JPH09244381A - Developing device for electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of parts of a developing device for an electrophotographic device and simplify work for changing toner and collecting developer being used without any trouble. SOLUTION: A developer storage container 35 is formed with a two- component developer storage part 45 and a toner storage part 40. Mounting holes 32, 33, 36, 37 mutually fitted and mounted in a developer mainbody are communicated directly with a carrying member storage part 20 in which carrying screws (rotationally carrying member) 29, 30 are stored without using a carrying passage. During supplying developer, two-component developer fed from the two-component developer storage 45 and toner fed from the toner storage part 40 are supplied directly to the carrying member storage part 20. During collecting developer being used, the developer being used is supplied from the carrying member storage part 20 directly to the two-component developer storage part 45 and the toner storage part 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention can be applied to an electrophotographic apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, and a composite machine thereof. Specifically, in the electrophotographic apparatus, a two-component developer (developer composed of toner and carrier) and toner are supplied from the developer container to the developing device main body, while the in-use developer is supplied from the developing device main body. The present invention relates to a developing device that collects in a developer storage container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a developing device of this kind, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, a developing chamber 1 is partitioned by a partition plate 1a to form a toner chamber a and a developing chamber b, and a developing chamber b. There is a configuration in which a shutter 2 is provided on the bottom of the shutter so that it can be drawn out toward the front in the drawing, and a recovery container 3 for the developer in use is detachably provided directly below the shutter 2.

When the developing device is used, the toner container 4 is mounted on the toner chamber a, the toner is dropped into the toner chamber a, and the two-component developer is placed on the developing chamber b. The storage container 5 is attached, and the two-component developer is dropped into the developing chamber b from the inside. Then, the developing room b
The paddle 6 is rotated inside to convey the two-component developer to the developing roller 7 while stirring, and while the developing roller 7 is rotating, toner is attached to the photoconductor 8 and the latent image thereon is visualized. To do. In addition, a toner concentration detection sensor (not shown) is used for the developing chamber b.
The toner concentration in the inside is detected, and the agitator 9 is rotated in the toner chamber a according to the detection result to supply the toner into the developing chamber b.

After that, the toner in the toner chamber a becomes empty,
When it is time to replace the developer, the shutter 2 is pulled out to drop the developer in use from the developing chamber b and collect the developer in the collecting container 3. After the collection, the collection container 3 is removed, the developer in use is discarded, and then the developer case 1 is attached to the bottom of the development case 1 again. Then, after closing the shutter 2, the two-component developer accommodating container 5 is removed and replaced with a new one, and a new two-component developer is supplied from the inside to the developing chamber b. Further, the toner storage container 4 was removed and replaced with a new one, and new toner was supplied to the toner chamber a from the inside.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional developing device, since the toner storage container 4, the two-component developer storage container 5, and the in-use developer recovery container 3 are separately provided, that is the only case. The number of parts is increased, which makes parts management troublesome and increases costs. In addition, when supplying toner or collecting developer in use, it is necessary to individually attach and detach the three containers 3, 4 and 5 each time, which is a troublesome problem. It was

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts in the developing device as described above, and to easily supply the toner and recover the developer in use without trouble.

[0007]

Therefore, the present invention described in claim 1 has, for example, the following features:
A two-component developer and a toner are supplied from the developer container 35 to the developing device main body 25, while the in-use developer in the developing device main body 25 is collected in the developer accommodating container 35. In the device 13, the developer storage container 35 is configured by a two-component developer storage portion 45 and a toner storage portion 40, and the two-component developer is conveyed in the axial direction of the developing roller 28 so that the toner is rotated around the developing roller 28. The developer accommodating container 35 is connected to the conveying member accommodating portion 20 accommodating the rotating conveying member such as the conveying screws 29 and 30 for uniformly replenishing the surface in the axial direction, and is directly attached to the developing device main body 25. , Is characterized.

When the two-component developer and the toner are supplied, the two-component developer is supplied from the two-component developer accommodating portion 45 of the developer accommodating container 35 and the toner is ejected from the toner accommodating portion 40. The component developer is sent directly from the developer storage container 35 into the transport member storage section 20. Then, the two-component developer is conveyed in the axial direction of the developing roller 28 by the rotary conveying member, and the toner is conveyed to the developing roller 28.
Replenish evenly in the axial direction on the peripheral surface of. On the other hand, when collecting the in-use developer, the in-use developer is sent directly from the transport member storage section 20 into the two-component developer storage section 45 and the toner storage section 40.

