JPH0234880A - Developing device for copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To coordinate the replenishment and the consumption of toner by providing the title device with a nozzle opening means for a PTC, a liquid supplying means to relating units and a valve means arranged between the opening means and the liquid supplying means, and performing the replenishment of the toner from the valve means to the liquid supply means in or near a suction passage for developing liquid. CONSTITUTION:When the nozzle 16 of the pressurized can for jet-supplying developer (PTC) 1 is opened by the opening means 7, the toner in the PTC 1 is replenished to the liquid supplying means 48 or the supplying is stopped by the opening/closing of the valve means 36. Then, toner replenished in this way is supplied to a developing unit 84 together with the developer by the liquid supplying means 48. At this time, the toner is supplied in the suction passage for the developer. As a result, the toner is supplied uniformly to the relating units without fail. The replenishment of the toner by an appropriate amount according to a consumed amount can be thereby achieved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a developing device for a copying machine that uses a toner container to supply toner into a developer tank to produce wet toner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a developing device of the type described above, a toner bottle is used as a toner container, and a valve provided on the toner bottle is operated to cause the toner to fall naturally into a developer tank by its own weight. Or, it was dropped by forced suction.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the case of the above-mentioned toner bottle, the vicinity of the mouth of the toner bottle becomes severely soiled due to use, making it difficult to handle. Therefore, it is difficult to store a large amount of toner, and there is a problem that the toner is consumed in a short period of time.

Furthermore, in wet toners, the toner concentration or solids content ratio may be changed as needed, and this will naturally change the toner viscosity. properties and dispersibility deteriorate.

This deterioration in fluidity results in non-uniform density within the developing tank, making normal density control difficult. In addition, toner that remains coarse due to insufficient dispersion may be supplied to the development unit as it is, and may clog the development area with a small gap, or the toner density may be proportionally higher even if the amount of supply is increased. There is a problem that the toner is not completely removed, resulting in more toner being replenished than necessary.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, it has been awaited to create a device that can achieve uniform toner dispersion, but no effective method has been proposed yet.

In addition, it is not just a matter of achieving uniform dispersion; it is also necessary to achieve uniform dispersion within a predetermined time, which is important for continuous copying, etc.
There is also the problem that uniformly dispersed wet toner must be replenished in accordance with the toner consumption rate, and consumption and replenishment must be combined in this way.

A developing device that can appropriately deal with this problem has not been proposed.

Therefore, the applicant of this application first proposed the Utility Application No. 63-198 as an effective method for solving the first problem.
We have proposed a pressurized can for developer injection supply (hereinafter abbreviated as PTC) as disclosed in No. and a second chamber containing toner.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to use such a PTC to solve all the problems of the conventional developing device using a toner bottle as described above, and to prevent the opening of the toner bottle and its vicinity from becoming dirty. To provide a developing device capable of supplying a large amount of toner using a container of the same capacity, and also capable of surely and uniformly mixing the replenished toner with a developer within a desired time.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a PTC
an opening means for opening the nozzle, a liquid supply means for supplying liquid to the related unit, and a valve means disposed between the opening means and the liquid supply means, and a liquid supply means from the valve means to the liquid supply means. Toner replenishment is performed in or near the flow path that sucks the developer.

Further, the liquid supply means includes a pump means having a casing disposed within the developer tank and a rotor disposed within the casing, and the flow path guides the developer to the pump means and is formed by a guide member. There is.

Further, an opening/closing means is provided in place of the opening means of the PTC, and the opening/closing means and the liquid supply means are connected on one side by a toner replenishing member that replenishes toner from the former to the latter, and on the other hand, the latter is connected near the nozzle of the PTC to the former. They are connected by a liquid supply circulation member that circulates the developer, thereby forming a loop-shaped flow path.

A stable level of the circulating fluid is established upstream of the linkage portion between the toner replenishing member and the fluid supply circulating member.

In the device according to claim 1, when the PTC nozzle is opened by the opening means, the toner in the pressurized can is replenished to the liquid supply means by opening and closing the valve means, or it is stopped. The toner replenished in this manner is supplied to the developing unit together with the developer by the liquid supply means, but at this time, the toner is supplied in the flow path that sucks the developer, so it is possible to reliably and The liquid will be uniformly supplied to the related units.

