Patent Grant
7116928
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a powder discharging device including a powder container formed with an outlet for discharging powder and shock applying means for applying a shock to the toner container, and an image forming apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is a common practice with a copier, facsimile apparatus, printer or similar image forming apparatus to use a toner container storing toner or powder for image formation. For example, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus configured to form a latent image on an image carrier and then develop it with a developing device, toner is replenished from a toner container to the developing device, as needed. This is also true with a direct recording type of image forming apparatus that causes toner to fly from a toner jetting device toward a sheet or similar recording medium in the form of dots. The toner container is constructed integrally with the developing device or the toner jetting device or implemented as a toner cartridge removably mounted to the apparatus body. When a toner cartridge, for example, mounted to the apparatus body becomes almost empty, it is replaced with a new toner cartridge. At this instant, the toner, if left in the toner cartridge in a large amount, would be wastefully discarded and increase the running cost of the apparatus and would bring about an environmental problem. It is therefore desirable to minimize the amount of toner to be left in the used toner cartridge.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-46843, for example, discloses atoner cartridge configured to discharge toner without wasting it as a toner discharging device. The toner discharging device taught in this document includes a toner cartridge formed with an outlet in its bottom for discharging toner or powder and shock applying means for applying a shock to the toner cartridge. When the shock applying means applies a shock to the toner cartridge, the toner present in the toner cartridge is moved toward the outlet of the toner cartridge and then discharged via the outlet. In this configuration, the toner can be discharged without any waste despite that the toner cartridge lacks a movable member.
However, the toner discharging device with the shock applying means has the following problems left unsolved. When the toner is left unused over a long period of time or used in, e.g., a hot, humid environment, the fluidity of the toner decreases with the result that the amount of the toner to be discharged via the outlet formed in the toner cartridge decreases, resulting in short toner replenishment. To solve this problem, it is necessary to set a relatively large amount of toner discharge beforehand.
The amount of toner discharge may be effectively increased if the shock to act on the toner cartridge is intensified. However, if the shock is excessively intense, then the toner coheres due to compression in the outlet of the toner container and stops it up, i.e., so-called toner blocking occurs. Further, an excessive shock is apt to cause the resulting vibration to be imparted to the apparatus body, adversely effecting an image. If the shock is limited to a degree that does not effect an image, then it is likely that the discharge of the toner cannot follow the consumption of the same when an image with a relatively large area ratio is continuously output.
The toner may be stably discharged from the toner cartridge without regard to the intensity of the shock if the outlet of the toner container is increased in size. This, however, brings about smearing ascribable to the toner in the event of mounting or dismounting of the toner cartridge to or from the apparatus body.
The problems described above are apt to occur even when the toner is replaced with a pigment or similar powder.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication 2002-96882 proposes a powder discharging device constructed to cause a powder container to reciprocate such that an inertia force acts on powder stored in the powder container, thereby discharging the powder. The powder container is formed with an outlet in one end portion of one side wall. Reciprocating means causes the powder container, which is positioned such that the outlet is oriented vertically downward, to reciprocate to thereby move the powder toward the outlet little by little. The powder, reached the outlet, drops via the outlet due to gravity. This configuration makes it needless to arrange a spiral lug, groove or similar special structure or a screw or similar movable member in the powder container and therefore allows the powder to be surely discharged by a simple, low-cost structure.
Further, in the reciprocation type of powder discharging device stated above, an acceleration to act on the powder container when the powder container, moving forward with respect to the direction in which the powder moves toward the outlet, is caused to stop is sized greater than an acceleration to act when it is caused to stop after backward movement, and is so sized as to allow the powder to bodily move toward the outlet. Consequently, an inertia force to act on the powder in the forward direction on the stop of the toner container after forward movement is greater than an inertia force to act on the same in the backward direction on the stop of the toner container after backward movement. The powder can therefore be moved toward the outlet by the reciprocation of the powder container. Moreover, because the acceleration generated by the stop after forward movement is so sized as to allow the powder to bodily move toward the outlet, i.e., 40 m/sec2 or above, the powder can be moved toward the outlet without remaining at the side opposite to the outlet.
Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-96882 stated above describes that by limiting the maximum acceleration to act on the powder container when the powder container is stopped after forward movement to 200 m/sec2, it is possible to replenish the powder by a stable amount without causing it to cohere around the outlet. We, however, experimentally found that when the acceleration at the time when the toner container is stopped after forward movement is simply selected to be 40 m/sec2 or above, the amount of the powder discharged via the outlet is sometimes short. This is also true with, e.g., a powder discharging device configured to suddenly reverse the movement of a powder container moving forward.
Technologies relating to the present invention are also disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 2-134554 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 9-244372, 2000-81723, 2001-34008, 2002-6533, 2002-72645, 2002-99136, 2002-182461 and 2002-268346.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a powder discharging device capable of allowing powder stored in a powder container to surely move toward an outlet without remaining at the side opposite to the outlet, and an image forming apparatus using the same.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a powder discharging device capable of discharging powder from a powder container even when a shock to be applied to the powder container by shock applying means is of a degree not adversely effecting an image, and an image forming apparatus using the same.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a powder discharging device capable of desirably discharging powder from a powder container without stopping up the powder container without regard to the degree of the shock or the size of the outlet formed in the powder container, and an image forming apparatus using the same.
A powder discharging device of the present invention includes a powder container storing powder therein and including a bottom wall formed with an outlet at one end portion for discharging the powder vertically downward. A container moving device moves the powder container toward the above end portion and then generates an acceleration opposite in direction to the movement of the powder container in the powder container to thereby cause the powder to move toward the outlet. The maximum value of the acceleration is between 40 m/sec2 and 200 m/sec2 while a period of time for which the container moving device continuously generates an acceleration of 20 m/sec2 or above is between 3 msec and 30 msec.
An image forming apparatus using the above powder discharging device is also disclosed.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings in which:
To better understand the present invention, brief reference will be made to a conventional toner discharging device, shown in
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter.
A first embodiment is directed toward the first object stated earlier and applied to a tandem, color laser beam printer by way of example. As shown in
The charger 11Y includes a charge roller 13Y to which an AC voltage is applied. The charge roller 13Y is held in contact with the drum 10Y for thereby uniformly charging the surface of the drum 10Y. The optical writing unit 2 scans the charged surface of the drum 10Y with a laser beam in accordance with image data, thereby forming a latent image on the drum 10Y. A developing device 20Y develops the latent image thus formed on the drum 10Y with Y toner to thereby produce a Y toner image. For the charger 11Y, use may be made of a charge roller or a charge brush by way of example.
The developing device 20Y includes a casing 21Y and a sleeve 22Y disposed in the casing 21Y while being partly exposed to the outside via an opening formed in the casing 21Y. A first and a second screw 23Y and 24Y, respectively, a doctor 25Y and a toner content sensor 26Y are also included in the developing device 20Y. A partition 27Y, intervening between the first and second screws 23Y and 24Y, divides the casing 21Y into a first and a second developer chamber accommodating the screws 23Y and 24Y, respectively.
A two-component type developer, made up of magnetic carrier grains and Y toner grains chargeable to negative polarity, is stored in the casing 21Y. The developer is conveyed by the screws 23Y and 24Y while being frictionally charged by agitation and is then deposited on the sleeve 22Y. The developer thus deposited on the sleeve 22Y is conveyed to a developing zone where the sleeve 22Y faces the drum 10Y after being metered by the doctor 25Y. In the developing zone, the Y toner of the developer deposits on the latent image formed on the drum 10Y. Subsequently, the developer is returned to the casing 21Y by the rotation of the sleeve 22Y.
