JPH0546023A - Method and device for replenishing developer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To replenish developer to a developer containing part without spilliting the developer and soiling hands. CONSTITUTION:A charging nozzle 32 whose tip is pointed is inserted in an opening part 8 for replenishing, which is hermetically sealed by an elastic member provided on the wall surface of the developer containing part 5, and the developer is replenished in the developer containing part 5 by discharging the developer from the charging nozzle 32.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a copying machine, a facsimile,
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for supplying a developer to a developer accommodating portion of a developing device used in an image forming apparatus that forms an image by an electrophotographic method such as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional image forming apparatus of the above type, when the developer contained in the developing device provided in the main body of the device is used up, the lid of the supply opening provided in the developing device is opened. There was one that tried to replenish the developer, but since the work of replenishing the developer in the device body is complicated and there is a problem that the developer spills inside the device body and becomes dirty, Attach the developing device detachably,
It has been proposed to replace the developing device when the developer contained in the developing device is used up.

Further, in order to make maintenance of the image carrier and the developing device unnecessary, an image forming cartridge in which the image carrier and the developing device are integrated is provided, and the image forming cartridge is detachably mounted on the main body of the device. The device is also, for example, JP-A-57-154225 or JP-A-61-27.
It is conventionally known in Japanese Patent Publication No. 9870.

In the image forming cartridge, the developer is contained so that the life of the image carrier and the time when the developer contained in the image forming cartridge is consumed to make maintenance unnecessary. The image forming cartridge is designed to be disposable.

[0005]

However, although it has been relatively easy to obtain a long-life image carrier in recent years, it is still relatively expensive. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus is required to be compact. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the size of the image forming cartridge. Therefore, increasing the storage capacity of the developer in accordance with the life of the image bearing member violates this requirement. The problem has arisen that the imaging cartridge must be replaced and discarded while the body has a sufficient life.

Therefore, it is conceivable to collect the image forming cartridge and replenish the developer. For that purpose, a replenishment port is provided in the developer accommodating portion and the lid is opened for filling, or the toner accommodating portion is provided with a toner hopper. It is conceivable to replace the toner hopper together with the toner, but in that case, there is a problem in that the developer spills or the operator's hand becomes dirty.

This problem also applies to the case where the developing device is detachably mounted as described above.

Therefore, the present invention provides a developer replenishing method and an apparatus for replenishing the developer to the developer accommodating portion without spilling the developer or soiling the hands.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention fills a replenishing opening provided on a wall surface of a developer accommodating portion and sealed with an elastic member with a pointed tip. The invention is characterized in that the nozzle is inserted and the developer is discharged from the filling nozzle into the developer accommodating portion.

Further, the developer replenishing device of the present invention comprises a filling nozzle having a conical or spindle-shaped tip and a nozzle hole at its side surface or tip, and means for delivering the developer toward the filling nozzle. It is characterized by

The means for delivering the developer can be constituted by means for pushing out the developer contained in the accommodation space communicating with the filling nozzle toward the filling nozzle, and the pushing means contains the developer. It can be composed of a cylinder portion and a piston member, or a tube containing a developer.

Further, as the means for delivering the developer, a means for delivering the developer together with the gas in a mixed state with the gas may be used.

If necessary, a check valve mechanism is provided in the nozzle hole of the filling nozzle.

[0014]

In the above-described structure of the present invention, the filling nozzle having the pointed tip is inserted into the replenishing opening sealed by the elastic member to replenish the developer from the filling nozzle. The developer can be replenished to the developer accommodating part in a state where the outer periphery is sealed, so that the developer can be spilled to the outside or the hand can be dirty by a simple work of inserting the filling nozzle into the refill opening. Can be replenished with developer.

When the developer replenishing device of the present invention is used,
The above replenishment method can be carried out easily, and particularly when a filling nozzle having a nozzle hole on the side surface is used, the insertion of the filling nozzle is easy because the tip thereof is smooth. Further, when the check valve mechanism is provided in the nozzle hole, the developer does not spill from the filling nozzle before the insertion even if the developer is stored up to the tip of the filling nozzle. Further, when the cylinder portion, the piston member and the tube are used as the developer delivering means, the configuration becomes extremely simple and can be provided at a low cost. Furthermore, if the developer is delivered in a mixed state with the gas, the developer can be delivered reliably and stably.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described below.

