JPH1124513A - Toner supply device and electrophotographic image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent deterioration of toner such as generation of coarse particles by optimizing a driving time of a stirring and conveying member in a toner cartridge, to reduce power consumption by a motor, to reduce a motor, a gear, and the like. To extend the service life. When the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge is large, the supply operation is completed in a short time, and when the remaining amount of toner is small, the supply operation is performed for a long time to discharge the toner effectively. As a means to determine the remaining amount of toner,
The estimation is made by integrating the total operation time of the toner supply motor 1 or by measuring the time required for the toner remaining detection 24 to re-detect the presence of toner after the start of toner supply.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device for replenishing toner to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a printer, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

[0002]

The present invention is a further development of the prior art described below.

According to the present invention, a required amount of toner is supplied to the toner storage section by making the discharge time for discharging from the toner cartridge to the toner storage section variable, and the driving means of the toner cartridge is supplied to the toner storage section. By operating only during the supply of the toner, caking and coarsening of the toner can be prevented, the power consumption is small, the toner leaks at the seal portion, the generation of coarse particles is small, and the driving means of the toner cartridge is It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner replenishing device and an electrophotographic image forming device capable of extending the life of a toner.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge having stirring and conveying means for stirring and conveying toner, and a driving means for driving the stirring and conveying means. And a toner storage unit for storing the toner sent from the toner cartridge and supplying the toner to the developing unit, and a detection unit for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit. An operation time of a driving unit of the toner cartridge is made variable according to an amount of the toner cartridge.

A second invention according to the present application is based on the relationship between the operation time of the toner cartridge driving means and the amount of toner discharged from the toner cartridge to the toner storage section with respect to the integrated operation time of the toner cartridge driving means. A look-up table to be obtained, a detecting means for detecting that a toner cartridge has been newly inserted, a counting means for counting the integrated operation time of the driving means for the toner cartridge, and a driving means for the driving means for the toner cartridge based on these information. The toner supply device according to the first aspect, further comprising a control unit that controls an operation time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the lookup table, the operation time of the toner cartridge is substantially constant with respect to the integrated operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge. The toner replenishing device according to the second aspect of the present invention is defined as follows.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the driving time of the toner cartridge driving means is longer than the previous driving time for filling the sub-hopper, and the driving time for filling the current next sub-hopper is shorter than the previous driving time. The toner supply device according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the toner supply device is long.

A fifth invention according to the present application is characterized in that there is provided a means for displaying an outline of the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge according to the operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge. A toner supply device according to any one of the third aspects of the invention.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the look-up table shows the integrated operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge in a state in which the amount of toner remaining in the toner cartridge is low. The accumulated operation time is compared with the accumulated operation time of the toner cartridge drive unit until the current toner cartridge drive unit is driven. If the accumulated operation time of the latter is larger than the former accumulated operation time, the toner cartridge is The display according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is configured to display that the remaining toner amount is low.

A seventh invention according to the present application is the toner according to any one of the second to sixth inventions, wherein the look-up table is provided in a storage element ROM in control means. It is a supply device.

An eighth invention according to the present invention relates to a time when the driving means of the toner cartridge starts operating and a time when the detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner storage section detects again the presence of toner. A first measuring means for measuring, and a control means for controlling an operation time of a driving means of the toner cartridge thereafter based on the information.
It is a toner supply device according to the invention.

A ninth invention according to the present application is characterized in that the operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge is extended according to the length of the detection time measured by the measuring means for measuring the time. 2. The toner replenishing device according to (1).

A tenth invention according to the present application is the toner supply device according to the second or eighth invention, wherein the operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge is variably controlled stepwise. .