In the apparatus of claim 2, the liquid supply means for sucking the replenishment toner together with the developer is a pump comprising a casing and a rotor disposed within the casing, and the pump supplies the developer to the guide member. This results in suction through the formed flow path.

In the apparatus of claim 3, the toner supplied from the PTC to the liquid supply means by the toner supply member via the opening/closing means is dispersed in the developer by the liquid supply means. A part of the dispersed developer is fed to the related unit, and at the same time, the other part is sent to P via the liquid supply circulation member.
The toner-dispersed developer is supplied to the opening/closing means near the nozzle of the TC, and thus flows in a loop between the opening/closing means and the liquid supply means by the toner replenishing member and the infusion circulation member.

In the device according to claim 4, the toner-dispersed developer supplied to the opening/closing means by the liquid supply circulation member constitutes a stable level of circulating fluid in the opening/closing means upstream of the inlet connection portion, and thereby the toner dispersion is supplied to the opening/closing means. No external fluid is fed into the liquid supply means via the supply member.

Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 15 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 represents a PTC;
The TCl is supported by a holder 2, which is provided on one side wall of the developer tank 4 so as to be rotatable by a pivot 3 between a use position shown by a solid line and an attachment/detachment position shown by a chain line.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mouth of the PTCI is provided with a housing 23 in the cylindrical part of the mouth, into which the stem 7, which is always given a tendency to protrude by a spring 27, is slidably fitted. The inside of the (right half) is sealed, but when pushed up (left half) by a stem receiver 26 (described later), the nozzle 16 becomes open and communicates between the inside and outside.

A stem guard 6 is attached around the stem 7, and this stem guard 6 protrudes by 2 points from the tip of the nozzle 16 of the stem 7, preventing PTCl from being accidentally spilled onto the stem 7.
Even if you fall with the guard facing downward, this guard 6
The nozzle 16 collides with the surface of the falling place and opens,
This prevents the toner inside the PTCl from being ejected, the stem 7 from deforming, and the user from tampering with the stem 7 unnecessarily.

The holder 2 includes an upper support plate 9 extending horizontally above the holder main body 8 extending vertically to support the bottom of the PTCI;
A lower support plate 10 for supporting the shoulder of PTCl is installed at the upper and lower part, and a spring 11 is interposed between the lower support plate 10 and the shoulder of PTCl (
(Fig. 4), this spring 11 and the upper support plate 9
The lower support plate 10 is attached to a bracket 12 that is rotatably attached to the pivot 3. There is. One hanging side 1 of the bracket 12
3 forms a cam surface, and a recess 14 is formed in the upper part of the cam surface.

On the other hand, one end of the L-shaped rod 18 is attached to the upper plate 17 of the tank 4 with a pivot 22.
A roller 19 is provided at the bent portion of the roller 19, and a tension spring 21 is tensioned between the other end and a bracket 20 provided on the back surface of the upper plate 17.
9 is always urged in the direction of contacting the side surface 13, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the roller 19 engages with the recess 14 and holds the holder 2 in the use position. In this case, a force is applied to the PTCI by a stem receiver 26, which will be described later, to push up the stem 7 and open it, so the roller 19 must resist that force and hold the holder 2 at the position shown.

For this reason, the position of the pivot 22 is preferably in the fourth or third quadrant of the coordinates formed by the horizontal axis passing through the pivot 3 and the central axis of PTCl as shown in FIG.
Furthermore, the angle θ formed by the pivot shaft 22 and the roller 19 is small, and the resultant force F of the force F1 pushing up the stem 7 and the force F2 applied to the roller 19 is in the second quadrant direction, and the angle θ is closer to the Fl side. is preferable, and with such a positional relationship, the holder 2 can be reliably held in the working position and can be easily rotated.

