JPH07295356A - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently supply toner carried by the turning of a toner cartridge into a toner hopper by a necessary amount regardless of toner amount housed. CONSTITUTION:The toner cartridge 320 is constituted of a fixing member 321 fixed on a loading part 330, a movable member 322 turned by a gear G2 and a toner container 323 integrated to the movable member 322, so that the toner container 323 is turned by the drive of the gear G2 to carry the toner in the axial direction by the spiral projection 323A of the inner periphery of the container 323 and, simultaneously, a scooping up part 322A formed in the movable member 322 scoops up the toner of a specific amount by the turning of the movable member 322 and then, is turned to supply the toner to the toner supply port 310B of the toner hopper 310 through the toner discharge port 321B of the fixing member 321.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a powder developer (toner).
The present invention relates to the structure of a toner cartridge that supplies toner stored in a toner replenishing unit built in an image forming apparatus that uses the toner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art OA devices such as printers and copiers are required to be small in size and low in price while advancing in performance, and color image forming apparatuses, which have been complicated in structure, large in size and expensive in the past, are an exception. Is no longer coming. The downsizing process has made the device more personal.

In other words, regarding printing quality, there is a demand for obtaining an electrophotographic method which is advantageous over other existing methods (dot impact, thermal transfer, ink jet, etc.) in color, in a small size and at a low cost.

Therefore, it has been necessary to develop and provide an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus with a small size, a low price, a high performance, and improved operability.

However, in the case of a color image forming apparatus,
Since a plurality of developing devices for accommodating toners of different colors are built in, it is more difficult to downsize the single color image forming apparatus. Commonly used Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), K (black)
In the case of the device for forming a color image by the four developing devices, the developing device is downsized, and the photosensitive member for image formation is downsized to downsize the device. However, if each of the developing devices located around the photoconductor is made smaller, the amount of toner contained therein also decreases. That is, it is not possible to reduce the size of the device having the toner storage portion in the developing device. Therefore, a toner storage portion is provided outside the developing device for replenishing toner. Since there is a need for a plurality of toner replenishing units, making the toner replenishing unit small has become an essential condition for reducing the size of the image forming apparatus.

As a conventional toner replenishment section, a hopper section for accommodating toner is provided in the image forming apparatus and only the toner is replenished from the toner accommodating container therein (the toner cartridge is not built in the apparatus). Some toner cartridges are housed in the image forming device to replenish toner to the developing device.However, if the operability is emphasized as described above, the toner transfer itself is a replacement of the toner cartridge rather than a manual type. It is effective to adopt a type in which toner can be loaded into the device.

Therefore, a type in which a toner cartridge is built in the image forming apparatus has been adopted. A conventional toner cartridge built-in type in the image forming apparatus will be described. For the toner cartridge, load a cylindrical toner cartridge with the opening facing up parallel to the center of rotation of the developing sleeve of the developing unit, and then half-turn the toner cartridge to lower the opening and replenish the toner. Type, a bottle-shaped toner container is connected to the toner replenishing part with the opening facing up, and then the bottle position is half-turned to replenish the toner, cylindrical shape with a spiral protrusion on the inner peripheral surface There is a type in which the toner cartridge is held horizontally, the toner cartridge is rotated, the toner accommodated therein is conveyed to the end portion of the toner cartridge, an opening is provided at the end portion, and the toner is discharged to the toner replenishing portion. As a further modification, there is a type in which a screw for carrying toner is built into a toner cartridge.

Of the four types, the one that emphasizes operability more than the other types tries to replenish the toner contained therein at the time of loading the cartridge, so that the toner cartridge is shaken well before loading to improve the fluidity. I have to keep it.

Alternatively, there has been a drawback that the structure is complicated, the size is large, and the cost is high because a countermeasure against the problem that the toner is hardened in the toner cartridge must be taken.

The type is obviously more expensive than the type due to its construction.

From the above, a toner cartridge having a spiral projection of the type on the inner peripheral surface is advantageous in terms of operability and performance and has been adopted.