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the toner storage portion is a horizontally long container having an opening for receiving toner supply from a toner cartridge from one upper end and discharging toner from a lower end to developing means. A member having a partition from the one end side to a middle portion in the lateral direction, a member for moving toner from one end side to the other end side on the partition, and a member for conveying toner from the other end side to one end side under the partition; Has,
The toner replenishing device according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a detecting unit for detecting the remaining amount of toner is provided above a partition on one end side.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the toner cartridge comprises a horizontally long cylindrical container, a shaft rotatably supported at the center of the container, a stirring and conveying blade attached to the shaft, A first coupling provided at a shaft end and capable of engaging with and disengaging from the driving means; and an opening for discharging toner to the toner container.
The toner replenishing device according to any one of the inventions.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic image forming apparatus which has an agitating / conveying means for agitating / conveying toner and has a detachable toner cartridge containing toner and which forms an image on a recording medium. a. An electrophotographic photosensitive drum; b. Developing means for developing the latent image on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum using a toner; c. Mounting means for removably mounting the toner cartridge; d. A driving unit for driving the stirring and conveying unit, a toner storage unit for storing the toner sent from the toner cartridge and supplying the toner to the developing unit, and a detection for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit And a toner replenishing device, wherein the operation time of the driving unit of the toner cartridge is made variable according to the amount of toner in the toner cartridge.

[0017]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, fine powder toner has been used as a developer in image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and printers. When the developer in the image forming apparatus main body is consumed, a toner supply container (toner cartridge)
Is used to supply toner to the image forming apparatus.

Since the toner is an extremely fine powder, there is a problem that the toner scatters during the toner replenishing operation and stains the operator and the surroundings. For this reason, a method has been proposed and put to practical use in which a toner cartridge is set inside an image forming apparatus main body and toner is discharged little by little from a small opening. In such a system, it is difficult to discharge the toner spontaneously due to the action of gravity or the like, and some kind of toner stirring and conveying means is required.

The toner cartridge disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 7-113796 is a substantially cylindrical container whose overall shape is set horizontally, and a relatively small opening for discharging toner is provided on the cylindrical surface at one end. . A spiral toner stirring and conveying member is provided inside the container, and penetrates an end wall surface of the container to be driven from the outside of the container. The side opposite to the drive side of the stirring member is a free end.

Generally, a sub-hopper is provided below the toner cartridge as a toner storage section, from which toner is further supplied to the developing unit. The toner is supplied to the sub hopper by rotating the toner agitating / conveying member in the toner cartridge. The driving timing is such that the toner is continuously driven in synchronism with the image forming operation, or intermittently. Even if it does, the drive is repeated for a predetermined period of time, and the drive is performed under the same condition regardless of the amount of toner in the toner cartridge.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a toner supply device of the present invention.

An original 101 is placed on an original platen glass 102 and arranged so that information of the original is imaged on a photosensitive drum 104 by a plurality of mirrors and lenses of an optical unit 103. Of the sheets P stacked in the sheet cassettes 105 to 108, an optimal sheet cassette 105 is selected based on information input by a user from an operation unit (not shown) or the sheet size of the document 101.
To 108 are selected from the paper size information. And feed,
One sheet P conveyed by any one of the separation devices 105A to 108A is conveyed to a registration roller 110 via a conveyance unit 109, and the rotation of the photosensitive drum 104 and the scan timing of the optical unit 103 are performed. Are conveyed in synchronization with. The sheet P on which the toner image on the photosensitive drum 104 has been transferred by the transfer / separation chargers 111 and 112 is transported by the transport unit 113 to reach the fixing unit 114, and
After the toner on the paper P is fixed by heat and pressure in the fixing unit 114 1) In the case of one-sided copying, the paper P passes through the paper discharge reversing unit 115 and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 117 by the paper discharge roller 116. 2) In the case of multiplex copy, the paper P is fed again by the control of the flapper 118 of the paper discharge reversing unit 115.
The sheet 20 is conveyed, reaches the registration roller 110, passes through the image forming, conveying, and fixing sections in the same manner as described above, and is then discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 117. 3) In the case of double-sided copying, a part of the paper P is discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the paper discharge roller 116 once through the paper discharge reversing unit 115, and the end of the paper P passes through the flapper 118 and At the timing of holding, the flapper 118 is controlled, the paper discharge roller 116 is rotated in the reverse direction, the paper P is transported again into the apparatus, transported through the re-feed transport sections 119 and 120, transported to the registration roller 110, and Similarly, the sheet passes through the image forming, transporting, and fixing sections, and this time, the discharge tray 1
17 is discharged.

