JPH032883A - Developer supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify loading operation by inserting a developer supplying container into a holder part from one edge side and loading it. CONSTITUTION:The developer supplying container 1 is inserted into the holder part 20 from the edge part possessing a developer supplying port and supported. Rotary force is transmitted to the developer supplying container 1, which is supported by the holder part 20, from a driving part 40 through a driving joint part 42. A developer in the developer container 1 is carried along a spiral groove 4 according to the rotation of the container 1 and fed to a carrying path 31 through the developer supplying port and a developer receiving port. The developer which has been fed to a carrying path 31 is carried to a developing part. Thus, the loading operation is simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a developer supply device that supplies developer to a developing section of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine that uses a powder developer. It is something.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as the developer supply device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 591886
There is something proposed in Publication No. 78.

This developer supply device includes a developer supply container, a holding section for the developer supply container, a drive section that rotates the developer supply container attached to the holding section, and a developer supply container supplied from the developer supply container. It is composed of a conveying section that conveys the agent to the developing section.

Here, the developer supply container has a spiral groove extending in the axial direction along the inner circumference of the cylindrical body, a circumferential gear part on the outer circumference, and a developer supply port on the front part. We are prepared. The holding part of the developer supply container includes a developer receiver having an inlet, a cap into which the front part of the developer supply container can be inserted, and a cap that supports the rear part of the developer supply container and holds the developer supply container. It consists of a support frame that biases the cap. The drive section is disposed on the side of the holding section, and includes a drive gear that engages with an outer gear portion of a developer supply container mounted on the holding section.

In the transport section, the developer receiver of the holding section is connected to the inlet.
Equipped with developer conveying means.

In the developer supply device having the above configuration, the developer supply container has a front portion having a developer supply port inserted into the cap, a rear portion supported by a support frame, and held in a state biased against the cap by the support frame. It is housed in the department. Further, the outer peripheral gear portion is meshed with the drive gear of the drive device.

The developer supply container is rotated by the rotation of the drive gear, and the developer inside is sent to the front along the spiral groove, and the developer receptacle is supplied from the developer supply port to the conveyance section via the inlet. Ru. Further, the developer supplied to the conveying section is conveyed to the developing section.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the developer supply device, when installing the developer supply container, the support frame is retracted rearward, and a sufficient distance is left between the cap and the rear wall of the support frame. The mounting operation was troublesome because it had to be secured.

In addition, the holding part requires two members, the cap and the support frame, and also requires a spring to bias the support frame against the cap, so there are many parts.
Assembly was complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes a developer supply device having a developer supply port and a drive connecting portion at one end, and a cylindrical container containing a developer having a spiral groove extending in the axial direction along the surface; ii. a conveyance means for conveying the developer sent to the conveyance path to a developing section; and iii. inserting the cylindrical container. iv. a developer receptacle that supports the inserted cylindrical container and that guides the developer supplied from the developer supply port to the transport path; iv. and a drive section that transmits rotational force to the cylindrical container inserted into the drive section via the drive connection section.

(Function) In the developer supply device, the developer supply container is inserted into and supported by the holding portion from one end side having the developer supply port.

A rotational force is transmitted to the developer supply container supported by the holding part from the driving part via the driving connection part. The developer in the developer supply container is conveyed along the spiral groove based on the rotation thereof, and the developer supply port and the developer receiver are sent out to the conveyance path through the inlet. The developer sent to the transport path is transported to the developing section.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In Figure 1.2, 1 is a developer supply container (hereinafter referred to as "
"container". ), a cylindrical body 2 with one end open and the other end closed, and an Ml removably installed in the open part of this cylindrical body 2.
It consists of o. Note that the other end of the cylindrical body 2 may also be closed with a lid.

The cylindrical body 2 is integrally formed by blow molding using a thermoplastic resin, and a protrusion 3 protruding inward is formed in a spiral shape along the inner peripheral surface, and the protrusion 3 and the protrusion 3 are formed in a spiral shape along the inner peripheral surface. A spiral groove 4 is formed between them.

Moreover, on the open side of the cylindrical body 2 (the left side in FIG. 1),
An opening 6 is provided near the terminal end 5 of the spiral groove 4, and a recess 8 protruding inwardly at the center of the wall 7 on the closed side of the cylindrical body 2.
is the provision.

