JP6657698B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to carrying out toner from a toner bottle in an image forming apparatus.

In the image forming apparatus, the toner is carried out from the attached toner bottle and supplied to a toner image developing unit. Conventionally, the orientation at the time of mounting the toner bottle has been fixed horizontally or in a predetermined direction with the discharge port facing downward.
2. Description of the Related Art Toner bottles having spiral projections formed on an inner peripheral surface for carrying out toner from inside by rotating are used. In such a toner bottle with a conveying spiral, in order to discharge the toner from the inside, it is necessary that the toner is not agglomerated near the outlet of the toner bottle but is agitated and loosened inside.
When the toner in the toner bottle is left for a long time, toner aggregation occurs. If the toner is left near the discharge port in a state where the toner is biased, discharge failure occurs because there is no gap (gap) for breaking and agitating the aggregated toner by rotation.
In the invention described in Patent Literature 1, the toner is stored in a state in which the toner is brought to the outlet side of the toner bottle, and the toner is not allowed to stand still with the end face on the outlet side down so as not to aggregate.

JP 2007-178969 A

However, if the amount of toner is increased to increase the toner capacity of the toner bottle, the gap decreases. Since the toner is filled up to the vicinity of the discharge port, the toner tends to be biased toward the discharge port side by the movement of the toner to the discharge port inside the bottle at the beginning of the carry-out operation, and if the toner is left in that state In the next operation, there is a problem that a gap may not be secured and the toner may not be stirred, which may result in defective discharge.
In a machine such as a production printing machine in which a large amount of toner is desired, the filling tends to be high, and the above problem is remarkable.
On the other hand, in order to discharge the toner from the inside of the toner bottle, a configuration is employed in which the discharge port is arranged upside down or inclined such that the discharge port is located below the main body of the toner bottle, and the toner is discharged by gravity drop. Is known.
However, since the toner is pushed to the vicinity of the discharge port, defective discharge cannot be improved.

In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the attitude of the toner bottle at the time of storage is limited, and the attitude at the time of mounting, that is, when the toner bottle is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body so that toner can be supplied, is controlled. And cannot solve the above problem.
In addition, there is a concern that the user may have trouble in handling the toner bottle, that the bottle may fall down if the device is placed with the stationary prevention unit side down, and that a production printing machine may be used. In consideration of technical problems such as increasing the capacity of the toner bottle and simplifying the shape of the toner bottle, it is disadvantageous to provide the discharge port with a static prevention unit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in the related art, and is directed to image forming in which a toner bottle having a spiral protrusion on an inner peripheral surface is rotated to discharge toner from an outlet of the toner bottle. It is an object of the present invention to improve the ease of discharging toner from a toner bottle in an apparatus.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for rotating a toner bottle having a spiral projection formed on an inner peripheral surface thereof to carry out toner from an outlet of the toner bottle. ,
Rotation driving means for rotating the toner bottle for carrying out the toner by the action of the spiral projection in a state where the discharge port of the toner bottle is connected to a supply path to a toner image developing unit,
Tilting means for tilting the toner bottle while being attached to the rotation driving means,
Control means for controlling the rotation driving means and the tilting means ,
The control means includes:
In the initial stage, when the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle exceeds a predetermined amount, the discharge port is rotated in an initial position in which the discharge port is inclined upward to control the discharge from the toner bottle to control the remaining amount of toner. After the toner bottle has been discharged to the predetermined amount or less, the toner bottle is tilted to a horizontal position or a posture in which the discharge port is inclined downward, and is rotated in the same posture to control the discharge from the toner bottle. When,
The controller rotates the toner bottle upward when the toner bottle is horizontal or the outlet is inclined downward when the toner bottle is horizontal or the outlet is inclined upward when the toner bottle is horizontal or the outlet is inclined downward. In the attitude, maintaining this when the outlet is in the upwardly inclined posture, and controlling the preliminary rotation operation to be performed in the attitude in which the outlet is inclined upward,
An image forming apparatus is configured to execute the control of the preliminary rotation operation during a period other than the rotation by the toner discharge control .

According to a second aspect of the invention, said control means, based on said information indicating the amount of toner remaining in the toner bottle, which is the toner bottle image forming apparatus according to claim 1 Symbol placement controls the tilting of.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the control unit performs the preliminary rotation operation when the power of the image forming apparatus main body is turned on, when a new toner bottle is mounted, and when the rotation driving unit is stopped. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming apparatus is executed at any one of two times or more when a predetermined time or more.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the toner bottle has a whole toner storage space surrounded by the inner peripheral surface. is there.

