JPS63132273A - Developing device for wet type electrophotographic copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To expand and disperse discharged toner particles and to enhance the dispersiveness of the toner particles by connecting a discharge member having a discharge port with a small diameter to a replenishment tank through a feed pump pressure- feeding the highly solid toner particles in the replenishment tank. CONSTITUTION:The discharging member 10 lies in a liquid developer in a developer tank 5F. Plural discharging ports 10a with small diameters are formed on the peripheral wall of the tank. An opening is formed on one end in a longitudinal direction, and the one end of a pipe 11 is connected to the opening. The other end of the pipe 11 is connected to the supplying pump 12 press-feeding the toner particles. The feed pump 12 is connected to the opening 13a of the toner replenishment tank 13. When the toner particles in the replenishment tank 13 is fed with pressure, a driving belt 22 drives a spiral roller 21, and the toner particles entering the discharge member 20 are pulverized by the spring vane 21a of the spiral roller 21 and discharged from the discharging port 20a. Thus, when the toner particles are bled off into the developer tank 5F from the discharging port 20a, the particles are expanded and dispersed in the developer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Technical Field) The present invention relates to an FGL image device for a wet-type electrophotographic copying machine.
In particular, the present invention relates to a developing device that is supplied with replenishment toner particles having a high solid content and having a dispersion ratio of 200 parts by weight to 1000 parts by weight with respect to 1000 parts by weight of a toner-carrying liquid.

(Prior Art) As is well known, in the developing device of a wet-type electrophotographic copying machine, a liquid developer is composed of toner particles and a toner carrying liquid in which the toner particles are dispersed, and this liquid developer is applied to a photoreceptor. Visible image processing is performed by bringing toner particles into contact with the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor and electrostatically adhering the toner particles to the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor.

An example of the above-mentioned developing device will now be explained with reference to FIG. 4 as follows.

That is, in FIG. 4, a charger 2 for charging a predetermined polarity is installed around the photosensitive drum 1 rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure.
．． Exposure device 3, eraser 4, developing section 5, transfer bag rX1
6 and a cleaning device 7 are respectively arranged.

The developing device 5 includes a developing container 5 which is close to the photosensitive drum 1 and has a supply nozzle 5a for supplying liquid developer at the upper part and a collection port 5b for the liquid developer at the lower part.
Ati- equipped.

Inside the developing container 5A, a plurality of first and second developing rollers 5B are arranged along the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum l.
, 5C and squeeze roller 5D.

The first and second developing rollers 5B and 5C are arranged close to the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 1 with a gap of about 1 m/m, and rotate in the direction of the arrow in the figure, that is, in the direction of rotation with the photoreceptor drum 1. It is rotatably provided. The squeeze roller 5D is located below each developing roller 5B, 5C,
the developing roller 5B in contact with the photoreceptor drum 1;
It rotates in the opposite direction to 5C.

Further, a scraper 5E is in contact with the circumferential surfaces of the above-mentioned developing rollers 5B, 5G and squeeze roller 5D.

In the vicinity of the developer container 5A, a developer containing a liquid developer composed of toner particles whose main components are resin and pigment, and a toner-carrying liquid whose main component is an aliphatic hydrocarbon in which these particles are dispersed is stored. A chemical agent tank 5F is arranged.

Inside the developer tank 5F, a pump pump 5G for pumping up the liquid developer toward @weiyong 55A is arranged, and the tip of the rotating shaft of this pump 5G is designed to pump liquid 15'!
It penetrates into the image agent and has a rotating blade 5G for pumping it up.

The pumps 5G and 15 are connected to each supply nozzle 5 of the container 5A by a pipe 5H, and one end of the pipe 5J is connected to the collection port 5b of the developer container 5A, and the other end is connected to the liquid developer in the developer tank 5F. It's getting inside.

Further, a concentration sensor 5K that detects the concentration of the developer in the developer tank 5F is connected to the pump 5G via a pipe 5, and the pump 5G is connected to a concentration sensor 5K that detects the concentration of the developer in the developer tank 5F. A pipe 5M for circulating the liquid developer into the developer tank 5F is connected thereto.

