JPH03176309A - Method and vessel for loading fine particle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To securely and easily prevent loaded fine particles from being pressed into a lump by moving downward a buffer body provided in a fine particle loading vessel to make fine particles dropping into the fine particle loading vessel collide against at the same time as the fine particles dropping into the fine particle loading vessel collides against the buffer body. CONSTITUTION:When an opening/closing valve 13 provided below a toner hopper 11 is opened as well as an opening/closing valve 52 provided in an air inlet tube 51 is opened, a specific amount of toner reserved in the toner hopper 11 is dropped through a fine particle supply line 13 into a fine particle loading vessel 90 at a time. At this time the toner rapidly flows into a vessel body 91 from a fine particle loading port 28, and as soon as it collides against an upper face of a buffer body 95 in the vessel body 91, a switch valve 33 is operated to have a vacuum tank 32 communicated with a vent line 34 of a switching means 30. Thus air in the buffer body 95 is instantaneously sucked into the vacuum tank 32 through the vent line 34 and the buffer body 95 is shrunk toward the bottom. Therefore after the toner permitted to flow into the vessel body 91 collides against an upper face of the buffer body 95, its speed is decelerated due to a cushion effect by the upper face of the buffer body 95 then to be loaded into the vessel body 91.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a powder filling method for filling powder such as toner used in an image forming apparatus into a predetermined container at high speed and with high density. and a powder filling container used for its implementation.

(Prior Art) Toner used in image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines is normally filled in a bottle-shaped or cylindrical container for transportation, storage, etc. Conventionally, toner is filled into a container by placing the container below a toner supply device and allowing the toner in the toner supply device to fall naturally into the container.

In this method, the toner does not fall into the container at high speed due to the air present in the container, and the toner that falls into the container is mixed with the air inside the container, so the bulk density is reduced. smaller and not densely packed. For this reason, it is not possible to fill a container with a predetermined amount of toner by gravity-falling. For example, it is impossible to fill a container with about half the amount of toner that should be filled into the container by gravity-dropping. A method is adopted in which the remaining toner is filled after a predetermined period of time has elapsed for the toner to settle down. In such a method,
The toner could not be efficiently filled into the container, resulting in very poor work efficiency.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 03, a powder filling device has been proposed which can fill powder such as toner at high speed and with high density, and which has a relatively simple configuration.

This powder filling device puts the inside of the container to be filled under pressure, and uses the pressure difference between the inside of the container and the powder feeder to quickly fill high-density powder from the powder feeder. It is designed so that it can be filled into the container at any time.

(Il!! problem to be solved by the invention) In the powder filling device having such a configuration, the powder falling from the powder feeder is transported at high speed because the inside of the container is already in a reduced pressure state. is filled into the container.

Furthermore, since the inside of the container is in a substantially vacuum state, the powder dropped into the container does not contain air and has the advantage that there is no risk of its bulk density decreasing.

However, on the other hand, since the falling velocity of the powder falling into the container is high and the amount of air inside the container is small, the powder filled into the container tends to be compressed too much. In particular, at the beginning of filling when there is a large difference between the pressure inside the powder feeder and the pressure inside the container, the powder that falls into the container collides violently with the bottom of the container, causing a large compressive force on the powder. acts. As a result, depending on the particle size of the powder, the powder may solidify into a block-like mass at the bottom of the container. If the powder filled in the container is toner used in an image forming device such as an electrophotographic copying machine, if the toner in the container is solidified, the container may not be used in the image forming device. When the toner is attached and used, toner may not be smoothly replenished from the container to the image forming apparatus.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to be able to fill powder such as toner at high speed and with high density, and to prevent the filled powder from solidifying in the container. An object of the present invention is to provide a powder filling method that can prevent this.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a powder filling container that can be used to carry out the powder filling method described above and can reliably and easily prevent the filled powder from solidifying.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The powder filling method of the present invention is based on a state in which the inside and outside of the powder filling container to be filled with powder are reduced in equilibrium state, and then the powder filling container is filled with powder. A powder filling method in which powder is filled into a powder filling container by simultaneously raising the internal and external pressure and simultaneously dropping the powder into the powder filling container, the powder filling method comprising: A buffer provided in the powder filling container so that the powder falling into the container collides with the powder is moved downward at the same time as the powder falling into the powder filling container collides with the buffer body. features, thereby achieving the above objective.

