JPS63214784A - Developer recycle device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent toner from staying in a cleaning device by allowing a control means to control a carrying-in mechanism which carries a developer in a developing device from a recovery conveyance system and a supply mechanism which supplies a developer in the developing device, and driving them associatively. CONSTITUTION:A start agent and toner are charged in the developer storage part 15 in the developing device 7 before a unit is used. When a sealing agent 16 is extracted as shown by an arrow, the start agent is supplied toward a developing roller 20 and the toner is supplied to ward a carry-in roller 17 about a supply roller 18. Then when a copy switch is operated, a photosensitive drum operates and the developing roller 20 and agitator roller 19 are driven associatively to perform development. At this time, the rotation of a drum is transmitted to a carry-out spiral through a gear and further transmitted to a carry-out spiral through a gear and a screw gear to drive both the carry- out spiral and carry spiral according to the operation of the drum, thereby preventing the toner from staying.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention is directed to conveying developer into a developing device for the purpose of reusing the developer in the odor and cleaning devices of image forming devices such as copying machines and facsimile machines. The present invention relates to a developer recycling device.

(Prior Art) Generally, in an image-forming If device such as a copying machine, the developer remaining on the photoconductor after transfer is removed and collected by a cleaning device. A developer recycling device has been proposed that transports the developer in cleaning 5AM into a developing device.

Such a device includes a recycling means for collecting the toner in the cleaning device and directly transporting the toner into the developing device, and also drives this recycling means in synchronization with the main motor. be. However, in the case of such a structure, the recycling means is driven during the operation of the main motor and the toner is carried into the developing device, so the toner concentration in the developing device is not affected by the carried toner. It has the disadvantage that it is easy to control and difficult to control. In addition, in the case of such devices, a carry-in spiral is generally provided in the developing device as a means for carrying recycled toner into the developing device, but such a spiral is not connected to the operating center of the photoreceptor as described above. When the toner is rotated in the developing device, the toner in the developing device is excessively agitated, which may cause deformation or blocking of toner particles.

Therefore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-133480, a toner supply mechanism that supplies new toner into the current Ia device and the recycling means are linked, and this linkage is controlled according to the toner concentration in the developing device. An apparatus comprising means is disclosed. With such a structure, the recycling means is driven only when the toner supply mechanism is driven, and the development 1i! Since the recycled toner is carried into the container, the toner concentration can be easily controlled and excessive agitation of the toner can be prevented.

However, in the case of such a device, the cycle means is not driven when toner is supplied, that is, the toner inside the cleaning device is collected and carried out only when toner is supplied, so that the toner stays inside the cleaning device and such toner is This is disadvantageous in that it accumulates on the lower blade that blocks the pJM between the cleaning device and the photoreceptor, and its weight pushes the lower blade, creating a gap between the photoreceptor and the cleaning device. Further, there is also the problem that the toner that remains as described above tends to cause a blocking state within the cleaning device.

(Object of the Invention) In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides a developer recycling device that prevents developer from stagnation in the cleaning device and can appropriately carry and replenish the recycled developer into the developing ml storage device. The purpose is to

(Structure of the Invention) The present invention includes a photoreceptor, a developing lff1 as an image forming process means disposed around the periphery of the photoreceptor, and a cleaning device, and the developer stored in the cleaning device is In the developer recycling device that transports the developer into the developing device, there is a recycling passage provided between the developing device and the cleaning device, which communicates the insides of the two, and a recycle path (both of which are driven while the photoreceptor is in operation, and which are driven by this drive). a collection and transportation system that collects the developer in the cleaning device and transports it toward the development device through the recycling path; a carry-in mechanism that transports the developer transported by the collection and transportation system into the development device; and the development device. and a replenishment mechanism for replenishing the developer to the developing section side in the apparatus, and a control means for interlockingly driving the carrying mechanism and replenishing mechanism and controlling the interlocking drive. It is something that

According to such a configuration, since the collection and conveyance system is driven at least while the photoreceptor is in operation, toner does not stay in the cleaning device and is replenished! Since the ll structure and the carry-in mechanism are driven in conjunction with the 1lJIj means, the developer is carried in and replenished appropriately.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 5.

In FIG. 1, a document table 2 is provided on the top surface of an electrostatic copying machine body 1, and inside the body 1 there are a paper feed section 3, a photosensitive drum 4, a main charging device 5, an exposure device! ! 6. Developing device 7, cleaning device i! 8, transfer charging device 9, peeling charging device 1
0, a fixing device M11 and a paper discharge tray 12 are provided. The photosensitive drum 4 is connected to a drive shaft of a main motor (not shown), and is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow in the drawing.

