JPH0466509B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Technical Field> The present invention relates to an image generator, and more particularly to an image generator including a process unit that is detachably mounted on a support structure.

<Prior Art> As is well known to those skilled in the art, electrostatic copying machines or electrostatic printing, which form an electrostatic latent image on an electrostatographic photoreceptor and then develop the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. Image generating machines such as the machine are in widespread use. An electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine generally includes:
The developing apparatus includes a movable photoreceptor supporting means such as a rotating drum having a photoreceptor on its surface, a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor, and a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor. The device has a developer chamber and application means disposed in the developer chamber, and the cleaning device has toner removal means and a collection chamber for collecting the removed toner.

On the other hand, in recent years, instead of filling the toner storage chamber provided in the developing device with toner when installing the image generator at the place of use and actually starting to use it, the toner storage chamber provided in the developing device is filled with toner in advance during manufacturing. There is a tendency to adopt a so-called toner pre-filled method in which the toner is filled with toner and supplied to the user in this state. In particular, the movable photoreceptor supporting means, the developing device, and the cleaning device are mounted on a common unit frame to form a replaceable so-called process unit, and the process unit is detachably mounted on the support structure of the image generator. In image generating machines of this type, there is a greater tendency to adopt the above-mentioned toner pre-filled method.

However, conventional image generators have the following problems. That is, since there is a dedicated space for pre-filling unused toner, that is, a toner storage chamber, the developing device becomes larger in relation to this, and this tendency increases as the amount of toner pre-filled increases. growing. Therefore, this causes the problem of increasing the size of the entire copying machine.

<Object of the invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and its main purpose is to effectively achieve miniaturization by effectively utilizing space that is wasted until it is actually used. An object of the present invention is to provide an image generator capable of generating images.

<Summary of the Invention> As a result of intensive research, the present inventors focused on the toner collection chamber of a cleaning device, which was completely wasted until it was actually used, and developed a method for sealing unused toner in the toner collection chamber in advance. Furthermore, by providing a toner transporting means for transporting the toner existing in the toner collection chamber to the developing chamber, and supplying the toner in the toner collection chamber to the developing chamber by the action of the toner transporting means during use, it is possible to eliminate the conventional necessity. It has been found that the toner storage chamber that was previously used can be omitted, thereby achieving the above object.

That is, according to the present invention, a movable photoconductor support means having a photoconductor on the surface, a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor, and a device for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor. the developing device comprises a developing chamber and application means disposed in the developing chamber for applying toner to the electrostatic latent image to be developed; An image generating machine having a toner removing means for removing residual toner by acting on the surface of the photoreceptor, and a toner collecting chamber for collecting the toner removed by the action of the toner removing means, the toner collecting device of the cleaning device. unused toner is sealed in the chamber, and in association with the cleaning device and the developing device, a toner transfer means for transferring the toner present in the toner collection chamber to the developing chamber of the developing device; An image generator is provided.

<Preferred Specific Example of the Invention> Hereinafter, a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Overview of Electrostatic Copying Machine FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine constructed according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the illustrated copying machine includes a generally rectangular parallelepiped-shaped housing designated as a whole by numeral 2. As shown in FIG. This housing 2 includes a bottom wall 4 and a vertical front board and a vertical back board (2) which are arranged at the front and rear ends of the bottom wall 4 at intervals in the front and back direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1). (not shown), and various components to be described later are disposed between the vertical front substrate and the vertical rear substrate.

A document mounting means 6 is mounted on the upper surface of the housing 2 so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction. The document placement means 6 has a transparent plate 8 on which the document to be copied is placed, and a document cover 10 that can be opened and closed to cover the transparent plate 8 and the document placed thereon. Contains.

A so-called process unit, generally designated by numeral 12, is removably mounted approximately in the center of the housing 2. To explain in more detail, inside the housing 2,
A pair of support rails (not shown) extending in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper are fixed at intervals in the left-right direction, and on the other hand, the process unit 12 has a unit frame 14, and on both left and right sides of the unit frame 14, Supported rail parts 16 and 1 extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface
8 is formed. Therefore, the supported rail portions 16 and 18 of the unit frame 14 are connected to the housing 2, respectively.
The process unit 12 is attached to and removed from the housing 2, that is, the support structure, by engaging with a support rail (not shown) provided therein and sliding the unit frame 14 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. be done. A rotary drum 20 constituting movable photoreceptor supporting means is rotatably mounted approximately at the center of the unit frame 14. A suitable electrostatic photoreceptor is disposed on the circumferential surface of the rotating drum 20. The unit frame 14 further includes a charging corona discharger 24, a developing device generally designated by numeral 26, and a charging corona discharger 24, a developing device generally designated by numeral 26, around the rotating drum 20 which is rotationally driven in the direction indicated by an arrow 22. A cleaning device indicated by the number 28 is also attached. Process unit 12, particularly developer device 26, cleaning device 28, and related elements will be described in detail below.

