JPH09185232A - Toner supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a toner housing and supplying device which is excellent in the reliability of toner supplying performance, the size of a device, a cost, power consumption, and toner replenishment operation, etc., and whose capacity is large by providing a means set separately from a developing part and carrying toner to a toner storing container and a screw pump, and a first and a second stirring means. SOLUTION: As to the toner housing container 310; an agitator 320A (first stirring means) and a lateral carrying screw 323 (moving means) rotating through a driving member group by a driving motor 324 are provided on the lower bottom part, and the toner 500 is surely carried to a fine-particle pump unit 330. The agitator 321a (second stirring means) is provided to be supported by an upper case 317 and to be pivotable centering a supporting member, and pivots abutting on the agitator 320A while the agitator 320A rotates. The toner 500 passing through the unit 330 is sent to the developing device of a copying machine body through a flexible toner supplying pipe 400.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a developing apparatus used in a copier, a printer, a facsimile, etc. using a two-component developer or a one-component developer. The present invention relates to a toner supply device that supplies toner to a developing unit of the developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The following is a technique relating to a toner supply device for supplying toner to a developing unit of a developing device in an image forming apparatus from a toner storage unit provided separately from the developing device. In a developing device using a two-component developer, a toner storage unit and a developing unit are connected by a pipe, and a coil screw provided inside the pipe transfers the toner to the developing unit to supply the toner. JP-A-61-188564), a technique in which a toner storage container is provided in a position close to the developing unit, and toner is mainly supplied from the toner storage container to the developing unit by gravity.

Further, there are the following techniques relating to a developing device which supplies / circulates a developer from a developer storage portion provided separately from the developing device in the developing device. In a developing device using a two-component developer, a technique of connecting a developer storage unit and a developing unit with a pipe and transferring and circulating the developer to the developing unit with a coil screw provided inside the pipe (special feature: There is a technique using a screw pump (commonly called a mono pump) as a pump capable of transferring powder without using a coil screw as described above.

Further, as a toner transfer technique in the developing unit and the toner supplying unit of the developing device, there is a technique using a screw, a paddle (various shapes), a bucket and the like.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a conventional developing device,
To increase the storage amount (storage amount) of toner means that the toner storage unit and the developing device are integrally configured (the above-mentioned toner storage unit and the developing unit are connected by a pipe, It is considered that the technology to transfer the toner to the developing unit by the coil screw provided in the above and to supply the toner is also included), the constituent parts become large, the device configuration becomes complicated, and the operation at the time of device maintenance is performed. There was a problem that it deteriorated. Also, with the increase in size of the device body,
There is also a problem that the installation area of the main body and the cost of the main body increase. These problems increase machine downtime for high volume copy / print users.
A solution is strongly desired because it increases copy / print costs. Naturally, the reliability of toner supply performance in a large capacity toner storage / supply device is high, the size of the device is small and the cost is low, the power consumption is low, the toner supply operation is simple, and so on. Required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and reduces the downtime of the machine and the copy / print cost while maintaining the proper size of the developing device and the apparatus main body in order to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner supply device for a developing device, which can reduce the amount of toner. Another object of the present invention is to provide a large-capacity toner storage / supply device which is excellent in reliability of toner supply performance, size of the device, cost, power consumption, toner replenishment operation and the like.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is installed separately from the developing section in the image forming apparatus, and the developing section in the image forming apparatus is flexible with the toner. A toner supply device connected by a transfer member. The toner supply device has a rotor for moving the stored toner toward an ejection portion and having a rotor for axially moving the toner by rotating the screw. A pump and an air supply unit for causing the toner moving by the screw pump to flow in a diffused state, and further, a storage member (container) for storing (accommodating) the toner, and a storage member of the storage member. A toner transfer means installed at the bottommost part for transferring the toner to the screw pump; a toner stirring means for stirring the toner on the upper part of the toner transfer means; By toner stirring means for temporarily contact during operation, is obtained by a configuration provided with the second agitating means is installed so as to interlock in said toner stirring means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device, the second stirring means or a part thereof is
It is configured by an elastic member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner supply device installed separately from the developing unit in the image forming apparatus and connected to the developing unit in the image forming apparatus by a flexible toner transfer member. This toner supply device is provided with a screw pump having a rotor for moving the stored toner toward an ejection portion to move the toner in the axial direction by rotation, and the toner moving by the screw pump is diffused. And an air supply unit for flowing the toner in a closed state, and further stores (stores) toner.
A storage member (container), a toner transfer unit installed at the bottom of the storage member for transferring the toner to the screw pump, and a stirring unit for stirring the toner stored in the storage member. The developing unit is provided with a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of toner, and the screw pump and the toner transfer means and the stirring means are separately driven based on the detection result of the sensor for detecting the presence / absence of toner. The drive means and the control means are provided.

