JPS6371864A - Picture generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a picture generator by filling unused toner in the toner recovery room of a cleaning device and providing a means which shifts toner in the toner recovery room to a developing room in connecting with the cleaning device and a developing device. CONSTITUTION:The cleaning device 28 is provided with the toner recovery room 136, the free edge part of an elastic blade 138 removes toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive body of a rotary drum 20, and a sealing member 144 guides the removed toner to the recovery room 136. Unused toner is sealed hermetically to in the collection room 136 in advance at the time of manufacturing. In relating to this, a shifting means 146 which shifts toner in the recovery room 136 to the developing room 100 of a developing device 26 in a process unit 14 is provided. Said means 146 consists of a hollow cylindrical member 148 and a spiral member 150 is rotatably disposed in the member 148. Thus, a toner accommodation room and the toner recovery room can be shared, whereby the picture generator can be miniaturized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to an image generator, and more particularly, to an image generator including a process unit that is detachably attached to a support structure.

PRIOR ART As is well known to those skilled in the art, electrostatic copying machines or electrostatic printing machines, which form an electrostatic latent image on an electrostatographic photoreceptor and then develop the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. Image generating machines such as the machine are in widespread use. An electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine generally includes a movable photoreceptor support means such as a rotating drum having a photoreceptor on its surface, a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor, and a photoreceptor. The developing device includes a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on the surface, the developing device has a developing chamber and an application means disposed in the developing chamber, and the cleaning device includes a toner removing device and a collecting chamber for recovering the removed toner. have.

On the other hand, in recent years, instead of filling the toner storage chamber provided in the developing device with toner when installing the image generator at the place of use and actually starting to use it, the toner storage chamber provided in the developing device is filled with toner in advance during manufacturing. There is a tendency to adopt a so-called toner pre-filled method in which the toner is filled with toner and supplied to the user in this state. In particular, the movable photoreceptor supporting means, the developing device, and the cleaning device are mounted on a common unit frame to form a replaceable so-called process unit, and the process unit is detachably mounted on the support structure of the image generator. In image generating machines of this type, there is a greater tendency to adopt the above-mentioned toner pre-filled method.

However, conventional image generators have the following problems. That is, since there is a dedicated space for pre-filling unused toner, that is, a toner storage chamber, the developing device becomes larger in relation to this, and this tendency increases as the amount of toner pre-filled increases. growing. Therefore,
This causes the problem of increasing the size of the entire copying machine.

<Object of the invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and its main purpose is to effectively achieve miniaturization by effectively utilizing space that is wasted until it is actually used. An object of the present invention is to provide an image generator capable of generating images.

<Summary of the Invention> As a result of intensive research, the present inventors focused on the toner collection chamber of a cleaning device, which was completely wasted until it was actually used, and developed a method for sealing unused toner in the toner collection chamber in advance. Furthermore, if a toner transporting means is provided for transporting the toner present in the toner collection chamber to the developing chamber, and the toner in the toner collection chamber is supplied to the developing chamber by the action of the toner transporting means during use, the toner in the toner collection chamber is supplied to the developing chamber. It has been found that the above object can be achieved by omitting the toner storage chamber.

That is, according to the present invention, a movable photoconductor support means having a photoconductor on the surface, a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor, and a device for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor. the developing device comprises a developing chamber and application means disposed in the developing chamber for applying toner to the electrostatic latent image to be developed; In an image generating machine having a toner removing means for removing residual toner by acting on the surface of the photoreceptor, and a toner collecting chamber for collecting the toner removed by the action of the toner removing means; in the toner collecting chamber of the cleaning device. Unused toner is sealed, and a toner transport means is further provided in conjunction with the cleaning device and the developing device to transport the toner present in the toner collection chamber to the developing chamber of the developing device. An image generator is provided.

<Preferred Specific Example of the Invention> A specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Jull! 1 skin lid! FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine constructed according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the illustrated copying machine includes a generally rectangular parallelepiped-shaped housing designated as a whole by numeral 2. As shown in FIG. The housing 2 consists of a bottom wall 4, a vertical front board and a vertical rear board (2) which are spaced apart from each other in the front and back direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1) at the front and rear ends of the bottom wall 4. (not shown) and various components described below are disposed between the vertical front substrate and the vertical rear substrate.

A document mounting means 6 is mounted on the upper surface of the housing 2 so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction. The device includes a document cover 10 that can be opened and closed to cover the document to be processed.