The toner content sensor 26Y, implemented by a permeability sensor, is mounted on the bottom of the casing 21Y at the center portion of the second developer chamber in the direction of developer conveyance so as to output a voltage corresponding to the permeability of the developer, which moves above the sensor 26Y. More specifically, the permeability of the developer is related to the toner content of the developer to a certain extent, so that the output voltage of the toner content sensor 26Y corresponds to the toner content. The output voltage of the sensor 26Y is sent to a controller not shown. The controller includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) storing a target value Vtref for Y to which the sensor output should be controlled. It is to be noted that the RAM stores target values Vtref for M, C and K as well. The target value Vtref is used to control the drive of a Y toner conveying device not shown.
As shown in
The Y toner image formed on the drum 10Y is transferred to an intermediate image transfer belt, which will be described later specifically. After the image transfer, the drum cleaner 12Y removes the toner left on the drum 10Y, and then the quenching lamp discharges the surface of the drum 10Y to thereby prepare it for the next image formation. This is also true with the other process units.
As shown in
The bias roller 4 for secondary image transfer is pressed against the drive roller 8a via the belt 8, forming a secondary image transfer nip. A power supply, not shown, applies a bias to the bias roller 4. The sheet cassette 6 is positioned below the optical writing unit 2 and loaded with a stack of sheets P. A pickup roller 6a, resting on the top sheet P, is rotated to pay out the top sheet P to a sheet path. The sheet P thus paid out is conveyed to the registration roller pair 5 via the sheet path and nipped by the roller pair 5.
On the other hand, the full-color toner image carried on the belt 8 is brought to the secondary image transfer nip by the belt 8. The registration roller pair 5 starts conveying the sheet P toward the secondary image transfer nip such that the leading edge of the sheet P meets the leading edge of the full-color toner image at the above nip. As a result, the toner image is transferred from the belt 8 to the sheet P, which is white, by the bias and nip pressure. The sheet P, thus carrying the toner image thereon, is conveyed to the fixing unit 7.
The fixing unit 7 includes a belt unit 7a in which a fixing belt 7b is supported by three rollers, and a heat roller 7c accommodating a heat source therein. The belt unit 7a and heat roller 7c fix the toner image on the sheet P while conveying the sheet P in cooperation. The sheet P, coming out of the fixing unit 7, is driven out of the printer via an outlet roller pair.
Reference will be made to
As shown in
In the illustrative embodiment, the toner container 31 is implemented as a flexible bag formed of polyethylene, nylon or similar resin or paper in a single-layer or a laminate structure. In the illustrative embodiment, at least the inner walls of the toner container 31 are formed of polyethylene.
More specifically, the toner container 31 is made up of a flexible bag 31a, a mouth member 31b formed of resin or similar material harder than the bag 31a, and a rigid member 31c formed of a resin or similar material also harder than the bag 31a. The rigid member 31c is adhered to the surface of the bag 31a that faces vertically downward when the toner container 31 is mounted to the toner discharging device 30. The mouth member 31b is formed integrally with the rigid member 31c and has a through bore communicated to the inside of the bag 31a, forming an outlet 33a of the toner container 31. If desired, the bag 31a, mouth member 31b and rigid member 31c maybe formed of the same material, so that the toner container 31 can be recycled without needing classification.
If desired, an air filter, not shown, may be mounted on the toner container 31, so that the bag 31a decreases in size in accordance with the consumption of the toner.
While the toner container 31 of the illustrative embodiment includes a flexible portion, it may be entirely formed of a rigid member, if desired. For example,
To mount the toner container 31 to the toner discharging device 30, the holder 32, removed from the device 30 beforehand, and the toner container 31 are joined together. More specifically, as shown in
The opening 32a of the holder 32 is so configured as to restrict the movement of the outlet 31e in the opening 32a. On the other hand, the opening 33a of the support base 33 is so configured as to allow the outlet 31e to move in the opening 33a on the support base 33 together with the holder 32 in directions B and C, as indicated by a double-headed arrow.
Hereinafter will be described toner applicable to the illustrative embodiment.
