JPH02282285A - Toner transferring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transfer toner without toner leakage by providing a screw member so that the tip thereof may protrude from the opening of the tip of cylindrical projecting part and installing a packing member on the tip of the screw member. CONSTITUTION:An outer cylinder 4 is made to slide on the cylindrical projecting part 2 according to the restoring action of the spring member 5, when the packing member 12 is bent and fitted in the outer cylinder 4 so that the toner which is going to leak from the outer cylinder is stopped by sealing. Then, a toner transferring device 10 moves to the left more, the outer cylinder 4 separates from a receiving port part 15 to be free. At the same time, the com pressed state of the spring member 5 is nearly released and restored. Namely, the packing member 12 completely gets into the outer cylinder 4. Though the flocculation degree of toner is decreased and the fluidization thereof is increased by shock at the time of separation, the toner leaking to the outer cylinder 4 from the cylindrical projecting part 2 is stopped by sealing with the packing member 12, whereas the toner is prevented from leaking to the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a toner replenishment device that can be applied to a toner replenishment device, a cleaning device, a waste I-toner processing device, etc. in an image forming apparatus that uses dry or wet toner. This relates to a transfer device.

(Prior Art) There is a toner transfer means that is attached to a unit that handles toner and is a unit that constitutes a copying machine. For example, 1) a cylindrical protrusion for feeding toner that incorporates a screw member that is rotated in the toner delivery direction and is detachable from the toner receiving means; and a slidable outer cylinder that can assume either a protruding position in which it protrudes beyond the tip opening of the cylindrical protrusion or a retracted position in which it is retracted inward from the tip opening. , an elastic means for biasing the outer cylinder in a direction to protrude from the tip opening, and when the toner receiving means is attached to the cylindrical protrusion, the toner receiving means pushes the outer cylinder. When the toner receiving means is detached from the cylindrical protrusion, the toner transfer device moves the outer cylinder to the protruding position by the biasing force of the elastic means. be.

- By way of example, a toner transfer device for a dry cleaning unit of a copying machine is shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cleaning unit main body, numeral 2 a cylindrical protrusion protruding from the bottom of the cleaning unit main body, and numeral 3 a screw member housed within the cylindrical protrusion and rotating in the toner feeding direction indicated by arrow R. , numeral 4 is an outer cylinder slidably fitted to the cylindrical protrusion, numeral 5 is an extensible spring member provided between the cleaning unit main body and the cylindrical protrusion, and numeral 6 is the cylindrical protrusion. 2A and 2B show waste bottles 1 to toner bottles as removable toner receiving means, respectively.

In this configuration, the waste toner bottle 6 is now attached to the cylindrical protrusion 2, as shown in FIG. At the time of such attachment, the outer cylinder 4 is pushed by the waste toner bottle 6 against the elasticity of the spring member 5 and is in the retracted M position, and the cylindrical protrusion 2
The opening at the tip is located inside the waste toner bottle.

On the other hand, the 1-ner generated by cleaning, that is, the powdered 1-ner to be removed from the cleaning unit main body 1.
The s-'r is filled to the inside of the cylindrical protrusion 2.

At this point, when the screw member 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow R, which is the toner feeding direction, the toner T is fed into the waste toner bottle 6.

Once the toner T has been completely transferred to the waste toner bottle 6, the bottle is removed from the waste toner bottle 6. At the time of removal, the bottle is pulled out in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. Along with this, the outer cylinder 4 also moves in the direction of the arrow due to the stretching force of the spring member 5, and becomes stable in the protruding position shown in FIG.

In this way, the installation and removal operations of waste toner bottles 1 to 6 are as follows.
It is repeated in the order shown in Figure 7 → Figure 6 → Figure 5-) Figure G → Figure 71a. jli! It is performed as a frequent movement.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) When focusing on the detachment operation of the waste toner bottle 6 from the Greenink Uniso 1 main body in the process from FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, in FIG. Due to the slight shock at the time of separation, the toner T at the tip of the starry member 3 collapses into the outer cylinder. Furthermore, in FIG. 7, there is a problem in that a larger amount of toner falls from the outer cylinder to the outside and is scattered.

