KR100346714B1 - developer supplying unit for liquid electrophotographic printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The developing solution supply unit of the disclosed wet electrophotographic printer includes a stirrer having an impeller for stirring the developing solution in the developing tank, a supply pump for sending the developing solution to the developing unit, and a supply pump installed inside the developing tank to supply the feeding solution. And a mesh filter for filtering the developer, which is disposed under the impeller so as to be immersed in the developer. According to such a configuration, since the mesh filter is always immersed in the developer, it is possible to prevent the sludge or the like from drying up and clogging the holes of the mesh filter.

Description

Developer supply unit for a wet electrophotographic printer {developer supplying unit for liquid electrophotographic printer}

The present invention relates to a developer supply unit of a wet electrophotographic printer, and more particularly, to a developer supply unit of a wet electrophotographic printer in which a clogging phenomenon of a mesh filter for developer filtration is improved.

In general, in a wet electrophotographic printer such as a color laser printer, as shown in FIG. a laser scanner 21 for forming a latent image, a developing unit 20 for developing the electrostatic latent image by supplying a developing solution to the photosensitive belt 1, and a developing solution having a predetermined concentration range in the developing unit 20. A developer supplying unit 10 for continuously supplying, a drying unit 40 for drying the image developed on the photosensitive belt 1 in a state suitable for printing, and a transfer printing the dried image on the paper S. FIG. The unit 30 etc. are provided.

Among them, as shown in FIG. 2, the developer supply unit 10 includes a developer tank 11 containing a developer, a rotating impeller 13a that is immersed in a developer, and a rotating motor for driving the impeller 13a. A stirrer 13 having a 13b, a supply pump 12 for sending the developer to the developing unit 20, a mesh filter 15 for filtering the developer before delivery, and the like. Reference numeral 14 denotes a concentration sensor for measuring the concentration of the developer, and returns a part of the developer sent by the supply pump 12 to the developer tank 11 so that the developer passes through the concentration sensor 14. Measure the concentration of. At this time, the concentration of the developer is adjusted by appropriately receiving a high concentration of the developer or the solvent which is a carrier from the concentrated developer supply line 17 and the solvent supply line 18 with the measured concentration value. Reference numeral 16 denotes a drain valve used to drain the waste developer.

In the above configuration, while the supply pump 12 sends the developing solution to the developing unit 20, the mesh filter 15 filters foreign matter or sludge included in the developing solution, and the stirrer 13. Rotates the impeller 13a to maintain the concentration of the developer in the developer tank 11 uniformly, and also serves to remove sludge and the like adhering to the mesh filter 15 by the force of the water generated by the rotation. .

However, in the conventional configuration as described above, since the mesh filter 15 is erected perpendicularly to the developer tank 11, when the level of the developer in the developer tank 11 is lowered, foreign substances, sludge, etc. are exposed on the developer. This dries out. In this case, even after the developer is replenished and the water level is increased again, the mesh filter 15 is clogged so that the developer is not smoothly sent out.

Therefore, there is a demand for a developer supply unit having a configuration capable of solving such a problem of developer supply failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and an object thereof is to provide a developer supply unit of a wet electrophotographic printer having an improved structure so as to solve a developer supply failure caused by clogging of a mesh filter.

1 is a view showing a schematic structure of a wet electrophotographic printer,

2 is a view showing a conventional developer supply unit employed in a wet electrophotographic printer;

3 is a view showing a developer supply unit according to the present invention;

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

100 ... developer supply unit 110 ... developer tank

120 ... supply pump 130 ... stirrer

131 Impeller 132 Rotary Motor

133 Brush 140 Concentration sensor

150 ... mesh filter 160 ... drain valve

170.Concentrated developer supply line 180 ... Solvent supply line

190 ... Partition 191 ... Floater

191a ... Magnet

The present invention for achieving the above object is provided with a developer tank in which the developer to be supplied to the developing unit is stored, an impeller which is rotated in the developer in the developer tank and rotates to stir the developer, and the developer of the developer tank A developer solution supply unit for a wet electrophotographic printer comprising a supply pump to be sent to a developing unit, and a mesh filter installed inside the developer tank to filter the developer sent by the supply pump, wherein the mesh filter is the impeller. It is located below and is disposed so that the whole is immersed in the developer.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 shows a developer supply unit 100 of a wet electrophotographic printer according to the present invention.

