JPH0279876A - printer toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply execute toner feeding and waste toner recovery by arranging a toner cartridge and a waste toner box on positions outside the paper width of printing paper to be carried by a carrying device or a paper feeder. CONSTITUTION:A toner cartridge 24, a cartridge case 25 and a toner connecting pipe 23 are arranged on the right side of an alternate long and two short dashes line, and since these parts are not entered into the locus of printing paper 11 at the time of toner feeding, toner can be supplied. The waste toner case 29 is arranged on the left side of a printer, and when the waste toner box 27 is filled with toner, the box 27 is drawn to the left and dumped and a new toner box 27 is loaded to the case 29. Consequently, toner feeding and waste toner recovery can be simply executed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for supplying toner, which is a consumable item for a printing device, and waste toner, which is an unnecessary toner, by using the printing principle of an electrophotographic process. This relates to the collection method.

[Conventional technology]

A method of supplying toner to a printer using conventional electrophotographic principles and a method of disposing of unnecessary waste toner will be briefly explained using FIGS. 6 and 7.

While rotating the upper case 101 from the lower case 102 in the direction of arrow A, open it just like opening a shellfish. Upper case 1
On the 01 side, there is a controller unit 103 that performs page control of the printer, a laser unit 105 for writing a latent image on the photosensitive drum 104, and a photosensitive drum 1.
Charging device 106 for charging the surface of 04, charging device 10
An eraser 107 that makes the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 104 uniform is arranged in front of the photosensitive drum 104, and a developing device 1108 that visualizes the latent image created by the photosensitive drum 104 and the laser unit 105, and a photosensitive drum on the lower case side 102. A transfer device 109 that transfers the developed image on the printing paper 104, a conveyance roller 110 and a conveyance paper guide 111 that convey the paper to the transfer device 109, a fixing device 112 that fixes the transferred toner to the printing paper, and a fixing device 112 that fixes the transferred toner to the printing paper. A collection device 113 is arranged to collect toner that has not been transferred.

Next, a method of toner supply will be described. When the toner runs out and printing is no longer possible, first raise the upper case 101 in the direction of arrow A to the state shown in FIG. The toner container (not shown) containing
08, and supplies toner to the part of the developing device 108 that is no longer used for printing.Then, remove the toner container, close the lid of the developing device, and return the upper woofer to its original position to finish toner supply. do.

Furthermore, we will discuss how to dispose of waste toner. Toner collection device 1.
When the waste toner storage section 113 is full, raise the upper case 101 in the direction of arrow A to the state shown in Fig. 7.0 Next, remove the collection device 1130. Install circuit equipment (not shown). The collection device 113, which is full of waste toner, is simply thrown into a trash can or the like, and the disposal is completed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

When toner is supplied using the methods described above, problems arise regarding toner supply operations and printer maintenance. The details will be explained below.

Although toner supply itself is originally a simple operation, conventional toner supply operations require opening the upper case 101, and the operation range is wide and the operation is complicated. Therefore, the user cannot easily supply toner, and since the upper case 101 is opened when toner is supplied, unnecessary parts such as the photosensitive drum 104 are exposed. Therefore, it is important to be extremely careful, and if you accidentally drop a foreign object such as a paper clip,
When removing it, you may damage the machine, and if you do not notice it and start operating the printer, you may end up damaging the machine. Furthermore, there is also a drawback that when powdered toner adheres to the exposed portion, it leads to a decrease in print quality. The same thing can also be said about the disposal of waste toner.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention focuses on the fact that all important mechanisms contributing to printing are housed within the paper width of printing paper.

A printer using electrophotographic principles includes a photosensitive drum, a developing device that visualizes a latent image on the photosensitive drum, a transfer device that transfers the developed image on the photosensitive drum onto printing paper, and a transfer device that transfers the printing paper to printing paper. a conveying device that conveys a plurality of printing sheets one by one to the conveying device; a toner cartridge that supplies toner to create a developed image in the developing device; The toner cartridge and the waste toner box are composed of a toner collecting device that collects unused toner, and a waste toner box that accumulates the toner collected by the toner collecting device, and the toner cartridge and the waste toner box are transported by the conveying device or the paper feeding device. It is characterized by being arranged at a position outside the paper width of the printing paper being fed.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the configuration and features of the printing apparatus according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

1, 2, 3, and 4 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a printing apparatus. As a printing means, a photosensitive drum 1 rotates in the direction of arrow B, and around the photosensitive drum 1 there is a charging device 2, a light control device 3, a developing device 14, a transfer device 5, a collection device 6, an eraser 7, and a portion below the photosensitive drum 1. There is a fixing device 8 on the back side of the printing device, and a printer control device 9 that electrically controls the printing machine on the back side of the printing device.
, a power source 10 is arranged, and a printing paper 1 is provided as a paper supply means.
a stacker part 12 that can store a plurality of sheets of printing paper 1; a pickup roller 13 that feeds out printing paper 11 one by one when requested; a paper feeder 15 having a butt part 14; A gate roller 16 that sends out the printed printing paper 11 at a uniform speed, a paper guide 17 and a gate roller guide 18 that constitute a paper path from the paper feeder 15 to the gate roller 16 are provided. A fixing guide plate 19 and a paper discharge roller 20 are arranged below.

