developing device. Is.
[0002]
Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming system. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, etc.), a facsimile apparatus, a word processor, and the like.
[0003]
The process cartridge is a cartridge in which a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. In addition, at least one of the charging unit, the developing unit, and the cleaning unit and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge so that the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Further, it means that at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrated into a cartridge so that it can be attached to and detached from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body.
[0004]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, powder toner is used in image forming apparatuses such as electrostatic copying machines, printers, etc., but this toner supply container is generally a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped container body made of synthetic resin or the like, It is constituted by a seal member that seals the opening of the container main body that is opened to replenish powder toner from the container main body to the developing device. In particular, a process cartridge in which a photosensitive drum, a cleaner, a charger, and the like are integrated with the toner supply container is also made.
[0005]
There have also been many proposals for constructing the toner replenishing container with a bag or an elastic member as a soft wrapping material. In particular, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-152369 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-63072 have a part of the container deformed. There has been a proposal to loosen and supply toner. Further, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 05-29059 proposes that a side wall is formed of a flexible material and deformed and restored through an operating means such as an eccentric roller to prevent toner bridging.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case where a part of the container is deformed, it cannot be said that the toner loosening effect is sufficient, and there is a possibility that residual toner may be generated in an area where the action does not reach. Further, when the entire container is moved, the entire apparatus such as securing a driving source and a driving space becomes large, so that it is particularly difficult to cope with a large capacity, and a significant cost increase is expected.
[0007]
In the prior example, it is difficult to supply a constant amount of toner, and it is difficult to control the amount of toner supplied from the toner supply container.
[0008]
On the other hand, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing container having a simple configuration that prevents toner bridging and has a quantitative supply capability.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to the present invention is used in electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, the container body for supplying toner to the developing device accommodating the toner, have a bag-like form using elastic members or flexible members Further, in a toner supply container having a toner supply port at the bottom of the container body ,
Toner replenishment is performed with the toner supply opening periphery deformation of the container body by previous SL toner supply port portion swings,
The toner supply container is characterized in that the toner supply is stopped by swinging the toner supply port and stopping when the periphery of the toner supply port is bent .
[0010]
Another invention according to the present invention is used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, and a container main body for storing toner and supplying toner to a developing device has a bag-like form using an elastic member or a flexible member. A toner supply container having a toner supply port at the bottom of the container body;
The toner replenishing port portion swings so that the toner replenishing port peripheral portion of the toner container body is deformed and toner is replenished.
The toner supply container is characterized in that a width of a part of a toner supply port peripheral portion of the toner container main body is smaller than a toner supply port width.
[0011]
Another invention according to the present invention is used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, and a container main body for storing toner and supplying toner to a developing device has a bag-like form using an elastic member or a flexible member. Further, the container body of the toner supply container having a toner supply port at the bottom of the container body is supported in a stationary manner, and the toner supply port portion is swung so that the vicinity of the toner supply port of the toner container body The toner supply method is characterized in that the toner is supplied by deforming a portion.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(Embodiment 1)
The structure of the toner replenishing container of the first embodiment is shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toner supply container, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 1, the toner replenishing container of Embodiment 1 includes a container main body 1 and a toner replenishing port member 2. The container body 1 is divided into a container body portion 1a and a toner replenishing port peripheral portion 1b. In the first embodiment, the container body portion 1a is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and the toner replenishing port peripheral portion 1b is separated from the container body portion 1a. The shape is mainly tapered toward the replenishing port to reduce the cross-sectional area. Further, a hollow cylindrical toner supply port member 2 is provided at the tip of the peripheral portion 1b of the toner supply port.
[0017]
The shape of the peripheral portion 1b of the toner replenishing port is an ellipse having a major axis in the direction of the arrow in the figure in the horizontal section of the upper and lower intermediate portions 1b1 in a state where the toner replenishing container is vertical with the toner replenishing port member 2 facing down. The peripheral portion 1b of the toner replenishing port gradually becomes a rectangular shape with the horizontal section gradually expanding upward from the intermediate portion 1b1 toward the container body 1a. Further, the horizontal section gradually decreases from the intermediate portion 1b1 toward the toner supply port member 2 and becomes circular. The minor axis of the ellipse of the intermediate part 1b1 is substantially equal to the diameter of the toner supply port member 2.
[0018]
In FIG. 2, the toner replenishing port peripheral portion 1 b includes a bottleneck portion D following the taper portion F. The bottleneck portion D has a cylindrical shape, an elliptical cross section, and a lower end cross section substantially coincides with the toner supply port member 2.
