JPH0460671A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the splashing of toners at the time of replenishing and to allow the uniform distribution of the toners by regulating the position of a toner replenishing container provided with toner agitating means in the plane orthogonal with the extension direction of the agitating means and housing this container in a hopper CONSTITUTION:The toner agitating means 5, 6 are provided on the toner replenishing container 2B side without being provided on the hopper 2A side. The position of the agitating means 5,6 is regulated within the plane orthogonal with the extension direction of the means and the the toner replenishing con tainer 2B is housed in the hopper to the resembling shape in a short side direc tion. Then, the replenishing container 2B can be housed not above the hopper 2A but directly in the hopper 2A. In addition, the agitating means 5,6 and other obstructions do not exist and, therefore, the replenishing container 2B can be disposed in the entire area in the hopper 2A. The splashing of the toner at the time of toner replenishment is prevented in this way and the replenished toners are evenly distributed over the entire area in the longitudinal direction of the hopper.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a developing device incorporated in a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and other electrophotographic devices using dry toner, and particularly relates to a developing device that is incorporated in an electrophotographic device using dry toner. The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device configured to be able to replenish toner into a toner receiving portion attached to the device main body.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a developing device equipped with a hopper (toner receiving section) containing -component or two-component toner is disposed facing a photoreceptor drum 2 carrying an electrostatic latent image. Printers and other electrophotographic devices that make the latent image visible while selectively transferring toner closer to the photoreceptor drum are known.

In this type of developing device, toner is consumed on the photosensitive drum side each time an image is formed, so when the amount of toner in the hopper falls below a specified amount, the consumed toner is replenished from a toner replenishment container or the like. There is a need to.

However, since toner is made of colored fine powder with an extremely small average particle size, it is easily scattered and contaminated. Therefore, in order to avoid toner contamination when replenishing toner, a toner receiving port is provided on the top of the hopper. After the toner replenishment container is attached to the reception port, a sealing means such as a film sealing the toner supply port of the replenishment container is removed, and the toner in the replenishment container is introduced into the reception port side from the supply port. There are many things that I did.

Since the film used for the sealing means used in such devices cannot be reattached, the replenishment container must be removed with the supply port open after toner replenishment is completed, and as a result, the contents inside the replenishment container are removed. Residual toner contamination is likely to occur.

However, no matter what structure the toner replenishment container has, it is virtually impossible to completely remove the toner from the replenishment container, and the above-mentioned drawbacks cannot be avoided.

Further, the developing device has a long belt-shaped toner supply port formed in the longitudinal direction corresponding to the developing width of the recording paper, and the film is also peeled from one end of the longitudinal direction to the other end accordingly. , due to the structure of the toner cartridge when replenishing toner,
Or, if the toner is accumulated on the negative side in the longitudinal direction due to the inclination of the machine, it is difficult to disperse the toner evenly in the longitudinal direction even if using a stirring rod installed on the hopper side. As the width of the recording paper increases from B-4 to A-3, the above-mentioned drawbacks are exacerbated.

In view of the drawbacks of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a developing device that completely eliminates the risk of toner scattering during toner replenishment and that can evenly distribute the replenished toner over the entire length of the hopper. The object of the present invention is to provide a developing device which is particularly suitable for dry developing devices using a two-component developer consisting of carrier and toner.

rTechnical means to solve problemsj The present invention has been achieved by focusing on the following points.

In general, a toner agitating means is provided in the hopper to prevent the toner in the hopper from crosslinking or solidifying, and to ensure uniform dispersion. On the other hand, since the toner agitating means is present in the hopper, a toner receiving section must be provided on the upper surface of the hopper, resulting in the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Therefore, the first feature of the present invention is that the toner stirring means is not provided on the hopper side but on the toner replenishing container side.

This allows the replenishment container to be stored directly inside the hopper instead of on the top surface of the hopper, and since there are no stirring means or other obstacles, the replenishment container can be placed throughout the hopper, which allows for toner replenishment. The amount can be kept within a limit.