FIG. 4 shows the image forming cartridge 1.
The image forming cartridge 1 is configured by connecting a developing device section 2 and a waste toner containing section 3 to each other, and a photosensitive drum 4 is provided at an end of the waste toner containing section 3 connected to the developing apparatus section 2. There is.

The developing device section 2 includes a developer containing section 5 for containing a developer and a developing mechanism section 6. The developing mechanism section 6 supplies a uniform thin layer of a developer to the photosensitive drum 4 to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 4 with a toner, and a developing roller 7 from the back of the developing roller 7. A fur brush 8 that supplies the toner to the developing roller 7 while being charged is disposed. An elastic blade 7a for forming the developer supplied to the outer peripheral surface of the developing roller 7 into a uniform thin layer is pressed against the developing roller 7. As the elastic blade 7a, a rubber blade such as urethane rubber or silicone rubber, or a metal blade such as phosphor bronze for spring or spring steel is useful.

In the waste toner container 3, the photosensitive drum 4
A cleaning blade 9 is pressed against the back of the photosensitive drum 4 so that the residual toner scraped from the photosensitive drum 4 is stored in the waste toner storage portion 3. For this storage, a paddle 10 is provided near the bottom of the waste toner storage portion 3 behind the photosensitive drum 4, and the toner scraped from the photosensitive drum 4 is scraped into the waste toner storage portion 3. .. Further, at a position above the photosensitive drum 4, that is, a position lower than the cleaning blade 9 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 4, a charging charger 11 that uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 4 is provided.

The photosensitive drum 4 is formed by forming a photoconductive layer of zinc oxide, selenium, or an organic photoconductive material on the surface of a metal base such as aluminum, and forms an electrostatic latent image by imagewise exposure. .. Positioning rollers (not shown) provided on both shafts of the photosensitive drum 4 and the developing roller 7 are in contact with each other to maintain a predetermined gap.

In the developer accommodating portion 5, a developer supply paddle 12 for stirring the developer while supplying the developer to the fur brush 8,
A stirring blade 13 for preventing the toner from blocking is provided. A lid 15 is attached to the upper opening 14 of the developer accommodating portion 5 and integrally fixed thereto by an appropriate method such as adhesion or welding. The lid 15 is formed with an air vent hole 16 and is closed by a semipermeable membrane 17. Semipermeable membrane 17
Uses a material that allows air to pass through but does not allow the developer to pass through.

An opening portion 18 for replenishing the developer is formed on the side wall of the developer accommodating portion 5, and a rectangular frame 19 projects on the inner surface side thereof at an appropriate distance outside the peripheral edge of the opening portion 18. It is set up. An elastic sealing body 20 which is made of an elastic body such as an independent foam sponge and which is divided into two by a cutting surface 21 which crosses the central portion of the opening 18 is press-fitted into the frame 19 in a compressed state. And is adhered to the inner surface of the side wall.
Further, the cut surface 21 of the elastic sealing body 20 is formed to be inclined so as to spread toward the outside of the developer accommodating portion 5 in the natural state before compression, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. In the state of being press-fitted into the frame 19, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the pressure contact force at the cutting surface 21 becomes higher as it approaches the inside of the developer accommodating portion 5.

Although not shown, the image forming cartridge 1 configured as described above is mounted on, for example, an upper frame that can be opened and closed vertically in a printer, and when the upper frame is closed with respect to the lower frame, the image forming cartridge 1 shown in FIG. As shown in
A paper passing path 31 for printing is formed between the transfer charger 30 provided on the lower frame side. or,
A laser scanning unit is provided above the portion of the upper frame on which the image forming cartridge 1 is mounted, and laser light modulated according to an image signal provided by a personal computer, an image reader, or the like is appropriately supplied by a polygon mirror or the like. The image is exposed on the photosensitive drum 4 by being deflected by various scanning means, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 uniformly charged by the charging charger 11.

The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 4 is developed by the developing device section 2.
Then, the transfer charger 30 acts from the back side of the transfer sheet that has been developed in step S3 and is conveyed through the sheet passing path 31, and the developed toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 4 is transferred onto the transfer sheet.

