KR20190010233A - Developer cartridge and image forming apparatus adopting the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a developer cartridge capable of discharging a developer at a constant speed comprises: a transfer member installed inside a main body of the cartridge to be rotatable and transferring a developer. The transfer member may include a first coil spring configured to transfer the developer in a first direction toward a discharge port, a second coil spring configured to transfer the developer in a second direction away from the discharge port; and a connection wire connecting the first and second coil springs, rotate with the first and second coil springs when the first and second coil springs are rotates, and disposed to overlap at the discharge port.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a developer cartridge and an image forming apparatus employing the same,

A developer cartridge and an image forming apparatus employing the same are disclosed.

An image forming apparatus, particularly an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, forms a latent electrostatic image on the surface of a photoreceptor by irradiating the photoreceptor with modulated light corresponding to image information, and supplies the toner to the electrostatic latent image to develop it as a visible toner image , And transfers the toner image to a recording medium and fixes it to print an image on the recording medium.

Such an image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge for forming a toner image, and a developer cartridge for supplying the developer to the developing cartridge.

The developer cartridge houses the developer therein, and the developer contained therein can be supplied to the developer through the outlet. To this end, the developer cartridge includes a conveying member for conveying the developer accommodated therein to the discharge port.

The type of the conveying member for conveying the developer in the developer cartridge is an auger type having a rotating shaft and a blade protruding around the rotating shaft, and a spring type having a helical coil shape.

The spring-type conveying member is constituted by a single part, which is simpler in structure than the auger type conveying member, reduces the material cost, and can reduce the weight.

The spring-type conveying member is rotated in one direction to convey the developer toward the outlet. However, when such a spring type conveying member is used, the developer tends to aggregate due to its structure.

As one of the causes of developer aggregation, the developer is mixed in the process of being conveyed in the direction toward the outlet by the rotation of the conveying member of the spring type, and the pressure acting on the developer becomes closer to the outlet . As a result, the developer in the region adjacent to the discharge port coalesces to lower the fluidity.

As another cause of developer aggregation, vibration may repeatedly be applied to the developer cartridge in the course of lifting and conveying the developer cartridge. In this process, the developer accommodated in the developer cartridge increases in pressure as it goes downward due to gravity, so that the developer can be agglomerated.

When the developer is aggregated on one side of the developer cartridge, particularly when the developer is agglomerated adjacent to the outlet of the developer cartridge, the developer to be discharged through the outlet may not be discharged, or the developer may be discharged irregularly have.

According to the embodiment, there is provided a developer cartridge using a spring-type transfer member, which can prevent the developer from aggregating and discharge the developer at a constant speed, and an image forming apparatus including the same.

The developer cartridge according to one embodiment includes:

And is detachably installed in the image forming apparatus,

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cartridge body having a developer accommodating portion therein and having a discharge port for discharging the developer to the outside; And

And a conveying member rotatably installed in the main body of the cartridge and conveying the developer,

Wherein,

A first coil spring configured to convey the developer in a first direction toward the discharge port,

A second coil spring which is rotated together with the first coil spring to rotate, has a rotation diameter smaller than the rotation diameter of the first coil spring, and conveys the developer in a second direction away from the discharge port;

A first coil spring and a second coil spring that are connected to the first coil spring and the second coil spring, respectively, and are rotated together when the first coil spring and the second coil spring rotate, Wire.

The connection wire may extend straight along the longitudinal direction of the main cartridge body unit.

The diameter of the connecting wire may be larger than the diameter of the second coil spring.

The rotation diameter of the connection wire may be equal to or less than the rotation diameter of the first coil spring.

The developer is a two-component developer containing a carrier and a toner, and the connection wire may have a magnetic force to attract the carrier.

The surface roughness of the connecting wire may be larger than the surface roughness of the second coil spring.

The length of the second coil spring may be shorter than the length of the first coil spring.

The length of the second coil spring may be 1/3 or less of the length of the first coil spring.

The wire diameter of the second coil spring may be smaller than the wire diameter of the remaining area.

The second coil spring may be arranged such that the rotation center axis thereof is at an acute angle with the rotation center axis of the first coil spring.