In the invention according to claim 4, the invention according to claim 3
In the toner supply device described above, when the developing unit is out of toner, only the air supply unit, the screw pump, and the toner transfer unit are driven, and the air supply unit, the screw pump, and the toner transfer unit are being driven. When the toner in the developing unit is insufficient, the air supply unit, the screw pump and the toner transfer unit, and the stirring unit are driven.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device according to the fourth aspect, the toner in the developing unit is kept in operation while the air supply unit, the screw pump and the toner transfer unit, and the stirring unit are being driven. When the toner is insufficient, the toner end is set.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an image forming apparatus equipped with a toner supply device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus is an example of a copying machine, and the copying machine main body 100 is provided with an automatic document feeder (ADF) 110 and a conventionally known electrophotographic system for forming an image. Exposure unit 120, image forming unit 13
0, and a paper feeding unit 140. Exposure unit 120
Is a light source 121 for irradiating a document (not shown) placed on the contact glass 111 by the ADF 110 or manually, and a reflected light image from the document on the photoconductor drum 131 of the image forming unit 130. The exposure optical system is composed of mirrors 122, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128 and a lens 125 for exposing. The image forming unit 130 includes a photoconductor drum 131 and a charging device 132, a developing device 106, a registration roller 134, a transfer belt device 133, a photoconductor cleaning device 136, a fixing device 137, and a discharge roller 138 arranged around the photoconductor drum 131. , A transfer sheet reversing / conveying unit 139 for double-sided copying and the like. Further, the paper feeding unit 140 is provided with a plurality of paper feeding cassettes containing transfer papers of various sizes. Although the exposure unit 120 is an example of an analog type exposure optical system, a laser scanning optical system using a laser light source and a deflector is used as an exposure unit to optically write on a photosensitive drum according to an image signal. Can be made to function as a laser printer by using the method
If a document reading device is installed between the exposure unit 120 and the exposure unit 120, a configuration of a digital copying machine or a facsimile can be obtained.

In FIG. 1, when the image forming operation is started, the photosensitive drum 131 is charged by the charging device 132, the original image from the exposure section 120 is exposed, and an electrostatic latent image is formed. This electrostatic latent image is stored in a developer (2
(A component developer or a one-component developer) to form a toner image on the photosensitive drum 131. The toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 131 is transferred onto the transfer paper fed from the paper feed unit 140 to the transfer position (nip portion between the photoconductor drum and the transfer belt 135) via the registration roller 134. The transfer paper on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 137 by the transfer belt 135 of the transfer belt device 133, and the toner image is fixed on the transfer paper by the fixing device 137. The transfer paper after fixing is the discharge roller 138.
The sheet is discharged onto a sheet discharge tray (not shown) via the. on the other hand,
After the transfer of the toner image, the photoconductor drum 131 is cleaned by the photoconductor cleaning device 136 to remove and collect foreign matter such as residual toner and paper dust. Further, the transfer belt 135 after the transfer paper is conveyed is also cleaned by the cleaning unit 133a in the transfer belt unit 133, and foreign matters such as residual toner and paper dust are removed and collected.

In FIG. 1, as the developing device 106,
In the following description, an example using a two-component magnetic brush development method using a toner and a carrier will be described. Toner supply device 300
Is a separate unit from the copying machine main body 100 and is configured as an independent unit. The developing device 106 of the copying machine main body 100 and the toner supply device 300 are connected by a toner supply pipe 400 made of a flexible member, and the toner 500 stored in the toner supply device 300 is connected to the toner supply pipe 400. It is supplied to the developing device 106 via the.

[0016]

Embodiments of the toner supply device of the present invention will be described below. First, an embodiment of the toner supply device according to claims 1 and 2 will be described as a first embodiment, and then an embodiment of the toner supply device according to claims 3 to 5 will be described as a second embodiment.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of the toner supply device according to claims 1 and 2, and is a perspective view showing a disassembled structure of the toner supply device. Further, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing the structure of the powder pump portion of the toner supply device of FIG.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 310 denotes a toner container divided into a plurality of constituent parts, and side plates 311 and 312 are attached to both ends of the container via seal groups 313. The toner 500 is packed in a bottle or bag (not shown), and is replenished from an opening 314 through a replenishing port provided in a part of these replenishing containers via a toner container setting member 315 provided in a part of the toner storage container 310. To be done. Reference numeral 316 denotes an air filter, in which only the air is removed from the toner storage container 310 so that the toner is not scattered from the opening 314 to the outside of the apparatus when the toner is loaded from the above-described replenishment container and the replenishment can be performed quickly. It has the function of reducing the negative pressure in the storage container.

Further, in the lower bottom portion of the toner storage container 310, a drive motor 324 drives a drive member group 350 (input gear 351, lateral feed screw drive large gear 352a, horizontal feed screw drive small gear 352b, intermediate gear 353, agitator). The agitator (A) 320, which is a first toner stirring unit, rotates via a driving gear 354, a fixing base 355, a brake pad 356, a friction member 357, a pressure spring 358, a pressure member 359, a fixing nut 360, etc.).
A and a lateral conveying screw 323 which is a toner transfer unit are provided to securely transfer the toner 500 to the powder pump unit 3.
It is designed to be transferred to 30. Further, an agitator (B) 321 which is a second stirring means is supported by the upper case 317 so as to be rotatable around the support member, and the agitator (A) 320A is rotated while the agitator (A) 320A is rotating. ) It comes to rotate by contacting with 320A.

As shown in FIG. 3, the powder pump unit 3
A screw pump 30 which is conventionally known as a so-called mohno pump is used as the rotor 30.
2 and a holder 333. The rotor 331 is coaxially engaged with the lateral conveyance screw 323, and the other end of the lateral conveyance screw 323 is engaged with the drive motor 324. The rotation of the drive motor 324 causes the lateral conveyance screw 3 to rotate.
23 and the rotor 331 are rotationally driven.

That is, the powder pump 330 surrounds the rotor 331, which is made of an elastic material such as a rubber material, and the rotor 331 which is connected to the drive motor 324 through the lateral conveying screw 323. It is provided with a fixed stator 332, a holder for holding the stator 332, and the like.