One end of a stem holder bracket 24 is also pivotally supported on the pivot 3, and a stem guide 25 that self-centers the stem 7 on the upper part of the bracket 24 and a stem guide 25 that abuts against and pushes up the nozzle 16 of the stem 7 in the use position. A stem receiver 26 that is open and discharges toner is attached. The other end of the bracket 24 is always given an upward tendency by a spring 28 provided on the upper plate 17 of the developer tank 4, and its upward movement is limited to a predetermined position by a stopper 29 (FIG. 5). The stem receiver 26 is provided with a replenishment port 30 having approximately the same diameter d1 as the discharge passage 15 of the nozzle 16 (FIG. 8), and a replenishment tube 31 that communicates with this replenishment port 30 is connected. A coil 32 is wound around it to suppress the expansion. A member 33 exhibiting capillary action, such as cotton cloth, whose upper end is wrapped around the stem 7 is located between the stem guide 25 and the stem receiver 26.
is provided, and its lower end hangs down into the developer 5 in the developer tank 4, so that the developer is supplied around the nozzle 16 by capillary action.

As shown in FIG. 6, the other end of the tube 31 is connected to a valve means 36.
The cylinder 37 is connected to the cylinder 37, and the cylinder 37 has a supply port 3.
An inlet 35 having a diameter d2 that is equal to or smaller than the diameter d1 of 0 is provided, and a Q ring 38 is provided around the exit of this population 35.

A piston 39 whose tip comes into contact with and separates from the piston 39 is disposed within the cylinder 37, and this piston 39 is urged toward the O-ring 38 with a sealing pressure P2 by a spring 47 wound around the piston 39. The tip of the connecting rod 40 is pivotally supported. The lower end of one arm 43 of a bell crank 42 whose base is pivoted to a pivot 41 provided in the developer tank 4 is supported at the rear end of the connecting rod 40, and the rear end of the other arm 44 is connected to a solenoid 45. It is pivoted to the lower end of the operating rod. When the solenoid 45 is turned ON, a valve-opening force P3 is applied to the piston 39 to cause it to separate from the O-ring 38 and open the inlet 35. When the solenoid 45 is turned OFF, the valve-opening force P2 of the spring 47 abuts the O-ring 38 and opens the inlet 35. A communication hole 46 is provided in the peripheral wall near the inlet of the cylinder 37.

In this way, the pressure P1 inside the supply tube 31 is applied to the tip of the piston 39, so the piston 39
If the diameter of the valve 9 is large, the force in the opposite direction to the valve closing force P2 applied to the piston 39 when closing the inlet 35 after opening becomes large, making it difficult to close. Preferably, for this purpose the inlet 3 of the cylinder 37
It is preferable that the diameter d2 of the replenishing port 30 is the same as the diameter d1 of the replenishing port 30, or is smaller than the diameter d1.

9 to 11, a liquid supply means 48 is provided in the developer tank 4, and this liquid supply means 48 has a cleaning unit pump 56 and a developing unit pump 57, and the pump 56 is shown in FIG. It has a casing 49 disposed within the developer tank 4 as shown in
A communication path 62 is formed by the guide member 50 that extends from the guide member 50 to surround the cylinder 37, and this communication path 62
is open at the bottom of the casing 49. A liquid supply rotor 51 is disposed inside the casing 49.
The drive shaft 52 passes through the upper plate 17 of the developer tank 4 and projects to the outside, and a gear 53 is attached thereto. Additionally, a cleaning unit 81 is provided at the top of the casing 49.
and a liquid supply pipe 54 that supplies liquid to the concentration sensor 82, respectively.
55 is connected.

A drive pulley 59 is provided which is rotated by a drive source of the copying machine main body (not shown), and the rotation of the drive pulley 59 is caused to slide onto the drive shaft 52 via a pair of guide pulleys 60 supported by a belt 63 and a bracket 61. drive vehicle 64
The large gear portion of this drive wheel 64 rotates the rotor 51 of the cleaning unit pump 56 via the gear 66 that meshes with this and the gear 53 that meshes with this.

On the other hand, the gear 66 rotates a gear 78 via an intermediate gear 77, and a liquid supply rotor 96 of the developing unit pump 57 is attached to the lower end of a rotating shaft 79 of this gear 78. A liquid supply pipe 98 that supplies liquid to the developing unit 84 is provided in the casing 97 that houses the liquid rotor 96.
is connected. In this case, the diameter of the liquid supply rotor 96 is preferably larger than the diameter of the liquid supply rotor 51.