The housing 2 further includes an original irradiation lamp 3 located above the process unit 12.
0, a reflection plate 32 and an optical system 34 are also provided. The optical system 34 is composed of a large number of elongated optical elements (for example, rod-shaped lenses sold under the trade name "Self-Ox Micro Lens" by Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.) extending in the vertical direction. The light from the irradiation lamp 30 is irradiated through the transparent plate 8 to the original placed on it, as shown by the two-dot chain line, and the reflected light from the original is formed on the optical system 34 and the upper wall 36 of the unit frame 14. The light is projected onto the circumferential surface of the rotating drum 20 in the exposure area 38 through the exposed exposure aperture.

Below the rotating drum 20, there is a transfer corona discharger 42 facing the circumferential surface of the rotary drum 20 in the transfer area 40, and a peeling corona located adjacent to and downstream of the transfer corona discharger 42. A discharger 44 is provided.

Further, at the right end of the housing 2, a copy paper supply means, generally indicated by the number 46, is disposed, and at the left end of the housing 2, a copy paper tray 48 is disposed. Between the copy paper supply means 46 and the copy paper tray 48, there is provided a copy paper transport system, generally designated by the number 50, for transporting the copy paper through the transfer area 40. Copy paper supply means 4
Reference numeral 6 includes a copy paper cassette 52 which is detachably mounted on a cassette receiver, and a delivery roller 54 which is disposed above the cassette receiver. Sheets of copy paper are stored in a stacked state in the copy paper cassette 52, and as the delivery roller 54 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 56, the copy paper cassette 5 is
The copy paper in 2 is sent out one by one, and the delivered copy paper passes between a pair of guide plates 58 and is transferred to the copy paper conveyance system 5.
0. The copy paper conveyance system 50 is indicated by an arrow 60
a pair of conveying rollers 62 that are rotationally driven in the direction indicated by;
A pair of guide plates 64 , a guide plate 66 , a conveyor belt mechanism 70 rotationally driven in the direction indicated by arrow 68 , and arrow 72
A pair of heat fixing rollers 7 which are rotationally driven in the direction shown by
4, a guide plate 76, and a pair of discharge rollers 80 which are driven to rotate in the direction shown by arrow 78. Upper heating roller 82 of heating fixing roller pair 74
Appropriate heating means 84 is provided inside.

In the electrostatic copying machine as described above, while the rotating drum 20 is rotationally driven in the direction indicated by the arrow 22, the charging corona discharger 24 substantially uniformly polarizes the photoreceptor on the rotating drum 20 to a specific polarity. After charging, the image of the original on the transparent plate 8 is scanned and exposed onto the photoreceptor in the exposure area 38, thus forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image of the original on the photoreceptor. During the scanning exposure described above, the document mounting means 6
For example, the scanning exposure is moved from the scanning exposure start position indicated by the two-dot chain line 6A rightward to the scanning exposure end position indicated by the two-dot chain line 6B. Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor is developed into a toner image by a developing device 26. Next, the copy paper supplied from the copy paper supply means 46 and conveyed by the copy paper conveyance system 50 is brought into close contact with the circumferential surface of the rotating drum 20 in the transfer area 40, and is moved by the action of the transfer corona discharger 42. The toner image on the photoreceptor is transferred onto copy paper. Thereafter, the copy paper is peeled off from the rotating drum 20 by the action of the static eliminating corona discharger 44. The peeled copy paper is conveyed through a pair of heat-fixing rollers 74, during which time the toner image on the copy paper is heat-fixed, and then discharged onto the copy paper tray 48. Meanwhile, the rotating drum 20 continues to rotate,
Residual toner on the photoreceptor is removed by the action of the cleaning device 28.