Toner or sample 109 is placed on the saw-toothed top of the stationary plate 101, and then the movable plate 102 is positioned on the toner 109 with its saw-toothed bottom facing downward. Preselected vertical stress acts on the toner 109 due to the weight of the weight 103 and that of the movable plate 101. The wire 108 is connected to the movable plate 102 at one end and connected to the load cell as the other end. The wire 107 is connected to the load cell 104.
When the drive motor 105 is rotated, the reel 106 takes up the wire 107 with the result that the load cell 104 with the wheels move toward the reel 106. At the same time, the movable plate 102 moves in the same direction as the load cell 104 by being pulled by the load cell 104 via the wire 108, exerting shear stress on the toner 109.
The uniaxial breakdown stress of the toner was measured by the shear tester 100 by the following method. A toner layer sized about 50 mm×70 mm×6 mm was placed on the stationary plate 101 and then preliminary pressed by about 70 g/cm2 derived from the weight of the movable plate 102 and weight 103. The weight 103 was then replaced with a lighter weight for exerting vertical stress σ of 20 g/cm2 or below on the toner layer.
Subsequently, the load cell 104 was moved little by little in the horizontal direction with the above vertical stress a being exerted on the toner layer, thereby exerting shear stress on the toner layer.
To measure the uniaxial breakdown stress, the maximum shear stress τmax is measured with two or more different vertical stresses σ, and then an approximate linear equation representative of a relation between the vertical stress σ and the shear stress τmax is determined on the basis of the results of measurement. Subsequently, the diameter of a circle that contacts the origin or zero point of resulting approximate line in the σ-τ coordinates and the approximate line is determined as a uniaxial breakdown stress fc.
As
While the uniaxial breakdown stress fc thus obtained has customarily been used as a characteristic value representative of the fluidity of toner, we found that it has great influence on the amount of toner to be discharged by the illustrative embodiment, as will be described hereinafter.
Referring again to
As shown in
When the stepped portion 36b of the cam 36 contacts the holder 32 in accordance with the rotation of the cam 36, the pressure of the cam 36, acting on the holder 32 is canceled. As a result, the holder 32 and toner container 31 move in the direction C,
At a time T2, the holder 32 and toner container 31, moving in the direction C, hits against the damper 37 affixed to the support base 33. At this instant, a great acceleration in the direction B occurs in the holder 32 and toner container 31 having moved in the direction C. As a result, the toner Tin the toner container 31 is subject to an inertia force acting in the direction C and therefore moves in the direction C toward the outlet 31e. Subsequently, the holder 32 and toner container 31 stop moving at a time T3 after residual vibration.
The reciprocation stated above is repeated to cause the toner T in the toner container 31 to move toward the outlet 31e little by little. Consequently, the toner T drops via the outlet 31e due to its own weight and is then replenished to the developing device 2.
The reciprocation occurs along a virtual line connecting the opposite ends of the toner container on one side wall or bottom wall of the toner container 31 in the lengthwise direction. Therefore, the direction in which the toner container 31 moves backward and the direction in which the toner T moves toward the outlet 31e are coincident, preventing the inertia force acting on the toner C, as stated above, from being scattered in the other directions. Stated another way, the inertia force is effectively used to discharge the toner T and allows the toner T to be discharged by a minimum of energy, thereby saving power.
The damper 37 will be described specifically hereinafter.
As
As shown in
The modification described above also allows the mean amount of toner discharged to vary in accordance with the spring constant of the damper 137, as determined by experiments. The mean amount of toner discharged was desirable when the acceleration peak value was between 0.05 kgf/mm and 1 kgf/mm, as determined with three kinds of dampers 137 as in the illustrative embodiment. The dampers 137 used for experiments were formed of the same materials as the dampers 37 of the illustrative embodiments.
In the illustrative embodiment, assume that the entire toner container is provided with flexibility. Then, if the toner container is affixed to the holder 32 only at its mouth portion, the toner container is apt to deform due to a great acceleration when it hits against the damper 37. Such an acceleration causes the toner container to move in the direction C,
Experiments, conducted to determine conditions for discharging the toner T via the outlet 31e by a stable amount, will be described hereinafter.
