JPH01142762A - Developer replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely prevent toner leakage by providing a freely rotatable developer agitating body in a container and releasing a toner empty state by rotation of this agitating body. CONSTITUTION:A toner empty detecting means 20 has a freely oscillatable toner empty lever 21 which is turned and displaced according to the residual amt. of the toner T near a developer replenishing means 3. The end part 10a of the developer agitating body 10 comes into contact with an L-shaped projecting part 22a of a toner empty actuator 22 when the developer agitating body 10 is rotated. This toner empty actuator 22 is then turned in the direction parting from the side wall of the container 1 and a permanent magnet 23 at the tip thereof is detached from a reed switch 24. The toner empty lever 21 is simultaneously turned in the direction parting from the side wall of the container 1. The toner empty state is thereby released and the toner leakage is surely prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a developer replenishing device for replenishing developer to a developing device in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a developer replenishing device used to replenish developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) to the developing device of this type of image forming apparatus, for example, an electronic copying machine, is as shown in FIG. There are some that have a configuration.

Such a developing device includes a developing device 50 and a toner replenishing device 60 as a developer replenishing device that replenishes toner T into the developing device 50.
A developing roller 53 is formed by fitting a sleeve 52 around a magnetic roller 51 in which N-pole and S-pole magnetic pole parts are arranged alternately, and a developer formed on the surface of this developing roller 53. The toner replenisher 60 includes a leveler 54 that regulates the thickness of the magnetic brush, a mixer screw 55 that is a developer stirring member, and an auto toner sensor 56 that detects the concentration of toner in the developer 50.
consists of a hopper-shaped container 61 installed above the developing device 50 and containing toner T therein, and a toner replenishment roller 62 provided at the lower part of this container 61.

A toner empty detection means 63 is installed in the container 61 to detect when the remaining amount of toner T is below a predetermined value. A toner empty lever 64 that is rotatably supported and pivoted, a permanent magnet 65 provided at the tip of the toner empty lever 64, and a permanent magnet 65 provided on the outside of the container 61 in correspondence with the permanent magnet 65. and a reed switch 66 as a detector, and when the container 61 is sufficiently filled with toner T,
The permanent magnet 65 provided at the tip of the toner empty lever 64 and the reed switch 66 are separated by the interposition of the toner T, and the reed switch 66 is turned off.
Further, when the toner T in the container 61 becomes low, the permanent magnet 65 provided at the tip of the toner empty lever 64 is brought into close contact with the reed switch 66.
By turning on the reed switch 65, the container 6
This device is designed to detect the remaining amount of toner in 1.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the developer replenishing device having such a conventional structure, as shown in FIG.
A lid plate 67 is provided so as to be openable and closable, and when the lid plate 67 is opened when replenishing toner, the actuator 64a of the toner empty lever 64 protruding from the outer upper end of the container 61 is pushed, as shown in FIG. The toner empty lever 64 is rotated greatly so that the permanent magnet 65 is separated from the reed switch 66, thereby releasing the toner empty state. Bearing portion 6 of empty lever 64
The toner T easily leaks out of the container from the container 1a, etc., and in order to prevent this, it is necessary to provide a sealing member, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost reduction.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable easy release of the toner empty state with a simple structure, and to reliably prevent toner leakage. An object of the present invention is to provide a developer replenishing device.

[Components of the invention (Means for solving problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has been made.

A toner empty detection means that detects the remaining amount of developer is installed in the container that replenishes the developer in the developing device, which consists of a reed switch that is activated by the movement of a magnet attached to a swingable toner empty lever. In the developer replenishing device, a rotatable developer agitator is provided in the container, and rotation of the agitator makes it possible to release the toner empty state by the toner empty lever of the toner empty detection means after the developer is refilled. The structure is as follows.

(Function) In other words, the present invention has the above configuration,
Since the toner empty state is released by the toner empty lever of the toner empty detection means by the rotation of the developer stirring body rotatably provided in the container, it is easy to release the toner empty state with a simple filter structure. Furthermore, since the toner empty lever itself is located within the container, toner leakage can be reliably prevented, and there is no need for a sealing member, making it possible to reduce costs.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the description will be made with the developing device portion of the developing means as shown in FIG. 4 omitted.