[0012] However, the conventional technique has the following disadvantages for downsizing. In other words, the toner conveyed to the end surface of the toner cartridge discharges the toner from the end surface portion (end surface or circumferential surface of the end portion), but the supply target portion (toner hopper or developing device) is below the discharge portion. . Examples of the opening on the circumferential surface include JP-A-4-1681, JP-A-4-477, and JP-A-3-2881. All of them are portions receiving the toner discharged from the toner cartridge. Is below the cartridge. Although a conveying unit for sending the toner next (for example, a developing device) is illustrated in each example, when viewed as a toner replenishing unit, the height of that portion is required and the apparatus becomes large. Also, a large dead space is formed under the toner cartridge other than the portion for receiving and conveying the toner. These are problems in reducing the size of the image forming apparatus. Next, an example in which toner is discharged from the end surface of the toner cartridge will be described. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-266380, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-6194, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-60387, etc. are applicable, but the opening of the toner cartridge serves to discharge toner below the rotation axis of the cartridge. . In other words, the receiving portion for the discharged toner is positioned below the lowermost surface of the toner cartridge because it must receive the toner below the opening. This is the same in that it is disadvantageous in terms of downsizing to some extent as compared with the above-mentioned toner cartridge having an opening at the peripheral portion. There is a drawback that a dead space is formed in the lower part of the toner cartridge and becomes large in the height direction.

From the above, there is a problem that even if a toner cartridge having a spiral projection on the inner peripheral surface is used, a dead space is formed in the apparatus and the apparatus becomes large.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As a result of solving the above problems and improving the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the toner discharge portion from the toner cartridge is set above the rotation center of the cartridge and its opening portion is formed. By providing a receiving portion (toner hopper) for receiving more discharged toner on the substantially same plane as the toner cartridge, a small-sized toner replenishing portion with good operability is provided at a low cost. It is a thing.

[0015]

An object of the present invention is to form an image in a cylindrical toner container having an opening for discharging the toner contained therein and having a spiral projection on the inner peripheral surface. In a toner cartridge that is installed almost horizontally in the device and conveys and discharges the built-in toner by the rotation of the container,
This is achieved by a toner cartridge characterized in that a scooping portion is provided in an opening portion of the toner cartridge, the scooping portion being capable of discharging above the central axis of rotation by the rotation of the toner cartridge.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Prior to the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the structure and operation of a color image forming apparatus in which the toner cartridge of the present invention is loaded will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 designates a photosensitive drum which is an image forming body, and is formed by coating an OPC photosensitive body on the drum, which is grounded and driven and rotated clockwise. Reference numeral 12 denotes a scorotron charger, which applies a uniform charge of VH to the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 10 by corona discharge by a grid and a corona discharge wire whose potential is held at VG. Prior to the charging by the scorotron charger 12, a PCL using a light emitting diode or the like to eliminate the history of the photoconductor until the previous printing.
The surface of the photoconductor is neutralized by exposure using 11.

After uniformly charging the photosensitive member, the image exposing means 13 performs image exposure based on the image signal. Image exposure means
Reference numeral 13 denotes a polygon mirror 131 that rotates using a laser diode (not shown) as a light emitting source, and a reflection mirror 13 via an fθ lens and the like.
The optical path is bent by 2 for scanning, and a latent image is formed by the rotation (sub-scanning) of the photosensitive drum 10.
In this embodiment, the character portion is exposed to form an inverted latent image in which the character portion has a lower potential VL.

Yellow (Y) on the periphery of the photosensitive drum 10,
Developers each containing a developer composed of toner such as magenta (M), cyan (C), black (K), and a carrier.
14 is provided, and first, the development of the first color is performed by the developing sleeve 141 which contains a magnet and holds the developer and rotates. The developer is a carrier in which a ferrite core is coated with an insulating resin around it, a polyester as a main material, a pigment according to the color, and a charge control agent,
The toner consists of toner to which silica, titanium oxide, etc. have been added.
The layer is regulated to a layer thickness (developer) of 00 to 600 μm and conveyed to the developing area.

The gap between the developing sleeve 141 and the photosensitive drum 10 in the developing area is 0.2 to larger than the layer thickness (developer).
As 1.0mm, during this time AC VAC for VAC and D for VDC
The C bias is superimposed and applied. Since VDC and VH and the toner are charged in the same polarity, the toner given the opportunity to be separated from the carrier by VAC does not adhere to the portion of VH having a potential higher than VDC, but to the portion of VL having a potential lower than VDC. Then, visualization (reversal development) is performed.

After the visualization of the first color is completed, the process proceeds to the image forming process of the second color, uniform charging is performed again by the scorotron charger 12, and a latent image based on the image data of the second color is formed by the image exposing means 13. To be done. At this time, the charge elimination by the PCL 11 performed in the image forming process of the first color is not performed because the toner attached to the image portion of the first color scatters due to the rapid decrease in the potential around the image.

Again, V is applied over the entire surface of the photosensitive drum 10.
A latent image similar to that of the first color is formed on the portion of the photoconductor having the H potential and the image of the first color is not developed, but development is performed again on the portion having the image of the first color. At the portion to be performed, the latent image of VM 'is formed by the light shielded by the toner attached to the first color and the electric charge of the toner itself.
And VM 'are developed according to the potential difference. At the overlapping portion of the images of the first and second colors, the development of the first color is VL
When the latent image is formed, the balance between the first color and the second color is lost, so the exposure of the first color is reduced and VH>VM> V.
It may be an intermediate potential that becomes L.