A so-called process unit, generally designated by the number 12, is removably attached to a substantially central portion of the housing 2. More specifically, a pair of support rails (not shown) are fixed in the housing 2 at intervals in the left-right direction and extend in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, while the process unit 12 has a unit frame 14. On both left and right sides of this unit frame 14, there are supported rail parts 16 and 1 extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.
The sun is forming. Therefore, the supported rail parts 16 and 18 of the unit frame 14 are respectively engaged with support rails (not shown) provided in the housing 2, and the unit frame 1
4 in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, the process unit 12 is attached to the housing 2, i.e. to the support structure.
is attached and detached. A rotary drum 2o constituting movable photoreceptor supporting means is rotatably mounted approximately at the center of the unit frame 14. On the circumferential surface of the rotating drum 20,
A suitable electrostatographic photoreceptor is provided. Unit frame 1
4 further includes a charging corona discharger 24, a developing device generally designated by the numeral 26, around the rotating drum 20 which is rotationally driven in the direction shown by the arrow 22, sequentially as seen in the direction of rotation.
A cleaning device, generally designated 28, is also fitted. Regarding the process unit 12, particularly the developing device 26, the cleaning device 28, and related elements,
Details will be explained later.

The housing 2 further includes the process unit 12.
A document irradiation lamp 30, a reflection plate 32, and an optical system 34 are also disposed above the document irradiation lamp 30. The optical system 34 is
It is composed of a large number of elongated optical elements (for example, a rondo-shaped lens sold by Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. under the trade name "Selfoc Micro Lens") extending in the vertical direction.

The light from the irradiation lamp 30 is irradiated through the transparent plate 8 onto the document placed thereon, as shown by the two-dot chain line, and the light reflected from the document is reflected by the optical system 34 and the upper wall 3 of the unit frame 14.
The light is projected onto the circumferential surface of the rotating drum 20 in the exposure area 38 through an exposure aperture formed at 6 .

Below the rotating drum 20, there is a transfer corona discharger 4 that faces the circumferential surface of the rotating drum 20 in the transfer area 40.
2, and a stripping corona discharger 44 located adjacent to and downstream of the transfer corona discharger 42.

Further, at the right end of the housing 2, a copy paper supply means, generally indicated by the number 46, is disposed, and at the left end of the housing 2, a copy paper tray 48 is disposed. and,
A copy paper transport system, generally designated by the number 50, for transporting copy paper through the transfer area 40 is disposed between the copy paper supply means 46 and the copy paper tray 48. The copy paper supply means 46 includes a copy paper cassette 52 detachably mounted on a cassette receiver and a delivery roller 54 disposed above the cassette receiver. Sheets of copy paper are stored in a stacked state in the copy paper cassette 52, and by rotating the delivery roller 54 in the direction shown by an arrow 56, the copy paper in the copy paper cassette 52 is delivered one by one. is,
The thus delivered copy paper passes between the pair of guide plates 58 and is supplied to the copy paper conveying system 5°. The copy paper conveyance system 5o is indicated by the arrow 6.
A pair of transport rollers 62 that are rotationally driven in the direction shown by o, a pair of guide plates 64, a guide plate 66, a transport belt mechanism 70 that is rotationally driven in the direction shown by arrow 68, and a heat fixing device that is rotationally driven in the direction shown by arrow 72. It includes a pair of rollers 74, a guide plate 76, and a pair of discharge rollers 8o that are rotationally driven in the direction shown by an arrow 78.

Appropriate heating means 84 is disposed within the upper heating roller 82 of the heating fixing roller pair 74 .

In the electrostatic copying machine as described above, the rotating drum 20
is driven to rotate in the direction shown by arrow 22, the charging corona discharger 24 charges the photoreceptor on the rotating drum 20 substantially uniformly to a specific polarity, and then, in the exposure area 38, the photoreceptor on the transparent plate 8 is charged. The image of the original is scanned and exposed onto the photoreceptor, thus forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image of the original on the photoreceptor. During the scanning exposure described above, the document mounting means 6
For example, the scanning exposure is moved from the scanning exposure start position indicated by the two-dot chain line 6A rightward to the scanning exposure end position indicated by the two-dot chain line 6B. Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor is developed into a toner image by the developing device 26. Next, the copy paper supplied from the copy paper supply means 46 and conveyed by the copy paper conveyance system 50 is rotated in the transfer area 40. drum 20
The toner image on the photoreceptor is transferred onto the copy paper by the action of the transfer corona discharger 420.