In such development, the liquid developer pumped up from the developer tank 5F by the pump 5G is supplied to the first developing roller 5B via the supply nozzle 5a. The liquid developer supplied to the first developing roller 5B accumulates between the scraper 5E and the first developing roller 5B, and is supplied onto the photoreceptor drum 1 by the rotation of the first developing roller 5B. The amount remaining on the circumferential surface of the roller 5B is scraped off by the scraper 5E and accumulated between the second developing roller 5C and the scraper 5E, and as with the first developing roller 5B, the rotation of the second developing roller 5C removes the photoreceptor. drum 1
Supplied on top. The developer remaining on the circumferential surface of the second developing roller 5C is scraped off by the scraper 5E and flows down to the lower part of the developing container 5A. At the same time, the excess developer remaining on the photoreceptor drum 1 is removed from the photoreceptor drum 1 by the squeeze roller 5D and flows down to the lower part of the developer container 5A. The developer flowing down to the lower part of the developer container 5A is transferred to the developer tank 5F via the collection 5b and the pipe 5J.
to return to.

By the way, toner particles in the liquid developer supplied onto the photoreceptor drum 1 from the developer tank 5F through the supply nozzle 5a of the developer container 5A have an electrostatic effect on the e-electric layer image on the photoreceptor drum 1. As the developer adheres to the developer and is consumed, the content in the developer tank 5F decreases. Therefore, new toner particles are replenished into the developer tank 5F.

When replenishing such toner particles, the toner carrying liquid is also replenished in accordance with the amount of toner particles to be replenished.
As a result, it is necessary to stabilize the concentration of the developer by keeping the mixing ratio of toner particles and toner-carrying liquid constant in the developer tank 5F.

However, when the image on the photosensitive drum 1 is, for example, a solid black image with a large area ratio to the original image, the amount of toner particles consumed increases, and at the same time, the amount of toner particles replenished also increases. The amount of toner-carrying liquid to be replenished also inevitably increases. Therefore, in the developer tank 5F, new toner carrying liquid is replenished in addition to the remaining toner carrying liquid, so that the toner carrying liquid may overflow from the developer tank 5F.

For this reason, conventionally, a sensor 5N (see FIG. 4) for detecting the liquid level has been provided in the developer tank 5F to regulate the developer storage tray in the developer tank 5F. However, in such a structure, if a small developer tank is used, the capacity of the tank is small, so when processing images with many solid black areas, it is necessary to replenish toner particles. Since more toner-carrying liquid is replenished, the replenishment device is stopped earlier by sensor 5N.
It has been difficult to secure a developer having a desired mixing ratio in the developer tank.

Therefore, in order to eliminate this inconvenience, in order to obtain a mixing ratio of toner particles with respect to the toner carrying liquid by only supplying a small amount of toner particles, 200 to 1000 heavy contrast parts 0 to 1000 parts by weight of the toner carrying liquid can be obtained. It has been proposed to supply toner particles with high solidity into a developer tank.

However, since these toner particles with high solidity also have high viscosity, the toner particles are generally dropped into the developer via a constant liquid level supply valve (chicken feed valve) used in the toner particle replenishment section. In the method of replenishing toner particles into the tank, the toner particles that fall from the counter valve may settle at the bottom of the developer tank or be unevenly distributed, making it difficult to achieve the desired degree of dispersion, or diffusion, in the developer. There was a risk that it would not be carried out.

(Information) In view of the problems of conventional developing devices, an object of the present invention is to enable good diffusion in the developer when replenishing toner particles with high solidity, and also to eliminate the overflow phenomenon of the toner-carrying liquid. The object of the present invention is to obtain a developing device for a wet-type electrophotographic copying machine that can be used in a wet type electrophotographic copying machine.

(Structure) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides for, when replenishing toner particles with high solidity, a liquid developer in a developer tank to a replenishment tank containing the toner particles. A discharge member having a plurality of small-diameter discharge ports arranged on the outer wall thereof is connected to the discharge member, and toner particles are force-fed to the discharge member by a supply pump used for replenishing toner particles from the replenishment tank. It is.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 shows a developer tank 5F from which the pump 5G in FIG. 4 is omitted.

