JP4569239B2 - Toner cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner cartridge containing toner used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine to which an electrophotographic system is applied, and an image forming apparatus using the toner cartridge.

  For the image forming apparatus, a toner cartridge that is easy to handle and can be easily replenished without scattering toner around is used. The toner cartridge functions as a toner transport container until it is mounted on the image forming apparatus, and also functions as a toner supply tank after it is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

  In such a toner cartridge, various improvements have been made in order to improve scattering of toner, mixing of foreign matters, fluidity, and the like (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 5).

JP 2000-47464 A JP 2003-29509 A JP 2003-122100 A JP2003-208003 JP 2003-323034 A

  On the other hand, if toner is put into the toner cartridge and left for a long period of time, the toner group accumulates downward and the toner group becomes hard, causing the gears to jump when driving the agitator, and the toner supplied to the developing device is not easily loosened. There is a problem that a so-called “bottom drop” occurs in which the toner that has been transferred to the developing device causes a group of toner to adhere to the image with a diameter of about several millimeters regardless of the latent image. . In particular, this blurring is remarkable when a small particle size toner is used or under high temperature and high humidity.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems and achieve the following object. It is an object of the present invention, bets toner cartridge capable with reducing the driving torque of the cartridge body of the agitating and conveying member, prevents tooth jump or Tonabota off of the gear of the transfer member, and image forming with it Is to provide a device.

The above problem is solved by the following means. That is,
The toner cartridge of the present invention is
A toner cartridge body filled with toner;
A toner outlet that is provided in the toner cartridge main body and allows the toner to be carried out of the toner cartridge main body;
An agitating / conveying member disposed inside the toner cartridge main body and configured to rotate and convey the toner toward the toner carry-out port while agitating the toner, wherein the agitating member is formed by curving a linear member in a spiral shape. A conveying member ;
Together provided at the bottom of the toner cartridge main body at the time of mounting the image forming apparatus, a gas inlet for flowing the toner cartridge main body inside the gas when mounted on the image forming apparatus, the cartridge body axis direction and A plurality of gas inlets each arranged along the orthogonal direction ;
Have
There is a gas flow path wall bent at the edge of the gas inlet so that the gas flows from the gas inlet into the toner cartridge main body toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the stirring and conveying member. And
A toner cartridge comprising a filter that allows only the gas to pass therethrough at the gas inlet .

In the toner cartridge of the present invention, the configuration is such that gas can flow from the bottom of the toner cartridge main body, where the charged toner tends to accumulate and become hard, and the accumulated toner can be loosened efficiently, thus reducing the drive torque of the agitating and conveying member. At the same time, it is possible to prevent gear skipping of the conveying member and toner toner dropping.
Further, the gas flows from the gas inlet into the toner cartridge main body toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the stirring and conveying member, so that the toner does not scatter excessively due to the introduced gas. It can be loosened and toner can be prevented from clogging the gas inlet.

In the toner cartridge of the present invention, the gas inlet is more that you are provided a plurality, it is possible to flow a gas over efficiently toner cartridge main body bottom areas.

In the toner cartridge of the present invention, wherein the gas inlet, more and this the filter for passing only the gas is provided, as well as prevent the influx of foreign objects into the toner cartridge main body, the toner cartridge main body The outflow of toner from the inside can be prevented.

  In the toner cartridge of the present invention, the toner cartridge main body may be provided with a gas discharge port for discharging the gas that has flowed into the toner cartridge body. With this configuration, the inflowing gas is efficiently discharged from the inside of the toner cartridge body, and the inflowing gas is prevented from being filled inside the toner cartridge body.

  In the toner cartridge of the present invention, it is preferable that a filter that allows only the gas to pass through is provided at the gas discharge port provided in the toner cartridge body. With this configuration, foreign matter can be prevented from flowing into the toner cartridge body, and toner can be prevented from flowing out of the toner cartridge body.