There is a gap of about 1 mm between the side surface of the stator 332 and the inner side surface of the holder 333, which communicates with the toner passage (ejection portion) 334. An air supply port 335 is provided so as to blow into the toner passage through the gap. The air supply port 335 is in communication with the toner passage 334, and the outside is in communication with the air discharge port 341 provided in the air pump 340 shown in FIG. 2 via the air supply pipe 342. When activated, the air pump 340 blows air onto the toner through the air supply port 335 at a blowing rate of about 0.5 to 1 liter / minute. As a result, the toner flowing out from the toner passage (ejection portion) 334 of the powder pump 330 is promoted to be fluidized and ejected to the toner supply pipe 400 in a mixed state with air. Therefore, the toner transfer by the powder pump becomes more reliable.

The toner that has passed through the powder pump unit 330 passes through the toner supply pipe 400 and the main body 1 of the copying machine.
00 is sent to the developing device 106. For the toner supply pipe 400, it is very effective to use a material having flexibility and excellent toner resistance (for example, soft vinyl chloride, nylon, Teflon, etc.). As described above, in the present invention, since the connecting portion between the machine body and the toner supply device is flexible, there are less restrictions when installing each device, effective use of the installation place can be achieved, and workability of machine maintenance is greatly improved. Improve to.

The toner supply from the toner supply device 300 of this embodiment to the image forming apparatus (copying machine, printer, etc.)
This is performed by detecting the toner storage amount (level detection) by a toner near-end detector (not shown) provided in the developing device 106 of the image forming apparatus main body 100. That is, if the detected toner storage amount is less than a predetermined value, the drive motor 324 and the air pump 340 are driven to supply the toner to the developing device. And
When the amount of toner stored in the developing device exceeds a predetermined value, the toner near-end detector detects it and stops the toner supply.

By these controls, a constant amount of toner is always stored in the developing device 106, and a stable developing process is guaranteed. Further, the toner near-end detector detects that the toner storage amount is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and when the toner storage amount exceeds a predetermined number of times or time, it is determined that there is no toner in the toner supply device 300. A warning is issued to an operation unit or a display unit (not shown) provided in the main body 100 of the image forming apparatus (copier, printer, etc.) so that the operator can understand. With these, the toner supply device 300
It is possible to replenish toner to the toner at an appropriate time.
The configuration of the developing device, toner near-end detection, and toner replenishment control will be described in detail in Embodiment 2 below.

The control of the drive motor 324 and the air pump 340 of the powder pump 330 at the start and stop of the operation of the developing device 106 is performed by turning on only the air pump 340 at the start of the operation of the developing device 106. After a few seconds, the drive motor 324 is turned on. Further, the developing device 10
6 is stopped, after turning off the drive motor 324, only the air pump 340 is operated for several seconds. The effects of performing the above control will be described below.

While the powder pump 330 is operating, the toner mixed almost uniformly with the air is supplied to the toner supply pipe 4.
00, but the entire apparatus is stopped at once, that is, the powder pump 330 and the air pump 340.
When both are stopped at the same time, only the air escapes from the air-mixed toner filled in the toner supply pipe 400, and the toner sinks downward due to its own weight, so that the bulk density of the toner increases.
Then, when the toner is sent to restart the toner supply device 300, the remaining toner blocks the transfer of the toner, and the toner is clogged in this portion. As a result, the powder pump may be locked or burned (toner adheres to the rotor 331 due to excessive temperature rise, and the adhered toner scrapes the stator 332, resulting in pump damage). .

However, as described above, the toner supply device 3
By operating only the air pump 340 at the start of operation of No. 00, the residual toner in the toner supply pipe 400 can be discharged only by air. Alternatively, by operating only the air pump 340 after the operation of the toner supply device 300 is stopped, the inside of the toner supply pipe 400 can be made almost empty. As described above, it is possible to eliminate the toner clogging described above and to make the toner transfer more reliable.

The toner supply device according to the present embodiment only needs to connect the toner supply pipe and the control wire bundle to the machine body of a copying machine or the like, and is a separate body independent of the machine body. It can be a unit.

Next, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the toner supply device showing an example in which only the first toner stirring means is used in the toner supply device of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a view taken in a direction orthogonal to the cross section of FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the toner supply device. 6 is a sectional view of the toner supply device showing an example in which the first toner stirring means and the second toner stirring means are used in the toner supply device of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is orthogonal to the cross section of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device in the direction to do.

4 and 5, the air pump 340 is shown.
Is attached to a position corresponding to a slope formed on a part of the toner storage container 310. Powder pump unit 330
Is attached to the lower bottom portion of the toner storage container 310 (integrally with the lateral conveying screw 323). Toner 50
0 is transferred to the above-mentioned powder pump section 330 due to the self-weight of the toner itself and the vibration generated by the agitator (A) 320A which is the toner stirring means, the lateral conveying screw 323, and the air pump 340.

It is known that toner used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus usually has very poor fluidity and toner transfer is difficult. In the toner supply device of the present invention for storing and supplying a large amount of toner, the configuration of FIGS.
In some cases, due to the weight of the toner, the toner may not be crosslinked and the toner can be transferred to the bottom of the toner storage container, in which case there is no problem. However, if the bulk density of the toner decreases due to vibration or long-term storage, the crosslinking phenomenon occurs even if the agitator (A) 320A is rotated, and the agitator (A) 320A
In some cases, the toner on the upper part of the toner remains almost without falling.