In the developer cartridge according to another embodiment,

And is detachably installed in the image forming apparatus,

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cartridge body having a developer accommodating portion therein and having a discharge port for discharging the developer to the outside; And

And a conveying member rotatably installed in the main body of the cartridge and conveying the developer,

Wherein,

A first coil spring configured to convey the developer in a first direction toward the discharge port,

A second coil spring which is rotated together with the first coil spring and is connected to the first coil spring and has a rotation diameter smaller than the rotation diameter of the first coil spring and transfers the developer in a second direction away from the discharge port And a second coil spring configured to rotate,

The length of the second coil spring may be shorter than the length of the first coil spring.

The length of the second coil spring may be 1/3 or less of the length of the first coil spring.

The second coil spring may be arranged such that its rotational central axis is at an acute angle with the rotational center axis of the first coil spring.

In the image forming apparatus according to another embodiment,

A developing device for supplying a developer to an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum to form a visible toner image;

The above-described developer cartridge for supplying the developer to the developing cartridge;

A transferring device for transferring the toner image onto a recording medium; And

And a fuser for fixing the toner image to the recording medium.

The developer cartridge and the image forming apparatus including the same according to the embodiment can prevent agglomeration of the developer and discharge the developer at a constant speed while using the spring type transfer member.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
2 is a perspective view showing the developer cartridge according to the embodiment,
3 is a cross-sectional view of the developer cartridge of Fig. 2,
Fig. 4 is a view for explaining the operation of the developer cartridge of Fig. 3;
5 is a view showing an example of a spring type transfer member,
6 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the spring-type transfer member in the developer cartridge according to the embodiment.
7A and 7B are views showing a modified embodiment of the connecting wire.
8 is a view illustrating a connecting wire according to another embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a view showing a part of a conveying member according to another embodiment.
Fig. 10 is a view for explaining the operation of the conveying member of Fig. 9; Fig.
11 is a view for explaining the effect of the conveying member in Fig.
12 is a view showing a part of a conveying member according to another embodiment.
13 is a view for explaining a conveying member according to another embodiment,
14A and 14B are views for explaining the state of the developer stored in the cartridge main body.
15 is a graph showing the weight of the developer discharged through the discharge port in accordance with the number of rotations of the conveying member in the developer cartridge according to the comparative example and the example.
16 is a graph showing a change in torque applied to the rotating drive shaft when a developer aggregated in the developer cartridge is present.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the structure and operation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms used in this specification will be briefly described and the present invention will be described in detail.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Also, in certain cases, there may be a term selected arbitrarily by the applicant, in which case the meaning thereof will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term, not on the name of a simple term, but on the entire contents of the present invention.

When an element is referred to as "including" an element throughout the specification, it is to be understood that the element may include other elements as well, without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

Also, the terms " first, second, " and the like are used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component, not limiting.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus of this embodiment prints a color image by an electrophotographic method. The image forming apparatus of this embodiment is a color image forming apparatus. Referring to Fig. 1, the image forming apparatus includes a plurality of developing devices 10, an exposure device 50, a transfer device, and a fixing device 80. Fig.

The image forming apparatus may further include a plurality of developer cartridges 20 containing developer. The plurality of developer cartridges 20 are connected to the plurality of developing devices 10, respectively, and the developer accommodated in the plurality of developer cartridges 20 is supplied to the plurality of developing devices 10, respectively. A plurality of developer cartridges 20 and a plurality of developing devices 10 are detachable from the main body 1 and can be individually replaced.

The plurality of developing devices 10 includes a plurality of developing devices 10C (10M) for forming a toner image of cyan (cyan), magenta (magenta), yellow ) 10Y (10K). The plurality of developer cartridges 20 are cyan, magenta, and yellow (yellow) for supplying the developer to the plurality of developing devices 10C, 10M, 10Y, 20K, 20M, 20Y, and 20K in which developers of black (K: black) color are respectively accommodated. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the developer cartridge 20 and the developing cartridge 20 for accommodating and developing developers of various colors, such as light magenta and white, (10). Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus including a plurality of developing devices 10C (10M) 10Y, 10K and a plurality of developer cartridges 20C (20M) 20Y, 20K will be described, Magenta, magenta, yellow, and black, respectively, when C, M, Y, and K are attached to the reference characters, ≪ / RTI >

The developing device 10 may include a photosensitive drum 14 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and a developing roller 13 for supplying the developer to the electrostatic latent image to develop the toner into a visible toner image. The photosensitive drum 21 may include a conductive metal pipe and a photosensitive layer formed on the periphery thereof as an example of a photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. The charging roller 15 is an example of a charger that charges the photosensitive drum 14 to have a uniform surface potential. Instead of the charging roller 15, a charging brush, a corona charger, or the like may be employed.