  In the toner cartridge of the present invention, the toner may have a volume average particle diameter of 1.5 μm or more and 5 μm or less. In particular, even when a small particle size toner that tends to accumulate and become hard is used, it is possible to reduce the driving torque of the conveying member and to prevent the gear teeth of the conveying member from dropping and the toner from dropping.

On the other hand, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is
Developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier with toner;
Transfer means for transferring the developed toner image on the image carrier to a recording medium to form an image;
A toner cartridge for replenishing the developing means with the toner;
Have
The toner cartridge is the toner cartridge of the present invention,
It is characterized by having gas inflow means for allowing gas to flow into the toner cartridge main body.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, as described above, it is possible to reduce the drive torque of the agitating / conveying member and to prevent tooth skipping and toner dropout of the conveying member.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the developing unit is provided with a gas discharge port for discharging the gas flowing into the toner cartridge main body. With this configuration, the inflowing gas is efficiently discharged from the inside of the toner cartridge body to the gas discharging port provided in the developing unit via the toner discharging port of the toner cartridge, and the filling of the inflowing gas inside the toner cartridge main body is prevented. The

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that a filter that allows only the gas to pass therethrough is provided at the gas discharge port provided in the developing unit. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from flowing into the developing unit and to prevent toner from flowing out from the developing unit.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the gas inflow unit flows gas into the toner cartridge main body before or simultaneously with the start of driving of the stirring and conveying member in the toner cartridge. With this configuration, the agitating / conveying member is driven after the toner accumulated in the bottom of the toner cartridge main body due to the inflow of the gas is loosened or loosened, so that the driving torque of the agitating / conveying member is effectively reduced and the agitating / conveying member It is possible to prevent tooth skipping and toner dropout.

  According to the toner cartridge and the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the drive torque of the agitating / conveying member inside the cartridge main body, and to prevent the gear member of the conveying member from skipping or dropping out of the toner.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that members having substantially the same function are given the same reference numerals throughout the drawings, and description thereof is omitted in some cases.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view showing the toner cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic front sectional view showing the toner cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional side view showing the toner cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The laser printer 10 as an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment forms an image (toner image) based on image information input from an external apparatus by a known electrophotographic process, and records the image on a recording sheet or the like. Is.

  The electrophotographic process is a process of charging the electrophotographic photosensitive member, forming an electrostatic latent image by exposure, developing the electrostatic latent image with toner, and transferring the toner image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member to a recording material. This is a series of processes in which an image is recorded on a recording material by heat fixing. Note that detailed descriptions of those not directly related to the essence of the present invention will be omitted.

  The laser printer 10 is capable of forming a color image using magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), and cyan (C) toners. In the following description, K, Y, M, or C will be added after the reference numerals when displaying the distinction according to each color. (For example, developing device 17Y etc.)

  The laser printer 10 includes four photosensitive drums 11 (Y, M, K, and C) as the photosensitive drum unit 12, a charging roll (not shown) that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 11, and each charged photosensitive member. The exposure unit 14 forms the electrostatic latent image of each color corresponding to the input information on each photosensitive drum 11 by separately irradiating the surface of the drum 11 with each laser beam light Bm corresponding to each color of Y, M, K, and C. Then, the electrostatic latent images on the photosensitive drums 11 are developed to form toner images of the respective colors Y, M, K, and C, and developing devices 17 (Y, M, K, and C) of the respective colors as the developing units 16. ) And.

  The laser printer 10 also includes two first intermediate transfer drums 18 and 18 on which the toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photosensitive drums 11 are electrostatically primary-transferred, and the first intermediate transfer drums 18 and 19. A secondary intermediate transfer drum 20 for electrostatically secondary-transferring each of the multiple toner images respectively formed on the recording medium P, and a transfer roll 22 for transferring the multiple toner images on the secondary intermediate transfer drum 20 to the recording paper P. And a fixing unit 24 for fixing each of the multiple toner images transferred onto the recording paper P onto which the multiple toner images have been transferred.

  Each developing device 17 is supplied with toner as needed by each toner transport mechanism 28 from each toner cartridge 26 (Y, M, K, C) containing four colors of toner. Each toner cartridge 26 is detachable. When the toner runs out, it can be replaced with a new toner cartridge 26.

