JPS60229071A - Developer supplementing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform relatively uniform developer supplementing operation by providing plural partition members in a container member which contains a developer and dispersing the developer so that the developer gathers at one place even when the container member slants. CONSTITUTION:Guide grooves 39 and 39 which guide a cartridge type developer hopper 38 and hooks 40 and 40 which hold the developer hopper 38 are formed integrally with both side frames 25a and 25b of a casing 25, and the cartridge type developer hopper 38 is held at a specific position securely. The partition member 60 which partitions the inside of the developer hopper 38 are provided in the hopper 38. This partition member 60 consists of plural partition plates 60a arranged integrally on the reverse surface of a lid body 59 at specific intervals and the developer (g) is dispersed in plural blocks even when the developer hopper 38 is slanted and never gathers at one place. Consequently, the developer contained in the container does not gather at the one place even when the container slants and relatively uniform developer supplementing operation is carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an improvement in a developer replenishing device capable of replenishing developer to a to-be-developed agent replenishing section of a developing device in, for example, an electronic copying machine, a laser printer, or the like.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Generally, in a copying machine, a laser printer, etc., a developer replenishing device is attached to a developing device, and an amount of developer commensurate with consumption is appropriately supplied to a developer-supplied portion of the developing device.

Usually, in this type of developer replenishment device, the developer replenishment port ze 6 is arranged such that the developer replenishment port d faces the developer replenishment portion C formed in the casing b of the development device a, as shown in FIG. By rotating the developer replenishment roller f, which is provided to close the developer replenishment port d of the developer hopper C, the developer (toner) gt in the developer hopper e - the developer to be replenished. It is designed to be released into part C.

In the figure, the developing roller is shown, i is a doctor that regulates the thickness of the developer layer adhering to the surface of the developing roller h, and j is a doctor who peels off the developer g adhering to the surface of the developing roller h and stirs it. This is a scraper that returns to the top of the roller.

However, in the conventional structure, the developer hopper e is completely fixed, and when the developer g in the developer hopper e runs out, the lid body that closes the top opening of the developer hopper e is fully opened. Developer g' is replenished from a separate container m. Therefore, when the developer GK developer is refilled inside the hopper, it may spill outside and fly up, staining the operator and the surrounding area, and in severe cases, contaminating other internal equipment. There are some problems.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems, the inventor of the present invention made the developer hopper a cartridge type, so that when the developer ran out, the entire developer hopper could be replaced. A device that can be easily and reliably secured without flying up or flying up is being considered.

However, when the developer hopper is of a cartridge type, there is a problem that if the developer hopper is tilted when installed in the developing device, the developer contained therein will be shifted to one side, making it impossible to perform a uniform developer replenishment operation.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a relatively even and uniform developer supply even if the container member containing the developer is tilted, while having an extremely simple structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a developer replenishing device that can be operated.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a partition member that partitions the inside of a container member for accommodating a developer into a plurality of parts, so that even if the container member is tilted, the developer contained therein does not accumulate in one place. of! It has a configuration that allows it to be distributed among locks.

[Embodiments of the invention]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 11. FIG. 2 schematically shows the entire structure of an electronic copying apparatus employing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 in the figure is the main body of the apparatus, and on its top surface is a document table 2 that moves back and forth in the left-right direction in the figure. is provided. A drum-shaped photoreceptor 3 is provided in the center of the apparatus main body 1, and around this drum-shaped photoreceptor 3, a charging device 1, an exposure device 5, a developing device 6, a transfer device 7, etc. A peeling device, a cleaning device 8, etc., which do not require cleaning, are arranged.

The exposure device 5 includes a fog light runno 9 and a focusing light transmission body 10.
Furthermore, the developing device 6 has a configuration in which a developer replenishing device 11 is attached, as will be described later.

On the other hand, a paper feed cassette 12 is inserted into the bottom of the apparatus main body J, and the transfer paper Pa in this paper feed cassette 12 is transferred one by one from the top one through a paper feed roller 13. The image is taken out and sent to an image transfer section 18 between the photoreceptor 3 and the transfer device 7 via a pair of carry-out rollers 14, a pair of registration rollers 15, and the like.

Further, a manual feed guide 16 is attached to the right side of the apparatus main body 1 so that the transfer paper Pb'fI can be manually fed, and this transfer paper Pb is transferred to the conveyance roller pair 17 and the registration roller pair 1'. Image transfer unit 1 via 5
8 is sent.

Transfer paper Pa or pb that has passed through the image transfer section 18
After being fed into the fixing device 20 via the paper conveyance path 19, the paper is conveyed to the paper ejection tray 22 via two pairs of paper ejection rows 21.

As the document table 2 moves in response to the print signal, the drum-shaped photoreceptor 3 rotates in the direction of the arrow, and a light image of the document (not shown) placed on the document table 2 is transferred to the exposure device 5.
A slit is exposed all the way through. Then, in advance, the charging device 4
An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original image is formed on the uniformly charged surface of the photoreceptor 3. This electrostatic latent image is developed by facing the developing device 6, and a developer image is formed on the photoreceptor 3.

