JPH07100483B2 - Powder filling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to powder filling capable of filling powder such as toner used in an image forming apparatus into a predetermined container at high speed and high density. Regarding the device.

(Prior Art) Toner used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine is usually filled in a bottle-shaped or cylindrical container and transported or stored. Conventionally, such filling of the toner in the container has been performed by positioning the container below the toner supply device and allowing the toner in the toner supply device to naturally drop into the container.

In such a method, the toner does not drop into the container at a high speed due to the air existing in the container, and the toner falling into the container is mixed with the air in the container, so that the bulk density is low. It becomes smaller and is not packed densely. For this reason, it is not possible to fill a predetermined amount of toner into the container by one-time natural fall, and for example, about half the toner amount to be filled in the container is once filled by natural fall and the toner is A method of filling the remaining toner after a lapse of a predetermined period of time has been adopted. In this way,
The toner could not be efficiently filled in the container, and the work efficiency was very poor.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application can, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-124503, fill powder such as toner at high speed and with high density, and has a relatively simple structure. The powder filling device was proposed.

In this powder filling device, the inside of the container to be filled is depressurized and the high pressure powder is once discharged from the powder feeder by utilizing the pressure difference between the inside of the container and the powder feeder. It can be filled in. A schematic configuration of the powder filling device is shown in FIG.

The powder filling device has a decompression case in which the inside is decompressed.
A pressure reducing means 72 for reducing the internal space to a reduced pressure state and a pressure increasing means 73 for increasing the pressure from the reduced pressure state are provided in 71. Inside the decompression case 71, a powder supply nozzle 74 to be inserted into the filling port 2 of the container 1 that is hermetically sealed in the decompression case 71 is provided.
The powder supply unit 75 is provided in the powder supply port 76 and is capable of supplying a predetermined amount of powder to the powder supply port 76 via the powder supply line 77.
An on-off valve 78 such as a ball valve that opens and closes the inside of the powder supply pipe 77 is interposed in the powder supply pipe 77.

The container 1 hermetically sealed in the decompression case 71 is pushed upward by the container elevating means 80, and the tip of the filling port 2 is brought into pressure contact with the packing 79 of the powder supply nozzle 74, so that the container 1 The inside is sealed.

The powder filling device configured as described above operates as follows. First,
Inside the decompression case 71, the filling port 2 of the container 1 and the powder supply nozzle
The container 1 is arranged with a gap formed between the container 1 and the container 74. Next, the on-off valve 78 provided in the powder supply pipeline 77 is closed, and the inside of the decompression case 71 is closed, and the decompression case 72 decompresses the inside of the decompression case 71. By this depressurization operation, the inside of the depressurization case 71 and the container 1 are in a depressurized state. Next, the container 1 is raised by the raising means 80, and the filling port 2 is filled with the packing 79 of the powder supply nozzle 74.
The inside of the container 1 is made airtight by bringing the container 1 into close contact with. Then, at the same time as opening the powder supply pipe 77, the pressure increasing means
The pressure in the decompression case 71 is increased by 73. As a result, a predetermined amount of powder is vigorously dropped into the container 1 from the powder feeder 75 through the powder feed pipeline 77. Further, since the pressure inside the decompression case 71 rises at the same time as the powder is supplied, the pressure inside and outside the container 1 is balanced and the container 1 is not damaged.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the powder filling apparatus having such a configuration, the powder dropped from the powder feeder 75 has a depressurized state in the container 1 in advance, so that the container can be moved at a high speed. Filled into 1. Moreover, container 1
Since the inside is in a substantially vacuum state, the powder dropped into the container 1 has an advantage that it does not contain air and there is no fear that its bulk density will decrease.