In the electrophotographic image forming apparatus having the above-described configuration, a developing device 201, a cleaning device 202, a primary charging device 203, and other devices are arranged around the photosensitive drum 104. The developing device 201 supplies toner to attract the toner onto the photosensitive drum 104 in order to make the information formed by forming the information of the document 101 on the photosensitive drum 104 as an electrostatic latent image by the optical unit 103 visible. A toner cartridge 2 for replenishing the developing device 201 with toner is provided in the apparatus main body 14 in a detachable manner.

In the above description, the developing device 201 has the developing roller 201a with a small gap (about 300 μm) from the photosensitive drum 104.
01b, a triboelectric charge is applied to the toner, a thin toner layer is formed on the developing roller 201a, and a latent image is developed on the photosensitive drum 104 by applying a developing bias to the photosensitive drum 104.

The toner reduced by the development is supplied from the toner supply device 100. When the toner in the toner replenishing device 100 is exhausted, the toner cartridge 2 is opened by opening an opening / closing member 121 pivotally attached to a lower edge of an opening 122 provided at an upper front corner of the apparatus main body 124 as shown in FIGS. The holder 31, which is a mounting means for removably mounting the camera, can be seen. When the cylindrical toner cartridge 2 is inserted into the holder 31, the toner cartridge 2 is guided by guide means provided in the longitudinal direction of the holder 31, and the passive side coupling 15a fixed to the shaft 13 as shown in FIG. Is the coupling 15 provided on the apparatus main body 124.
And is adapted to be engaged. And the opening and closing member 12
When 1 is closed, the power switch is turned on and the image forming apparatus can be driven.

FIG. 1 shows a toner supply device 100 according to the present invention.
It is sectional drawing which shows a structure of.

A toner cartridge (toner C in the drawing)
RG) a toner stirring and conveying blade 12 is fixed to a shaft 13 rotatably supported by a container lid 11a and a bearing 11b at the center of the container 11 inside the cylindrical closed container 11, and the toner Is filled in a predetermined amount.
The stirring / conveying blade 12 is formed by bonding a mylar sheet cut in a comb shape to a shaft 13, and a passive coupling 15 a fixed to the right end of the shaft 13 in the drawing is a coupling 15.
Is engaged with the claw of the camera in a detachable manner. This toner cartridge 2 is used horizontally. Coupling 15 is gear 1
A gear 1 a fixed to the motor shaft of the motor 1, which is connected to the motor 6, is meshed with the gear 16, and the drive is transmitted from the motor 1. Coupling 15,
The gear 16, the gear 1a, and the motor 1 are provided on the apparatus main body 124 side.

At the left end of the container 11, a lid 11c integral with the handle 11d is fitted and fixed. The shaft 13 and the container 11
A seal member (not shown) is provided between them to prevent the toner in the container 11 from leaking.

The toner cartridge 2 is provided in the main assembly 124 of the apparatus.
The user replaces the toner cartridge 2 with a new toner cartridge 2 when the toner in the toner cartridge 2 is exhausted and becomes empty.

A sub-hopper 3 is disposed below the toner cartridge 2 in parallel with the toner cartridge 2 as a toner container. A horizontal stirring blade 22 is rotatably supported by the sub hopper 3, and a conveying screw 23 is also rotatably supported below the sub-hopper 3 in parallel with the stirring blade 22. The shafts 22a and 23a of the stirring blade 22 and the conveying screw 23 are connected to a gear train 25, and are driven by a drive source (not shown) that drives the gear train 25.