9th. Also shown in FIG. 10 is an agitator drive mechanism 58, which moves over the bottom of the developer tank 4 in order to disperse toner components settled at the bottom of the developer tank 4. It is something to do.

In the figure, the small gear portion of the drive wheel 64 is the adjacent gear 67.
This gear 67 is attached to and rotates a driven shaft 69 rotatably established on the upper plate 17.

An eccentric cam 68 is attached to the driven shaft 69.

The eccentric pin 70 is slidably fitted into a long hole 72 provided in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of a sliding plate 71.
A long hole 73 in a direction perpendicular to this is provided on the opposite side, and a stop pin 74 provided on the back surface of the upper plate 17 is inserted into this long hole 73.
is slidably fitted, and a sliding plate 71 is supported by its head. The upper end of a column 75 erected from the agitator 58 is slidably fitted into the sliding plate 71 in the middle of these elongated holes 72 and 73. A support 75' is provided in the agitator 58 outside the support 75, and this support 75' is slidably fitted into an elongated hole 99 provided in the upper plate 17 in the same direction as the elongated hole 73. In this case, the support column 75 may be integrally attached to the sliding plate 71, but since it is preferable that the agitator 58 be in constant contact with the bottom of the developer tank 4, it may be attached to the sliding plate 71 as shown in the figure. It is preferable to fit into the umbrella-shaped member 76 so as to be able to move up and down.

FIG. 12 shows details of other parts related to the above-mentioned parts, 83 is a photosensitive drum, 85 is a developing roller, 8
6 is a squeeze roller, 87 is a cleaning roller, 89
is a cleaning blade, 90 is an electrostatic charger, 91
92 represents a registration roller, 92 represents a transfer charger, and 93 represents a separator roller.

FIG. 13 shows a concentration sensor 82, in which 105 is a liquid discharge port, 106 is a lamp, and 107 is CdS.

In this copying machine, in addition to replenishing toner into the developer tank 4, it is necessary to replenish dispersant as a diluent, and an example of a replenishing member for this purpose is shown in FIG. Reference numeral 101 denotes a dispersant bottle, which is installed upside down on the upper plate 17 of the developer tank, and, like the conventional bottle, dispersant is replenished into the developer tank in appropriate amounts by means of a chicken feed valve 102. Become.

The state of use of the above-mentioned copying machine will be explained.

(1) ] Set the dispersant bottle 101 in the R developer tank 4 and fill the developer to the level of the chicken feed valve 102.

(2) Next, we will set PTCl,
To do this, the holder 2 is tilted about the pivot 3 to the position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 1, and the PTCI is set in the holder 2. When the holder 2 is rotated clockwise, the PTCI moves to the position shown in FIG. 5, where the nozzle 16 of the stem 7 engages with the stem receiver 26. The force required to open the stem 7 of the PTCI is 2 kgf/m” to 4 kgf/m
However, by moving the PTCI to the use position shown in Figures 3 and 4 while the nozzle 16 is engaged with the stem receiver 26, a force equivalent to this is applied to the stem 7, and the stem 7 is pushed into the open position to open the nozzle 16, and thereafter the toner inside is continuously supplied to the valve means 36 via the supply tube 31.

(3) In the valve means 36, the piston 39 is connected to the bell crank 42 and the connecting rod 4 by the operation of the solenoid 45.
A valve opening force P3 in the same direction as the toner pressure P1 in the tube 31 acts through the spring 47.
A force greater than the valve closing force P2 is applied, and the piston 39 is moved to the right in the drawing to open the inlet 35, and the toner is discharged out of the cylinder 37 through the communication hole 46.

(4) At this time, the liquid supply means 48 is connected to both unit pumps 5
6 and 57 are in operation, the toner is mixed with the developer by the action of the rotor 51 and passes through the communication path 62.
The mixed liquid is sucked into the casing 49 of the pump 56 and supplied to the cleaning unit 81 and the concentration sensor 82 via the liquid supply pipes 54 and 55, and the mixed liquid supplied to the cleaning unit 81 is returned to the return flow tube 8 after cleaning is completed.
The liquid is recycled to the developer tank 4 via the developer tank 8.

