JP3939916B2 - Developing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a developing device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a toner replenishing structure used in the developing device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, or a printing machine, a visible image using a developer such as toner is applied to an electrostatic latent image carried on a photosensitive member that is a latent image carrier. Processing is performed.
When the developer is consumed, it becomes a factor that affects the development density, and therefore replenishment is required according to the degree of consumption in the developing device.
[0003]
Conventionally, the toner replenishment structure has a structure in which replenishment is made from a replenishment tank that is detachable from the developing device in both of the one-component system and the two-component system. There is a configured.
In the above publication, a toner discharge port is provided at one axial end of a cylindrical toner bottle, and an engaging portion capable of engaging with a driving unit provided on the developing device side is provided at the other axial end. The peripheral surface is formed with a spiral projection that protrudes toward the inside, and when the toner bottle is mounted, the toner is rotated along the spiral projection to rotate the toner inside the toner discharge port. The structure which was made to move toward is shown.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the image forming apparatus, since toner is prepared according to a development form such as negative positive development or positive positive development, it is necessary to change the type of toner bottle disposed in the replenishing unit. For this reason, the toner bottles are classified according to the type of the filled toner, and the present situation is that the toner bottles cannot be used in common. Accordingly, the toner bottle is produced for each model of the image forming apparatus, and the cost of parts management, parts processing, etc. cannot be denied.
[0005]
Such a correspondence can be applied to the formation of a multicolor image. When a full color image is formed, toners of four different colors are used, so that four toner bottles are used in one multicolor image forming apparatus. Requires type classification. Therefore, when the shape of the toner bottle is changed, in addition to the above-described increase in parts management and parts processing cost, an assembly error for each color is likely to occur, and as a result, a different color image is formed. There is also a risk of it.
[0006]
In view of the above problems in the conventional developing device, the present invention has, as a first object, component management and component processing that occur when different types of toner bottles are manufactured by realizing common use of components, that is, toner bottles. To provide a developing device having a configuration capable of suppressing an increase in cost of the product, and, as a second object, to improve the adaptability with a single toner bottle by enabling common use in many models Providing a developing device having a configuration capable of supplying the toner, and as a third object, providing a developing device having a configuration capable of enhancing the supply of toner from the toner bottle, and a fourth object As a fifth object, the first to fourth objects are achieved by providing a developing device having a configuration capable of preventing the formation of images of different colors by easily identifying the type for performing multicolor development. You And low component cost by although the respective object to provide an image forming apparatus.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner storage container having a toner discharge port at a central portion of one end in the axial direction of a cylindrical container main body, a spiral convex portion on an inner wall surface, and a developing device from the toner discharge port. A container holding means for holding the toner storage container in a substantially horizontal direction in a state where toner can be introduced into the toner introduction portion of the toner container, and a toner holding container held by the container holding means. Rotation driving means for rotating around the center of the one end surface in the axial direction, and rotating the toner storage container to transfer the toner filled in the toner storage container toward the toner discharge port. In a developing device capable of communicating with a possible toner replenishing device,
The toner storage container includes a throttle portion formed in a diameter smaller than other outer diameters in at least one place in the axial direction, and the developing device is provided with a convex member that can enter the throttle portion. The toner storage container can be rotationally driven by the rotational driving means in a state where the convex member faces the throttle portion and enters the toner storage container, and the convex member does not face the throttle portion and has an outer peripheral surface. It is characterized in that it is configured to be non-rotatable when riding on a convex member .
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the invention, the upper Symbol toner container, as well as be rotated when the rotation center of its own with respect to the center of rotation of said rotary drive means are matched, the outer peripheral surface rides on the convex member The state is characterized in that the relationship does not coincide with the rotation center of the rotation driving means .
[0009]
The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the toner container is rotatable by engaging with the rotation driving means .
[0010]
The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a throttle portion formed in the toner container is formed at a position close to the rotation driving means .
[0011]
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the position of the convex member can be changed .
