JPH0720707A - Toner holding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the fast sticking of toner by making a motor rotating a toner housing member possible to rotate in the forward/backward directions and rotating the toner housing member forward/backward so as to rock toner in a toner housing part at the time of nondeveloping. CONSTITUTION:The toner housing member 1 having a spiral line inside a cylindrical body and supplying the toner from the discharge port of one end side in accordance with the rotation, a member to be driven rotating the toner housing member 1 and the motor 10 rotating the member to be driven are provided. At the time of nondeveloping, the toner housing member 1 is rotated forward/backward at a constant interval, to rock the toner. In other words, at the time of rotating forward, the toner is transferred toward the side of the toner discharge port and at the time of rotating backward, the toner is transferred toward the side opposite to the toner discharge port. Thus, as the motor 10, one capable of rotating forward/backward is used and when the toner is alternately rocked in the toner housing member 1, the fast sticking of the toner can be avoided even if a temperature in the toner housing member 1 is raised.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner replenishing method applied to an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus, a toner accommodating member which has a spiral line inside a cylindrical body and which sends out toner from an outlet on the other end side in response to rotation, and the cylindrical body. A toner supply device having a driven member that rotates and a motor that rotates the driven member is used.

Particularly in the case of an image forming apparatus having a medium to high copy speed, the fixing roller temperature is lowered at a low temperature or during continuous copying, and there is a situation where the fixing performance cannot be ensured. For this reason, low melting point toners have been developed and used in order to obtain good fixing performance.

[0004]

However, if the melting point is too low, the temperature inside the machine rises and the toner sticks to the surface.

In particular, in an image forming apparatus equipped with a large-capacity toner accommodating member in order to reduce the frequency of toner supply, a space is required near the fixing device and the dehumidifying device, which are heat sources, so that the toner is fixed. The situation is likely to occur.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of preventing toner sticking.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following constitution.

(1). A motor capable of rotating in the normal and reverse directions is used as a motor for rotating the toner containing member, and the toner containing member is rotated in the normal and reverse directions during non-development to swing the toner in the toner containing portion. 1).

(2). In (1), the rotation of the toner storage member is performed in the order of reverse rotation and forward rotation, and the rotation speed during reverse rotation is set higher than the rotation speed during forward rotation (claim 2).

(3). In (1), the rotation of the toner containing member is intermittently performed in the reverse half rotation and the positive half rotation (claim 3).

(4). A shutter that opens and closes the discharge port of the toner storage unit and a shutter drive unit that drives the shutter are provided, and the toner storage member is rotated with the discharge port closed when toner supply is not required. ).

(5). In (4), when the toner supply is unnecessary, the toner containing member is rotated with the shutter closed (claim 5).

(6). In (2), (3), or (5), a timer for starting counting when the image forming operation is stopped is provided, and the toner containing member is driven at a certain fixed time (claim 6).

(7). In (2), (3), or (5), a human body detection sensor is provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the toner containing member is driven depending on the presence or absence of detection by the sensor (claim 7).

(8). In (3), a thermistor is provided near the toner containing member, and the toner containing section is driven according to the temperature detected by the thermistor (claim 8).

(9). In (6) or (7) or (8), the toner containing member is stopped at a position different from the initial position before rotation. (Claim 9).

[0017]

The toner is agitated in the toner accommodating member.

[0018]

【Example】

1. Configuration of Apparatus According to the Present Invention In FIG.
Indicates a toner accommodating member made of a cylindrical body having a spiral strip 1c (see FIG. 1) inside. The toner storage member 1 is configured as a long large-capacity container in order to reduce the number of times of bottle replacement.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a fixing portion, which is a portion for fixing the toner on the paper, is arranged close to the toner accommodating member, and has a high temperature.

