JPH11142220A - Fluid amount measuring device and developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To determine the amount of a fluid such as powder contained in a container,
To be able to measure for a long time without deteriorating its function by a relatively simple configuration. SOLUTION: A container 1 for accommodating a fluid, a rotating blade support 2 rotatably provided in the container, and at least two elastic members different in elasticity supported by the rotating blade support at an angle difference in a rotational direction. A plurality of rotating blades 3, 6; signal generating means 4, 7 such as magnets provided on a part of the rotating blades; and signal detecting means 5 for detecting a signal from the signal generating means. The time difference when the detection time of the signal from each signal generator of the second rotor 6 is delayed from the detection time of the signal from the signal generator of the first rotor 3 when passing through the fluid. The amount of fluid is measured based on

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a measuring device for measuring an amount of a fluid such as a powder, for example, an amount of a developer in a developing device, and a developing device provided with the measuring device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when measuring the amount of powder, for example, a measuring device shown in FIG. 6 has been used. In FIG.
Light float 1 on powder 101 stored in container 100
02, and, according to the powder filling level, move the interlocking lever 104 which is connected to and linked to the float, and displays the movement of the lever on a level display plate 105 or the like, or connects the lever to electric resistance or the like. Then, an electric level corresponding to a change in electric resistance is taken out as a signal, and the level of the detection signal is displayed on a display via an amplifier to measure the amount of powder in the container.

FIG. 7 shows an example of another measuring apparatus. In the example of FIG. 7, a window 111,
112, light is emitted from one window 111 by a light source 113, and the amount of light passing through the other
14 to determine the amount of powder.

[0004]

However, in the above conventional example, in the former conventional example, when the powder adheres to the lever due to the light load of the float, the operation becomes dull,
Further, when the powder is used for a long period of time or when a new powder is put into a powder container, the float may sink into the powder and the float may not correspond to the change of the powder.

In the latter conventional example, accurate measurement may be difficult due to the fact that the transparent material provided on the window is contaminated with use for a long period of time, or powder adheres to the transparent material.

[0006] The possibility that the measurement is difficult as described above is caused even when measuring the amount of liquid which is a fluid other than powder.
is assumed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is not affected by the state of storage of a fluid such as a powder or a liquid in a container, and has a reduced accuracy even during long-term use. It is an object of the present invention to provide a measuring device that can accurately measure the amount of a fluid without any.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a typical means of the present invention is to provide a container containing a fluid, a rotor support rotatably provided in the container,
Supported by the rotor support with an angular difference in the rotational direction,
At least two rotating blades having different elasticities, signal generating means disposed on a part of the rotating blades, and signal detecting means for detecting a signal from the signal generating means, and passing through the fluid The amount of the fluid is measured based on a difference between times when signals from the signal generating means of each rotor are detected by the signal detecting means.

[0009]

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a drawing that best illustrates the features of the present invention. In the figure, a powder container 1 has a cylindrical shape and both ends are closed by end plates. Both ends of the stirring blade support 2 are rotatably supported at the center of the pair of end plates, and the stirring blade support 2 is rotated by driving means (not shown). An opening (not shown) for filling and discharging the powder is provided at a predetermined location of the container 1.

Agitating blades 3 and 6 made of resin are supported on the blade support 2 with a rotation direction angular difference of 180 degrees. Magnets 4 and 7, which are magnetic field generating members, are fixedly supported at the tips of both wings. The first stirring blade 3 and the second stirring blade 6 made of resin each have elasticity, and in this example, the former is substantially rigid, and the latter is less elastic and easier to bend than the former. In addition, each stirring blade has an appropriate length or width in the axial direction. A Hall element as a magnetic field detecting means is provided at an appropriate position on the outer periphery of the powder container 1. As the Hall element, various elements adapted to the magnetic field strength can be selectively used.

One embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above. When the stirring blade support 2 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the container containing the powder, the powder is first stirred by the stirring blade 3. The magnetic field generated by the magnet 4 attached to the tip of the stirring blade 3 is detected by the Hall element as the magnetic field detecting means 5 with the rotation. When the stirring blade support 2 further rotates, the powder is stirred by the second stirring blade 6, and the magnetic field generated by the magnet 7 at the tip of the stirring blade 6 is detected by the magnetic field detection unit 5.