In addition, there is an exhaust fan 21. Furthermore, the above-mentioned devices and the like are covered by an exterior case 22.

The printing process by this apparatus will be explained below.

The photosensitive drum 1 has a surface layer that exhibits semiconductor characteristics in that when irradiated with light, the electrical resistance of the irradiated portion decreases.

The charging device 2 generates a discharge by applying a high voltage of several thousand ports between a thin metal wire and an installed electrode.

The light control device 3 employs a semiconductor laser beam, and has a function of converting image information created in a control box (not shown) into an optical signal (light ON/OFF signal) and outputting it. ing. External light is blocked by the exterior case 22, and when the photosensitive drum is rotated at a constant speed in a dark state inside the case, the surface of the photosensitive drum is charged by the charging device 2. Furthermore, when the charged photosensitive drum 1 is irradiated with light according to image information from the light control device 3, the irradiated portion becomes an electrical conductor and a latent image is formed.

The developing device 44 has toner and brings the toner into contact with the latent image portion through the sleeve 4a to form a developed image on the surface of the photoreceptor.

On the other hand, the printing paper 11 stored in the stacker part 12 provided in the paper feeder 15 is sent out by the pickup roller section 13 and is waiting at the position of the gate roller 16. In synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1 which has been developed by the developing device 4 and has toner adhered to its surface, the gate roller 16 rotates and sends out the printing paper 11 toward the photosensitive drum 1.

Like the charging device 2, the transfer device 5 is composed of a thin metal wire and a ground electrode, and has the function of charging the back surface of the printing paper 11. Transfer is performed by being attracted to the surface. While the transferred printing paper 11 passes through the fixing device 8, the toner on the surface is fixed to the printing paper 11.

The toner supply method and toner recovery method will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing after toner supply and after toner collection according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing just before toner supply according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing toner collection according to the present invention. It is a diagram. A tubular toner connecting vibe 23 protrudes from a part of the developing device 4 .

24 is a toner cartridge, 25 is an outer case 2
2, a removably attached cartridge case; 26, a toner cartridge 24;
27 is a waste toner box,
28 is a waste toner feeding cam, and 29 is a waste toner case. A method such as displaying the fact that the toner in the toner cartridge 24 has run out indicates that the print has become light or that the printer has run out of toner on a display board (not shown) by incorporating a toner sensor or the like. Suppose you understand. Here, the user removes the cartridge case 25, then pulls up the empty toner cartridge 24 and throws it into a trash can or the like. At this point, the new toner cartridge 24 containing toner is unwound from its packaging and brought to the position shown in FIG. Finally, the cartridge case 25 is returned to its original location to complete the work.

The process by which the toner in the toner cartridge 24 is sent to the developing device 4 will be described in detail. The toner in the toner cartridge 24 is sealed by a seal portion 24-1 of the cartridge 24. When the seal portion 24-1 reaches the cutter portion 23-1 attached to the tip of the toner connecting vibrator 23, strongly pressing the upper part of the toner cartridge 24 breaks the seal portion 24-1 and releases some of the toner. Passage passes through.

Here, the toner always falls to the vicinity of the seal portion 24-1 due to natural falling. The toner that has fallen to this point is fed into the developing device 4 in a spiral manner by the toner feeding cam 26.

The two-dot chain lines shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
5. Cutter part 23 which is the tip of the toner connecting pipe 23
-1 is located on the right side of the two-dot chain line, and can supply toner without entering the trajectory of the printing paper 11 when toner is supplied. Also, when supplying toner, the outer case 22
If only the tip of the toner connecting pipe 23 is exposed as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to concentrate the dust and the like during toner supply to only a very small amount of the exposed portion.

In this embodiment, the toner supply port faces upward, but if the toner supply port is provided on the right side surface, it will be possible to completely prevent foreign matter such as dust.

To dispose of waste toner, first of all, waste toner box 2.
The toner in the waste toner box 27 is disposed of by being notified by a sensor (not shown) that detects when the toner in the toner cartridge 7 is full, or by synchronizing with the time when the toner in the toner cartridge 24 runs out. Next, remove the waste toner case 29 from the outer case 22.The waste toner case 29 is installed on the left side of the printer. Next, pull the waste toner box 27 to the left and remove the waste toner box 27. Next, insert a new waste toner box 27 into the waste toner port 6-1 exposed through the hole 22-1 of the outer case. Then, the waste toner case 29 is attached to the outer case 22 again, and the work is completed.