In addition, with this configuration, the toner stirring means cannot achieve a smooth stirring function unless it is connected to a drive system on the apparatus main body side.

Therefore, the second feature of the present invention is that the position of the toner replenishment container is regulated in a plane perpendicular to the extending direction of the stirring means, and more specifically, the toner replenishment container is arranged in a similar shape in the lateral direction in the hopper. The reason is that it is configured so that it can be stored.

Now, when the above configuration is adopted, if the toner replenishment part on the hopper side to the main body side and the toner supply port (opening) on the replenishment container side do not match, an extra passage must be formed. In addition to reducing the toner replenishable volume, toner may accumulate in the passage, making it impossible to smoothly supply toner.

Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a toner opening is provided at the bottom of the replenishing container located above the toner replenishing means on the hopper side. It is preferable that the toner on the toner replenishing unit side and the surface of the replenishing roller can be stirred or cleaned through the toner replenishing unit.

Furthermore, in this case, by arranging a toner sensor adjacent to the replenishing section, it is also possible to use the stirring means to rub the surface of the sensor detection surface, thereby making it possible to use the stirring means as a sensor cleaning member. I can do it.

Further, if the replenishment container is stored in the hopper as described above and used as a part of the hopper during the developing operation, there is no fear of toner contamination during the loading operation, which is preferable, but the replenishment container must be removed from the hopper. There is a risk that toner contamination may occur.

Accordingly, the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the hopper is configured so that it can be freely attached and detached while the toner replenishment container is housed in the hopper, and the hopper replenishment port is configured to be able to be automatically opened and closed in conjunction with the attachment and detachment operation.

This makes it possible to store and take out the replenishment container after removing the hopper from the main body of the apparatus, and is also preferable in terms of maintenance because there is no fear of toner contamination and the container can be replaced in a safe place.

"Embodiments" Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail by way of example based on the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the components described in this example are merely illustrative examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of this invention, unless otherwise specified. 6 FIGS. 1 to 6 show a two-component dry developing device to be incorporated into an electrophotographic printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in FIG. In the main body of the developing device, on the opening side facing the photoreceptor drum 3,
A developing roller 4 containing a mag roll (not shown) is pivotally supported, and a slit opening 11 extending parallel to the drum axis is provided on the upper surface of the developing device main body 1 at the right position in the figure.
Toner supply port and eggplant.

The toner supply port 11 is connected to a lid body 12 adjacent to the left bank side of the top surface.
A contact member 13 is provided on the right bank side of the toner hopper 2A to press and rotate a shutter member 58 of the toner hopper 2A, which will be described later. Also, the shutter member 58
engages the lever spring 54 and applies an elastic force in a direction to close the toner supply port 22.

The two toner hoppers have a semi-circular shape on the right side of the bottom, and the replenishment roller 23 on the left side of the bottom has a substantially wedge-shaped portion, and the bottom surface on the end side in the longitudinal direction adjacent to the portion is flat. A toner detection sensor 24 made of a disk-shaped piezoelectric sensor is attached to the flat portion with the detection surface facing upward. The wedge-shaped bottom has a slit-like opening at its lower end to form a toner supply port 22, and a toner supply roller 23 is rotated above the toner supply port 22 so that its upper surface substantially coincides with the detection surface of the sensor 24. One end of the replenishment roller 23 is provided to protrude from the side wall of the container, and a protrusion piece 231 that can be engaged with the connecting portion 72 of the drive system 71 on the printer main body side is formed on the protrusion portion. (See FIG. 5) The projection piece 231 is attached by forming a circular opening 28 in the upper wall surface of the position so that the projection piece 64 for driving the stirring means attached to the inner container 2BgJj can be inserted through the opening.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cartridge 2B serving as a toner replenishment container has a cross section roughly similar to the shape of the inner wall of the hopper 2A, with the right side of the bottom semicircular and the right side of the bottom planar. The bottom opening 30 is covered with an adhesive tape 32 that can be peeled off from the outside.