[0019]
In the first embodiment, the container body 1 is formed by blow molding of low density polyethylene. The container body 1 only needs to be flexible enough to accommodate the toner 3 and deform when the toner is replenished, and other materials and molding methods can be selected as long as the conditions are satisfied. Specifically, a bag made of an elastic material such as a bag made of polyethylene or polypropylene or polyurethane or rubber may be used.
[0020]
The toner supply port member 2 was molded by injection molding using high density polyethylene. The toner replenishing port member 2 desirably has higher rigidity than the container body 1 for securing a toner replenishing port, and it is necessary that an opening / closing member (not shown) such as a shutter or a screw cap can be attached. Other materials and molding methods may be used as long as these conditions are satisfied. In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the flow path of the toner replenishing port member 2 can be any shape such as a circle, an ellipse, or a rectangle, but a smaller one is better for accurately controlling the replenishment amount of the toner 3, and a fast replenishment speed is required. It is necessary to select according to the replenishment conditions. In the first embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the flow path of the toner supply port member 2 is a circular shape having a diameter of 15 mm.
[0021]
The toner supply container of the first embodiment has a capacity of 1000 cc and is filled with 500 g of toner.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply container filled with the toner 3.
[0023]
Next, a toner replenishing method will be described. The toner supply container of Embodiment 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 4 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) above the hopper (not shown) of the image forming apparatus main body, and the toner supply port is opened. When the toner replenishing port is opened, when the fluidity of the toner 3 in the container main body 1 is good, the toner 3 is free-falling and is discharged by the toner replenishing port member 2, but the toner replenishing port with respect to the container body 1a. Since the peripheral portion 1b has a tapered shape, the cohesiveness of the toner 3 becomes strong and the fluidity is hindered, so that the discharge stops immediately. Further, when the toner 3 in the container body 1 is attracted and hardened and the cohesiveness is high, the toner 3 is hardly discharged even if the toner supply port is opened.
[0024]
In this state, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), when the toner replenishing port member 2 is swung left and right, the bottleneck portion D of the toner replenishing port peripheral portion 1b mainly deforms to deform the peripheral portion of the replenishing port. By loosening the toner 3 in 1b, the toner 3 is given fluidity and discharged from the toner supply port. As long as this rocking motion continues, the toner 3 in the container body 1 gradually loosens, and finally the toner 3 in the container body 1 is almost completely discharged. By changing the swing speed and swing amplitude of the toner replenishing port member 2, the toner discharge amount changes. When the swing speed and amplitude are constant, the toner discharge amount becomes constant.
[0025]
When stopping the toner supply, as shown in FIG. 4, the amplitude of the swinging motion is increased and the toner supply stop peripheral portion 1b is bent and held in a part C. Toner replenishment stops when part C of the toner replenishing port peripheral portion 1b (one place in the region of the bottleneck portion D) is completely closed, but when the swinging is stopped at the fulcrum position where the amplitude of the swinging motion is increased. Even if the cross section of the bottleneck portion D is deformed and does not close, the toner does not pass through the bottleneck portion D, so that the toner supply is stopped. As a result, the flow path of the toner 3 is cut off and the discharge of the toner 3 in the container body 1 is stopped. If the swinging motion is resumed, the toner 3 can be discharged again.
[0026]
Accordingly, the discharge and stop of the toner 3 can be freely controlled by combining the swinging movement of the toner supply port member 2 and the holding in a state where the portion C of the toner supply port peripheral portion 1b is bent. .
[0027]
As described above, the first embodiment has a simple configuration that does not use a screw and a stirring shaft for stirring and conveyance, but can not only reliably and quantitatively replenish the toner 3, but also the sliding of the screw and the stirring shaft. It is also possible to suppress the generation of coarse particles of the toner 3 that are easily formed in the portion.
[0028]
The container main body 1 may be swung while the toner supply port member 2 is fixed.
[0029]
(Embodiment 2)
In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the width of the bottleneck portion D which is a part of the peripheral portion 1b of the toner replenishing port is made smaller than the width E of the toner replenishing port member 2. This is the same as Form 1. Specifically, the width of the D portion is 5 mm, and the toner replenishing port member 2 is left with a diameter of 15 mm (= E). Accordingly, the bottleneck portion D is a flat non-circular shape in the second embodiment.
[0030]
In the case of the second embodiment, since the toner replenishing port peripheral portion 1b is narrowed as compared with the first embodiment, the toner 3 is not discharged from the container body 1a. There is no discharge.