Mlo has an inner surface bulging toward the closed side of the cylindrical body 2 (the right side in FIG. 1), and is provided with a conical regulating portion 11 having an apex on the central axis of the cylindrical body 2. An engaging recess 12 is provided in the center. In addition, the regulation section 11
may be hemispherical or semi-ellipsoidal.

In the container 1 having the above structure, the opening 6 of the cylindrical body 2 is covered with a sealing tape (not shown), the toner X is loaded, and the lid 10 is sealed. Note that instead of toner X, a starter made of toner and magnetic carrier may be loaded.

Next, in FIGS. 3 and 4, 20 is a holding part for the container l;
0 is a transport section, and 40 is a drive section.

The holding part 20 has a cylindrical part 21 with one end open, and the inner diameter of this cylindrical part 2I is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical body 2 (
It is. Further, the inner diameter of the open side of the cylindrical portion 21 is enlarged to form a guide portion 22, and a hole 23 is formed in the center of the closed side. The holding section 20 is supported by the conveyance section 30 in a substantially horizontal state.

The conveyance section 30 includes a conveyance path 31 connected to a developing section (not shown) and a conveyance blade 32 provided therein.
is designed to be rotated by a motor (not shown) or the like.

Further, a drop port 33 is formed at the connection part with the holding part 20. Seal members 34 and 34 are provided on the inner peripheral surfaces of the cylindrical portion 21 on the rear side and the front side sandwiching the drop opening 33.

The drive section 40 includes a drive device 41 whose drive shaft 42 is inserted into the hole 23 of the cylindrical section 21 .

In the above configuration, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the container 1 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 21 from one end side having the lid 10 with the sealing tape of the opening 6 peeled off and the opening 6 facing upward. A drive shaft 42 is fitted into the engagement recess 12 and supported by the drive shaft 42 and the cylindrical portion 21 .

The container "Aif 1" supported by the holding part 30 is connected to the drive device 4
1 (by rotation of the drive shaft 42), it is rotated in the direction of arrow a.

As a result, the toner X in the container 1 moves along the spiral groove 4 toward the lid. A space (hereinafter referred to as 1" regulation space") 13 between the regulation part 11 of the lid 10 and the inner surface of the container 1
Since the cross-sectional area of the regulated space 13 decreases toward the open side, the movement of the toner X toward the open side is regulated, and the amount of toner that reaches the open end becomes constant. .

The toner X that has reached the open side along the spiral groove 4 is transferred to the container 1.
When the opening 6 is positioned downward with the rotation of , the material is dropped and supplied from the opening 6 to the conveying path 31 via the drop port 33 . That is, a fixed amount of toner is supplied to the conveyance path 31 every time the container l rotates once. And the conveyance path 31
The toner X supplied to is conveyed to the developing section based on the rotation of the conveying blade 32.

If the amount of toner supplied from the container 1 to the conveyance path 31 per rotation is represented on the vertical axis, and the number of rotations of the container 1 is represented on the horizontal axis,
As shown in FIG. 5, the amount of toner supplied from the container 1 per rotation is stable except immediately after the container 1 is loaded and when the toner is empty. In particular, the case B of this example
In +, since the opening 6 is provided near the terminal end 5 of the spiral groove 4, the toner X moving along the spiral groove 4 falls directly into the opening 6 without being dispersed or flowing backward, and is kept constant. Supplied in quantity.

In FIG. 6, the holding part 20 is extended along the container 1, and the cylindrical body 2 is provided with a protrusion 3a that protrudes outward in parallel with the helical protrusion 3. According to this embodiment, toner spilled onto the cylindrical portion 21 is swept toward the conveyance path 31 by the protrusion 3a as the container 1 rotates, so that toner scattering is prevented and toner is wasted. It can be used effectively without having to do anything.

7th. 8. Figure 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, a container 50 has a cylindrical body 5 similar to the container 1.
A protrusion 52 is spirally provided along the inner circumferential surface of the
, 52, and an opening 54 at one end.
is formed. However, it does not have a conical regulating part. Further, a drive connecting portion 55 is integrally provided at the center of the outer surface of the one end side having the opening portion 54 .