The powder filling container of the present invention is a powder filling container that is filled with powder by simultaneously increasing the pressure inside and outside from a state where the pressure is reduced inside and outside, and simultaneously dropping powder into the inside. It has a buffer inside that can collide with the falling powder and is movable in the vertical direction, and is moved downward at the same time as the falling powder collides with the inside. Thus, the above objective is achieved.

(Example) The present invention will be described below with reference to Examples.

The powder filling method of the present invention is carried out when filling a container with toner used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine.

As shown in FIG. 2, the powder filling container of the present invention used to carry out the powder filling method has a cylindrical container body 91 into which a predetermined amount of toner can be filled. A filling opening 93 is provided at the upper end of the container body 91. The outer peripheral surface of the filling port 93 is provided with a threaded portion into which a cap is screwed. At the lower part of the container body 91, an air-buffer-type shock absorber 95 made of an airtight bag is disposed. The bottom surface of the buffer body 95 is bonded to the bottom surface of the container body 91, and as air is blown into the interior, the buffer body 95 sequentially expands upward in a cylindrical shape, and its outer circumferential surface touches the inner circumferential surface of the container body 91. contact all around. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, as the air inside the buffer body 95 is removed, the upper surface of the buffer body 95 sequentially moves downward in parallel and contracts. When the buffer body 95 is completely deflated, on the inner peripheral surface of the container body 91 above the buffer body 95,
A predetermined volume that can be filled with toner is ensured. Air is supplied to and exhausted from the buffer body 95 through a ventilation hole 96 provided at the bottom of the container body 91.

The powder filling device used together with the powder filling container 90 to carry out the powder filling method of the present invention is as shown in FIG.
A toner supply device 10 capable of supplying a predetermined amount of fine powder toner, and a toner supply device 0 disposed below the toner supply device 0,
The image forming apparatus includes a vacuum case 20 in which a container 90 filled with toner is held.

The toner supply device IO is connected to a toner cutter (not shown) capable of cutting out a predetermined amount of toner from a powder storage tank, for example, and to the toner cutter, and stores a predetermined amount of toner cut out by the toner cutter. The toner hopper 11 has a toner hopper 11, a powder supply pipe 12 that communicates the toner fall port in the toner hopper 11 with the inside of the decompression case 20, and an on-off valve 13 interposed in the powder supply pipe 30. However, when the on-off valve 13 is opened, a predetermined amount of toner is dropped from the toner hopper 11 into the pressure reducing case 20.

The decompression case 20 includes an upper half 21 that can be divided into upper and lower parts,
It is composed of a lower half body 22. The lower half 22 is raised and lowered by an air cylinder 70 so that it can be joined to and separated from the upper half 21. Then, as the lower half body 22 is raised by the air cylinder 70,
The lower half 22 is joined to the upper half 21. Sealing members 21a and 22a made of soft rubber, for example, are fixedly installed at the portions where the two join, and the lower half 22 raised by the air cylinder 70 is joined to the upper half 21. As a result, the seal members 21a and 22a are airtightly engaged, and the inside of the decompression case 20 is made airtight.

The upper half 21 of the decompression case 20 is connected to the powder supply pipe 1
It is fixedly attached to the lower part of 2. A powder supply nozzle 24 projecting downward is fixedly provided on the upper surface of the upper half 21, and the lower end of the powder supply conduit 12 is inserted into the powder supply nozzle 24. On the upper outer circumferential surface of the powder supply nozzle 24, four contact surface portions 25 are provided for locking a packing 25a made of soft rubber. Below the corresponding contact surface part 25 is a nozzle part 26 in the shape of an inverted truncated cone, whose diameter is gradually reduced toward the bottom.