The recovery device 6 scrapes off the toner that has not been transferred by the transfer device 3 downward from the photosensitive drum 1 with a cleaner blade 6 - 2 made of a material such as rubber that comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 1 . The dropped toner is temporarily stored in the collection box 6-3, but is always stored in the collection box cam 6-3.
4 sends it to the left edge of the printer. The toner sent here is sent from the waste toner port 6-1 to the waste toner cam 28.
According to the zero positional relationship in which waste toner is accumulated in the waste toner box 27 while being pressed to some extent, the waste toner port 6-1 on the left side is already to the left of the trajectory of the left end of the printing paper 11. Therefore, the hole 22 - 1 of the outer case and the waste toner box 27 are located at the left end of the printing paper 11 .

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention,
This is an embodiment in which the waste toner processing timing is synchronized with the toner cartridge supply timing, and the toner cartridge and waste toner box are integrated.

There is a relationship between the amount of toner supplied and the amount of waste toner generated, and it is possible to secure a capacity that does not become full of waste toner until toner needs to be supplied. Specifically, it has been confirmed through experiments that the amount of waste toner is in the range of 0.02 to 0.2 with respect to the amount of toner supplied. 30 should be provided. Integral force - The flow of waste toner to the waste toner storage section 3o-1 of the cartridge 30 is the same as that of the first embodiment up to the waste toner opening 6-1, and the waste toner is The toner is carried above the toner storage section 3o-1. Integral force - Although the connection between the cartridge 3o and the transporting vibrator 31 is not shown, it can be easily attached and detached and has a structure that prevents toner leakage.As in the above example, the second embodiment also has an integrated cartridge 30. , the conveying vibrator 31 carries the printing paper 11
It is laid out on the left side, which is not on the paper side, than the leftmost trajectory.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the toner supply port can be exposed with a simple operation without lifting unnecessary parts or exposing unnecessary mechanisms when replacing toner. Further, the waste toner container including the waste toner collection port that is no longer needed can also be exposed with a simple operation.

A very significant effect is that the operation for supplying toner, which is a consumable item for printing machines and is frequently supplied, has become easier.In particular, with this invention, the toner supply port is located at the side of the printer, avoiding the paper transport area. The toner supply port is unique in that it is arranged in the same direction, and the toner supply port can be exposed simply by removing the side cover etc., so toner supply can be completed in a simple manner from now on. Furthermore, waste toner, which is unnecessary toner from a printing machine, can be collected in a simple manner. The waste toner collection container is placed on the side of the printer, and most of it can be exposed by simply removing the side cover. Therefore, the waste toner container can be removed with a simple operation.

The waste toner container can be refilled with a simple operation, as the toner collection port is exposed on the side.

Another advantage is that the photosensitive drum, which is an important mechanism during toner supply, is not exposed, so there will be no serious defects such as clips.

In the present invention, since the only exposed parts are the toner supply port and the toner collection port, it is difficult for fine powder such as powdered toner and dust, which indirectly degrades printer performance, to enter the printer. We were able to establish a highly reliable toner supply method.

Further, as in the embodiment, the area of the toner supply port can be made extremely narrow, thereby making it possible to extremely easily prevent toner leakage during toner supply.

Further, it requires less force during operation, and has the effect of improving operability for the user. Furthermore, it goes without saying that if toner supply and toner recovery are performed in the same container as in the second embodiment, the operation becomes even simpler and toner supply and toner recovery can be performed with high reliability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. Second
3, 4 are perspective views showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views illustrating a conventional toner supply method and toner recovery method. 1... Photosensitive drum 4... Developing device 6... Recovery device 11... Printing paper 15... Paper feeding device 22... Exterior case 23... Toner connection pipe 24... Toner Cartridge 25...Cartridge case 27...Waste toner box 29...Waste toner case 30...Unified force-tridge 31...Transport pipe 101...Upper case 102...Lower case 108...・Developing device 113...Collection device and above Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] A printer using electrophotographic principles includes a photosensitive drum, a developing device that visualizes a latent image on the photosensitive drum, a transfer device that transfers the developed image on the photosensitive drum onto printing paper, and a transfer device that transfers the printing paper to printing paper. a conveying device that conveys a plurality of printing sheets one by one to the conveying device; a toner cartridge that supplies toner to create a developed image in the developing device; It consists of a toner recovery device that collects unused toner, and a waste toner box that accumulates the toner collected by the toner recovery device, and the toner cartridge and the waste toner box are transported by the conveyance device or the paper feed device. Placed outside the paper width of the printing paper being fed.