JPH027077A - Toner replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent toner from being fed too much to a housing part by linking a carrier path where the toner is supplied with the toner housing part, providing a carrying member which is driven by a 2nd driving part to carry the toner to the toner housing part in the carrier path and controlling the carrying member based on the detection of the variation of load of a stirring member in the housing part. CONSTITUTION:At the time of developing, the toner advances in a pipe 3 from the toner cartridge 1 of a toner replenishing device by means of a carrying screw 7 which is made to rotate by a carrying motor M2 and it is fed in a hopper 2 where the toner is discharged from a supply port 6. When the toner 15 is supplied too much in the hopper 2, the rotation load of an agitator 10 which is made to rotate by a replenishing motor M1 (1st driving part) rises and a load current rises with the rising of the motor load of the motor M1. At such a time, when the load current exceeds specified current value i0, a toner carrier control means 19 stops the rotation of the motor M2 (2nd driving part) to prevent the toner 15 from being fed too much into the hopper 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device for replenishing toner to a developing section.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a method for replenishing toner to a developing section involves separating a hopper serving as a toner storage section that only stores toner and a developing section containing a carrier, and providing a toner replenishing roller between the two.

One method is two-component development, which adjusts the amount of toner supplied from the hopper to the developing section, and the other is one-component development, in which the collar is not separated from the developing section, the hopper remains in the developing section, and no carrier is used. There is a method.

In both of these cases, there is a hopper that stores a certain amount of toner, and when the toner in this part runs out, the toner is supplied from the toner storage device (cartridge type or bottle type) by falling due to its own weight. It has become.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As a method for supplying toner from a toner cartridge, which is a toner container, into a hopper, which is a toner storage section,
In the past, many devices supplied toner by letting it fall under its own weight as described above, but in recent years, as developing devices have become smaller and the storage capacity of toner cartridges has increased, toner cartridges have been separated from hoppers and The number of types of toner cartridges in which the toner in the toner cartridge is sent into the hopper by a toner transport mechanism is increasing.

In this case, the first method for sending the toner in the toner car 1 ridge into the hopper by the toner transport mechanism is to apply a drive to the toner transport mechanism at once when replacing the toner cartridge, and to transfer the toner in the toner cartridge into the hopper all at once. There is a way to send it to Secondly, in the case of two-component development, the toner transport mechanism is driven in synchronization with the rotation of the toner replenishment roller. Another method is to supply toner from a toner storage section to the hopper in an amount equal to the amount of toner that is replenished from the hopper to the developing device.

Furthermore, thirdly, there is a method in which the toner transport mechanism is constantly driven and is not controlled.

However, in any of these methods, if too much toner is sent from the toner car 1 heritage to the hopper, the toner in the hopper may solidify, or the stirring member installed in the hopper may be overloaded. As a result, rotation becomes difficult, and in the worst case, problems such as gear damage occur. None of the conventional devices accurately controls the toner force and transport of toner to feed the appropriate amount of toner from the cartridge into the hopper, and as a result, the above-mentioned problems are unavoidable. It has become.

Means to solve problems Therefore, in order to solve such problems.

The invention according to claim 1 provides a toner storage section that is driven by a first drive section and has a stirring member that replenishes toner to a six developing section, and a conveyance path through which toner is supplied from a toner storage device to this toner storage section. Continuously installed.

A conveying member driven by a second drive unit and conveying the toner to the toner storage unit is provided in the conveyance path, and the conveyance operation of the conveyance member is controlled by detecting load fluctuations of the stirring member in the toner storage unit. A toner transport control means is provided.

The invention according to claim 2 provides a toner accommodating section having a stirring member driven by a first driving section and replenishing toner to a developing section, and a conveying path through which toner is supplied from a toner accommodating device is connected to the toner accommodating section. A conveying member driven by a second drive unit and conveying the toner to the toner storage portion is provided in the conveyance path, a piezoelectric sensor is attached to one side of the toner storage portion, and the piezoelectric sensor causes the toner storage portion to be transported to the toner storage portion. A toner conveyance control means is provided for controlling the conveying operation of the conveying member by detecting pressure fluctuations in accordance with the amount of toner within the unit.

Accordingly, from the invention as claimed in claim 1, when too much toner is fed from the toner storage device to the toner storage portion via the conveyance path, the rotational load applied to the stirring member increases, and as a result, the first drive Since the load applied to the toner storage section also increases, the abnormal state can be detected by the toner transport control means and the transporting operation of the transporting member can be stopped, thereby preventing too much toner from being fed from the toner container to the toner storage section. Since it can be eliminated, it is possible to prevent toner coagulation, gear damage, etc.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 2, when too much toner is sent from the toner container to the toner container through the conveyance path, excessive pressure is applied to the piezoelectric sensor. The control means can detect this and stop the conveyance unit and the material conveyance operation.
Since it is possible to prevent overfeeding of toner from the toner container to the toner storage section, it is possible to prevent toner coagulation, damage to gears, etc.