To allow the toner T in the toner container 31 to move toward the outlet 31e and drop via the outlet 31e in a stable amount, it is necessary to cause the entire toner T to move toward the outlet 31e. However, if the acceleration to occur when the toner container 31 and holder 32 hit against the damper 37 and therefore the inertia force stated earlier is short, then the toner T separates into a portion that easily moves and a portion that does not do so. As a result, only the portion that easily moves moves toward the outlet 31e while the other part remains at the side of the toner container 31 opposite to the outlet 31e. This not only obstructs the stable discharge of the toner T via the outlet 31e, but also causes the toner T to partly remain in the toner container 31.
The stable discharge of the toner T via the outlet 31e is also obstructed when the toner T, cohered by compression, stops the upper end of the outlet 31e. The toner T coheres if the acceleration to occur when the toner container 31 and holder 32 hit against the damper 37 is excessively great. More specifically, if the acceleration is excessively great, then the inertia force to act on the toner container 31 is also excessively great with the result that the toner T in the toner container 31 moves toward the outlet 31e in an amount far larger than the amount of discharge caused by the reciprocating movement. Consequently, the toner T gathers around the outlet 31e and coheres little by little due to the above acceleration. In this condition, part of the toner T positioned above the outlet 31e simply breaks and drops while the other part around the outlet 31e partially or entirely blocks.
To solve the above problem, it is important to adequately select the upper and lower limits of the acceleration to occur when the toner container 31 and holder 32 hit against the damper 37. It is to be noted that the above acceleration refers to a peak acceleration value to occur at the time of collision, i.e., a value D shown in
In
In
In
The experimental results stated above indicate that to discharge the toner T via the outlet 31e by a stable amount, the acceleration D should preferably be confined in the range of from 40 m/sec2 to 200 m/sec2.
However, it was experimentally found that even when the acceleration peak value D was 40 m/sec2 or above, the amount of discharge via the outlet 31e was sometimes short. On the other hand, it was found that a period of time t over which the acceleration of 20 m/sec2 or above continues was correlated to the amount of discharge more than the other factors, as will be described hereinafter.
As stated above, the toner T can be stably discharged if the maximum acceleration is between 40 m/sec2 and 200 m/sec2 and if the period of time t over which the acceleration of 20 m/sec2 or above acts on the toner container 31 is between 3 msec and 30 msec.
The toner T can be stably discharged if the acceleration to act on the toner container 30 is adequately selected, and can be discharged in a large amount if the peak acceleration value is increased, as stated above. However, if the peak acceleration value is increased for the above purpose, then vibration ascribable to the collision of the toner container 31 against the damper 37 increases, increasing vibration to be imparted to the printer body to thereby lower image quality. The peak acceleration value should therefore be as small as possible. By extending the period of time t, it is also possible to increase the amount of discharge, as stated in relation to the experiments. It follows that by adequately selecting the period of time t, it is possible to implement a desired amount of discharge while reducing the above vibration.
Extended researches and experiments showed that if a speed variation of 0.1 m/sec to 0.6 m/sec occurred when the above acceleration was acting on the toner container 31, then a desired amount of discharge was achievable with vibration being reduced. The speed variation mentioned above corresponds to the time-integrated value of the variation of acceleration shown in
It is to be noted that the size of vibration to be imparted to the printer body is dependent on the size of a mass hitting against the damper as well. Experiments showed that if the total weight of the toner container 31, toner T stored therein and holder 32 was between 0.3 kgf and 2 kgf, then great vibration, effecting image quality, could be sufficiently damped.
As stated above, the illustrative embodiment allows the toner T in the toner container 31 to surely move to the outlet 31e without remaining at the side opposite to the outlet 31e.
