KR20050111851A - Developing apparatus for image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The developing unit of the wet image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a developer manifold receiving a developer and a stirring device rotatably installed inside the developer manifold. The stirring device is characterized in that it suppresses the formation of sludge generated by the developer remaining inside the developer manifold. According to the present invention as described above, the production of sludge is suppressed inside the developer manifold, and the print quality is prevented from being deteriorated even when the image forming apparatus is not used for a long time, and the developer supplied to the developer manifold can be uniformly dispersed.

Description

Developing unit for image forming apparatus

The present invention relates to a developing unit of a wet image forming apparatus using a solution in which a liquid carrier and a toner are mixed as a developer.

In general, an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer or a copier includes a solution containing a mixture of a liquid carrier such as dry and a noppar and a toner using a powder toner as a developer according to a developing method. It is divided into wet to use. In both of these systems, a toner is supplied to a photosensitive medium on which an electrostatic latent image is formed to develop a predetermined image, and then the developed image is printed on the paper by passing the paper between the rotating transfer media in contact with the photosensitive medium. Among them, a wet image forming apparatus can obtain a higher quality image than a dry type, and it is easy to acquire a color image.

The developing unit of the wet image forming apparatus includes a developer manifold for supplying the developer contained in the developer container to the developing roller, a developing roller for delivering the developer supplied from the developer manifold to the photosensitive medium, and a cleaning unit for cleaning the developer roller. Include. The developing solution manifold supplies the developing solution to the developing roller during printing, and when printing is completed, performs a series of collecting operations to recover the developing solution recovered by the cleaning unit into the developing container.

However, the interior space of the developer manifold is always kept filled with the developer even after printing or after the end of printing. As such, the developer remaining inside the developer manifold is gradually hardened after a predetermined time while the printing operation is stopped, thereby forming sludge. This sludge can block part or all of the developer inlet for supplying the developer to the developer manifold. As described above, when the inlet of the developer manifold is blocked by sludge, the amount of the developer supplied to the developing roller becomes uneven, so that the developer is unevenly delivered to the developing roller, thereby degrading the quality of the print image.

In addition, when sludge is generated in the developer manifold, the dispersibility of the developer supplied during printing decreases, and the developer is unevenly transferred to the developing roller, thereby degrading print quality.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, it is possible to prevent the sticking of the developer remaining in the developer manifold to suppress the sludge production, improve the dispersibility of the developer solution life of the consumable parts such as the development roller It is an object of the present invention to provide a developing unit of an image forming apparatus capable of extending the length of the film.

The developing unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object has at least one stirring device which is installed inside the developing unit main body is rotatably installed in the developer manifold receiving the developer from the outside. It features.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stirring device is a developer manifold in which a developer is supplied with a developer dispersed by the first stirring device and the first stirring device for dispersing the supplied developer to both sides of the developer manifold. It is preferable to include a second stirring device for transferring to the center of the.

In addition, the first and the second stirring device is provided with aberration members for transferring the developer in the vertical direction at both ends, so that the developer dispersed in both ends by the first stirring device is smoothly at the end to the second stirring device. It is desirable to be able to supply.

In addition, the first and second stirring devices may be operated by separate driving sources, but may be operated by being distributed by a power transmission unit for driving the various rollers provided in the developing unit.

A developing unit of an image forming apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a developing roller which is installed in the developing unit main body, the developing unit main body to transfer the developing solution to the photosensitive medium, and a depositing roller which electrically attaches the developing solution to the developing roller. A metering roller that constantly regulates the height of the developer attached to the developer roller, a cleaning roller to remove residual developer on the developer roller, a developer manifold for supplying the developer to the deposit roller and recovering the cleaned developer and the developer It is preferable to include; a plurality of stirring units rotatably installed in the manifold to agitate the developer contained in the developer manifold.

Hereinafter, a developing unit of an image forming apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view schematically showing a developing unit of a wet image forming apparatus using a developing solution.

As shown, the developing unit 100 includes a developing unit main body 110, a developing roller 120, a deposit roller 130, a metering roller 140, a cleaning roller 150, a developer manifold 160, and It includes a stirring device (200).