Embodiment First, an embodiment of the invention set forth in claim 1 will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 5. The toner replenishing device is roughly divided into a toner cartridge 1 as a toner container, a hopper 2 as a toner storage section, a pipe 3 as a conveyance path connecting these components, and a developing section 4.

The toner cartridge 1 is attached to one end of the pipe 3 via a holding member 5, and the other end of the pipe 3 is connected to a supply port 6 at the top of the hopper 2. A conveyance screw 7 as a conveyance member is provided on the central axis inside the pipe 3, and this conveyance screw 7 is externally connected via a conveyance screw gear 8 and a conveyance drive gear 9 to a conveyance screw 7 as a second drive unit. It is connected to motor M2.

Further, an agitator 10 as a stirring member is provided on the central axis within the hopper 2.

An agitator gear 11 is attached to the outside thereof. Further, a replenishment roller 12 is provided parallel to and below the agitator 10, and a replenishment roller gear 13 is attached to the outside thereof.

The agitator 10 sequentially passes through the agitator gear 11, the replenishment roller gear 13, and the replenishment drive gear 4.
It is connected to a replenishment motor M, which serves as a first drive section.

Further, a stirring roller 16 for stirring the toner 15 is provided in the developing section 4, and a developing roller 17 is provided on the side surface of the stirring roller 16.
are arranged, and these are connected to the externally mounted gear 1.
8, a developing motor M; is connected to.

The toner transport control means 19 has a circuit configuration as shown in FIG. It is now possible to stop it.

Thereby, the amount of toner 15 conveyed from the toner cartridge and cartridge 1 into the hopper 2 can be controlled.

In such a configuration, the normal operating state will be described first. The toner 15 supplied from the toner cartridge 1 advances through the pipe 3 by a conveyance screw 7 rotated by a conveyance motor M2, is discharged from a supply port 6, and is fed into a hopper 2. The toner 15 in the hopper 2 is.

It is agitated by an agitator 10 rotated by a replenishment motor ML to prevent solidification. The toner 15 in the hopper 2 is sent into the developing section 4 via the supply roller 12. In the developing section 4, the toner 15 is stirred by the stirring roller 16, and the toner 15 is stirred by the stirring roller 16.
It adheres to the surface of 7. At this time, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 has already been charged by the charging section 22, and the toner 15 is attracted to this charged portion, thereby completing the developing process. Thereafter, the image is transferred onto the paper 24 by the transfer device 23, and then fixed, thereby completing the copying.

Next, the role of the toner transport control means 19 during development, which is the main part of the present invention, will be explained.

In the normal state as described above, the replenishment motor M.

The transport motor M3 and the transport motor M3 rotate synchronously, and the amount of toner 15 transported from the toner cartridge 1 to the hopper 2 by the transport screw 7 is normally the same as that of the toner 15 in the hopper 2 so as not to cause a shortage of toner 15. is set to be larger than the amount sent to the developing section 4 by the replenishment roller 12. Therefore, if toner consumption is low, toner 15
In some cases, the conveying screw 7 may overfeed into the hopper 2.

When the toner 15 is excessively supplied into the hopper 2 in this way, the rotational load of the agitator 0 increases,
Along with this, the motor load of the replenishment motor M□ also increases, so that its load current also increases.

At this time, the following processing is performed by the toner transport control means 19. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the load current exceeds a predetermined current value i, the rotation of the transport motor M2 is stopped. Due to this.

From toner cartridge 1 to hopper 2! -Na 15
Since the toner 15 is no longer supplied, it is possible to prevent the toner 15 from being fed too much into the hopper 2. Furthermore, when starting to supply the toner 15 from the toner cartridge 1 into the hopper 2 again, the load current of the replenishment motor M is set to the rated value i.

The drive of the transport motor M2 is started when the following conditions occur. By using the toner conveyance control means 19 in this way, the conveyance of the toner 15 can be easily controlled, and thereby, it is possible to prevent overfeeding of toner from the toner cartridge 1 to the hopper 2. This makes it possible to prevent solidification and gear damage.

In this embodiment, the conveyance motor M2 is used to drive the conveyance screw 7, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a clutch (not shown) may be used for driving the conveyance screw 7.

Next, an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2 will be described based on FIGS. 6 to 8. It should be noted that this embodiment differs from the invention in claim 1 in the part related to the toner transport control means, so only that part will be explained here, and the explanation of other same parts will be omitted and the same reference numerals will be used.

The piezoelectric sensor 25 is attached to one side of the upper part of the hopper 2 as a toner storage section.

The toner transport control means 26 has a circuit configuration as shown in FIG. 7, and uses a piezoelectric sensor 25, which is connected to the base 28 of the transistor Tr via an inverter 27. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the piezoelectric sensor 25
When the pressure of T is less than the reference pressure P0, its output remains at the L level, and current flows through the base 28 of the transistor T.
Since r is turned on, current flows to the transport motor M2, causing it to rotate. Further, the pressure of the piezoelectric sensor 25 is a reference value P.