An image forming process similar to that of the second color is performed for the third and fourth colors, and a visible image of four colors is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10.

On the other hand, the recording paper P carried out from the paper feeding cassette 15 via the half-moon roller 16 is temporarily stopped and is fed to the transfer area by the rotation operation of the paper feeding roller 17 when the transfer timing is adjusted. .

In the transfer area, the transfer roller 18 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10 in synchronization with the transfer timing,
The supplied recording paper P is sandwiched and the multicolor image is transferred at once.

Next, the recording paper P is discharged at almost the same time by a separating brush 19 which is brought into a pressure contact state, separated by the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10 and conveyed to a fixing device 20, and a heat roller 201.
The toner is fused by heating and pressurizing the pressure roller 202, and then the toner is ejected to the outside of the apparatus through the paper ejection roller 21. The transfer roller 18 and the separation brush 19 are withdrawn from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10 after the recording paper P has passed and are ready for the next toner image formation.

On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 10 from which the recording paper P is separated
Removes and cleans the residual toner by pressing the blade 221 of the cleaning device 22, and again receives the charge removal by the PCL 11 and the charge by the charger 12 to start the next image forming process. The blade 221 moves immediately after cleaning the surface of the photoconductor and retracts from the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 10.

FIG. 2 shows a planar layout of each unit constituting the apparatus, and the side indicated by the arrow A corresponds to the front surface of the apparatus, that is, the side surface on the operating side.

The main body of the device is two side panels 1 which are upright.
And a side panel 2, and a writing unit which is the image exposing means 13 between these side panels, a photosensitive drum 10, a developing unit which houses a plurality of developing devices 14, and a fixing device. 20 units and a DC power supply unit are incorporated, while a drive system, a formatter for decoding printer commands, and control boards for machine operation sequence control are housed outside the side panel 1, and the upper part of the developing unit. A toner replenishing means to be described later, which is connected to each developing device 14 in the developing unit, is housed in.

Since the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing unit are located near the operation side surface of the apparatus, the structure can be drawn out to the front surface of the apparatus by a simple operation, and the upper part of the main body is opened. By making it possible, it is possible to perform the jam processing at the transfer position by pulling out the drum base to the pull-out position without taking out the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing unit from the main body.

Further, the jam processing at the paper feeding portion is performed by a paper feeding cassette loaded below the photosensitive drum 10 and the developing unit.
This can be done by taking 15 out of the apparatus, and jam processing at the paper discharge section can also be realized by making the back side of the apparatus open.

The features of the functions and performances of the respective equipments constituting the image forming section of the above apparatus will be described below.

(Photoreceptor) FIG. 3 shows a method of transmitting rotational power to the photosensitive drum 10. Both flanges 101 and 102 for supporting the peripheral surface of the drum are made rotatable with the drive shaft 103. A spring member 105 is provided between a fixing member 104 fixed to 103 and one of the flanges 101 to connect them to each other. In this way, the photosensitive drum 10 and the drive shaft 10
It is possible to obtain the same effect as reducing the rigidity of the drive system composed of 3 and to lower the natural frequency so as not to resonate with the fluctuation of the vibration from the drive gear G. Then, the fluctuation of the rotation speed input to the drive shaft 103 can be absorbed by the low-rigidity member, and the photosensitive drum 10 can be rotated without causing the fluctuation of the rotation speed.

The photosensitive drum 10 is stably rotated so that the OPC photosensitive member on the peripheral surface is uniformly charged by the scorotron charger 12. During charging, the grid potential is controlled to stabilize the charging potential. The specifications of the photoconductor and the charging conditions thereof are set as follows as an example.

Photosensitizer: OPC φ120 Linear velocity 100 mm / sec Negative charging Charging condition: Charging wire: Platinum wire (clad or alloy) is preferably used. VH-850V, VL-50V (Image exposure) FIG. 4A shows the layout plane and side surface of the image exposure means 13, and FIG. 4B shows the semiconductor laser unit 135 used for the image exposure means 13. FIG.

The OPC photosensitive member on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is negatively charged by the charger 12 and then exposed by the light emission of the semiconductor laser unit 135 of the image exposing means 13 to form an electrostatic latent image.

The image data from the formatter is sent to the laser diode (LD) modulation circuit, and when the LD of the semiconductor laser unit 135 emits light by the modulated image signal, the beam light is transmitted through the mirror and the beam index 136. The scanning lines are synchronized and projected on the polygon mirror 131.