(6) On the other hand, due to the operation of the developing unit pump 57,
The mixed liquid is supplied to the developing unit 84 through the liquid supply pipe 98, and after the development is completed here, it is returned to the developer tank 4 through the return flow tube 94.

(7) During the above-described operation, the concentration sensor 82 measures the concentration, and when a predetermined concentration is reached, the solenoid 45 is turned OFF and the piston 39 is moved by the valve closing force P2 of the spring 47 to close the inlet 35. Then, toner replenishment is stopped, and when the concentration falls below a predetermined concentration, the solenoid 45 is turned to ○N to restart toner replenishment.

(8) After repeating this process, if the toner density does not reach the predetermined density even after the predetermined number of replenishments and a replenishment signal is issued, the density does not change or the toner density does not reach the predetermined density. Display the end.

(9) When the toner end is displayed in this way, when the bracket 12 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1 with the PTCl, the bracket 12 passes through the position shown in FIG. 5 and moves to the position shown by the chain line in FIG. Moving. At that time, bracket 1
The roller 19 that was engaged in the recess 14 of No. 2 also acts on the stem holder bracket 24 due to the force exerted by the spring 28.
The stem 7 separates from the recess 14 and moves along the side surface against the tensile force of the spring 21, but since the bracket 24 stops at the position shown in Figure 5, the stem 7 separates from the stem receiver 26. That will happen.

When the PTCl reaches the position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 1 in this way, the PTCI is removed from the holder 2, replaced with a new PTCl, and then set in the use position again as described above.

When setting in this way, the stem holder bracket 24 is always pushed up by the spring 28, so even if the dimensions of the PTCI body 1 mouth, stem, etc. are not necessarily exactly uniform, This dimensional variation is compensated for by displacement of the bracket by the push-up blade of the spring 28.

(10) If there is a shortage of dispersant as a result of carrying out the work as described above, the dispersant bottle 10
A predetermined amount of dispersant is automatically supplied by actuation of the chicken feed valve 102 of No. 1. As a result of this, when the inside of the bottle lot becomes empty and the amount of liquid in the developer tank 4 becomes less than a predetermined amount, a liquid level gauge with a float (not shown) will display dispersant end, and conversely, when the amount of liquid in the developer tank 4 becomes less than a predetermined amount, If so, the overflow will be displayed.

(11) Since the valve means 36 is frequently opened and closed during the above-described operation, the valve means 36 is positioned in the developer tank 4 and in the developer 5, and the supply of liquid from the developer tank 4 is controlled by the developer. Since it is necessary to circulate the liquid supplied to the units 84 and cleaning unit 81, the amount of liquid in the developer tank 4 is small while the liquid is being supplied to each unit, and increases after the machine stops because the circulating liquid is recovered. As a result, the developer tank 4
The height of the liquid level inside will change.

Therefore, if the position of the stem 7 of the PTCl is too low, the mouth of the PTCl including the stem 7 will be contaminated when the liquid level rises.To avoid this, if the position is set high, the liquid will become dirty when the liquid level falls. This results in more exposure to the outside atmosphere.

Therefore, in the present invention, in order to avoid these inconveniences, the stem 7 and the developer 5 are connected using the member 33 exhibiting capillary action as described above.

(12) In the above, the operation of the valve means 36 will be described with reference to FIG.

Piston 39 due to internal pressure P1 of tube 31 and spring 47
The valve closing force P2 is opposite in direction and cancels out, so the solenoid 45 required to open the valve
The valve opening force P3 of the piston 39 due to the valve closing force P2 is smaller than that applied in the opposite direction.
In PTCl in this invention, this means that the internal pressure P
This is a particularly effective condition because the fluctuation of 1 is small.

Furthermore, when the developer is created by sucking toner at the start, the number of times the toner is sucked increases in a short period of time, so it is advantageous when the internal pressure P1 is high.