Thereafter, the copy paper is peeled off from the rotating drum 20 by the action of the static eliminating corona discharger 44. The peeled copy paper is conveyed through a pair of heat-fixing rollers 74, during which time the toner image on the copy paper is heat-fixed, and then discharged onto the copy paper tray 48.

On the other hand, the rotating drum 20 continues to rotate further, and the residual toner on the photoreceptor is removed by the action of the cleaning device 28.

Continuing the explanation by mainly referring to FIGS. 2 to 4 together with FIG. A front wall 86 (partially shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) and a rear wall 86 (not shown) are arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to , from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. has a front wall 8
A rotating drum 20, a developing device 26, and a cleaning device 28 are disposed between the rotary drum 6 and the rear wall.

A shaft portion 88 (only one shaft portion is shown in FIG. 4) is provided at both ends of the rotating drum 20, and the shaft portion 88 is rotatably supported by a front wall 86 and a rear wall (not shown). has been done. Although not shown, the other shaft portion of the rotating drum 20 is drivingly connected to a drive source such as an electric motor, so that the rotating drum 20 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 22 by the action of this drive source (not shown). Rotationally driven.

Mainly referring to FIG. 2, the illustrated developing device 26 includes a front end wall 90 disposed at intervals in the longitudinal direction inside the front wall 86 and the rear wall (not shown above) of the unit frame 14. and rear end wall 92 (front end wall 9 in FIG. 5).
0 and a part of the rear end wall 92, and a part of the front end part 90 is shown in FIGS.
．． 96 and 98 are provided.

The illustrated developer apparatus includes a developer chamber 100 defined by a front end wall 90 and a rear end wall 92 and the various walls 94, 96 and 98 described above. The developing chamber 100 has an open left side facing the rotating drum 20.
An application means 102 is disposed on the left side of the developing chamber 100.
A developer stirring means 104 is disposed at the bottom right portion. The illustrated application means 102 consist of a hollow cylindrical sleeve 108 which is rotatably driven in the direction indicated by the arrow 106 and a stationary permanent magnet 110 arranged within the sleeve 108. The stationary permanent magnet 110 has a plurality of magnetic poles located at intervals in the circumferential direction. The stirring means 10
4 has a plurality of blades 114 that are rotationally driven in the direction shown by an arrow 112, and agitates the developer in the developing chamber 100 and supplies it to the application means 102. An ear cutting means 116 is provided on the left inner surface of the wall 98 of the developing chamber 100 and projects toward the sleeve 108 of the application means 102.

The cutting means 116 is magnetically held on the surface of the sleeve 108 and acts on the moving developer to remove excess developer. Further, a toner concentration detector 118 located above the ear cutting means 116 is disposed on the wall 98.
Detector 118 , which may be of any known form, has a detection surface exposed within developer chamber 100 and detects the toner concentration of the developer removed from application means 102 by the action of scioning means 116 .

Note that a guide member 120 is further provided in the developing chamber 100 above the applying means 102.

The guide member 120 is inclined downwardly to the right and guides the excess developer removed from the application means 102 to the agitation means 104, and in the specific example, furthermore, the guide member 120 has a starting point approximately at the center of the wall 9B. Supply opening 98a for supplying developer
is provided. A supply opening 98a that projects upwardly is exposed to the outside of the unit frame 14 through an opening 122 formed in the upper wall 36 of the unit frame 14. A sealing body 126 that releasably closes the opening is screwed on. In use, as will be described later, the sealing body 126 is removed and a start developer (a developer containing carrier and toner mixed at a predetermined mixing ratio) is supplied to the developing chamber 100 through the supply port 124.

Referring mainly to FIG. 3, the illustrated cleaning device 2
8 is a front wall 86 and a rear wall (not shown) of the unit frame 14;
It has a front end wall 128 (partially shown in FIG. 6) and a rear end wall (not shown) which are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction on the inner side of the are provided with various walls 130° 132 and 134. The illustrated cleaning device 28 includes a toner collection chamber 136 defined by a front end wall 128 and a rear end wall and the various walls 130, 132 and 134 described above. The cleaning device 28 includes an elastic blade 138 that acts as a toner removing means and is attached to the outer surface of the right end of the wall 134 by a mounting member 140. The free end of the elastic blade 138 is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor of the rotating drum 20 to remove residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor. A part of the right side surface of the toner collection chamber 136 facing the rotating drum 20 is open, and a synthetic resin film is formed on the inner surface of the wall 130 that defines the lower edge of the collection opening 142 of the toner collection chamber 136. A sealing member 144 that can be used is provided. The sealing member 144 extends toward the rotating drum 20 from one end fixed to the wall 130, and the other end is brought into contact with or close to the circumferential surface of the rotating drum. This sealing member 144 functions to guide the toner removed by the action of the elastic blade 138 to the toner collection chamber 136.

