JPH02144579A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent occurrence of such a case that the operation of a developing device becomes defective or a developer is not sufficiently supplied by rotating plural members for preventing the floculation of the developer provided on a supporting member for supply when developing operations are carried on. CONSTITUTION:Even when toner is floculated in a high-humidity environment or a developing device is set to a standby state for a long period, the floculated toner can be uniformly loosened when developing operations are carried on by rotating plural members for preventing floculation of developer provided on a supporting member for supply. In addition, the loosened toner is stably supplied completely by means of a developer supplying member 33 whose one end is fixed to the member 31 and the other end is brought into contact with the inner surface of the wall of a developer housing section 29 and moves. Therefore, defective operations of this developing device or insufficient supply of the toner can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a developing device that can be applied to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers that apply electrophotography.

Conventional technology At present, developing devices using a two-component developer are often used as developing devices using a dry type developer. Not only does this require a toner concentration control device to keep the mixing ratio constant, but it also has drawbacks such as regular replacement of the developer due to deterioration of the carrier.

1. Name of the invention Developing device 2. Claims (1) A developer storage section for storing a developer, a supply support member rotatably supported within the developer storage section, and a supply support member for the supply support member. a plurality of developer aggregation prevention members provided; and 3. one end thereof is fixed to the supply support member, and the other end thereof moves in contact with an inner wall surface of the developer storage portion when the supply support member is rotated. A developer supplying member, a charging member that charges the developer supplied by the developer supplying member, a developer carrier that carries the developer charged by the charging member, and a developing image on the developer carrier. A developing device comprising a layer thickness regulating member that regulates the layer thickness of a developer.

(Takumi) The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developer supplying member is made of a resin or elastic metal sheet material provided with a plurality of openings.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, many single-component developing devices using only toner without using a carrier have been proposed, and in recent years, in order to eliminate the maintenance of the developing device, A system has been proposed in which toner for a certain number of recording sheets is stored in the device and the developing device is discarded when the toner runs out.

As such a conventional developing device, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
It is shown in Japanese Patent No. 30568.

3 and 4 show the main parts of this conventional developing device. Reference numeral 1 denotes a toner carrier, which is made of a non-magnetic sleeve, is rotatably supported, and is driven in the direction of arrow a by a drive source (not shown). rotated to Further, fine irregularities are formed on the surface of the toner carrier 1 to ensure toner retention. A one-component non-magnetic insulating toner 2 is stored in a hopper 3. Reference numeral 4 denotes a toner pumping body rotatably provided at the bottom of the hopper 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow, which includes a rotatable shaft 6, a disc 6 provided at least at both ends of the shaft 6, and a toner pumping body 4. It is composed of a single-shaped member 7 attached to the body and a plate-shaped elastic body 8. Reference numeral 9 indicates a toner reservoir plate disposed opposite to the toner carrier 1 with a gap therebetween; 1o indicates a toner layer thickness regulating member for regulating the toner layer thickness on the toner carrier 1;
1 is a member for preventing toner scattering.

In the conventional developing device configured as described above, the toner 2 is first drawn up by the elastic member 8 of the toner pumping member 4 and filled into the gap between the toner reservoir plate 9 and the toner carrier 1. The toner 2 filled in the gap between the toner reservoir plate 9 and the toner carrier 1 comes into contact with the surface of the toner carrier 1 and is triboelectrically charged, and adheres to the toner carrier 1 due to this electrical charge. Thereafter, the toner 2 adhering to the toner carrier 1 is regulated to a predetermined layer thickness by the toner layer thickness regulating member 10, and contributes to development in the development area.

Problem to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-described configuration, the toner 2 is pumped up by the elastic body 8 of the toner pumping member 4, so it is possible to supply the toner 2 without leaving it until the end. As shown in FIG. 4, the engineering-shaped member 4 of the body 4 is composed of large-area blades, and the blades are oriented in the direction where they receive the most resistance from the toner 2 during rotation. If the toner 2 in the hopper 3 aggregates in a high-humidity environment or when the device is on standby for a long time, the rotational load on the toner pumping member 4 will increase, causing malfunction of the developing device, or the toner may be removed by the elastic member 8. However, there was a problem in that it became impossible to pump water.