Structure of Process Unit To further explain the process unit with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 together with FIG. It has a front wall 86 (partially shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) and a rear wall (not shown) disposed at intervals in the vertical direction (from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. 4). However, the rotating drum 20, the developing device 26, and the cleaning device 28 are arranged between the front wall 86 and the rear wall.

A shaft portion 88 (only one shaft portion is shown in FIG. 4) is provided at both ends of the rotating drum 20, and the shaft portion 88 is rotatably supported by a front wall 86 and a rear wall (not shown). has been done. Although not shown, the other shaft portion of the rotating drum 20 is drivingly connected to a driving source such as an electric motor, and the rotating drum 20 is moved in the direction of the arrow 22 by the action of this driving source (not shown). It is rotated in the direction shown.

Mainly with reference to FIG. 2, the illustrated developing device 2
Reference numeral 6 indicates a front end wall 90 and a rear end wall 92 (front end wall in FIG. 90 and a portion of the rear end wall 92,
A portion of the front end wall 90 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7), and various walls 94, 96, and 98 are provided between the front end wall 90 and the rear end wall 92. The illustrated developing device has a front end wall 90 and a rear end wall 9.
2 and a developer chamber 100 defined by the various walls 94, 96 and 98 described above. The developing chamber 100 has an open left side facing the rotating drum 20, and an applying means 102 is disposed on the left side of the developing chamber 100, and a developer stirring means 104 is disposed on the right bottom of the developing chamber 100. has been done. The illustrated application means 102 consist of a hollow cylindrical sleeve 108 which is rotatably driven in the direction indicated by the arrow 106 and a stationary permanent magnet 110 arranged within the sleeve 108. Stationary permanent magnet 110
has a plurality of magnetic poles located at intervals in the circumferential direction. The stirring means 104 includes a plurality of blades 114 that are rotationally driven in the direction indicated by an arrow 112.
, the developer in the developing chamber 100 is stirred and supplied to the application means 102 . On the left inner surface of the wall 98 of the developing chamber 100, the sleeve 1 of the application means 102 is disposed.
Ear cutting means 116 protruding toward 08 is provided. The cutting means 116 is magnetically held on the surface of the sleeve 108 and acts on the moving developer to remove excess developer. Further, a toner concentration detector 118 located above the ear cutting means 116 is disposed on the wall 98. Detector 118 , which may be of well-known form, has a detection surface exposed within developer chamber 100 and detects the toner concentration of the developer removed from application means 102 by the action of scrunching means 116 . Note that a guide member 120 is further provided in the developing chamber 100 above the applying means 102. Guide member 120 slopes downwardly to the right and directs excess developer removed from application means 102 to agitation means 104 . In a specific example, a supply opening 98a for supplying a start developer is further provided approximately at the center of the wall 98. A supply opening 98a that projects upwardly is exposed to the outside of the unit frame 14 through an opening 122 formed in the upper wall 36 of the unit frame 14. Sealing body 1 that can be opened and closed
26 is screwed on. When in use, as will be described later, the sealing body 126 is removed and the supply port 12 is opened.
4, a start developer (a developer in which carrier and toner are mixed at a predetermined mixing ratio) is supplied to the developing chamber 100.

Mainly referring to FIG. 3, the illustrated cleaning device 28 includes a front end wall 128 disposed at intervals in the longitudinal direction inside the front wall 86 and rear wall (not shown) of the unit frame 14. (partially shown in FIG. 6) and a rear end wall (not shown), with various walls 130, 1 between the front end wall 128 and the rear end wall.
32 and 134 are provided. The illustrated cleaning device 28 includes a toner collection chamber 136 defined by a front end wall 128 and a rear end wall and the various walls 130, 132 and 134 described above. The cleaning device 28 includes an elastic blade 138 that acts as a toner removal means;
A resilient blade 138 is attached to the outer surface of the right end of wall 134 by attachment member 140 . The free end of the elastic blade 138 is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor of the rotating drum 20 to remove residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor. A part of the right side surface of the toner collection chamber 136 facing the rotating drum 20 is open, and a synthetic resin film is formed on the inner surface of the wall 130 that defines the lower edge of the collection opening 142 of the toner collection chamber 136. Seal member 144 that can
is installed. The sealing member 144 is attached to the wall 130
It extends toward the rotating drum 20 from one end fixed to the rotating drum 20, and the other end is brought into contact with or close to the circumferential surface of the rotating drum. This seal member 144
serves to guide the toner removed by the action of the elastic blade 138 to the toner collection chamber 136.