According to a second aspect of the invention, for example, as shown in the following embodiment, in the developing device 13 of the electrophotographic apparatus according to the first aspect, the developing device main body 25 and the developer accommodating container 35 are provided. Mutual mounting ports 32, 33,
It is characterized in that the developer storage container 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25 by directly fitting 36 and 37 without using a connecting member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, for example, as shown in the following embodiment, in the developing device 13 of the electrophotographic apparatus according to the second aspect, the developer accommodating container 35 is provided in the developing device main body 25. Is attached, a seal member 50 seals between the two mounting ports 32, 33, 36, 37.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, for example, as shown in the following embodiment, in the developing device 13 of the electrophotographic apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when the in-use developer is collected, It is characterized in that the transport path 34 by the rotary transport member is changed.

Then, the developer being used is conveyed to the conveying member storage section 2
When collecting from 0, the transport path 34 is rotated by the rotary transport member.
Is changed to return the in-use developer into the developer storage container 35.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, for example, as shown in the following embodiment, in the developing device 13 of the electrophotographic apparatus according to the second, third or fourth aspect, the mounting port 3 is provided.
2, 33, 36, 37 are respectively referred to as the developing device main body 2
5 and one developer storage container 35 are provided.

When the developer accommodating container 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25, one attaching port is directly fitted to each other.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 shows a laser printer including the developing device according to the first aspect of the present invention.
It is a schematic block diagram which shows the internal mechanism.

Reference numeral 10 in the figure denotes a printer body. In the printer main body 10, a photoconductor 11 is provided at the center,
A charging device 12, a developing device 13, a transfer device 14, and a cleaning device 15 are sequentially provided around the photoconductor 11 in a rotation direction indicated by an arrow. A fixing device 16 is provided on the left side of the cleaning device 15 in the figure. Further, an optical writing device 17 is provided on the upper side of the charging device 12. Then, a paper feed cassette 18 is detachably provided on the right side of the printer body 10 in FIG.

During recording, the paper feed roller 21 is rotated to feed the paper P out of the paper feed cassette 18, and the registration roller 19 conveys the paper P to the lower side of the photoconductor 11 at a proper timing. The surface of the photoconductor 11 is uniformly charged by the charging device 12 as the photoconductor 11 rotates, and the surface of the photoconductor 11 is read by the optical writing device 17.
The light is irradiated to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface, and the developing device 1
The electrostatic latent image is sequentially visualized when passing through three positions. Then, the visible image is transferred to the paper P by the transfer device 14 below the photoconductor 11. After transfer, clear the surface of the photoconductor 11.
While cleaning with the fixing device 15, the paper P is fixed to the fixing device 16
To fix the visible image. After that, recorded paper P
Are transported through the transport path 22, discharged by the discharge rollers 23, and stacked on the discharge tray 24.

By the way, the developing device 13 described above is shown in FIG.
It is configured as shown in. Reference numeral 25 in the figure denotes the main body of the developing device. The case 26 of the developing device main body 25 has a box shape that is long in the axial direction of the photoconductor 11, a developing window 27 is provided facing the photoconductor 11, and the developing roller 28 is partially exposed from the window 27. It is rotatably installed. In addition, the case 26
A transport member storage section 20 is formed in the transport member storage section 20, and a transport screw 29.
0 (rotary conveying member) is rotatably provided. A partition wall 31 is provided between the transport screws 29 and 30 to form a transport path 34 in the direction of the arrow.

Further, the developing device main body 25 has a pair of mounting ports 32, which communicate with the upstream position of the carrying path 34.
33 is provided in the case 26. Those mounting ports 32 and 33
Have a cylindrical shape, and are provided so as to project in the rearward direction opposite to the photoconductor 11 side.

Therefore, in the developing device 13 described above, the developing device main body 25 is provided with a developer accommodating container 35 as shown in FIGS.

The developer accommodating container 35 is made of, for example, a resin material and is composed of a toner accommodating portion 40 and a two-component developer accommodating portion 45, both of which have a longitudinal cylindrical shape. Then, the side surfaces of the toner storage section 40 and the two-component developer storage section 45 are aligned and integrally attached. Then, these storage parts 40
Mounting holes 36 and 37 are opened at one longitudinal end of the shaft 45, and shaft holes 38 and 39 are opened at the other end. Then, a toner transport coil 41 and a developer transport coil 42 are arranged in the toner storage portion 40 and the two-component developer storage portion 45, respectively.

The transfer coils 41 and 42 are coil portions 41a.
The base end of 42a is attached to one end of the gear shafts 41b and 42b, and the other ends of the gear shafts 41b and 42b are projected through the shaft holes 38 and 39, respectively, and the other end is rotated by a coil drive motor (not shown). Rotated transmission gears 41c and 42 to be transmitted
C is fixed.