Although not shown in the drawing, the developing device 10 removes a developer on the charging roller 15, a charging roller cleaner for removing foreign substances such as dust, and a developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 after the intermediate transferring process And a regulating member for regulating the amount of the developer supplied to the developing area where the photosensitive drum 14 and the developing roller 13 are opposed to each other. The closed-loop superposing agent is housed in the closed-phase superposing container 17a. The cleaning member 17 may be, for example, a cleaning blade that comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 to scrape the developer. Although not shown in the drawings, the cleaning member 17 may be a cleaning brush that is rotated and scraped off the developer by contacting the surface of the photosensitive drum 14. [

In the case of employing the one-component developing method, the developer may be a toner. In the case of employing the two-component developing method, the developer may be a carrier and a toner. Hereinafter, the developing device 10 employing the two-component developing method will be described.

The developer accommodated in the developer cartridge 20 is supplied to the developing device 10. The developing roller 13 is positioned apart from the photosensitive drum 14. The distance between the outer circumferential surface of the developing roller 13 and the outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 14 may be, for example, several tens to several hundreds of microns. The developing roller 13 may be a magnetic roller. Further, the developing roller 13 may have a configuration in which a magnet is disposed in the developing sleeve to be rotated. In the developing device 10, the toner is mixed with the carrier, and the toner is attached to the surface of the magnetic carrier. The magnetic carrier is carried to the developing area where the photosensitive drum 14 and the developing roller 13 are brought into contact with the surface of the developing roller 13. [ A regulating member, not shown, regulates the amount of developer conveyed to the developing zone. Only the toner is supplied to the photosensitive drum 14 by the developing bias voltage applied between the developing roller 13 and the photosensitive drum 14 to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 into a visible toner image .

When the trickle developing method is adopted, a part of the carrier may be discharged to the outside of the developing device 10 together with the toner, in order to keep the amount of the developer in the developing device 10 constant. In this case, the developer accommodated in the developer cartridge 20 is a carrier and toner, and the carrier of the developer cartridge 20 can be supplied to the developing device 10. [

The exposure unit 50 irradiates modulated light onto the photosensitive drum 14 in correspondence with the image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 14. As a typical example thereof, a laser scanning unit (LSU) using a laser diode as a light source, And an LED exposing device using a light emitting diode (LED) as a light source.

The transfer unit transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 14 to the recording medium P. [ In this embodiment, an intermediate transfer type transfer unit is employed. As an example, the transfer unit may include an intermediate transfer belt 60, an intermediate transfer roller 61, and a transfer roller 70. [

The intermediate transfer belt 60 temporarily accommodates the developed toner images on the photosensitive drums 14 of the plurality of developing devices 10C, 10M, 10Y, and 10K. A plurality of intermediate transfer rollers 61 are disposed at positions facing the photosensitive drums 14 of the plurality of developing devices 10C, 10M, 10Y, 10K with the intermediary transfer belt 60 sandwiched therebetween. A plurality of intermediate transfer rollers 61 are supplied with an intermediate transfer bias for intermediately transferring the developed toner image on the photosensitive drum 14 to the intermediate transfer belt 60. [ Instead of the intermediate transfer roller 61, a corona transporter or a pin scorotron type transcription unit may be employed.

The transfer roller 70 is positioned facing the intermediate transfer belt 60. A transfer bias for transferring the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 60 to the recording medium P is applied to the transfer roller 70. [

Reference numeral 75 denotes a cleaning member which removes the developer remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 60 after the toner image is transferred to the recording medium P. [ The cleaning member 75 may be, for example, a cleaning blade that comes into contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 60 and scrapes the developer. Although not shown in the drawings, the cleaning member 75 may be a cleaning brush that contacts the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 60 while being rotated to scrape the developer.

The fixing device 80 fixes the toner image transferred to the recording medium P by applying heat and / or pressure to the recording medium P. The configuration of the fixing device 80 is not limited to the example shown in Fig.