In the holding part 60, one end of a cylindrical part 6I is closed by a wall 62, and a hole 63 is provided in the center of the wall 62. Further, a pair of legs 64 and 64 are provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 61, and protrusions 65 and 65 are formed at the tips of the legs, respectively. Further, the cylindrical portion 61 has a drop opening 66 formed between the leg portions 64 and 64, and a sealing member 67 made of urethane foam, felt, etc. is attached to the inner peripheral surface. Incidentally, if a sheet made of a low-friction material such as nipolytetrafluoroethylene is attached to the surface of the sealing member 67, the frictional force can be reduced.

In the conveyance unit 70, a conveyance blade 72 is rotatably provided in a conveyance path 71. Further, a support section 73 is provided above one end of the conveyance section 70, and a drop lower 4 communicating with the conveyance path 71 is formed in the support section 73, and engaging sections 75.
75 are provided respectively.

The drive section 80 includes a drive device 81.

In the above configuration, the container 50 has an opening 54. The drive connecting portion 55 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 61 from one end having the driving connecting portion 55 , and the driving connecting portion 55 projects from the hole 63 .

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the holding part 60 with the container 50 attached thereto connects the protruding part 65.65 with the engaging part 75.7 of the supporting part 73.
5 and is fixed. At this time, the lower drop port 66 of the holding section 60 and the drop lower 4 of the transport section 70 are aligned, and the two are in communication. Further, the drive connection portion 55 is connected to the drive device 81.
is connected to a drive shaft 82 of.

Therefore, when the drive device 8I is driven, the rotation of the drive shaft 82 is transmitted to the container 50 via the drive connection portion 55, and the container 50 rotates within the holding portion 60. When the container 50 rotates, the toner contained therein is conveyed in the direction of the arrow along the spiral groove 53 and is supplied to the conveyance path 71 with the opening 54 communicating with the drop port 66. . Note that a sealing member 67 is provided on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 61.
Since the opening 54 of the container 50 is covered by this, toner will not be sent out from the container 1 in a state where the opening 54 is not aligned with the drop port 66. In addition, the opening 54 can be opened and closed (with a lid that can be opened and closed), and the opening 54 can be used as a fall port 66.
If the toner is supplied only when facing the toner, toner leakage can be further reduced.

When the toner in the container 50 is consumed, the container 50 is moved to the holding part 6.
0 and is removed from the conveyance unit 70, and a new container loaded with toner is installed in place of the container 50.

According to this embodiment, the container 50 is attached and detached together with the holding portion 60, and the drop opening 66 is completely prevented by the sealing member 67, so that toner spillage can be prevented during attachment and detachment.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, in the developer supply device according to the present invention, the developer supply container can be mounted by inserting it into the holding portion from one end, so the mounting operation is extremely simple. It is. Moreover, the structure of the holding part is simple, the number of parts is small, and assembly is simple and easy. Furthermore, since the holding portion has a toner sealing function, toner spillage can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the developer supply container, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the developer supply container, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the developer supply device, and FIG.
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the developer supply device, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of rotations of the developer supply container and the amount of developer supplied per revolution, and Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 are diagrams showing the developer supply. Another embodiment of the device is shown, FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view, FIG. 7 is a perspective view, and FIG.
, 9 is a cross-sectional view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Developer supply container, 2... Cylindrical body, 3... Projection, 4... Spiral groove, 6... Opening, 10... Lid,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12... Engagement recessed part, 20... Holding part, 21... Cylindrical part, 30... Conveyance part, 33... Drop opening, 40...
- Drive unit, 41... Drive device, 42... Drive shaft. Figure 4 Figure 5 Number of container rotations (times)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A cylindrical container containing a developer, which has a developer supply port and a drive connection part on one end side, and has a spiral groove extending in the axial direction along the inner circumferential surface, and a developer in the conveyance path. a conveying means for conveying to the developing section; and a developer receiving means into which the cylindrical container can be inserted, supporting the inserted cylindrical container, and guiding the developer supplied from the developer supply port to the conveying path. 1. A developer supply device comprising: a holding section having a cylindrical container inserted into the holding section; and a driving section that transmits rotational force to a cylindrical container inserted into the holding section via the drive connection section.