At this time, according to the second aspect of the invention, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, while the outer peripheral projections 32a and 33a are provided on the outer peripheries of the mounting openings 32 and 33 on the developing device main body 25 side, the developer accommodating container is provided. Inner peripheral recesses 36a and 37a are formed on the outer peripheries of the mounting ports 36 and 37 on the 35 side. When the developer accommodating container 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25, the attachment openings 32, 33, 36, 37 are fitted to each other so that the outer peripheral projections 32a, 33a are engaged with the inner peripheral recesses 36a, 37a.
Then, the developer accommodating container 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25,
Separately, it is configured such that it is directly and detachably attached without using a connecting member.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, when the developer accommodating container 35 is thus attached to the developing device main body 25, the respective mounting ports 32, 33, 36 and 37 are sealed with a seal member to develop. Prevent the occurrence of agent leakage.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a circumferential collar portion 36b.3 is provided at the tip of the mounting opening 36.37 on the developer accommodating container 35 side.
7b is provided, while the mounting port 32 on the developing device main body 25 side
A seal member 50 is provided on the outer periphery of the base of 33. The sealing member 50 is made of, for example, an annular sheet material made of foamed polyurethane or the like, and is bonded to the case 26 at the outer circumferences of the bases of the mounting ports 32 and 33. Then, the mutual mounting openings 32, 33, 3
When 6 and 37 are fitted together, the seal member 50 is compressed to seal between the mounting ports 32, 33, 36 and 37.

When the above-mentioned laser printer is used for the first time, first, the front door (not shown) of the printer body 10 is opened, and the mounting ports 32, 33, 36 and 37 are fitted to each other, and the developer accommodating container. 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25.

After mounting the developer container 35, the front door is closed, the developer supply switch is turned on to drive the coil drive motor, and its rotation is transmitted to the rotation-transmitted gears 41c and 42.
c to rotate the carrier coils 41 and 42 in one direction,
The two-component developer is sent out from the two-component developer accommodating portion 45, is sent into the conveying member accommodating portion 20 through the mounting ports 33 and 37, and the toner is sent out from the toner accommodating portion 40.
It is fed into the transport member storage section 20 through the mounting ports 32 and 36.

Thereafter, at the time of image recording, the recording start switch is turned on, the screw driving motor (not shown) is driven to rotate the conveying screws 29 and 30, and the solid line in FIG. 1 is stirred while stirring the two-component developer. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet is conveyed in the axial direction of the developing roller 28 through the conveying path 34. Then, the toner is evenly supplied to the peripheral surface of the developing roller 28 in the axial direction, and the toner is attached to the surface of the photoconductor 11 by the rotation of the developing roller 28 to visualize the latent image thereon.

While repeating this developing process,
When the toner concentration sensor (not shown) detects that the toner concentration in the transport member storage unit 20 is below a certain value,
The toner transport coil 41 is rotated to replenish the toner from the toner storage portion 40 to the transport member storage portion 20.

After that, when the toner accommodating portion 40 is emptied and it is time to replace the developer in use, the fact is displayed on a display portion (not shown). Then, the in-use developer in the transport member storage section 20 is collected and replaced with a new one.

By the way, in the invention described in claim 4, when the in-use developer is collected in such a manner, the in-use developer is developed by, for example, changing the transport path 34 of the transport member accommodating portion 20. It returns to the inside of the agent storage container 35.

Therefore, for example, the transport screws 29 and 30 which are rotary transport members are provided in the transport member accommodating portion 20 so as to be rotatable in the forward and reverse directions. Further, the transport coils 41 and 42 are also provided in the developer storage container 35 so as to be rotatable in the forward and reverse directions.

When collecting the developer during use,
The developer recovery switch is turned on to drive the screw drive motor and the coil drive motor in the direction opposite to that at the time of supplying the developer. Then, the transport screws 29, 30 and the transport coils 41, 42 are reversely rotated in the other direction to change the transport path 34 in the direction shown by the dotted line in FIG. Then, the developer in use is reversely conveyed through the conveyance path 34, and the mounting port 32.
It returns to the inside of the developer accommodating container 35 from 3, 36, and 37, and is further conveyed by the conveying coils 41 and 42 to be collected. Then, after collecting almost all the in-use developer in the transport member storage section 20, the completion of collection is displayed on the display section.

After the collection is completed, the front door is opened and the mounting port 3
2. 33, 36, 37 are disengaged to remove the developer container 35 from the developing device body 25, and the new developer container 35 is attached to the developing device body 25 as described above. Supply component developers and toners.