The polygon mirror 131 reflects and scans the beam light by the polyhedron, and the scanning light is beam-corrected by the fθ lens 133 and the cylindrical lens 134, and then the photoconductor is exposed through the reflection mirror 132. Main scanning is performed to form an electrostatic image.

The beam system of laser light is narrowed down to an equivalent of 600 DPI by an optical system. Therefore, in order to obtain a high quality image, it is necessary to reduce the particle size of the toner. In this embodiment, toner of 8 μm size is used for each color. But most important to the user is the black text quality,
The black toner is preferably a small particle size toner (7 to 11 μm).

As the image exposure optical system, for example, a system having the following structure is used.

[0041] (Development) FIG. 5 shows the structure of the developing device 14. The toner supplied from the toner hopper is dropped to the right end of the developing device, and a pair of stirring screws rotating in opposite directions.
It is stirred and mixed with the carrier by 142 and set to a predetermined charge amount (Q / M).

On the other hand, the toner concentration is detected by a magnetic detection method, and the toner supply amount is controlled based on the output frequency to set and control the toner concentration value to about 5 to 7%.

The agitated two-component developer is supplied to the supply roller 143.
Is conveyed to the developing sleeve 141 via the layer thickness regulating member 144.
Is transferred to the developing area of the photosensitive drum 10 as a thin layer, and reversal development of the electrostatic latent image is performed under the developing conditions described below.

Development gap: 0.5 mm Toner conveyance amount: 20 to 30 mg / cm ² Development bias (AC): 2 KV, 8 KHZ (DC): −750 V Rotation direction of developing sleeve: Normal rotation with respect to photosensitive drum Image density adjustment: Development Sleeve rotation speed control or development bias control (a standard printing plate is formed on the photoconductor by a laser beam, and the reflection density after the current image is measured to adjust the image density) Toner density control: Magnetic detection method By using the toner bottle loaded in the toner box as it is as a toner hopper, the toner supply device can be made smaller and simpler, and at the same time, the toner bottle can be made of a translucent material so that the remaining amount can be easily viewed. It is possible.

(Feeding) FIG. 6 shows a paper feeding portion for the recording paper P. The recording paper P is stored in the paper feeding cassette 15 on a one-sided basis. The half-moon roller 16 is provided only on the reference surface side, and the half-moon roller 16 has a cantilever structure, and is positioned on the reference surface side of the recording paper P.

The paper feeding section has a dedicated motor, and the half-moon roller 16 rotates in the direction of the arrow to move the recording paper P stacked on the push-up plate 152 by the action of the separating claw 151 to the uppermost layer. Carry out only one.

The recording paper P carried out from the paper feed cassette 15 enters the conveyance system path and makes a U-turn, and immediately after the leading edge passes the paper feed roller 17, the motor is once stopped by the detection of a paper feed sensor (not shown). When the transfer timing is adjusted, the motor starts rotating again, and the paper is fed to the transfer area while maintaining a predetermined angle with respect to the surface of the photoconductor.

On the other hand, manual feeding is performed by rotating the manual feeding table M located on the front surface of the apparatus main body from the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 1 to the position shown by the solid line.

The manually fed paper is picked up by the pickup roller 153.
Is conveyed by the rotation of, and is fed to the transfer area through the same process as the above-mentioned paper feeding from the paper feeding cassette 15.

Papers to be fed by manual feeding include general recording paper P of 16 lbs to 24 lbs which is usually used, thick paper of 36 lbs, transparency for OHP and the like. It is also possible to feed envelopes by removing the manual feed tray M and installing a dedicated feeder as an option.

(Transfer) The transfer roller 18 has a variable position with respect to the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 10, and is always kept in pressure contact as shown in FIG. 7 at the time of printing a single color image, but during the formation of a color image. It is retracted and kept in a separated position, and is pressed into contact only during transfer. On the other hand, the separation brush 19 also transfers the transfer roller 18.
The pressure contact and separation operations are performed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10 almost in synchronism with the position variation of the.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, a transfer roller 18 of the type in which the applied voltage is +3 to 4 KVDC and the roller surface is cleaned by a blade is used.
A bias voltage in which DC and AC are superposed is applied to 19 for use.

(Fixing) Fixing device provided in the apparatus of this embodiment
Reference numeral 20 denotes a so-called heat roller type fixing device including a pair of rollers as shown in FIG. 8, which includes an upper roller 201 having a built-in heater H and driven and rotated clockwise, and a lower roller which is pressed against the upper roller 201 and driven to rotate. The recording paper P is heated and conveyed by the nip portion formed between the roller 202 and the roller 202 to fuse the toner image.