In the electrostatic copying machine as described above, unused toner (new toner that has never been used for development) is stored in the toner collection chamber 136 in advance at the time of manufacturing.
sealed. Further, in relation to the fact that unused toner is sealed in this manner, the present invention is further configured as follows. Mainly referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the process unit 14 further includes toner in the toner collection chamber 136 of the cleaning device 28 to be transferred to the developing chamber 100 of the developing device 26.
A toner transport means 146 is provided for transporting toner. The illustrated toner transfer means 146 includes a hollow cylindrical member 148 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) and a spiral member 150 rotatably disposed within the hollow cylindrical member 148. Openings are formed at required portions of the front end wall 128 (FIG. 6) of the cleaning device 28, and the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26 is provided with openings.
An opening 151 (FIG. 7) is also formed at a required portion of the hollow cylindrical member 148, and one end of the cylindrical hollow cylindrical member 148 is connected to the opening formed in the front end wall 128 of the cleaning device 28. The other end is connected to the opening 151 formed in the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26, and in the specific example, the other end passes through the opening 151 formed in the front end wall 90 and connects to the upper right corner of the developing chamber 100. through the rear end wall (see Figure 5). In a specific example,
The other end of the hollow cylindrical member 148 (specifically, the portion 148 between the front end wall 90 and the rear end wall 92 of the developing device 26
a) acts as a hollow conveyor, but a hollow cylindrical intermediate conveyor is separately formed and installed between the front end wall 90 and rear end wall 92 of the developing device 26, and the other end of the hollow cylindrical member 148 is It may be made to communicate with the hollow carrier. Further, the spiral member 150 disposed within the hollow cylindrical member 148 has one end portion 152.
a is the toner collection chamber 136 of the cleaning device 28;
Located within. More specifically, one end 152a of the spiral member 150 is connected to the cleaning device 28.
extends into the toner collection chamber 136 through the opening formed in the front end wall 128 (FIG. 6), and extends in the width direction of the toner storage chamber 136 from substantially one end to the other end at the bottom of the toner collection chamber 136, that is, in the longitudinal direction. A shaft portion 1 is provided at one end of the shaft.
54a is rotatably mounted on the rear end wall (not shown) of the cleaning device 28. The shaft portion 15
4a protrudes rearward through the rear end wall, and a clutch means 156 such as an electromagnetic clutch is provided at this protruding end.
A gear 158 is attached via. gear 15
8 is meshed with a large gear 164 provided at the rear end of the rotating drum 20 via gears 160 and 162. Because of this driving connection, when rotating drum 20 is rotated in the direction shown by arrow 22, gear 158 moves in the direction of arrow 1 via gears 162 and 160.
66, the clutch means 156
When the gear 158 is energized, the driving force of the gear 158 is applied to the shaft 1 of the helical member 150 via the clutch means 156.
54a. The other end 152b of this spiral member 150 extends in the axial direction through the hollow cylindrical member 148. That is, the other end 152b located inside the developing chamber 100 is connected to the hollow cylindrical member 148.
The other end 148a located between the front end wall 90 and the rear end wall 92 (FIG. 5) extends in the width direction of the developing chamber 100 from substantially one end to the other end, that is, in the front-back direction, and is provided at the other end. The shaft portion 154b is rotatably attached to the rear end wall 92 of the developing device 26. As shown in FIG. 4, the illustrated spiral member 150 has shaft portions 154a and 154b at both ends, but there are no shaft portions in other parts, and the spiral member 150 is wound spirally in a predetermined direction and is hollow. It's getting old. When the driving force of the gear 158 in the direction shown by the arrow 166 is transmitted through the clutch means 156, the helical member 150 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 168 and rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 170, that is, from one end thereof. Transfer the toner toward the other end. Hollow cylindrical member 1
A toner discharge opening 172 (FIG. 2, Fig. 5) is formed. In a specific example, the toner discharge opening 172 extends substantially from one end to the other end of the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148, as shown in FIG.
It is preferable that the width of the opening 2 gradually increases, for example, in a substantially triangular shape in the toner transport direction indicated by an arrow 170.