With the above arrangement, the exposure device 50 scans a plurality of photosensitive drums 14 of the plurality of developing devices 10C, 10M, 10Y, and 10K with light modulated corresponding to the image information of each color, Thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the drum 14. The developers C, M, Y, and K supplied from the plurality of developer cartridges 20C, 20M, 20Y, and 20K to the plurality of developers 10C, 10M, 10Y, The electrostatic latent image of the photosensitive drum 14 of the photosensitive drums 10C (10M) 10Y, 10K is developed into a visible toner image. The developed toner images are intermediately transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 60 sequentially. The recording medium P loaded on the paper feeding means 90 is conveyed along the paper feeding path 91 and conveyed between the transfer roller 70 and the intermediate transfer belt 60. The toner image intermediate-transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 60 is transferred to the recording medium P by the transfer bias voltage applied to the transfer roller 70. [ When the recording medium P passes through the fixing device 80, the toner image is fixed to the recording medium P by heat and pressure. The recording medium P on which the fixing is completed is discharged by the discharge roller 92,

The developer accommodated in the developer cartridge 20 is supplied to the developing device 10. When all of the developer accommodated in the developer cartridge 20 is consumed, the developer cartridge 20 can be replaced with a new developer cartridge 20, and a new developer may be charged into the developer cartridge 20 .

The image forming apparatus may further include a developer supply unit 30. [ The developer supply unit 30 receives the developer from the developer cartridge 20 and supplies it to the developing cartridge 10. [ The developer supply unit 30 is connected to the developer 10 by the supply duct 40. [ Although not shown in the drawings, the developer supply unit 30 is omitted, and the supply duct 40 may directly connect the developer cartridge 20 and the developing cartridge 10. [

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the developer cartridge 20 according to the embodiment, Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the developer cartridge 20 in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a view showing an example of a spring-type transferring member 200. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the spring-type transferring member 200 in the developer cartridge 20 according to the embodiment.

2 to 5, the developer cartridge 20 includes a cartridge main body 100 and a transfer member 200 rotatably installed inside the cartridge main body 100. As shown in FIG.

The cartridge body 100 has a predetermined space formed therein, and a developer (DV) (see FIG. 4) is accommodated in the space. The cartridge main body 100 has a discharge port 101 for discharging the developer DV. The discharge port 101 is disposed at one end of the cartridge body 100. Outside the discharge port 101, a shutter portion 102 for selectively blocking the discharge of the developer DV is disposed.

The conveying member 200 is disposed inside the main cartridge body unit 100 and has a spring-type structure for conveying the developer DV. The conveying member 200 includes a first coil spring 210 for conveying the developer DV in the direction toward the discharge port 101. [

The first coil spring 210 is rotatably installed inside the cartridge body 100. For example, one end 211 of the first coil spring 210 is supported by a rotation drive shaft 103 provided on one side of the main cartridge body unit 100, and by the rotation of the rotation drive shaft 103, The spring 210 is rotated.

The first coil spring 210 is configured to transfer the developer DV in the first direction toward the discharge port 101. [ For example, the first coil spring 210 may be coiled to transfer the developer DV in the first direction.

By the rotation of the first coil spring 210, the developer DV stored in the interior of the cartridge body 100 is pressed toward the discharge port 101. Since the developer DV is pressed toward the discharge port 101 while the first coil spring 210 is rotated, the developer DV is prevented from reaching the region 101 adjacent to the discharge port 101, The developer DV1 of the developer can be agglomerated relatively.

Even if the developer cartridge 20 is not mounted in the image forming apparatus, vibration may be applied in the process of conveying the developer cartridge 20. [ In this process, the developer DV contained in the interior of the developer cartridge 20 can be continuously applied pressure downward by gravity, so that the developer DV can be agglomerated downward .

In consideration of the agglomeration phenomenon of the developer DV, the conveying member 200 according to the embodiment further includes the second coil spring 220.

The second coil spring 220 may be configured to transport the developer DV in a second direction away from the discharge port 101. [ For example, the second coil spring 220 may be wound in a direction opposite to the winding direction of the first coil spring 210. The diameter of the second coil spring 220 may be the same as the diameter of the first coil spring 210.

The developer SV is conveyed in the second direction away from the discharge port 101 by the second coil spring 220 so that the developer DV can be prevented from aggregating near the discharge port 101. [

Referring to FIG. 5, the rotation diameter RD2 of the second coil spring 220 may be smaller than the rotation diameter RD1 of the first coil spring 210. Here, the rotation diameter of the coil spring is defined as the diameter of a virtual circle formed while the coil spring rotates. The second coil spring 220 may be disposed inside the first coil spring 210.