The photosensitive drum 4, the developing device 7, the cleaning device 8, etc. are housed in a case as one replaceable kit, and can be assembled into a single unit U as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. It consists of

This unit U is installed in the copying machine so that it can be inserted into and removed from the copying machine while being guided by rails 1a and 1b. Furthermore, in this unit U, a developing device 7 and a cleaning device @8 are installed.
A cylindrical recycle passage 13 that communicates with both is provided on the side of the recycle passage 13, and within this recycle passage 13, there is a conveyance spiral (conveyance mechanism) that constitutes a recovery conveyance system together with a later-described discharge spiral (export mechanism) 33. 14 are provided.

The developing device 7 has a cylindrical communication portion 7a that projects laterally from the side of the case. A downstream portion of the recycle passage 13 is disposed above the communication portion 7a (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and the communication portion 7a and the recycle passage 13 are opened (a connection between the developing device and the recycle passage). portion) 22, and at the periphery of this opening 22, the wall member of the recycling passage 13 and the communicating portion 7
A sealing sponge 41 is interposed on the joint surface with the wall member a.

Current m device! 7 has a developer storage section 15 in its upper part. The developer storage portion 15 is open downward, and includes a starter storage portion 15a that stores a developer (starter) in which toner and carrier are mixed in advance, and a toner storage portion 15b that stores only toner. It consists of A sealing member 16 is provided at the bottom of this developer storage section 15. This sealing member 16 is folded back at its middle portion and attached to the lower part of the developer storage section 15, thereby sealing the developer inside the developer storage section 15. The tip of this sealing member 16 is led out through the slit hole 45 of the unit U, and by pulling this tip in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, the sealing member 16 is handled and the seal is sealed. It's about to be solved.

A carry-in roller (carry-in mechanism) is placed below this seal member 16.
17, replenishment roller (replenishment mechanism) 18, stirring roller 19,
and a developing roller 20 are provided, and furthermore, a developing roller 20 is provided on the path of the developing roller 20. A toner control sensor 21 is provided to detect the mixing ratio of toner and carrier in the developer in the cartridge 47.

The carry-in row 517 is located below the toner storage section 15b.
It is located upstream of the replenishment roller 18, and the front end of the developing device 7 is inserted into the communicating portion 7a from directly below the opening 22 to the opposite side surface thereof. Extends in the width direction. A spiral blade 17a is formed on the opening 22 side of this carry-in roller 17, and a spiral blade 17b in the opposite direction is formed on the opposite side, and a spiral blade 17b is formed in the axial direction in the intermediate part thereof. two extending flat plates 1
7C is provided. By being rotationally driven in a predetermined direction by a driving means to be described later, the toner is carried into the developing device 7 from the communication portion 7a on the opening 22 side, and a conveying force in the opposite direction is applied to the toner on the opposite side. It is supposed to be done.

The replenishment O-ra 18 is located below the boundary between the starter storage section 15a and the toner storage section 15b, and
It is in contact with the partition member 23 in the developing device 7 and the inner lower surface of the case of the present Ia device 7, and partitions the left and right portions within the present III device M7. This supply 0-518
By being rotationally driven, toner is replenished from the carrying-in roller 17 side to the developing roller 20 side.

The rear end portions of the carry-in roller 17 and the supply roller 18 protrude outside the case of the developing device 7, and gears 24 and 25 are provided on these protruding portions, respectively. A coupling gear 26 is provided between these gears 24 and 25, and the coupling gear 26 meshes with both gears.
A toner replenishing motor (not shown) is connected to the toner replenishing motor (not shown) via a control means (control means) 44. This III
l\A144 is the above toner control sensor 21
The interlocking drive of the carry-in roller 17 and the replenishment roller 18 is controlled according to the output of the toner replenishment roller 18, and the toner is replenished by this drive. The toner concentration within the device 7 is kept constant.

Similarly, gears 27 and 28 are provided at the rear ends of the developing roller 20 and stirring roller 19, and these gears 27.
A coupling gear 29 is provided between 28 and 28, and a predetermined drive source is connected to this coupling gear 29, so that the developing roller 20 is moved during development.
and stirring roller 19 are driven in conjunction with each other. In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 30 denotes a spike cutting plate that cuts the spikes of the developer on the developing roller 20. As shown in FIGS.