By the way, in FIG. 3, the outer peripheral projection 32a is formed.
The developer accommodating container 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25 by engaging 33a with the inner peripheral recesses 36a and 37a. For example, the developer accommodating container 35 can be configured as follows and similarly without using a connecting member. Can be directly attached to the developing device main body 25.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, insertion flanges 36c and 37c are provided at the tips of the mounting openings 36 and 37 of the developer accommodating container 35, and the mounting openings 36 and 3 are provided.
A shutter 51 for opening and closing 7 is provided so as to be movable up and down. On the other hand, the mounting ports 32 and 33 on the developing device main body 25 side
And the through hole 32b corresponding to the insertion flange portions 36c and 37c.
・ Provide 33b. The through holes 32b and 33b are opened in the vertical direction in the figure, and shutters 52 and 52 for opening and closing the mounting ports 32 and 33 are provided inside thereof so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.
Then, the shutters 51, 51, 52, 52 are urged by urging means (not shown), respectively, and the mounting openings 36.3 are normally set.
7, 32, and 33 are stopped and held in the closed position to prevent the developer from leaking from the mounting ports.

Therefore, when the developer accommodating container 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25, the insertion flange portions 36c and 37c are provided.
To the mounting holes 32
・ Connect 33, 36 and 37. At that time, the shutter 5
The lower end surfaces of the No. 1 and 51 press against the shutter abutment portion 26a provided on the case 26 and move upward to open the mounting ports 36 and 37. Also, the shutters 52, 52 are
It is pushed down by the insert flanges 36c and 37c and the mounting opening 32
・ Open 33.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, when the developer in use is collected, the transport screw 29.
30 is rotated in the opposite direction to that at the time of supplying the developer, and the conveying path 34 is rotated.
By changing the value, the developer in use was returned to the developer storage container 35. However, the in-use developer may be returned to the developer accommodating container 35 by changing the transport path 34 as described below.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the developer is supplied, the conveying screws 29 and 30 are both rotated in one direction and are conveyed as shown by the solid line. On the other hand, when collecting the developer in use,
While the rotation of the transport screw 29 is stopped on the left side of the partition wall 31 in the figure, the transport screw 30 on the right side is rotated in one direction as it is. Then, the developer in use is dammed near the passage on the upper side of the partition wall 31 in the figure, and a part of it is pushed back to pass through the mounting ports 32 and 33 and the developer storage container 35.
It is sent inside and further sent by the rotation of the transfer coils 41, 42.

In this case, not all of the developer in use is collected, but such a part is divided into a plurality of portions and periodically collected from the conveying member storage section 20.

In this embodiment, for example, FIG.
The developer storage container 35 as shown in FIG. The developer accommodating container 35 has a bottle-like developer accommodating portion 45.
The toner storage portion 40 and the toner storage portion 40 are integrally attached by abutting the bottom portions thereof, and the transport coils 42 and 41 are arranged in the storage portions 45 and 40, respectively. Then, in the thin cylindrical portions 45a and 40a of the storage portions 45 and 40, the mounting openings 3 and 33 corresponding to the mounting openings 32 and 33 on the developing device main body 25 side, respectively.
6.37 are provided, and their mounting ports 32.33, 36.37
Can be opened and closed by the shutter 53.

By the way, in each of the above embodiments, the developing device main body 25 and the developer accommodating container 35 each have two mounting openings. However, in the invention described in claim 5, as shown in the following embodiment, each of the developing device main body and the developer accommodating container has one mounting port.

For this reason, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, in the developer container 35, the toner container 40 is formed in a cylindrical bottle shape, and the two-component developer container 45 is formed in an annular shape. The two-component developer accommodating portion 45 is integrally attached to the outer periphery of the thin tubular portion 40b to form an overall substantially cylindrical shape. Then, the mouths of the accommodating portions 40 and 45 are opened toward the mouth portion 45b, respectively, and a common mounting opening 60 is formed in the thin tubular portion 40b. And the mounting port 60
Is closed by inserting a cap 61 into it. Further, an annular seal member 62 that seals the mounting port 60 when the developer accommodating container 35 is attached to the developing device main body 25 is attached to the outer periphery of the thin tubular portion 40b.

Further, in the developer accommodating container 35, spiral protrusions 55 are provided on the inner circumferences of the toner accommodating portion 40 and the two-component developer accommodating portion 45, while the toner accommodating portion 40 is provided.
A gear portion (not shown) that meshes with a drive transmission gear (not shown) that transmits rotation to the developer accommodating container 35 is provided on the outer periphery of the.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
5, the mounting opening 65 corresponding to the mounting opening 60 of the developer accommodating container 35 is provided so as to project toward the side portion of the case 26, that is, the front side on the lower side in the drawing. Then, when the mounting port 60 is fitted into the mounting port 65, the developer accommodating container 35 is rotatably mounted via a bearing member (not shown). Then, when the developer accommodating container 35 is attached in such a manner, the drive transmission gear is engaged with the gear portion on the outer periphery thereof.