[0031]
However, when the toner replenishing port member 2 is swung, the toner replenishing port peripheral portion 1b is greatly deformed to loosen the toner 3 in the container body 1 and improve the fluidity of the toner 3. Is possible. Therefore, the second embodiment can control the toner supply better than the first embodiment.
[0032]
6 and 7 show a toner supply container swinging mechanism provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter referred to as “apparatus main body”) 10 is provided with a mounting portion 4 for mounting the toner supply container 1. The mounting portion 4 is a hole, and has a through-hole along a part of the tapered portion F of the toner supply port peripheral portion 1b following the container barrel portion 1a and the container barrel portion 1a. A holder 5 having a hole 5a into which the toner supply port member 2 is removably inserted is provided below the hole of the mounting portion 4. The holder 5 is a lever and is pivotally attached to the apparatus main body 10 with a pin 5b at the base, and can swing around the pin 5b. The front end side of the holder 5 having the hole 5 a and the pin of the crank 6 are connected by a link 7. The shaft 6 a of the crank 6 is supported by the apparatus main body 10 and is driven by a drive source of the apparatus main body 10 to rotate.
[0033]
When the toner replenishing container 1 is mounted on the mounting portion 4 and the mounting portion cover 8 is closed, a switch (not shown) is turned on by the mounting portion cover 8, and driving force is transmitted from the driving source of the apparatus main body 10 to the crankshaft 6a. The rotation of the shaft 6 a swings the lever 5 via the link 7. When the bottleneck portion D can be closed as shown in part C of FIG. 4, the radius of the crank 6 is made larger than the above, and during the toner discharging operation, the crank 6 swings instead of rotating. When the bottleneck portion D is closed in the state of a part C in FIG. 4, control for increasing the swing angle of the crank 6 is performed.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
By using the product of the present invention, even if the toner in the toner supply container is hardened, it can be easily loosened, and quantitative toner supply can be ensured.
[0035]
In addition, since the configuration of the toner replenishing container is a simple configuration that does not use a screw, a stirring shaft, etc., not only can the cost be reduced, but also the generation of toner coarse particles that are easily formed at the sliding portion can be suppressed. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a toner supply container according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a configuration of a toner supply container according to Embodiment 1.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are longitudinal sectional views showing a toner replenishing state by a swinging motion in the first embodiment. FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a toner supply stop state in the first embodiment.
5 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a toner supply container in Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the toner replenishing device.
7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the toner supply device shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container main body 1a ... Container trunk | drum 1b ... Toner replenishing port peripheral part 1b1 ... Intermediate | middle part 2 ... Toner replenishing port member 3 ... Toner 4 ... Mounting part 5 ... Holder 5a ... Hole 5b ... Pin 6 ... Crank 6a ... Shaft 7 ... Link 8 ... Mounting portion cover 10 ... Image forming apparatus main body C ... Part D ... Bottleneck portion E ... Width F ... Tapered portion

Claims (5)

Used in electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, the container body for supplying toner to the developing device accommodating the toner, have a bag-like form using elastic members or flexible member, further wherein the vessel In a toner supply container having a toner supply port at the bottom of the main body ,
Toner replenishment is performed with the toner supply opening periphery deformation of the container body by previous SL toner supply port portion swings,
A toner replenishing container , wherein toner replenishment is stopped by swinging the toner replenishing port and stopping when the periphery of the toner replenishing port is bent . The material of the toner container main body, a polyethylene or polypropylene emissions, the toner supply container according to claim 1, characterized in that blow molding, vacuum molding, and molded by any of molding methods sheet forming. A container main body used for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body for storing toner and supplying toner to a developing device has a bag-like form using an elastic member or a flexible member, and further the container main body In a toner supply container having a toner supply port at the bottom of
The toner replenishing port portion swings so that the toner replenishing port peripheral portion of the toner container body is deformed and toner is replenished.
A toner replenishing container, wherein a width of a part of a toner replenishing port peripheral portion of the toner container main body is smaller than a toner replenishing port width. Used in electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, the container body for supplying toner to the developing device accommodating the toner, have a bag-like form using elastic members or flexible member, further wherein the vessel the container body of the toner supply container having a preparative toner replenishing port in the bottom of the body to support immovably, toner deforms the toner supply port peripheral portion of the container body by oscillating the toner supply port portion A toner replenishing method comprising replenishing. 5. The toner supply method according to claim 4 , wherein the toner supply is stopped by swinging the toner supply port of the toner container main body and stopping when the peripheral portion of the toner supply port is bent. .

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