[0012]
The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the diameter of the aperture of the throttle portion of the toner storage container is larger on the toner discharge port side than on the rotation drive means side.
The invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that a plurality of toner storage containers having different throttle positions can be used at the same time.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the toner storage containers are used, the positions of the throttle portions of the respective toner storage containers are different, and a convex member provided corresponding to each toner storage container It is characterized by being provided with different positions.
The invention described in claim 9 is characterized in that the developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is used in an image forming apparatus.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated examples.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of an image forming apparatus according to an example for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a copying machine, which is one of image forming apparatuses, is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this and includes a printer or a facsimile machine.
[0014]
In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a drum-shaped photosensitive member 1 that can rotate in the direction of the arrow shown, and a charging roller 2 for performing image forming processing along the rotating direction around the photosensitive member 1. , A writing device (only the optical path is shown in FIG. 1) 3, a developing device 4, a transfer device 5, and a cleaning device 6 are arranged.
[0015]
The photoreceptor 1 is uniformly charged by the charging device 2 in the rotating process, and then an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed by the writing device 3, and the electrostatic latent image is subjected to visible image processing by the developing device 4. .
The image carried on the photosensitive member 1 is electrostatically transferred onto a recording sheet via the transfer device 5 after the image transfer timing is set by a registration roller 7 provided in the paper feeding device.
In this embodiment, the transfer device 5 includes a conveyance belt 5A. The conveyance belt 5A is configured to adsorb the recording paper from the photosensitive member 1 by a charging device (not shown), and the recording paper is the conveyance belt 5A. Is transferred toward the conveying belt 5A side by the separation action using the curvature of the photosensitive member 1 at the adsorbing action from the photosensitive member 1, and is conveyed toward the fixing device 8 by the conveying belt 5A. The recording paper fixed by the fixing device 8 is discharged toward a paper discharge tray (not shown).
[0016]
The toner and charge remaining on the photoreceptor 1 after the transfer are removed by scraping with a blade 6A of the cleaning device 6 and a neutralizing lamp (not shown).
[0017]
The residual toner scraped off by the blade 6A is recovered by the recovery blade 6B, transferred toward the developing device 4 by the recovery conveyance means 6C using a screw auger or the like, and is reused.
[0018]
In the case of the present embodiment, the developing device 4 uses a two-component developer configured by attaching a toner made of a dielectric to a carrier made of a small iron ball. For this reason, the developing device 4 is arranged in a developing sleeve 4A for supplying a developer to the photoreceptor 1, and a paddle wheel 4B and a paddle wheel 4B for charging the toner while stirring and mixing the developer inside. And a developer that is agitation of the toner collected from the photoreceptor 1 in the cleaning device 6 and the toner replenished from a toner replenishing device 9 described later. 1 is transferred from the front side to the back side with respect to the paper surface shown in FIG. 1, while from the back side, it is transferred to the front side by the stirring blades provided on the outer peripheral surface of the paddle wheel 4B and circulated. It has become. Such a developing device 4 has a unit structure in which a toner conveyance path is connected to a toner replenishing device 9 described later, and is detachably installed as a process cartridge unit with respect to the image forming apparatus.
[0019]
The toner replenishing device 9 is a device for replenishing toner when a decrease in developer concentration in the developing device 4 is detected by a density detection sensor (not shown), and has the configuration shown in FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the toner replenishing device, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration in the vicinity of the toner discharge port portion located on the left side portion in FIG.
The toner replenishing device 9 uses a toner bottle 10 composed of a cylindrical container body. The toner bottle 10 has a toner discharge port 10A (see FIG. 3) formed at the center of one end surface in the axial direction. On the inner wall surface, a spiral convex portion 10B (shown in FIG. 2 where the outer peripheral surface is recessed toward the inside) 10B is formed.
[0020]
On the other end surface in the axial direction of the toner bottle 10, an engagement portion (not shown) that can be engaged with the output shaft 11 </ b> A of the motor 11 that constitutes the rotation driving means is provided. As a configuration of the engaging portion, an uneven structure is used between the motor 11 and the output shaft 11A side.
