JPH04215676A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the volume of a developer recovery section by dividing a developer storage tank into a developer storage section and the developer recovery section with a partition member, and moving the partition member as the quantity of the recovered developer is increased. CONSTITUTION:A developer storage tank 2 storing a developer 1 is divided into a developer storage section 4 storing the developer 1 fed to a developer carrier 6 and a developer recovery section 5 storing the used developer 1 recovered by a cleaning device with a flexible partition member 3. As the quantity of the developer 1 recovered by the developer recovery section 5 is increased, the partition member 3 is moved to the developer carrier 6 side with a winding device 10, and the volume of the developer recovery section 5 is increased.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, which supplies a developer contained in a developer storage tank to a developer carrier.
The present invention relates to a developing device in which the developer thus supplied is supplied from a developer carrier to an image carrier.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers, developer contained in a developer storage tank is supplied to a developer carrier, and the thus supplied developer is used for development. Developing devices in which the agent is supplied from a carrier to an image carrier have been widely used.

[0003] After the developer is supplied to the image bearing member by the developing device as described above and the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image bearing member is visualized by the developer, the image is formed by the developer. While image formation is performed by transferring the image formed on the surface of the image carrier to a transfer paper, etc., the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier without being transferred from the image carrier to the transfer paper is removed by a cleaning device or the like. The used developer collected from the surface of the carrier is guided to a developer collection container provided in the image forming apparatus by a collection coil or the like, and is collected in the developer collection container. Ta.

However, when the developer collected by the cleaning device or the like is collected in a developer collection container provided in the image forming apparatus as described above, it is necessary to set the developer collection container in the image forming apparatus. This requires a place to store the image forming device, which increases the volume of the image forming device.
There has been a problem in that it has become difficult to downsize image forming apparatuses, which has been desired in recent years.

Furthermore, when the developer collected by the cleaning device or the like is collected in a separate developer collection container as described above, the collected developer gradually accumulates in the developer collection container. When the developer collection container becomes full with the collected developer and image formation continues, the collected developer spills out of the developer collection container and scatters inside the image forming apparatus, causing damage to the image forming apparatus. There was also the problem that the inside was stained with developer, which had an adverse effect on the image formed.

Furthermore, in conventional developing devices, in order to supply the developer contained in the developer storage tank to the developer carrier side, an agitation/conveying member such as an agitator is generally provided in the developer storage tank. This stirring/conveying member is rotated to send the developer to the developer carrier, which poses problems such as complicating the device.

[0007]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems. , unlike in the past, there is no need to separately provide a developer collection container within the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus can be made more compact. Good images can now be stably obtained without the developer scattering inside the image forming device, staining the inside of the image forming device with developer, or adversely affecting the formed image. In order to supply the developer contained in the tank to the developer carrier, there is no need to provide an agitator or other stirring/conveying member in the developer storage tank, which is required in the past, and the device can be simplified. It is an object of the present invention to provide a developing device that can

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention supplies the developer contained in a developer storage tank to a developer carrier, and In a developing device that supplies developer from a developer carrier to an image carrier, a developer storage section that stores the developer to be supplied to the developer carrier in the developer storage tank using a flexible partition member. and a developer collection section that stores used developer collected by a cleaning device, etc., and as the amount of developer collected in the developer collection section increases, the partition member A volume changing means is provided for moving the developer toward the carrier and increasing the volume of the developer collecting section while decreasing the volume of the developer accommodating section.

[0009] Here, the flexible partition member used to separate the inside of the developer storage tank into a developer storage section and a developer recovery section is made of a material that has air permeability within a range that does not allow the developer to pass through. For example, a nonwoven fabric made of ultrafine fibers and a nonwoven fabric made of ordinary fibers, Gore-Tex, etc. may be used.

[0010] By using a partition member made of a material that is breathable to the extent that it does not allow the developer 1 to pass through, the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating section and the developer collected in the developer collecting section can be separated. The used developer does not mix with the used developer, and even when the partition member is moved to the developer carrier side by the volume changing means and the volume of the developer storage section is reduced, the air inside the developer storage section is prevented. flows into the developer recovery section through this partition member, and the developer accommodated in the developer storage section is mixed with the air in the developer storage section, causing the developer to flow into the developer collection section near the area where the developer carrier and the image carrier face each other. No more gushing out.

[0011]

[Operation] In the developing device configured as described above, the developer contained in the developer storage section is supplied to the developer carrier, and the thus supplied developer is transferred from the developer carrier to the image carrier. to perform image formation. After the image formed on the surface of the image carrier by the developer supplied from the developer carrier is transferred to a transfer paper or the like, the developer remaining on the surface of the image carrier is removed by a cleaning device or the like. The used developer collected in this manner is guided to a developer collection section in a developer storage tank separated from the developer storage section by a partition member, and is collected into the developer collection section. .