In view of these problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a developing device that has a simple configuration, prevents toner agglomeration, prevents an increase in driving load, and can supply toner without leaving it until the end. .

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a developer storage unit that stores developer, a supply support member rotatably supported within the developer storage unit, and a plurality of developing devices provided on the supply support member. a developer aggregation prevention member; a developer supply member having one end fixed to the supply support member and the other end of which moves in contact with an inner wall surface of the developer storage portion when the supply support member rotates; A charging member that charges the developer supplied by the developer supply member, a developer carrier that carries the developer charged by the charging member, and a layer thickness of the developer on the developer carrier that is regulated. This is a developing device characterized by being equipped with a layer thickness regulating member.

According to the above-described structure, even if the toner aggregates in a high humidity environment or during long standby of the apparatus, the plurality of developer aggregation prevention members provided on the supply support member rotate during development. The aggregated toner is uniformly loosened, and further, the uniformly loosened toner is further moved by a developer supplying member whose one end is fixed to the supply support member and whose other end moves in contact with the inner wall surface of the developer storage section. Since toner is stably supplied until the end, it is possible to prevent the developing device from malfunctioning or from being unable to supply toner.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a developer supply portion of the same developing device.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a photoreceptor drum which is a charge carrier, and the surface of a metal base 22 made of aluminum or the like is coated with zinc oxide,
The photoconductor 23 is coated with a photoconductor 23 such as an organic photoconductive material and is rotated clockwise. .

A charger 24 is configured to charge the entire surface of the photoconductor 23 of the photoreceptor drum 21 to a predetermined polarity using a DC high voltage power source (not shown). Reference numeral 26 denotes an optical section that projects a patterned optical image onto the photosensitive drum 21 to form an electrostatic latent image. 2e
is a developer, which is a magnetic or non-magnetic one-component insulating toner. A developing roller 27 is a developer carrying member, and is a solid or hollow roller made of stainless steel, aluminum, etc., and has a rough surface with fine irregularities formed on its curved surface. installed and rotated counterclockwise. Reference numeral 28 denotes a charging member that charges the developer 2e to a predetermined polarity. For example, a fur brush or a sponge roller 2 is effectively used. The charging member 28 contacts the developing roller 27 and rotates clockwise at a circumferential speed higher than the peripheral speed of the developing roller 27. ing.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a developer storage section that stores the developer 26.

Reference numeral 30 denotes means for supplying the developer 26, which includes a supply support member 31 rotatably supported within the developer storage section 29, and a plurality of developer aggregation prevention members 32 provided on the supply support member 31. , a developer supply member 33 having one end fixed to the supply support member 31 and the other end in contact with the inner wall surface of the developer storage section 29 . The developer aggregation prevention member 32 is
As shown in FIG. 2, it is composed of a flat blade that is integrated with the supply support member 31, and the large-area side surface 32 of this blade faces toward the longitudinal direction of the supply support member 31. It is set up as follows. The developer supply member 33, as shown in FIG.
It is made of a resin or elastic metal sheet material provided with a plurality of openings 33. Reference numeral 34 denotes a partition plate, which is provided between the developer storage section 29 and the charging member 28, and between which the developer 28
It has a supply port 34 through which it enters and exits. 36 is a layer thickness regulating member that regulates the layer thickness of the developer 26 supplied to the developing row 227, and a rubber blade such as urethane rubber 2 silicone rubber or an elastic metal blade such as phosphor bronze or spring steel for springs can be effectively used. It is fixed to the developing frame 36 so that its negative end 36m comes into contact with the circumferential surface of the developing roller 2a.

3A is a cover that protects the layer thickness regulating member 36 and prevents the developer 26 from scattering.

In the developing device of this embodiment configured as described above,
The operation will be explained below.