On the other hand, when the internal pressure P1 is low, even if the number of suctions is increased, the discharge amount may be small and the toner end may be displayed. Also, due to the decrease in the internal pressure P1, P1+P3 becomes smaller and it becomes difficult to open the toner. Even if this happens, it does not cause any particular problem because it can be called a toner end state.

Figure 15 shows the PT per suction when the suction time is constant.
It is a graph showing the amount of toner discharged from the CI based on the cumulative number of suctions. Initially, as you will see, the amount of discharge was large.

Towards the end, the discharge amount becomes extremely small.

Here, regarding the discharge amount and the conditions for toner end detection, the valve closing force P2 of the valve means 36, the valve opening force P3 of the valve means 36, and the conditions for toner end detection are as follows: If the density changes by a certain amount but does not reach the specified density, it is considered toner end. (■) If the density changes by a certain amount but does not reach the specified density, it is considered toner end. Assuming that the end is near, if we consider the three methods, of course P 2 > P L for forces P1 and P2, but
It has been found that the forces P2 and P3 should normally be set as P3>P2, and therefore, the relationship between the three forces may be set as P3>P2>P1 regardless of which of the three methods is adopted.

When gas, which is the internal pressure generating means in PTCl, and toner are mixed together, only the gas often comes out in the end. In this case, it is better to set P 2 > P 3 to improve the apparent discharge rate. Although this will be worse, since the force relationship will be limited to the internal gas pressure, this is better than discharging only the gas into the developer.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 20, and in this embodiment, the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. The PTCI is supported by upper and lower support plates 111 and 112, and an opening/closing knob 116 is brought into contact with the nozzle 113 from below, and a gasket 115 is provided on the opening/closing knob 116 at the part that comes into contact with the nozzle 113.

Horizontal bins 118 are protruded from both sides of the opening/closing knob 116, and the bins 118 are arranged in a guide groove formed between a pair of guide plates 117 vertically provided on the lower surface of the lower support plate 112. In addition, first and second nozzles 120 and 121 that communicate with the inner hole 119 are located on the sides and below of the opening/closing knob 116.
are provided for each.

The base end of a pressure lever 123 is pivotally supported on the lower support plate 112, and the free end of the pressure lever 123 is connected to the operating rod of a solenoid 122 supported on the machine frame.
3 is in contact with the lower part of the bottle 118 in the middle thereof.

The second nozzle 121 of the opening/closing knob 116 is a liquid supply pipe 126
The rear end of this pipe 126 is inserted into the upward opening, and the rear end of this pipe 126 is connected to the lower part of the primary dispersion casing 125. A dispersion rotor 124 is disposed within this dispersion casing 125, and this dispersion rotor 124 is not shown in the figure. The drive shaft 127 of the drive member is connected to the drive shaft 127 of the drive member.

This primary dispersion casing 125 has a connecting tube 128
and secondary distribution casing 13 by connecting pipe 129
A liquid supply rotor 131 is disposed within this dispersion casing 130, and this liquid supply rotor 131 is connected to a drive shaft 132 of a drive member (not shown). This dispersion casing 130 includes a cleaning unit tube 133 and a supply liquid circulation tube 134.
, a developing unit tube 135 and a concentration sensor tube 136 are connected, the tubes 133 and 135 supply liquid to a cleaning unit and a developing unit (not shown), respectively, and the tube 134 is connected to the first nozzle 120 of the pressure knob 116, The tube 136 is adapted to supply liquid to the concentration sensor 82.

The operation of this second embodiment will be explained.

When the toner concentration falls below a predetermined value by the concentration sensor 82, a replenishment signal is transmitted, the solenoid 122 is activated, the pressure lever 123 is activated, the opening/closing knob 116 is activated, the nozzle 113 is moved upward, and the PTCl is discharged. The toner inside is continuously discharged into the inner hole 119 of the opening/closing knob 116.

The toner discharged in this way is transferred to the second nozzle 121.
, and is sent into the primary dispersion casing 125 via the liquid supply pipe 126, where it is primarily dispersed in the developer 141 by the rotation of the dispersion rotor 124.

