KR20000032859A - System for preventing ink leakage of developing tray for wet electronic photographic printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system for preventing ink leakage of developing tray for wet electronic photographic printer is provided to prevent pollution of the lower part of the printer main body due to the developing solution when the developing tray is substituted or repaired by adjusting the position of the tray with relation to the discharge part with elastic spring. CONSTITUTION: A system for preventing ink leakage of developing tray for wet electronic photographic printer includes a chassis mounted on a main body of a printer(42), a developing tray(52) having a discharge part removably mounted at a bottom part thereof for receiving developing solution remained after the developing procedure in a developing unit(44) to discharge the remained developing solution, a drain tray(62) mounted at the chassis for draining the developing solution discharged from the discharge part to a circulation tank, and a lifting element(66) mounted at the developing tray and the chassis for lifting the discharge part for blocking flow of the residual developing solution in the discharge part when removing the developing tray from the drain tray and for lowering the discharge part for discharge the developing solution when the developing tray is mounted in the discharge part.

Description

Ink leakage prevention system of developing tray for wet electrophotographic printer

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wet electrophotographic printer, and in particular, a phenomenon for a wet electrophotographic printer in which the structure is improved to prevent leakage of ink contained in the developing tray when the developing tray attached to the developing unit is attached to or detached from the printer body. An ink leakage prevention system of a tray.

In general, a wet electrophotographic printing machine such as a laser printer or a copying machine develops a developer mixed with a solid toner having a predetermined color and a liquid carrier having a solvent function in an electrostatic latent image region formed on a photosensitive medium such as a photosensitive belt. It is a kind of image forming apparatus that obtains an image.

1, the developing roller 12, the cleaning roller 14, the squeeze roller 16, the blade 18, the manifold 20, the developing tank 22, and the developing tray (shown in FIG. 1). A developing unit 26 having 24, and a circulation tank 28 under the developing unit 26 are provided.

The circulation tank 28 receives the concentrated ink and the liquid carrier from the ink tank or the carrier tank not shown through the developer supply port 30 to form a predetermined developer. The developing solution in the circulation tank 28 is supplied to the developing unit 26 by the pump 32 and the valve 34, and the manifold 20 installed in the developing unit 26 has a photosensitive medium 36 and a developing roller ( 12) The developer is injected into the developing gap G formed therebetween. The developer thus sprayed is developed by being attached to the photosensitive medium 36 by a difference in surface energy between the photosensitive medium 36 and the developing roller 12. Meanwhile, the developing solution used around the developing roller 12 in the developing process by the developing roller 12 is cleaned by the cleaning roller 14 and accommodated in the developing tank 22. Developers squeezed by the developer or squeeze roller 16 in this developing tank 22 and scratched by the blades 18 are collected at the bottom of the developing tray, and the collected developers are collected again through the predetermined path 38. Recovered to the circulation tank 28.

However, some components in the developing unit 26, for example, the developing roller 12, the cleaning roller 14, the squeeze roller 16, etc., are broken, or the spray angle or the spray height of the manifold 20 is abnormal. In this case, the whole developing unit 26 should be separated from the main body of the printer and repaired or replaced.

According to the prior art, in the printing machine of the above-described configuration, not only is the operation of separating the developing unit () from the main body of the printer easier, but even if it is removed, the remaining developer accumulated in the discharge port 24a of the developing tray 24 has been removed. It is inconvenient because it falls to other installation space of the main body. In particular, when such a developer falls into the optical system of a laser unit not shown in the surroundings, damage to expensive equipment is enormous, resulting in huge losses.

On the other hand, in order to reduce the overall system size of the main body of the printer, the above-described structure of the printing unit, which is arranged up and down the developing unit and the circulation tank is now in a situation difficult to be effective anymore.

In consideration of this, the compact structure that separates the developing unit and the circulation tank into the front and the rear of the printing press main body, and when the developing tray is separated from the printing press main body to replace or repair the developing unit, the developer inside the developing unit As a way of preventing the printer from flowing into the printer, a structure has been adopted in which the bottom of the developing tray is inclined and a quick valve is provided at the bottom of the inclined surface. However, this method also requires a separate valve opening and closing device for opening and closing of the quick valve, the structure is complicated, there is a problem in that the cost is high.