In the present invention, in order to overcome these problems, the means and configuration shown in FIGS. That is, as the auxiliary means for dropping the toner on the upper side, the second
The agitator (B) 321a, which is the stirring means, is added to the configurations shown in FIGS. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the agitator (B) 321a is supported by the upper case 317 which is a part of the toner container, and is rotatable around the supporting portion. Furthermore, agitator (A) 320A
Is arranged so as to temporarily come into contact with each other during rotation. That is, when the agitator (A) 320A rotates in the clockwise direction and the agitator reaches the position at the top, the agitator (B) 321
a. When the rotation of the agitator (A) 320A further proceeds, the agitator (B) 321a is pushed to the right in FIG. 6, and when the contact is released, the agitator (B) 321 is released.
a returns to its original vertical state due to its own weight. By repeating the above, the toner above the agitator (A) 320A, especially the toner above the slope that is hard to drop (easy to crosslink), is moved and assisted to drop. In addition, agitator (B) 32
Various other shapes of 1a are conceivable, which will be shown below as another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a toner showing another example in which the first toner stirring means (agitator (A)) and the second toner stirring means (agitator (B)) are used in the toner supply device of this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supplying device, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supplying device in a direction orthogonal to the cross section of FIG. In this embodiment, the rotation direction of the agitator (A) 320A is set counterclockwise, and the agitator (B) 321b is rotatably supported by the side wall of the toner container 310 (A in the figure) and rotated about the support A. You can move. Furthermore, agitator (A) 320
It is arranged so as to temporarily contact with A during rotation. Therefore, similar to the example of FIGS. 6 and 7, the agitator (A) 320A is rotated to rotate the agitator (B) 321b around the portion A. Agitator (B) 32
As you can see from the movement of 1b, mainly toner (when full)
The top is well agitated. A spring 322 is provided so that the agitator (B) 321b returns to its original vertical position.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a second embodiment of the toner supply device of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows another example of this stirring means, Comprising: It is a perspective view which shows the example which used the slit plate for the 2nd stirring means (agitator (B)). As described above, in the toner replenishing device having this configuration, the toner is apt to crosslink and remain above the slope. Therefore, it is very effective to install the agitator (B) 321c, which can be called a slit type diaphragm, on the slope as in this example. The rotation direction of the agitator (A) 320A is counterclockwise when viewed from the direction B in the figure, and it abuts the diaphragm (agitator (B)) 321c at the position of the figure and pushes up the diaphragm 321c as it is. The contact is eventually released, and the diaphragm returns to its original position by its own weight. By repeating this, the vibrating plate 321c vibrates periodically, and the crosslinking of the toner can be prevented.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the toner supply device of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows another example of the stirring means of this, Comprising: A 2nd stirring means (agitator (B)) has several coil springs 321d.
It is a perspective view showing an example using ~ 321g. Similar to the diaphragm shown in FIG. 10, the rotation direction of the agitator (A) 320A is counterclockwise when viewed from the direction B in the figure, and it abuts against the tips of the coil springs 321d to 321g and pushes it up. The contact is released soon, and then the coil spring 3
21d to 321g return to their original state due to their own restoring force. By repeating this, the coil springs 321d to 321g periodically vibrate, so that the crosslinking of the toner can be prevented.

Next, in the toner supply device of the present embodiment, the lateral conveying screw 323 is screw-shaped and the number of windings of the screw is different between the powder pump portion 330 side and other portions. That is, the powder pump portion is densely arranged, and the other portions are made coarse (FIGS. 5, 7, and 9).
reference). This is intended to prevent the toner transfer force (= the toner transfer amount to the powder pump portion) in the axial direction of the lateral conveying screw 323 from becoming excessive.

The air pump 340 is attached to the wall surface of the toner container 310 as shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8, and further to the inclined surface near the agitator 320A and the lateral conveying screw 323 at the bottom of the toner container. . As the air pump 340, a volume-changeable diaphragm type that can ensure static pressure is usually used. These vibrate during operation. By applying this vibration to the toner storage container 310, it is effective to reduce the adhesion of the toner to the wall surface of the toner storage container and the frictional resistance of the wall surface, and further prevent the above-mentioned toner crosslinking phenomenon. In particular, it is very effective to install the toner on the inclined surface of the storage container in which the toner easily accumulates.

[Embodiment 2] Next, an embodiment of the toner supply device according to claims 3 to 5 will be described. The configuration example of the image forming apparatus is as described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of the developing device of the image forming apparatus (copier) of FIG. 1, FIG. 13 shows a configuration example of the toner replenishing section provided in the developing device of FIG. 12, and FIG. An example of the configuration of the toner collecting unit used in the developing device of No. 1 is shown.

In FIG. 12, the developing device 106 comprises a developing container 106A and a toner replenishing section 106B, of which the developing container 106A is a latent image carrier which is movable in the direction indicated by arrow AO in the figure. Photoconductor drum 1
31 and the toner replenishing section 106B.
Is mounted in the developing container 106A.

A stirring roller 106C and a paddle wheel 106D are provided inside the developing device 106A. The stirring roller 106C stirs and mixes the magnetic or non-magnetic toner frictionally charged with opposite polarities and magnetic toner. A two-component developer composed of a carrier is pumped up by a paddle wheel 106C. Further, the toner replenishing unit 106B rotates the toner T by stirring the toner T by rotating the toner replenishing roller 106B1 when the density of the toner supplied to the photoconductor drum 131 decreases.
It is designed to extend to 6C.

At a position where the developer is scooped up by the paddle wheel 106D, a plurality of developing rollers 106E and 106F are provided close to the photosensitive drum 131. The developing rollers 106E and 106F are arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side in the moving direction of the photosensitive drum 131, and the one located on the upstream side is the first developing roller 10.
6E, and the one located on the downstream side is the second developing roller 106F.