That is, the adhesive tape 32 is pasted from one end of the bottom opening 30 in the longitudinal direction to the other end, and then folded back from the other end and returned to the one end side, and the return piece is attached along the wall surface of the one end side to the top side. After the cartridge 2B is guided into the hopper 2A, its free end 32a is affixed to the peelable upper surface, and the cartridge 2B is installed in the hopper 2A.
By holding the free end 32a of the tape and pulling it upward, the tape 32 can be extracted while exposing the opening 3C.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, inside the cartridge 2B,
A first stirring means 5 in the form of a scraper is installed in the center of the semicircular bottom space 33 and extends over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and is arranged above the bottom opening 30 on the right side in the same manner as described above. Second
In addition, one end of each rotating shaft 51, 61 of both stirring means 5, 6 is provided to protrude up to the outer wall of the cartridge 2B, and a shaft that is meshed with each other by an intermediate gear 54 is provided at the protruding shaft end. Attach gear 55.65.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the - shaft gear 65 is provided with a protrusion 64 that can engage with the connecting portion 72 of the motor drive system 71 on the printer main body side, and the gear train is connected via the protrusion 64. 6
By driving 5-54-55, both the stirring means 5 and 6 can be rotated in the same direction and at the same circumferential speed.

Next, the configuration of the stirring means 5, 6 will be explained. The stirring means 5, 6 are provided with a rotating shaft 51.61 supported between both sides of the cartridge 2B in the longitudinal direction, and a rotating shaft 51.61 fixed to the rotating shaft 51.61. The blade body 53.63 consists of a rib member 52.62 that regulates the deflection angle of the flexible blade body 53.63, and a blade body 53.63 made of a flexible strip-shaped thin layer piece stuck to the rib member 52.62,
The blade body 53 of the agitation means 5 is set to have a short length that allows sliding without bending the semicircular bottom surface, and in the longitudinal direction, the blade body 53 is divided into two parts with the center as a boundary. The divided blade body 53a is deflected from one end toward the center with a slight clearance angle in a direction retreating from the rotational direction, and the other blade body 53b is placed toward the end from the center position. Up to the midway position, it is deflected with a slight clearance angle in the backward direction with respect to the rotational direction, and from the midpoint position to the other end, it is deflected with a slight diagonal angle in the forward direction with respect to the rotational direction. Place deflection.

- The blade body 63 of the force value stirring means is also divided into two along the center in the longitudinal direction, and one divided blade body 63a rotates from the shaft end of the drive side replenishment roller 23 toward the center. The other blade body 63b is also deflected with a slight clearance angle in the direction of retraction with respect to the direction of rotation, and the other blade body 63b is also deflected with a slight clearance angle in the direction of retraction with respect to the rotational direction from the center position to a position corresponding to the end of the supply roller 23. , and the portion 63c corresponding to the detection surface of the detection sensor 24 is deflected and arranged with a slight opposite angle in the forward direction with respect to the rotating direction,
Further, cuts are made at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction at positions corresponding to the ribs 31 of the bottom opening 30, and the short sides thereof are set to a length that allows sliding on the detection surface and the surface of the supply roller 23 beyond the bottom opening. Set.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained step by step.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the cartridge 2B is installed from above to the position shown in FIG. As shown, the protruding piece 23 of the supply roller 23
1 and the protruding piece 64 of the stirring means 6 are engaged with the connecting portion 72 of the drive system 71 of the motor 7 on the printer main body side.

After mounting the cylinder 4, the tape 32 is pulled out by holding the free end 32a of the tape and pulling it upward, exposing the opening 30, as shown in FIG.

In addition, contrary to the above, the cartridge is installed with the hopper removed from the apparatus main body, the tape is pulled out and the opening 30 is opened, and then the cartridge is installed on the apparatus main body side as shown in FIG. In this case, when the contact member 13 presses the bottom surface 55 of the shutter member 58, the shutter member 58 rotates against the elastic force of the lever spring 59, and the supply port portion is opened. Toner replenishment becomes possible.