Then, the time difference between when the tip of the first stirring blade 3 passes through the detecting means 5 and when the tip of the second stirring blade 6 passes through the detecting means 5 is measured. The passage time of each of the stirring blades 3 and 6 is input to, for example, the CPU 107, and the time difference is measured by calculating there.

Since the second stirring blade 6 is made of a flexible material, the second stirring blade 6 is deformed in accordance with the amount of powder in the powder container 1. The stirring blade 6 is deformed as indicated by a broken line 6a, and the magnet 7 is positioned at a broken line 7a. As described above, the time difference of the magnetic field generated from the magnet 3 and the magnet 7 by the detecting means 5 becomes longer according to the amount of the powder.

Therefore, the amount of powder is measured by comparing this time difference with the correlation table between the time difference and the amount of powder stored in the ROM 108 in advance. The measurement result can be displayed on the display 109.

A specific example of the measurement of the amount of powder was performed as follows. In a container with a container diameter of 100 mm and a container length of 250 mm,
As powder, toner for CLC200 (Canon brand name)
(A bulk density of 0.3), a Mylar (registered trademark) sheet 300 microns was used as the stirring blade 3, and a Mylar sheet 100 microns was used as the stirring blade 6, and the blade was rotated 0.5 times per second. An output waveform as shown in FIG. 4 was obtained. That is, the amount of powder is 100% to 50% of the volume of the container.
The time difference was about 1.30 seconds for% filling, and about 1.15 seconds for 25% filling. When the amount of powder is 0%, the time is 1 second.

It can be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the above measurement results slightly change depending on the usage such as the axial deviation of the powder toner in the container.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a sectional view of a developing device of a typical image forming apparatus to which the developer as a powder described in FIG. 1 is applied. FIG.
The same numbers indicate the same members.

Referring to FIG. 5, the overall image forming apparatus having the above-described developing means is an electrophotographic apparatus, in which a photosensitive drum 8 as an image carrier in the apparatus is charged by a primary charger 121. Uniformly charged, optical system 1
The photosensitive drum 8 is exposed to an image with a laser beam 22 to form an electrostatic latent image, and a toner T as a developer is conveyed onto the photosensitive drum 8 by a developing sleeve 11 as a developer carrier of a developing device 9. The latent image on the photosensitive drum is developed into a toner image. The visualized toner image on the photosensitive drum 8 is transferred from a cassette 123 to transfer paper 125 carried by a paper feed roller 124 or the like by a transfer unit 126, and the transfer paper is further carried to a fixing device 127, The toner image is fixed on the transfer paper by heating and pressing. However, in the container 10 of the developing device 9, toner particles T for visualizing the photosensitive drum 8 are provided, and the toner particles cannot be seen from the outside.

As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device 9 has a developing container 10 having a developing sleeve 11 as a toner carrier and stirring blades 3 and 6, and magnets 4 and 7 at the tips of the stirring blades 3 and 6.
Is provided. The toner carrier 11 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and the rotation of the toner carrier 11 causes the toner on the toner carrier to be thinned by the action of the toner regulating member 12. The thinned toner is attached as an electric latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 8. The toner in the developing container 10 is consumed and reduced by repeating the developing process. In FIG. 2, for simplicity of description, the developing container 10 is shown in a cylindrical shape unlike FIG.

In the present embodiment, the angle difference in the rotational direction between the stirring blade 3 and the stirring blade 6 is 90 degrees. Since the stirring blade 3 is formed of a relatively rigid body as described with reference to FIG. 1, the magnetic field from the magnet 4 is always constantly detected by the magnetic field detector 5. On the other hand, since the stirring blade 6 is made of a soft and flexible material, it is deformed by the amount of toner and at the same time, the magnetic field from the magnet 7 changes accordingly. The amount of toner in the developing container 10 can be measured as in the first embodiment by measuring the time difference in which the magnetic field is detected by the magnetic field detecting means 5.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment. In this embodiment, an opening 13 is formed in a part of the first stirring blade 3 and / or the second stirring blade. , 1 in FIG.
The resistance is smaller than that of the stirring blades, so that the toner circulation in the container 10 is further improved, and the aggregation of the toner is prevented.