In addition, the toner collection chamber 1 of the cleaning device 28
36 is provided with stirring means 174. The illustrated stirring means 174 has a shaft member 176, on which a plurality of substantially circular blade bodies 178 are arranged at intervals in the axial direction and slightly inclined, and between each blade body 178. has a substantially rectangular blade body 18.
0 is set. This stirring means 174 is connected to one end 15 of the spiral member 150 of the toner collection chamber 136.
The shaft member 176 is disposed above the installation site of 2a.
Both ends of the front end wall 128 of the cleaning device 28
and a rear end wall (not shown) for rotation. The rear end of the shaft member 176 penetrates the rear end wall and protrudes rearward, and a gear 182 is attached to this protruding end, and the gear 182 meshes with a large gear 164 provided on the rotating drum 20. Therefore, when the rotating drum 20 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 22, the stirring means 174 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 184 via the large gear 164 and the gear 182.
As will be described later, this stirring means 174 removes the unused toner previously filled in the toner collection chamber 136 from the surface of the photoconductor, and removes the unused toner from the toner collection chamber 136.
It functions to mix the collected toner (toner used for development) collected in step 6 as required. In order to conveniently accomplish the mixing of unused toner and recovered toner, a configuration as shown in FIG. 3 is desirable. That is, it is preferable that the agitating means 174 is disposed directly above the one end 152a of the spiral member 150 and in the fall recovery path of the collected toner removed from the rotating drum 20, and in particular, the agitating means 174 is approximately circular in the specific example. blade body 178 and toner collection chamber 13
It is preferable to reduce the distance between the walls 130 and 132 that define 6.

As shown in FIG. 4, shaft portions 186a and 186b provided at both ends of the sleeve 108 of the application means 102 are rotatably attached to the front end wall 90 and rear end wall 92 of the developing device 26. Also, in the stirring means 104, shaft portions 188a and 188b provided at both ends thereof are connected to the front end wall 9.
0 and the rear end wall 92 so as to be rotatable.
The shaft portion 186b of the sleeve 108 is connected to the rear end wall 92.
(Fig. 5), and a gear 190 is attached to this projecting end, and the shaft portion 188b of the stirring means 104 also passes through the rear end wall 92 and projects rearward, and the projecting end also has a gear 190 attached thereto. A gear 192 is attached. Gears 190 and 192 are drivingly coupled via a small gear 194, so that the drive source (not shown) of the copying machine causes gear 190 to move in the direction of arrow 1.
When the sleeve 108 is rotated in the direction shown by arrow 96 (thereby rotating the sleeve 108 in the direction shown by arrow 106), gear 192 is rotated through gear 194 in the direction shown by arrow 1.
98 (thereby rotating the stirring means 104 in the direction shown by arrow 112).

In connection with filling the toner recovery chamber 136 of the cleaning device 28 with unused toner in advance, an openable sealing means 200 (FIGS. 3 and 6) is provided in the recovery opening 142 of the toner recovery chamber 132. Preferably, the toner discharge opening 172 formed at the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148 is also provided with a discharge opening sealing means 202 (FIG. 2,
7) is more preferable.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, the illustrated sealing means 200 is a relatively thin synthetic resin sealing member 20.
4, and this sealing member 204 is removably attached to the opening of the recovery opening 142 of the toner recovery chamber 136 by means such as an adhesive. The sealing member 204 is preferably attached as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. That is,
The cleaning device 28 cleans one end of the seal member 204.
One end portion 206a is attached to the inner surface of the front end wall 128 and extends from the one end toward the rear end wall (not shown).
, its upper end is attached to the inner surface of the wall 134, and its lower end is attached to the inner surface of the wall 130, and the one end 206a opens the collection opening 1.
42 is substantially sealed. Then, considering the ease of detachment of the seal member 204, the one end portion 2
The other end 206b further extending from 06a is folded back toward the toner collection chamber 132 side (to the left in FIGS. 3 and 6) and positioned inside the one end 206a, and the other end is formed on the front end wall 128. elongated hole 208 and the front wall 8 of the unit frame 14
6 through the elongated hole 209 formed in the front wall 86.
protrude somewhat in front of the In addition, the seal member 20
The other end of 4 may be bent and removably attached to the front surface of the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14 by means such as tape, as in the specific example shown.
Alternatively, it may be left as is. When attached in this way, as is easily understood, by pulling the other end of the sealing member 204 protruding from the front wall 86 forward, the entire sealing member 204 can be removed from the opening of the collection opening 142. You can force them to leave.