In an electrostatic copying machine as described above, unused toner (
New toner (which has never been used for development) is sealed in the toner recovery chamber 136 in advance during manufacturing.

Further, in relation to the fact that unused toner is sealed in this manner, the present invention is further configured as follows. Mainly referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the process unit 1
4 further includes a toner collection chamber 1 of the cleaning device 28.
A toner transporting means 146 is provided for transporting the toner in the developing device 36 to the developing chamber 100 of the developing device 26. The illustrated toner transfer means 146 includes a hollow cylindrical member 148 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) and a spiral member 150 rotatably disposed within the hollow cylindrical member 148. Openings are formed at required locations on the front end wall 128 (FIG. 6) of the cleaning device 28, and the front end wall 9 of the developing device 26
An opening 151 (FIG. 7) is also formed at the required location of 0.
One end of the cylindrical hollow cylindrical member 148 is connected to the opening formed in the front end wall 128 of the cleaning device 28, and the other end of the hollow cylindrical member 148 is formed in the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26. It is connected to the opening 151, and in the specific example, the other end passes through the opening 151 formed in the front end wall 90, passes through the upper right corner of the developing chamber 100, and extends to the rear end wall (see FIG. 5). , in a specific example,
The other end of the hollow cylindrical member 148 (specifically, the portion 148a between the front end wall 90 and the rear end wall 92 of the developing device 26) acts as a hollow conveyance body, but a hollow cylindrical hollow conveyance body is formed separately. The hollow cylindrical member 148 may be installed between the front end wall 90 and the rear end wall 92 of the developing device 26, and the other end of the hollow cylindrical member 148 may be communicated with the hollow transport body. The provided spiral member 150 has one end 15
2a is located within the toner collection chamber 136 of the cleaning device 2B. More specifically, one end 152a of the helical member 150 is connected to the front end wall 128 of the cleaning device 28.
(FIG. 6), extending into the toner collection chamber 136 through the opening formed in the toner storage chamber 136, substantially from one end to the other end in the width direction of the toner storage chamber 136 at the bottom of the toner collection chamber 136;
That is, it extends in the fore-and-aft direction, and a shaft portion 154a provided at one end thereof is rotatably mounted on the rear end wall (not shown) of the cleaning device 28. The shaft portion 154a passes through the rear end wall and projects rearward, and a gear 158 is connected to this projecting end via a clutch means 156 such as an electromagnetic clutch.
is installed. Gear 158 is similar to gears 160 and 16.
2 and meshes with a large gear 164 provided at the rear end of the rotating drum 20.

Since the drive is connected in this way, the rotating drum 20 is
When the gear 158 is rotated in the direction shown by arrow 2, the gear 158 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 166 via the gears 162 and 160, and when the clutch means 156 is energized, the driving force of the gear 158 is applied to the clutch means 156. The signal is transmitted to the shaft portion 154a of the helical member 150 through the axle. The other end 152b of this spiral member 150 extends in the axial direction through the hollow cylindrical member 148. H, the other end portion 15 located within the developing chamber 100. αb extends in the width direction of the developing chamber 100 from substantially one end to the other end of the other end 148a located between the front end wall 90 and the rear end wall 92 (FIG. 5) of the hollow cylindrical member 148, that is, in the front-rear direction. A shaft portion 15 that extends and is provided at the other end.
As shown in FIG. 4, the spiral member 150 shown in FIG. has no shaft, and is wound spirally in a predetermined direction and is hollow. When the driving force of the gear 158 in the direction shown by the arrow 166 is transmitted through the clutch means 156, the helical member 150 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 168 and rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 170, that is, from one end thereof. Transfer the toner toward the other end. Hollow cylindrical member 1
A toner discharge opening 172 (FIG. 2, Figure) is formed. In the specific example, this toner discharge opening 172 is located at the other end 148 of the hollow cylindrical member 148, as shown in FIG.
It is preferable that the opening width of the toner discharge opening 172 gradually increases in a substantially triangular shape in the toner transport direction indicated by an arrow 170, for example.