(Other Embodiments) In each of the above embodiments,
Although a magnet is used as the signal transmitting member, a radiation object, a light source, an electric field generating member, and the like can be used instead of the magnet, and a radiation detecting unit, a light receiving unit, and an electric field detecting unit corresponding to these are adopted. In the case of the electric field detection, the stirring blade in FIG. 2 is made of a kneaded body of resin and metal powder or made of metal to be conductive, and a conductive signal transmitting member is arranged in place of the magnets 4 and 7 on the conductive wing. I do. An electric field can be generated between the toner carrier 11, the blade support 2, the stirring blades 3 and 6, the electric field generating members 4 and 7, and the electric field detecting means 5 by, for example, an electric field generating means.

As described above, in this embodiment, the amount of powder can be measured by using radiation, light, and an electric field.

In each of the above embodiments, the example in which the stirring blade is made of a resin has been described. However, in the present invention, the stirring blade is not limited to the resin but may be made of a non-rust metal such as copper, brass, or aluminum. Can be. The first impeller may be substantially rigid or flexible, but the important point is that the first impeller and the second impeller have different flexibility or flexibility. is there.

Further, in all of the above-described embodiments, the description has been made of the example in which the number of the stirring blades is one. However, the number of the stirring blades is two or more, and the number of the detecting means is two or more. Can be set up. The signal transmitting member may be supported on the measurement rotor having a narrow axial width to measure the amount of powder without being supported on the stirring blade as described above. The signal detecting means can be provided in the container.

Although the measurement object has been described as an example of powder,
The amount of other fluids, such as liquids, can also be measured.

[0027]

As described above, in the measuring apparatus according to the present invention, at least two rotors having different elasticity are rotated on the rotor supporting member rotatably provided in the container accommodating the fluid. Supported by a blade support, a signal generating means is provided on the rotor, and a signal detecting means for detecting a signal from the signal generator is provided, so that when the rotor passes through the fluid, The amount of the fluid is measured based on the difference in time when the signal detection unit detects the signal emitted from the signal generation unit, and the configuration for the measurement is simple,
In addition, the number of movable parts is small, the cause of failure is small, the function is not reduced by contamination of the fluid, and the device can be used stably for a long period of time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a powder amount measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a powder amount measuring apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a stirring blade according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a correlation between a detection time difference and a powder amount.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional powder amount measuring device.

FIG. 7 is a view showing another example of a conventional powder amount measuring device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 10, 101, 110 ... Container 3 ... 1st stirring blade 4, 7 ... Magnet (signal generation means) 5 ... Magnetic field detection means (signal detection means) 6 ... 2nd stirring blade 7 ... Magnet 8 ... Photosensitive drum 9 Developing device 11 Developer carrier 103 Float 104 Lever 111, 112 Window 113 Light source 114 Light receiving unit 125 Sheet 126 Transfer unit 127 Fixing unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A container for accommodating a fluid, a rotor support rotatably provided in the container, and at least two sheets of different elasticity supported by the rotor support with an angular difference in the rotational direction. And a signal generating means disposed on a part of the rotating blade, and a signal detecting means for detecting a signal from the signal generating means. A fluid amount measuring device for measuring an amount of the fluid based on a difference in time when a signal from the means is detected by the signal detecting means. 2. The fluid amount measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating blades are two rotating blades disposed at an angle difference of 90 degrees or 180 degrees in a rotating direction. . 3. The fluid amount measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the rotor is made of a thin resin or metal plate. 4. The fluid amount measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the signal generation means is any one of a magnet, a radiation member, a light source, and an electric field generation member. 5. The fluid amount measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the rotor is partially provided with an opening. 6. The fluid amount measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating blade functions as a stirring blade for the fluid. 7. The fluid amount measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid is a powder. 8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said powder is a developer for electrophotographic image formation. 9. A fluid amount measuring device according to claim 8, further comprising a developer carrier for transporting the developer in a container of the fluid amount measuring device toward an object to be developed. Developing device.