The length L2 of the second coil spring 220 may be shorter than the length L1 of the first coil spring 210. [ For example, the length L2 of the second coil spring 220 may be equal to or less than 1/3 of the length L1 of the first coil spring 210. Here, the length of the coil spring is defined as the length in the longitudinal direction of the main cartridge body unit 100.

Since the length L2 of the second coil spring 220 is shorter than the length L1 of the first coil spring 210, it is possible to prevent the developer DV from being damaged, And the developer (DV) can be smoothly transferred.

If the length L2 of the second coil spring 220 is equal to the length L1 of the first coil spring 210, ) May inadvertently cause undue stress. As a result, the developer (DV) may be crushed or broken. When the amount of the developer DV remaining in the cartridge main body 100 is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the second coil spring 220 causes the developer DV to flow smoothly to the discharge port 101 Lt; / RTI >

However, in the conveying member 200 according to the embodiment, the length L2 of the second coil spring 220 is reduced to 1/3 or less of the length L1 of the first coil spring 210, It is possible to reduce the damage of the developer (DV), which is a side effect that may be caused by the developer (220), and the disturbance of conveyance of the developer (DV).

4, the first coil spring 210 conveys the developer DV located at the top and bottom of the main cartridge body unit 100 in the first direction and the second coil spring 220 transfers the developer DV ) In the second direction. The developer DV conveyed in the second direction by the second coil spring 220 reaches the region where the second coil spring 220 does not exist and is conveyed again by the first coil spring 210 in the first direction As shown in Fig.

As described above, by the interaction of the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220, the developer DV in the vicinity of the discharge port 101 prevents the pressure from being continuously applied to one direction, It is possible to alleviate the aggregation phenomenon of the (DV).

The second coil spring 220 may be formed integrally with the first coil spring 210. Accordingly, the second coil spring 220 can be rotated together with the first coil spring 210 when the first coil spring 210 rotates. The second coil spring 220 may be integrally formed with the first coil spring 210 so that a separate assembly process of assembling the second coil spring 220 to the first coil spring 210 may be omitted.

The second coil spring 220 may be connected to the other end 212 of the first coil spring 210. The other end 212 of the first coil spring 210 may be an end adjacent to the discharge port 101 of the cartridge body 100 at the first coil spring 210.

5, an example of a structure in which the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220 are integrally formed is a connecting wire (not shown) between the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220, 230 may be disposed.

One end of the connection wire 230 is connected to the first coil spring 210 and the other end is connected to the second coil spring 220. The connection wire 230 is rotated together with the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220 when they are rotated. The connection wire 230 is rotated about the rotation center axis RC3 which is coaxial with the rotation center axis RC1 of the first coil spring 210. [

The wire diameter of the connecting wire 230 may be equal to the wire diameter of the second coil spring 220 and the wire diameter of the first coil spring 210.

The rotation diameter RD3 of the connection wire 230 is larger than the rotation diameter RD2 of the second coil spring 220. [ The connection wire 230 may have a rotation diameter RD3 equal to or smaller than a rotation diameter RD1 of the first coil spring 210. [ Here, the rotation diameter RD3 of the connection wire 230 is defined as the diameter of a virtual circle formed by the rotation of the connection wire 230. [

Referring to FIG. 6, the connection wire 230 is arranged to overlap the discharge port 101, with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge body 100.

While the connecting wire 230 is rotating, the connecting wire 230 passes around the discharging port 101. In this process, the connection wire 230 can directly solve the developer (DV) coagulation phenomenon by contacting and pressing the agitated developer (DV) around the discharge port (101). The pressure applied to the developer DV in the region adjacent to the discharge port 101 is relieved by the rotation of the second coil spring 220 and at the same time, Aggregation of the coagulated developer (DV) can be solved.

The developer DV can be discharged at a constant speed through the discharge port 101 by directly solving the coagulation phenomenon of the developer DV around the discharge port 101 by the connection wire 230. [

The connection wire 230 has a shape different from that of the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220. For example, the connecting wire 230 may have a straight line extending along the longitudinal direction of the main cartridge body unit 100. The length L3 of the connecting wire 230 may be larger than the diameter D of the discharge port 101. [

The connection wire 230 extending in a straight line has a structure in which the discharge port 101 is formed and the developer (DV ) Can be effectively eliminated.