The degree of aggregation of the toner at the tip of the screw member 3 is relatively higher than that of pure toner in the toner replenishing device in this cleaning unit, but when the waste toner bowls 1 to 6 are attached and detached, or when the cleaning unit is attached and detached during maintenance. However, measures to reduce the shock would be large-scale, if not impossible, and would increase the cost of parts.

Contrary to the above, the operation of attaching the waste toner bottle 6 to the main body of the cleaning unit will be examined for the processes shown in FIGS. 7 to 5. Comparing the air space 7 shown in Fig. 6 and the air space 7' shown in Fig. S, the air space 7' is smaller than the air space 7 because the outer cylinder 4 is inserted into the waste toner bottles 1 to 6. It has become. In other words,
Air is compressed due to the reduced volume and air leaks. If the installation speed from the state shown in Fig. 6 to the state shown in Fig. 5 is slow, the speed of the airflow leaking from gaps 8 and 9 will also be slow, and the amount of scattered toner flowing out with this airflow will be small, but compared to normal Particularly at the mounting speed, the toner T□ accumulated in the outer cylinder 4 leaks forcefully from the gaps 8 and 9.

As a countermeasure against this problem, for example, if you try to further increase the length of the outer cylinder 4 to prevent toner from falling outside, the air space 7
The difference between the air space 71 and the air space 71 becomes large, and the problem of leakage of airflow caused by air flow is not solved. The reason why the difference in air space becomes large is that the air spaces 7 and 7' are the same as those between the cylindrical protrusion 2, the toner inside the cylindrical protrusion 2, the outer cylinder 4, and the air spaces 7 and 7'.
This is because the space is constituted by the toner inside the outer cylinder 4 and the waste toner bowl 1-6, and the longer the outer cylinder is, the longer the air compression stroke will be.

The above is the problem of toner leakage when a conventional toner transfer device is applied to a cleaning unit.

As described above, conventional toner transfer devices have been used in cleaning units despite having toner leakage problems. The reasons for this are: ■ Even if the toner falls or scatters, it will not come into direct contact with the user's mouth; ■ This leaked toner will not cause secondary problems such as damage to the machine; and ■ During maintenance of the machine. This depends on the fact that it can be cleaned by a service person, etc.

On the other hand, as a unit for handling toner, in addition to the above-mentioned cleaning unit, there is a toner replenishing device that is detachable from the main body of the copying machine. This toner replenishing device does not include a toner transfer device attached to the cleaning unit. Although the toner transfer device has a simple configuration, it is not applicable because the toner in the replenishing device is unused, pure toner, and compared to the toner after cleaning, it contains paper dust, clumps, etc. Furthermore, since there is almost no charged agglomeration, the fluidity is much higher, and the degree of toner scattering and falling during attachment and detachment is large, and the area around the machine and its installation area will be contaminated.

On the other hand, in recent years, some full-color copying machines have a total of four developing units that accommodate four types of toner, including three primary colors plus black, in order to realize color development. In such a copying machine, toner is removed from the developing unit as an I-toner receiving means in order to (1) improve toner replenishment operability by the user, (2) improve serviceability, and (3) improve assembly. Despite the demand for a replenishing device to be detachable, conventional toner transfer devices suffer from toner leakage as described above, so there are circumstances in which it is not possible to make the replenishment device detachable for use with the toner transfer device. be.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a toner transfer device that can solve the problem of toner leakage during attachment and detachment from a main body.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, in the toner transfer device of the present invention, the tip of the screw member is provided to protrude beyond the tip opening of the cylindrical protrusion, and the screw A packing member is provided at the tip of the member, and in the retracted position when the toner receiving means is attached, the outer cylinder is separated from the packing member, and in the protruding position when the toner receiving means is not attached, the outer cylinder is inside the outer cylinder. The above-mentioned packing member was placed in the correct position.