The discharge opening sealing means 202 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 7. The illustrated discharge opening sealing means 202 is also composed of a relatively thin sealing member 210 made of synthetic resin.
10 is removably attached to an opening of a toner discharge opening 172 formed at the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148 by means such as an adhesive. The seal member 210 is the seal member 20 described above.
4, it is preferable to attach it as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. That is, one end 212a extending from one end of the sealing member 210 located inside the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26 toward the rear end wall 92 is adhered to the outer surface of the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148. One end 212a substantially seals the toner discharge opening 172. Then, in consideration of ease of detachment of the sealing member 210, the other end 212b further extending from the one end 212a is folded back toward the developing chamber 100 side (downward in FIGS. 2 and 7). 212a, the other end of which is formed in the front end wall 90, is the circular opening 151 (as described above, the other end of the hollow cylindrical member 148 is inserted through this opening 151); It passes through an elongated arc-shaped hole 214 formed in the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14 and projects somewhat forward of the front wall 86. Note that the other end of the seal member 210 may remain in the protruding state as in the illustrated example, but it can be bent and detached by means such as tape on the front surface of the front wall 86, similarly to the seal member 204. It may also be pasted on. When attached in this way, the seal member 2 protruding from the front wall 86
The entire sealing member 210 can be removed from the opening of the toner discharge opening 172 by pulling the other end of the sealing member 10 forward. In addition, seal member 2
10, as shown in FIG. 7, a sealing material 216 is placed at the opening (a portion defining at least the lower part of the opening 151) of the opening 151 formed in the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26. It is preferable to set In the specific example, the opening 151 in the front end wall 90
Approximately semicircular arc-shaped sealing material 2 is placed in the area that defines the lower part of the
16 are provided. The sealing material 216 can be made of rubber, for example, and seals between the front end wall 90 and the hollow cylindrical member 148 after the sealing member 210 is removed, as described later, so that the developer in the developing chamber 100 can pass through the opening 151. Prevent leakage to the outside.

Referring mainly to FIGS. 2 to 4 again, in the electrostatic copying machine as described above, at the time of starting use, the developing chamber 100 of the developing device 26 is filled with a starter developer, and the cleaning device 26 is filled with a starter developer. 28
A sealing member 204 and a hollow cylindrical member 148 sealing the collection opening 142 of the toner collection chamber 136.
Toner discharge opening 1 formed at the other end 148a
The filling of the start developer, which causes the sealing member 210 sealing the developing device 26 to be removed, causes the sealing member 126 screwed to the supply opening 98a provided in the wall 98 of the developing device 26 to be removed, and the container ( A starter developer sealed in a container (not shown) is passed from the container into the developing chamber 100 through the supply port 124.
This is achieved by supplying as required.
Also, the seal member 204 can be removed from the unit frame 1.
The seal member 20 affixed to the front wall 86 of 4
This is accomplished by peeling off the other end of 4, and pulling the other end forward while peeling off the one end 206a from the opening of the collection opening 142 of the toner collection chamber 136. (See also FIG. 6) In this way, the sealing member 204 can be removed through the opening 208 formed in the front end wall 128 of the cleaning device 28 and the opening 209 formed in the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14, and the sealing member 204 can be removed from the toner collection chamber. 136 collection openings 1
42 will be released. Furthermore, the detachment of the sealing member 210 projects somewhat from the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14. While pulling the other end of the sealing member 210 forward, its one end 212a is attached to the hollow cylindrical member 14.
This is accomplished by peeling off the toner from the toner discharge opening 172 formed at the other end 148a of the toner. (See also FIG. 7) Thus, the developing device 26
The seal member 210 can be removed through the opening 151 formed in the front end wall 90 of the unit frame 14 and the opening 214 formed in the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14, and the toner discharge opening 1 formed in the hollow cylindrical member 148 can be removed.
72 is released. By performing such operations, the device becomes ready for copying, and the above-described copying process can be performed. Regarding the specific copying machine, the following points should be noted. That is,
Before the start of copying, the recovery opening 142 of the toner recovery chamber 136 (this toner recovery chamber 136 is filled with unused toner in advance during manufacturing) is sealed by the sealing member 204. The toner discharge opening 172 formed in the hollow cylindrical member 148 that communicates the toner collection chamber 136 and the developing chamber 100 is also sealed by the sealing member 210. Therefore, the toner collection chamber 136
is virtually completely sealed. Therefore,
When the electrostatic copying machine is transported (or when the process unit itself is transported), it is possible to reliably prevent the unused toner previously filled in the toner collection chamber 136 from leaking to the outside.