The feature of this embodiment is that the discharge member located in the liquid developer in the developer tank is constituted by a pipe member having a concave cross-sectional shape.

That is, the discharge member 10 is located in the liquid developer in the developer tank 5F, and as shown in FIG. 2, the cross-sectional shape is set to a horizontally concave shape, and a space is formed inside to fill with toner particles. ing.

A small-diameter discharge port 10 is provided on the peripheral wall of the discharge member 10.
A has multiple openings.

The discharge member 10 has an opening 1 at one longitudinal end thereof. Ob is formed, and one end of a pipe 11 is connected to this opening 10b.

The other end of the pipe 11 is connected to a supply pump 12 for pumping toner particles, and the supply pump 12 is connected to an opening 13a of a toner supply tank 13 (see FIG. 1).

The toner replenishment tank 13 is located near the developer tank 5F, and contains 20 parts by weight of the toner carrying liquid.
It contains toner particles having a high solids content of 0 to 1000 parts by weight.

This toner replenishment tank 13 is mounted on a funnel-shaped tray 1.
4, the opening 13a is positioned downward.

Since this embodiment has the above-described structure, when replenishing toner particles, the supply pump 12 operates and the replenishment tank 13
The toner particles are then force-fed into the space of the ejection member 10.

The toner particles forcefully fed into the space of the discharge member 0 are discharged from the narrow discharge port 10a, expand, and diffused into the liquid developer in the developer tank 5F.

Next, a modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

A feature of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is that a spiral roller is provided inside the discharge member.

That is, the discharge member 20 has one end in the longitudinal direction connected to the first and second ends.
Like the discharge member 10 shown in the figure, it is connected to a pipe 11 and has a plate-like cross-sectional shape.

Further, a plurality of small diameter discharge ports 20a are bored in the peripheral wall of the discharge member 20.

A rotatable spiral roller 21 having spiral blades 21a on its outer peripheral surface is inserted into the discharge member 20.

This spiral roller 21 is arranged with its axial direction along the longitudinal direction of the discharge member 20, and a drive belt 22 is hung around a boob portion 21b formed at one end in the axial direction.

Since this embodiment has the above-described configuration, the supply pump 12 operates when toner particles are replenished. Then, by the operation of the supply pump 12, the supply tank 13 (see Fig. 1) is
The toner particles inside are forced into the discharge member 20. At this time, since the spiral roller 21 is also rotationally driven by the drive belt 22, the toner particles that have entered the discharge member 20 are crushed by the spiral blades 21a of the spiral roller 21, and are conveyed within the discharge member 20.
It is discharged from the discharge port 20a.

Therefore, when the toner particles discharged from the discharge port 20a are discharged from the discharge port 20a into the developer tank 5F, they expand and are diffused into the developer.

According to this embodiment, the rotation of the spiral roller 21 can be used to subdivide the toner particles.

Expansion and diffusion of the toner particles from the ejection port can be promoted by increasing the ejection pressure, thereby making it possible to improve the dispersibility of the toner particles in the developer.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, small-diameter toner particles are supplied to a toner particle replenishment tank via a supply pump that pumps high solidity toner particles contained in the replenishment tank. A simple structure of simply connecting a discharge member having a discharge port makes it possible to expand and diffuse the toner particles discharged from the discharge port, thereby improving the dispersibility of the toner particles in the developer. be able to.

Furthermore, by being able to replenish toner particles with such high solidity, only a small amount of toner particles need to be replenished, making it possible to suppress the increase in toner-carrying liquid and thereby preventing overflow of developer. It can be prevented.