The first and second developing rollers are provided with, as main parts, a sleeve rotatable counterclockwise in the figure by a driving unit (not shown) and a mag roller fixed inside the sleeve. This sleeve is made of a non-magnetic material such as aluminum or stainless steel, and the mag roller is made of a ferrite magnet or a rubber magnet, or a magnet formed by kneading nylon powder and ferrite powder. It has a configuration in which a plurality is arranged.

In the developing container 106A, the centrifugal force generated when the paddle wheel 106D rotates causes the developer to be pumped up and discharged toward the first developing roller 106E. A part of the discharged developer is directly supplied to the first developing roller 106E and carried on the surface of the first developing roller 106E, as indicated by an arrow A1 in the drawing. Further, when the remaining part of the discharged developer rebounds by hitting the second developing roller 106F, the magnetic force of the first developing roller 106E side causes the first developing roller 10
6E is carried on the surface.

In order to supply the developer to the first developing roller 106E from the second developing roller 106F side as well, the paddle wheel is used for the purpose of increasing the amount of rebound from the second developing roller 106F. It is necessary to make the rotation speed of 106D relatively high and increase the centrifugal force.

The developer carried on the first developing roller 106E moves on the roller surface with the rotation of the developing sleeve, and its layer thickness is regulated by the doctor blade 106G. Photoconductor drum 13
1 reaches the first development area D1 which is opposite to the first development area D1. When the developer reaching the developing region D1 moves to a position where the action of the magnetic force on the first developing roller 106E side is weakened, the developer is rotated by the developing sleeve on the second developing roller 106F side and the magnetic force from the mag roller causes In the middle, as indicated by a broken line, the second developing roller 106F and the photosensitive drum 131 are transported toward the second developing area D2. Then, at the position where the magnetic force of the second developing roller 106F does not act, the developing container 10
It drops to the bottom of 6A and is again stirred by the paddle wheel 106D.

The developer scraped off by the doctor blade 106G is guided by the separator 106H toward the conveying screw 106J located at the other end in the extension direction, and the conveying screw 106J causes the stirring roller 106J to move.
It falls on C. For this reason, a slit for dropping the developer is formed at the other end of the separator 106H in the extending direction at a position facing the stirring roller 106C.

First and second developing rollers 106E, 106
F is a first developing roller 1
06E, the arrangement of the magnetic poles that can form a repulsive magnetic field by the same poles is set between the positions where the second developing rollers 106F are closest to each other, and the developer is transported in the direction toward the second developing rollers 106F. Is forcibly set. As a result, the developer is supplied to the second developing roller 10F by the magnetic force of the magnetic pole on the second developing roller 106F side.
Floating on the 6th floor.

Agitating roller 106C in the developing container 106A
, A toner concentration sensor 106 serving as a toner concentration detecting means for detecting a mixture ratio of toner and carrier.
K is arranged. The toner density sensor 106K uses, as an example, a method of detecting a toner density from a toner content in the developer by using a change in inductance of a coil located in the developer.

As shown in FIG. 13, the toner replenishing portion 106B of the developing device 106 is provided with a toner replenishing opening 106L at one axial end of the stirring member 106M provided in the toner replenishing portion 106B. , This opening 106
In L, a toner collecting means 200 described later is detachably installed. Further, in FIG. 13, reference numeral 106N is a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the replenishment toner in the toner replenishing section 106B.

The toner collecting means 200 is the developing device 106.
Is a separate unit structure, and separates the toner transferred from the toner supply source through the toner supply pipe 400 in a mixed state with air from the toner and collects the toner.
It is used for replenishing when the replenishment toner stored in the toner replenishing section 106B of the developing device 106 has decreased. The structure of the toner collecting means 200 is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 14, toner recovery means 200
Has a funnel-shaped toner separating portion 200A whose longitudinal direction is set in the longitudinal direction. The toner separation unit 200A separates toner and air that are pressure-fed by air from a toner replenishing device, which is a toner supply source, which will be described later, and drops only the toner by gravity so that the toner replenishing unit 106 of the developing device 106.
A hopper that can be introduced into B. For this reason, at the upper position of the toner separation unit 200A,
Toner supply pipe 400 forming one of toner transfer means
Is connected to one end thereof, and an opening 200B is formed in the lower position so as to be able to communicate with the toner supply portion 106B of the developing device 106.

As a result, when the air-toner mixture sent from the toner supply pipe 400 collides with the inner peripheral wall of the toner separating section 200A, the toner separating section 200A
Depending on the shape of and the discharge position from the pipe 400, while descending while spiraling, air with a low specific gravity rises,
Since only the toner having a large specific gravity falls, the air and the toner are separated. A filter 201 for discharging only air is provided on the upper surface of the toner separating unit 200A.
And an opening / closing member 202 for opening / closing the opening 200B is provided on the lower surface.

Next, FIG. 15 is a view showing an embodiment of the toner supply device according to claims 3 to 5, and is a perspective view showing the structure of the toner supply device in a disassembled state. FIG. 16 is the toner of FIG. It is a principal part sectional view which shows the structure of the powder pump part of a supply apparatus. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the assembled toner supply device of FIG. 15, and FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device in a direction orthogonal to the cross-section of FIG. FIG. 19 is a front view of the drive unit of the toner supply device of FIG.

