JPH0789255B2 - Detector - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to electrical application measurement, and more specifically to a detector for measuring the storage level of powdery magnetic material stored in a container, that is, the remaining amount. Regarding

[Conventional technology]

For example, in a device for copying from a manuscript by electrophotography,
When magnetic toner is used as the developing material, the magnetic toner is stored in the magnetic toner container and supplied to the developing portion of the copying machine, and the remaining amount is detected by the detector. The remaining amount of powdery magnetic material such as magnetic toner is conventionally
It is detected and measured by utilizing the fact that when the magnetic substance is on the coil surface, the inductance and capacitance of the coil change due to the change of the amount or the position.

An example of a conventional device for detecting the remaining amount of magnetic toner is
Shown schematically in Figures and 5. The detector 41 in this example is
A flat spiral coil 42, electrodes 43 and 44 connected to the inner and outer ends of the coil, a power supply (not shown) for applying a voltage to the electrodes, and an output voltage between the electrodes are measured. The coil of the detector of this example is formed on the inner surface 46 of the side wall of the magnetic toner container 45 by the printed wiring method, and is a metallic stirring bar that rotates through the center of the coil. 47 is provided to prevent toner from agglomerating, and a cleaning rod is attached to the rotating shaft of the stirring rod 47 to remove unnecessary substances on the coil surface.
48 is installed.

In the detector of this example, a change in the remaining amount of magnetic toner appears as a vertical change in the powder surface of the magnetic toner, and this change changes the output voltage from the coil to detect the remaining amount.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional detector, if the stirring rod and the cleaning tool are rotating,
As shown in FIG. 5, the output voltage of the detector decreases when the stirring rod or the cleaning tool passes through the electrode at the outer end, and the output voltage changes every rotation cycle. Further, when the stirring rod is stopped at the electrode at the outer end or in the vicinity thereof, it shows a value lower than the original output voltage. Therefore, the detection accuracy was not necessarily high.

This invention has been made based on the above background, and its purpose is to reduce the influence from movement / fluctuation of a metallic stirring bar or a cleaning tool provided in a container of powdery magnetic material, An object of the present invention is to provide a detector for measuring the remaining amount of powdery magnetic material having high detection accuracy.

[Means for solving problems]

As a result of various trial manufactures and developments, the present inventor has detected a shape such that the influence from movement / fluctuation of a metallic stirring rod or a cleaning tool provided in a container of powder magnetic material is uniform. It was found that the use of a coil for a container is effective for achieving the object of the present invention, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, the detector of the present invention is a detector for measuring the remaining amount of the powdery magnetic material stored in a container having a member that moves in the container, and is a spiral flat coil provided on the side surface of the container wall. And an outer electrode connected to the outer end of the coil and an inner electrode connected to the inner end of the coil, and the center of motion of the member is located at the center of the outer electrode or coil. It is a thing.

In one aspect of the present invention, the outer peripheral electrode has a circular shape.

In another aspect of the present invention, the member is a stirring rod and is provided with a rotating shaft located at the center of the outer peripheral electrode.

In another aspect of the present invention, this member is a cleaning tool for cleaning the coil surface, and is provided with a rotating shaft located at the center of the outer peripheral electrode.

[Work]

In the detector of the present invention, the center of the outer peripheral electrode coincides with the center of motion of the stirring rod or / and the cleaning tool. For example, if the shape of the outer peripheral electrode is circular, the stirring electrode or / and the cleaning tool, etc. The center of rotation of is the center of the circular electrode. Therefore, even if the stirring rod and / or the cleaning tool moves and changes its position, the inductance and capacitance of the coil do not fluctuate much. Therefore, the output voltage between the electrodes is less affected by the movement of the stirring rod and / or the cleaning tool.

〔Example〕

1 and 2 show an example of a detector according to the present invention. The detector 1 of this example is mainly composed of a spiral planar coil 2, a circular outer peripheral electrode 3 connected to the outer end of this coil, and an inner electrode 4 connected to the inner end of this coil. Power supply (not shown) that applies voltage to the electrodes
And a voltage measuring unit (not shown) that measures the output voltage from between the electrodes.

The materials and dimensions of the coils and electrodes used in the present invention can be appropriately selected and changed by ordinary techniques, and the coils and electrodes can be formed by using, for example, a printed wiring technique. .

In the present invention, the detector is installed at the position of the container where the residual amount level of the powdery magnetic material changes, and in the example shown in FIG.
It is provided on the side wall surface 6 of the magnetic toner container 5 corresponding to the developing section of the electronic copying machine. Regarding the position of the detector, the center of movement of the stirring rod 7 and other members is located at the center of the outer peripheral electrode 3. In this example, the rotating shaft of the stirring rod is located at the center of the coil 2 and the circular outer peripheral electrode 3. In this example, although not shown, a cleaning rod for removing unwanted matter on the coil surface may be provided if necessary. In any case, the center of motion of these members is located at the center of the peripheral electrode.

Then, the operation method of this detector will be briefly described. First,
The magnetic toner container, which is the developing unit of the electronic copying machine, is filled with the magnetic toner so that measurement can be performed with the detector, and the magnetic toner storage level is applied to the coil surface. The use of a copying machine reduces the amount of magnetic toner, and the magnetic toner storage level on the coil surface also decreases with the decrease.

Such a change in the magnetic material on the coil surface changes the inductance and capacitance of the coil, and thus the output voltage from between the electrodes.

FIG. 3 shows how the output voltage fluctuates between the electrodes of the detector when the magnetic toner is filled and the stirring rod is rotating. As can be seen from this figure, the influence of the rotation of the stirring rod is reduced.

The present invention is not limited to this example, and modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art are also included in the scope of the present invention.
It can also be used to detect the remaining amount of other powdery magnetic materials.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the adverse effect of the moving member in the container of the powdery magnetic material on the coil for detecting the remaining level of the powdery magnetic material. The accuracy of detecting the remaining level of the body can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a detector according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the detector shown in FIG. 1 is arranged in a magnetic toner container, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the detector according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in output voltage, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional detector,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a conventional detector is arranged in a magnetic toner container, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a change in output voltage of the conventional detector. 1 ... Detector, 2 ... Coil, 3 ... Peripheral electrode, 4 ...
Inner electrode, 5 ... Magnetic toner container, 6 ... Container wall surface, 7
...... Stirring rod, 41 …… Detector, 42 …… Coil, 43 …… Outer electrode, 44 …… Inner electrode, 45 …… Magnetic toner container, 46 ……
Wall of container, 47 …… Stirring rod, 48 …… Cleaning rod.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A detector for measuring a residual amount level of a powdery magnetic material stored in a container having a member moving in the container, comprising: a spiral flat coil provided on a side surface of the container wall; A detector comprising an outer peripheral electrode connected to the outer end of the coil and an inner electrode connected to the inner end of the coil, wherein the center of motion of the member is located at the center of the outer peripheral electrode. 2. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral electrode has a circular shape. 3. The first member according to claim 1, wherein the member is a stirring rod, and the member is provided on a rotating shaft located at the center of the outer peripheral electrode.
The detector described in the item. 4. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the member is a cleaning tool for cleaning a coil surface, and the member is provided on a rotating shaft located at the center of the outer peripheral electrode.