On the other hand, in conjunction with the developer image formation operation on the photoreceptor 3, a transfer paper Pa that is automatically fed in advance from the paper feed cassette 12 or a manually fed transfer paper Pb passes through a pair of registration rollers 15 to form an image. The developer image is sent to the transfer section 18 and superimposed on the developer image, and the developer image is transferred to the transfer paper Pa or pb by the action of the transfer device 7.

The transfer paper Pa or pb to which this developer image has been transferred is peeled off from the photoreceptor 3 by a peeling device (not shown) and guided to the fixing device 20. After the developer image is fixed, the transfer paper Pa or pb is passed through the paper discharge rows 2 and 21. The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 22.

Further, the surface of the photoreceptor 3 after the first transfer of the developer image is cleaned by the cleaning device 8 and returned to the initial state.

Next, the configuration of the developing device 6 and the developer replenishing device 1 attached to the developing device 6 and replenishing the developing device 6 with an amount of developer gTr appropriate for consumption is shown in FIGS. 3 to 10.
This will be explained with reference to the figures. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the developing device 6 with the developer replenishing device 11 attached.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional side view thereof.

In the figure, 25 is a casing of the developing device 6. Inside this casing 25, there are provided a developing roller 28 and an agitating roller 29, each consisting of a magnetic roll 26 and a sleeve 27 fitted onto the magnetic roll. 28g, 2
At one end of the 9 m, a first plate is provided on the outer wall side of one side frame 25th of the casing 25 via a support shaft 30.
The second gear meshes with the third gear. Third driven gear 32.33
is now installed. Further, the first gear 31 meshes with a drive gear 34 provided on the apparatus main body 1 side, and when the drive gear 34 is driven, the sleeve 27 of the developing row 228 and the stirring row 229 are engaged with each other.
and rotate clockwise (in the direction of the arrow) in the state shown in FIG.

Further, a doctor 35 is provided at the bottom of the casing 25 corresponding to the developing row 228, and is adapted to adjust the thickness of the developer layer (magnetic brush) g' deposited on the developing roller 28. After the developer layer g' formed on the surface of the developing roller 228 passes through the contact portion with the photoreceptor 3, it is peeled off from the developing roller 28 via the scraper 36 and guided onto the stirring roller 229. At the same time, the scraper 36 is provided with a developer placement detector 37, which sends an operation signal to the developer replenishing device 1.

In addition, both side frames 25h, 25 of the casing 25
A guide groove 39° 39 serving as a hopper guide means for guiding a cartridge-type developer hook 238 (described later) of the developer replenishing device 11 and hooks 40 and 40 serving as a fixing means for holding the developer hopper 38 are integrally molded on b. The cartridge-type developer hopper 38 can be reliably held in a predetermined position.

Further, a drive system 42 of the developer replenishing device 11 is attached to one side frame 25h of the casing 25 of the developing device 6. That is, the drive shaft 43 of the motor 43 is attached with the motor 43 as a drive source.
A drive gear 44 is attached to a, and a driven gear 46 is provided which interlocks with the drive gear 44 via an intermediate gear 45. Then, the developer hopper 38 is attached to the hopper mounting portion 41.
When mounted on the developer hopper 38, a gear 48 attached to a support shaft 47h of a replenishment roller 47 as a developer replenishment means incorporated in the developing hopper 38 meshes with it.

In addition, 50 is a front seal that prevents the developer from scattering, and 51
．． Reference numeral 51 is a side seal, and 52 is a reed switch that operates as a magnet 54 attached to a developer absence detection lever 53 in the developer hopper 38 approaches.

Further, the cartridge type developer hopper 38 has a structure shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. That is, the developer hopper 38 has an entire hopper body 56 as a container member integrally molded with a plastic mold.
There is a developer filling port 56a as a developer supply opening, which is a large opening for introducing the developer g, in the upper part of the developing device 6, and a developer cover formed in the casing 25 of the developing device 6 is in the lower part. A developer replenishment port 56b is formed as a developer replenishment opening, which is a small opening for replenishing the developer g to the replenishment portion 49.

Further, the developer gT! is placed in the hopper main body 56 in a state where the developer supply port 56b is closed. : A developer replenishing roller 47 for quantitatively replenishing is rotatably provided, and a detection lever 53 to which a magnet 54 is attached is attached via a support shaft 57.

At one end of the support shaft 47h of the developer replenishment roller 47, the detection lever 53, which has been displaced to the developer-free position (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4), is temporarily displaced to a position where the magnet 54 does not affect the reed switch 52. A cam 58 is attached for causing this.