  In the toner transport mechanism 28, a pipe portion 30 formed in a cylindrical shape by a soft synthetic resin having flexibility is attached to a joint portion 29 to which the toner cartridge 26 is connected. Inside the pipe portion 30, a conveying screw member (not shown) is disposed. The pipe portion 30 conveys the toner carried to the joint portion 29 from a toner carry-out port 38 of the toner cartridge main body 36, which will be described later, by this screw member, and supplies the toner to the developing device 17.

  The toner cartridge 26 is connected to a gas inflow device 34 (for example, a pump) via a gas inflow pipe 32.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the toner cartridge 26 includes a cylindrical toner cartridge main body 36 and side wall portions 36 a and 36 b positioned at both ends of the toner cartridge main body 36.

  A toner carry-out port 38 for carrying the toner toward the developing device 17 is provided on the peripheral surface on one end side of the toner cartridge main body 36.

  Although not shown, a belt portion is slidably attached to the toner cartridge main body 36, and a storage portion for storing the toner carry-out port 38 is provided on the belt portion outside the toner carry-out port 38. Yes. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 26 is not attached to the laser printer 10 (or immediately after attachment), the toner carry-out port 38 is stored in the storage unit, and the toner in the toner cartridge main body 36 leaks out from the toner carry-out port 38. It is not going out.

  Inside the toner cartridge main body 36, an agitator 40 (agitating and conveying member) that conveys the toner toward the toner carry-out port 38 while stirring the toner is provided. The agitator 40 is configured, for example, by bending a metal linear member (for example, stainless steel (SUS304WP)) having a circular cross section in a spiral shape so as to be disposed over substantially the entire area of the toner cartridge body 36. ing. One end of the agitator 40 is connected to the coupling portion, and the other end is a free end that is not constrained.

  When the toner cartridge 26 is mounted on the laser printer 10, the coupling unit 44 is connected to a rotational driving force member (not shown) disposed on the laser printer 10 main body side. Then, the coupling portion 44 is rotated by the rotational driving force member, and the rotational force is transmitted to the agitator 40 in the toner cartridge main body 36. The coupling portion 44 can be made of a synthetic resin, for example, POM (polyacetal resin).

  For this reason, the agitator 40 is rotated by applying a rotational force from the coupling portion 44 and transports the toner in the toner cartridge main body 36 toward the toner outlet 38 while stirring.

  At the bottom of the toner cartridge main body 36, a gas inlet 42 for allowing gas to flow into the toner cartridge main body 36 is provided along with the toner outlet 38. The gas inflow pipe 32 is connected to the formation region of the gas inlet 42, and the gas is introduced into the toner cartridge main body 36 by the gas inflow device 34. Although not shown, the gas inflow mechanism 46 can be connected to the toner cartridge in the same manner as the toner transport mechanism 28.

  Here, the bottom of the toner cartridge main body 36 is a position directly below the center axis of the cartridge in the gravity direction in the storage state of the cartridge or the apparatus mounted state of the cartridge, and means the lowest portion where the toner is accumulated.

  The gas inlet 42 is provided with a plurality of square openings (opening shapes) having a maximum diameter of 1 to 10 mm and a pitch of 3 to 60 mm, for example. The opening shape of the gas inlet 42 is not limited to a square, and may be an arbitrary shape such as a rectangle, a circle, or an ellipse. Moreover, the magnitude | size can also be selected suitably.

  The number and pitch (interval) of the gas inlets 42 can be selected as appropriate. However, if the pitch is too large (for example, exceeding 70 mm), the gas flowing in from the adjacent gas inlets 42 This is not effective because it is difficult for the synergistic effect to appear and it may be difficult to loosen the entire toner group. In particular, it is remarkable when the axial pitch (interval) is too large. In the present embodiment, the gas inlets 42 are arranged in six rows (alignment in the direction orthogonal to the cartridge axial direction), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, three rows or one row may be used.