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above problems, and when the developer tray is removed from the printer main body for replacement or repair of the developer unit, the structure is improved so that the ink in the developer tray does not damage other parts around the developer unit. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink leakage preventing system of a developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printing press.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a view schematically showing a configuration of a developing unit and a circulation tank portion for a conventional wet electrophotographic printer.

Figure 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an ink leakage prevention system of a developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of the ink leakage preventing system of FIG. 2, in which FIG. 3 shows a state before completion of bonding of the developing tray to the chassis, and FIG. 4 shows a state after completion of bonding thereof.

5 is a perspective view schematically showing an ink leakage preventing system of a developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 and 7 are cross-sectional views of the ink leakage preventing system of FIG. 5, FIG. 6 shows a state before the developing tray is coupled to the chassis, and FIG. 7 shows a state after the coupling is completed.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

42.Printer body 44.Developer unit 46.Circulation tank

48 Developing unit 50 ... Chassis 52 Developing tray

54 Exhaust 56 Photosensitive media 58 Developer drain tray

60.Seat 62 ... Drain 64 ... Path

66 Discharge lifting means 68 Bellows tube 70 Coil spring

72 Guide member 74 Contact plate 76 Guide member

102 Exhaust opening and closing means 104 Packing holder 106 Packing member

108 ... spring member 110 ... push member 112 ... rib

114.Hinge shaft 116.Outlet

The present invention for achieving the above object, the chassis installed in the printer main body; A developing tray installed on a bottom surface of the developing unit so as to be detachable from the main body of the printer, the developing tray accommodating the remaining developer developed in the developing unit, and having a discharge part for discharging the contained developer; A developer drain tray installed in the chassis to drain the developer discharged from the developer tray into a circulation tank; And when the developer tray is detached from the developer drain tray, the discharge unit is raised to block the outflow of residual developer in the developer tray, and when the developer tray is attached to the developer drain tray, the developer is lowered to discharge the developer. And discharge discharge lowering means installed in the developing tray and the chassis.

Here, the discharge portion lifting means: a bellows tube provided between the developing tray and the discharge portion so that the discharge portion can flow to the developing tray; Elastic means installed between the developing tray and an upper end of the discharge unit and elastically biasing the discharge unit to be raised toward the developing tray; And guide means installed between the developer drain tray and the discharge part and guiding the discharge part when the developing tray is seated or detached from the developer drain tray.

The guide means may include: a pressure plate installed to protrude from the developer drain tray; And a guide member installed at a lower end of the discharge part so as to form a predetermined angle with a length direction of the discharge part, and when the developing tray is attached to or detached from the printer main body, the guide member slides on the pressure plate while raising and lowering the discharge part. do.

According to another feature of the invention, the packing holder is installed to be rotatable on the rib extending on one side of the discharge portion; A packing member installed in the packing holder to selectively open and close the outlet formed at the distal end of the packing holder by a rotational motion of the packing holder; And a rotation means for rotating the packing holder with respect to the rib.

Here, the rotating means may include: a spring member installed on a hinge shaft of the rib to elastically bias the packing holder in a direction in which the packing member seals the outlet; And a push member installed in the chassis so that the packing holder can be unbiased in a direction to overcome the elastic force of the spring member when the developing tray is coupled to the developer drain tray.