1 and 2 show a developer replenishing device according to the present invention, and numeral 1 in FIG. 1 is a large-capacity hopper-shaped container in which toner T is stored. This container 1 includes an openable and closable lid plate 2 that covers an upper end opening, and a developer replenishing means 3 that replenishes toner T to a developing device (not shown). A toner replenishment roller 5 inscribed in a replenishment port 4 opened at the inner bottom of the toner replenishment roller 5, and a coaxially fixed screw 5 capable of transporting toner that rotationally drives this toner replenishment roller 5.
a, and the shaft end of this screw 5a is connected to the container 1.
It is driven by rotating a gear 7 attached to one shaft end in conjunction with a reduction gear 9 by the operation of a motor 8. ing.

Further, numeral 10 in the figure is a developer agitator provided inside the container 1. As shown in FIG. 2, this developer stirring body 10 has the following features:
It consists of an oblong frame paddle that rotates and stirs the toner T contained in the container 1, and the paddle rotation center axis 11
Attach both end shaft portions of the toner T to both @bearing portions 12 of the container 1.
A pulley 13 is mounted on one shaft end of the pulley 13, which is pivotally supported to prevent leakage, and a pulley 1 is coaxially integrated with the gear 7.
4 and an endless belt 15, which is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

Furthermore, 20 in FIG. 1 is a toner empty detection means installed inside the container 1. This toner empty detection means 20 includes a swingable toner empty lever 21 that is rotatably displaced in accordance with the remaining amount of toner T near the developer replenishing means 3, and a toner empty lever 21 that operates the toner empty lever 21 and operates the toner empty lever 21 to detect the developer. A toner empty actuator 22 that swings due to the rotational contact of the agent agitator 10, a permanent magnet 23 attached to the tip of the empty actuator 22, and a container 1 positioned corresponding to the permanent magnet 23.
reed switch 24 as a detector provided on the outside of the
When the toner T is sufficiently contained in the container 1, the toner empty actuator 2
Permanent magnet 23 attached to the tip of 2 and reed switch 2
4, the reed switch 24 is turned off, and when the amount of toner in the container 1 decreases, the toner T enters between the container 1 and the container 1. End part 1 1 roll 1 piece 1 piece
The reed switch 24 is brought into the ON state by bringing the saitite 23 and the reed switch 24 into close contact with each other.

By the way, FIGS. 3(A), 3(B), and 3(C) show the operating state of the toner empty detection means 20 due to the rotation of the developer stirring body 10 after the developer is replenished into the container 1. When the developer agitator 10 is rotated in the toner empty state, the developer agitator 10
The end portion 10a of the toner empty actuator 22 comes into contact with the L-shaped protrusion 22a of the toner empty actuator 22, and the toner empty actuator 22 is rotated in a direction away from the side wall of the container 1, so that the permanent magnet 23 at the tip of the toner empty actuator 22 is moved away from the lead. At the same time as separating from the switch 24.

The toner empty lever 21 is also rotated in a direction away from the side wall of the container 1, thereby releasing the toner empty state.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the toner empty lever is actuated by the approaching and separating action of a magnet provided in a container for replenishing developer into a developing device. In the developer replenishing device equipped with a toner empty detection means for detecting the remaining amount of developer consisting of a reed switch, a rotatable developer stirring body is provided in the container, and
The rotation of the agitating body enables release of the toner empty state by the toner empty lever of the toner empty detection means after developer replenishment, so the toner empty state can be easily released with a simple structure. Moreover, since the toner empty lever itself is located inside the container, it is possible to reliably prevent toner leakage, and since there is no need for a sealing member, it has the excellent effect of reducing costs. It is possible to provide a developer replenishing device having the following.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an embodiment of the developer replenishing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional front view, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a conventional developer replenishing device, FIG. 5 is an external view, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the lid plate is removed. . DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Container, 3... Developer replenishment means, 4... Replenishment port, 5... Toner replenishment roller, 10... Developer stirring body, 20... Toner empty detection means. 21... Toner empty lever, 22... Toner empty actuator, 23...
・Permanent magnet, 23...Reed switch, T...Developer (toner). Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A toner empty detection means that detects the remaining amount of developer is installed in the container that replenishes the developer in the developing device, which consists of a reed switch that is activated by the movement of a magnet attached to a swingable toner empty lever. The developer replenishing device is characterized in that a rotatable developer agitator is provided in the container, and rotation of the agitator makes it possible to release the toner empty state by the toner empty detection means after the developer is replenished. Developer replenishment device.