The toner bottle 10 is configured such that an end portion on the toner discharge port 10A side is mounted in a case 12A which is a container holding means provided integrally with a cradle denoted by reference numeral 12 in FIG. Is held in a substantially horizontal orientation.
The case 12A is provided with a swingable set lever 13. The set lever 13 is enlarged in the upper left part in FIG. A chuck member 14 capable of extracting the cap C attached to the discharge port 10A is provided. The configuration relating to the chuck member 14 is disclosed in detail in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-106160, which is the prior application of the present applicant.
[0021]
In the case 12A, there is provided a bottle holding member which can be rotated together with the toner bottle 10 as indicated by reference numeral 15 in FIG. 3, and the bottle holding member 14 has a toner discharge port 10A as shown in FIG. A plurality of toner replenishment mylar plates 16 are arranged around the communicating opening. The toner replenishment mylar plate 16 can convey the toner discharged from the toner discharge port 10A toward the toner replenishment portion 12B having a toner replenishment discharge port denoted by reference numeral 12B1 in FIG.
[0022]
The toner replenishing outlet 12B1 of the toner replenishing portion 12B is enlarged before being attached to the process cartridge unit (reference numeral 4 is used for convenience) constituting the developing device 4 as shown in the lower right portion of FIG. It is closed by the shutter member 12C, and is released when the pin 12C1 integrated with the shutter member 12C is pushed up with respect to the protrusion P of the process cartridge unit 4 in the mounting process.
As shown in FIG. 3, the process cartridge unit 4 is provided with a toner introduction port (indicated by the symbol IN for the sake of convenience) that can communicate with the toner supply discharge port 12B1 on the toner supply unit 12B side. Collected toner that has been conveyed by a screw auger 6 </ b> C serving as a collecting and conveying means extending from the cleaning device 6 is also introduced into the port IN.
[0023]
The toner transport configuration from the toner bottle 10 in the process cartridge unit 4 constituting the developing device is disclosed in detail in the above-mentioned JP-A-9-106160 and JP-A-10-186991.
[0024]
Next, the characteristic part of a present Example is demonstrated.
In FIG. 4, the toner bottle 10 is provided with a narrowed portion 10 </ b> P having an outer diameter different from that of other portions in at least one place in the axial direction. The narrowed portion 10P is formed by attaching a ring-shaped convex portion to a corresponding portion in the molding die during blow molding.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the aperture portion 10P is provided not at the toner discharge port 10A side but at a position close to the end portion facing the motor 11 which is a rotation driving means.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 17 denotes a supply unit guide rail member fastened and fixed to the apparatus main body, and the cradle 12 having a case 12 </ b> A as container holding means can be slidably mounted.
[0025]
When the aperture portion 12P in the toner bottle 10 is mounted on the cradle 12, the state shown in FIG.
In FIG. 5, a convex member 18 provided on the replenishment unit guide rail 17 side is disposed at a position facing the throttle portion 10 </ b> P of the toner bottle 10. That is, the convex member 18 enters the aperture portion 10 </ b> P so that the rotation center of the toner bottle 10 coincides with the rotation center L of the motor 11.
[0026]
On the other hand, when the aperture 10P does not correspond to the convex member 18, the outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle 10 rides on the convex member 18 as shown in FIG. The rotation center L1 of the toner bottle 10 does not match. In this manner, the type of the toner bottle 10 to be attached to the developing device 4 can be determined by the correspondence relationship of the aperture portion 10P with respect to the convex member 18.
[0027]
Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to mount a toner bottle according to the development form simply by setting the correspondence of the aperture 10P to the convex member 18 according to the development form. In particular, when the developer to be used is different between the negative positive development and the positive positive development, it is necessary to accurately identify the developer, and the convex member 18 is attached in advance according to the development form. The suitability of the toner bottle 10 to be attached can be easily determined. In addition, since the aperture portion 10P is provided not on the toner discharge port 10A side but on the motor 11 side, the toner moving inside is not hindered from moving near the discharge port.