At the center of the lower end surface of the nozzle portion 26, the lower end of the powder supply conduit 12 opens as a powder serving port 28. Nozzle part 2
The outer diameter at the upper end of the container 6 is approximately the same as the inner diameter of a filling port 93 formed at the upper end of the container 90 held on the inner circumferential surface of the decompression case 20 .

The lower half 22 of the decompression case 20 is provided with a container elevating means 60 that holds a powder-filled container 90 shown in FIG. 2 and moves the powder-filled container 90 up and down.

The container elevating means 60 is interposed between an elevating table 62 disposed within the lower half of the lower half body 22 so as to be able to rise and fall in a substantially horizontal state, and between the elevating table 62 and the bottom surface of the lower half body 22. , lifting platform 6
2 is provided with a push spring 63 that always urges it upward. The lifting platform 62 includes a holding frame 62a that holds the lower end of the container body 91 of the powder filling container 90, and a holding frame 62a that is airtightly inserted into a ventilation hole 96 opened at the bottom of the container body 91 held by the holding frame 62a. It has a nozzle part 62b. Holding frame 6
2a is fitted into the lower end of the container body 91 to hold the container body 91 in a substantially vertical state. Then, with the container body 91 placed on the lifting platform 62,
When the air cylinder 70 is operated so that the lower half body 22 is raised, the container body 91 is raised and the nozzle portion 26 of the powder supply nozzle 24 is inserted into the filling port 94 thereof. When the lower half 22 is completely joined to the upper half 21, the container main body 91 is urged upward by the push spring 63, and the upper end of the filling opening 93 is brought into airtight pressure contact with the gasket 25a, and the container is closed. The nozzle part 62b is fully pushed into the ventilation hole 96 of the main body 91.

A switching means 30 is connected to the nozzle portion 62b for switching the buffer body 95 disposed within the container body 91 between an expanded state and a contracted state. The switching means 30 is connected to the lower half 2
2, a pressurizing pump 31 disposed outside the vacuum tank 3
2 and a switching valve 33. The switching valve 33 is connected in communication with the nozzle portion 62b by a flexible ventilation conduit 34 passing through the lower half body 22. Switching valve 33
The vent pipe line 34 can be switched between an open state and an open state, and can be switched so that either the pressure pump 31 or the vacuum tank 32 is communicated with the vent pipe line 34 in the open state. Air inside the vacuum tank 32 is sucked by a vacuum pump (not shown), and the tank volume is made sufficiently larger than the volume of the buffer body 95. Therefore, with the vacuum tank 32 separated from the ventilation pipe line 34, the pressure inside the vacuum tank 32 is reduced to a substantially vacuum state using a vacuum pump, and after inserting the nozzle portion 62b into the exhaust hole 96 of the container body 91, the vacuum tank 32 is opened. When connected to the ventilation pipe line 34, the air inside the buffer body 95 flows through the exhaust pipe line 32 to the vacuum tank 3.
2, and the buffer body 95 is contracted toward the bottom side.

On the upper surface of the upper half 21 of the decompression case 20, there are provided a decompression means 40 that can appropriately reduce the pressure inside the decompression case 20, and a pressure increase means 50 that can appropriately increase the pressure from this depressurized state.
Each is equipped with

The pressure reduction means 40 includes a first pressure reduction pipe 41 that connects the vacuum pump 44 and the inside of the pressure reduction case 20 in a communicating state;
An on-off valve 42 and a flow rate adjustment valve 43 are interposed in the pressure reduction pipe 41, and a second pressure reduction pipe 45 is connected between the powder supply pipe 30 and the first pressure reduction pipe 41 on the vacuum pump 44 side. , an on-off valve 46 and a flow 41g interposed in the second pressure reducing pipe 4S.
It has a valve regulator 47.