In this embodiment, at the time of supplying the developer, after fitting the mounting opening 60 into the mounting opening 65 to mount the developer storage container 35 on the developing device main body 25, the rotation of the drive motor (not shown) is changed as described above. It is transmitted to the developer accommodating container 35 through the engagement of the drive transmission gear and the gear part, and is rotated in one direction to send out the two-component developer and the toner from the mounting ports 60 and 65 by the spiral protrusion 55 and convey them. It is sent into the member storage section 20.

On the other hand, when collecting the developer in use, the drive motor is reversely driven to rotate the developer storage container 35 in the other direction. Then, the developer in use returned from the mounting ports 60 and 65 into the developer storage container 35 is transferred to the spiral protrusion 55.
Send it further to the back.

[0048]

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, instead of separately providing a toner storage container, an unused developer storage container, and a used developer recovery container as in the prior art, these In order to serve as one developer storage container, the developer storage container is formed of a two-component developer storage section and a toner storage section, and the developer in use is collected in these storage sections, reducing the number of parts. Can also,
It is not necessary to individually replace the container, and toner replacement and developer recovery work can be easily performed without trouble.

Further, according to the first aspect of the invention, since the developer accommodating container is directly attached to the conveying member accommodating portion of the developing device main body, the entire apparatus can be downsized, and the conveying portion can be conveyed to the conveying portion. Since it is not necessary to provide a screw or the like, the number of parts can be reduced accordingly.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the developer accommodating container is attached to the developing device main body by directly fitting the respective mounting openings of the developing device main body and the developer accommodating container without using a connecting member. The cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts by the number of the connecting members.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the developer accommodating container is attached to the main body of the developing device, the respective mounting ports are sealed by the sealing member, so that the development can be performed from the mounting port when the developer accommodating container is attached or detached. It is possible to prevent the agent and the toner from leaking and scattering.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the developer in use is collected, a rotary conveyance member for replenishing the developing roller with toner is used, and the conveyance path is changed by using the rotation conveyance member. With the configuration in which the developer is returned to the developer storage container, the developer in use can be collected easily and efficiently.

According to the invention of claim 5, the developing device main body and the developer accommodating container have only one mounting port.
It is possible to easily and accurately attach the developer accommodating container to the main body of the developing device, as compared with the case where there are a plurality of attachment ports.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1,
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the developing device as viewed from above.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a developer accommodating container provided in the developing device.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a connection state of the developer accommodating container and the mounting port of the developing device main body.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser printer including the developing device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the developing device main body of the developing device and another mounting port of the developer accommodating container are connected.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the invention described in claim 4,
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the developing device as viewed from above.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the invention described in claim 5,
FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a developer accommodating container included in the developing device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a part of a developer accommodating container and an internal structure of a developing device to which the developer accommodating container is attached, as viewed from above.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional developing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 13 Developing Device 20 Conveying Member Storage Section 25 Developing Device Main Body 28 Developing Roller 29/30 Conveying Screw (Rotating Conveying Member) 32/33 Developing Device Main Body Attachment Port 34 Conveying Path 35 Developer Storage Container 36/37 Developer Storage Container Mounting port 40 Toner storage unit 45 Two-component developer storage unit 50 Seal member

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electrophotographic apparatus for supplying a two-component developer and a toner from a developer accommodating container into a developing device main body while collecting a used developer in the developing device main body into the developer accommodating container. In the developing device, the developer accommodating container is configured by the two-component developer accommodating portion and the toner accommodating portion, and conveys the two-component developer in the axial direction of the developing roller to axially convey the toner to the peripheral surface of the developing roller. A developing device of an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the developer accommodating container is communicated with a conveying member accommodating portion accommodating a rotating conveying member to be uniformly replenished to the developing device body and directly attached to the developing device main body. 2. The developer accommodating container is attached to the developing device main body by directly fitting the respective mounting openings of the developing device main body and the developer accommodating container without using a connecting member. A developing device for the electrophotographic apparatus described. 3. The developing device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the developer accommodating container is attached to the developing device main body, a seal member seals a space between both the mounting ports. 4. The developing device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the in-use developer is collected, the transport path by the rotary transport member is changed. 5. The developing device for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein one mounting port is provided in each of the developing device main body and the developer accommodating container.