A downward opening 14 is provided at a lower portion near one end of the toner cartridge 2.
As the toner cartridge 2 rotates, the toner in the toner cartridge 2 gradually moves and is discharged from the opening 14. An opening 26 is also provided in the holder 31 and the sub hopper 3 so as to face the opening 14 (the opening of the sub hopper 3 is not shown), and the toner discharged from the opening 14 drops by gravity and It is stored in the hopper 3. The sub-hopper 3 is configured such that the upper part of the transport screw 23 is spatially partitioned by a partition 28 so that the dropped toner does not directly reach the screw 23 but is always stirred by the stirring blade 22. The stirring blade 22 is provided with a wire-like spiral that causes a slight transport action by rotation, and the toner gradually moves on the partition 28 rightward in the figure while being stirred. When the toner is moved to the rightmost end of the partition 28, the toner is transported by the transport screw 23 to the left in FIG. An opening 27 is provided near the left end of the transport screw 23, from which toner is supplied to a toner hopper 201 c provided in the developing device 201.

A remaining amount sensor 24 is provided on the end wall 21 of the sub hopper 3 to detect the presence or absence of toner in the sub hopper 3. The remaining amount sensor 24 is, for example, a piezo-type sensor and detects the height of the toner powder surface by using the fact that the output voltage varies depending on the presence or absence of toner near the sensor surface.

As shown in FIG. 2, a flag 17 is provided at the inner end of the toner cartridge 2 in the insertion direction, and a photo sensor 32 is provided at the holder 31 side.
The photo sensor 32 is blocked by the flag 17 when the toner cartridge 2 is loaded in the holder 31, and is not blocked when the toner cartridge 2 is not loaded. This makes it possible to detect whether or not the toner cartridge 2 is loaded.

In such a toner replenishing apparatus, the state of the amount of toner discharged from the toner cartridge 2 to the sub-hopper 3 through the openings 14 and 26 is as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the integrated operation time T (s) after the new toner cartridge 2 is first driven on the horizontal axis to start toner discharge.
ec), and the vertical axis represents the relationship by taking the toner discharge amount V (g / sec) per unit time at each integrated operation time T. As can be seen from FIG.
When the time for example T ₁ cumulative operation time T is small, some of the toner cartridge 2 has entered the toner in a large amount, the toner discharge amount V ₁ of the per this time period is very high. That is, a predetermined amount of toner can be discharged only by driving and rotating the stirring / conveying blade 12 of the toner cartridge 2 for a relatively short time. On the other hand, toner discharge amount V ₂ per unit time in this case does not remain only a small amount of the toner in the toner cartridge 2 when the accumulated operation time T is large for example T ₂ is very small. That is,
Unless the stirring / conveying blade 12 of the toner cartridge 2 is driven and rotated for a relatively long time, a predetermined amount of toner for filling the sub hopper 3 cannot be discharged.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, a photo sensor 32 for detecting the presence or absence of the toner cartridge 2, a remaining amount sensor 24 for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 3, and the stirring / conveying blade 12 of the toner cartridge 2. The central processing unit CPU 36 performs arithmetic processing based on information from a counter 35 that counts the integrated operating time T of the motor 1 that drives the motor 1 to determine the optimal operating time at that time.

In the storage element ROM 37, the horizontal axis indicates the integrated operation time T of the motor 1 as shown in FIG. 5, and the vertical axis indicates that the remaining amount sensor 24 detects the absence of toner, and then the motor 1 is driven to drive the sub hopper. 3 until the toner is filled in t
Is stored.
As is apparent from FIG. 5, the operation time of the motor 1 for filling the sub hopper 3 with the toner gradually increases. That is, the differential value of the Tt curve gradually increases as the integration operation time T increases. Therefore, the operation time t _i (where i is the number of order) of the motor 1 operating for the toner supply than the operating time t _i-1 of the previous motor 1 that the operating time t _i of this motor 1 increases This is what happens. Look-up table 38 in the operation time for driving the agitating transporting blades 12 of the toner cartridge 2 when the time is less cumulative operation time T according example T ₁ t ₁
Stirring and conveying blade 1 of the toner cartridge 2 when the case for example T ₂ is short is set to a time integration operation time T is large
Operation time t ₂ for driving a 2 is set to a longer time.