However, the shape of the connection wire 230 is not limited thereto, and may be variously modified as long as it has a structure for eliminating the aggregation of the developer (DV). For example, as shown in FIG. 7A or FIG. 7B, the connecting wires 230A and 230B may have a zigzag shape or a wavy shape.

8 is a view showing a connecting wire 230C according to another embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, the connection wire 230C may have a magnetic force. For example, a magnet 231 may be disposed on the connection wire 230C.

The developer DV stored in the cartridge main body 100 may be a two-component developer (DV). For example, the developer DV may include a carrier CA and a toner.

By the magnetic force of the connecting wire 230, the carrier CA is attached to the surface of the connecting wire 230. The rotating area of the connecting wire 230 is increased by the carrier CA attached to the surface. The connection wire 230 with the carrier CA can perform a brush function of sweeping the developer DV around the discharge port 101. [ Thus, the developer DV can be smoothly discharged through the discharge port 101 by this connection wire 230.

9 is a view showing a part of the conveying member 200 according to another embodiment. Fig. 10 is a view for explaining the operation of the conveying member 200 of Fig. Fig. 11 is a view for explaining the effect of the conveying member 200 of Fig. 12 is a view showing a part of the conveying member 200 according to another embodiment.

9, the conveying member 200 includes a first coil spring 210, a second coil spring 220A, and a connecting wire 230 connecting the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220A.

The diameter d2 of the area 2201 connected to the connection wire 230 in the second coil spring 220A may be smaller than the diameter of the other area of the transfer member 200. [ For example, the second coil spring 220 may have a diameter d2 smaller than the diameter d3 of the second area 2202, which is the other area of the first area 2201 connected to the connecting wire 230. The wire diameter d2 of the first area 2201 of the second coil spring 220 may be smaller than the wire diameter d1 of the connecting wire 230. [ The diameter d2 of the first area 2201 of the second coil spring 220 may be smaller than the diameter of the first coil spring 210. [

Since the diameter d2 of the first area 2201 is smaller than the diameter of the other area of the conveying member 200 as described above, when the conveying member 200 rotates, The tension can be concentrated on the upper surface 2201. Accordingly, the movement of the second coil spring 220 can be increased.

10, when the conveying member 200 rotates, the second coil spring 220 moves forward and backward with respect to the connecting wire 230, and the rotation center axis RC2 of the second coil spring 220 rotates, Can change.

11, as the rotation center axis RC2 of the second coil spring 220 changes, the conveying directions A1 and A2 of the developer DV conveyed by the second coil spring 220 Can change. As the developer conveying directions A1 and A2 of the developer DV are changed by the second coil spring 220, the conveying directions A1 and A2 of the developer DV conveyed by the second coil spring 220 And the conveying direction of the developer DV conveyed by the first coil spring 210 may intersect with each other so that the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220 overlap each other, (DV) can be mixed smoothly.

9 to 11, the linear diameter d2 of the first area 2201 of the second coil spring 220 is larger than the diameter d2 of the conveying member 200 ), Which is smaller than the diameter of the other regions. However, the structure of the conveying member 200 for smoothly mixing the developer DV is not limited to this, and can be variously modified. 12, the diameters of the first coil spring 210, the second coil spring 220B and the connecting wire 230 are equal to each other, and the rotation center axis RC2 of the second coil spring 220B Of the first coil spring 210 and the rotation center axis RC1 of the first coil spring 210 is an acute angle.

13A and 13B are views for explaining the state of the developer DV stored in the main cartridge body unit 100. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 13, the transfer member 200 may include a first coil spring 210, a second coil spring 220, and a connection wire 230D connecting them. The connection wire 230D is disposed so as to overlap the discharge port 101. [

The surface roughness of the connecting wire 230D may be larger than the surface roughness of the second coil spring 220. [ The surface roughness of the connecting wire 230D may be larger than the surface roughness of the first coil spring 210. [ For example, when the surface roughnesses of the first coil spring 210 and the second coil spring 220 are 0.7 Ra to 0.8 Ra, the surface roughness of the connecting wire 230D may be 3.2 Ra to 6.3 Ra.

By increasing the surface roughness of the connection wire 230D arranged to overlap with the discharge port 101, the developer DV in the region adjacent to the discharge port 101 is more likely to be triboelectrified than the developer DV in the other region appear. Accordingly, in the developer DV in the region adjacent to the discharge port 101 as shown in Fig. 14A, the toner TN is well around the carrier CA as compared with the developer DV in the other region as shown in Fig. 14B Respectively.

