Powder filling device

Abstract

To prevent a problem of powder residuals in a nozzle at the end of filling powder in a powder container.SOLUTION: A powder filling device 1 for filling a toner container 50 (powder container) with toner T (powder) is provided with a nozzle 6 that is inserted into the toner container 50 and allows the toner T to flow into the toner container 50. A nozzle cleaning device 7 is also provided that sucks and removes the toner T remaining inside the nozzle 6 while the nozzle 6 remains inserted in the toner container 50 after completing filling of the toner T inside the container 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a powder filling device for filling a powder container with powder such as toner. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, powder filling devices that fill powder containers such as toner containers that are replaceably installed in copiers, printers, facsimiles, etc. with powder such as toner have been widely used in filling factories and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, as such a powder filling device, there is known one that fills (supplies) powder into a powder container via a nozzle inserted into the inside of the powder container (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] Conventional powder filling devices have a problem in that powder remains in the nozzle when filling of the powder container with powder is completed. If powder remains in the nozzle when filling is completed in this way, problems such as the remaining powder being wasted, the remaining powder falling (dripping) into the powder container, changing the content of the powder container, and the powder container and the area around the powder filling device becoming dirty with powder can occur.

[0004] This invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a powder filling device that is less likely to cause the problem of powder remaining in the nozzle when filling of powder into the powder container is finished. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The powder filling device of this invention is a powder filling device that fills powder inside a powder container, and is equipped with a nozzle that is inserted into the powder container and allows powder to flow into the powder container, and a nozzle cleaning device that, after filling of powder into the powder container has been completed, sucks up and removes powder remaining inside the nozzle while the nozzle remains inserted in the powder container. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a powder filling device which is less susceptible to the problem of powder remaining in the nozzle when filling of the powder container with powder is completed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a powder filling device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a nozzle cleaning device is operating in the powder filling device of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the duplicated description will be appropriately simplified or omitted.

[0009] First, the overall configuration and operation of a powder filling device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The powder filling device 1 is a device for filling (supplying) toner T as powder into a toner container 50 as a powder container.

[0010] More specifically, in order to manufacture a toner container 50 (powder container) that is replaceably installed in a copier, printer, facsimile, etc., a manufacturing factory or a recycling factory performs an operation of filling an empty toner container 50 with toner T (powder). As shown in Fig. 1, an empty toner container 50 (either a new one or a recycled one) is set in a powder filling device 1. Then, the powder filling device 1 fills (supplies) the toner T into the inside of the toner container 50. In this embodiment, the toner container 50 installed in the powder filling device 1 is a cylindrical toner bottle having an opening (toner supply port) formed at the top.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the powder filling device 1 in this embodiment is made up of a weighing scale 30 which functions as a base and a detection means, a storage tank 10, a filling unit 3, a nozzle 6, a nozzle cleaning device 7, and the like.

[0012] The weighing scale 30 also functions as a base on which a toner container 50 serving as a powder container is set. The weighing scale 30 also functions as a detection means for detecting whether or not the refilling of the toner container 50 (powder container) with the toner T (powder) has been completed. Specifically, the weighing scale 30 to which the toner container 50 is set measures the weight of the toner container 50 when the toner container 50 is filled with the toner T, thereby detecting the amount of the toner T filled. Then, when the amount of the toner T filled reaches a desired value, the toner filling by the filling unit 3, which will be described later, is stopped automatically or manually.

[0013] The storage tank 10 stores new toner T to be supplied to a toner container 50 set in a weighing scale 30 . More specifically, the storage tank 10 is provided with an outflow pipe 12 for outflowing (sucking) the toner T stored therein. The outflow pipe 12 is connected to the filling unit 3 via a supply path 4 (filling pipe). The filling unit 3 is also connected to an inflow path 6a (inlet) of a nozzle 6 inserted inside the toner container 50. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, when the filling unit 3 is operated, the toner T stored in the storage tank 10 is supplied into the inside of the toner container 50 via the supply path 4 and the nozzle 6 (the flow of the toner T is indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1). That is, when the toner container 50 (powder container) of the storage tank 10 is filled with the toner T (powder), the toner T stored therein flows out toward the inflow path 6a (inlet) of the nozzle 6.

[0014] The storage tank 10 is configured to store the toner T discharged from the suction device 20 via the nozzle cleaning device 7 described below, which will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 2 and other figures. Moreover, as the filling unit 3 that operates in this manner, for example, a powder pump or the like can be used. In addition, while the toner container 50 is being filled with the toner T as described above, the nozzle cleaning device 7, which will be described later, is not in operation.