  A filter 48 that allows only gas to pass therethrough is provided in the gas inlet 42 (region where the gas inlet 42 is formed). With this filter, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from flowing into the toner cartridge main body 36 and to prevent the toner from flowing out from the toner cartridge main body 36 (so-called toner cloud generation). As such a filter 48 for allowing the inflowing gas to pass without passing the toner, for example, a Fujifilm micro filter AstroPore PSX200 or the like is applied.

  The gas inlet 42 may be formed simply by providing an opening, but it is preferable to control the inflow direction of the gas flowing into the toner cartridge main body 36 by providing a gas flow path wall 42 a at the edge of the opening. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the gas inlet 42 is provided with a gas flow path wall 42 a having a bent cross-sectional shape, and the gas flows in toward the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator 40. Thus, by letting the gas flow toward the downstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator 40, the toner can be loosened without being excessively scattered, and the toner is prevented from being clogged in the gas inlet 42. At the same time, clogging of the filter 48 is prevented. In FIG. 5, the arrow indicates the rotation direction of the agitator 40, and the dotted line indicates the locus of the agitator 40.

  The gas inflow port 42 is not limited to the above embodiment, but, for example, a gas flow path wall 42a having a bent cross-sectional shape is provided so that gas flows into the upstream side in the rotational direction of the agitator 40. The form (see FIG. 6A) is not preferable because the toner easily flows into the opening and causes a horse head. Also in the form (FIG. 6B) in which the gas flow channel wall 42a having a straight cross-sectional shape is inclined so that gas flows in toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the agitator 40 or toward the toner discharge side. Good. Further, the gas inlet 42 may be simply opened (FIG. 6C) without providing the gas flow path wall 42a. The arrows in FIG. 6 indicate the rotation direction of the agitator 40.

  Further, the toner cartridge main body 36 is provided with a gas discharge port 50 for discharging the introduced gas. The gas discharge port 50 is provided above the other end of the toner cartridge main body 36 opposite to the end where the toner outlet 38 is provided. By providing the gas discharge port 50, the inflowing gas is efficiently discharged from the inside of the toner cartridge body, and the inflowing gas inside the toner cartridge body 36 is prevented from being filled.

  Further, the gas outlet 50 is provided with a filter similar to the filter 48 provided at the gas inlet 42. As a result, foreign matter can be prevented from flowing into the toner cartridge main body 36 and toner can be prevented from flowing out of the toner cartridge main body.

  Although not shown, the gas discharge port 50 and the filter 48 provided on the gas discharge port 50 can also be provided on the developing device 17. As a result, the inflowing gas flows into the developing device 17 through the toner carry-out port 38 and is then discharged.

  Printing of a full-color image by such a laser printer 10 is generally performed as follows.

  First, after the four photosensitive drums 11 are uniformly charged by a charging roll (not shown) in the photosensitive drum unit 12, Y, M, K, and C are transferred from the exposure unit 14 to the surface of each charged photosensitive drum 11. Each laser beam Bm corresponding to each color is irradiated separately, scanned and exposed on each photosensitive drum 11 through a gap of the developing unit 16, and an electrostatic latent image of each color corresponding to input information is formed on each photosensitive drum 11. Is done.

  Next, the electrostatic latent images on the respective photosensitive drums 11 are respectively developed by the developing devices 17 of the respective colors of the developing unit 16 and become toner images of the respective colors Y, M, K, and C.

Here, the developing device 17 is replenished with toner as needed from each toner cartridge 26 (Y, M, K, C) containing four colors of toner by each toner transport mechanism 28. When supplying the toner, the agitator 40 is rotationally driven by the gas inflow device 34 after the gas inflow from the gas inlet 42 to the inside of the toner cartridge main body 36 or simultaneously with the gas inflow, and the inside of the toner cartridge main body 36 is driven. The toner is agitated and conveyed to the toner outlet 38. The amount of gas flowing into the toner cartridge main body 36 is, for example, 0.5 to 10 cm ³ per one gas inlet 42.