The upper and lower rollers are both covered with a heat-resistant tube, and the nip portion is formed in a linear shape by pressure contact, so that wrinkles on the paper surface which are likely to occur when an envelope or the like is conveyed are prevented.

The temperature of the peripheral surface of the upper roller 201 is controlled by being detected by the temperature sensor S to be kept within a predetermined temperature range, and the dirt adhered by the welding of the toner is removed and cleaned by the pressure contact of the cleaning roller 203. To be done. The cleaning roller 203 is replaced with a new one when the number of printed sheets is about 40,000. If the fixing heater is not used for a predetermined period of time, the fixing heater enters the SLEEP mode and energy saving control is performed.

Further, when the transparency used in the OHP is used as the transfer material, the peripheral surface of the upper roller 201 is smoothed for the purpose of smoothing the toner image surface to prevent irregular reflection in order to improve the transmittance of the color toner image. Oil pad 2
Silicon oil is applied to the roller surface by 04.

Therefore, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the transfer speed of the transfer material can be switched among three levels of 100 mm / sec, 50 mm / sec and 12.5 mm / sec, so that three types of plain paper, envelope and transparency can be selected. It has a mode in which a transfer material can be used and is used in a wide range of applications.

The set temperature of the upper roller 201 can be lowered to about 180 ° C. by using a toner that melts at a low temperature, and the oil pad 204 has a sponge material (porous PTFE coating). By using, the uneven pressure is eliminated and uniform oil application is realized.

Next, the attachment / detachment structure of the above-mentioned respective equipments with respect to the apparatus main body and the operation procedure thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 14.

Among the above-mentioned equipment, the photosensitive drum 10, the PCL 11 arranged on the peripheral surface thereof, the charging device 12, the developing devices 14 and the cleaning device 22 are housed in a drum base 30 and integrated.

As shown in FIG. 9, the drum stand 30 is mounted by engaging a pair of roller members 31 provided on both side surfaces thereof with rail members 32 installed inside the apparatus main body, and a releasable lock (not shown). It is fixed in place by the device.

The drum base 30 is handled by opening the above-mentioned manual paper feed table M and setting it at the paper feed position, and then opening the cover member C covering the upper part of the apparatus main body through the support shaft H1. The rail member 32 can be moved to the right through the rail and pulled out to the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line.

As a result, the transfer area of the image and the conveying path following it are widely opened so that the hands can be directly inserted from the upper part of the apparatus main body. It is possible to perform jam processing without touching. The jam processing of the paper feeding unit is performed by pulling out the paper feeding cassette 15 to the right side of the drawing, that is, the front side of the machine.

As shown in FIG. 10, each of the above-mentioned equipment accommodated in the drum stand 30 is a developing cartridge in which the drum cartridge 40 in which the photosensitive drum 10 and others are incorporated and each developing device 14 in which the developers of Y, M and C are incorporated are incorporated. A developing cartridge incorporating only 50 and a developing device 14A containing a K developer.
It is divided into 50A and accommodated.

The drum cartridge 40 is a photosensitive drum.
In addition to 10, PCL 11, charger 12 and further cleaning device
22 is incorporated to cover all the surface of the photoconductor except for the openings 40A, 40B and 40C corresponding to the areas of exposure, development and transfer of the photoconductor.

The drum cartridge 40 has a pair of position regulating pins provided by engaging the bearing portion 41 of the photosensitive drum 10 with the vertical groove 30A of the drum base 30 and the bottom portion on both inner side surfaces of the drum base 30. By abutting against P1, rotation is blocked, and each equipment to be housed with its horizontal and vertical positions regulated is set to a predetermined image forming position.

The opening 40A, which is the exposure area of the drum cartridge 40, is provided with a sliding type shielding plate 42 in an elongated slit hole having a width that allows a writing beam to sufficiently pass therethrough, so that the surface of the photoreceptor cannot be touched. It has become like.

With the above-described structure, even if the drum base 30 is moved to the right to take out the jammed paper, the paper feed unit or the multi-feeder tray is located immediately below the drum base 30, so that the photoconductor surface is Has virtually no exposed portion, and is not touched and stained.

On the other hand, the developing cartridges 50 and 50A
Are urged by the compression springs 52 in a state in which the position regulating pins P2 of the developing devices that are projectingly engaged with the elongated holes on the respective side surfaces.

The developing cartridges 50 and 50A are pressed to the left by the pressing pin P3 or P4 provided on the side door 34 forming the right side surface of the drum base 30, and abutting rollers coaxial with each developing sleeve 141 (see FIG. (Not shown) is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 10 to set the gap between the peripheral surface of each developing sleeve 141 and the photoconductor surface, that is, the development gap value.