However, on the other hand, the falling speed of the powder falling into the container 1 is high and the amount of air in the container 1 is small.
The powder filled in the container 1 tends to be compressed too much. In particular, at the initial stage of filling, where the difference between the pressure inside the powder feeder 75 and the pressure inside the container 1 is large, the powder that has fallen into the container 1
The powder collides violently with the inner bottom surface of the container 1 and a large compressive force acts on the powder. As a result, depending on the particle size of the powder, the powder may solidify into a block-like lump at the bottom of the container 1. When the particles filled in the container 1 are toners used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine,
When the toner in the container 1 is solidified, when the container 1 is mounted in the image forming apparatus and used,
Toner may not be smoothly supplied from the container 1 to the image forming apparatus.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to enable powder such as toner to be packed at high speed and with high density, and the packed powder is hardened in a container. An object of the present invention is to provide a powder filling device capable of preventing such a situation.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The powder filling device according to the present invention is designed to reduce the pressure inside the container filled with powder such as toner from the inside of the container to the equilibrium state, Powder that fills the inside of the container by simultaneously raising the pressure of the outside and, at the same time, dropping the powder into the opening of the container from the powder inlet corresponding to the lower end of the powder supply pipeline. A filling device,
It moves up and down between the position where the powder input port is closed and the position where it is opened, and it functions as a valve that makes the inside of the container airtight with the powder input port closed, while at the same time opening the powder into the container opening. A powder cushioning member that allows the powder to fall and collides with the falling powder to reduce the falling speed and scatters the powder so as to collide with the inner peripheral surface of the container; A support rod that is inserted inside and has a diameter that is sufficiently smaller than the inner diameter of the powder supply pipeline, the lower end of which is connected to the upper end of the powder cushioning member, and the powder supply The driving means is connected to the upper end portion of the supporting rod projecting from the pipe line and moves up and down the powder cushioning member via the supporting rod, whereby the above object is achieved.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to Examples.

As shown in FIG. 1, a toner filling device, which is a powder filling device of the present invention, includes a toner feeder 10 that can feed a fine powder of toner by a predetermined amount, and a toner feeder 10 below the toner feeder 10. A decompression case 20 in which the container 1 provided and filled with toner is held is provided.

The toner supply device 10 is, for example, a toner cutout device (not shown) capable of cutting out a predetermined amount of toner from a powder storage tank, and is connected to the toner cutout device, and stores a predetermined amount of toner cut out by the toner cutout device. Possible toner hopper
11 and a powder supply conduit 12 that connects the toner drop opening of the toner hopper 11 with the inside of the decompression case 20, and a predetermined amount of toner is decompressed from the toner hopper 11 via the powder supply conduit 12. It is configured to be dropped into the case 20.

The decompression case 20 is composed of an upper half body 21 and a lower half body 22, which are vertically separable. The lower half 22 is moved up and down by the air cylinder 70 so that it can be joined to and separated from the upper half 21. Then, the lower half body 22 is joined to the upper half body 21 by raising the lower half body 22 by the air cylinder 70. Sealing members 21a and 22a made of, for example, soft rubber are provided at the portions where the two are joined, and the lower half 22 raised by the air cylinder 70 is joined to the upper half 21. , The sealing members 21a and 22a are airtightly engaged,
The inside of 20 is made airtight. A guide member for guiding the seal member 22a of the lower half body 22 to join with the seal member 21a of the upper half body 21 when the lower half body 22 is lifted and joined to the lower outer surface of the upper half body 21. 23 are provided.

The upper half body 21 of the decompression case 20 is fixedly attached to the lower portion of the powder supply pipe line 12. A powder supply nozzle 24 protruding downward is provided on the upper surface of the upper half body 21, and the lower end of the powder supply pipe 12 is inserted into the powder supply nozzle 24. On the lower surface of the upper portion of the powder supply nozzle 24, a contact surface portion 25 for locking the packing 25a made of soft rubber is provided. Below the abutment surface portion 25, there is an inverted truncated cone-shaped nozzle portion 26 that gradually decreases in diameter as it goes downward.
At the center of the lower end surface of the nozzle portion 26, a powder supply line
The lower end of 12 opens as a powder inlet 28. Nozzle part
The outer diameter of the upper end of 26 is substantially equal to the inner diameter of the filling port 2 formed in the upper end of the container 1 held in the decompression case 20.

Powder supply nozzle fixed to the upper half 21 of the decompression case 20
A powder cushioning means 30 is arranged on the axis of 24.
The powder cushioning means 30 has a conical powder cushioning member 31 whose diameter gradually increases as the outer peripheral surface becomes lower. The outer diameter at the lower end of the powder cushioning member 31 is larger than the inner diameter of the powder charging port 28 and smaller than the inner diameter of the filling port 2 of the container 1 held in the decompression case 20. Therefore, the powder cushioning member 31 has a substantially upper half thereof fitted into the powder charging port 28,
The whole is inserted into the container 1 through the filling port 2 of the container 1. The inclination angle of the outer peripheral surface of the powder cushioning member 31 with respect to the axis is such that the powder can flow down the outer peripheral surface and collide with the inner peripheral surface of the container 1.