  Subsequently, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photosensitive drums 11 are primarily transferred electrostatically onto the first intermediate transfer drums 18 and 19. That is, yellow and magenta toner images formed on the photosensitive drums 11Y and 11M are magenta and yellow in this order on the first intermediate transfer drum 18, and black and cyan toner images formed on the photosensitive drums 11K and 11C are cyan. Then, the toner images are sequentially transferred so as to be superimposed on the first intermediate transfer drum 19 in the order of black. As a result, a multiple toner image composed of a magenta toner image and a yellow toner image is formed on the first intermediate transfer drum 18, while a cyan toner image and a black toner are formed on the first intermediate transfer drum 19. A multiple toner image composed of the image is formed.

  Subsequently, the multiple toner images respectively formed on the first intermediate transfer drums 18 and 19 are electrostatically secondarily transferred onto the secondary intermediate transfer drum 20. As a result, the toner image on the first intermediate transfer drum 18 (M, Y from the lower layer side) and the toner image on the first intermediate transfer drum 18 (C, K from the lower layer side) are placed on the secondary intermediate transfer drum 20. Are transferred in this order to form a multi-toner image in which Y, M, K, and C are superposed from the lower layer side.

  On the other hand, in accordance with the formation of such a toner image, the recording paper P is sent from the paper supply unit 52 toward the transfer roll 22 by the recording paper transport mechanism 54 at a predetermined timing. The recording paper P sent to the transfer roll 22 is gripped by the transfer roll 22 and the secondary intermediate transfer drum 20, and the multiple toner images on the secondary intermediate transfer drum 20 are electrostatically transferred.

  Next, the recording paper P onto which the multiple toner images have been transferred is sent to the fixing unit 24 and passes through the fixing nip portion between the heating roll 24a and the pressure roll 24b of the fixing unit 24, thereby heating and pressing. After the fixing process, the paper is discharged to a paper discharge unit 56 at the top of the laser printer 10.

  A full-color image is formed on one sheet of recording paper P by executing a series of image forming processes as described above.

  In the present embodiment described above, the toner cartridge is configured so as to efficiently loosen the accumulated toner by letting gas flow in from the bottom of the toner cartridge main body where the charged toner tends to accumulate and become hard.

  Here, it is conceivable that the toner drop easily occurs at a high temperature and high humidity due to an increase in adhesive force due to the presence of a large amount of moisture and deformation of the toner due to pressure. As estimated, it is considered that the toner adhering to the wall surface of the cartridge main body is likely to be generated when it is subjected to a larger pressure in some form, and the toner tends to remain on the bottom as a loose lump. The loose toner adheres to the wall surface when it is pressed against the wall surface, rather than loosening due to the external force of the agitating and conveying member, and gradually grows as a result. When the toner mass that has grown due to the rotation of the agitating and conveying member or the distortion of the toner cartridge due to the rotational torque of the agitating and conveying member is broken or partly missing, it is conveyed to the developing part without being broken. It is considered that the particles adhere to the surface as a lump while being scattered around and are transferred and fixed to appear as an image dropout.

  For this reason, in the present embodiment in which the toner cartridge configured to efficiently loosen the accumulated toner is applied, the driving torque of the agitator 40 as the agitating and conveying member is reduced and the gear teeth of the agitator 40 and the toner splatter are dropped. It becomes possible to prevent.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when supplying the toner, after the gas flows into the toner cartridge body 36 or at the same time, the agitator 40 is driven to rotate so that the toner in the toner cartridge body 36 is transported to the toner. Stirring and transporting to the outlet 38. As a result, the agitator 40 is rotationally driven while the toner group accumulated at the bottom of the toner cartridge main body 36 is loosened or loosened by the gas, so that the driving torque of the agitator 40 is effectively reduced and the agitator 40 Gear teeth and toner drop are prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the driving torque of the agitator 40 can be effectively reduced and the agitator 40 can be effectively reduced even in a small particle toner that tends to accumulate and become hard, or in an environment of high temperature and high humidity (for example, 30 ° C. and 75% RH). Gear teeth and toner drop are prevented.