Return to the original state and perform the predetermined electrophotographic development operation in the above state,
A toner concentration sensor 24 (not shown) detects a change in the mixing ratio of toner and carrier that occurs each time the toner in the developing device body is consumed, and the motor 7 is rotated based on the detection signal. The stirring means 5 and 6 and the toner supply roller 23 rotate in the direction of the arrow to supply toner into the developing device main body while stirring the toner and rubbing the surface of the toner detection sensor 24.

At this time, a pair of stirring means 5.6 in the cartridge 2B
As shown in FIG. 2, the portion 53a-5 has a relief angle.
3b, 63a-63b move the toner axially from right to left in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, and portions 53c, 63c having opposite angles move the toner from left to right in the drawing, and as a result, the stirring means 5 of 1
On the side, the toner stored in the semicircular bottom space 33 can be transferred from side to side in the axial direction while being mixed and transferred to the toner replenishment roller 23 side. While the toner moves to the detection surface 23a side and the toner on the detection surface 23a# moves to the replenishment roller 24 side, toner agitation and sliding on the detection surface 23a are performed.

When the toner in the cartridge 2B becomes less than the specified amount, the toner sensor 34 detects this and removes the cartridge 2B upward together with the two hoppers, and the lever spring 59 and the contact member 13 are separated from each other. The elastic force of the spring 59 is applied clockwise, and the shutter member 58
This closes the bottom surface of the supply port 22 and prevents toner contamination.

"Effects" As described above, according to the present invention, there is no fear of toner scattering during toner replenishment, and the replenished toner can be evenly distributed over the entire length of the hopper.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the replenishment container can be stored directly inside the hopper instead of on the top surface of the hopper, and since there is no stirring means or other obstruction, the replenishment container can be placed throughout the hopper. The amount of toner replenishment can be maintained within the limit.

Since the toner replenishment container is configured to be housed in the hopper with its position restricted within a plane perpendicular to the extending direction of the stirring means, the stirring means can be smoothly connected to the main body of the apparatus.

Furthermore, in the present invention, a toner opening is provided at the bottom of the replenishing container located above the toner replenishing means on the hopper side, and the toner stirring means is installed through the toner opening. Stirring or cleaning can be performed at the same time using the same stirring means, which is preferable.

Furthermore, in this case, by arranging the toner sensor adjacent to the replenishing section, the stirring means can be used as a sensor cleaning member, leading to a reduction in the number of parts in the negative layer.

Further, in the invention set forth in claim 5, the hopper is configured to be detachable with the toner replenishment container housed therein, and the hopper replenishment port is configured to be automatically opened and closed in conjunction with the attachment/detachment operation. It is also preferable in terms of maintenance because there is no fear of layer toner contamination and the container can be replaced in a safe place.

It has various effects such as

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) In a developing device having a hopper configured to be able to supply toner to the developing device main body side via a toner replenishing means, a toner replenishing container provided with a toner stirring means is installed as an extension of the stirring means. 2) The developing device is configured such that its position is restricted within a plane perpendicular to the direction and can be stored in the hopper. Claim 1) Formed into similar shapes
Developing device according to claim 1), wherein the stirring means is configured to be able to face the toner replenishing means on the hopper side through the bottom opening of the replenishing container.
4) The developing device according to claim 3, wherein a toner sensor is disposed adjacent to the toner replenishing means on the hopper side, and both of these members are configured to be able to face the stirring means through the bottom opening of the replenishing container.
) Developing device 5) In the developing device configured to be able to replenish toner to the developing device main body side via a toner replenishing port provided on the hopper side, a toner replenishing container provided with a toner stirring means can be stored in the hopper. The developing device is characterized in that the hopper is configured to be detachable with the toner replenishment container housed therein, and the hopper supply port can be opened and closed in conjunction with the attachment/detachment operation.