As is apparent from the above description, since the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge 2 decreases in accordance with the integrated operation time T or the operation time t of the motor 1, the CPU 36 determines the remaining amount of toner based on the time T or t. , And
This is displayed on the toner remaining amount display 39 in the toner cartridge (see FIG. 4). This value is a rough value since the remaining amount of toner is calculated indirectly.

Next, a specific control flow will be described with reference to FIG.

When the power supply of the image forming apparatus main body (not shown) is first turned on in step S1, first, in step S2, the photo sensor 32 is turned on by the toner cartridge (toner CRG).
2 is detected. When the toner cartridge 2 is not detected, a display prompting the user to insert the toner cartridge 2 is displayed to the user using a display unit (not shown), and the toner cartridge 2 is inserted in step S2-1 or the toner cartridge is started from the beginning. If two are loaded, their presence is detected by the photo sensor 32 and the process proceeds to the next step S3.

In step S3, the value of the counter 35 for counting the integrated operation time T of the motor 1 for driving the stirring and transporting blades 12 for the new toner cartridge 2 (toner cartridge 2 fully filled with toner) is reset. The integration operation time T = 0 is input.

Next, in step 4, the remaining amount sensor 24 for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the sub hopper 3 detects the presence or absence of toner, and the height of the toner powder surface reaches the height at which toner must be supplied from the toner cartridge 2. Determine whether it is decreasing. If it is determined that the remaining amount of toner is sufficient, the process proceeds to step S4-1 to perform a normal printing operation by the image forming apparatus, and after the printing operation is completed, returns to the routine for detecting the remaining amount of toner again. If the power of the main body of the image forming apparatus is turned off / on during this time, the process also returns to the routine for detecting the remaining amount of toner.

When the normal printing operation is performed several times,
In the meantime, the toner in the sub hopper 3 is consumed, and the remaining amount sensor 24 detects the absence of toner, and it is determined that the toner in the sub hopper 3 is insufficient. Then, the process proceeds to step S5, where the motor 1 for driving the stirring and conveying blades 12 of the toner cartridge 2 is turned on, and the supply of toner from the toner cartridge 2 to the sub hopper 3 is started.

At the same time, the counter 35 counts the total number of times during driving the motor 1 in step S6, and calculates the integrated operation time T in step S7. Further, the CPU 36 refers to the look-up table 38 and calculates the integrated operation time T
The optimum operation time t during which the sub-hopper 3 is filled with the toner is determined.

After the motor 1 has been operated for the operation time t counted from the ON time, it is turned OFF in step S8, and the toner supply operation is completed. During this period, the value of T + t is input to the counter 35 to prepare for the next toner supply operation.

When the toner supply operation is completed, the remaining amount sensor 24 detects the presence or absence of toner again. If it is detected in step S9 that there is no toner, the process returns to step S4-1 to return to a normal printing operation. However, if it is detected that there is no toner, it is determined that the toner has not been actually supplied even though the toner supply operation has been performed, and it is determined that all the toner in the toner cartridge has been discharged and emptied. The display prompting the user to replace the toner cartridge with a new one using the toner remaining amount indicator 39 in the toner cartridge is shown. When a new toner cartridge 2 is loaded in step S2-1, the photo sensor 3 is again set in step S2.
2, the presence is detected, and the value of the counter 35 is reset in step S3, and the integrated operation time T = 0 is input, and the same operation as described above is repeated.

As described above, the object of the present invention can be achieved by performing the toner supply operation only for the optimum operation time t corresponding to the integrated operation time T of the motor 1.

Further, in the present invention, as shown in FIG.
Integrated operation time T of motor 1 counted by counter 35
Is a predetermined time T_Three It is determined whether or not it is smaller than step S6.
Determined by -1. Time T_Three Is the lookup shown in FIG.
Motor 1 for toner supply operation in table 38
Operating time of t_Three Integrated operation time T required only
_Three And the toner in the toner cartridge 2 at this time.
-The remaining amount is getting very low, and the amount of toner
Operating time t _ThreeAs it takes a long time
Has become. Where T ≦ T_Three Is shown in FIG.
Proceeds to step 7 in the same way as the flow
Time t is calculated.