Note that it is preferable to form a groove on the outer periphery of the cylindrical protrusion in a region on which the outer cylinder slides.

Furthermore, the screw member can be made rotatable so as to feed not only the toner in the toner feeding direction but also in the direction opposite to the I-toner feeding direction.

(Function) The outer cylinder is sealed or opened by the packing member in conjunction with the attachment/detachment operation of the toner receiving means.

(Example) An example in which a toner transfer device according to the present invention is applied to a developing unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. It should be noted that in order to avoid complication, the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 5 to 7 are used for parts that are unlikely to be confused.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 designates the main parts of a toner transfer device attached to a toner replenishing device, which is detachably attached to a developing unit serving as a toner receiving means.

In this toner transfer device, a toner hopper 11
The container contains unused toner t that has been replenished from a cartridge or the like. Further, a cylindrical protrusion 2 is provided at the bottom of the hopper 11. An outer tube 4 is slidably fitted into the cylindrical protrusion 2, and a spring member 5 made of an extensible coil spring is interposed between the outer tube 4 and the base of the cylindrical protrusion 2. It is.

Although the cylindrical portion of the cylindrical protruding portion 2 extends into the toner hopper 11, it is in a communicating state within the toner hopper. Further, a screw member 13 is disposed within the cylindrical protrusion 2 so as to be rotatable in the toner delivery direction. This screw member 13 is constituted by a so-called screw conveyor. The tip of the shaft of this screw member is provided to protrude beyond the tip opening 2A of the cylindrical projection 2, and a packing member 12 is provided at the tip of the shaft. This packing member 12 is formed in a shape and size necessary and sufficient to closely fit the inner periphery of the outer cylinder 4 and perform a sealing function.

On the other hand, the base end of the screw member 13 is pivotally connected to the side wall of the toner hopper 11 via a bearing 13A.
Furthermore, gear 01. Rotational power can be transmitted from a drive motor (not shown) via G2. When the screw member 13 is rotated in the direction of arrow R, the toner t in the toner hopper 11 is sent out by the screw member 13 toward the tip opening 2A.

In the state shown in FIG. 1, the toner transfer device 10 is not attached to the developing unit, and the toner t has just been put into the toner hopper 11. At this time,
Although the screw member 13 is not rotating, the flow of toner is occurring even in the portion where the outer cylinder 4 and the packing member 12 are sealed. The outer cylinder 4 is in a protruding state, and the packing member 12
is located inside the outer cylinder 4 and functions to seal the toner t. Although not shown in FIG. 1, a socket on the developing unit side is waiting on an extension of the axis of the screw member 13.

The configuration shown in this figure is mainly convenient when it is desired to increase the capacity of the toner hopper 11, that is, to increase the amount of toner it can accommodate. After replenishing, attach it to the developing unit. Since toner is replenished while the developing unit is separated from the main body, toner can be replenished in a wide space, and operability is improved.

Next, a case where the toner transfer device 10 is attached to a developing unit will be described with reference to FIG. This figure shows an enlarged view of how the toner is transferred between the two.

Now, when the toner transfer device 10 is attached to the developing unit 14, the gear G2 is brought into mesh with the gear on the drive source side.

Further, the outer cylinder 4 is connected to the socket 15 on the side of the developing unit.
It is slid to the left in the figure against the tension of the spring member 5,
As a result, the outer cylinder 4 becomes retracted, and the packing member 12
is separated from the outer cylinder 4 to open the tip opening 2A. This state is maintained with an appropriate latch. Next, when the screw member 13 is rotated in the direction of arrow R, the toner t passes through the cylindrical protrusion 2.

The receiver is passed to the developing unit 14 side.

Here, since the packing member 12 is sufficiently spaced from the tip opening 2A, it does not interfere with the outflow of the toner t.