This embodiment is directed toward the second object stated earlier. The description made with reference to
As shown in
An opening 31h is formed in the reinforcing plate 31f in alignment with the opening 31g of the bag 31a. A projection 31b, extending vertically downward, is formed integrally with or adhered to the bottom plate 31f around the opening 31h. The openings 31g and 31h and projection 31b constitute an outlet 31k directed vertically downward and communicating the inside of the bag 31a to the outside.
The projection 31b may not be provided on the reinforcing plate 31f, but may be provided on the bag 31a and fitted in the opening 31g of the reinforcing plate 31f. In any case, if the bag 31a, reinforcing plate 31f and projection 31b are formed of the same material, then the entire toner cartridge 31 can be formed of a single material. This, coupled with the flexibility of the bag 31g, is also successful to facilitate recycling of the toner cartridge 31 and reduces transport cost, as stated in relation to the previous embodiment.
If the deformable bag 31a is used as a toner cartridge alone, then it easily bends in the lengthwise direction even when filled up with toner and is therefore difficult to handle. This is why the reinforcing plate 31f is affixed to the bottom of the bag 31a. The toner cartridge 31 with the reinforcing plate 31f can be easily mounted to the toner discharging device, which will be described specifically later.
A notch 31i is formed in the reinforcing plate 31f at the center in the lengthwise direction and extends in the widthwise direction. As shown in
The toner discharging device of the illustrative embodiment also has the configuration described with reference to
The description made with reference to
We, however, found that even when the speed variation of the cartridge movable body at the time of collision was 0.6 m/sec, the amount of discharge was sometimes short. Further experiments showed that when toner grains had a relatively low mean circularity, a sufficient amount of discharge was not attained when the speed variation was between 0.1 m/sec and 0.6 m/sec. This is presumably because a frictional force, acting between the toner grains, increases with a decrease in circularity and makes it difficult for the toner grains to move when subjected to the inertia force.
In light of the above, we examined a relation between the circularity of toner grains and the amount of toner discharged while fixing the speed variation at 0.35 m/sec.
When the speed variation was fixed at 0.60 m/sec higher than 0.35 m/sec, the curve of
The illustrative embodiment uses, based on the experimental results stated above, toner whose mean circularity is between 0.94 and 1.00 and causes a speed variation of 0.1 m/sec or above, but 0.6 m/sec or below, to occur in the cartridge movable body when the movable body hits against the damper 137. Further, the cartridge movable body of the illustrative embodiment has a weight of 0.3 kgf or above (when run out of toner), but 2 kgf or below (when filled up with toner). Under these conditions, it is possible to desirably discharge toner from the toner cartridge even when the shock to act on the toner cartridge is of a degree not adversely influencing image quality.
To measure the mean circularity of toner grains, use was made of a flow-type particle image analyzer FPIA-2100 available from SYSMEX. For measurement, 0.1 ml to 0.5 ml of alkylbenzenesulfonate or surfactant was added to 100 ml to 150 ml of water, and then 0.1 g to 0.5 g of toner powder was added to the resulting mixture. The resulting suspension was dispersed for about 1 minutes to 3 minutes in an ultrasonic disperser to dispersion density of 3,000/μl to 10,000/μl, and then analyzed by the above analyzer. The mean circularity was determined on the basis of the mean value of circularities produced by dividing the circumferential length of a circle having the same area as the projected area of a toner grain by the circumferential length of the projected image.
While the foregoing description has concentrated on a printer using a toner and carrier mixture, the illustrative embodiment is similarly applicable to a developing system using only toner, i.e., a one-component type developer. Also, the illustrative embodiment may be implemented as a copier, facsimile apparatus or similar image forming apparatus other than a printer. Further, exposure using a laser beam may be replaced with exposure using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) array or ions, if desired.
The illustrative embodiment is applicable even to an image forming system not using the electrophotographic process, e.g., a direct recording system taught in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-301014 by way of example. Moreover, the illustrative embodiment is practicable with a system that replenishes toner to a developing device with a suction pump or similar conveying means. This is also true with a third embodiment to be described later.