Meanwhile, it is determined that in the case where words T> T ₃ is not a T ≦ T ₃ is a state in which the toner remaining amount in the toner cartridge 2 has become close to the air is reduced step S
In step 6-2, the user indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge 2 is low using the toner remaining amount indicator 39 in the toner cartridge, and prompts the user to prepare a new toner cartridge 2.

Thus, the user can recognize that the toner remaining amount is small before the toner cartridge 2 is completely empty, and can prepare for replacement with a new toner cartridge 2 in advance.

Next, a specific control flow according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

When the power of the image forming apparatus main body 124 is turned on in step R1, the remaining amount sensor 24 detects the presence or absence of toner in step R2, and the height of the toner powder surface indicates that toner needs to be supplied from the toner cartridge 2. It is determined whether the height has dropped to a certain height. If it is determined that the remaining amount of toner is sufficient, the process proceeds to step R2-2, where a normal printing operation is performed by the image forming apparatus, and after the printing operation is completed, the flow returns to the routine for detecting the remaining amount of toner.

When the normal printing operation is performed several times, the toner in the sub hopper 3 is consumed during the printing operation, and the remaining amount sensor 24 detects the absence of toner, and determines that the toner in the sub hopper 3 is insufficient. Is done. Then, in step R3, the motor 1 for driving the stirring and conveying blades 12 of the toner cartridge 2 is turned on, and the supply of toner from the toner cartridge 2 to the sub hopper 3 is started.

Immediately after this, in step R4, the remaining amount sensor 2
4 continues the detection of the presence or absence of toner. When the toner is supplied, the remaining amount sensor 24 will eventually detect the presence of the toner. In this process at step R5 CPU 36 is the remaining amount sensor 24 counting from the time when the motor 1 is turned ON as shown in FIG. 8 calculates the time t _s spent until the time it is detected toner chromatic.

FIG. 10 shows the state of the powder level of the toner in the sub hopper 3 at this time. Powder surface 41
Represents the powder surface height when the remaining amount sensor 24 detects the absence of toner. Here the motor 1 is supplied with toner becomes ON, powder level height at which the toner capacity of only L ₁ is supplied powder surface 42 becomes empty sensor 24 detects the toner chromatic.

[0056] toner discharge amount per unit time when the toner in the toner cartridge 2 is in the large amount toner capacity L ₁ at shorter time t _s is supplied so often,
Conversely toner in the toner cartridge 2 is of the toner capacity L ₁ will be supplied over time t _s Since the toner discharge amount per unit time is small when not in only slightly.

[0057] The powder surface 43 is a state where the powder level in height only more space L ₂ from the powder surface 42 toner is supplied which is assumed when the supply of toner is completed. Where L ₂ =
Time t _T required to provide the capacity L ₂ if it is a × L ₁ (a constant) is calculated to be approximately t _T = a × t _s. The CPU 36 calculates the time t _T, and controls to turn off the motor 1 after operating the motor 1 for the time t _s + t _T as the operation time of the motor 1. Here, the toner supply operation is completed, and the operation returns to the normal print operation.

As shown in FIG. 11, a time t _s from when the motor 1 is turned on to when the remaining amount sensor 24 detects the presence of toner.
After this time t _s , the operation time T _t of the motor 1 for feeding the toner of the capacity L ₂ from the toner cartridge 2 to the toner hopper 3 is linearly proportional to t _T = a × t _s as described above.

[0059] Thus the relationship of the total operating time t _s + t _T of the motor 1 when the motor 1 is the remaining amount sensor 24 from the ON is the time until the time t _s until detecting the toner chromatic FIG 5, FIG. FIG. 12 is obtained with reference to FIG.

When the amount of toner discharged from the toner cartridge 2 to the sub hopper 3 is large, the toner supply operation is completed in a short time.
When the amount of toner discharged from the sub hopper 3 to the sub hopper 3 is small, the toner supply operation can be performed over a long time.