According to the present invention, not only the toner bottle can be rotated but also tilted, and the toner bottle can be rotated at each of different posture angles caused by the tilting, or the tilting and the rotation can be performed simultaneously. Of the toner, and the toner can be easily discharged from the toner bottle.
According to the second and fifth aspects of the present invention, the discharge port of the toner bottle is inclined upward to form a gap on the discharge port side, and the toner is satisfactorily agitated on the discharge port side. Can be improved.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the toner bottle is full and in the initial period when the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle near the full state exceeds a predetermined amount, the discharge port of the toner bottle is inclined upward and the discharge port side is set. After the toner bottle is carried out until the remaining amount of toner is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, the toner bottle is tilted to the horizontal position or the position where the discharge port is inclined downward, so that the toner is discharged on the discharge port side where the gap is maintained. The toner is prevented from aggregating and stagnating on the discharge port side due to good stirring, and even if the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle is small, the toner is kept horizontal or the discharge port faces downward. The toner can be easily discharged from the toner bottle.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a table format showing states when the toner amount in the toner bottle is full, medium, and small, corresponding to the horizontal posture, the upward inclination of the outlet, and the downward inclination of the outlet of the toner bottle. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of control of carrying out the toner from the toner bottle in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a control flow of a preparatory rotation operation of the toner bottle in the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a subroutine when the power of the image forming apparatus main body is turned on. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a control flow of a preparatory rotation operation of the toner bottle in the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a subroutine when a new toner bottle is mounted. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a control flow of a preliminary rotation operation of the toner bottle in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a subroutine when the stop time of the rotation driving unit is equal to or longer than a predetermined time.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following is one embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a mechanism for discharging toner from a toner bottle of the image forming apparatus A of the present embodiment.
The image forming apparatus A includes an electrophotographic image forming unit 10, a toner unloading mechanism 20, a toner bottle 30, and a control unit 40.
A spiral projection 31 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the toner bottle 30.
The toner discharge mechanism 20 includes a rotation driving unit 21 for rotating the toner bottle 30 and a tilting unit 22 for tilting the toner bottle.
FIG. 1 shows a state in which the outlet 32 of the toner bottle 30 is connected to the toner supply path 11 to the toner image developing unit in the image forming unit 10.
In this state, when the toner bottle 30 is rotated by the rotation driving unit 21, the toner in the toner bottle 30 is conveyed to the discharge port 32 side while being stirred, and is discharged from the discharge port 32 by the action of the spiral projection. The toner is supplied to the toner image developing unit. A transport mechanism is also configured in the toner supply path 11.
As described above, the image forming apparatus A carries out the toner from the outlet 32 of the toner bottle 30 by rotating the toner bottle 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tilting unit 22 tilts the toner bottle 30 attached to the rotation driving unit 21. That is, in a state where the toner bottle 30 is connected to the toner supply path 11 and is rotationally driven by the rotation driving unit 21, the tilting unit 22 can tilt the toner bottle 30. To realize this, the rotation driving means 21 is supported so as to rotate following the toner bottle 30.
The tilting means 22 includes a cam 22a and a stepping motor for rotating the cam 22a.

The control unit 40 controls all operations of the image forming apparatus A such as an image forming operation in the image forming unit 10, including processing of input image data. The control unit 40 includes a processor 41 and a storage unit 42. The processor 41 executes a program stored in the storage unit 42 to control the image forming unit 10, control the toner discharge of the toner discharge mechanism unit 20, and control the toner discharge. The toner conveyance control of the supply path 11 is executed.
The control unit 40 monitors the occurrence of toner shortage in the toner image developing unit and the toner supply path 11 and determines whether toner supply is necessary. When there is a toner replenishment request, the control unit 40 executes toner discharge control of the toner discharge mechanism unit 20 and toner transport control of the toner supply path 11 to replenish toner to the toner image developing unit.
Further, the control unit 40 controls the tilting from the initial posture via the tilting unit 22 based on information indicating the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 30.
Here, the initial posture is a posture in which the toner bottle 30 is inclined with the discharge port 32 facing upward as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
The information indicating the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 30 may be obtained by detection by a sensor or by calculation by subtracting the amount of toner consumption from the full amount when a new toner bottle is installed. The information indicating the remaining amount of toner may be information indicating the amount of toner discharged from the toner bottle 30. This is because the information indicating the amount of toner discharged from the toner bottle 30 indirectly indicates the remaining amount of toner. In the detection by the sensor, there is a method of detecting the presence or absence and thickness of the gap R by a calculation based on the difference between the reflection from the outer wall of the toner bottle 30 and the reflection from the surface of the toner T using an ultrasonic sensor or the like. A plurality of measurement points may be provided. The thickness of the gap R indicates the amount of discharged toner, but indirectly indicates the remaining amount of toner.

