JPS6047588B2 - developing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a developing device for an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine.

For example, in an electrophotographic copying machine, a powder developer is supplied to a developing device to perform development.

However, since the above-mentioned developer is extremely fine powder, it is difficult to handle, and conventionally, there have been problems such as the developer scattering around when supplying the developer to the supply container or to the developing device. . Furthermore, the state of developer storage in the developing device and replenishment container is not necessarily uniform, and especially in portable copying machines such as personal types, the state of storage changes each time the developer is carried around, and the developer may be stored unevenly. be.

In preparation for such a case, it has been considered to provide a leveling means in the developing device, and in particular, in a personal type, a reliable leveling means with a simpler mechanism has been desired. Incidentally, in such a developing device, it is desirable to open the unsealed developer storage section by an operation from outside the device after it is assembled into the device, in order to prevent the surroundings from becoming contaminated.
For this reason, it goes without saying that it would be advantageous if the unsealing mechanism could also be used as a leveling means.

The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and includes a developing device that develops a latent image using a powder developer. A member is provided for sealing the developer in a storage container which is a storage container of the storage part, and the member is opened after being loaded into the copying machine to prevent the developer from scattering. At the same time, this structure also ensures the moisture-proofing effect of the developer, and furthermore, the unsealing means for unsealing the member includes a leveling member that makes the developer uniform in the developing device. By adding the above, it is possible to provide a developing device having a simple structure and a leveling means with excellent operability.

Therefore, the gist of the present invention is to provide a rod-shaped member extending in the longitudinal direction of a rectangular opening on the lower side of the developer storage which is sealed and closed with a sheet-shaped sealing member. At the same time,
An unsealing member for cutting off the sealing member and a developer leveling member are assembled to this rod-shaped member, and by a constant rotation operation of the rod-shaped member and a movement operation in the longitudinal direction that also serves as a leveling operation. The developing device is characterized in that it has a sealing member opening mechanism in which the sealing member is connected to the double door opening mode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention, which is a personal copying machine emphasizing portability, will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the main body of a personal type copying machine, and reference numeral 1 denotes a document mounting table made of a transparent member, which reciprocates in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in the figure).

Reference numeral 2 denotes a short-focus small-diameter imaging element array, and the original image placed on the original platen 1 is slit-exposed onto the photosensitive drum 3 via this element array.

A charger 4 charges the photosensitive drum 3 uniformly.

The uniformly charged drum 3 is exposed to an image by the element array 2 to form an electrostatic image. Next, the image is visualized by the developing device 5 according to the present invention. On the other hand, the transfer paper P is fed onto the drum 3 by a paper feed roller 6 and a registration roller 7 that rotates at a timing such that it registers with the image on the photosensitive drum 3, and then is photosensitive by a transfer charger 8. The toner image on drum 3 is transferred onto transfer paper. Thereafter, the transfer paper P is separated from the drum 3 and guided by a guide 9 to a fixing device 10 where the toner image on the transfer paper is fixed, and then discharged onto a tray 12 by a paper discharge roller 11. In this embodiment, the drum 3, the charger developing device 5
The cleaning device 13 is integrated with the main body to form a removable process kit, and maintenance is simplified by integral replacement.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the developing device 5, with FIG. 2A showing the state before opening and FIG. 2B showing the state when the developing device 5 is opened.

FIG. 3 also shows a portion of a front sectional view of the developing device 5, in which FIG. 3A shows the state before opening, and FIG. 3B shows the state after opening. In these figures, the inside of the developing device 5, which is a hopper-shaped container with a developing sleeve 14 disposed below, forms a developer storage section partitioned off by a sheet 16 at the upper side.

The sheet 16 is preferably made of a material that is moisture-proof and easy to tear. A D-cut rod member 17 is disposed along the longitudinal direction on the lower surface of the storage portion, one end of which is inserted through the side wall c of the hopper container, and a handle 18 is provided on the outside. The rod-shaped member 17 in the hopper container includes a needle-shaped opening member 21 for unsealing the sheet 16 in the longitudinal direction, and a needle-shaped opening member 21 for unsealing the sheet 16 in the longitudinal direction.
6. The rod-shaped member 1 is engaged with the needle-shaped opening members 22a and 22b for opening both ends in the longitudinal direction in the lateral direction and the guide groove 19 formed in the longitudinal direction of the inner wall of the hopper container.
A leveling member 23 is arranged which can slide along with the movement. Further, the insertion portion between the rod-shaped member 17 and the hopper container is sealed with a sealing member 20 such as maltplane. The above configuration describes the state before use of the device in which the developer is stored in the partition sheet 16. After that, by rotating and pulling out the handle 18 outside the device, the opening members 21 and 22a described above are opened. , 22b work together to cut the sheet 16 and operate it so that it hangs downward in a double-opened shape.