The photoconductor drum 21 is charged with a photoconductor 23 by a charger 24.
is charged to a predetermined polarity, for example, negative. Next, this negatively charged photosensitive drum 21 is irradiated with a reflected light image (pattern light image) of the document by the optical section 26 to form a positive electrostatic latent image, which reaches the development area. The developer 26 stored in the developer accommodating portion 29 is uniformly loosened by a plurality of developer aggregation prevention members 32 as the supply support member 310 rotates, and is then distributed by the developer supply member 33 through the supply port 34m. and is supplied into the charging member 28. At this time, since the developer aggregation prevention member 32 is composed of a flat plate-shaped blade, and the large-area side surface 32 of this blade is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the supply support member 31, the resistance of the developer 26 is reduced. The agglomeration of the developer 26 can be uniformly loosened without being affected. Further, since the other end side, that is, the free end side of the developer supply member 33 is in contact with the inner wall surface of the developer storage section 29, it is possible to supply the developer 2θ to the charging member 28 without leaving it to the end.

Further, since the developer supply member 33 is provided with a plurality of openings 33, it is possible to reduce the air flow generated when the developer supply member 33 rotates, and prevent the developer 2e from scattering or spilling. be able to. The developer 2θ supplied into the charging member 28 moves relatively while being in contact with the charging member 28, and is frictionally charged to a predetermined polarity, for example, positive.

The charged developer 2e is conveyed to a position facing the developing roller 27 by the rotation of the charging member 28, and is supplied to the developing roller 2 by its electrostatic force. Thereafter, the layer thickness of the developer 2θ supplied to the developing roller 27 is regulated by the layer thickness regulating member 36 as the developing roller 2T rotates, and when the developer 2θ is opposed to the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor drum 21 in the developing area. , the electrostatic latent image is blown away by the electrostatic force, and the electrostatic latent image is developed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the supply support member 31 rotatably supports the supply portion of the developer 26, and the plurality of developer aggregation prevention members 32 provided integrally with the supply support member 31. , and a developer supply member 33 whose one end is fixed to the supply support member 31 and the other end is in contact with the inner wall surface of the developer storage section 29, so it can be used in high humidity environments or when the device is on standby for a long time. Even if the developer 28 sometimes aggregates, it is possible to prevent the developing device from malfunctioning or from being unable to supply the developer 26.

As described in detail, according to the present invention, even if the developer aggregates in a high-humidity environment or during long standby of the device, the plurality of developer aggregates provided on the supply support member during development can be prevented. By rotating the prevention member, the agglomerated developer is loosened uniformly, and the developer supplying member, which has one end fixed to the supply support member and the other end in contact with the inner wall surface of the developer storage section, loosens the aggregated developer uniformly. Since the loosened developer is stably supplied to the end, it is possible to prevent the developing device from malfunctioning or from being unable to supply the developer, which has a great practical effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a developing device in an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a developer supply portion of the developing device, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the conventional developing device, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the developer supply portion. 27...Developing roller, 28...Charging member, 29...Developer storage section, 31...
Supply support member, 32... Developer aggregation prevention member, 32 Mu... Large area side surface of flat plate blade, 33
...Developer supply member, 33mm...Opening, 36...Layer thickness regulating member. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A developer storage section that stores developer, a supply support member rotatably supported within the developer storage section, a plurality of developer aggregation prevention members provided on the supply support member, and the supply support member provided in the supply support member. a developer supplying member, one end of which is fixed to the developer support member and the other end of which moves in contact with the inner wall surface of the developer storage section when the supply support member rotates; and a developer supply member supplied by the developer supply member. A charging member that charges the developer, a developer carrier that carries the developer charged by the charging member, and a layer thickness regulating member that regulates the layer thickness of the developer on the developer carrier. A developing device characterized by: (2) The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply member is made of a resin or elastic metal sheet material provided with a plurality of openings. (3) Claim 1, characterized in that the developer aggregation prevention member is constituted by a flat blade, and the large-area side of the blade faces in the longitudinal direction of the supply support member. developing device. (4) Claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the developer aggregation prevention member is integrated with the supply support member.
Developing device described in Section 1.