In this case, no current flows to the base 28 and the transistor Tr is turned off, so that no current flows to the transport motor M2 and it remains in a stopped state.

In this way, the conveyance motor M2 can be freely rotated and stopped by the toner conveyance control means 26 using the piezoelectric sensor 25. Therefore, the amount of toner 15 conveyed from the toner cartridge 1 into the hopper 2 can be easily controlled. can be controlled. This makes it possible to prevent the toner 15 from being fed too much from the toner cartridge 1 into the hopper 2, similarly to the invention described in claim 1 described above, thereby preventing coagulation of the toner 15 and damage to the gear. It becomes possible.

Note that when the transport motor M2 is used to drive the transport screw 7 as in this embodiment, the piezoelectric sensor 25 is
The rotational speed of the conveying screw 7 can be controlled depending on the state of the pressure, and the speed of feeding the toner 15 into the hopper 2 can be increased or decreased. Further, the driving of the conveyance screw 7 is not limited to the conveyance motor M2.

It may be driven using a clutch (not shown). As mentioned above, the embodiments described in the invention claimed in claim 1 and the invention claimed in claim 2 are both for two-component developing devices, but they are not limited to this, and in the case of a one-component developing device. can also perform similar processing.

Effects of the Invention The invention as set forth in claim 1 provides a toner storage section that is driven by a first drive section and has a stirring member that replenishes toner to a developing section, and a conveyance system in which toner is supplied from a toner storage device to this toner storage section. A conveyance member is provided in the conveyance path to convey the toner to the toner accommodating section, and is driven by a second drive section in the conveyance path, and detects load fluctuations of the stirring member in the toner accommodating section to convey the toner. Since the toner conveyance control means for controlling the conveyance operation of the member is provided, if too much toner is fed from the toner container to the toner accommodating portion via the conveyance path, the rotational load applied to the stirring member increases.
Along with this, the load applied to the first drive section also increases, so
The abnormal state can be detected by the toner conveyance control means and the conveyance operation of the conveyance member can be stopped.
Since it is possible to prevent overfeeding of toner from the toner container to the toner accommodating portion, it is possible to prevent coagulation of the toner and damage to the gear.

The invention according to claim 2 provides a toner accommodating section having a stirring member driven by a driving section and replenishing toner to the developing section, and a conveyance path through which toner is supplied from the toner accommodating device to the toner accommodating section. A conveyance member is provided in the conveyance path to convey the toner to the toner storage section, and a piezoelectric sensor is attached to one side of the toner storage section. Since a toner conveyance control means is provided that detects pressure fluctuations in accordance with the amount of toner in the storage unit and controls the conveyance operation of the conveyance member, toner is fed from the toner storage unit to the toner storage unit via the conveyance path. When excess pressure occurs, excessive pressure is applied to the piezoelectric sensor, so the toner conveyance control means can detect this abnormal pressure fluctuation state and stop the conveyance operation of the conveyance member. Since it is possible to prevent overfeeding of toner to the toner storage section, it is possible to prevent toner coagulation, gear damage, etc.

5 is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view thereof, FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view illustrating an embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 2, and FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the toner transport control means; FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the pressure applied to the piezoelectric sensor and its output state.

1... Toner storage container, 2... Toner storage section, 3...
- Conveyance path, 4... Developing section, 7... Conveyance member, 10
... Stirring member, 15 ... Toner, 19 ... Toner transport control means, 25 ... Piezoelectric sensor, 26 ... Toner transport control means, M□ ... First drive section 5M2 ... Second drive unit applicant Rico Co., Ltd.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional front view showing an embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 1, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the toner transport control means, and FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between motor load and motor load current.
Figure 4 shows the toner supply device Figure J, Figure 31 J, Figure I4.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A toner accommodating section having a stirring member driven by a first driving section and replenishing toner to a developing section is provided, and a conveyance path through which toner is supplied from a toner accommodating device is connected to this toner accommodating section. A conveying member driven by a second drive unit and conveying the toner to the toner accommodating portion is provided in the conveying path, and a load fluctuation of the stirring member in the toner accommodating portion is detected to convey the conveying member. A toner replenishing device characterized by being provided with a toner transport control means for controlling operation. 2. A toner accommodating section having a stirring member driven by the first driving section and replenishing toner to the developing section is provided, and a conveying path through which toner is supplied from the toner accommodating device is connected to the toner accommodating section, and this conveying path A conveying member driven by a second drive unit to convey the toner to the toner storage unit is provided inside the toner storage unit, a piezoelectric sensor is attached to one side of the toner storage unit, and the piezoelectric sensor is used to adjust the amount of toner in the toner storage unit. 1. A toner replenishing device comprising: a toner conveyance control means for controlling a conveying operation of the conveying member by detecting fluctuations in pressure.