JPS6051876A - Toner recovery and reuse mechanism of copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stabilize image quality of a copy by directly recovering a recovered toner from a cleaner into a toner feed bottle and mixing it with a virgin toner. CONSTITUTION:When a recovered toner is reused, the gear 20 of the auger 19 of a recovered toner feeder 16 is engaged with the drive gear of the main body of a machine, and the toner receiving inlet 22 of the feeder 16 is connected with the end of a toner conveyor provided with an auger in the inside. The toner attached to the surface of a photosensitive body not used for transfer is scraped with a cleaner arranged around the body, conveyed with said conveyor to the feeder 16, and forced through the outlet 2 of the feeder 16 into the inside of the toner feed bottle 11 by the torque of the auger 19 to mix the recovered toner with a nonused toner to serve the mixture for reuse.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Applications) The present invention relates to an automatic toner collection and usage mechanism for a copying machine.

(Prior Art) In a conventional copying machine, an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photoconductor is developed by a developing device, and after being transferred to a transfer section, the image is transferred to the surface of the photoconductor. The untransferred toner adhering to the photoreceptor was often scraped off with a cleaner placed around one side of the photoreceptor, collected in a container, and then disposed of.

However, in recent years, in response to the demand for resource conservation, the untransferred toner scraped and collected by the cleaner is returned to the developing machine from the cleaner using an appropriate conveying device, and then used again for development. The number of copying machines is increasing, and in such a copying machine, for example, as shown in FIG. When returning the toner to the machine 3 using the toner conveying device, the toner is not returned to the toner supply bottle 4 of the surface developing machine 3, but is collected into the hopper 5 provided on the side of the bottle 4, and the toner is returned to the hopper 5. The toner is returned to the developing machine on the 3rd day, where it is mixed with unused toner supplied from the toner supply bottle 4 and reused. When this collected toner is returned to the developing machine for reuse, if the collected toner is simply returned directly to the top of the toner supply bottle 4, paper dust and other impurities will remain in the collected toner. , and this collected toner is sent to the toner supply bottle I4.
The unused toner filled in the circle does not accumulate on the top of the used toner, so the toner layer becomes double layer of unused toner and recovered toner, and this becomes a layer after long use. The purpose was to avoid such a situation, since this would have an adverse effect on the image quality of the final copy.

However, as mentioned above, the system is structured so that the untransferred toner is first collected in the hopper 5, and then returned to the developing machine to be mixed with unused toner and reused. The toner recovery and reuse device scrapes off the toner from the surface of the photoconductor 10 with the cleaner 2, since the amount of toner used for development is not constant depending on the mode of use.
While the amount of untransferred toner collected in the hopper 5 was not constant, the amount of unused toner supplied from the toner supply bottle 4 to the developing device 3FF3 was always constant.
While copying work continues for a long time, there will naturally be an excess or deficiency in the amount of toner used for development, and this excess or deficiency in the amount of toner will have an unfavorable effect on the angle of view of the final copy. (7) It has to be controlled appropriately depending on the quantity, and a mechanism for this is required, and since this mechanism is complex, it is prone to breakdowns, and it also has the drawbacks of increasing production costs.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional toner collection and reuse system described above. When returning the toner for reuse and compression, the collected toner is directly collected from the cleaner into the toner bottle, and at this stage of collection, the collected toner is mixed with the unused toner filled in the bottle. The object of the present invention is to provide a toner collection and reuse mechanism for a copying machine that enables the following.

(Structure of the Invention) For this purpose, the present invention provides a method for dispensing with the toner supply bottle on one side wall of the toner supply bottle and just above the dispenser roll provided on the bottle.
A guide tube is placed in the appropriate place, and a recovered toner feeding device with a built-in auger for toner conveyance is slidably added to the kite tube. Transfer toner is forcibly pushed into toner A (an unused toner filled in the supply bottle), so that both toners become a podium.

(Example) The present invention will be explained in detail below based on an actual example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional side view showing an embodiment of the toner recovery machine of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional front view of the discharge port portion of the same.

A developing machine arranged around one outer periphery of the photoreceptor 6 has a magnet roll 8, a paddle wheel 9, and a blender 1 inside it.
The developing machine 1 has a toner dispenser roll 11 connected to the upper part thereof, and a toner dispenser roll 12 arranged at the lower part of the bottle 110. is the same as before. However, on one side of the toner supply bottle 11, a through hole is bored at a suitable position in the upper part of the toner dispenser loaf L12.
~1%'+ of the guide tube 13 having an appropriate length is fixed, and the <ul end of the guide tube 13 is arranged in a flat VL protruding shape with the toner dispenser roll 12 in the toner supply bottle 11. Then, the ends are fixed in a truncated shape using ribs or the like. Then, annular #14°14' is provided at appropriate locations on both ends of this kite tube 13, and the sky is perfect! Annular urethane sealing materials 15 and 15' having an appropriate thickness are fitted into the grooves 14 and 14' to prevent toner leakage, and a cleaner (not shown) is fitted into the guide tube 13. A recovered toner feeding device 16 connected to the end of the piped toner conveying device is slidably attached. This JVI toner feeding device @1B has a cylindrical shape in which an aluminum pipe 17 and a plastic pipe 18 are connected, and an auger 19 is rotatably arranged inside the auger 19, and one end of the auger 19, that is, toner is supplied. An additional gear 20 is installed at a location located outside the bottle 11, and a plastic pipe 18 beside the gear 2o is installed.
A bearing 21 is provided at the end of the plastic vibrator 18, and a toner receiving port 22 is provided on one outer periphery of the plastic vibrator 18, and a stopper is provided on the outer periphery near the connecting portion between the vibrator 1B and the aluminum pipe 17. 23.

