JPS6246866B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a magnetic brush developing device, particularly a toner bottle with a sealed structure equipped with a toner supply port shutoff means that can freely open and close a developing toner supply tank, and the toner bottle is detachable. By doing so,
The present invention relates to a magnetic brush developing device that improves the workability of replenishing developer toner and prevents the developer toner from absorbing moisture.

In general, a magnetic brush developing device in an electronic copying machine consists of a cylindrical sleeve formed of a non-magnetic material, which is placed opposite to a photoreceptor on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and a coaxial tube inside the sleeve. A magnet with multiple magnetic poles on its surface.
The above sleeve and magnet
The developing toner supplied onto the sleeve is conveyed by rotating the roller relative to the roller, and is deposited on the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor to develop the electrostatic latent image. has been done. Conventionally, the developing toner supplied onto the sleeve is stored in a developing toner supply tank having an opening facing the sleeve surface, and corresponds to the amount consumed by being deposited on the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor. The toner is then supplied onto the sleeve from the opening of the toner supply tank. Therefore, when the developing toner in the toner replenishing tank is consumed and becomes low, it becomes necessary to transfer the developing toner from a separately prepared container containing the developing toner to the replenishing tank. At the time of replenishment, since the developing toner is a fine powder, there is a problem that it scatters and stains the clothes of the operator, adheres to the operator's hands, and contaminates the inside of the developing device. In general workplaces, the above-mentioned work is often disliked by the workers, partly because the above-mentioned workers are often women. Furthermore, since the developer toner in the developer toner supply tank is generally exposed to the atmosphere, it is easily affected by the humidity in the atmosphere. In particular, developing toner for PPC with a high electrical resistance value not only has a lower electrical resistance value due to moisture absorption, but also has poor fluidity, which has a negative effect on the quality of copied images.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a toner bottle of a sealed structure equipped with a toner supply port shutoff means that can freely open and close the toner supply tank of a magnetic brush developing device. By installing the developing toner in a removable manner within the developing device, it is possible to prevent the developing toner from scattering, prevent it from becoming damp, prevent deterioration of the electrical resistance value and fluidity of the developing toner, and produce high-quality images. It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic brush developing device for an electronic copying machine that can obtain the following characteristics. This will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the toner bottle portion in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

In the figure, 1 is a magnetic brush developing device, 2 is a photoreceptor,
3 is a non-magnetic sleeve, 4 is a magnetic roll,
5 is toner, 6 is a toner bottle, 7 is a toner storage section, 8 is a toner supply port, 9 is a partition plate, 10 is a partition plate fitting groove, 11 is a developing device housing, 12 is a bracket, 13 is a bracket fitting 4 represents a toner bottle body, 15 represents a rotation shaft, and 16 represents a rotation shielding plate.

In FIG. 1 showing a side cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the magnetic brush developing device of the present invention, the magnetic brush developing device 1 has a cylindrical sleeve 3 made of a non-magnetic material exposed to light. It is arranged to face the body 2. Inside the sleeve 3, there is a magnetic roll 4 coaxially with the sleeve 3.
The sleeve 3 and the magnetic roll 4 are rotated relative to each other, and the toner 5 is transferred onto the photoreceptor 2 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed.
The toner 5 is conveyed to the surface of the electrostatic latent image.
is applied and the electrostatic latent image is developed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the sleeve 3 and the magnetic roll 4 are rotated in the same direction (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing), and the toner 5 is conveyed on the surface of the sleeve 3 in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. It is shown. Conventionally, the toner supply tank provided for supplying the toner 5 to the surface of the sleeve 3 was fixed within the developing device, but in the present invention, it is provided so as to be detachable as shown. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a box-shaped toner bottle 6 is used. The toner bottle 6 may be made of non-magnetic metal such as stainless steel, or may be made of synthetic resin that is easy to mold. The toner bottle 6 is provided with a toner storage portion 7 and a toner supply port 8, and a partition plate 9 for opening and closing the toner supply port 8. Note that the toner supply port 8 is
They are provided so as to face each other over the entire axial length of the sleeve 3. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a partition plate fitting groove 10 into which the partition plate 9 is fitted and inserted is provided in the toner supply port 8, and the partition plate 9 is inserted into the partition plate fitting groove 10. By fitting and inserting the toner bottle 6, the toner bottle 6 is isolated from the outside air and becomes in a sealed state. Further, the toner bottle 6 is provided with means for detachably attaching it to the developing device housing 11. Although various means can be easily considered as the means, one example thereof is shown in the first example.
and FIG. That is, the developing device housing 11 is provided with a bracket 12 for holding the toner bottle 6, and the toner bottle 6 is formed with a bracket fitting groove 13 into which the bracket 12 is fitted. Then, by fitting the bracket 12 into the bracket fitting groove 13, the toner bottle 6 can be freely attached and detached. As mentioned above, since the toner bottle 6 has a closed structure, it can be used as a spare toner storage container. Therefore, when the toner 5 in the toner container 7 of the toner bottle 6 attached to the developing device 1 is consumed and it becomes necessary to replenish the toner 5, the empty toner bottle 6 is temporarily replaced. A spare toner bottle 6 is removed, and the toner 5 is contained therein and prepared in a sealed state.
After fitting and inserting the bracket 12 into the bracket fitting groove 13 and mounting it on the developing device 1, the electronic copying machine is operated again by pulling out the partition plate 9 from the partition plate fitting groove 10. will be possible.