Also, as the screw member 13 rotates, the packing member 1
2 also rotates, but the increased torque does not cause problems such as toner scattering. This is because the packing member 12 is set so as not to interfere with other members at all, and its rotational speed is relatively slow, for example, about 60 rpm, so that the influence of airflow can be ignored. On the other hand, a screw member 16 is also provided on the developing unit 14 side, for example, by a screw conveyor, and the rotation of the screw member 16 sends the L-ner transferred to the receiver as described above to the developing section.

Next, a mechanism for preventing toner leakage when the toner transfer device 10 is removed from the developing unit 14 will be described.

Developing unit 14 and toner transfer device 1 shown in FIG.
0, when toner replenishment is completed, the latch is released and the toner transfer device 10 and the toner replenishing device are moved to the left in the figure to be removed from the developing unit 14. FIGS. 3 and 4 show this intermediate process, in which the cylindrical protrusion 2 moves to the left in response to the detachment operation, and the screw member 13 and packing member 12 integral therewith also move in the same way.

In addition, the outer cylinder 4 is slid on the cylindrical protrusion 2 in response to the restoring action of the spring member 5, and as a result, the packing member 12 is bent and fitted into the outer cylinder 4, causing leakage from the outer cylinder. This will seal the toner that is about to come out. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the outer cylinder 4 is still at the stage where it is not separated from the socket part 15.

When the toner transfer device moves further to the left, the outer cylinder 4 separates from the socket 15 and becomes free, as shown in FIG. 4, and at the same time, the compressed state of the spring member 5 is substantially released, resulting in the state shown in FIG. I'll be back. In this state, the packing member 12 has completely entered the outer cylinder 4, and even though the degree of toner aggregation is reduced and the fluidity is increased due to the shock etc. at the time of detachment, leakage from the cylindrical protrusion 2 into the outer cylinder 4 occurs. The gaskets 1 to 12 are sealed by the packing member 12 and will not leak to the outside.

The above is the mechanism for preventing toner leakage when detached. Next, the mounting process will be explained in comparison with a conventional example.

In the mounting process, the state of each member changes in the order of FIG. 1→FIG. 4→FIG. 3→FIG. 2. In the process of transitioning from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the state shown in FIG. 4, even if there is an external shock to the toner replenishing device, the sealing function of the packing member 12 prevents toner from leaking from the outer cylinder 4 to the outside.

Furthermore, in the process of transitioning from the state shown in FIG. 3 to the state shown in FIG. Since toner t is not accumulated, the second
Even in the state shown in the figure, only air leaks from the gap between the outer cylinder 4 and the socket 15, and toner does not scatter. This point is different from the conventional method.

In addition, in the above case, since the air flow accompanying the internal pressure increased in the developing second nia hllll in FIG. No toner leakage occurs.

Next, to add some notes regarding the construction, it is preferable to use an elastic body as the packing member I2, and specifically, moltoprene (foamed polyurethane), foamed polyethylene, leather, or the like is used. Further, the elastic force of the spring member 5 is set to be larger than the sliding load due to the frictional resistance between the packing member 12 and the outer cylinder 4.

Note that when the present invention is applied to a normal cleaning device or toner replenishing device, the operations of attaching the device to the main body and removing it from the main body are not so complicated.

However, when used frequently or when transferring developer waste containing sludge to a wet developing device,
As shown by reference numeral 20 in FIGS. 2 to 4, a cylindrical protrusion 2
A large number of grooves 20 are formed on the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 4 in a region on which the outer cylinder 4 slides. In this way, the groove 20 functions as a so-called labyrinth packing between the inner wall of the outer cylinder 4 and produces a sealing effect. In this case, if the groove 20 is coated with a material that is incompatible with the toner, such as grease, typically silicone-based grease, the sealing effect can be further increased and the sliding load on the outer cylinder 4 can be reduced.

As described above, the installation of a unit that contains toner and can be attached to or removed from another unit of the copying machine or the copying machine main body, and the means for preventing toner from scattering and flowing out during detachment operations have been explained. Explain measures to increase the effectiveness of spill prevention.