The developing unit main body 110 is provided with a photosensitive medium 101 for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface by the light of the optical scanning device (not shown), the charging for charging the surface of the photosensitive medium 101 to a constant voltage A cleaning member 105 for cleaning the developer remaining on the surface of the unit 103 and the photosensitive medium 101 is provided.

The developing roller 120 transfers the developer to the photosensitive medium 101 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed to form a visible image.

The deposit roller 130 serves to electrically attach a developer to the developing roller 120. In other words, the deposit roller 130 receives the developer from the developer manifold 160, applies the power to the developer, and then electrically charges the developer to have a predetermined thickness. To be electrically attached.

The metering roller 140 is to prevent the developer, which is electrically attached to the deposit roller 130, from being excessively attached to the developer roller 120. The metering roller 140 causes the developer roller ( The developer applied to the surface of 120 has a predetermined thickness.

The cleaning roller 150 removes the remaining developer from the developing roller 120 that could not be transferred to the photosensitive medium. To this end, the cleaning roller 150 has a predetermined nip and rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the developing roller 120 to remove the developer remaining on the surface of the developing roller 120. The removed developer falls from the surface of the cleaning roller 150 to the developer manifold 160.

The developer manifold 160 receives the pumped developer from the developer container (not shown) during printing and sprays it onto the deposit roller 130. When the printing is finished, the developer manifold 160 removes the residual developer removed from the cleaning roller 150. Recover.

The stirring device 200 is rotatably installed in the developer manifold 160 to agitate the developer contained in the developer manifold 160. At least one stirring device 200 may be provided inside the developer manifold 160. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stirring device 200 may be provided as a first and second stirring device 210, 220 as shown in FIG. In addition, aberration members 230 may be installed at both ends of the first and second stirring devices 210 and 220 to guide the vertical flow of the developing solution.

The first stirring device 210 distributes the supplied developer to both sides of the developer manifold 160, and the second stirring device 220 distributes the developer dispersed by the first stirring device 210. The feeder is transferred to the center of the developer manifold 160.

The first stirring device 210 includes a first guide unit 211 and a first stirring unit 212. As shown in FIG. 2, the first guide unit 211 is provided in a disk shape, and a plurality of first guide units 211 are provided at portions corresponding to the developer supply unit 161 formed near the center of the developer manifold 160. The first guide unit 211 serves to maintain a supply direction of the developer pumped by the developer supply unit 161. In addition, the first stirring unit 212 is provided in a screw shape that is symmetrically installed around the first guide unit 211, and the developer supplied from the developer supply unit 161 is a developer manifold 160. Transfer to both sides of the

The second stirring device 220 transfers the developer, which the first stirring device 210 transfers to both ends of the developer manifold 160, to the center of the developer manifold 160 where the developer supply unit 161 is formed. . The second stirring device 220 is a disk-shaped second guide unit 221 which is installed in a portion corresponding to the developer supply unit 161 as in the first stirring device 210 and the second guide unit A second stirring unit 222 of a screw shape is installed symmetrically around the center (221).

On the other hand, the aberration member 230 and the first aberration member 231 which is installed at both ends of the first stirring device 210 by transferring the developer contained in both ends of the developer manifold 160 in the vertical direction and And a second aberration member 232 installed at both ends of the second stirring device 220. As shown in FIG. 3, the first and second aberration members 231 and 232 have a plurality of recessed grooves 231a and 232a on the outer circumferential surface thereof, and the developer is formed by the recessed grooves 231a and 232a. It can be easily transported. The first aberration member 231 supplies the developer delivered to both ends of the developer manifold 160 by the first agitator 210 to the second agitator 220. The second aberration member 232 flows the developer supplied from the first aberration member 231 to supply the developer to the second stirring device 220.

Meanwhile, the first and second stirring devices 210 and 220 are operated by receiving power by the power transmission unit 240. The power transmission unit 240 is a drive gear 243 meshed with the gears 241 and 242 and the gears 241 and 242 installed in the first and second stirring apparatuses 210 and 220, respectively. It is good to include.

The drive gear 243 may be linked to a driving source for driving various units including the developing roller 120 installed inside the developing unit main body 110, or may be connected to a separate driving source.

Hereinafter, the operation of the developing unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with the accompanying drawings.

