JP6560893B2 - Toner cartridge crushing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for crushing a toner cartridge that is safe and cost-effective without causing a dust explosion.

  A toner cartridge used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser printer is reused by refilling the toner and reusing the container or by crushing the container. In the case of the latter crushing treatment, the toner cartridge is generally composed of a large number of metal parts and resin parts. Therefore, the used toner cartridge is finely crushed, and the obtained crushed material is divided into metal parts and resin parts. Sorting, collecting, and recycling are being implemented. However, toner remains in the used toner cartridge. The toner is very fine, and when it is placed in a sealed space such as a crushing device and scattered, and the environmental conditions for generating sparks are adjusted, there is a risk of causing a dust explosion.

In order to solve the above problems, conventionally, a means for preventing dust explosion by introducing an inert gas into a crushing apparatus and performing a crushing treatment in an inert gas atmosphere has been adopted. For example, in patent document 1, the device which covers the foam aggregate made to foam with an inert gas around the crushing blade which a spark is easy to generate | occur | produce by contact with a to-be-crushed object is made | formed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-228561 devises a device for crushing a used toner cartridge in an inert gas atmosphere and providing a suction system for collecting toner scattered by crushing processing of the used toner cartridge.
However, in the conventional dust explosion prevention method, it is necessary to continuously introduce and exhaust the inert gas into the crushing apparatus during the treatment, and there is a problem that the operation cost increases due to the use of the inert gas.

JP 9-47682 A JP 2000-51730 A

  An object of the present invention is to solve the problem of operation cost in a toner cartridge crushing method for preventing the occurrence of dust explosion using an inert gas, to crush the cartridge safely and efficiently, It is to provide a method capable of separation and recovery.

  The present inventor has found that the inert gas introduced in the crushing step is circulated and used without exhausting in the subsequent sieving step and dust collecting step, and has completed the present invention.

That is, the present invention includes a crushing step of crushing the toner cartridge,
A sieving step of sieving the crushed toner cartridge crushed material;
A cleaning process for cleaning the crushed material applied to the sieve;
A recovery process for recovering the crushed material after washing;
A toner cartridge crushing method comprising:
The crushing step and the sieving step are performed in a flow path where an inert gas flows and a dust collector is provided in the middle ,
The sieve step is crushing a toner cartridge in which the inert gas introduced in the crushing step and wherein Rukoto conducted in an atmosphere circulating through the dust collector.

  According to the present invention, the inert gas can be circulated in the crushing process, the sieving process, and the dust collecting process, so that the operation cost is reduced, the toner cartridge is crushed safely and efficiently, and the powder such as toner is separated and collected. can do. Further, by increasing the inert gas sealing performance in the crushing step, the sieving step, the dust collection step, and the crushing material cleaning / recovery step, the amount of the inert gas used can be further suppressed and continuous operation can be performed.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an example of a system that performs a crushing process of a toner cartridge of the present invention and a recovery process of toner and crushing material released by the crushing process.

  The present invention relates to a crushing step for crushing a toner cartridge, a sieving step for sieving the crushed material of the crushed toner cartridge, a washing step for washing the crushed material applied to the sieve, and a recovery for collecting the crushed material after washing A crushing method for a toner cartridge, wherein the crushing step and the sieving step are performed in a flow path in which an inert gas flows and a dust collector is provided in the middle. The toner cartridge is crushed.

  In the present invention, the used toner cartridge to be subjected to the crushing process means a toner cartridge after being used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser printer, and the toner cartridge is not limited to a cartridge in which toner is enclosed. , A developing device, a photosensitive / charging device, a toner supply device, a transfer device, and the like.

  Hereinafter, a used toner cartridge crushing method and a crushing processing unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an example of a system that performs a crushing process of a used toner cartridge and a recovery process of toner and crushing material released by the crushing process. The main part of this system is a step of crushing a used toner cartridge, a sieve / dust collecting step for dry separation of the crushing material and toner powder, and a step of cleaning / recovering the crushing material.

<Process of crushing used toner cartridge>
In the present invention, means for filling the crushing area with an inert gas (nitrogen gas) and crushing without causing a dust explosion or the like is taken, and an inert gas sealing chamber 1, a damper 2 that shuts off each room, It consists of an inert gas supply pipe 3 and a crusher 4. The inert gas sealing chamber 1 is divided into a charging area 1a, a replacement area 1b, and a crushing chamber 1c.

  The used toner cartridge is first loaded into the loading area 1a with the loading area 1a and the replacement area 1b blocked by the damper 2. After completion of loading, the damper 2 between the loading area 1a and the replacement area 1b is opened (however, the damper 2 between the replacement area 1b and the crushing chamber 1c is closed), and the used cartridge is dropped into the replacement area 1b to complete the dropping. Later, the damper 2 between the loading area 1a and the replacement area 1b is closed. Here, the inert gas is introduced into the replacement area 1b through the inert gas supply pipe 3b, and the atmosphere and the inert gas are replaced before the subsequent crushing process. Here, in the replacement area 1b and the crushing chamber 1c described later, an inert gas is continuously supplied to maintain an oxygen deficient state. Moreover, even if the damper 2 between the replacement area 1b and the crushing chamber 1c is opened and closed, the oxygen concentration in the replacement area 1b and the crushing chamber 1c hardly increases. Therefore, the replacement operation from the atmosphere to the inert gas is performed for the first time. (At start of operation) only.