Further, the drum mount 30 is a pedestal installed above.
On the upper surface of 30B, a plurality of toner replenishing means 300 for replenishing toner to each of the developing devices is integrally provided.

Each toner replenishing means 300 comprises a toner hopper 310 connected to each developing device by a toner carrying pipe 310A and a loading section 330 for mounting the toner cartridge 320 of the present invention in a horizontal position. As shown in FIG. 11, the toner replenishing means 300 are arranged adjacent to each other on the same plane in the axial direction of the developing sleeve 141 of the developing device 14.

The connection portion between the toner conveying pipe 310A and each developing device is released and connected in accordance with the withdrawal and insertion of each developing device. In other words, when pulling out the drum stand for jam processing or drum cartridge replacement, the connection part between the toner transport pipe and the developing device does not separate, and the connection part separates only when removing each developing device, thus reducing toner stains. It has been made. Further, since it is not necessary to separate the toner replenishing means 300 from the developing device 14 when the drum base 30 is taken out, the construction of these devices is simplified and at the same time the handling operation is simplified.

Further, by disposing the toner cartridge 320 and the toner hopper 310 on the same plane, the height of the space occupied by the toner replenishing means 300 can be reduced and the apparatus can be made compact.

12 and 13 show the toner cartridge.
The toner cartridge 320 has a cylindrical toner storage container 323 having a spiral protrusion 323A formed on its inner peripheral surface, and a scooping portion 322A fixed to its end surface. A first part consisting of and
Further, it is constituted by a second portion composed of a fixed member provided with a toner discharge port 321B for slidingly contacting the movable member 322 to seal the toner and discharging the toner.

As shown in FIG. 13 (a), the fixing member 321 is provided with a notch 321A on the flange F, and a substantially fan-shaped toner discharge port 321B on the circular surface portion, while the movable member 322 is used.
Is a fixing member 32 as shown in FIG. 13 (b) and its BB cross section.
An opening 322B for discharging the toner from the first toner discharge port 321B, and a scooping part which is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a plane including the rotation center axis of the movable member 322 and faces the opening 322B. 322A is formed.

The above-mentioned opening portion 322B and scooping portion 322A
When each of the movable members 322 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in each cross section of CC to AA, each end face opposite to the rotation center direction is connected by an inclined surface 322C having an angle θ. On the other hand, a rising portion 322D having an appropriate height is formed at the edge of the scooping portion 322A in the direction of the rotation center.

On the other hand, the spiral protrusion 323A formed on the container 323 is formed integrally with the container body at the spiral angle to the left inside the container 323 in a substantially triangular shape with the container body.

The movable member 322 and the container 323 are the same as the container 323.
After being filled with toner, the toner is integrated by means such as adhesion, and the fixed member 321 is attached to the front surface of the movable member 322 by press fitting or the like while maintaining a proper friction and is rotatably supported. It When the cartridge is not used, the fixing member 321 is rotated to remove the above-described toner discharge port 321B from the position of the opening 322B of the movable member 322, and toner is prevented from flowing out.

As shown in FIG. 14, the toner cartridge 320 is an elastic claw in which the flange F is engaged with the loading section 330 and the rear end of the container 323 is projected on the base of the loading section 330.
It is locked and attached by 330A. At this time, the fixing member 321 is in a state in which the notch 321A of the flange F is engaged with the position regulating pin 330B on the side of the loading section 330 to regulate the upper position of the toner discharge port 321B and at the same time the rotation thereof is blocked. The gear G1 of the movable member 322 is meshed with the gear G2 of the loading section 330 side.

The gear G2 is arranged at a position where it meshes with both gears G1 of the toner cartridges 320 arranged adjacent to each other, and one of the gears G1 is driven and rotated by the power system of the loading section 330. Then, the movable members 322 and the containers 323 of all the toner cartridges 320 are simultaneously rotated.

The toner is supplied to the toner hopper 310 by the toner cartridge 320 as follows.

Each of the toner hoppers 310 described above is provided with a toner sensor L, which constantly detects the amount of toner contained therein and inputs a detection signal to the control section. The control unit is the developing device 14
When a detection signal indicating that the amount of toner has fallen below a specified amount is obtained by replenishing the toner, the power system of the loading unit 330 described above is activated, and the gear G2 is driven to drive each toner cartridge.
The 320 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 13 while the fixing member 321 is locked.

Since the toner cartridge is installed in a substantially horizontal direction, the built-in toner is located below the toner cartridge as shown in FIG. When the toner cartridge 320 rotates, the toner in the container 323 is conveyed forward (to the left in FIG. 14) by the thrust of the spiral protrusion 323A.