After that, it is sent into the secondary dispersion casing 130 via the connecting tube 128 and the connecting pipe 129, and here, by the rotation of the liquid supply rotor 131, each tube 133, 13
4, 135, and 136, the liquid is supplied to each corresponding unit.

At this time, the mixed liquid supplied to the liquid supply circulation tube 134 passes through the first nozzle 120 of the opening/closing knob 116 to the inner hole 119.
from the PTCI to the opening/closing knob 1 as described above.
The toner discharged into the inner hole 119 of 16 is carried to the primary dispersion casing 125 by this reflux supply liquid.

In this way, the opening/closing knob 116 and the primary and secondary dispersion casings 125, 130 are connected by a loop-shaped flow path.

By forming such a loop-shaped flow path, the PT
The toner discharged from the CI enters the inner hole 11 of the opening/closing knob 116.
Since the toner is pre-dispersed in the developer 9 and then sent to the liquid supply means, uniformity of toner dispersion in the developer is promoted and smooth transmission to the liquid supply means is ensured.

The opening/closing knob 116 increases the diameter of the inner hole 119,
Also number 1. Let the diameters of the second nozzles 120 and 121 be a and b, respectively, so that a) b).

By increasing the diameter of the inner hole 119.

Pre-dispersion of the toner discharged from the PTCl is performed here, and the outflow of the toner from the second nozzle 121 is facilitated.
In this case, if the diameter is small, such as φ10 or less, the inner hole 19 will become clogged with toner that is ejected in large quantities instantaneously upon opening, but this can be prevented since the diameter is large. Next, a) By setting b, the developer is filled up to the upstream side of the gasket 115, creating a flow with a stable level there, and as a result, when PTCI is not set.

Or when the setting is not accurate, the opening/closing knob 116
Air does not enter through the gasket 115. This prevents the toner from drying and sticking to the PTCI nozzle 113 and packing 115, and also prevents the toner from drying and sticking to the PTCI nozzle 113 and packing 115.
When air enters the toner 25, 130, the internal pressure decreases to prevent a shortage of developer supply.Furthermore, when the air goes to the density sensor 127, it is determined that the toner density is lower than it actually is. and sends a toner replenishment signal.

It is possible to prevent toner from being discharged more than necessary.

FIG. 19 shows a modified example 125' of the primary distributed lacing, which has a higher height than the casing 125, and is partitioned into two upper and lower chambers by a partition wall 136 in the middle. Dispersion rotor 124 in each chamber,
124' is provided to enhance the dispersion effect.

FIG. 20 shows a modified example 116' of the opening/closing knob, in which the first nozzle 120' is provided diagonally downward;
This will cause the developer to overflow.

Effects of the Invention This invention is as described above, uses a PTC as a toner container, and has a nozzle opening means, a developer supplying means, and a valve means disposed between them, so that the toner is pressurized. When the nozzle of the can is opened by the opening means,
towards the valve means.

Since the toner is supplied under pressure, the area around the nozzle is not contaminated, and the PTC can hold a large amount of toner compared to its volume, making it possible to use it for a long time. Furthermore, since toner replenishment is performed in or near the flow path that sucks the developer, irregular dispersion of toner in the developer is prevented, and a mixed solution with evenly distributed toner is reliably delivered to the related units. This has the effect of supplying liquid.

There is also a means for supplying liquid as described above.

It consists of a pump means having a casing and a rotor disposed inside the casing, and the pump means sucks the mixed liquid through a flow path formed by a guide member communicating with the casing. The toner is guided to the pumping means accurately, so that diffusion in other directions is more effectively prevented.

