JP3087927B2 - Powder amount detecting device and powder amount detecting method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder amount detecting device and a powder amount detecting method, and more particularly, to an electronic copying machine, a facsimile,
The present invention relates to a powder amount detecting device and a powder amount detecting method suitable for a developing device in an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electrostatic electrophotographic developing systems have good reproducibility and quality of images and characters to be developed and can withstand long-term storage. Therefore, they are used in image forming apparatuses such as electronic copying machines, facsimile machines and laser printers. It has become mainstream.

In recent years, copying machines, facsimile machines,
As printers have become more personalized and these housings have become smaller, the problem of how to supply developer to the developing device in the housing has become a problem. Of the whole user has been adopted.

A conventional detection method for detecting the amount of developer as a powder in a container for storing such a developer is to dispose a detection element in which a piezoelectric element is mounted on a diaphragm in the storage container, and a vibration surface of the piezoelectric element is provided. And the amount of the developer in the container is detected by a change in gain or a phase of an output signal of the piezoelectric element.

[0005]

The conventional detection method described above has the advantage that the detection accuracy is high and the reproducibility and reliability are high because the developer is brought into direct contact with the vibrating surface of the piezoelectric element.

However, in the case of this conventional detection method, a detection element using a piezoelectric element must be directly attached to a container, and as a result, an actual user of a copying machine or the like looks like a cassette type container. At the time of replacement, the usable storage element is discarded together with the used storage container, which is very uneconomical.

Therefore, the present invention has an improved structure, and it is not necessary to dispose of the potential sensor for detecting the amount of charged powder in the container when the container is replaced, thereby improving the economy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a powder amount detecting device capable of performing the method and a powder amount detecting method using the powder amount detecting device.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In a powder amount detection device that detects an amount of powder stored in a storage container and supplied to a target portion in a charged state, an electric power generated by the charged powder disposed to face the storage container. An electric field line converging member that converges the field lines and sends it to the outside of the container; and an electric field line concentrating member that is disposed in a non-contact state in the vicinity of the electric field line converging member. And a potential sensor for detecting the amount of powder in the inside.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a powder amount detecting method for detecting the amount of powder stored in a storage container and supplied to a target portion in a charged state, wherein the powder amount detection method is arranged so as to face the storage container. The line of electric force generated by the charged powder in the container is converged by the electric line of force converging member and sent out,
The amount of powder in the storage container is detected by a potential fluctuation based on the presence or absence of the electric lines of force of a potential sensor arranged in a non-contact state near the electric line of force converging member.

[0010]

The operation of each invention having the above construction will be described below.

In the powder amount detecting device according to the first aspect, the electric field line converging member disposed to face the inside of the storage container converges the electric line of force generated by the charged powder in the storage container. To send out. A potential sensor arranged in a non-contact state in the vicinity of the electric force line converging member detects the amount of powder in the storage container based on a potential change based on the presence or absence of the electric force lines from the electric force line converging member.

With such an operation, the amount of charged powder in the storage container can be detected by a potential sensor in a non-contact manner.
As a result, there is no powder in the storage container, and even when the storage container is replaced, it is not necessary to replace the potential sensor as it is, and the potential sensor is not discarded, thereby improving the economic efficiency.

According to the powder amount detecting method of the second aspect,
The amount of charged powder in the storage container can be detected in a non-contact and highly accurate manner by using the electric force line converging member and the potential sensor exhibiting the above-described operation.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail.

The powder amount detecting apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example applied to a developing device in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine, a facsimile, a laser printer or the like.

That is, the powder amount detecting device 1 includes the toner 2 disposed on the wall of the container 3 for the toner 2 which is a charged powder constituting the developing device so as to face the container 3. A high dielectric constant member 4 as an electric force line converging member for converging the electric field lines generated by the member and sending the electric field lines to the outside of the housing 3, and non-contact with the vicinity of the high dielectric constant member 4 outside the housing 3 A potential sensor 5 for detecting the amount of powder in the storage container 3 by a potential change based on the presence or absence of the electric lines of force arranged in a state, and a signal processing means 6 for processing an output signal of the potential sensor 5; A display unit 7 for displaying a processing result of the signal processing unit 6.