During copying, the agitating means 104 in the developing device 26 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 112, whereby the toner with which the developer is agitated is charged to a predetermined polarity, and the agitated developer is transferred to the applying means 102. will be sent towards. Application means 102
The sleeve 108 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 106, and the developer fed by the action of the stirring means 104 is applied to the surface of the sleeve 108 by the magnetic attraction force of the magnet 110 disposed inside the sleeve 108. It is held and moved in the direction shown by arrow 106 as sleeve 108 rotates. Then, the excess developer retained on the surface of the sleeve 108 is removed by the action of the cutting means 116.
The removed developer is moved upward along the inner surface of the wall 98 and then passed on the guide plate 120 by the stirring means 1.
04, and the stirring means 10 again.
4. On the other hand, the developer held on the surface of the sleeve 108 and further conveyed in the direction shown by the arrow 106 comes into contact with the photoreceptor disposed on the surface of the rotating drum 20, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. Correspondingly, the toner in the developer is applied onto the photoreceptor, thus developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. When the toner concentration of the developer decreases as a result of this development action, the detector 118 generates a signal, and the clutch means 156 is energized based on the signal, causing the development of the toner in the toner collection chamber 136, which will be described later. The chamber 100 is supplied.

Further, during copying, when the rotating drum 20 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 22 in the cleaning device 28, the free end of the elastic blade 138 is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor of the rotating drum 20.
The toner remaining on the photoreceptor is removed by the action of the elastic blade 138. The thus removed toner is then guided by the seal member 144 and collected into the toner collection chamber 136 through the collection opening 142. On the other hand, when the rotating drum 20 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 22, the large gear 164 and the gear 182
The stirring means 174 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 184 through the stirring means 174, and the unused toner previously filled in the toner collection chamber 136 is removed from the surface of the photoconductor and the toner is removed from the toner collection chamber 136 by the action of the stirring means 174.
The collected toner is mixed substantially uniformly with the collected toner, thereby preventing significant deterioration of the copied image. Therefore,
The recovered toner is mixed with unused toner and supplied to the developing chamber 100 as described below, where it is reused.

Furthermore, when the clutch means 156 is energized based on the signal from the detector 118, the rotational driving force of the gear 158, which rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 166 as the rotary drum 20 rotates, is transmitted through the clutch means 156. is transmitted to the helical member 150 and the helical member 1
50 is rotated as required. That is, one end 152a located within the toner collection chamber 136 is rotated counterclockwise (in FIG. 3) as indicated by an arrow 168, and the toner present at the bottom of the toner collection chamber 136 (such toner is Stirring means 174
) is mixed as required by the action of
Due to the action of the spiral member 150, the toner collection chamber 1
36 in the direction indicated by arrow 170 toward the front in the fore-and-aft direction. The thus transferred toner is further supplied to the developing device 26 through the inside of the hollow cylindrical member 148, and is fed to the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148 in the developing device 26. For the other end 152b of the spiral member 150 disposed within the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148,
The toner rotated clockwise (in FIG. 2) as indicated by arrow 168 and conveyed to developing device 26,
Due to the action of the helical member 150, the other end 14
8a in the direction indicated by arrow 170 toward the rear in the fore-and-aft direction. A toner discharge opening 172 is formed at the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148, and thus the transferred toner is supplied to the developing chamber 100 through the toner discharge opening 172. The thus supplied toner is mixed with the developer present in the developing chamber 100 by the action of the stirring means 104. In the specific example, since the width of the toner discharge opening 172 is gradually increased in the toner transport direction indicated by the arrow 170 as shown in FIG.
Although a relatively large amount of toner is transferred at one end (the left end in FIG. 5) of No. 2, the toner supply ratio is small;
Although a relatively small amount of toner is transferred at the right end in the figure, the toner supply ratio increases, and thus the toner supplied from the toner collection chamber 136 passes through the toner discharge opening 172 in the width direction of the developing chamber 100. is supplied substantially uniformly.

Although a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generator constructed according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific example, and departs from the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and modifications can be made without having to do so.