When the image forming apparatus starts a printing operation, the developing unit 100 according to the present invention receives the developer through the developer manifold 160. The developer manifold 160 sprays the developer pumped through the developer supply unit 161 to the deposit roller 130, and the injected developer is regulated to a predetermined thickness by the metering roller 140 to develop the developer roller 120. Is electrically attached to the The developer attached to the developing roller 120 forms a visible image on the photosensitive medium 101 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, and the developer remaining on the developing roller 120 is not transferred to the photosensitive medium 101. It is removed by 150 and recovered to the developer manifold 160.

Meanwhile, the developer manifold 160 is installed inside the developer manifold 160 so as to be interlocked with the rollers installed in the developer unit including the developer roller 120, and the developer manifold 160 is in operation. ) Flow the developing solution inside. That is, the developer pumped through the developer supply unit 161 is distributed to the left and right of the developer manifold 160 through the first stirring device 210. The dispersed developer is transferred to the second agitator 220 by the first aberration member 231, and the developer supplied by the first aberration member 231 is supplied to the developer by the second agitator 220. 161 is conveyed to the vicinity of the center of the developer manifold 160 formed. Then, the transferred developer is sent to the first stirring device 210 together with the developer newly pumped from the developer supply unit 161. In this way, since the developer continues to flow while the developing unit is operating inside the developer manifold 160, sludge can be suppressed from being generated inside the developer manifold 160. In addition, even when not printing, the stirring apparatus 200 may be operated when a predetermined time has elapsed even during the warm-up phase or the standby mode of the image forming apparatus, thereby preventing the developer from sticking inside the developer manifold 160. In addition, since the developer supplied from the developer supply unit 161 is uniformly dispersed in the developer manifold 160 by the stirring device 200, the quality of the printed image can be maintained constant.

According to the developing unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention as described above, since the residual developer is prevented from being fixed by the stirring device provided inside the developer manifold, sludge generation caused by the fixing of the residual developer can be suppressed. .

In addition, the developer supplied by the stirring apparatus can be dispersed evenly inside the developer manifold, thereby preventing the print quality from being lowered due to the dispersibility.

While the invention has been shown and described in connection with preferred embodiments for illustrating the principles of the invention, the invention is not limited to the construction and operation as shown and described. That is, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will appreciate that many changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, all such suitable changes and modifications and equivalents should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

1 is a schematic view of a developing unit of an image forming apparatus having a stirring device according to the present invention;

2 is a view schematically showing the inside of a developer manifold in which a stirring device is installed,

3 is a perspective view showing an extract of the aberration member of the present invention, and

4 is a view showing an arrow in the direction in which the developer contained in the developer flows by the stirring apparatus.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

110; A developing unit main body 120; Developing Roller

130; Depositor 140; Metering Roller

150; Cleaning roller 160; Developer Manifold

200; Agitator 210; 1st stirring device

211; First guide unit 212; First stirring unit

220; Second stirring device 221; 2nd guide unit

222; Second stirring unit 230; Aberration

240; Power transmission unit

Claims (5)

A developer manifold containing a developer and spraying the developer contained in the printing; And And a stirring device rotatably installed in the developer manifold to stir the developer contained in the developer manifold. The method of claim 1, wherein the stirring device, A first stirring device for dispersing the developer in the developer manifold to both sides; And And a second stirrer for agitating the developer on both sides of the developer manifold to a center portion of the developer manifold. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second stirring devices, And aberration members which are respectively installed at both ends and transfer and stir the developer in a vertical direction. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second stirring devices, And a power supply from a driving source for driving said developing unit. A developing unit main body; A developing roller installed in the developing unit main body and transferring the developing solution to the photosensitive medium; A deposit roller electrically attaching a developer to the developer roller; A metering roller that constantly regulates the height of the developer attached to the developing roller; A cleaning roller for removing residual developer on the developing roller; A developer manifold for supplying a developer to the deposit roller and recovering the cleaned developer; A first stirring device for dispersing the developer in the developer manifold to both sides; And And a second stirring device for agitating the developer on both sides of the developer manifold to the center of the developer manifold. The developing unit of the image forming apparatus is a developing unit of the image forming apparatus.