In FIG. 15, reference numeral 310 is a toner storage container divided into a plurality of components, and side plates 311 and 312 are attached to both ends of the toner storage container via seal groups 313. The toner 500 is packed in a bottle or bag (not shown), and is replenished from an opening 314 through a replenishing port provided in a part of these replenishing containers via a toner container setting member 315 provided in a part of the toner storage container 310. To be done. Reference numeral 316 denotes an air filter, in which only the air is removed from the toner storage container 310 so that the toner is not scattered from the opening 314 to the outside of the apparatus when the toner is loaded from the above-described replenishment container and the replenishment can be performed quickly. It has the function of reducing the negative pressure in the storage container.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 15 to 19, the toner storage container 310 has a drive motor 32 at the lower bottom thereof.
4A and 324B and an agitator 320B that is a stirring unit that is driven to rotate by a drive motor 324A to stir the toner.
Further, a lateral conveying screw 323, which is a toner transfer unit that is rotationally driven by the drive motor 324B and transfers the toner to the powder pump 330, is provided to surely transfer the toner 500 to the powder pump unit 330. still,
In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the single driving motor 324 drives the lateral conveying screw 323, the powder pump 330, and the stirring means 320A, but in the present embodiment, the agitator 320B which is the stirring means is used. Since the drive is controlled independently of the powder pump side, a dedicated drive motor 32
4A is provided.

The powder pump unit 330 uses a screw pump which is conventionally known as a so-called mono pump.
This is the rotor 331, the stator 332, the holder 333.
It is composed of The rotor 331 is the horizontal conveyance screw 32.
3, and the other end of the lateral conveying screw 323 is engaged with the drive motor 324B.
The horizontal conveying screw 323 and the rotor 3 are rotated by the rotation of 24B.
31 is rotationally driven simultaneously.

That is, the powder pump 330 surrounds the rotor 331, which is made of an elastic material such as a rubber material, and the rotor 331 which is connected to the drive motor 324B through the lateral conveying screw 323. It is provided with a fixed stator 332, a holder for holding the stator 332, and the like.

There is a gap of about 1 mm between the side surface of the stator 332 and the inner side surface of the holder 333, which communicates with the toner passage (ejection section) 334. An air supply port 335 is provided so as to blow into the toner passage through the gap. The air supply port 335 communicates with the toner passage 334, and the outside communicates with the air discharge port 341 provided in the air pump 340 shown in FIG. 15 via the air supply pipe 342. When activated, the air pump 340 blows air onto the toner through the air supply port 335 at a blowing rate of about 0.5 to 1 liter / minute. This allows
The toner discharged from the toner passage (ejection section) 334 of the powder pump 330 is promoted to be fluidized, and is ejected to the toner supply pipe 400 in a mixed state with air. Therefore, the toner transfer by the powder pump becomes more reliable.

The toner that has passed through the powder pump unit 330 passes through the toner supply pipe 400 and the main body 1 of the copying machine.
00 is sent to the developing device 106. For the toner supply pipe 400, it is very effective to use a material having flexibility and excellent toner resistance (for example, soft vinyl chloride, nylon, Teflon, etc.). As described above, in the present invention, since the connecting portion between the machine body and the toner supply device is flexible, there are less restrictions when installing each device, effective use of the installation place can be achieved, and workability of machine maintenance is greatly improved. Improve to.

Next, a method of controlling toner supply from the toner supply device to the image forming apparatus (copying machine, printer, etc.) will be described below. FIG. 20 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of the control unit used in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment.

In FIG. 20, the control unit 600 of the toner supply device 300 is connected to the image forming control unit 601 equipped in the image forming apparatus 100. The image forming control unit 601 includes a power switch 6 of the image forming apparatus 100.
01A, the toner remaining amount sensor 106N and the developing container 10 provided in the toner replenishing portion 106B of the developing device 106.
A signal from a toner concentration sensor 106K, which is provided on the 6A side and detects the toner concentration in the developer, is input. In the image forming control unit 601, when the toner concentration in the developer is lowered in response to the signal from the toner concentration sensor 106K, the toner replenishing roller 106 is caused to feed the toner from the toner replenishing unit 106B.
A drive motor of B1 and a clutch operation state for connecting and disconnecting the drive force from the drive motor are set.
Further, in the image forming control unit 601, the toner supply unit 1
In accordance with the toner remaining amount detection result of 06B, the control unit 600
On the other hand, when toner needs to be replenished, a signal for that is output.

The control unit 600 includes an image forming control unit 601.
When the judgment result is input, the drive signal is output to the powder pump drive motor 324B, the air pump 340, and the agitator drive motor 324A, which are members related to toner supply. Further, the control unit 600
Then, at the time of starting and stopping the image forming apparatus 100, the air pump 340 is driven and controlled separately from other members related to the toner supply. The reason for this is as follows.

The drive control of the air pump 340 separately from other members related to the toner supply is performed by controlling the toner supply pipe 400 and the toner in the opening 200B of the toner separating unit 200A provided in the toner collecting means 200. This is to prevent aggregation. That is, when the air supply to the air-fuel mixture containing toner is stopped, the upward force in the toner supply pipe disappears, and the air-fuel mixture falls and accumulates due to gravity, so that the toner agglomeration degree becomes high, and the toner collection means 200 has a toner aggregation degree. Since only the toner is dropped toward the opening of the separation section 200A due to its gravity, the accumulation and agglomeration of the falling toner causes blocking near the opening to block the opening 200B. As a result, when trying to supply the toner again, the toner transfer is blocked in the toner transfer path, and as a result, an excessive load is applied to the rotor 331 in the screw pump 330, which is the toner transfer unit, Operation failure due to seizure of the rotor 331 will occur. Therefore, when stopping or starting the operation of the screw pump 330, which is a toner transfer unit, the air pump 340 is operated to send only air before the operation is started, and after the operation is stopped, the operation of the air pump 340 is continued for some time. Only air is sent to prevent toner accumulation in the toner transfer path and toner recovery means,
Prevents toner aggregation.