In the illustrative embodiment, polymerized toner can be more stably discharged than pulverized toner for the following reason. Pulverized toner is produced by pulverizing mother toner to a desired grain size and is therefore low in the circularity of the individual toner grain. As a result, even if the mean circularity of the toner grains is 0.94 or above, it is difficult to stably discharge the toner due to noticeable irregularity in the circularity of the individual toner grain. By contrast, polymerized toner has a narrow circularity distribution and can therefore be stably discharged.
As stated above, the illustrative embodiment is capable of desirably discharge toner from the powder container even when a shock, applied to the powder container by the shock applying means, is so small as not to adversely influence image quality.
This embodiment is directed toward the third object stated earlier. The laser beam printer shown in
As shown in
As shown in
An opening 31h is formed in the reinforcing plate 31f in alignment with the opening 31g of the bag 31a. A mouth portion 31b, projecting vertically downward, is formed integrally with the reinforcing plate 31f around the opening 31h. The openings 31g and 31h and mouth portion 31b constitute an outlet 31k directed vertically downward and communicating the inside of the bag 31a to the outside.
As shown in
To mount the toner cartridge 31 to the toner discharging device 230, the holder 32, removed from the device 230 beforehand, and the toner container 31 are joined together. More specifically, as shown in
The opening 32a of the holder 32 is so configured as to restrict the movement of the outlet 31b in the opening 32a. On the other hand, the opening 33a of the support base 33 is so configured as to allow the outlet 31b to move in the opening 33a on the support base 33 together with the holder 32 in directions B and C, as indicated by a double-headed arrow.
As shown in
The agitating member 50, characterizing the illustrative embodiment, will be described specifically hereinafter. As shown in
The agitating members 50 serve to prevent the toner from stopping up the outlet 31k, as will be described hereinafter. As shown in
The bag 31a, reinforcing plate 31f, mouth member 31b and agitating members 50 may be formed of the same material in the same manner as in the previous embodiments in order to facilitate recycling of the toner cartridge 31 while reducing transport cost. Although the amount of toner to be replenished to the developing device 20 via the outlet 31k is apt to vary because the volume of the toner in the flexible bag 31a is apt to become unstable, the agitating members 50 promote desirable delivery of the toner while preventing it from stopping up the outlet 31k.
The reinforcing plate 31f is significant for the same reason as described in relation to the previous embodiments. In addition, the reinforcing plate 31f, fitted on the bottom of the bag 31a, prevents the bag 31a from deforming in the direction of movement of the toner cartridge 31 to thereby obviate defective toner discharge ascribable to deformation.
The notch 31i,
While the toner container 31 of the illustrative embodiment includes a flexible portion, it may be entirely formed of a rigid member, if desired. For example,
In the illustrative embodiment, the agitating members 50 allows the toner to be stably discharged from the toner cartridge 31 without stopping up the outlet 31k without regard to the intensity of a shock exerted on the toner cartridge by the shock applying means or the size of the outlet 31k. This is because the agitating members 50, shaking in interlocked relation to the shock applying means, agitate the toner in the toner cartridge 31 to thereby obviate stop-up ascribable to, e.g., toner blocking. Further, the agitating members 50 allow the size of the outlet 31k to be reduced, so that smearing in the event of replacement of the toner cartridge 31 can be reduced.
It is to be noted that the agitating members shown and described are only illustrative and may be suitably modified in matching relation to, e.g., the desired toner agitating effect and the production cost of parts.
As stated above, the illustrative embodiment desirably discharges toner or power from the toner or powder container with the agitating members, which shake in interlocked relation to the shock applying means, thereby preventing the toner from stopping up the outlet of the container.
Various modifications will become possible for those skilled in the art after receiving the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-366619 | Dec 2002 | JP | national |
| 2003-024414 | Jan 2003 | JP | national |
| 2003-127394 | May 2003 | JP | national |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20040179866 A1 | Sep 2004 | US |