[0028]
Next, another example according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is characterized in that the position of the throttle portion 10P of the toner bottle 10 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is changed.
In FIG. 7, in the toner bottle 10, the position of the throttle portion 10P can be changed by changing the position where the ring-shaped convex portion is attached according to the location corresponding to the throttle portion 10P in the mold used at the time of molding. Thereby, the toner bottle 10 having a different form from the toner bottle 10 shown in FIG. 5 can be configured. For this reason, the position of the convex member 18 is set to a previously changed positional relationship and attached to the replenishment unit guide rail 17 so that the opposing relationship with the convex member 18 is inappropriate as described in FIG. In this case, the rotation drive by the motor 11 becomes impossible. In this embodiment, it is possible to change the form of the toner bottle 10 attached to the same developing device only by changing the mounting state of the convex member 18. For this reason, it is no longer necessary to prepare a configuration for mounting a toner bottle of a different form, and a toner bottle of a different form, for example, a toner contained in the toner cartridge, which has a different form simply by using the convex member 18 which is an existing constituent member. The present invention can be applied only by preparing a toner bottle in which the position of the aperture portion 10P is different from the conventional one in accordance with the change in color. For changing the mounting state of the convex member 18, a treatment such as providing a plurality of screw insertion holes used for fastening the convex member and selecting and fastening one of them is used. Thereby, the application range of the toner bottle in the same developing device can be expanded.
[0029]
Next, another example according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is characterized in that the diameter of the opening at the aperture portion is larger on the toner discharge port side than on the rotation drive means side.
In FIG. 8, the aperture 10P ′ formed in the toner bottle 10 has a tapered surface with an opening on the toner discharge port side larger than the opening on the motor 11 side. In this embodiment, the toner on the side of the motor 11 corresponding to the bottom of the toner bottle 10 is transferred toward the toner discharge port by enlarging the opening on the toner discharge port side of the aperture 10P ′. It becomes easy. In addition, even when there is no spiral convex portion near the opening on the motor 11 side to facilitate toner flow, the toner can flow out at the bottom of the bottle, so that the flowed out toner exists in the transfer direction. It becomes easy to reach the spiral convex part.
[0030]
Next, another example according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 9 shows an example in which a plurality of toner bottles having different aperture positions are used at the same time.
In FIG. 9, a toner bottle 10 is intended for use in forming a full-color image, and black, yellow, magenta, and cyan are prepared. In the toner bottles 10 for storing the toners of the respective colors, the positions of the throttle portions 10P1, 10P2, 10P3, and 10P4 are different from each other. In the developing devices of the respective colors, the mounting positions of the convex members 18 (see FIG. 5) are varied according to the differences in the positions. In this embodiment, when a plurality of toner bottles containing different color toners are used at the same time, a developing device for a desired color is used only when the correspondence between each convex member 18 and the aperture is appropriate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent development processing with different colors from occurring.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first to third aspects of the invention, it is possible to make the shape of the toner storage container common regardless of the development form. In other words, since at least one throttle portion formed in the toner storage container is provided in the axial direction and the position thereof can be changed, the most part of the toner storage container can be made common by changing only a part thereof. it can. For this reason, as a method for producing a toner storage container, when resin molding is used, a mold excluding a part can be used in common, so that it is possible to suppress an increase in cost required for parts management and processing. In particular, it is only necessary to change the position of the convex member on the developing device side in accordance with the change of the squeezing portion in the toner storage container, so that it is possible to eliminate misidentification at the time of installation and to suppress the deterioration of the assembly work and the yield. Can do. In addition, when engagement with the rotation drive means is required, the case where the center positional relationship between the rotation drive means and the toner container is not aligned and the case where they are aligned, It can also be identified by the facing relationship.
[0032]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the throttle portion is provided at a position close to the rotation driving means corresponding to the position away from the toner discharge port which is the opening portion in the toner bottle, the discharge is performed by the reduced diameter portion at the throttle portion. It is possible to prevent the mobility of the toner to be deteriorated.