Next, the procedure for opening this sheet 16 will be described.

Before opening, the blade-shaped portions of the opening members 21, 22a, 22b are in a waiting state below the sheet 16 as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A. When the operator rotates the handle 18 by a predetermined amount, the unsealing members 22a and 22b cut both ends of the sheet 16 in the lateral direction, and at the same time, the rotation of the unsealing member 21 is restricted so that it stops at the center of the sheet 16. ing. The rotation amount (range) may be set by an appropriate means (not shown). At this time, the leveling member 23 is
7 is maintained in a rotationally free relationship. Next, by pulling out the handle 18 (see FIG. 3B), the unsealing member 21 is moved with the sheet 1.
The center of the sheet 16 is cut in the longitudinal direction, and the developer remaining on the sheet 16 falls into the hopper. By tearing the center of this sheet 16, the torn sheet is divided into left and right sides and hangs down in a double-fold shape. With the above operations, sheet 1
6 is completed, the developer in the reservoir is dropped into the developing sleeve 14 position and becomes ready for development.

Further, the rod-shaped member 17 is stored in the container by pushing the handle 18, and its rotation is locked in a position where it does not interfere with the sheet 16, which is hanging down as shown in FIG. 2B. As a result, the following benefits can be obtained during stirring operations.

In other words, the leveling of the developer is performed by pulling out the rod-shaped member 17, and the leveling member 23 leveling out the developer staying above the developing sleeve 14 in the longitudinal direction, so that the developer is unevenly banded. Even when there is a developing sleeve 14
However, during this leveling operation, the sheet 16 is not torn into pieces, and therefore, the problem of poor stirring due to the torn pieces interfering with the leveling member 23 occurs. Moreover, it is possible to obtain the advantage that the inside of the developing device is not contaminated. As explained above, according to the present invention, the operator can unseal the sheet inside the developing device by simply rotating the handle and pulling it toward the user, and there is no fear of developer scattering. Since the sheet that has been removed does not come into contact with the unsealing member again, there is no contamination such as tearing of the sheet, and the break-in process can be performed more easily and safely. The back-and-forth operation can more effectively uniformize the developer.Especially with personal type copying machines, which are often carried around, the developer tends to be uneven, but the above operation is performed before copying. For example, its usefulness is extremely great, as it can very easily and reliably eliminate the above-mentioned bias and contribute to good development.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a personal type copying machine as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a developing device showing an embodiment of the present invention. B shows the sheet before the sheet is opened, and B shows the sheet when the sheet is opened. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the developing device, and FIG. 3A shows the state before the package is opened, and FIG. 3B shows the state when the package is opened. 1: Original table, 2: Element array, 3: Photosensitive drum, 4: Charger, 5:
Developing device, 6: Paper feed roller, 7: Registration roller, 8:
Transfer charger, 9: Guide, 10: Fixing device, 11: Paper ejection roller, 12: Tray, 13: Cleaning device, 14
:Developing sleeve, 16: Sheet, 17: Rod-shaped member, 18
: Handle, 19: Guide groove, 20: Seal member, 21: Unsealing member, 22a, 22b: Unsealing member, 23: Leveling member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a developing device for developing a latent image with a powder developer, the developing device includes a developer storage section that stores the developer and a developer supply section that supplies the developer to the latent image. a sheet-shaped sealing member that is integrally provided between the storage section and the supply section and seals the developer in the storage section; an opening member which cuts the sealing member in a double-door shape by a moving operation in the direction and a rotating operation, and connects the storage section and the supply section to drop the developer into the developer supply section; A developing device comprising: a rod-shaped member attached with a leveling member that smoothes out the developer unevenly staying in the developer supply section in the longitudinal direction by a moving operation.