Further, the developer filling opening 56a of the hopper main body 56 is opened after the developer supply roller 47, the detection lever 53, the gear 48, etc. are installed, and then the developer g is inserted into the opening 56a.
At this time, the lid body 59 is completely sealed by adhesive g or welding. Therefore, this cartridge-type developer hopper 38, which is designed to reduce costs by minimizing the number of parts and making most of the parts plastic, can be used only once.

Further, the developer hopper 38 is provided with a partition member 60 that partitions the entire interior into a plurality of sections. This partition member 60 is shown in Figure 5! As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of partition plates 60a are integrally provided on the lower surface of the lid body 59 at predetermined intervals, so that even if the developer hopper 38 is tilted, a plurality of developers It is distributed among blocks so that it is not concentrated in one place.

Further, reference numeral 61 shown in FIG. 6 is an adhesive tape as a sealing member for blocking the developer supply port 56b and preventing leakage of the developer g, and this adhesive tape 7'61 can be easily peeled off. The developer hopper is 98 f! : It is designed to be peeled off in advance when it is attached to the hopper of the developing device 6 or the attachment section 41.

Further, 62 is a fixture for holding the detection lever that is slidably attached to the lid body 59, and is composed of a knob 62m and a hook 62b.

Moreover, FIGS. 8 to 11 show the operating state of the detection lever 53 for detecting the presence or absence of developer g. FIG. The detection lever 53 is floating on the surface of the developer g.

Further, FIG. 9 shows a state in which the developer g is empty, the detection lever 53 has fallen to the lowest position, and the reed switch 52 is attached to the developing device 6 side by the magnet 54 attached to the detection lever 53. is operated, and a display section (not shown) displays that there is no developer. FIG. 10 shows that when the detection lever 53 comes to the developer-free position even though there is still developer g, the developer is once pushed up by the cam 58 provided on the developer replenishment roller 47, and during that time, the developer is inserted under the detection lever 53 to prevent false detection.

Therefore, even if the detection lever 53 detects the absence of developer only once, it does not immediately display "No developer", but if the detection lever 53 does not detect the absence of developer several times or more than 10 times, it will display "No developer". "No developer" is not displayed.

In addition, FIG. 11 shows that the detector /4-53 incorporated in the developer hopper 38 is prevented from coming to a position where there is no developer due to vibration or falling during transportation or before it is installed in the Ponno f mounting section 41. 11 shows a state in which the developer hopper 38 is fixed via the fixture 62', and when the developer hopper 38 is attached to the hopper mounting portion 41, the fixture 62 is moved to the left (in the direction of the arrow) via the knob 62m in the state shown in FIG. Slide and flip 62
b from the detection lever 53, and all detection levers 53 No. 8
This will result in the state shown in the figure.

Note that the developing device to which the present invention is applied includes a developer (
A component developer may be used, in which only toner is used alone, or a two-component developer consisting of a developer (toner) and a carrier may be used.

Although the developer replenishing member is all roller members, it may be constructed of a slide plate, for example, and any member may be used as long as it can release a predetermined amount of developer.

Also, a partition member 60 that partitions the inside of the developer hole 38 into a plurality of parts.
A plurality of partition plates 60a integrally provided on the lower surface of the full lid body 59
. . . However, as shown in FIG. 12, it may be provided integrally with the hopper body 59, or as shown in FIG. It may also be inserted into the hopper body 56. In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, since a partition member is provided that partitions all the container rows for storing developer, the developer stored therein will not be concentrated in one place even if it is tilted, and it will be relatively This has the effect that a uniform developer replenishment operation can be performed without unevenness.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional developer replenishing device attached to a developing device, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic copying apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the entire state of one embodiment installed in a developing device, FIG. 4 is a vertical side view, FIG. The front view and FIG. 7 are exploded perspective views, FIGS. 8 to 11 are explanatory diagrams each showing the operating state of the developer detection lever, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are different embodiments of the present invention. FIG. g...Developer (toner), 6...Developing device, 11.
...Developer replenishing device, 38...Car) IJ type developer hopper, 47...Developer replenishing means, 49...Developer supplied portion, 56...Container member (hopper body) , 5
6h...Developer supply opening (developer filling port), 5
6b...Developer replenishment opening (developer replenishment port), 59
...Closing member (lid), 60...Partition member, 60&
...Partition board. Applicant's agent Takehiko Suzue

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a developer replenishing device that is detachably attached to the developing device and replenishes developer to the developing device, the developer supply opening is closed by a closing member after the developer has been supplied inside the device in advance. and a developer replenishment opening for replenishing the developer to the developing device, and a developer replenishment means provided in the container member and covering the developer replenishment opening. A developer replenishing device characterized in that the consumable member is a consumable member, and the interior of the container member is partitioned into a plurality of parts by a partition member. (2) The developer replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the partition member is integrally provided with the closing member. (3) The developer replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the partition member is integrally provided with the container member. (4) The developer replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the partition member is provided as a separate member inside the container member.