A human body detection sensor 3 and a thermistor 30 are arranged near the toner containing member 1. Note that FIG.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 4 indicates a waste toner bottle, and reference numeral 5 indicates a paper feed tray.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the toner accommodating member and its peripheral structure, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the toner accommodating member and its peripheral structure. In these figures, the toner containing member 1 is mounted inside the ring-shaped gear 12 and
The shaft portion 1a is rotatably supported by the main body 7 and is detachable from the main body. A portion of the gear 12 opposite to the mounting portion is rotatably supported by the roller 6.

The gear 12 meshes with a large diameter portion of the gear 11 as a driving member, and the small diameter portion of the gear 11 meshes with a worm shaft provided on the shaft portion of the motor 10.

An opening 1b as a toner discharge port is formed in the end face portion of the toner containing member 1 on one end side, and a toner supply unit 9 is provided below the opening 1b via a toner replenishment port shutter mechanism 13. Is in communication with.

The toner supply section 9 comprises a first chamber 14 in which a paddle 11 is provided and a second chamber 17 in which a toner replenishing roller 16 is provided. The first chamber 14 and the second chamber 17 are toner sensors. 8 communicates with the portion provided.

At the entrance to the first chamber 14, there is provided a shutter 18, a motor 19 as a shutter driving means, and a worm gear mechanism 20 as shown in an enlarged view in FIG.

An opening 18a is formed in a part of the shutter 18, and depending on the rotational position of the opening 18a, the toner can be dropped into the first chamber and the toner can be prevented from falling. It has become.

2. Description of the operation of the apparatus according to the present invention At the time of development, a driving signal is applied to the toner replenishing roller 17 in the second chamber 17 by a control signal from a main body (not shown), and the toner replenishing roller 16 and the leaf spring 15 with a hole provide a constant force. A quantity of toner is fed into the developer.

At this time, the toner feed plate 2 of the toner supply unit 9
1 also rotates at the same time to transfer the toner from the toner containing member 1 side to the toner replenishing roller 16 side.
6 Place toner on top.

During this series of operations, when the toner sensor 8 detects the presence / absence of toner at that position and detects a signal indicating that there is no toner, a drive signal is transmitted from the main body control section to the motor 10 of the toner cartridge supporting section. Further, the toner containing member 1 is rotated via the gear 12.

When the toner is sent out and the toner sensor 8 detects the presence of toner, the motor 10 is stopped and the rotation of the toner containing member 1 is stopped.

The above-mentioned operation is an operation in the image forming process, and the operation during standby will be described next. During standby, the human body detection sensor 3 determines whether or not there is a person in front of the main body, and when there is no person, the toner containing member 1 is normally and reversely rotated at a certain fixed interval to swing the toner in the containing member. .

That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the toner is transferred toward the toner discharge port side during the normal rotation, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the toner is opposite to the toner discharge port during the reverse rotation. The toner is transported toward the side.

(1). An example corresponding to claim 1. If the motor 10 capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions is used and the toner is alternately swung in the toner containing member 1 in the directions shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the image forming apparatus is formed. Even if the temperature inside the toner containing member 1 rises due to the temperature rise inside, the toner sticking can be avoided.

(2). Example corresponding to claim 2 When the toner storage member 1 is normally and reversely rotated, the reverse rotation and the normal rotation are performed in this order, and the rotation speed of the reverse rotation is increased, so that the excessive supply of toner can be prevented.

(3). Example corresponding to claim 3 Further, even when there is a heat source such as the fixing unit 2 in the vicinity of the toner containing member 1, by rotating the toner containing member halfway from the stopped state, the state of the toner in the toner containing member 1 is changed. Is changed, the portion receiving the radiant heat from the heat source is changed, and it is possible to avoid toner sticking.

(4). Example corresponding to claim 4 During the so-called standby other than during the copy operation, the shutter 18 closes the discharge port, and if the toner containing member 1 is rotated under this closed state, the toner is shaken and agitated. It is possible to do, and if you control to open the shutter in a timely manner,
Toner can be supplied only as needed.

(5). When the toner supply is not necessary, the toner containing member 1 can be rotated with the shutter closed, so that the toner is agitated even if the temperature of the toner containing member 1 rises to prevent toner sticking. be able to.