  Here, the volume average particle size of the small particle size toner is preferably 1.5 μm or more and 5 μm or less. The volume average particle diameter of the toner is measured using a Coulter Counter TAII (manufactured by Beckman-Coulter) and the electrolyte using ISOTON-II (manufactured by Beckman-Coulter).

  As a method for measuring the volume average particle diameter of the toner, first, 0.5 to 50 mg of a measurement sample is added to 2 ml of a 5% aqueous solution of a surfactant, preferably sodium alkylbenzenesulfonate, as a dispersant, and this is added to the electrolytic solution. Add into 100-150 ml. Then, the electrolytic solution in which the measurement sample is suspended is subjected to a dispersion treatment with an ultrasonic disperser for about 1 minute, and the particle diameter is set to 0. 0 by using the Coulter counter TA-II type with an aperture having an aperture diameter of 30 μm. The particle size distribution of particles in the range of 6-18 μm is measured.

  For the divided particle size range (channel), the measured particle size distribution is drawn from the small diameter side for each volume and number, and the particle size that becomes 16% is the volume average particle size D16v and the number average particle size. D16p is defined, and the particle size at 50% cumulative is defined as a volume average particle size D50v (the volume average particle size of the toner described above indicates this) and a number average particle size D50p.

  In this embodiment, the toner to be used can have a known configuration. Hereinafter, an example of a toner manufacturing method will be described.

-Toner preparation method-
(Preparation of Amorphous Resin Fine Particle Dispersion (1))
-Styrene: 480 parts by weight-n-butyl acrylate: 120 parts by weight-Carboxyethyl acrylic acid: 18 parts by weight-Dodecanethiol: 12 parts by weight The above components are mixed and dissolved to prepare a solution. On the other hand, 12 parts by weight of an anionic surfactant (manufactured by Dow Chemical Co., Dowfax) is dissolved in 250 parts by weight of ion-exchanged water, and the above solution is added and dispersed and emulsified in a flask (monomer emulsion A ) Was adjusted.

Furthermore, 1 part by weight of an anionic surfactant (manufactured by Dow Chemical Co., Dowfax) is dissolved in 555 parts by weight of ion-exchanged water and charged into a polymerization flask.
The polymerization flask is sealed, a reflux tube is installed, and the polymerization flask is heated to 75 ° C. with a water bath while being slowly stirred while injecting nitrogen. 9 parts by weight of ammonium persulfate was dissolved in 43 parts by weight of ion-exchanged water and dropped into the polymerization flask via a metering pump over 20 minutes, and then the monomer emulsion A was added for 200 minutes through the metering pump. Add dropwise. Thereafter, the polymerization flask is kept at 75 ° C. for 3 hours while continuing the slow stirring to complete the polymerization.
As a result, an amorphous resin fine particle dispersion (1) having a center diameter of fine particles of 250 nm, a glass transition point of 55 ° C., a weight average molecular weight of 27000, and a solid content of 42% was obtained.

(Preparation of colorant particle dispersion (1))
-Yellow pigment (manufactured by Clariant Japan, PY74): 50 parts by weight-Anionic surfactant (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku, Neogen R): 5 parts by weight-Ion-exchanged water: 200 parts by weight The above ingredients are mixed and dissolved, The mixture was dispersed for 10 minutes with a homogenizer (manufactured by IKA, Ultra Tarrax) to obtain a yellow colorant particle dispersion (1) having a center diameter of 200 nm and a solid content of 21.5%.

(Preparation of release agent particle dispersion)
-PolyWax 725 (Toyo Petrolite, melting point 100 ° C): 50 parts by weight-Anionic surfactant (Dow Chemical Co., Dow Fax): 5 parts by weight-Ion-exchanged water: 200 parts by weight Heating the above components to 110 ° C Then, after sufficiently dispersing with a homogenizer (IKA, Ultra Tarrax T50), it is dispersed with a pressure discharge type homogenizer (Gorin homogenizer, Gorin) and separated with a center diameter of 120 nm and a solid content of 21.0%. A mold agent particle dispersion was obtained.