Next, a developer replenishing device for replenishing the developer accommodating portion 5 with the developer will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the developer replenishing device 35 has a filling nozzle 32 at one end. The filling nozzle 32 is
As shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tip portion is formed in a spindle shape so that it can be easily inserted into the cut surface 21,
The nozzle hole 33 is formed on the side surface thereof. Further, a check valve-shaped tongue piece 34 is attached to the nozzle hole 33. Such a filling nozzle 32 is formed at one end of the cylinder portion 36, and the developer is contained in the cylinder portion 36. Further, from the other end side of the cylinder portion 36, the piston member 3
7 is fitted in, and the pushing shaft 38 pushes the piston member 37 into the cylinder portion 36 so that the developer is discharged from the nozzle hole 33.

Next, the developer replenishing operation will be described. When the developer contained in the developer container 5 of the image forming cartridge 1 is exhausted by repeating the image forming operation, the image forming cartridge 1 is replaced with a new one. Then, the image forming cartridge 1 from which the developer is exhausted is collected and replenished with the developer in the developer accommodating portion 5, and is reused until the photosensitive drum 4 and the like reach the end of its life.

At the time of replenishing the developer, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the filling nozzle 32 capable of discharging the developer from the nozzle hole 33 is provided with the opening 18 and the cut surface 21 of the elastic sealing body 20.
And is inserted into the developer accommodating portion 5. When the filling nozzle 32 is inserted, the cut surfaces 21 of the sealing body 20 made of an elastic body and pressed against each other come into close contact with the outer periphery of the filling nozzle 32 as shown in FIG.
The developer can be replenished from the filling nozzle 32 into the developer accommodating portion 5 in a state in which the developer does not leak to the outside by being pushed in. In particular, since the elastic sealing body 20 is composed of an independent foam sponge, it has good sealing property and good deformability, easy insertion of the filling nozzle 32, and good adhesion. Further, since the pressure contact force of the cut surface 21 is made higher as it gets closer to the inside of the developer accommodating portion 5, the insertion of the filling nozzle 32 becomes easier and the adhesion becomes better. In addition, this filling nozzle 3
Although the developer is discharged together with the air when the developer is replenished by 2, the air vent hole 16 closed by the semipermeable membrane 17 in the lid 15 is used.
Is provided, the excess air in the developer accommodating portion 5 accompanying the replenishment of the developer is discharged to the outside. Therefore, the developer can be smoothly replenished, and a blowback caused by the replenishment of the developer does not cause a minute gap around the filling nozzle 32 to blow out the developer to the outside. Thus, the developer can be replenished by a simple operation of inserting the filling nozzle 32 without spilling the developer to the outside or soiling the hands.

Further, the lid 15 has an air vent hole 16 and the semipermeable membrane 1
By providing 7, the external force for gripping the image forming cartridge 1 during the handling of the image forming cartridge 1 acts on the developer accommodating portion 5 to cause deformation such as twisting or denting, and the volume thereof is reduced. However, since the air is blown out due to the volume reduction through the semipermeable membrane 17 having low resistance, it is possible to prevent the developer from being blown out from the developing roller 7 to the outside.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the developer replenishing device. A developer replenishing device 39 shown in FIG. 5 is configured by integrally fixing an opening of a tube 40 containing a developer to a mouthpiece member 41 having a filling nozzle 42, and squeezing the tube 40 to fill the developer with the nozzle. Discharge from 32. The filling nozzle 42 has a nozzle hole 43 formed in the tip end surface and is closed by a cap 43a.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the developer replenishing device. A developer replenishing device 44 shown in FIG. 6 is configured by accommodating the developer in a cylindrical container 45 having a filling nozzle 32 at one end, and a gas injection port 46 is formed at the other end of the cylindrical container 45. A gas cylinder such as a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 47 is connected.

This connection is made into a drum-shaped and compressible connection cylinder 45a formed at the other end of the cylindrical container 45, a groove 45b at the inner periphery of the rear end of this connection cylinder 45a, and a tip shoulder portion of the gas cylinder 47. It is made firm by force fitting with the edge winding portion 47a at.

Depending on the shape and material of the gas cylinder 47, they can be connected by adhesion or welding. Depending on the case, a fastening band or the like can be used supplementarily.