Hereinafter, an ink leakage prevention system of a developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 2, which is a perspective view schematically showing a system for preventing ink leakage of a developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printing press according to an embodiment of the present invention, the developing unit 44 and the circulation tank 46 may be formed in the main printer body 42. ) Is provided with a chassis 50 for vertically partitioning the developer supply unit 48. At the bottom of the developing unit 44, a developing tray 52 is provided to be attached to and detached from the printer main body 42. The developing tray 52 accommodates the developer remaining after being developed in the developing unit 44 using the developer supplied from the circulation tank 46. In addition, the developing tray 52 is provided with a discharge part 54 for discharging the developer contained therein at the bottom thereof. The bottom of the developing tray 52 is formed to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the width direction of the photosensitive medium 56 so that the developer injected in the width direction of the photosensitive medium is driven to the lowermost end of the inclination. Therefore, the discharge part 54 is naturally provided at the bottom end in the inclined direction of the developing tray 52. Meanwhile, all of the components described with reference to FIG. 1 are installed inside the developing tray 52.

The developer drain tray 58 is installed at one side of the chassis 50. The developer drain tray 58 has a function of causing the discharge portion 54 of the developer tray 52 to contact or separate from the developer drain tray 58 when the developer tray 52 is attached to or detached from the printer main body 42. Have Accordingly, the developer drain tray 58 is provided with a seating part 60 on which the discharge part 54 can be mounted, and a drain part 62 that is in communication with the circulation tank 46 is formed at the bottom thereof. The drain portion 62 communicates with the inlet port 46a formed in the circulation tank 46 by a predetermined path 64.

A discharge lift lowering means 66 is provided between the developing tray 52 and the chassis 50. The discharge unit lowering and lowering means 66 raises the discharge portion 54 to block the outflow of the remaining developer in the developing tray 52 when the developer tray 52 is detached from the developer drain tray 58. When the developing tray 52 is attached to the 58, the discharge part 54 is lowered so that the developing solution can be discharged. The discharge lifting unit 66 is provided with a bellows tube 68, coil spring 70, guide means (72).

The bellows tube 68 is installed to connect between the developing tray 52 and the discharge section 54 so that the discharge section 54 can move relative to the developing tray 52. The coil springs 70 are respectively installed on the upper ends of the developing tray 52 and the discharge part 54, and elastically biased so that the discharge part 54 is raised toward the developing tray 52 side. The guide means 72 is provided with a pressure plate 74 provided in the developer drain tray 58, and a guide member 76 provided at the lower end of the discharge portion 54, and the developing tray 52 is connected to the developer drain tray 58. It is for guiding the discharge part 54 when it is seated or detached. Here, the pressure plate 74 is installed so as to protrude from the developer drain tray 58, the guide member 76 is provided to form a predetermined angle with the longitudinal direction of the discharge portion 54 at the lower end of the discharge portion (54). Therefore, when the developing tray 52 is mounted and detached from the developer drain tray 58, the guide member 76 is pushed and slid by the pressure plate 74, and such pressing force overcomes the elastic force of the coil spring 52. By the inclination of the guide member 76, the discharge portion 54 can be raised and lowered relative to the developing tray 52. At this time, the bellows tube 68 is appropriately deformed.

The operation of the ink leakage preventing system of the developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printer according to an embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the coil spring 70 provided at the tip of the developing tray 52 and the discharge part 54 elastically biases the discharge part 54 in the direction of arrow “A” of the drawing. This state may be a developing tray of a new developing unit 44 to be installed in the printer main body, or may be a developing tray completed by repair. In this state, the discharge part 54 of the developing tray 52 is seated on the seating part 60 of the developing solution drain tray 58, and then the developing tray 52 is further brought into close contact with the arrow " B " direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the guide member 76 is pressed by the pressure plate 72, and the coil spring 70 is extended by the pressing force thereof, and thus the bellows tube 68 is deformed and discharged. The part 54 is rotated in the direction of arrow "A". Accordingly, the discharge portion 54 from the developing tray 52 toward the developer drain tray 58 is inclined to a predetermined angle, so that the developer in the developing tray 52 passes through the discharge portion 54 to the developer drain tray 58. It can be discharged to In this state, the developing tray 52 is fixed to the chassis 50 by the fastening means not shown. Then, the developer accumulated in the developing tray 52 by the developing operation may be discharged to the circulation tank (46 in FIG. 2) through the discharge part 54 and the developer drain tray 58.