[0061] When more time t _s in step R6 is larger than the predetermined time t _Lim is considerable time to discharge the capacitor L ₁ due to the very small amount of residual toner in the toner cartridge 2 at step R7 Is displayed on the display 39 to indicate to the user that the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge 2 is low, and prompts the user to prepare a new toner cartridge 2.

If t _s <t _{Lim in} step 6, the operation proceeds to step 8, where the operation time t _s + t _T of the motor 1 is calculated, and after the motor 1 is driven by t _s + t _{T, the} operation proceeds to step 9 where the motor 1 is stopped. Returning to R2-2, it becomes possible to operate with normal printing.

In step R4, the toner cartridge 2
When the toner in the inside is completely empty, the remaining amount sensor 24
Detects the permanent absence of toner. Then, in step R10, the CPU 36 turns off the motor 1 to complete the toner supply operation, and in step R11 also uses a display unit (not shown) to indicate to the user that the toner cartridge 2 is empty, and to supply a new toner cartridge. Ask for a replacement.

It should be noted that the toner supply operation time t calculated by the CPU 36 in the present invention is not limited to one set in a stepless manner, and is not limited to FIGS.
May be divided into a plurality of stages as shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a lookup table for controlling the toner supply operation time t in a plurality of stages based on the curve in FIG. FIG. 17 is obtained by calculating the total operation time t _s + t _T of the motor required to fill the sub hopper with toner in a plurality of steps based on the curve of FIG.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge is made variable in accordance with the amount of toner in the toner cartridge. Can discharge toner.
In addition, since the toner driving unit is driven only when the toner is sent to the toner storage unit as needed, caking due to the compression of the toner does not occur. Further, no coarsening of the toner occurs. The power consumption for driving the toner cartridge driving means is reduced. Since the toner is not compressed, toner does not leak from the seal portion of the toner replenishing device, and there is no generation of toner coarse particles in the seal portion. Becomes longer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a configuration of a toner supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a rear portion of a toner cartridge and a holder.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a discharge amount from a toner cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a lookup table of a control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a part of a flowchart of a control unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a control unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a powder surface in a sub hopper of a control unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a relationship between an operation time required for a remaining amount sensor to detect the presence of toner and an operation time required for further filling the sub hopper in an operation of filling the sub hopper with toner.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a relationship between an operation time until a remaining amount sensor detects presence of toner and a toner supply time.

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the appearance of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing mounting of the toner container in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a step-by-step lookup table according to a modification of the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a case where the relationship between the operation time and the toner supply time until the remaining amount sensor detects the presence of toner is stepwise.

[Explanation of symbols]

T: integrated operation time V: toner discharge amount per unit time t: operation time of the motor until the empty sub-hopper is filled with toner tm: time at which the motor starts to operate ts: remaining amount sensor indicates that toner is present Detection time 1 ... Motor 1a ... Gear 2 ... Toner cartridge (toner CRG) 3 ... Sub hopper 11 ... Container 11a ... Container lid 11b ... Shaft 11c ...
Lid 11d Handle 12 Stirring and conveying blade 13 Shaft 14 Opening 15 Coupling 15a Coupling 15a Passive coupling 16 Gear 17 Flag 21 End wall 22 Stirring blade 22a Shaft 23 Transfer screw 23a Shaft 24 ... Remaining amount sensor 25 ... Gear train 26 ... Opening 27 ... Opening 28 ... Partition 31 ... Holder 32 ... Photo sensor 35 ... Counter 36 ... CPU 37 ... ROM 38 ... Lookup table 39 ... Toner remaining amount display 41 ... Powder surface 42 ... powder surface 43 ... powder surface 100 ... toner replenishing device 101 ... original document 102 ... original platen glass 103 ... optical unit 104 ... photosensitive drum 105 ... paper supply cassette 105A ... paper supply separation device 106 ... paper supply cassette 106A ... paper supply separation Device 107: paper feed cassette 107A: paper feed separation device 108: paper feed cassette 108A: paper feed Separation device 109 Transport unit 110 Registration roller 111 Transfer charger 112 Separation charger 113 Transport unit 114 Fixing unit 115 Discharge reversing unit 116 Discharge roller 117 Discharge tray 118 Flapper 119, 120 ... Refeeding conveyance path 121... Opening and closing member 122.
Developing blade 201c: toner hopper 202: cleaning device 203: primary charging device