Further, a stirring means 174 is provided in the toner recovery chamber 136 of the cleaning device 28 .

The illustrated stirring means 174 has a shaft member 176, and on this shaft member 176, a plurality of approximately circular blade bodies 178 are arranged at intervals in the axial direction and slightly inclined, and each blade body 178
A substantially rectangular blade body 180 is provided between them. This stirring means 174 is connected to the spiral member 15 of the toner collection chamber 136.
0, and both ends of the shaft member 176 are arranged above the one end portion 152a of the cleaning device 28.
8 and a rear end wall (not shown) in a rotatable manner. The rear end of the shaft member 176 penetrates the rear end wall and projects rearward, and a gear 182 is attached to this projecting end.
2 is meshed with a large gear 164 provided on the rotating drum 20. Therefore, when the rotating drum 20 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 22, the stirring means 174 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 184 via the large gear 164 and the gear 182. As will be described later, the stirring means 174 is used to collect unused toner previously filled in the toner collection chamber 136 and recovered toner (toner used for development) removed from the surface of the photoreceptor and collected in the toner recovery chamber 36. ) as required.In order to conveniently accomplish the mixing of the unused toner and the recovered toner, it is preferable to configure the stirring means 174 as shown in FIG. It is preferable to dispose it immediately above the one end portion 152a and in the falling recovery path of the recovered toner removed from the rotating drum 20, and also defines the stirring means 174, in particular the approximately circular blade body 178 and the toner recovery chamber 136 in the specific example. wall 130
It is preferable to reduce the distance between 132 and 132.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 4, the sleeve 10 of the application means 102
8, the shaft portions 186a and 186b provided at both ends thereof are connected to the front end wall 90 and rear end wall 92 of the developing device 26.
Also, in the stirring means 104, shaft portions 188a and 188b provided at both ends thereof are rotatably mounted on the front end wall 90 and the rear end wall 92. The shaft portion 186b of the sleeve ioa is connected to the rear end wall 92.
(FIG. 5) and protrudes rearward, a gear 190 is attached to this protruding end, and the shaft portion 188b of the stirring means 104
also penetrates the rear end wall 92 and projects rearward, and a gear 192 is also attached to this projecting end. Gears 190 and 1
92 is drive-coupled via a small gear 194, so that the gear 190 is driven by the drive source (not shown) of the copying machine.
is rotated in the direction shown by arrow 196 (thereby rotating sleeve 108 in the direction shown by arrow 106), gear 192 is rotated via gear 194 in the direction shown by arrow 198 (thereby rotating the sleeve 108 in the direction shown by arrow 198). Means 104 is arrow 1
12).

In connection with filling the toner collection chamber 136 of the cleaning device 28 with unused toner in advance, a removable sealing means 200 is provided in the collection opening 142 of the toner collection chamber 132.
It is preferable to provide a discharge opening sealing means 202 (FIGS. 3 and 6) which can also be opened to the toner discharge opening 172 formed at the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148 (FIGS. 2 and 6). 7) is more preferable.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, the illustrated sealing means 200 is composed of a relatively thin sealing member 204 made of synthetic resin. It is removably affixed to, for example, by means such as an adhesive. The seal member 204 is
It is preferable to adhere as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.

That is, one end of the seal member 204 is connected to the cleaning device 28.
is attached to the inner surface of the front end wall 128 of the
The one end 206a extending toward the wall 130 (not shown) has an upper end attached to the inner surface of the wall 134 and a lower end attached to the inner surface of the wall 130.
a substantially seals the collection opening 142. Considering the ease of detachment of the seal member 204, the other end 206b further extending from the one end 206a is placed on the toner collection chamber 132 side (on the left side in FIGS. 3 and 6).
It is folded back and placed overlappingly inside the one end portion 206a, and the other end is formed into an elongated hole 20 formed in the front end wall 128.
8 and the elongated hole 209 formed in the front 986 of the unit frame 14 to project somewhat forward of the front wall 86. The other end of the sealing member 204 may be bent and removably attached to the front surface of the front wall 86 of the unit 7) frame 14 by means such as tape, as in the illustrated example, or it may be attached as is. When the seal member 204 is attached in this manner, as is easily understood, the entire seal member 204 can be recovered by pulling the other end of the seal member 204 protruding from the front wall 86 forward. It can be removed from the opening 142.