By discharging the developer DV in the triboelectrification state through the discharge port 101, the time during which the developer DV is rubbed in the developing device 10 can be reduced.

In addition, by reducing the surface roughness of the other area not overlapping the discharge port 101 in the conveying member 200, the frictional charging of the developer DV in the other area not adjacent to the discharge port 101 can be suppressed Thereby preventing the developer DV from being broken or crushed due to excessive friction charging.

The present invention will be described in more detail by way of the following examples and comparative examples. However, the examples are for illustrating the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Comparative Example

The developer cartridge according to the comparative example has a cartridge body 100 in which a discharge port 101 is formed at one side and a cartridge body 100 which is rotatably installed inside the cartridge body 100 and which transfers the developer in a direction toward the discharge port 101 And a conveying member having a first coil spring 210. The transfer member according to the comparative example does not include the second coil spring 220 and the connection wire 230.

Example

The developer cartridge 20 according to the embodiment includes a cartridge main body 100 having a discharge port 101 formed at one side thereof and a transfer member 200 rotatably installed inside the cartridge main body 100. The cartridge body The conveying member 200 includes a first coil spring 210 for conveying the developer in the direction toward the discharge port 101, a second coil spring 220 for conveying the developer in the direction away from the discharge port 101, And a connecting wire 230 connecting them is integrally formed. The first coil spring 210, the second coil spring 220 and the connecting wire 230 have the same wire diameter and surface roughness and the center of the rotation axis of the second coil spring 220 and the first coil spring 210 is coaxial And the connecting wire 230 was formed to have a straight shape.

Characteristic evaluation 1

Each time the conveying member was rotated 2500 times, the weight of the developer discharged through the discharge port 101 in the developer cartridge according to the comparative example and the example was measured, and the results are shown in FIG.

2500 times 5000 times 7500 times 10000 times 12500 times Comparative Example 97 g 150 g 163 g 305 g 340 g Example 150 g 310 g 460 g 640 g 720 g

Referring to Fig. 15 and Table 1, it can be seen that, in the developer cartridge according to the comparative example, the weight of the developer discharged each time the conveying member is rotated 2500 times changes significantly. For example, the weight of the developer discharged while the conveying member rotates 2500 times through 2500 times through 2500 times is about 13 g (= 163 - 150), whereas while the developer is rotated 2500 times from 7500 times to 10,000 times The weight of the discharged developer was about 142 g (= 305 - 163). That is, in the developer cartridge according to the comparative example, even if the conveying member rotates 2500 times in the same manner, the difference in weight of the discharged developer is 10 times or more of the minimum weight.

On the other hand, in the developer cartridge 20 according to the embodiment, the weight of the developer discharged every 2500 rotations of the conveying member 200 was about 80 g to about 180 g. That is, in the developer cartridge 20 according to the embodiment, the weight difference of the developer discharged while the conveying member 200 rotates 2500 times is 2.5 times or less of the minimum weight.

By adopting the transfer member 200 in which the connection wire 230 and the second coil spring 220 are formed integrally with the first coil spring 210 like the developer cartridge 20 according to the embodiment, The developer can be discharged through the discharge port 101 within a constant speed range.

Characteristic evaluation 2

The developer cartridge according to the comparative example and the example was set up with the rotary drive shaft 103 facing upward and subjected to vibration for a predetermined time to coagulate the developer contained in the developer cartridge.

16 is a graph showing changes in torque applied to the rotary drive shaft when the rotary drive shaft is rotated in a state in which the developer aggregated in the developer cartridge is present. Referring to FIG. 16, in the process of driving the rotary drive shaft in a state in which the developer is agglomerated in the developer cartridge, the torque applied to the rotary drive shaft increases sharply until the conveying member starts rotating, And the torque applied to the rotary drive shaft decreases while the agglomerated developer is released. When aggregation of the agglomerated developer is solved to some extent, the torque applied to the rotary drive shaft is constant. The time between the torque applied to the transfer time I the agglomeration there member normal to said torque, this normal torque than the time it takes a large torque (t ₁₎ from the time (t ₂₎ until a small torque take than normal torque (T) was defined as the time taken for agglomeration of agglomerated developer to be resolved.

The time (T) required for agglomeration of the agglomerated developer when the conveying member was rotated under the condition that the agglomerated developer was accommodated in the developer cartridge according to the comparative example and the example was measured, 2, respectively.