The powder cushioning member 31 is supported concentrically below the powder supply nozzle 24 by a vertical support rod 32. The supporting rod
The powder supply pipe line 12 and the toner hopper 11 are inserted through the reference numeral 32, and the upper end portion thereof extends above the toner hopper 11. As shown in the figure, the diameter of the support rod 32 is equal to the diameter of the powder supply line 12
The diameter is sufficiently smaller than the inner diameter of
That is, the filling efficiency is not hindered.
Explaining a little now, the diameter of the support rod 32 is set as thin as possible so as not to impair the mechanical strength such as its rigidity. The upper end of the support rod 32 is connected to a drive device 33 arranged above the toner hopper 11. The drive
The reference numeral 33 indicates that the support rod 32 is raised in the axial direction so that the powder charging port 28 is fitted in an airtight manner in the upper half portion of the powder cushioning member 31, and the raised support rod 32 is placed in the axial center. The powder cushioning member 31 is held below the powder charging port 28 in this direction. Therefore, as the support rod 32 is moved up and down by the driving device 33, the powder cushioning member 31 is switched between a state in which the powder input port 28 is opened and a state in which the powder input port 28 is airtightly closed. When the powder charging port 28 is closed by the powder cushioning member 31, the inside of the decompression case 20 is isolated from the outside, and the inside of the decompression case 20 is kept airtight. On the other hand, powder cushioning member
When the opening 31 is opened, the inside and outside of the decompression case 20 communicate with each other through the powder charging port 28, and the airtight state inside the decompression case 20 is released. As described above, the powder cushioning member 31 also has a function as a valve for the decompression case and the container 1 inside thereof. Further, in the present invention, the diameter of the support rod 32 is made as thin as possible. Therefore, the driving load of the driving device 33 can be reduced as much as possible, and the followability (responsiveness) of the support rod 32 and the powder cushioning member 31 can be improved. Therefore, the adverse effect of inertia can be eliminated, and the powder cushioning member 31 can be moved at a high speed, so that a more reliable valve function can be exhibited. Further, the material cost can be saved and the device configuration can be downsized. Further, as the driving device 33, a smaller and cheaper one can be used. Then, in the state where the powder cushioning member 31 is opened to the powder charging port 28, the toner drops into the decompression case 20 from the powder charging port 28, and the toner has a conical shape of the powder buffering member 31. Collide with the outer peripheral surface.

The lower half 22 of the decompression case 20 is filled with toner,
For example, a container elevating means 60 for elevating and lowering the cylindrical container 1 while holding the container 1 is provided. The container lifting means 60 includes an air cylinder 61 attached to the bottom surface of the lower half body 22, and a piston rod 61 of the air cylinder 61.
a Lifting table 62 attached to the tip. The air cylinder 61 is attached such that the piston rod 61a advances in an upward direction. The elevating table 62 is provided with a holding frame 62a for holding the lower end of the container 1.
2a fits the container 1 in the lower part and holds the container 1 in a substantially vertical state. The container 1 is moved up and down as the air cylinder 61 is moved up and down. The container 1 has the lower half 22 lowered and separated from the upper half 21.
It is inserted inside and placed on the lift table 62.

Then, the container 1 is placed on the lift table 62, and the decompression case 20
With the upper half body 21 and the lower half body 22 of the above are airtightly joined,
When the air cylinder 61 is driven so that the piston rod 61a moves upward, the filling port 2 of the container 1 is
21 The container 1 rises while being guided by the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle portion 26 of the powder supply nozzle 24 provided on the upper surface portion. further,
When the container 1 is raised by the air cylinder 61, the upper end of the filling port 2 is elastically pressed against the packing 25a locked to the contact surface portion 25, so that the filling port 2 of the container 1 and the powder charging port 28 are separated from each other. Airtight contact.

The upper surface of the upper half body 21 of the decompression case 20 is provided with decompression means 40 capable of appropriately decompressing the inside of the decompression case 20 and pressure increase means 50 capable of appropriately increasing the pressure from this decompressed state. The decompression means 40 has a decompression pipe 41 that connects the inside of the decompression case 20 and a vacuum pump 44, and an on-off valve 42 interposed in the decompression pipe 41. Pressure raising means 50
Has an atmosphere introducing pipe 51 attached to the decompression case 20, an opening / closing valve 52 and a flow rate adjusting valve 53 interposed in the atmosphere introducing pipe 51.

The toner is filled in the container 1 as follows by the powder filling device having such a configuration.