The powder filling method of the present invention is carried out as follows using the powder filling container 90 and device described above.

First, the on-off valve 1 disposed below the toner hopper 11
3 is in the open state, and the lower half 22 of the decompression case 20 is opened.
The air cylinder 70 is operated to lower the lower half body 22 from the upper half body 21.

In this state, the powder filling container 90 is placed at a predetermined position on the lifting table 62 so that the filling opening 93 thereof is located on the upper side. As a result, the nozzle portion 52b projecting upward from the lifting platform 62 is inserted into the ventilation hole 96 opened in the bottom surface of the container body 91 in the powder filling container 90. Then,
The air cylinder 70 is operated until the lower half 22 is joined to the upper half 21. The lower half 22 is the upper half 2
1, the powder filling container 90 held in the decompression case 20 has its container body 91 urged upward by the push spring 63, and its filling opening 93 closes to the powder supply nozzle 24. Airtightly connected to the filling port 28 and vent hole 96
The nozzle portion 62b is hermetically coupled to the nozzle portion 62b.

When the nozzle portion 62b is airtightly connected to the ventilation hole 96, the switching valve 33 is operated so that the pressure pump 31 is communicated with the ventilation pipe line 34 of the switching means 30, and the pressure pump 31 is operated. As a result, air is supplied to the buffer body 95 inside the container body 91. When the buffer body 95 is in an expanded state, the switching valve 33 is operated so that the ventilation pipe line 34 is cut off, and the inside of the vacuum tank 32 is evacuated. At this time, the pressure increasing means 50
Now, the on-off valve 52 installed in the atmospheric air introduction pipe 51 is closed to maintain the inside of the decompression case 20 airtight. In addition, the flow ffi adjustment valve 4 interposed in each pressure reducing pipe 41 and 45 is
3 and 47, the flow rate of gas flowing through each conduit is set in advance in accordance with the capacity within the pressure reduction case 20 and the capacity of the container 90 held within the pressure reduction case 20.

In this state, the on-off valves 42 and 46 interposed in the first pressure reducing pipe line 41 and the second pressure reducing pipe line 45 are respectively opened, and the vacuum pump 44 is driven. This results in
The air outside the powder filling container 90 in the vacuum case 20 is sucked by the vacuum pump 44 via the first vacuum pipe line 41 at a predetermined flow rate defined by the flow flrAl non-A3, and the vacuum The air above the buffer body 95 in the container body 91 of the powder filling container 90 held in the case 20 is pumped through the lower part of the powder supply pipe 12 and the second decompression pipe 45 by the vacuum pump 44. A predetermined flow rate defined by the regulating valve 47 is sucked. The flow rate of each flow rate regulating valve 43 and 47 is determined so that the pressure reduction inside and outside of the container body 91 by the vacuum pump 44 is performed in a substantially balanced state. When the pressure within the container body 91 above the buffer body 95 and the pressure reduction case 20 surrounding the container body 91 is in an equilibrium state and becomes a substantially vacuum state, the on-off valves 42 and 46 are opened.