Time (seconds) required to resolve aggregation after vibration Vibration 10 minutes Vibration 20 minutes Vibration 30 minutes Comparative Example 10 seconds 14 seconds 22 seconds Example 6 seconds 9 seconds 10 seconds

Referring to Table 2, in the case of the developer cartridge according to the comparative example, as the vibration time applied to the developer cartridge was increased to 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes, the time taken for the agglomerated developer Were 10 seconds, 14 seconds, and 22 seconds, respectively. In the developer cartridge according to the embodiment, as the vibration time was increased to 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes, the time taken for the agglomeration of the coagulated developer to disappear was 6 seconds, 9 seconds, and 10 seconds, respectively.

Thus, even if the developer contained in the developing cartridge according to the embodiment and the developer contained in the developing cartridge according to the comparative example are coagulated in the same manner, the time taken for the coagulation of the developer to be eliminated in the developing cartridge according to the embodiment, To about 64% of the time taken for the agglomeration of the developer in the developing cartridge to be solved.

The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative, and various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the invention described in the following claims.

1 ... main body 10 ... developing unit
13 ... developing roller 14 ... photosensitive drum
15 ... charging roller 16 ... regulating member
17a ... waste toner storing portion 20 ... developer cartridge
30 ... developer supply unit 40 ... supply pipe
50 ... Exposure machine 60 ... Intermediate transfer belt
61 ... intermediate transfer roller 70 ... transfer roller
80 ... fuser 90 ... feeding means
100 ... cartridge body 101 ... outlet
102 ... shutter portion 103 ... rotation driving shaft
200 ... transfer member 210 ... first coil spring
220, 220A, 220B ... second coil spring
230, 230A, 230B, 230C, 220D ... connection wire

Claims (14)

A developer cartridge detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus,
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cartridge body having a developer accommodating portion therein and having a discharge port for discharging the developer to the outside; And
And a conveying member rotatably installed in the main body of the cartridge and conveying the developer,
Wherein,
A first coil spring configured to convey the developer in a first direction toward the discharge port,
A second coil spring which is rotated together with the first coil spring to rotate, has a rotation diameter smaller than the rotation diameter of the first coil spring, and conveys the developer in a second direction away from the discharge port;
A first coil spring and a second coil spring that are connected to the first coil spring and the second coil spring, respectively, and are rotated together when the first coil spring and the second coil spring rotate, And a wire. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the connecting wire extends linearly along the longitudinal direction of the cartridge body. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a diameter of the connection wire is larger than a diameter of a rotation of the second coil spring. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the rotation diameter of the connection wire is equal to or smaller than the rotation diameter of the first coil spring. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the developer is a two-component developer containing a carrier and a toner,
Wherein the connecting wire has a magnetic force to attract the carrier. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the surface roughness of the connecting wire is larger than the surface roughness of the second coil spring. The method according to claim 1,
And the length of the second coil spring is shorter than the length of the first coil spring. 8. The method of claim 7,
And the length of the second coil spring is equal to or less than 1/3 of the length of the first coil spring. The method according to claim 1,
The first coil spring
Wherein a wire diameter of an area connected to the connecting wire is smaller than a wire diameter of the remaining area. The method according to claim 1,
The first coil spring
The rotation center axis of which is disposed at an acute angle with the rotation center axis of the first coil spring. A developer cartridge detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus,
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cartridge body having a developer accommodating portion therein and having a discharge port for discharging the developer to the outside; And
And a conveying member rotatably installed in the main body of the cartridge and conveying the developer,
Wherein,
A first coil spring configured to convey the developer in a first direction toward the discharge port,
A second coil spring which is rotated together with the first coil spring and is connected to the first coil spring and has a rotation diameter smaller than the rotation diameter of the first coil spring and transfers the developer in a second direction away from the discharge port And a second coil spring configured to rotate,
And the length of the second coil spring is shorter than the length of the first coil spring. 12. The method of claim 11,
And the length of the second coil spring is equal to or less than 1/3 of the length of the first coil spring. 12. The method of claim 11,
The first coil spring
The rotation center axis of which is disposed at an acute angle with the rotation center axis of the first coil spring. A developing device for supplying a developer to an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum to form a visible toner image;
The developer cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 13, which supplies the developer to the developing cartridge.
A transferring device for transferring the toner image onto a recording medium; And
And a fixing device for fixing the toner image to the recording medium.

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