In FIG. 2, the toner amount in the toner bottle 30 corresponding to the horizontal posture f1, the outlet opening inclined position f2, and the outlet opening inclined position f3 of the toner bottle 30 is full g1, medium amount g2, and small amount g3, respectively. The status is schematically shown in a table format. Symbols f11 to f33 are assigned to the respective columns. Note that the horizontal posture is a posture in which the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle 30 is horizontal. The outlet 32 of the toner bottle 30 is disposed centered on the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle 30, and the neck of the toner bottle 30 up to the outlet 32 has a narrowed shape.
When the toner bottle 30 is mounted in a horizontal posture when the tank is full as in the state f11, the toner in the toner bottle 30 is set when the toner bottle 30 is mounted or after the toner moves to the discharge port 32 side due to the rotation of the toner bottle 30. The gap R formed above the toner T may not be formed on the outlet 32 side. Even if the toner bottle 30 is rotated in this state f11, the toner T on the outlet 32 side cannot be agitated, and there is a possibility that the toner T cannot be carried out from the outlet 32. In particular, the toner T at the outlet 32 is squeezed due to the fact that the outlet 32 is down when the new toner bottle 30 is stored, or that the toner T is left for a certain period in the state f11 during storage or inside the machine. When the toner bottle 30 is rotated and solidified, the toner T on the outlet 32 rotates only together with the toner bottle 30 even when the toner bottle 30 is rotated, and is not carried out of the outlet 32.
Therefore, when the tank is full, as shown in a state f21, the discharge port is inclined upward. This is the initial attitude that is taken in the initial stage when the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 30 exceeds a predetermined amount. In this state f21, the gap R formed above the toner T in the toner bottle 30 is secured on the outlet 32 side, and when the toner bottle 30 is rotated, the surface layer of the toner T facing the gap R is removed. The toner T is loosened by the collapse, and the toner T on the discharge port 32 side can be stirred, and the toner T can be carried out from the discharge port 32.
From the state f21, when the toner T in the toner bottle 30 decreases due to the carry-out of the toner from the toner bottle 30, the state f22 is further changed to the state f23. In the state f23, since the toner amount is small, the toner T does not rise to the discharge port 32, and the toner T is not completely discharged from the toner bottle 30.
Therefore, in the small amount time g3, the toner bottle 30 is set in the horizontal position as in the state f13, or is tilted to the position in which the discharge port 32 is inclined downward as in the state f33.
However, in the discharge port downward inclined posture f3, there is a high possibility that the gap R is not formed on the discharge port 32 side when the tank is full g1 and when the medium port is medium, g2. Therefore, the states f31 and f32 are not used.
On the other hand, by rotating the toner bottle 30 in the horizontal posture f1 at the middle time g2 and executing the toner carry-out control, the carry-out property can be made better than the state f22 in which the outlet is the upward inclined posture f2.

As described above, the states f21, f12, 22, f13, and f33 are used without using the states f11, f31, f32, and f23.
The control patterns executed by the control means 40 include f21... F22 → f13 as the control pattern 1, f21... F22 → f33 as the control pattern 2, f21 → f12. The control pattern 4 includes f21 → f12 → f33, and among them, the control pattern 4 is preferable in terms of the carry-out property.
The control patterns 1, 2, 3 require one predetermined threshold value of the toner T for tilting the toner bottle 30, and the control pattern 4 requires two predetermined threshold values of the toner T for tilting the toner bottle 30. is there. The threshold value to be employed is experimentally determined in advance so that the gap R can be maintained on the side of the discharge port 32 inside the toner bottle 30.