In this connected state, the injection nozzle 47a of the gas cylinder 47 is inserted to the full depth of the gas injection port 46 of the cylindrical container 45.

As a result, the gas cylinder 47 is placed in the cylindrical container 4
When pressed to the 5 side, the gas cylinder 47 approaches the cylindrical container 45 with the compression of the connecting cylinder 45a, and the injection nozzle 47a is pushed into the gas cylinder 47 by the cylindrical container 45.

Therefore, the injection nozzle 47a is opened, and the gas in the gas cylinder 47 is discharged from the gas injection port 46 into the cylindrical container 4.
5 and try to flow out from the filling nozzle 32,
This gas flow fills the developer in the cylindrical container 45 with the filling nozzle 3
Discharge from 2.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, an example in which the elastic sealing body 20 having the cut surface 21 is arranged in the opening 18 is shown. However, an elastic sheet is attached to the opening 18 and this elastic sheet is used when replenishing the developer. It is also possible to insert the filling nozzle 32 penetratingly through it, and after replenishing the developer, peel off the above elastic sheet or the previous elastic sheet and attach another elastic sheet so as to seal the opening 18 again.

[0037]

According to the present invention, a filling nozzle having a pointed tip is inserted into a replenishing opening sealed with an elastic member to replenish the developer from the filling nozzle. The developer can be replenished to the developer accommodating part in a state where the outer periphery of the is sealed. Therefore, the developer spills to the outside or the hand is soiled by a simple work of inserting the filling nozzle into the replenishment opening. The effect is that the developer can be replenished without using it.

When the developer replenishing device of the present invention is used,
The above replenishment method can be carried out easily, and particularly when a filling nozzle having a nozzle hole on the side surface is used, the insertion of the filling nozzle is easy because the tip thereof is smooth. Further, when the check valve mechanism is provided in the nozzle hole, the developer does not spill from the filling nozzle before the insertion even if the developer is stored up to the tip of the filling nozzle. Further, when the cylinder portion, the piston member and the tube are used as the developer delivering means, the configuration becomes extremely simple and can be provided at a low cost. Furthermore, if the developer is sent in a mixed state with gas, the developer can be delivered reliably and stably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a developer replenishing operation.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a state where a developer is replenished.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the developer replenishing device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming cartridge including a developing device.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the developer supply device.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the developer replenishing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 developer accommodating portion 18 opening 20 elastic sealing body 32 filling nozzle 33 nozzle hole 34 check valve shaped tongue 35 developer replenishing device 36 cylinder portion 37 piston member 39 developer replenishing device 40 tube 42 filling nozzle 43 nozzle Hole 44 Developer Replenishing Device 45 Cylindrical Container 46 Gas Injection Port 47 Gas Cylinder 47a Injection Nozzle

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A filling nozzle having a pointed tip is inserted into a replenishing opening provided on a wall surface of the developer accommodating portion and sealed by an elastic member, and the developer is introduced from the filling nozzle into the developer accommodating portion. A method for replenishing a developer, which comprises discharging 2. A developer replenishing device comprising: a filling nozzle having a conical or spindle-shaped tip and a nozzle hole on its side surface; and a means for delivering the developer toward the filling nozzle. .. 3. A developer replenishing device comprising a filling nozzle having a conical or spindle-shaped tip and a nozzle hole at the tip thereof, and means for delivering the developer toward the filling nozzle. .. 4. The means for delivering the developer is constituted by means for pushing out the developer accommodated in the accommodation space communicating with the filling nozzle toward the filling nozzle. Alternatively, the developer replenishing device according to item 3. 5. A means for delivering a developer comprises a cylinder part having a filling nozzle joined to one end and accommodating the developer inside, and a piston member fitted from the other end side of the cylinder part. The developer replenishing device according to claim 4. 6. The developer replenishing device according to claim 4, wherein the means for delivering the developer comprises a tube having a filling nozzle joined at one end and containing the developer therein. 7. The developer replenishing device according to claim 2, wherein the means for delivering the developer comprises means for delivering the developer together with the gas in a mixed state with the gas. 8. A developer replenishing device according to claim 2, wherein a check valve mechanism is provided in the nozzle hole of the filling nozzle.