For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the starting developer is used in the development chamber 100 of the development device 26.
However, instead of this, a configuration may be adopted in which the start developer is filled into the developing chamber 100 in advance during manufacturing. In such a case, it is desirable to removably seal the opening of the developing chamber 100 facing the rotating drum 20 with, for example, a sealing member.

Further, for example, in the illustrated example, the present invention is applied to an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine that uses a so-called two-component developer consisting of a carrier and a toner. Similarly, the present invention can also be applied to a type using a so-called one-component developer consisting only of toner. In such a case, the stirring means 104 and the like in the developing device 26 can be omitted.

<Effects of the Invention> In the image generating machine according to the present invention, the toner collection chamber 136 for collecting toner is effectively used and unused toner is sealed in the toner collection chamber 136 at the time of manufacturing. The toner storage chamber required in the apparatus can be omitted, and therefore, further miniaturization of the image generating machine can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a simplified sectional view showing a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine constructed according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the developing device of the electrostatic copying machine shown in FIG. 1 and its vicinity. Figure 3 shows
2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the cleaning device of the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1 and its vicinity; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner transport means and related elements of the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the toner discharge opening formed in the hollow cylindrical member of the toner transport means in the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1, viewed from above. 6 is a perspective view showing a sealing means disposed at the collection opening of the toner collection chamber of the electrostatic copying machine shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing discharge opening sealing means disposed in the toner discharge opening formed in the hollow cylindrical member of the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1. 2... Housing, 14... Process unit, 16... Unit frame, 20... Rotating drum,
26...Developing device, 28...Cleaning device,
100... Development chamber, 102... Application means, 136
...Toner collection chamber, 138 ...Elastic blade, 1
46... Toner transfer means, 148... Hollow cylindrical member, 150... Spiral member, 174... Stirring means, 200... Sealing means, 202... Discharge opening sealing means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A movable photoconductor support means having a photoconductor on its surface, a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor, and a device for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor. a cleaning device, the development device having a development chamber and application means disposed in the development chamber for applying toner to the electrostatic latent image to be developed; In an image generating machine, the toner collecting chamber of the cleaning device has a toner removing means that acts on a body surface to remove residual toner, and a toner collecting chamber that collects the toner removed by the action of the toner removing means. unused toner is enclosed in the cleaning device and the developing device, further comprising a toner transfer means for transferring the toner present in the toner collection chamber to the developing chamber of the developing device. An image generator featuring: 2. The movable photoreceptor supporting means, the developing device, and the cleaning device constitute a process unit that is detachably attached to a support structure, and the movable photoconductor supporting means, the developing device, and the cleaning device constitute a process unit that is attached to a unit frame of the process unit. The image generator described in Section 1. 3. The image generating machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a sealing means is provided in the recovery opening of the toner recovery chamber of the cleaning device so that the seal can be opened. 4. The image generating machine according to claim 3, wherein the sealing means comprises a sealing member removably attached to the opening of the recovery opening of the toner recovery chamber. 5. The toner collection chamber of the cleaning device includes:
Any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein stirring means is provided for mixing unused toner and toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor and collected in the toner collection chamber. An image generator described in Crab. 6. The toner transfer means includes a hollow cylindrical member that communicates the toner collecting chamber of the cleaning device with the developing chamber of the developing device, and is rotatably disposed within the hollow cylindrical member and rotates in a predetermined direction. An image generating machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a spiral member that transports toner by moving the toner. 7. One end of the spiral member extends substantially from one end to the other end at the bottom of the toner collection chamber of the cleaning device, and extends over its entire width at the top of the developing chamber of the developing device. A hollow carrier is disposed, a toner discharge port for discharging toner is formed in the lower part of the hollow carrier, and the other end of the spiral member is arranged substantially from one end to the other within the hollow carrier. 7. An image generator according to claim 6, which extends to the ends. 8. The toner discharge opening formed in the hollow conveyor extends substantially from one end to the other end, and the opening width of the toner discharge opening gradually increases in the toner transport direction. The image generator according to item 7. 9. The image generating machine according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a discharge opening sealing means is disposed in the toner discharge opening of the hollow conveyance body so as to be unsealable. 10. The image generating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the discharge opening sealing means comprises a sealing member removably attached to the opening of the toner discharge opening of the hollow conveyor.