The discharge opening sealing means 202 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 7. The discharge opening sealing means 202 shown in the drawings is also composed of a relatively thin sealing member 210 made of synthetic resin, and the sealing member 210 is hollow. It is removably attached to an opening of a toner discharge opening 172 formed at the other end 148a of the cylindrical member 148 by means such as an adhesive. The seal member 210 is the seal member 20 described above.
4, it is preferable to attach it as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. That is, one end 212a extending from one end of the sealing member 210 located inside the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26 toward the rear end wall 92 is attached to the outer surface of the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148. One end 212a
This substantially seals the toner discharge opening 172.

Then, considering the ease of detachment of the seal member 210,
The other end portion 212b further extending from the one end portion 212a is folded back toward the developing chamber 100 side (lower side in FIGS. 2 and 7) and positioned to overlap with the lower side of the one end portion 212a,
The other end of the circular opening 15 is formed in the front end wall 90.
1 (as described above, the other end of the hollow cylindrical member 148 is inserted through this opening 151) and the elongated arc-shaped hole 214 formed in the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14. Make it stand out. In addition, the seal member 210
The other end may remain in a protruding state as in the illustrated example, but it can be bent and attached to the front wall 86 similarly to the seal member 204.
The seal member 210 may be removably attached to the front surface of the front wall 86 by means such as tape. toner discharge opening 172
can be removed from the opening. In addition, when pasting the sealing member 210 in this way, as shown in FIG.
In a specific example, it is preferable to arrange the sealing material 216 at the opening (a portion defining at least the lower part of the opening 151) of the opening 151 formed in the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26.
A substantially semicircular sealing material 216 is provided at a portion of the front end wall 90 that defines the lower part of the opening 151. Seal material 21
6 can be made of rubber, for example, and seals between the front end wall 90 and the hollow cylindrical member 148 after the sealing member 210 is removed as described later, so that the developer in the developing chamber 100 is released to the outside through the opening 151. Prevent leakage.

Referring mainly to FIGS. 2 to 4 again, in the electrostatic copying machine as described above, at the time of starting use, the developing chamber 100 of the developing device 26 is filled with a starter developer, and the cleaning device 26 is filled with a starter developer. Start by removing the sealing member 204 that seals the recovery opening 142 of the toner recovery chamber 136 of No. 28 and the sealing member 210 that seals the toner discharge opening 172 formed at the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148. The developer is filled at the wall 98 of the developing device 26.
The sealing body 126 screwed onto the supply opening 98a provided in the opening 98a is removed, and the required amount of start developer sealed in a container (not shown) is passed from the container to the supply opening 124 into the developing chamber 100. This is achieved by street feeding.

To remove the seal member 204, peel off the other end of the seal [11204] attached to the front wall of the unit frame 14, and while pulling the other end forward, insert one end 206a of the seal member 206a into the toner collection chamber 136. This is achieved by peeling it off from the opening of the collection opening 142. (See also FIG. 6) Thus, the front end wall 128 of the cleaning device 28
opening 208 formed in and the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14
The sealing member 204 can be removed through the opening 209 formed in the toner collection opening 14 of the toner collection chamber 136.
2 is released. Furthermore, the detachment of the sealing member 210 projects somewhat from the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14. While pulling the other end of the sealing member 210 forward, the one end 21 thereof is
2a from the opening of the toner discharge opening 172 formed at the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148. (See also FIG. 7) In this way, the sealing member 210 can be removed through the opening i51 formed in the front end wall 90 of the developing device 26 and the opening 214 formed in the front wall 86 of the unit frame 14, and the sealing member 210 can be removed from the hollow cylindrical shape. Part 1
A toner discharge opening 172 formed in 48 is opened.

By performing such operations, the device becomes ready for copying, and the above-described copying process can be performed. In the copying machine of the specific example, the following points should be noted. That is, before the start of copying, the toner collection chamber 136 (
A collection opening 142 (the toner collection chamber 136 is filled with unused toner in advance during manufacturing) is sealed with a sealing member 204, and a hollow space that communicates the toner collection chamber 136 with the developing chamber 100 is sealed. Cylindrical member 148
The toner discharge opening 172 formed in the sealing member 210 also
Therefore, the toner collection chamber 136 is substantially completely sealed. Therefore, when the electrostatic copying machine is transported (or when the process unit itself is transported), it is possible to reliably prevent the unused toner previously filled in the toner collection chamber 136 from leaking to the outside.