(Production of toner and developer)
Amorphous resin fine particle dispersion (1): 130.8 parts by weight (54.94 parts by weight of resin)
Colorant particle dispersion (1): 39.5 parts by weight (8.5 parts by weight of pigment)
Release agent particle dispersion: 38.1 parts by weight (release agent 8 parts by weight)
-Polyaluminum chloride: 0.14 parts by weight The above components are thoroughly mixed and dispersed in a round stainless steel flask with a homogenizer (IKA, Ultra Tarrax T50), and then the flask is stirred in an oil bath for heating. After heating to 50 ° C. and holding at 50 ° C. for 60 minutes, 68 parts by weight of amorphous resin fine particle dispersion (1) (28.56 parts by weight of resin) was added and gently stirred. Thereafter, the temperature was raised to 51 ° C., maintained at the same temperature for 180 minutes, and it was confirmed with a Coulter counter that the particle size distribution became narrower.

Thereafter, the pH of the system was adjusted to 6.5 with a 0.5 mol / liter aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, and then heated to 95 ° C. while stirring was continued.
After completion of the reaction, the mixture was cooled, filtered, sufficiently washed with ion exchange water, and then solid-liquid separated by Nutsche suction filtration. And it re-dispersed in 3 liters of ion exchange water at 40 ° C., and stirred and washed at 300 rpm for 15 minutes. This washing operation was repeated 5 times, followed by solid-liquid separation by Nutsche suction filtration, and then the final drying temperature was set to 40 ° C., followed by freeze drying for 10 hours to obtain toner particles.

  When the particle size of the toner particles was measured with a Coulter counter, the volume average particle size D50 was 5.1 μm, the small particle size distribution index GSDps was 1.23, and the surface property index was 1.5. Further, the shape factor SF1 of the toner particles obtained from the shape observation by Luzex was 120 spherical.

2 parts by weight of hydrophobic silica (manufactured by Cabot, TS720) was added to 50 parts by weight of the above toner particles, and mixed with a sample mill to obtain an externally added toner.
Then, using a ferrite carrier having an average particle diameter of 50 μm coated with 1% of polymethyl methacrylate (manufactured by Soken Chemical Co., Ltd.), the externally added toner is weighed so that the toner concentration becomes 5%. A developer was prepared by stirring and mixing for a minute.

  In addition, toners having different volume average particle diameters can be produced by adjusting the elevated temperature in the production of the toner. For example, when toners having different volume average particle diameters are prepared by setting the toner to 25 ° C., 30 ° C., 55 ° C., 58 ° C., and 60 ° C. with respect to a temperature increase of 51 ° C. Can be 1.5 μm, 3.2 μm, 5.8 μm, 6.5 μm, and 7.5 μm, respectively.

(Test example)
Using the image forming apparatus (laser printer 10) according to the present embodiment, the toner cartridge 26 according to Tables 1 and 2 is filled with the toner of each volume average particle diameter prepared based on the above manufacturing method, and the normal temperature and normal humidity ( (20 ° C., 40% RH) for 1 week, and printing was performed according to the electrophotographic process. At this time, the occurrence of skipping of the gear teeth that drive the agitator 40 was examined. In addition, after leaving for one week in an environment of high temperature and high humidity (30 ° C. and 75% RH), the state of occurrence of toner drop during 500-sheet printing with an image density of 5% was also examined. For comparison, a conventional configuration in which no gas is allowed to flow into the toner cartridge 26 was also examined in the same manner. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

  Here, the occurrence of gear tooth skipping was examined as follows. Since abnormal noise occurs when gear tooth skipping occurs, the number of occurrences of abnormal noise during printing was counted. As the evaluation criteria, ○ was 0 occurrences of abnormal noise, and x was 1 occurrence of abnormal noise or more.

  Further, the occurrence state of toner dripping was examined as follows. When a dropout occurred, a recharge image was generated in which a lump of toner that was not present in the original image was dropped during printing, and the number of dropouts in 500 prints with an image density of 5% was examined. As the evaluation criteria, ○ was not generated and X was generated.