[0012] In this way, the developer stored in the developer storage section is supplied to the developer carrier to form an image, and the used developer is collected in the developer collection section. When the amount of developer stored in the storage section decreases while the amount of developer collected in the developer recovery section increases, the partition member is moved to the developer carrier side by the volume changing means, and the developer is removed. The volume of the developer storage section is reduced, while the volume of the developer recovery section is increased.

[0013] If the used developer collected by the cleaning device or the like is collected in the developer collection section of the developer storage tank separated from the developer storage section by the partition member, it is possible to Furthermore, there is no need to provide a separate developer collection container for collecting used developer.

Furthermore, as the amount of developer collected in the developer recovery section increases as described above, the volume changing means moves the partition member toward the developer carrier to increase the volume of the developer recovery section. This prevents the collected developer from spilling out of the developer collection section, unlike in the past.
The developer does not spill out and scatter inside the image forming apparatus, causing the inside of the image forming apparatus to become stained with the developer or adversely affecting the images formed.

Furthermore, when the partition member is moved toward the developer carrier as described above, the developer accommodating portion moves toward the developer carrier and its volume becomes smaller, so that the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating portion becomes smaller. The developer is now sent to the developer carrier side.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the developing device of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. The inside of the storage tank 2 is divided into a developer storage section 4 that stores the developer 1 to be supplied to the image carrier 20, and a developer collection section 5 that stores the used developer 1 collected by the cleaning device 21 or the like. It is now separated into two parts.

Here, the flexible partition member 3 is made by pasting together a non-woven fabric made of ultra-fine fibers and a non-woven fabric made of ordinary fibers, and is made of a material made of a non-woven fabric made of ultra-fine fibers and a non-woven fabric made of ordinary fibers. It is made of a material that is breathable, does not easily generate fiber waste, and is resistant to mechanical stress such as winding.

Further, this partition member 3 is connected to the developer storage tank 2.
When installing the partition member 3 inside the developer storage section 4, one end of the partition member 3 is attached to the lower end of the supply port 8 that guides the developer 1 stored in the developer storage section 4 to the developer carrier 6 side. The partition member 3 is bent according to the amount of developer 1 contained in the developer storage tank 2, and the other end of the partition member 3 is passed through a gap 9 provided on the upper surface of the developer storage tank 2. The other end of the partition member 3 is attached to a winding device 10 serving as a volume changing means 10.

Here, in the developing device of this embodiment, the developer 1 contained in the developer accommodating portion 4 separated by the partition member 3 as described above is transferred to the developer storage portion 4 separated by the partition member 3.
The developer 1 accommodated in the developer storage section 4 is guided through the supply port 8 to the developer supply section 7 located on the developer carrier 6 side.

Then, the feeding member 11 provided in the developer supply section 7 is rotated so that the developer 1 introduced into the developer supply section 7 as described above covers the outer periphery of the drive roller 12. The developer is supplied to a developer carrier 6 provided at the same time.

Here, in providing the developer carrier 6 so as to cover the outer circumference of the drive roller 12, the developer carrier 6 is formed in the shape of a sleeve having a diameter slightly longer than the outer diameter of the drive roller 12. I decided to use a thin and flexible material. The developer carrier 6 is arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the drive roller 12, and in a portion other than the development area where the developer carrier 6 faces the image carrier 20, the developer carrier 6 is disposed so as to cover the outer circumference of the drive roller 12. 6 is brought into pressure contact with the outer circumferential surface of the drive roller 12 so that the developer carrier 6 is rotationally driven as the drive roller 12 rotates. In this case, the developer carrier 6 was made to protrude from the drive roller 12 toward the image carrier 20 so as to come into soft contact with the surface of the image carrier 20.

Then, the drive roller 12 is rotated in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the image carrier 20, and the developer 1 is released as described above.
The developer carrier 6 supplied with the developer 1 is rotated, and the developer 1 supplied to the developer carrier 6 is conveyed to the image carrier 20 side. A regulating blade 13 is brought into pressure contact with the surface, and the regulating blade 13 triboelectrically charges the developer 1 supplied to the surface of the developer carrier 6, and the amount of the developer 1 conveyed by the developer carrier 6 is controlled. I tried to regulate it.

After the developer 1 supplied to the surface of the developer carrier 6 is triboelectrically charged in this way and the amount thereof is regulated, the charged developer 1 is held as the drive roller 12 rotates. The developer carrier 6 is guided to a development area facing the image carrier 20, and in this development area, the developer carrier 6 is brought into soft contact with the surface of the image carrier 20, and the developer charged as described above is brought into contact with the surface of the image carrier 20. 1 was supplied from the developer carrier 6 to the surface of the image carrier 20, so that the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier 20 was visualized by the developer 1.

Then, the image formed by the developer 1 thus supplied to the surface of the image carrier 20 is transferred and transferred.
The image was transferred to a transfer paper (not shown) by a separator (not shown), and then the transferred image was fixed on the transfer paper by a fixing device (not shown).