When the toner is sent into the movable member 322, the toner cartridge is rotated from the scooping opening 322F in the toner cartridge provided in the rotation direction with respect to the scooping portion 322A in FIG. The toner is captured in the scooping portion 322A. As shown in FIG. 16, the scooping action is a part of the scooping portion 322A and the inner wall surface of the movable member 322.
E and a circular inner wall surface 321C of the fixing member 321 which has a function of blocking the toner from spilling from the toner discharge port 321B when the toner is scooped up, and a scooping opening 322F which is an entrance for trapping the toner at the time of scooping up. It consists of The scooping portion 322A has a shape like a part of an elliptical shape when a cylindrical shape is cut out by a certain plane as shown in FIG. In the present invention, the scooping portion 32
By providing a sloped surface or curved surface 322C having a certain sloped surface and a rising portion 322D with respect to 2A, the discharging action is extremely effective.

Here, the two-dot chain line in the figure showing 322E, which is a part of the inner wall surface of the cylindrical container that performs the scooping action, and the scooping opening 322F, is the three-dimensional space which is obtained by the scooping section 322A and which performs the scooping action. (322A, 322B, 3
It consists of four faces, 22E and 322F. However, the position corresponding to 322B is an imaginary position when 321C is actually functioning).

The scooping portion 322 is formed by the rotation of the movable member 322.
The toner captured by A and 322E which is a part of the inner wall surface of the movable member 322 is rotatably conveyed to a position facing the toner discharge port 321B while being held in sliding contact with the inner wall surface 321C of the fixed member 321.

As shown in FIG. 15, the toner conveyed to the position facing the toner discharge port 321B is the inner wall surface 321C of the fixing member 321.
As a result of losing the holding force due to the above, it slides down by its own weight along the inclined surface of the scooping portion 322A, and is supplied into the hopper from the toner supply port 310B of the toner hopper 310 via the toner discharge port 321B. Since the toner cartridge is installed horizontally, the angle α formed by the scooping portion 322A and the horizontal plane 322G that includes the rotation center axis of the toner cartridge and is orthogonal to the gravity direction at the position where the movable member rotates to eject the toner cartridge.
Can stabilize the performance of discharging the toner by setting the angle of repose larger than that of the built-in toner. Further, the inclined surface 322C is provided at the end edge of the scooping portion 322A in order to reduce the compressive force of the toner received when the toner is scooped up and to discharge the toner at once. That is, by increasing the angle formed by the tangent at the point where the inclined surface 322C and the end edge portion thereof are joined to the inner wall surface of the movable member 322, the compressive force of the toner at the time of scooping is reduced, and the movable member 322 is discharged. The outlet 322B is the outlet 321 of the fixing member 321.
The inclined surface 322C and the horizontal surface 322G at the rotation position before the time when the scooped-up toner is discharged in conformity with B.
By making the angle formed by the angle larger than the angle of repose of the built-in toner, the toner held by the inclined surface 322C and the inner wall surface 322E can be guided to the scooping portion 322A before the toner is discharged. Further, the rising portion 322D is provided at the edge of the scooping portion 322A in the rotational direction, so that the scooped toner is prevented from returning to the inside of the cartridge, so that the toner can be efficiently discharged. The rising portion 322D does not block the opening portion of the 322F so as to hinder the action when the toner is scooped up, and the rising portion 322D is several mm.
It is enough if there is a startup height.

As described above, since the toner is supplied from the upper portion of the cartridge, it is possible to set the toner hopper 310 to a position higher than that of the conventional toner cartridge 320, and as a result, the space under the toner hopper is effectively used. It

When the toner conveyed to the toner hopper is detected to be below a certain standard by the toner concentration detecting sensor in the corresponding developing device, the signal is sent to the control section and the signal is responded to. A certain amount of toner is carried into the developing device by the rotation of the carrying screw in the toner carrying pipe 310A.

That is, the portion containing the toner in each developing device is the toner cartridge and the toner hopper.
It is in stages. The toner cartridge supplies toner to the corresponding toner hopper, and the toner hopper supplies toner to the corresponding developing device.

Although the amount of toner carried out from the toner cartridge 320 decreases as the number of rotation operations of the cartridge increases as shown in FIG. 17, the amount of toner consumed by the developing unit per unit time. By increasing the minimum value of the amount discharged from the toner cartridge per unit time, the toner hopper 310 always holds a predetermined amount of toner, so that there is no problem in supplying toner to the developing device.