Next, the on-off valve 1 covered with a mud film below the toner hopper IL.
3 is opened, and the on-off valve 52 interposed in the atmospheric air introduction pipe 51 is also opened. As a result, a predetermined amount of toner stored in the toner hopper 11 is dropped all at once into the powder filling container 90 via the powder supply conduit 13. At this time, toner flows into the container body 91 from the powder filling port 28 at high speed. Then, the switching valve 33 is operated so that the vacuum tank 32 is communicated with the ventilation pipe 34 of the switching means 30 at the moment when the toner flowing into the container main body 91 collides with the upper surface of the buffer body 95 inside the container main body 91. do. As a result, the air inside the buffer body 95 is momentarily sucked into the vacuum tank 32 through the ventilation pipe line 34, and the buffer body 95 is contracted toward the bottom side. Therefore, after the toner that has flowed into the container body 91 collides with the upper surface of the buffer body 95, the toner flows into the container body 91.
The liquid is decelerated by the cushion effect caused by the upper surface of the liquid, and then filled into the container body 91. Subsequently, the toner flowing into the container body 91 is filled into the container body 91 with the buffer body 95 contracted toward the bottom side. As a result, even at the start of toner filling when there is a large pressure difference between the inside of the toner supply device 10 and the inside of the container body 91 above the buffer body 95, the toner is filled into the container body 91 without solidifying. All of the predetermined amount of toner supplied from inside 10 to the container body 91 is reliably filled into the container body 91.

In addition, the inside of the container body 91 above the buffer body 95 is sufficiently evacuated when toner is filled, and there is no risk of air flowing into the space after the buffer body 95 contracts toward the bottom side. Even if the toner flowing into the container body 91 is decelerated, there is no risk that the bulk density of the toner filled into the container body 91 will decrease.

Furthermore, a predetermined flow rate of atmospheric air defined by the flow ff1B regulating valve 53 flows into the pressure reduction case 20, and the pressure reduction case 20
Since the pressure inside the container body 91 is increased, even if the pressure inside the container body 91 increases due to toner falling into the container body 91, the pressure inside the container body 9! The internal and external pressures are in equilibrium,
There is no fear that the container body 91 will be damaged.

When all the toner in the toner hopper 11 is filled into the container body 91, the air cylinder 70 is driven to lower the lower half 22. When the lower half body 22 is separated from the upper half body 21, the powder-filled container 90 in which the container body 91 is filled with toner is taken out from the lower half body 22.

In the above embodiment, the buffer body 95 provided on the container body 91 is bonded to the bottom surface inside the container body 91, but the buffer body 95 may be configured to simply be fitted into the container body 91. Furthermore, a type other than the air bag type adopted in the above embodiment may be used.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the pressure inside and outside the cartridge is reduced through two pressure reduction paths.
In addition to such two systems of depressurization routes, for example, one system of depressurization routes as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1-124503 filed by the applicant of the present invention may be used.

(Effects of the Invention) In the powder filling method of the present invention, the powder flowing into the reduced pressure container at high speed collides with the buffer body and is decelerated. The filled powder is prevented from clumping into blocks. Furthermore, since the buffer against which the powder collides moves in the direction in which the powder falls, the impact when the powder collides with the buffer is small, and the container is filled with high density.

Since the powder-filled container of the present invention is provided with a buffer inside, the powder can be packed at high density without solidifying.

4 no na! ■ Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the implementation state of the powder filling method of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of the powder filling container of the present invention used for implementing the powder filling method. , FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining its operation.

lO... Toner supply device, 20... Decompression case, 30
... switching means, 40... pressure reducing means, 50... pressure increasing means, 60... container elevating means, 90... powder filling container, 91... container body, 93... filling Mouth part, 95...buffer.

Below Up

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. From a state in which the pressure inside and outside of the powder filling container to be filled with powder is reduced in an equilibrium state, the pressure inside and outside of the powder filling container is increased at the same time; A powder filling method for filling powder into a powder filling container by dropping the powder into the powder filling container, wherein the powder falling into the powder filling container collides with each other. A powder filling method characterized in that a buffer provided in the powder filling container is moved downward at the same time as the powder colliding with the powder falling into the powder filling container. 2. A container for powder filling, which is filled with powder by simultaneously raising the pressure inside and outside from a state where the pressure is reduced inside and outside, and at the same time, dropping the powder into the inside, wherein the inside is filled with powder. A powder filling container that is capable of colliding with falling powder and is movable in the vertical direction, and has a buffer that is moved downward at the same time as the falling powder collides with the inside. .