(6). An example corresponding to claim 6, a timer is provided, and counting is started when the image forming operation is stopped,
The toner containing member 1 is replaced with the above (2) at regular intervals.
By driving in (3) and (5), the durability of the device can be increased as compared with the case of continuous rotation.

(7). Example Corresponding to Claim 7 In this example, the human body detection sensor 3 shown in FIG. 5 is used, and the human body detection sensor 3 allows the human body detection sensor 3 to be used only when the operator is not near the image forming apparatus. , (5) is performed.

According to the present example, when the operator is near the machine, the rotating operation of the toner containing member is not performed, so that the operation noise of the motor does not enter the ear of the operator, so that the noise to the operator is reduced. Burden is reduced.

(8). In this example, the toner container 1 is driven according to the temperature detected by the thermistor 30 (see FIG. 5). In this example, the above (2), (3), and
The operation of (5) is performed.

By controlling in this way, energy can be saved.

(9). Example corresponding to claim 9 In this example, the toner containing member 1 is stopped at a position different from the initial position. In this way, by stopping after rotation, at a position different from that before rotation, for example, even when there is a heat source such as a fixing device in the vicinity of the toner storage unit and it receives radiant heat, the The raised part can be taken in another direction and cooled.

3. Description of Operation Procedure The above operation can be performed by the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, when the image formation is possible, the print key lights up in green and the process proceeds to step S1).

If the human body detection sensor 3 does not detect a human body in step S2, the process proceeds to the next step S3. In step S3, if the set temperature of the thermistor 30 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature at which toner sticking occurs, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, a timer T that defines the operation start timing is set. When the timer T = 0 in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6 and the shutter 13
Is closed. Next, in step S7, the toner containing member 1 (toner bottle) is rotated forward and backward for t seconds (steps S7 and S8). When this forward / reverse rotation is completed, the process proceeds to step S9, and the shutter 13 is opened.

By passing through the above procedure, it is possible to avoid the fixing of the toner in the toner containing member.

[0048]

According to the present invention, toner adhesion can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a toner supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the toner supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shutter according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a change in a toner transfer direction according to rotation of a toner storage member.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Toner Housing Member 10 Motor

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A toner accommodating member that has a spiral strip inside a tubular body and that sends out toner from an outlet on the other end side in response to rotation, and a driven member that rotates this toner accommodating member. And a motor for rotating the driven member, wherein a motor capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation is used as the motor, and the toner storage member is rotated forward and backward during non-developing to store the toner. A toner holding method characterized in that the toner is swung inside the unit. 2. A toner holding method according to claim 1, wherein the toner containing member is rotated in the order of reverse rotation and forward rotation, and the rotation speed during reverse rotation is higher than the rotation speed during forward rotation. 3. The toner holding method according to claim 1, wherein the toner containing member is rotated in a reverse half rotation and a regular half rotation intermittently. 4. A toner accommodating member which has a spiral strip inside a tubular body and which sends out toner from an outlet on the other end side in response to rotation, and a driven member which rotates this tubular body. And a motor for rotating the driven member, a shutter for opening and closing the discharge port, and shutter driving means for driving the shutter are provided, and the discharge port is closed when toner supply is unnecessary. Then, the toner holding method is characterized in that the toner containing member is rotated. 5. The toner according to claim 4, when toner supply is unnecessary.
A toner holding method comprising rotating a toner containing member with a shutter closed. 6. The toner holding device according to claim 2, 3, or 5, further comprising a timer for starting counting when the image forming operation is stopped, and driving the toner containing member at a certain fixed time. Method. 7. The toner holding method according to claim 2, 3, or 5, wherein a human body detection sensor is provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the toner containing member is driven depending on the presence or absence of detection by the sensor. . 8. A toner holding method according to claim 3, wherein a thermistor is provided in the vicinity of the toner containing member, and the toner containing member is driven according to the temperature detected by the thermistor. 9. The toner holding method according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the toner containing member is stopped at a position different from the initial position before rotation.