Claims (13)

[Claims] A toner cartridge having stirring and conveying means for stirring and conveying the toner, a toner cartridge containing the toner, a driving means for driving the stirring and conveying means, and a developing means for containing the toner sent from the toner cartridge; And a detecting unit for detecting a remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit. The operation of the driving unit of the toner cartridge according to the amount of toner in the toner cartridge. A toner supply device characterized in that the time is variable. 2. A look-up table obtained from a relationship between an operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge and an amount of toner discharged from the toner cartridge to the toner storage section with respect to an integrated operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge; Detecting means for detecting that a toner cartridge has been newly inserted; counting means for counting the integrated operating time of the driving means of the toner cartridge; and control means for controlling the operating time of the driving means of the toner cartridge based on the information. The toner supply device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The look-up table according to claim 1, wherein the operation time of the toner cartridge is determined so that the discharge amount from the toner cartridge to the toner container is substantially constant with respect to the integrated operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge. The toner replenishing device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The driving time of the driving means for driving the toner cartridge is longer than the driving time for filling the sub-hopper last time, and the driving time for filling the current sub-hopper immediately after the previous time. Item 4. The toner supply device according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for displaying an outline of a remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge in accordance with an operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge. A toner replenishing device as described in the above. 6. The look-up table shows an integrated operation time of a driving unit of the toner cartridge in a state where the amount of toner remaining in the toner cartridge is low. The accumulated operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge until the driving means of the cartridge is driven is compared.If the accumulated operation time of the latter is longer than the accumulated operation time of the former, it is determined that the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge is small. 5. The toner replenishing device according to claim 4, wherein a display is displayed. 7. The toner replenishing device according to claim 2, wherein the look-up table is provided in a storage element ROM in a control unit. 8. A measuring means for measuring a time at which the driving means of the toner cartridge starts operating, and a time at which the detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner storage section re-detects the presence of toner. 2. The toner replenishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means for controlling an operation time of a driving means of the toner cartridge thereafter based on the information of the toner supply. 9. The toner replenishing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge is extended according to the length of the detection time measured by the measuring means for measuring the time. 10. The toner replenishing device according to claim 2, wherein the operation time of the driving means of the toner cartridge is variably controlled stepwise. 11. The toner storage portion is a horizontally long container having an opening for receiving toner supply from a toner cartridge from an upper end on one end and discharging toner from a lower end on one end to a developing means. A member that moves the toner from one end to the other end above the partition, and a member that conveys the toner from the other end to the one end below the partition; 2. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, further comprising a detecting unit for detecting the amount above a partition on one end side. 12. The toner cartridge includes a horizontally long cylindrical container, a shaft rotatably supported at the center of the container, a stirring / conveying blade attached to the shaft, and the drive provided at the shaft end. 12. The toner replenishing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a passive coupling that can be disengaged from the unit, and an opening that discharges toner to a toner container. 13. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus which has an agitating / conveying means for agitating / conveying toner and has a detachable toner cartridge containing toner and which forms an image on a recording medium, comprising: a. An electrophotographic photosensitive drum; b. Developing means for developing the latent image on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum using a toner; c. Mounting means for removably mounting the toner cartridge; d. A driving unit for driving the stirring and conveying unit, a toner storage unit for storing the toner sent from the toner cartridge and supplying the toner to the developing unit, and a detection for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner storage unit And a toner replenishing device having a variable operation time of a driving unit of the toner cartridge according to an amount of toner in the toner cartridge.