First, the drive unit is arranged so that the powder cushioning member 31 of the powder cushioning unit 30 closes the powder charging port 28 in an airtight manner.
The support rod 32 is raised by 33. In this state,
A predetermined amount of toner is put into the toner hopper 11. The toner charged in the toner hopper 11 is stored in the toner hopper 11 and the powder supply pipe line 12. And
The air cylinder 70 is operated in the direction of lowering the lower half body 22 of the decompression case 20 to separate the lower half body 22 from the upper half body 21. In this state, the container 1 is placed on the elevating table 62 so that the filling port 2 is located on the upper side. Then
The air cylinder 70 is operated to raise the lower half body 22 so that the sill member 22a of the lower half body 22 and the seal member 21a of the upper half body 21 are airtightly joined. When the lower half body 22 and the upper half body 21 are joined together, the on-off valve 52 provided in the atmosphere introduction pipe 51 is closed to make the inside of the decompression case 20 airtight.

In this case, the container 1 held in the lower half 22 has its filling port 2 separated from the powder supply nozzle 24.
The inside of is in communication with the inside of the decompression case 20.
In this state, the on-off valve 42 provided in the pressure reducing conduit 41 is opened and the vacuum pump 44 is driven.

As a result, the air inside the decompression case 20 is sucked, the inside of the decompression case 20 is decompressed, and at the same time, the inside of the container 1 is decompressed. Then, when the inside of the container 1 and the inside of the decompression case 20 surrounding the container 1 are balanced and decompressed, and when both are in a substantially vacuum state, the on-off valve 42 interposed in the decompression pipe 41 is closed. It As a result, the inside of the decompression case 20 becomes airtight.

In this state, the air cylinder 61 inside the decompression case 20
To raise the elevating table 62. As a result, the filling port 2 of the container 1 held by the elevating table 62 comes into contact with the lower surface of the packing 25a, and the filling port 2 and the powder charging port 28 are hermetically coupled. Further, the powder cushioning member 31 whose upper half portion is fitted into the powder charging port 28 is inserted into the container 1 through the filling port 2 at the lower half thereof.

Next, the drive device 33 is operated in the direction in which the support rod 32 descends. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the powder cushioning member 31 is wholly inserted into the container 1 to open the powder charging port 28. At the same time, the on-off valve 52 provided in the air introduction pipe 51 is also opened. By opening the powder charging port 28, the toner stored in the toner hopper 11 and the powder supply conduit 12 is dropped into the container 1. At this time, container 1
Since the inside is depressurized with respect to the inside of the toner hopper 11, the toner flows into the container 1 at a high speed. Container 1
The toner flowing in at a high speed violently collides with the conical outer peripheral surface of the powder cushioning member 31 held vertically below the powder inlet 28 and is decelerated. The toner that has collided with the outer peripheral surface of the powder cushioning member 31 is scattered around and further collides with the inner peripheral surface of the container 1 to be further decelerated. As a result, even if the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the container 1 at the initial opening of the powder charging port 28 is large, the toner is filled in the container 1 without being solidified.

Moreover, since the air in the container 1 is removed when the toner is filled, the toner is filled in the container 1 at a high density even if the falling speed of the toner falling into the container 1 is reduced.

At the same time that the powder charging port 28 is opened, the air introduction pipe
A predetermined amount of air defined by the flow rate adjusting valve 53 from 51 flows into the decompression case 20, and the decompression case 20 surrounding the container 1
Since the internal pressure rises, even if the pressure inside the container 1 rises due to the toner flowing into the container 1, the deformation of the container 1 occurs because the pressure inside and outside the container 1 is balanced. And damage is prevented.

When all the toner in the toner hopper 11 is filled in the container 1, the air cylinder 61 in the decompression case 20 is driven, the support base 62 is lowered, and the nozzle portion 26 is detached from the filling port 2 of the container 1. . Next, the air cylinder 70 is driven to lower the lower half 22 of the decompression case 20. When the lower half 22 is separated from the upper half 21, the toner-filled container 1 is taken out of the lower half 22.

Before the nozzle portion 26 is pulled out from the state of the container 1, the support rod 32
When the drive device 33 is operated so as to vibrate in the axial direction, the toner attached to the outer peripheral surface of the powder cushioning member 31 falls into the container 1 due to the impact of the vibration. This prevents toner from falling from the outer peripheral surface of the powder cushioning member 31 into the lower half body 22. As a result, the inside of the decompression case 20 is prevented from being contaminated by the toner, and the situation where the upper part of the decompression case 20 is contaminated with the toner when another new container is set is also prevented. Further, the yield of the powder filling amount in the container 1 can be improved.