In addition, by making it possible to supply toner particles with high solidity, it is possible to prevent the replenishment toner from dripping, which previously occurred, and to prevent staining of the operator's hands and the area around the IC. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a developing device showing an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is an end view of the discharge member shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an end view of the discharge member showing a modification of the main part of the embodiment of the present invention. 1... Photoreceptor drum, 5... Cursed image device [,5A・
...Developer container, 5a... Supply nozzle, 5F...
・Developer tank, 5G... pump, 10.2
0...discharge member, 10a, 20a...discharge port, 12...supply pump. 13... Supply tank. Figure 1 Figure Z Figure 5 Figure 4 Procedural amendment October 9, 1986 Name (674) Ricoh Co., Ltd. 4, Agent
Person 5, "Claims" and "Detailed Description of the Invention" columns 6 of the specification to be amended, Contents of the amendment (1) The claims are revised as shown in the attached sheet. (2) Add "toner particles" next to "parts by weight" in the second line of page 2 of the specification. (3) Delete "particles" in the third line of the second page. (7I) Add "r" next to "recovery" on page 5, line 17. (5) After "So," in the 6th line of the 6th page of the same page, the 1st page of the same page
Change the first line to the end as follows. "For example, the mixing ratio of toner particles and toner supporting liquid is 1
An ink type replenishment toner having a ratio of 1:89 is used, and the toner particles in this replenishment toner are mixed into the liquid developer to stabilize the concentration of the liquid developer. (6) The text from the first half of line 15 on page 6 after ``naru'' to before ``obey'' on line 16 of the same page is changed as follows. Therefore, in order to stabilize the concentration of the liquid developer, it is necessary to replenish the toner particles to compensate for the lack of toner particles.In this case, as mentioned above, the content of toner particles in the replenishment toner In contrast, since the content of the toner-carrying liquid is large, as replenishment toner is supplied into the liquid developer, the total amount of the toner-carrying liquid in the liquid developer will inevitably increase. ” (7) From “parts by weight” in the middle and second half of line 15 on page 7 to before “developing” in line 16 of the same page, “high solidity particles in which toner particles are dispersed are "Ink type refill toner". (8) "Toner particles" in lines 18 to 19 of page 7 and line 19 of the same page have been changed to "replenishment toner." (9) "Toner particles" in the first and second lines of page 8
be changed to "refill toner". (10) Add "in replenishment toner" before "toner particles" in the third line of page 8. (11) "Toner particles" in lines 9, 15, 19, and 20 of page 8 have been changed to "replenishment toner." (12) Page 9, lines X1 to 12 and 18
Change "toner particles" in the lines to "replenishment toner". (13) From after "parts by weight" in the 4th line of page 10 to before "contains" in the 5th line of the same page, ``replenishment of high solidity with toner particles dispersed by Toner”. (14) "Toner particles" in lines 9 to 10, lines 11, and lines 13 to 14 of page 10 of the same page are changed to "replenishment toner." (15) "Toner particles" in lines 16 and 19 of page 11 have been changed to "replenishment I/toner". (16) Same page 12, line 3, line 7, line 8, line 9, line 10, line 12, line 1.1, line 1.
(I7) Change "toner particles" in lines 1 and 5 of page 13 to "replenishment toner" in the middle lines of page 7, lines 18 and 20. Replenishment toner" The liquid developer (supplied to the developing section near the photoreceptor: 200 to 1000 parts by weight per 1000 parts by weight of the Zh etner-supporting solution) In a developing device that is replenished with toner, a plurality of small-diameter discharge ports are formed on the outer wall of the developer tank and located in the liquid developer. A developing device for a wet-type electrophotographic copying machine, characterized in that a discharge member is connected to the replenishment tank for storing the replenishment Z--ta via a supply pump. Procedural amendment, December 2+, 1986

Claims (1)

[Claims] A pump located in a developer tank containing a liquid developer made by dispersing toner particles whose main component is a resin or pigment in a toner-carrying liquid whose main component is an aliphatic hydrocarbon. In a developing device in which the toner particles are supplied to a developing section close to the photoreceptor by the toner particles, and when the toner particles are replenished, high solidity toner particles having a content of 200 to 1000 parts by weight per 1000 parts by weight of the toner carrying liquid are replenished. , a discharge member located in the liquid developer of the developer tank and having a plurality of small diameter discharge ports formed on the outer wall is connected to the replenishment tank containing the replenishment toner particles via a supply pump; Characteristics of the developing device of a wet-type electrophotographic copying machine.