On the other hand, the cleaning device [8 is connected to the developer 1 and 7 at the peripheral edge of the photoreceptor drum 4 in the rotational direction of the photoreceptor drum 4.
It has a blade 31a that scrapes off the toner remaining on the photoreceptor drum 4 after transfer, and also comes into contact with the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 4 to prevent the scraped toner from spilling. It has a lower blade 31b that leads to the bottom. Further, this cleaning device 2 (8) has a cylindrical communicating portion 8a that protrudes laterally from the side of the case, similar to the developing device M7, and the lower part of this communicating portion 8a (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The upstream portion of the recycle passage 13 is disposed in the recycle passage 13 (see figure), and the communication portion 8a and the recycle passage 13 communicate with each other through an opening 32.

At the bottom of the cleaning device 8, there is provided a discharge spiral 33 for conveying the toner removed as described above to the recycling passage 13. The front end of this unloading spiral 33 is fitted into the communicating portion 8a&:, and further protrudes from the end of the communicating portion 8a, and a gear 35 is provided on this protruding portion. The rear end protrudes outside the case of the cleaning device 8 , and a gear 34 provided on this protruding portion is connected to a gear 43 provided on the shaft 42 of the photosensitive drum 4 . As a result, the unloading spiral 33 is rotated in conjunction with the photoreceptor drum 4, and the cleaning device! The toner in la is carried out toward the opening 32.

The conveyance spiral 14 in the recycling passage 13 is composed of a coil spring and the like, and includes the gear 35, an intermediate gear 36 that meshes with this, a threaded tooth ll38 coaxial with a gear 37 that meshes with this gear 36, and this screw [al138 It is connected to the discharge spiral 33 through threaded teeth 139 that mesh with the conveyance spiral 14 and are directly connected to the conveyance spiral 14, and is rotated together with the discharge spiral 33 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 4. This conveyance spiral 1
The shape of 4 is set so that the conveyance spiral 14 conveys the toner in the recycling path 13 toward the developing device 7 by the rotational drive.

The terminal end of this conveyance spiral 14 is located immediately in front of the opening 22, and the recycling passage 13 further extends from the opening 22 in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a void 1ffi 40 is formed in this portion. .

Next, the operation of the above device will be explained. First, regarding the usability of the unit U, the starter and toner are sealed in the developer storage section 15 in the developing device 7. From this state, move toward the seal part @1 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5.
6, the starting agent is supplied to the developer O-ra 20 side with the replenishment O-ra 18 as a boundary, and the starting agent is supplied to the developer O-ra 20 side, and
Toner is supplied to the side. Then, by operating the bee switch, the photosensitive drum 4 is activated and the current @0
- The roller 20 and the stirring roller 19 are driven in conjunction to perform development. At this time, the rotation of the photosensitive drum 4 is controlled by the gear 43.
．． 34 to the output spiral 33, and the rotation of the output spiral 33 is further transmitted to the gears 35, 36, .
37 and screw gears 38 and 39, and as the photosensitive drum 4 operates, both the discharge spiral 33 and the conveyance spiral 14 are driven to rotate.

After the development is performed in this manner, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 4 is removed by the blade 31a and stored in the cleaning device 8.

This toner is carried out toward the opening 32 by a carry-out spiral 33 interlocking with the photoreceptor drum 4 and fed into the recycling passage 13.

The toner sent into the recycling path 13 is transported toward the developing device 7 by the transport spiral 14 which is rotationally driven as described above. The toner thus transported is sent from the terminal end of the transport spiral 14 through the opening 22 into the communication portion 7a of the developer bag M7.

On the other hand, the carry-in roller 17 and the supply roller 18 are controlled by the output of the toner control sensor 21! 11wA device 4
By being driven in this manner, the carry-in roller 17 carries the toner sent to the communication portion 7a into the developing device 7 and replenishes it. The roller 18 supplies the developing roller 20 with a mixture of the toner carried in from the carry-in row 517 and the toner supplied from the toner storage section F 15b.

As described above, according to this device, during the operation of the photoreceptor drum 4, the conveyance spiral 14 constituting the recovery conveyance system
And since the unloading spiral 33 is being driven, the cleaning 1a! Toner does not stay in the I8.