Next, when some component parts of the developing unit are abnormal, and the repairing unit is to be repaired, the fastening means are disassembled to facilitate the detachment of the developing tray 52 from the chassis 50, and then the arrow " The developing tray 52 is moved in the direction B ". Then, as the guide member 74 pressed by the pressure plate 74 slides backward, the tip of the discharge portion 54 gradually rises vertically by the elastic force of the coil spring 70.

Next, when the developing tray 52 is further moved in the direction of arrow “C” in FIG. 3 to completely separate the developing tray 52 from the chassis 50, the tip of the discharge part 54 is positioned at the position of the bellows tube 68. By being placed at a higher position, residual developer in the developing tray 52 can be prevented from being discharged through the discharge part 54. Therefore, when the developing tray 52 is moved in this state, the developing tray 52 can be separated without damaging the lower part of the printer main body.

5 is a perspective view schematically showing an ink leakage preventing system of a developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printer according to another embodiment of the present invention. Components having the same functions as those shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions of the functions and operations are omitted.

This embodiment is characterized in that it provides a separate means for opening and closing the discharging tip while preventing the outflow of the residual developer in the developing tray by adjusting the inclination of the discharging portion as described in the foregoing embodiment.

5, the discharge part opening and closing means 102 is installed between the discharge part 54 and the chassis 50. The discharge part opening and closing means 102 seals the discharge part 54 when the developer tray 52 is detached from the developer drain tray 58 so that the developer accumulated in the developer tray 52 is discharged to the discharge part 54. When the developing tray 52 is installed in the developer drain tray 58, the discharge unit 54 is opened to allow the developing tray 52 to communicate with the circulation tank 46. The discharge opening and closing means 102 is provided with a packing holder 104, a packing member 106, a spring member 108, a push member (110).

The packing holder 104 is installed to be rotatable by a hinge shaft 114 on the rib 112 extending on one side of the discharge part 54. The packing member 106 is installed at one end of the packing holder 104 to selectively open and close the discharge port 116 of FIG. 7 formed by the rotational movement of the packing holder 104. The spring member 108 is wound around the hinge shaft 114 and installed to contact the discharge part 54 and the packing holder 104, respectively. The spring member 108 makes the packing holder 104 pivotable with respect to the rib 112 by elastically biasing the packing holder 104 in the direction in which the packing member 106 seals the outlet 116. Push member 110 is installed in the chassis 50, when the developing tray 52 is coupled to the developer drain tray 58, the packing holder 104 is frozen in the direction to overcome the elastic force of the spring member 108 The protrusions 105 formed on the packing holder 104 are brought into close contact with each other so as to be biased. Here, the spring member 108 and the push member 110 serves as a means for rotating the packing holder 104.

The operation of the ink leakage preventing system of the developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printer according to the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

First, as shown in FIG. 6, the packing holder 104 is elastically biased by the spring member 108 installed on the hinge shaft 114 in the rib 112 formed in the discharge part 54 of the developing tray 52. By the elastic force, the packing member 106 provided on one side of the packing holder 104 seals the discharge port 116 of the discharge part 54. This state may be a developing tray of a new developing unit 44 to be installed in the printer main body, or may be a developing tray completed by repair. In this state, the discharge part 54 of the developing tray 52 is seated on the seating part 60 of the developer drain tray 58, and then the developing tray 52 is further brought into close contact with the arrow " A " direction. Then, as shown in Figure 7, the packing holder 104 is in close contact with the push member 110, the packing holder 104 in the direction of the arrow "B" around the hinge axis 114 by the adhesion force Will be rotated. Therefore, the packing member 106, which seals the discharge port 116 of the discharge part 54, is interlocked with the rotation of the packing holder 104 to open the discharge port 116, and the mounting of the developing tray 52 is completed. In this state, the developing tray 52 is fixed to the chassis 50 by the fastening means not shown. Then, the developer accumulated in the developing tray 52 by the developing operation may be discharged to the circulation tank (46 in FIG. 2) through the discharge part 54 and the developer drain tray 58.