Moreover, in the present invention, since the driving load is small as described above, the support rod 32 and the powder cushioning member 31 can be easily vibrated at a high speed. Therefore, it is possible to more surely prevent the contamination by the toner and improve the yield of the powder filling amount.

Further, since the powder cushioning member 31 also serves as the opening / closing valve of the powder supply pipeline 12, the opening / closing valve such as a ball valve is eliminated from the powder supply pipeline 12, and the apparatus is downsized.

In the powder filling device of the present invention, the powder cushioning member 31 of the powder cushioning means 30 may be fixedly arranged below the powder inlet 28. In that case, an opening / closing valve such as a ball valve is provided in the powder supply pipeline 12. When the powder supply pipeline 12 is provided with an on-off valve, when the decompression case 20 is decompressed, the filling port 2 of the container 1 and the powder charging port 28 are preliminarily air-tightly coupled to each other, and It is also possible to depressurize the inside of the container 1 separately from the outside through the supply conduit 12.

It should be noted that in the above-described embodiment, the pressure reduction inside and outside the cartridge is performed by the two pressure reduction paths, but the filling device of the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment.
It is also possible to use one system of decompression path as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-124503 filed by the applicant of the present application.

(Effect of the Invention) In the powder filling device of the present invention, in this way, from the state in which the pressure is reduced so that the inside and the outside of the container filled with the powder are in equilibrium, both of them are simultaneously pressurized to increase the pressure inside the container. In the filling device for dropping the powder into the container, the powder flowing into the container at a high speed collides with the powder cushioning member and is decelerated, so that the powder is filled into the container without solidifying. Further, since the powder collides with the powder cushioning member and also collides with the inner surface of the container, the powder is further reliably prevented from solidifying in the container.

Further, since the powder cushioning member also has a function as a valve for maintaining and releasing the airtightness of the container, another on-off valve such as a ball valve is not required, which contributes to downsizing of the device configuration. Furthermore, since the diameter of the support rod that supports the powder cushioning member is set to be as small as possible compared to the inner diameter of the powder supply pipeline, not only does the powder filling efficiency not be hindered, The drive load of the drive device that drives the powder cushioning member can be significantly reduced. Therefore, the powder cushioning member can be raised and lowered accurately and at high speed, so that the valve function can be more reliably exhibited. Therefore, it becomes more preferable for the operation of the powder filling apparatus of the present invention in which the pressure reduction and the pressure increase in the pressure reduction case are repeated frequently. Further, since the supporting rod and the powder cushioning member can be easily vibrated at a high speed, there is an advantage that the contamination by the toner can be prevented and the yield of the powder filling amount can be more surely improved. Further, it can further contribute to downsizing of the device configuration and cost reduction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a toner filling device which is an example of the powder filling device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation thereof, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a conventional toner filling device. . 1 ... Container, 2 ... Filling port, 10 ... Toner feeder, 20 ...
… Decompression case, 24 …… Powder supply nozzle, 28 …… Powder input port, 30 …… Powder cushioning means, 31, 34 …… Powder cushioning member, 40
...... Decompression means, 50 ...... Pressure raising means, 60 ...... Container lifting means.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Eiji Tatsumi 1-228 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. No. 28 in Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (56) References Opening 1-144305 (JP, U) Opening 48-25489 (JP, U) Opening 58-19901 (JP, U) Opening 55- 83956 (JP, U) Actual opening 61-91508 (JP, U) Actual opening 61-91509 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container in which powder such as toner is filled is pressure-reduced so that the inside and outside of the container are in equilibrium, and the inside and outside of the container are simultaneously pressurized, and at the same time, powder supply is performed. A powder filling device for filling powder into the container by dropping the powder into the opening of the container from the powder input port corresponding to the lower end of the pipeline, and closing the powder input port. It moves up and down between the opening position and the opening position, and it functions as a valve that makes the inside of the container airtight with the powder inlet closed, while allowing and dropping the powder into the container opening. And a powder cushioning member that collides with the powder to reduce its falling speed and scatters the powder so as to collide with the inner peripheral surface of the container, and is inserted into the powder supply pipeline. The diameter is sufficiently smaller than the inner diameter of the powder supply line. A support rod having a diameter dimension, the lower end of which is connected to the upper end of the powder cushioning member, and the upper end of the support rod that protrudes from the powder supply pipeline, and the powder is passed through the support rod. A powder filling device comprising: a drive means for moving up and down a body cushioning member.