Therefore, the lower blade 31b and the like are pushed downward by the accumulated toner, and the photosensitive drum 4 and the cleaning device N are pushed downward.
8 and the toner in the cleaning device 8 can be prevented from being blocked. On the other hand, the carry-in row 517 and the replenishment roller 18 carry toner! r! ! , because it is driven only when necessary, the toner density can be easily adjusted, and the developer bag! Excessive agitation of the toner due to rotation of the carry-in roller 17 in f7 can also be prevented.

Furthermore, if the carry-in roller 17 is provided upstream of the replenishment roller 18 as described above, recycled toner can be transferred to the developing roller 20.
Since the recycled toner is not directly transported to the side, there is an advantage that paper powder and the like mixed in this recycled toner are less likely to be mixed with the developer.

In the above embodiment, the recovery conveyance system and the carry-in roller 17 and replenishment roller 18 are driven by separate drive sources, but both may be connected to the same drive source via, for example, a clutch. However, both may be driven respectively by this drive source.

Regarding the drive of the recovery conveyance system, it is not particularly necessary to interlock with the photoreceptor drum 4 as described above, and there is no particular need to interlock the discharge spiral 33 and the conveyance spiral 14 with each other. The phrase ``drive at least while the photoreceptor is in operation'' indicates that the recovery and conveyance system may be driven during the period when the photoreceptor is not in operation, and the timing of the drive must be strictly controlled. It does not indicate that. Therefore, if the toner removed by the cleaning device w8 with the operation of the photoreceptor drum 4 is transported without being stagnated, the start of the drive of the collection and conveyance system will be delayed than the operation of the photoreceptor drum 4, or the drive will be delayed. It does not matter if it stops earlier than the photosensitive drum 4.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, in a developer recycling device equipped with a recycling path that communicates between a developing device and a cleaning device, the toner in the cleaning device is collected and transported to the developing device side. The recovery conveyance system is driven at least during the operation of the photoreceptor, and the current m1It is
The carry-in mechanism that carries the developer into the mHM and the replenishment mechanism that replenishes the developer in the mHM are carried out by l111m1 means while l! Since the toner is continuously driven, the removed toner is transported within the cleaning device without being stagnated, and the developer is appropriately carried into and replenished within the Gen III Elegy. In addition, since the loading mechanism is rotated only at appropriate times, the current
1! Excessive agitation of the developer within the chamber can also be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cutaway side view of the structure of a copying machine equipped with the toner recycling device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view of a unit equipped with the same toner recycling device, and FIG. A cross-sectional view taken along line I, Figure 4 is a broken side view of the above unit, and Figure 5 is
The figure is a cutaway side view of the developing device in the same unit. 4... Photosensitive drum, 7... Developing device, 8... Cleaning device, 13... Recycling path, 14...
- Conveyance spiral (conveyance mechanism), 17... Carry-in roller (carry-in mechanism), 18... Supply roller (supply mechanism), 3
3... Carrying out spiral (carrying out mechanism), 44... Control 5at (control means), U... Unit. Patent applicant Sanda Kogyo Co., Ltd. Agent
Patent Attorney Kosho Etsushi Patent Attorney Chief 1) Masamukai Patent Attorney Blackboard Yasuo Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A photoconductor, a developing device and a cleaning device as image forming process means disposed around the photoconductor, and a developer stored in the cleaning device is used to develop the developing device. A developer recycling device for transporting the developer into the device includes a recycling passage provided between the developing device and the cleaning device and communicating the insides of the two, and a recycling passage that is driven at least when the photoreceptor is in operation, and this driving causes the cleaning device to a recovery conveyance system that recovers the developer contained in the developer and conveys it toward the developing device through the recycling passage;
A loading mechanism for transporting the developer transported by the recovery transport system into the developing device, and a replenishment mechanism provided in the developing device for replenishing the developer to the developing section side in the same device, and the above-mentioned A developer recycling device characterized by comprising a control means for driving a carry-in mechanism and a replenishment mechanism in an interlocking manner and controlling the interlocking driving. 2. The developer recycling device according to claim 1, wherein the carry-in mechanism is disposed upstream of the replenishment mechanism. 3. The recovery and conveyance system is provided in the cleaning device, and includes a carry-out mechanism that is rotationally driven to collect the toner in the cleaning device and carries it out to the recycling passage; 3. The developer recycling device according to claim 1, further comprising a conveying mechanism that is rotationally driven to convey the toner from the cleaning device side toward the developing device. 4. The developer recycling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the collection and conveyance system is driven in conjunction with the photoreceptor. 5. The developer recycling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the developing device and the cleaning device are configured as a single unit.