As shown, the developer supply unit 100 of the present invention includes a developer tank 110 in which a developer is accommodated, an agitator 130 including an impeller 131 and a rotating motor 132 to stir the developer, and Supply pump 120 for sending the developer from the developer tank 110 to the developing unit 20, the concentration sensor 140 for measuring the developer concentration, and the mesh filter 150 to filter the developer to the supply pump 120 ) And the like. A feature of the present invention is that the mesh filter 150 is disposed below the impeller 131 so that the mesh filter 150 is always submerged in the developer. Therefore, even if the level of the developer is increased or decreased, the mesh filter 150 is always positioned below the impeller 131 and is not exposed to the developer. Therefore, the sludge or the like does not dry out and block the hole. In addition, in the present invention, the brush 133 is mounted on the impeller 131 to be in contact with the mesh filter 150 in order to reliably prevent clogging of the mesh filter 150. Therefore, when the impeller 131 rotates, the brush 133 rotates while sweeping the mesh filter 150, thereby reliably cleaning the contact portion, and also the portion not directly contacted by the brush 133. Since the developer flow of water around the mesh filter 150 is formed more intensely than before, it is possible to sufficiently suppress the sticking of sludge or the like.

Meanwhile, separately from the developer tank 110, a partition 190 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is installed. It is installed to prevent the error from increasing when the developer is being severely flown by the stirrer 130, and the level of the developer is measured by the predetermined sensor 193. The developer is calmly contained in a separate compartment. Floating the plotter 191 is attached to the magnet 191a detected by the sensor 193 there. To this end, as shown in FIG. 4, the opening 192 through which the developer is introduced is also formed on the opposite side not directly hitting the rotational direction of the water flow by the impeller 131. Therefore, even if the developer is severely flown by the rotation of the impeller 131, if the position of the floater 191 floating in the residual developer in the partition 190, the error of the water level measurement becomes small. Reference numeral 160 denotes a drain valve for draining the spent developer, and reference numerals 170 and 180 denote a concentrated developer supply line and a solvent supply line for adjusting the developer concentration in the developer tank 110, respectively.

Therefore, when the developing operation is performed, while the supply pump 120 supplies the developer from the developer tank 110 to the developing unit 20, the mesh filter 150 filters the developer, and the brush 133 The mesh filter 150 is cleaned according to the rotation of the impeller 131. And the concentration of the developer is measured by the concentration sensor 140, the developer level is measured by the sensor 193 the position of the floater 191 floating in the calm developer in the partition 190. In this case, since the mesh filter 150 is always immersed in the developing solution, the phenomenon in which the sludge is dried and the holes are clogged does not occur.

As described above, the developer supply unit of the wet electrophotographic printer according to the present invention can prevent the mesh filter from being clogged during the developing operation by arranging the mesh filter so as to always be immersed in the developer and cleaning with a brush. In addition, in measuring the level of the developer, the level of water can be measured from the residual developer contained in the partition, so that the measurement error can be greatly reduced.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that described above and illustrated in the drawings, and that more modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (4)

A developer tank in which a developer to be supplied to the developing unit is stored, an agitator immersed in a developer in the developer tank to rotate, a stirrer to stir the developer, a supply pump for sending the developer of the developer tank to the developing unit, and In the developing solution supply unit of a wet electrophotographic printer comprising a mesh filter installed inside the developing tank to filter the developing solution sent by the supply pump, And the mesh filter is disposed below the impeller so that the entirety of the mesh filter is submerged in the developer. The method of claim 1, The impeller is equipped with a brush in contact with the mesh filter, the developer supply unit of the wet electrophotographic printer, characterized in that the brush to clean the mesh filter in accordance with the rotation of the impeller. The method of claim 1, A developer supply unit of a wet electrophotographic printer, characterized in that a partition having an opening formed only in one side wall is installed inside the developer tank, and detects and measures the level of the developer contained in the partition with a predetermined sensor. The method of claim 3, And the opening of the partition is formed on the opposite side of the side wall directly hit by the developer flow of water returned by the impeller.