On the other hand, after the image formed by the developer 1 on the surface of the image carrier 20 is transferred to the transfer paper as described above, the developer 1 remaining on the surface of the image carrier 20 is removed.
is removed from the surface of the image carrier 20 by the cleaning device 21, and the used developer 1 thus removed is conveyed to the developer storage tank 2 side by the collection coil 22, and this used developer is removed from the surface of the image carrier 20. 1 is guided into the developer recovery section 5 through a recovery port 14 provided on the upper surface of the developer storage tank 2 on the side of the developer recovery section 5, and is accommodated in the developer recovery section 5.

As a result of performing image formation many times using the developing device of this embodiment, while the amount of developer 1 stored in the developer storage section 4 decreases, the amount of developer 1 stored in the developer collection section 5 decreases. When the amount of stored used developer 1 increases, the partition member 3 is wound up by the winding device 10 to which the other end of the partition member 3 is attached, and the partition member 3 is moved toward the developer carrier 6 side. In this way, the volume of the developer recovery section 5 is increased, while the developer storage section 4 is moved toward the developer carrier 6 to decrease its volume.

[0028] In this way, the cleaning device 21
There is no need to provide a separate developer collection container to accommodate the used developer 1 collected by the developer.
Furthermore, even if the amount of used developer 1 collected in the developer collection section 5 increases, by winding up the partition member 3 with the winding device 10 as described above, the amount of used developer 1 collected in the developer collection section 5 can be increased.
The used developer 1 collected in the developer collection section 5 did not spill out from the developer collection section 5 due to an increase in the volume of the developer.

Furthermore, when the partition member 3 is wound up by the winding device 10 as described above, and the developer storage section 4 is moved toward the developer carrier 6 side and its volume is reduced, the developer storage section 4 is The developer 1 contained in the partition member 3
The developer is then lifted up by the user and fed into the developer carrier 6 through the supply port 8.

Furthermore, in the developing device of this embodiment, since the partition member 3 is made of a material having an air permeability to an extent that does not allow the developer 1 to pass through, as described above, the developer contained in the developer storage section 4 is 1 and the used developer 1 collected in the developer collecting section 5, and the partition member 3 is wound up by the winding device 10 as described above, and the volume of the developer storage section 4 is reduced. When the amount of air in the developer storage section 4 is reduced, the air in the developer storage section 4 flows into the developer recovery section 5 through the partition member 3, and the developer 1 stored in the developer storage section 4 is removed from the developer storage section 4. Part 4
Together with the air inside, the developer carrier 6 and the image carrier 20
There was no eruption from the area where the two faced each other.

[0031]

Effects of the Invention As described in detail above, in the developing device according to the present invention, the inside of the developer storage tank is provided with a flexible partition member to accommodate the developer to be supplied to the developer carrier. The storage unit is separated into a developer collection unit that stores used developer collected by a cleaning device, etc., and the developer stored in the developer storage unit is supplied to the developer carrier to form an image. On the other hand, the used developer collected by a cleaning device or the like from the surface of the image carrier after transfer is guided into a developer collection section in a developer storage tank separated by a partition member, and this developer is removed. Because the collection was made to be carried out within the collection department,
It is no longer necessary to separately provide a developer collection container for collecting used developer in the image forming apparatus as in the past, and the size of the image forming apparatus can be easily reduced.

Further, in the developing device according to the present invention, as well as performing image formation as described above, the used developer is collected in the developer collecting section, and as a result, the developer stored in the developer containing section is removed. When the amount of developer collected in the developer collecting section increases while the amount of developer collected in the developer collecting section decreases, the volume changing means moves the partition member toward the developer carrier to reduce the volume of the developer accommodating section. On the other hand, since the volume of the developer collection section is increased, the collected used developer does not spill out from inside the developer collection section. There was no possibility that the developer would scatter inside the image forming apparatus, staining the inside of the image forming apparatus with developer, or adversely affecting the images formed.

Further, as described above, by moving the partition member toward the developer carrier and moving the developer accommodating portion toward the developer carrier and reducing its volume, this allows the developer to be accommodated in the developer accommodating portion. The developer is now sent to the developer carrier side, and in order to supply the developer stored in the developer storage tank to the developer carrier side, as in the past, an agitator or the like is installed in the developer storage tank. There is no need to provide stirring/conveying members, and the device can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the state of use of a developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which developer removed from the surface of an image carrier by a cleaning device is guided to a recovery port provided in a developer storage tank in the developing device of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Developer 2 Developer storage tank 3 Partition member 4 Developer storage section 5 Developer collection section 6 Developer carrier 10 Volume changing means (winding device) 20 Image carrier

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A developing device that supplies a developer contained in a developer storage tank to a developer carrier, and supplies the thus supplied developer from the developer carrier to the image carrier. The developer storage tank includes a developer storage section that stores developer to be supplied to the developer carrier, and a developer that stores used developer collected by a cleaning device or the like. As the amount of developer collected in the developer collection section increases, the partition member is moved to the side of the developer carrier to increase the volume of the developer collection section. A developing device comprising a volume changing means for reducing the volume of a storage section.