Further, an opening/closing means for opening and closing the PTC nozzle is provided, and the opening/closing means and the liquid supply means together with the toner replenishing member and the liquid supply circulation member form a loop-shaped flow path as a whole. The toner discharged from the nozzle of the PTC is immediately subjected to a pre-dispersion action by the circulating liquid flowing through the flow path in the opening/closing means, and then reaches the liquid supply means by the replenishment member, in a short period of time. Over time, the toner will be uniformly dispersed in the developer, and the concentration will be accurately controlled regardless of the solids content ratio, which will ensure that the appropriate amount of toner is replenished according to the amount consumed. In addition, by configuring a stable level of circulating fluid within the opening/closing member and upstream of the connecting portion with the fluid supply circulation member, no matter what the situation is, there is no need to use the toner supply member. This has the effect that air is prevented from entering the liquid supply means, and the above-mentioned action can be performed more reliably.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially longitudinal front view of the first embodiment of the invention, and the second embodiment is a partially longitudinal front view of the first embodiment of the invention.
The figure is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of the mouth of the pressurized toner supply can of the above embodiment, FIG. 3 is a front view of the pressurized toner supply can of the above embodiment in use, and FIG. Fig. 5 is a partially longitudinal front view of the same as above when it is in the tilted position; Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the part surrounded by line 6 in Fig. 1;
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of FIG. 6 in an enlarged manner;
FIG. 9 is a partially longitudinal front view mainly showing the liquid supply means of the above embodiment, FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of the same drive system, and FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a copying machine in which the present invention is used, FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of the main part of the same, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a part of the concentration sensor of the above embodiment (A). FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the dispersant member of the embodiment, and FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of discharges and the discharge amount according to the embodiment. FIG. 16 is a partially longitudinal front view of a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 17 is a front view of the PTC support section of the same as above, and FIG. 18 is a view of FIG. 17 taken along line 18-18 in the direction of the arrow. A partial view, FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modification of the primary dispersion section same as the above, and FIG. 20 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modification of the pressure knob same as the above. 1... PTC 2... Holder 3... Pivot 4... Developing tank 5... Developer 7... Stem 15... Discharge passage
16... Nozzle 26... Stem receiver 30...
Supply port 31... Supply tube 33... Liquid supply member 3
5... Inlet 3G... Valve means 37... Cylinder 39... Piston 45... Solenoid 46... Communication hole 48... Liquid supply means 49.
...Casing 51...Liquid supply rotor 54, 55
, 98...Liquid supply pipe 56...Cleaning unit pump 57...Developing unit pump 81...Cleaning unit 82...Concentration sensor 84...Developing unit 96
...Liquid supply rotor 97...Casing 113...
・Nozzle 115...Packing 116...Opening/closing knob 119, 119'...Inner hole 120.120'
...First nozzle 121...Second nozzle 122...Solenoid 12
3... Pressure lever 124, 124'... Dispersion rotor 125, 125'... Primary dispersion casing 130
... Secondary distribution casing 131 ... Liquid supply rotor 134 ... Liquid supply circulation tube Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 6 n Figure 7 Figure 12 Figure 13 Figure 11 Figure 14 Figure 0 Maki Tsuchiguchi Figure 17 Figure 18 +16 Figure 20

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pressurized can for toner supply comprising a first chamber that expands with gas and a second chamber that contracts due to the expansion of the first chamber and stores toner therein. a toner replenishing means, an opening means for opening a nozzle of a pressurized can of the toner replenishing means, and a liquid supply means for supplying liquid to a related unit;
The valve means is arranged between the opening means and the liquid supply means, and the toner is replenished from the valve means to the liquid supply means in or near the flow path for sucking the developer. A developing device for a copying machine characterized by: 2. The liquid supply means is composed of a pump means having a casing disposed within the developer tank and a rotor disposed within the casing, and the flow path is formed by a guide member that guides the developer to the pump means. A developing device for a copying machine according to claim 1. 3. Toner replenishing means having a pressurized can for toner supply comprising a first chamber that expands with gas and a second chamber that contracts as the first chamber expands and stores toner therein; An opening/closing means for opening and closing the nozzle of the pressurized can of the toner replenishing means, and a liquid supply means for supplying liquid to the related unit;
A toner replenishment member that connects the opening/closing means and the liquid supply means, and a liquid supply circulation member that connects the liquid supply means and the opening/closing means near the nozzle, the opening/closing means, the toner replenishing member, the liquid supply means and A developing device for a copying machine, characterized in that a loop-shaped flow path is formed by a liquid supply circulation member. 4. The developing device for a copying machine according to claim 3, wherein the opening/closing means is configured to maintain a stable level of the circulating fluid upstream of the connecting portion between the toner replenishing member and the fluid supply circulating member.