Here, a description will be given, with reference to FIG. 3, of toner unloading control when the above-described control pattern 4 is employed.
As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 30 is equal to or less than a first predetermined threshold based on the information indicating the remaining amount of toner (step S12). In this case, the toner bottle 30 is maintained in the discharge port upward inclined posture f2 (step S11, corresponding to state f21). In this position, the control unit 40 controls the carry-out from the toner bottle 30 by rotating the rotation drive unit 21 in accordance with the above-described toner supply request, and carries out a predetermined amount. This predetermined amount corresponds to the amount up to the first predetermined threshold.
In the case of YES in step S12, the control unit 40 controls the tilting unit 22 to set the toner bottle 30 to the horizontal posture f1 (step S13, corresponding to state f12). Also in this posture, the control unit 40 controls the carry-out from the toner bottle 30 by rotating the rotation drive unit 21 in accordance with the above-described toner supply request.

The control unit 40 determines whether or not the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 30 is equal to or less than a second predetermined threshold based on the information indicating the remaining amount of toner (step S14). The horizontal posture f1 is maintained (step S13, corresponding to state f12).
In the case of YES in step S14, the control unit 40 controls the tilting unit 22 to set the toner bottle 30 to the discharge port downward tilt posture f3 (step S15, corresponding to state f33). Also in this posture, the control unit 40 controls the carry-out from the toner bottle 30 by rotating the rotation drive unit 21 in accordance with the above-described toner supply request.
With the above control, the toner T in the toner bottle 30 is completely discharged, and the control unit 40 outputs a replacement request signal for the toner bottle 30 to the user interface.
Note that, of course, the tilting and rotation of the toner bottle 30 in the above control may be performed simultaneously. Therefore, rotation control according to the toner supply request and tilt control according to the remaining amount of toner are executed independently and in parallel. The number of thresholds for the remaining amount of toner may be provided indefinitely, or the attitude control of the toner bottle 30 may be proportional to the remaining amount of toner.

According to the above-described toner discharge control, the discharge port 32 of the toner bottle 30 is set to a posture inclined upward when the tank is full and in the initial period when the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 30 close to the full state exceeds a predetermined amount. A gap R is formed on the outlet 32 side, and the toner T is stirred well so that the toner T collapses from the surface layer on the outlet side where the gap R is formed with the rotation of the toner bottle 30, so that the toner T aggregates and stagnates on the outlet 32 side. Is avoided.
In particular, when the toner bottle 30 is mounted in a horizontal posture as in the state f11, or when the toner is transported to the outlet 32 by rotating the toner bottle 30 from the mounting, the gap R is formed on the outlet 32 side. As the toner bottles 30 are no longer formed, the toner T is filled with the toner T to the full, so that the toner volume ratio of the toner bottle 30 can be improved.
After the toner is carried out until the remaining amount of toner is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, the toner bottle 30 is tilted to the horizontal position or the posture in which the discharge opening 32 is inclined downward so that the gap R is not lost on the discharge opening 32 side. With the rotation of, the toner is satisfactorily stirred such that the toner collapses from the surface layer on the side of the discharge port 32 where the gap R is maintained, and the aggregation and stagnation of the toner on the side of the discharge port 32 are avoided.
Even if the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 30 becomes small, the horizontal or the discharge port 32 is directed downward, so that the toner T can be sufficiently discharged from the toner bottle 30, and the toner discharge property from the toner bottle 30 is good. is there.
The toner bottle 30 has a helical projection 31 formed on the inner peripheral surface as a transport member, and is further configured without components such as a transport member such as a screw and a stirring member. That is, since the entire inside surrounded by the inner peripheral surface is a toner storage space, the toner volume ratio of the toner bottle 30 can be improved. Even if a conveying member and a stirring member other than the spiral protrusion 31 are not provided, the toner discharge control described above ensures that the toner discharge property is good all the time.