During copying, the agitating means 104 in the developing device 26 is rotated in the direction shown by an arrow 112, thereby charging the agitated toner to a predetermined polarity, and directing the agitated developer toward the applying means 102. will be sent. The sleeve 108 in the application means 102 is indicated by the arrow 106
The developer rotated in the direction shown by the stirring means 104 is held on the surface of the sleeve 108 by the magnetic attraction force of the magnet 110 disposed inside the sleeve 108, and as the sleeve 108 rotates, the developer is fed by the stirring means 104. It is moved in the direction shown by arrow 106. Then, the excess developer held on the surface of the sleeve 1080 is removed by the action of the cutting means 116. The removed developer is moved upward along the inner surface of the wall 98 and then flowed down on the guide plate 120 toward the stirring means 104, and is again moved to the stirring means 10.
Stirred by 4. On the other hand, sleeve 10f? The developer held on the surface of the rotary drum 20 and further conveyed in the direction shown by the arrow 106 is brought into contact with the photoreceptor disposed on the surface of the rotating drum 20, and is developed in accordance with the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor. The toner in the agent is applied onto the photoreceptor, thus developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image.

When the toner concentration of the developer decreases due to the above-mentioned development action, the detector 118 generates a signal, and the clutch means 156 is activated based on the signal, so that the toner in the toner collection chamber 136 (described later) is removed from the development chamber 100. supply will be carried out.

Further, during copying, when the rotating drum 20 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 22 in the cleaning device 28, the free end of the elastic blade 138 is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor of the rotating drum 20. The toner remaining on the phosphor is removed. The thus removed toner is directly opposed to the sealing member 144 and is collected into the toner collection chamber 136 through the collection opening 142. On the other hand, when the rotating drum 20 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 22, the stirring means 174 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 184 via the large gear 164 and the gear 182, and the toner collection chamber 136 is filled in advance by the action of the stirring means 174. The unused toner and the collected toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor and collected in the toner collection chamber 136 are substantially uniformly mixed, thereby preventing significant deterioration of the copied image. Therefore, the collected toner is mixed with unused toner and supplied to the developing chamber 100 as described later for reuse.

Furthermore, based on the signal from the detector 118, the clutch means 1
56 is energized, the rotational driving force of the gear 158 rotating in the direction shown by the arrow 166 as the rotary drum 20 rotates is transmitted to the helical member 150 via the clutch means 156, and the helical member 150 is rotated. Rotated as required. That is, one end portion 152a located within the toner collection chamber 136
, the toner present at the bottom of the toner collection chamber 136 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (in FIG. ) is a spiral member 1500
As a result, the toner is transferred forward in the toner collection chamber 136 in the front-rear direction in the direction indicated by the arrow 170. The thus transferred toner further passes through the hollow cylindrical member 148 and is supplied to the developing device 26, and is fed to the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148 in the developing device 26. Helical member 1 disposed within the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148
At the other end 152b of the 50, the toner rotated clockwise (in FIG. 2) as indicated by an arrow 168 and conveyed to the developing device 26 is transferred to the other end 152b by the action of the spiral member 150. A is transported in the direction indicated by arrow 170 toward the rear in the fore-and-aft direction. A toner discharge opening 172 is formed at the other end 148a of the hollow cylindrical member 148, so that the toner thus transferred is discharged through the toner discharge opening 1.
It is supplied to the developing chamber 100 through 72.

The thus supplied toner is mixed with the developer present in the developing chamber 100 by the action of the stirring means 104. In addition, in the specific example, the toner discharge opening 172
As shown in FIG. 5, since the width thereof gradually increases in the toner transfer direction indicated by arrow 170, a relatively large amount of toner is transferred at one end of the toner discharge opening 172 (the left end in FIG. 5). However, at the other end (the right end in FIG. 5), the toner supply ratio is large even though a relatively small amount of toner is transferred, and thus toner recovery is difficult. The toner supplied from the chamber 136 is supplied substantially uniformly in the width direction of the developing chamber 1000 through the toner discharge opening 172.

Although a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine configured according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific example, and there may be no deviation from the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and modifications are possible.

For example, in the specific example shown, the starting developer is filled into the developing chamber 100 of the developing device 26 when used, but instead of this, the starting developer may be filled into the developing chamber 100 in advance at the time of manufacture. It can also be configured as In such a case, it is desirable to removably seal the opening of the developing chamber 100 facing the rotating drum 20 with, for example, a sealing member.