Next, a third embodiment showing another embodiment of the opening/closing means for the toner supply port 8 in the toner bottle 6 will be described.
In the figure, a rotation shielding plate 16 is rotatably held on a rotation shaft 15 fixed between both side walls of the toner bottle main body 14. The illustration a shows the closed state, and the illustration b shows the open state. In addition,
Needless to say, a simple setting means (not shown) is provided to maintain the closed or opened state.

In order to further improve the airtightness of the toner bottle 6, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a partition plate 9 and a toner bottle body 14 or in the embodiment shown in FIG. It is preferable to provide an elastic airtight member, such as a sponge (not shown), at the contact portion between the plate 16 and the toner bottle body 14.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(b) The toner bottle has an airtight structure and is equipped with a toner supply port shutoff means that allows the toner supply tank to be opened and closed;
Furthermore, since the developing device is surrounded by a housing except for the developing section where the toner comes into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor, contact between the toner and the outside air can be kept to the necessary minimum. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the electrical resistance value and fluidity of the toner due to moisture absorption of the toner, so that a high-quality image can be obtained.

(b) Since the fitting groove of the toner bottle is fitted into the bracket provided at the top of the developing device housing,
The mounting position of the toner bottle is always kept constant. Therefore, since the positional relationship between the toner supply port of the toner bottle and the sleeve is constant,
The amount of toner supplied onto the sleeve is kept constant, allowing stable development.

(c) Replenishing toner into the developing device can be done by simply pulling out the used toner bottle from the housing and inserting a spare toner bottle into the housing, so toner will not scatter when replenishing toner. Toner replenishment work can be performed extremely quickly without any toner replenishment.

(d) The toner in the toner bottle can be supplied onto the sleeve by operating the shielding plate once, but the toner gradually flows from the toner supply port onto the sleeve due to the relative rotation between the sleeve and the magnet roll. Since the toner is pulled out, the amount of toner on the sleeve can be kept almost constant and stable development can be performed without having to operate the shielding plate frequently.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a toner bottle portion in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a toner bottle showing another embodiment of the present invention. It is a side sectional view of a bottle part. In the figure, 1 is a magnetic brush developing device, 2 is a photoreceptor,
3 is a non-magnetic sleeve, 4 is a magnetic roll,
5 is toner, 6 is a toner bottle, 7 is a toner storage section, 8 is a toner supply port, 9 is a partition plate, 10 is a partition plate fitting groove, 11 is a developing device housing, 12 is a bracket, 13 is a bracket fitting Matching groove, 14 is toner
In the bottle body, 15 represents a rotation shaft, and 16 represents a rotation shielding plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cylindrical non-magnetic sleeve disposed facing the photoreceptor, a magnet roll coaxially provided within the sleeve and having a plurality of magnetic poles on its surface, and an opening at the bottom. A hopper-shaped toner replenishing tank in which toner is stored is provided, and the toner is drawn out from the opening through the relative rotation of the sleeve and the magnetic roll and conveyed over the sleeve. In a magnetic brush developing device in which the conveyed magnetic toner is brought into contact with the surface of the photoconductor, the developing device is surrounded by a housing having a window portion facing the photoconductor surface on its side wall, and the window portion allows the magnetic toner to be brought into contact with the surface of the photoconductor. toner comes into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor, the upper surface is sealed as the toner supply tank, a fitting groove extending in the longitudinal direction is provided in the upper part, and a fitting groove extending in the longitudinal direction is provided in the lower part, and the toner is supplied to the opening part in the longitudinal direction. Using a toner bottle having a removable or rotatable shielding plate capable of blocking the toner bottle, the fitting groove is fitted into a bracket provided longitudinally in the upper part of the casing, and the toner bottle is A magnetic brush developing device characterized by being detachably attached to a housing. 2 A fitting groove for holding the removable shielding plate is formed in the inner wall of the toner bottle in the longitudinal direction, an outside air sealing member is provided in a part of the fitting part, and a shielding plate is provided in the fitting groove. 2. The magnetic brush developing device according to claim 1, wherein when the plates are fitted, the space between the fitting groove and the shielding plate is sealed by the outside air sealing member. 3. A contact portion for locking the rotatable shielding plate is formed in the inner wall of the toner bottle in the longitudinal direction, and an outside air sealing member is provided at the contact portion,
The magnetism according to claim 1, wherein when the shielding plate comes into contact with the toner bottle, the space between the shielding plate and the toner bottle is sealed by the outside air sealing member. Brush developing device.