Next, control of the preliminary rotation operation will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the above-described toner discharge control, the toner bottle 30 is rotated in accordance with the toner supply request.
The preliminary rotation operation is performed immediately without a toner supply request. The preliminary rotation operation is performed during a period other than during rotation by the toner discharge control. The purpose is to loosen the toner T in the toner bottle 30 so as not to set.
Conditions for executing the preliminary rotation operation include (1) when the power of the image forming apparatus A is turned on, (2) when a new toner bottle 30 is mounted, and (3) when the rotation drive unit 21 is stopped. Is more than a predetermined time.
This is because, in the case of (1), there is a possibility that a long time has passed while the toner bottle 30 is left standing in the apparatus. In the case (2), it is possible that the toner bottle 30 may be left standing for a long time during storage before the toner bottle 30 is mounted. In the case of (3), this is because the state in which the toner bottle 30 is left standing is not continued for a long time.
It is preferable to employ these three. When a plurality is adopted, preliminary rotation is executed when any one of them is established. This will be individually described below.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the main body power is turned on (step S21), the control means 40 sets the toner bottle 30 to the discharge port upward inclined posture f2 by the tilting means 22 (step S22), and controls the rotation driving means 21. To perform a preliminary rotation operation (step S23).
After step S23, the control means 40 shifts the processing to the flow shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, upon detection of the attachment of the new toner bottle 30 (step S31), the tilting unit 22 sets the toner bottle 30 to the discharge port upward inclined posture f2 (step S32), as shown in FIG. The drive unit 21 is controlled to execute a preliminary rotation operation (step S33).
After step S33, the control means 40 shifts the processing to the flow shown in FIG. Since the new toner bottle 30 is full, the process proceeds to step S11.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the control means 40 accumulates the stop time (step S42) every time the rotation operation of the toner bottle 30 is stopped (step S41). This integration is always performed during operation, and is performed in parallel with the above-described toner discharge control. When the accumulated stop time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time (YES in step S43), the control unit 40 sets the toner bottle 30 to the discharge port upward inclined position f2 by the tilting unit 22 (step S44), and rotates. The preliminary rotation operation is executed by controlling the means 21 (step S45). After step S45, the parallel control means 40 resets the stop time (step S46), and shifts the processing to the flow shown in FIG.

As described above, in addition to the toner discharge control shown in FIG. 3, the preliminary rotation operation shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 is also controlled, so that the fluidity of the toner T in the toner bottle 30 can be ensured. The toner can be easily carried out.
In the above description, the expression "the toner bottle 30 is set to the outlet upward inclined posture f2 by the tilting means 22" means that if the outlet is already inclined upward f2, this is maintained.
For example, when the control unit 40 turns off the power after setting the toner bottle 30 to the outlet upward inclined posture f2 as the main body power-off process, the actual operation proceeds from step S21 to step S23.
Further, when the control unit 40 replaces the toner bottle 30 with the discharge port in the upwardly inclined position f2 as the toner bottle replacement process and accepts the installation of a new toner bottle, the actual operation proceeds from step S31 to step S33.
In addition, during step S11, if “YES” in step S43, the process proceeds to step S45 as a substantial operation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming part 11 Toner supply path 20 Toner carrying-out mechanism part 21 Rotation driving means 22 Tilting means 22a Cam 30 Toner bottle 31 Spiral projection 32 Outlet 40 Control means A Image forming apparatus R Gap T Toner

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus, a spiral projection rotates a toner bottle formed on an inner peripheral surface to carry out toner from an outlet of the toner bottle.
Rotation driving means for rotating the toner bottle for carrying out the toner by the action of the spiral projection in a state where the discharge port of the toner bottle is connected to a supply path to a toner image developing unit,
Tilting means for tilting the toner bottle while being attached to the rotation driving means,
Control means for controlling the rotation driving means and the tilting means ,
The control means includes:
In the initial stage, when the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle exceeds a predetermined amount, the discharge port is rotated in an initial position in which the discharge port is inclined upward to control the discharge from the toner bottle to control the remaining amount of toner. After the toner bottle has been discharged to the predetermined amount or less, the toner bottle is tilted to a horizontal position or a posture in which the discharge port is inclined downward, and is rotated in the same posture to control the discharge from the toner bottle. When,
The controller rotates the toner bottle upward when the toner bottle is horizontal or the outlet is inclined downward when the toner bottle is horizontal or the outlet is inclined upward when the toner bottle is horizontal or the outlet is inclined downward. In the attitude, maintaining this when the outlet is in the upwardly inclined posture, and controlling the preliminary rotation operation to be performed in the attitude in which the outlet is inclined upward,
An image forming apparatus that controls the preliminary rotation operation during a period other than during rotation by the toner discharge control . The control means, the toner based on the information indicating the amount of toner remaining in the bottle, according to claim 1 Symbol placing the image forming apparatus to control the tilting of the toner bottle in the toner discharge control. The control unit performs the preliminary rotation operation when the power of the image forming apparatus main body is turned on, when a new toner bottle is mounted, and when the stop time of the rotation driving unit is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming apparatus is executed in any one or two or more of them. The toner bottle, an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 3 all internal surrounded by the inner circumferential surface of claim 1 which is a toner accommodating space.

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