  From the results shown in Table 1, in the present embodiment, the gear teeth driving the agitator 40 did not occur even when the toner having any volume average particle diameter was used. Thereby, in this embodiment, it turns out that the drive torque of the agitator 40 is reduced.

  Further, from the results in Table 2, in this embodiment, the toner drop does not occur in any high-temperature and high-humidity environment even when any toner having any volume average particle diameter is used. As a result, in the present embodiment, it can be seen that the toner in the toner cartridge 26 does not solidify and is loosened and supplied to the developing device 17.

  As a comparison with the above test example, as shown in FIG. 7, the gas inlet 42 provided in the toner cartridge 26 is not at the bottom of the toner cartridge main body 36 but at a position shifted by 45 ° (the direction of gravity passing through the central axis of the cartridge main body). On the other hand, the same result was obtained when the same examination was performed for the case where the line connecting the central axis and the position of the gas inlet 42 is located at 45 °. As a result, it can be seen that the gas inlet 42 is provided at the bottom of the toner cartridge main body 36 to effectively loosen the accumulated toner.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view showing the toner cartridge according to the embodiment of the invention. 1 is a schematic front sectional view showing a toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional side view showing a toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a partial side sectional view of the toner cartridge shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a gas inflow direction control mode of the toner cartridge according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view showing a toner cartridge in which a gas inlet is provided at a portion other than the bottom.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Laser printer 11 Photosensitive drum 12 Photosensitive drum unit 14 Exposure unit 16 Developing unit 17 Developing device 18 Primary intermediate transfer drum 19 Primary intermediate transfer drum 20 Secondary intermediate transfer drum 22 Transfer roll 24 Fixing unit 26 Toner cartridge 28 Toner conveyance mechanism 28 Toner Conveying mechanism 32 Gas inflow pipe 34 Gas inflow device 36 Toner cartridge body 38 Toner carry-out port 40 Agitator 42 Gas inflow port 48 Filter 50 Gas discharge port 52 Paper feed unit 54 Recording paper transfer mechanism 56 Paper discharge unit

Claims (8)

A toner cartridge body filled with toner;
A toner outlet that is provided in the toner cartridge main body and allows the toner to be carried out of the toner cartridge main body;
An agitating / conveying member disposed inside the toner cartridge main body and configured to rotate and convey the toner toward the toner carry-out port while agitating the toner, wherein the agitating member is formed by curving a linear member in a spiral shape. A conveying member ;
Together provided at the bottom of the toner cartridge main body at the time of mounting the image forming apparatus, a gas inlet for flowing the toner cartridge main body inside the gas when mounted on the image forming apparatus, the cartridge body axis direction and A plurality of gas inlets each arranged along the orthogonal direction ;
Have
There is a gas flow path wall bent at the edge of the gas inlet so that the gas flows from the gas inlet into the toner cartridge main body toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the stirring and conveying member. And
A toner cartridge comprising a filter that allows only the gas to pass therethrough at the gas inlet .   The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridge main body is provided with a gas discharge port for discharging the gas that has flowed into the toner cartridge main body. The toner cartridge according to claim 2 , wherein a filter that allows only the gas to pass is provided at the gas discharge port provided in the toner cartridge main body.   The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a volume average particle diameter of the toner is 1.5 μm or more and 5 μm or less. Developing means for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier with toner;
Transfer means for transferring the developed toner image on the image carrier to a recording medium to form an image;
A toner cartridge for replenishing the developing means with the toner;
An image forming apparatus having
The toner cartridge is the toner cartridge according to claim 1,
An image forming apparatus comprising gas inflow means for allowing gas to flow into the toner cartridge body. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the developing unit is provided with a gas discharge port for discharging the gas flowing into the toner cartridge main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein a filter that allows only the gas to pass is provided at the gas discharge port provided in the developing unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the gas inflow unit flows the gas into the toner cartridge main body before or simultaneously with the start of driving of the stirring and conveying member in the toner cartridge.

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