Electrophotography – Image formation – Development
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-27
2002-04-02
Chen, Sophia S. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Image formation
Development
C399S359000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06366755
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner supplying device used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or the like, and particularly to a toner supplying device applied to an image forming apparatus so constituted that a developing device is positioned on a lower side and a toner supplying device is positioned on an upper side and that the developing device and the toner supplying device are spaced from each other in some degree.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or the like, after a surface of a photoconductive drum was uniformly charged with the predetermined electric potential, it is exposed to light and an electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum is made visible by a developing device, that is, it is formed as a toner image. The toner image is transferred/fixed onto a transfer sheet, whereby an image is formed.
In the above image forming apparatus, together with the operation of developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum by the developing device, toner within the developing device is consumed. Therefore, a toner supplying device is provided in order to supply the toner to the developing device at the predetermined timing. This toner supplying device is usually constituted so that it is arranged on a side of the developing device, viewed from a front side of an image forming apparatus body and that the toner is supplied to the developing device by transporting the toner from the toner supplying device in the horizontal direction.
However, in the above image forming apparatus, as an image is made into a full color image, the apparatus is miniaturized, or the apparatus runs at a higher speed, recently, new apparatuses having various apparatus designs and layouts are being proposed and being produced.
In an image forming apparatus according to this new proposal, there is an image forming apparatus so constituted that a toner supplying device is spaced from a developing device in some degree and arranged at an upper portion within the image forming apparatus body, and that the developing device is positioned on the lower side and the toner supplying device is positioned on the upper side.
In case of this image forming apparatus so constituted that the developing device is positioned on the lower side and the toner supplying device is positioned on the upper side, and that the developing device and the toner supplying device are spaced from each other in some degree, a transporting passage A that determines the supplied amount of the toner from the toner supplying device and a transporting passage B for supplying the toner transported along the transporting passage A to the developing device are required. Since the transporting passage A determines the amount of the toner supplied from the toner supplying device, a transporting member such as an auger is disposed inside the transporting passage A, and the above transporting passage A is disposed in a substantially horizontal direction. On the other hand, the transporting passage B is disposed in a substantially vertical direction in order to connect the toner supplying device positioned on the upper side to the developing device positioned on the lower side.
As a means for transporting toner in the substantially vertical direction within the transporting passage B connecting the toner supplying device positioned on the upper side to the developing device position on the lower side as described above, there are the following means.
(1) A means so constituted that, as shown in
FIG. 14
, toner is supplied from a toner supplying device
100
into a first transporting passage
101
disposed in the substantially horizontal direction, that the toner is transported into the first transporting passage
101
by an auger
102
in the horizontal direction and then transported from the first transporting passage
101
into a second transporting passage
103
, and that the toner supplied into this second transporting passage
103
is transported according to its natural dropping thereby to be transported to a developing device
104
.
(2) A means so constituted that, as shown in
FIG. 15
, a spring agitator
106
is disposed inside a second transporting passage
103
, that an end portion of this spring agitator
106
is directly connected to an auger
102
disposed inside a first transporting passage
101
, that the first transporting passage
101
and the second transporting passage
103
are curved with a predetermined curvature radius to be coupled to each other, and that the toner supplied into the second transporting passage
103
is transported to a developing device
104
by the spring agitator
106
.
(3) A means so constituted that, as shown in
FIG. 16
, transporting members
102
and
107
each of which is composed of an individual auger are disposed inside a first transporting passage
101
and a second transporting passage
103
, that power is transmitted form a shaft of the transporting member
102
disposed inside the first transporting passage
101
through gears
108
,
109
such as a bevel gear, a helical gear or the like to the transporting member
107
such as the auger disposed inside the second transporting passage
103
composed of the auger, and that the toner supplied into the second transporting passage
103
is transported to a developing device
104
by this transporting member
107
.
However, the following problems exist in the above conventional arts.
(1) In case that the toner supplied into the second transporting passage
103
is transported according to its natural dropping as shown in
FIG. 14
, there is a problem that possibility of clogging of the second transporting passage
103
with the toner is large by some size of a diameter or a length of the second transporting passage
103
and by quality of some toner. In order to solve this problem, there is an apparatus so constituted that vibration is applied to the second transporting passage
103
. However, in this case, the number of parts increases, which causes an increase in cost and makes the apparatus larger.
(2) In case that the first transporting passage
101
and the second transporting passage
103
are curved with the predetermined curvature radius to be coupled to each other as shown in FIG.
15
and that the toner supplied into the second transporting passage
103
is transported by the spring agitator
106
, a large curvature radius must be set at a portion for coupling the first transporting passage
101
and the second transporting passage
103
to each other, which is unadaptable on layout. Further, since the spring agitator
106
is disposed inside the second transporting passage
103
is curved and rotated, it is strongly pressed against a wall surface of the second transporting passage
103
, so that there is fear that stress will be given to the toner that is transported inside the second the transporting passage
103
, and that a bad influence will be exerted on the toner.
(3) In case that the transporting members
102
and
107
each of which is composed of the individual auger are disposed inside the first transporting passage
101
and the second transporting passage
103
as shown in
FIG. 16
, and that the power is transmitted from the transporting member
102
disposed inside the first transporting passage
101
through the gears
108
,
109
such as the bevel gear, the helical gear or the like to the transporting member
107
disposed inside the second transporting passage
103
, there is no problem on transportability of toner but there is a problem that the number of parts such as the gears
108
,
109
increases and the increase in cost is caused.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the above conventional arts. Its o
Chen Sophia S.
Fuji 'Xerox Co., Ltd.
Morgan & Lewis & Bockius, LLP
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