Next, when some component parts of the developing unit are abnormal, and the repairing unit is to be repaired, the fastening means are disassembled to facilitate the detachment of the developing tray 52 from the chassis 50, and then the arrow " The developing tray 52 is moved in the A "direction. Then, the packing holder 104 is elastically biased in the direction of arrow "B" of FIG. 6 by the elastic force of the spring member 108. Therefore, the packing member 106 attached to the packing holder 104 can seal the outlet 116 of the discharge part 54 by the rotation of the packing holder 104. In this state, even if the developing tray 52 is further moved in the direction of arrow “C” in FIG. 6 to completely separate the developing tray 52 from the chassis 50, the outlet 116 is sealed by the packing member 106. As a result, it is possible to prevent the developer remaining in the developing tray 52 from damaging the lower part of the printer main body.

As described above, the developing tray ink leakage preventing system for a wet electrophotographic printer according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, by installing a bellows tube on one side of the discharge part connected to the developing tray and installing a coil spring to elastically bias the discharge part, the developer remaining in the developing tray by the relative position of the developing tray relative to the developing tray is discharged. Prevents contaminating the lower part of the printer body during replacement and repair.

Second, ink leakage can be prevented by adding a packing member, a packing holder, and a spring member to the discharging tip.

Third, the outlet opening and closing means is easy to manufacture by forming a unit together with the developing tray, and also easy to repair and repair the outlet opening and closing means.

Fourth, in order to utilize the space, the developer drain tray may be used as a connecting medium in the chassis that divides the developing unit and the ink supply unit, thereby maximizing space utilization.

Claims (6)

A chassis installed in the printer main body; A developing tray installed on a bottom surface of the developing unit so as to be detachable from the main body of the printer, the developing tray accommodating the remaining developer developed in the developing unit, and having a discharge part for discharging the contained developer; A developer drain tray installed in the chassis to drain the developer discharged from the developer tray into a circulation tank; And When the developer tray is detached from the developer drain tray, the discharge part is raised to block the outflow of residual developer in the developer tray, and when the developer tray is attached to the developer drain tray, the developer part is lowered to discharge the developer. And discharge discharge lowering means installed in the developing tray and the chassis so that the ink leakage preventing system of the developing tray for a wet electrophotographic printing machine is provided. The method of claim 1, wherein the discharge lifting means: A bellows tube disposed between the developing tray and the discharge unit so that the discharge unit can flow with respect to the developing tray; Elastic means installed between the developing tray and an upper end of the discharge unit and elastically biasing the discharge unit to be raised toward the developing tray; And Ink leakage for a wet electrophotographic printer, characterized in that it is provided between the developer drain tray and the discharge portion, the guide means for guiding the discharge portion when the developer tray is seated or detached from the developer drain tray. Prevention system. The method of claim 2, wherein the guide means: A pressure plate installed to protrude from the developer drain tray; And And a guide member installed at a lower end of the discharge part so as to form a predetermined angle with a length direction of the discharge part, and when the developing tray is attached to or detached from the printer main body, the guide member slides up and down the discharge part while sliding on the pressure plate. Ink leakage prevention system for a wet electrophotographic printer, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, A discharge part opening and closing means provided in the discharge part and the chassis so as to seal the discharge part when the developer tray is detached from the developer drain tray, and open the discharge part when the developer tray is attached to the developer drain tray; Ink leakage prevention system for a wet electrophotographic printer characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 4, wherein the discharge opening and closing means is: A packing holder rotatably installed on the rib extending on one side of the discharge part; A packing member installed in the packing holder to selectively open and close the outlet formed at the distal end of the packing holder by a rotational motion of the packing holder; And And rotation means for rotating the packing holder with respect to the ribs. The method of claim 5, wherein the rotation means: A spring member installed on a hinge shaft of the rib to elastically bias the packing holder in a direction in which the packing member seals the outlet; And And a push member provided in the chassis so that the packing holder can be unbiased in a direction to overcome the elastic force of the spring member when the developing tray is coupled to the developer drain tray. Ink leakage prevention system of developing tray for printer.