A developing roller 8 driven in a direction indicated by an arrow by a driving source (not shown) and a blade arranged facing the outer periphery of the developing roller 8 are provided in an opening provided at one end of the container 3. 9, a thin layer of the toner 2 is formed on the outer periphery of the developing roller 8 by the blade 9, and the thin layer of the toner 2 is supplied to the surface of the photoreceptor drum 10 disposed further to the side of the developing roller 8. A latent image formed in advance on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 10 is developed.

Further, a stirring blade 11 is arranged inside the storage container 3, and the stirring blade 11 shown in FIG.
The toner 2 is also agitated, and the carbon nucleus 2b covered with the coating resin 2a is frictionally charged to generate a line of electric force t from the toner 2.

Next, a method for detecting the amount of powder using the above-described powder amount detecting device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The container 3 in the powder amount detecting device 1
As shown in FIG. 3, the high dielectric member 4 disposed inside the container 3 shows the electric force line t generated by the toner 2 charged by the stirring operation of the stirring blade 11 disposed in the container 3. And sent to the potential sensor 5 arranged in a non-contact state near the storage container 3.

In this case, if the amount of the charged toner 2 in the storage container 3 is large, the amount of the electric lines of force t at which the high dielectric member 4 converges is large, and the amount of the charged toner 2 is reduced. If the amount is small, the amount of the electric lines of force t at which the high dielectric member 4 converges also decreases, and the amount of the charged toner 2 in the storage container 3 greatly decreases. When it does not exist, the high dielectric member 4 does not converge the line of electric force t.

The output potential of the potential sensor 5 arranged in a non-contact state in the vicinity of the storage container 3 becomes larger or smaller depending on the presence or absence of the electric line of force t from the high dielectric member 4 and further disappears at all. The output potential of the potential sensor 5 is subjected to signal processing by the signal processing means 6, and as a result, information indicating the amount of the toner 2 in the storage container 3 is displayed on the screen of the display means 7.

By such an operation, the amount of the charged toner 2 in the storage container 3 can be detected by the potential sensor 4 in a non-contact manner with high accuracy. As a result, the toner 2 in the storage container 3 disappears, and Even when the sensor 3 is replaced, the potential sensor 4 can be continuously used as it is, and the potential sensor 4 is not thrown away, thereby improving the economic efficiency.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention.

[0025]

According to the present invention described in detail above, since the above-mentioned configuration is employed, the potential sensor for detecting the amount of charged powder in the container needs to be discarded even when the container is replaced. Thus, it is possible to provide a powder amount detection device capable of improving the economic efficiency without the need.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a powder amount detecting method capable of accurately detecting the amount of charged powder in a storage container in a non-contact manner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a toner used in an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 powder amount detection device 2 toner 3 container 4 high dielectric member 5 potential sensor 8 developing roller

Continuation of front page (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08 G01N 27/60 G01F 23/00 G01F 23/22-23/296

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A powder amount detection device for detecting an amount of powder stored in a storage container and supplied to a target location in a charged state, wherein the charged powder is disposed facing the storage container. An electric field line converging member that converges the electric line of force generated by the body and sends it out of the container, and a potential based on the presence or absence of some or no electric lines of force arranged in a non-contact state near the electric line converging member A potential sensor for detecting an amount of the powder in the storage container based on a fluctuation. 2. A method for detecting an amount of powder stored in a storage container and supplied to a target portion in a charged state, the method comprising: an electric force line converging member disposed facing the storage container; The electric field lines generated by the charged powder in the container are converged and sent outward, and some or no electric field lines of the potential sensor arranged in a non-contact state near the electric line converging member. A powder amount detection method, wherein the amount of powder in the storage container is detected based on a potential change based on the presence or absence.