Since the scooping portion 322A is provided so as to be joined to the inner wall surface of the movable member 322, it is possible to exert an efficient conveying / discharging action even if the toner in the container 323 decreases. When the toner in 310 is full, it works to return the scooped-up toner to the inside of the container 323 again, so there is no mechanical problem, so even if it is necessary to replenish toner to a specific toner hopper 310, It becomes possible to rotate the cartridges 320 all at once, and the drive system mechanism and its control circuit can be simplified. These are because the toner is discharged from the toner cartridge to the toner hopper by its own weight, and since space is held in the upper part of the toner hopper to feed the toner from the toner replenishing port on the side of the toner hopper, the toner hopper is not over-replenished. It has become possible.

In the closed position, the side door 34 is fixed so as to withstand the reaction force of the compression spring 52 by a releasable locking position (not shown).

Therefore, the developing device and the toner replenishing means 300 need to be disconnected only when the developing device is replaced.
The frequency of attachment and detachment of the supply pipe 310A is reduced, and there is no fear of toner scattering or outflow, and the apparatus is always kept in a clean and optimal state.

Further, since the operation for attaching and detaching the toner cartridge can be carried out from the front side, the workability is good and the handling is extremely easy.

[0097]

According to the present invention, the toner cartridge can efficiently discharge and supply the toner regardless of the amount of the toner stored therein, and the supply operation is disturbed even when the toner in the toner hopper is full. Since it can be continued without a drive mechanism simplification is realized.

Further, the scooping portion is provided with an inclined surface in the inner peripheral surface direction which is the outer side in the radial direction of rotation of the toner cartridge to promote the sliding and discharge of the scooped-up toner, and on the opposite side to the center side in the radial direction of rotation. By providing a rising portion on the side to convey the scooped-up toner without waste, a practically extremely useful toner cartridge capable of reliably discharging and supplying the toner by a simple drive system via a gear or the like is provided. It will be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a color image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a layout of each device in the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a main part diagram showing a driving method of a photosensitive drum.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an optical system of an image exposure unit.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a developing device.

FIG. 6 is a main part diagram of a paper feeding unit.

FIG. 7 is a main part view of a transfer unit.

FIG. 8 is a main part diagram of a fixing device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a setting position and a moving position of the drum stand.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a drum mount.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a toner supply unit and a developing cartridge.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge.

FIG. 13 is a main part view of the toner cartridge.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of toner supply means.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a toner supply operation.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a function of carrying out toner from the cartridge.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing changes in the amount of toner carried out from the cartridge.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 10 photoconductor drum 11 PCL 12 scorotron charger 13 image exposure means 14, 14A developing device 141 developing sleeve 15 paper feeding cassette 16 half-moon roller 17 paper feeding roller 18 transfer roller 19 separation brush 20 fixing device 22 cleaning device 30 Drum stand 31 Roller member 32 Rail member 34 Side door 40 Drum cartridge 42 Shutter member (shielding plate) 50, 50A Development cartridge 52 Compression spring 300 Toner replenishing means 310 Toner hopper 310A Toner replenishing pipe (toner conveying pipe) 320 Toner cartridge 321 Fixed member 321A Notch 321B Discharge port 321C Circular inner wall part 322 Movable member 322A Scooping part 322B Opening part 322C Inclined surface 322D Rise part 322E Part of inner wall surface of toner cartridge 322F Scooping opening 322G Horizontal plane 330 Loading part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical toner accommodating container having an opening for discharging built-in toner on an end surface and having a spiral projection on an inner peripheral surface thereof, which is installed substantially horizontally in an image forming apparatus. A toner cartridge that conveys and discharges built-in toner by the rotation of the container, characterized in that a scooping portion is provided in the opening portion of the toner cartridge so that the toner can be discharged by rotation of the toner cartridge above a central axis of rotation. . 2. The scooping portion has an inclination angle for discharging the toner contained therein by the rotation of the container, and the outer side in the radial direction of rotation is joined to the inner peripheral surface of the cartridge on the inclined surface so as to be integrated with the rotating container. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridge is installed. 3. The scooping portion has a plurality of inclined surfaces including an inclined surface that conveys toner to the inclined surface toward the inner peripheral surface in the radial direction of rotation of the cartridge, or a curved surface. 2 toner cartridge. 4. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the scooping portion is provided with a rising portion on an end surface of the container in the rotation center direction. 5. A rotatable first portion having the spiral projection and the scooping portion, and a toner attached to an end surface of the rotatable first portion above the rotation center of the first portion for discharging toner from the first portion. It has an opening and has a second part for positioning and fixing the toner cartridge when mounted in the device, with a sealing function for sliding against the rotational movement of the first part to prevent toner spillage. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4. 6. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rotating container portion is provided with a gear portion or a coupling portion for rotation.