  The charging area 1a is different from the replacement area 1b, the crushing chamber 1c, and the crushing machine 4, but the upper part of the area 1a is always open, but even when there is a used cartridge in the charging area 1a, the inert gas supply pipe It is preferable to introduce the inert gas into the charging area 1a by 3a because the state in which the oxygen concentration in the area is lowered to some extent can be maintained.

  Next, the damper 2 between the replacement area 1b and the crushing chamber 1c is opened, and the used cartridge in the replacement area 1b is supplied to the crushing chamber 1c / crusher 4 to perform the crushing process. In the crushing chamber 1c / crusher 4, the area is filled with the inert gas from the inert gas supply pipe 3c.

  Moreover, if the crushed material after the crushing process is sent to the next step, the used cartridge after the replacement work in the replacement area 1b is supplied to the crushing chamber 1c / crusher 4 by the operation of the damper 2, and the input area 1a The used cartridge inside is dropped into the replacement area 1b. The dampers 2 are operated alternately for safety.

  As the crusher 4, known ones such as a biaxial roller crusher, a hammer crusher, and a cutter crusher can be used.

  In this way, by dividing the series of steps from charging of the used cartridge to crushing according to the function in the inert gas sealing chamber, the replacement work can be accelerated and the operating efficiency of the apparatus can be increased. Further, the oxygen concentration can be maintained at a level without danger even if the inert gas replacement operation is not particularly performed in the continuous operation.

<Sieving and dust collection process for dry separation of crushed material and toner powder>
In order to safely dry-separate powder such as toner from the crushed material of the cartridge crushed as described above in an inert gas atmosphere, to maintain the negative pressure in the sieve 5, the dust collector 6, the circulation pipes 13 and 16, and the system. The exhaust pipe 7 is configured.

  The sieve 5 is preferably a trommel which is a rotary sieve, and the inside of the sieve 5 is filled with an inert gas. The fine crushed material is screened and separated and collected by the sieve 5.

  Then, the powder such as toner generated in the crushing step and the sieving step and flowing in the sieving 5 etc. is sucked together with the inert gas by the dust collector 6 through the circulation pipes 13a and 16, and the powder is The inert gas collected and cleaned is returned to the sieve 5 through the circulation pipe 13b.

  By cleaning the inert gas and returning it to the sieve 5 again, the amount of new inert gas introduced (used amount) can be suppressed, and a small amount of inert gas is exhausted from the system by the exhaust pipe 7. The inside of the system can be kept at a negative pressure and leakage of inert gas can be prevented. In addition to the circulation and use of inert gas, this dust collection process maintains the inert gas seal in the same manner as the crushing process and sieving process (and the cleaning process described later), so the entire system The amount of inert gas used can be further suppressed.

  A known dust collector 6 can be used, and powders such as toner accumulated in the machine are appropriately taken out and collected or discarded.

  In addition, it is preferable to cool and circulate by the cooling device 14 to reduce the amount of exhaust heat.

<Wet cleaning process>
The water-sealed damper chamber 8, the water-sealed double damper 9, the water tank 10, and transport to safely discharge and clean the crushed material from which powder such as toner has been dry-separated from the sieve 5 filled with inert gas to the atmosphere area A system composed of a conveyor 11 and a surfactant-containing cleaning liquid 12 is preferable.

  The crushed material is classified into one that floats in the cleaning liquid 12 and one that sinks. The one that sinks moves on the conveyor 11 while being washed, and the one that floats is carried out by opening and closing the water-sealed double damper 9. Here, in order to seal one end of the inert gas flow path with liquid, the water-sealed double dampers 9 are alternately opened and closed, and the inert gas is sealed with washing water and a damper when the damper is closed, The negative oxygen pressure prevents the internal oxygen concentration from increasing.

  That is, the crushing material outlet is constituted by the water-sealed damper chamber 8, the water-sealed double damper 9 and the conveyor 11 provided in the water tank 10, and the inert gas is not discharged outside by discharging the crushed material from here. It can be safely removed and cleaned. Further, by providing the water-sealed double damper 9, the crushed material can be discharged without replacing the air and the inert gas, and cleaning can also be performed. Furthermore, by using the water-sealed double damper 9, it is possible to suppress the amount of newly introduced inert gas (use amount), and the water tank is filled with a surfactant-containing cleaning solution, so that cleaning is performed during transportation. Can start.

  As the surfactant, any one of anionic, cationic, amphoteric and nonionic can be used.

  1 Inert gas sealing chamber, 1a charging area, 1b replacement area, 1c crushing chamber, 2 damper, 3 inert gas supply piping, 4 crushing machine, 5 sieve (with discharge screw), 6 dust collector, 7 exhaust piping, 8 Water-sealed damper chamber, 9 Water-sealed double damper, 10 Water tank, 11 Transport conveyor, 12 Surfactant-containing cleaning liquid, 13 Circulating pipe, 14 Cooling device, 15 Discharge screw, 16 Circulating pipe

Claims (3)

A crushing process for crushing the toner cartridge;
A sieving step of sieving the crushed toner cartridge crushed material;
A cleaning process for cleaning the crushed material applied to the sieve;
A recovery process for recovering the crushed material after washing;
A toner cartridge crushing method comprising:
The crushing step and the sieving step are performed in a flow path where an inert gas flows and a dust collector is provided in the middle ,
The sieve step, crushing a toner cartridge in which the inert gas introduced in the crushing step and wherein Rukoto conducted in an atmosphere circulating through the dust collector. 2. The toner cartridge crushing method according to claim 1 , wherein one end of the flow path of the inert gas is sealed with a liquid. The toner cartridge crushing method according to claim 2 , wherein the cleaning step is performed using the liquid.

Images