Further, for example, in the illustrated example, the present invention is applied to an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine that uses a so-called two-component developer consisting of a carrier and a toner. Similarly, the present invention can also be applied to a type of developer using a so-called one-component type developer consisting only of toner. In such a case, the stirring means 10 in the developing device 26
4th grade can be omitted.

<Effects of the Invention> In the image generating machine according to the present invention, since the toner collection chamber 136 for collecting toner is effectively used and unused toner is sealed in the toner collection chamber 136 in advance at the time of manufacturing, it is possible to The toner storage chamber required in the apparatus can be omitted, and therefore, further miniaturization of the image generator can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a simplified sectional view showing a specific example of an electrostatic copying machine as an example of an image generating machine constructed according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the developing device of the electrostatic copying machine shown in FIG. 1 and its vicinity. FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing the cleaning device of the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1 and its vicinity. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner transport means and related elements of the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the toner discharge opening formed in the hollow cylindrical member of the toner transport means in the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1, viewed from above. 6 is a perspective view showing a sealing means disposed at the collection opening of the toner collection chamber of the electrostatic copying machine shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing discharge opening sealing means disposed in the toner discharge opening formed in the hollow cylindrical member of the electrostatic copying machine of FIG. 1. 2...Housing 14...Process unit 16...Unit frame 20...Rotating drum 26...Developing device 28...Cleaning device 100...Developing chamber 102...Applying means 136... ... Toner collection chamber 138 ... Elastic blade 146 ... Toner transfer means 148 ... Hollow cylindrical member 150 ... Spiral member 174 ... Stirring means 200 ... Sealing means 202 ... Discharge Opening sealing means - 2125

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A movable photoreceptor support means having a photoreceptor on its surface; a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor;
The developing device includes a cleaning device for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor, and the developing device includes a developing chamber and an application means disposed in the developing chamber for applying toner to an electrostatic latent image to be developed. In an image generating machine, the cleaning device has a toner removing means for removing residual toner by acting on the surface of the photoconductor, and a toner collecting chamber for collecting the toner removed by the action of the toner removing means. unused toner is sealed in the toner collection chamber of the cleaning device, and in conjunction with the cleaning device and the developing device, a toner for transporting the toner present in the toner collection chamber to the developing chamber of the developing device; An image generating machine characterized in that it is provided with a transport means. 2. The movable photoreceptor supporting means, the developing device, and the cleaning device constitute a process unit that is detachably mounted on a support structure, and the movable photoreceptor supporting means, the developing device, and the cleaning device constitute a process unit that is mounted on a unit frame of the process unit. The image generator according to item 1. 3. The image generating machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a sealing means is provided in the recovery opening of the toner recovery chamber of the cleaning device so that the seal can be opened. 4. The image generating machine according to claim 3, wherein the sealing means comprises a sealing member removably attached to the opening of the recovery opening of the toner recovery chamber. 5. A patent in which the toner collection chamber of the cleaning device is provided with stirring means for mixing unused toner with the toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor and collected in the toner collection chamber. An image generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The toner transfer means includes a hollow cylindrical member that communicates the toner collection chamber of the cleaning device with the developing chamber of the developing device, and is rotatably disposed within the hollow cylindrical member and rotates in a predetermined direction. The image generating machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a spiral member that transports toner by rotating. 7. One end of the spiral member extends substantially from one end to the other at the bottom of the toner collection chamber of the cleaning device, and a spiral member extends over the entire width of the developing chamber of the developing device. A hollow conveying body is disposed across the hollow conveying body, a toner discharge port is formed in a lower part of the hollow conveying body for discharging toner, and the other end of the helical member is disposed within the hollow conveying body from substantially one end thereof. 7. An image generator according to claim 6, which extends to the other end. 8. The toner discharge opening formed in the hollow conveyor extends substantially from one end to the other end, and the opening width of the toner discharge opening gradually increases in the toner transport direction. The image generator according to item 7. 9. Claim 7, wherein the toner discharge opening of the hollow conveyor is provided with a discharge opening sealing means so as to be unsealable.
The image generator according to item 1 or 8. 10. The image generating machine according to claim 9, wherein the discharge opening sealing means comprises a sealing member removably attached to the opening of the toner discharge opening of the hollow conveyor.