[0033]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to change the form of the toner storage container mounted for the same developing device only by changing the mounting state of the convex member. Accordingly, the present invention can be applied only by preparing a toner storage container having a position of the aperture portion that is different from the conventional one in accordance with the change in the color of the stored toner. "
[0034]
According to the sixth to ninth aspects of the present invention, since the opening of the throttle portion in the toner storage container is larger on the discharge port side than on the rotation drive means side, the transportability of the toner moved through the toner storage container is improved. The discharge capacity can be increased. As a result, the time required for toner replenishment can be shortened and the development density maintenance accuracy can be improved. In addition, since a plurality of cartridges having different throttle positions in the toner storage container can be used at the same time, even in the case of forming a multicolor image using different colors of toner stored, the low location of the toner storage container of a predetermined color Is not mistaken. As a result, as in the first to third aspects of the invention, even when a plurality of toner storage containers are used, the use of toner storage containers having almost the same configuration increases part management and processing costs. Can be prevented.
Furthermore, the toner storage container to be arranged can be set without mistake even if the development form differs depending on the combination of the throttle part provided in the toner storage container and the convex member corresponding to the throttle part, As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which an image different from a desired form, for example, a desired form is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus in which a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the developing device according to the embodiment of the invention.
3 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration of a toner discharge unit in the developing device shown in FIG. 2; FIG.
4 is a perspective view for explaining a main configuration of a toner bottle that is a toner storage container used in the developing device shown in FIG. 2; FIG.
FIG. 5 is a partial view for explaining the influence on the driving state by the correspondence between the narrowed portion and the convex member of the toner bottle shown in FIG. 4;
6 is a partial diagram for explaining an influence on a driving state when the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is not adopted. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a partial view of a toner bottle for explaining another example according to the embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a partial view of a toner bottle for explaining another example according to the embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining still another example according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor 4 Developing apparatus 9 Toner replenishing apparatus 10 Toner bottle 10P and 10P 'which are toner storage containers Diaphragm | squeezing part 18 Convex-shaped member

Claims (9)

A toner container having a toner discharge port at the center of one end in the axial direction of a cylindrical container body and a spiral convex portion on the inner wall surface, and introducing toner from the toner discharge port to the toner introduction portion of the developing device The toner storage container is held in a substantially horizontal direction in a possible state and the toner storage container is removable, and the toner storage container held by the container holding means is disposed around the center of the one end surface in the axial direction. Rotation drive means for rotating the toner storage container, and communication with a toner replenishing device capable of transferring the toner filled in the toner storage container toward the toner discharge port by rotating the toner storage container In a developing device,
The toner storage container includes a throttle portion formed in a diameter smaller than other outer diameters in at least one place in the axial direction,
The developing device is provided with a convex member that can enter the aperture portion ,
The toner storage container can be rotationally driven by the rotational driving means in a state where the convex member faces the throttle portion and enters, and the outer peripheral surface is convex without the convex member facing the throttle portion. A developing device, wherein the developing device is configured to be non-rotatable in a state of riding on a member . Upper Symbol toner container, as well as when the rotation center of its own with respect to the center of rotation of said rotary drive means are matched to be rotatable, the rotation of the rotary drive means in a state where the outer peripheral surface rides on the convex member 2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the relationship is not coincident with the center . The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is rotatable by being engaged with the rotation driving unit . 4. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein a throttle portion formed in the toner storage container is formed at a position close to the rotation driving unit . The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the position of the convex member can be changed . 6. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the aperture of the toner storage container has a larger opening diameter located on the toner discharge port side than on the rotation drive unit side. . 7. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of toner storage containers having different throttle positions can be used at the same time. A plurality of the toner storage containers are used, the positions of the throttle portions of the respective toner storage containers are different, and the positions of the convex members provided corresponding to the respective toner storage containers are provided differently. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developing device is provided. An image forming apparatus using the developing device according to claim 1.

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