The present invention is constructed as described above. Its use in law) describes the river.

First, when reusing the collected toner, the toner feeding device 16 engages the gear 20 of the auger 19 with the drive gear in the machine body, and the toner receiving port 22 is connected to the auger from the cleaner arranged around one side of the photoreceptor. is connected to the end of the toner transport device that has a built-in toner transport device. Then, use a cleaner to scrape off the untransferred toner adhering to the surface of the photoreceptor.
The toner is transported to the recovered toner feeding device @161'-1 via the toner conveying device, and is filled into the toner supply bottle 11 from the discharge port 24 of the recovered toner feeding device 16 by the rotational force of the auger 19. The toner is forcibly fed into unused toner and mixed, so that it can be reused. At this time, annular flexures 15 and 15' are placed at appropriate positions on the guide tube 1308, and the urethane sealing material is elastically in close contact with the outer periphery of the aluminum vibe 17 of the collected toner feeding device 16. , toner will not leak or blow out from this guide tube 130 portion.

Also, when loading/unloading the toner into/out of the machine body of IQ 1% 7, the collecting toner inserting device @16 is inserted into the toner conveying device 1. ``All you have to do is remove part 11 from the toner receiving port 22 and push it into the toner supply bottle 11 up to the stopper 23 position.
The collected toner feeding device 616 is a toner container bottle 11.
[On the other hand, even though it is in one piece, it does not interfere with the work.

(Effect of rim light M(:) As mentioned above, the toner collection and reuse mechanism of the present invention is installed in a kite tube directly above the toner dispenser roll 12 of the toner supply bottle 11 and flat with it. 13
A recovered toner feeding device 1B having a built-in auger 19 for feeding toner is disposed in the guide tube 13, and the surface of the photoreceptor is scraped off by a cleaner using the recovery tree feeding device M16, and the toner is conveyed by a toner conveying device. The incoming toner is sent into the unused toner filled in the toner supply bottle 11 and mixed. There is no need to form a separate layer, and the recovered toner combined with the unused toner can be supplied to the developing machine T in the right amount by the toner dispenser roll 12 of the toner supply bottle 11. Therefore, there is no excess or deficiency in the toner used for development, and the image quality of the final copy can be stabilized without controlling the amount of unused toner. This mechanism for controlling the supply amount of unused toner is no longer necessary, and the structure is simplified accordingly, so the frequency of failure of the mechanism itself is reduced, and it is possible to provide a toner collection and reuse mechanism with low manufacturing costs. The recovered toner feeding device 16 in this mechanism can be pushed into the toner supply bottle via the guide tube 13 when loading and unloading the developing machine 7, so this work can be carried out smoothly. It is something to mourn.

It should be noted that there is no reason why the present invention should be limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. Not even one,

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram of the route around the washer dual light body of a copying machine that is equipped with a conventional toner recycle device, and Fig. 2 is a diagram of the route around the washer 2 light body of a copying machine that is equipped with a conventional toner recycling device. An example is shown in one side view of one of the parts,
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional front view of the discharge port section. In the figure, 6...photoreceptor, 1...developing machine, 8...magnetic roll, 9.lII+-paddle wheel, 1
0.I--Blender, 11.--Toner supply bottle, 12.. Toner dess benbu roll, 13.-.
・Guide tube, 14°14'...Annular groove, 15
．． 15'...Urethane roller dog, 16...Recovered toner feeding device, 1γ...Aluminum bike 618-
---Plastic pipe, 19...Auger, 20
-... Gear, 21... Bearing, 22... Toner receiving port, 23... Stopper, 24... Discharge port. Special agreement applicant Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. agent (6981) Akira Horikoshi (1 person)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (-911 of the toner supply bottle connected to the IJ developing machine)
In step 1, a kite tube is arranged at the upper part of the toner dispenser roll placed in the bottle, and a collected toner feeding device with a built-in auger for feeding the toner is added to the kite tube, and the collected toner is collected. The toner receiving port of the toner feeding device is connected to the end of the toner conveying device from a cleaner placed around the outer periphery of the photoreceptor, thereby supplying untransferred collected toner scraped from the surface of the photoreceptor by the cleaner. A toner collection and reuse mechanism for a copying machine, characterized in that it can feed unused toner filled into a bottle. +21 The recovered toner feeding device installed in the kite tube is made slidable so that the recovered toner feeding device can be pushed into the toner supply bottle when the developing machine is taken in and out of the machine body. A toner collection and reuse machine for a copying machine as described in item 1 above.