This is because the screw member 13 is rotated in the opposite direction to the arrow R, which is the toner feeding direction, when the toner transfer device 10 is moved from the attached state to the developing unit 14 in FIG. 2 to the detached state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is done by letting

The mechanism of this reversal will be explained. The 1-ner hopper 11 is provided with a 1-toner remaining amount sensor (not shown), and when the transfer of the 1-ner approaches the end, the sensor detects a shortage of toner in the hopper and issues a toner end signal. prompts the operator to refill toner. As a result, the operator prepares to remove the toner transfer device 10 from the developing unit 14 in order to replenish the hopper with toner, but at this time, the screw member 13 is reversed by a predetermined amount based on the 1-ner end signal. It is. The means for reversing may be a reversing drive of a drive motor for the screw member, or may be performed manually by attaching a hand handle to the screw shaft.

When the screw member 13 is thus rotated in the toner return direction, the toner within the cylindrical protrusion 2 is transferred in the opposite direction to the feeding direction. Therefore, the toner inside the cylindrical protrusion 2 including the vicinity of the tip opening 2A is almost completely gone. Thereafter, when the toner transfer device 10 starts its detachment operation, the effect of preventing toner leakage becomes even more remarkable.

The above example provides the effect of improving toner replenishment operability by the user. In other words, it is possible to replenish toner to the toner replenishing device in a wide space by removing it from the developing unit 1~, and there is no space restriction on the toner replenishing operation itself, which improves replenishment operation. will improve. In addition, if the toner replenishing device is removed from the developing unit and filled with toner before being installed when the toner runs out, replacement toner can be removed from the conventional method in which the toner replenishing device is not removable. Since the bottle is no longer necessary, the space occupied by this 1-ner bottle inside the machine can be used effectively, which increases the toner capacity itself and ultimately reduces the frequency of toner replenishment. become.

It also has the benefit of improving serviceability. This is because the developing unit and the toner replenishing device can be maintained separately while the toner replenishing device is removed from the developing unit, improving serviceability and reducing downtime.

Furthermore, ease of assembly is also improved. This is because the developing unit and the toner replenishing device are not integrally constructed, so the assembly process can be simplified.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, the problem of toner leakage that occurs when attaching to and detaching from the main body is solved. Furthermore, it is also possible to make the toner replenishing device detachable from the main body.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 are explanatory diagrams of a toner transfer device according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 are explanatory diagrams of a conventional toner transfer device. 2... Cylindrical protrusion, 4... Outer cylinder, 10... Toner transfer device, 12... Packing member, 13... Screw member, 14... (as toner receiving means)
developing unit. (-jX

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A toner transfer means attached to a toner handling unit, which includes a built-in screw member that rotates in the toner delivery direction and is detachable from the toner receiving means. a cylindrical protrusion;
The cylinder fitted into this cylindrical protrusion may be in either a protruding position in which it protrudes beyond the tip opening of the cylindrical protrusion or a retracted position in which it is retracted inward from the tip opening. an outer cylinder that is slidable so that the toner can be removed; and an elastic means that urges the outer cylinder to protrude from the tip opening, and when the toner receiving means is attached to the cylindrical protrusion, The outer cylinder is pushed by the toner receiving means to the retracted position, and when the toner receiving means is removed from the cylindrical protrusion, the outer cylinder is moved to the protruding position by the urging force of the elastic means. In the toner transfer device, the tip of the screw member is provided so as to protrude beyond the tip opening, and a packing member is provided at the tip of the screw member, so that when the toner receiving means is installed in the retracted position, the tip of the screw member is provided so as to protrude beyond the tip opening. A toner transfer device characterized in that a cylinder is spaced apart from the packing member, and the packing member is located inside the outer cylinder in the protruding position when the toner receiving means is not attached. 2. The toner transfer device according to claim 1, wherein a groove is formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical protrusion in a region on which the outer cylinder slides. 3. The toner transfer device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the screw member is rotatable so as to feed not only the toner in the toner feeding direction but also in the opposite direction to the toner feeding direction.