In the image forming control section 601 of the image forming apparatus 100, the toner supplying section 106B including the stirring member provided in the developing apparatus 106 and the toner supplying section 10 are included.
The operation state of the driving force connecting / disconnecting clutch of the toner replenishing roller 106B1 provided in 6B is set.

Since this embodiment has the above-mentioned structure,
The operation will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 21 showing the operation of the control unit 600.

In FIG. 21, when the image forming apparatus is started, it is determined by the toner replenishment control of the developing device 106 that the remaining amount of the replenishment toner is insufficient.
When detected by 6N, the air pump 340 of the toner supply device 300 is operated as described above, and after several seconds, the powder pump drive motor 324B is operated to drive the powder pump 330 and the lateral conveying screw 323 to perform development. Device 106
Supply toner to. When the replenishment toner on the developing device 106 side is replenished by the replenishment from the toner supply device 300, the remaining amount detection sensor 106N detects whether the replenishment is completed. When it is determined that the replenishment is completed, the powder pump drive motor 324B causes the air pump 34
It is stopped prior to the 0 stop. Air pump 34
The time until the operation of 0 is stopped is measured by the timer. When there is no shortage of the replenishment toner remaining on the developing device side, the toner replenishing control by the normal density control is executed on the developing device side, and the remaining amount detecting sensor 106N monitors during that period.

Further, after the powder pump drive motor 324B operates after the air pump 340, the remaining amount detection sensor 106
If the detection result of the toner remaining amount shortage due to N continues, and this exceeds a predetermined time or number of times, the agitator drive motor 324A is operated to drive the agitator 320B to stir the toner. After the operation of the agitator drive motor 324A, when the replenishment toner on the developing device 106 side is replenished,
The remaining amount detection sensor 106N detects whether the replenishment is completed. And when it is judged that the replenishment is completed,
Similar to the above case, after the powder pump drive motor 324B and the agitator drive motor 324A are stopped, the air pump 340 is stopped a few seconds later, and the toner supply is stopped. By these controls, a constant amount of toner is always stored in the developing device 106, and a stable developing process is guaranteed.

On the other hand, the agitator drive motor 32 is used.
After driving 4A, the toner is not supplied, and the remaining amount detection sensor 1
At 06N, the detection result of the toner remaining amount shortage continues, and when it exceeds a predetermined number of times and time, it is determined that there is no toner in the toner supply device, and the main body of the image forming apparatus (copying machine, printer, etc.) A warning, which an operator can understand, is issued to an operation unit or a display unit (not shown) provided in 100. As a result, the toner can be supplied to the toner supply device 300 at an appropriate time. Immediately after the warning, the powder pump drive motor 324B, the agitator drive motor 324A, and the air pump 340 are stopped.

In this embodiment, the agitator 320B described above is used.
Drive control of the agitator 320B is suppressed to a necessary minimum, and not only the lock prevention effect when the abnormal load of the drive motor 324A occurs, but also the toner damage prevention and the drive by reducing the occurrence of abnormal mechanical stress on the toner are performed. The effects of improving mechanical durability by reducing the load on parts, reducing the cost of motors and drive parts, and reducing power consumption can be obtained.

Further, in this embodiment, as a measure for further reducing the driving torque of the agitator (screw-shaped) portion, the number of turns and the shape of the screw (helix) of the agitator 320B are carefully devised. For example, the number of turns of the screw (helix) of the agitator 320B is 2 or less, preferably about 1/2. This is because when the agitator 320B is not rotating, the number of windings of the screw of the agitator 320B is set so that the toner on the upper portion of the agitator 320B will not be disturbed by the agitator and will not be transferred to the lower horizontal conveying screw 323 and remain. The number of windings is 2 or less, preferably about 1/2. By doing this, the agitator 320
In B, a space in which the toner can be transferred (dropped) to the lateral conveying screw 323 by its own weight is secured. Therefore, the toner can be reliably transferred even when the agitator 320B stops rotating.

Screw (spiral) of agitator 320B
As for the shape of the agitator 320B, as shown by the opening 320B-a of the agitator 320B in FIG.
The driving torque when B is rotating can be reduced. That is,
When the agitator 320B rotates, the largest force is generated in the rotation direction. However, if an opening or notch is provided in a part of the screw, the contact area between the toner and the screw decreases in the rotation direction during rotation of the agitator 320B. Drive torque is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 17, the air pump 340 is provided on the wall surface of the toner container 310, the agitator 320B at the bottom of the toner container, and the lateral conveying screw 3.
It is attached to an inclined surface near 23. As the air pump 340, a diaphragm type variable volume type that can ensure static pressure is usually used. These vibrate during operation. By applying this vibration to the toner storage container,
It is effective in reducing the adhesion of the toner to the wall surface of the toner container and the frictional resistance of the wall surface, and further preventing the above-mentioned toner crosslinking phenomenon. In particular, it is very effective to install the toner on the inclined surface of the storage container in which the toner easily accumulates.

[0074]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a large-capacity toner storage / supply device that requires a small machine installation area. In addition, the configuration of the toner storage / supply device can be simplified, the cost can be reduced, and the power consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, the reliability of the toner transfer (supply) of the toner storage / supply device can be ensured and the toner transfer can be ensured. (Prevention of accumulated toner (prevention of crosslinking)) can be achieved.

According to the inventions of claims 3 to 5, it is possible to provide a large-capacity toner storage / supply device that requires a small machine installation area. In addition, the configuration of the toner storage / supply device can be simplified, the cost can be reduced, and the power consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, the reliability of the toner transfer (supply) of the toner storage / supply device can be ensured and the toner transfer can be ensured. (Prevention of accumulated toner (prevention of crosslinking)) and reduction of mechanical stress on the toner (toner protection) can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an image forming apparatus equipped with a toner supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the toner supply device according to claims 1 and 2, and is a perspective view showing an exploded configuration of the toner supply device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of main parts showing a configuration of a powder pump unit of the toner supply device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device showing an example in which only the first toner stirring means is used in the toner supply device shown in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device in a direction orthogonal to the cross section of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device showing an example in which the first toner agitation unit and the second toner agitation unit are used in the toner supply device shown in FIG.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device in a direction orthogonal to the cross section of FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional view of a toner supply device showing another example in which the toner supply device shown in FIG. 2 uses a first toner agitation unit and a second toner agitation unit.

9 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device in a direction orthogonal to the cross section of FIG.

10 is a view showing still another example of the second stirring means of the toner supply device shown in FIG. 2, and is a perspective view of a main part of the toner supply device showing an example using a slit plate for the second stirring means. It is a figure.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing still another example of the second stirring means of the toner supply device shown in FIG. 2, and is a main part of the toner supply device showing an example using a plurality of coil springs in the second stirring means. It is a perspective view.

12 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a developing device of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

13 is a main-part perspective view showing a configuration example of a toner supply unit provided in the developing device of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of toner recovery means used in the developing device of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the toner supply device according to claims 3 to 5, and is a perspective view showing an exploded configuration of the toner supply device.

16 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a configuration of a powder pump unit of the toner supply device shown in FIG.

17 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the toner supply device in a direction orthogonal to FIG.

FIG. 19 is a front view of a drive unit of the toner supply device shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit used in the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart for explaining a control operation at the time of toner supply of the control unit shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: Main body of image forming apparatus (copying machine etc.) 106: Developing device 106B: Toner replenishing section 106N: Toner remaining amount detection sensor 131: Photosensitive drum (image bearing member) 200: Toner collecting means 200A: Toner separating section 202: Open / close Member 202A: Locking member 202B: Toner recovery means supporting member 202C: Shutter member 202D: Stopper member 204: Winding spring 300: Toner supply device 310: Toner storage container 311, 312: Side plate 313: Seal group 314: Opening portion 315: Toner container setting member 316: Air filter 320A: First stirring means (agitator (A)) 320B: Stirring means (agitator (screw-like)) 321, 321a to 321g: Second stirring means (agitator (B)) 322 : Spring 323: Horizontal transport screw (toner -Transfer means) 324: Drive motor 324A: Agitator drive motor 324B: Powder pump drive motor 330: Powder pump unit (screw pump) 331: Rotor 332: Stator 333: Holder 334: Toner passage (ejection port) 335: Air Supply port 340: Air pump 341: Air discharge port 342: Air supply pipe 350: Drive member group 351: Input gear 352a: Horizontal transport screw drive large gear 352b: Horizontal transport screw drive small gear 353: Intermediate gear 354: Agitator drive gear 355: Fixing stand 356: Brake pad 357: Friction member 358: Pressing spring 359: Pressing member 360: Fixing nut 400: Toner supply pipe 500: Toner 600: Toner supply device controller 601: Image forming controller 601A Power switch

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A toner supply device which is installed separately from a developing unit in an image forming apparatus and is connected to the developing unit in the image forming apparatus by a flexible toner transfer member. To move toward the discharge part,
A toner supply device, comprising: a screw pump having a rotor for moving the toner in the axial direction by rotating; and an air supply unit for causing the toner moved by the screw pump to flow in a diffused state. A storage member (container) for storing (accommodating) toner, toner transfer means installed at the bottom of the storage member for transferring the toner to the screw pump, and toner stirring for stirring the toner above the toner transfer means. And a second stirring unit installed so as to interlock with the toner stirring unit by temporarily contacting the toner stirring unit during driving. 2. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein
A toner supply device characterized in that the second stirring means or a part thereof is made of an elastic member. 3. A toner supply device installed separately from the developing unit in the image forming apparatus and connected to the developing unit in the image forming apparatus by a flexible toner transfer member, and stores the stored toner. To move toward the discharge part,
A toner supply device, comprising: a screw pump having a rotor for moving the toner in the axial direction by rotating; and an air supply unit for causing the toner moved by the screw pump to flow in a diffused state. A storage member (container) for storing (accommodating) toner, toner transfer means installed at the bottom of the storage member for transferring toner to the screw pump, and agitating the toner stored inside the storage member. Equipped with a stirring means for
The developing unit is provided with a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of toner, and based on the detection result of the sensor for detecting the presence / absence of toner, a drive for separately controlling the driving of the screw pump and the toner transfer unit and the stirring unit. A toner supply device comprising means and control means. 4. The toner supply device according to claim 3,
When the toner in the developing unit is insufficient, only the air supplying unit, the screw pump and the toner transferring unit are driven, and the toner in the developing unit is removed while the air supplying unit, the screw pump and the toner transferring unit are being driven. When the air supply is insufficient, the toner supply device is characterized in that the air supply unit, the screw pump and the toner transfer unit, and the stirring unit are driven. 5. The toner supply device according to claim 4,
A toner supply device, characterized in that when the toner in the developing unit runs short while the air supply unit, the screw pump and the toner transfer unit, and the stirring unit are being driven, the toner end is set.