[0015] Here, the nozzle 6 is configured to be inserted into the inside of a toner container 50 (powder container) set in the weighing meter 30 so that the toner (powder) can flow into the inside of the toner container 50. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the nozzle 6 is provided with an inflow path 6a (inlet), a filling path 6b, a branch path 6c, and the like. The inflow path 6a is a portion into which the toner T discharged from the storage tank 10 flows, and is formed to extend in a substantially horizontal direction. The filling path 6b is connected to the inflow path 6a, and is formed to extend from the communication portion in a substantially vertical downward direction (where the toner container 50 is set in the weighing scale 30). The branch path 6c is connected to the inflow path 6a (and the filling path 6b), and is formed to extend from the communication portion in a substantially vertical upward direction (where the valve unit 8 described below is installed). Specifically, the filling path 6b and the branch path 6c are integrally formed in a straight line, and the inflow path 6a is connected to the side surface of the filling path 6b.

[0016] Referring to Figure 2 etc., the nozzle cleaning device 7 is a device for sucking and removing the toner T remaining inside the nozzle 6 while the nozzle 6 is inserted into the toner container 50 after filling of the toner T (powder) into the toner container 50 (powder container) has been completed. The nozzle cleaning device 7 is composed of a valve unit 8, an opening / closing device 9, a suction device 20, and the like.

[0017] The valve unit 8 is connected to a filling path 6b that branches off from the inflow path 6a (inlet) through which toner T (powder) flows in the nozzle 6 to a toner container 50 (powder container), and to a branch path 6c that branches off from the inflow path 6a (inlet). That is, the valve unit 8 is disposed vertically above the toner container 50 placed on the weighing scale 30, via the filling path 6b and the branch path 6c of the nozzle 6.

[0018] With reference to FIG. 3 etc., the valve unit 8 is composed of a metal tube 8a, a valve 8b and the like. The metal pipe 8a is a hollow structure, and has a flow path 8c (valve flow path) formed therein. The flow path 8c of the valve unit 8 is connected at the upstream side to the branch path 6c of the nozzle 6, and at the downstream side to the suction path 15 (see FIG. 2). In addition, the metal pipe 8a has an air inlet / outlet 8a1 formed on its side, and is connected to the opening / closing device 9 (see FIG. 2) via the air inlet / outlet 8a1. The valve 8b is a tubular elastic member (made of, for example, silicone rubber) that opens and closes the flow path 8c formed inside the valve unit 8 (metal tube 8a) by elastic deformation. The valve 8b is installed inside the metal tube 8a (hollow portion) so as to isolate the flow path 8c from a space to which air is supplied and sucked by the opening / closing device 9.

[0019] The opening and closing device 9 opens and closes the valve 8b of the valve unit 8. In detail, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the opening and closing device 9 is mainly composed of an air supply section 9a and an air suction section 9b.

[0020] When the toner container 50 (powder container) is being filled with toner T (powder), the opening / closing device 9 elastically deforms the valve 8b so as to close the flow path 8c by supplying air into the inside of the valve unit 8, as shown in Figures 1 and 3(A). Specifically, compressed air is supplied from the air supply unit 9a to a space inside the metal tube 8a that is isolated from the flow path 8c by the valve 8b (positive pressure is generated in the space). This causes the valve 8b to be deformed (to reduce its inner diameter) as if it is being crushed, and closes the flow path 8c. When the valve 8b is closed in this manner (the state shown in Figs. 1 and 3(A) during toner filling), the toner does not flow in the branched path 6c of the nozzle 6, and the toner T that has flowed in from the inflow path 6a flows through the filling path 6b.

[0021] In response to this, after filling of the toner T (powder) into the toner container 50 (powder container) is completed, the opening / closing device 9 elastically deforms the valve 8b to open the flow path 8c by sucking air from inside the valve unit 8, as shown in Figures 2 and 3(B). Specifically, air is sucked by the air suction unit 9b from the space inside the metal tube 8a that is isolated from the flow path 8c by the valve 8b (a negative pressure is generated in the space). This causes the valve 8b to deform so as to widen (to increase the inner diameter) and open the flow path 8c. When the valve 8b is in this open state (the state shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3(B) after the toner filling is completed), no toner flows in from the inflow path 6a, and the toner T remaining in the filling path 6b (and the inflow path 6a) is sucked into the suction device 20 via the branch path 6c, the flow path 8c, and the suction path 15.

[0022] The suction device 20 is a device for sucking the toner T (powder) remaining inside the nozzle 6 (mainly the filling path 6b) through the valve unit 8 with the valve 8b opened by the opening / closing device 9 (air suction section 9b). In detail, when the weight meter 30 (detection means) detects that the filling of the toner container 50 (powder container) with toner T has been completed, the filling of the toner container 50 with toner T is stopped, the opening / closing device 9 opens the valve 8b (changing from a closed state to an open state), and the suction device 20 sucks up the toner T (and air) (the suction device 20 is operated).

[0023] In detail, referring to FIG. 4, the suction device 20 is provided with a check valve 22 connected to a suction path 15 (see FIG. 2) through which the toner T sucked through the valve unit 8 flows, and an ejector 21 connected downstream of the check valve 22. The suction path 15 is connected at one end (upstream side) to the flow path 8c of the valve unit 8, and at the other end (downstream side) to the check valve 22. The check valve 22 is for preventing the toner T from flowing back in the suction path 15 . The ejector 21 has an ejector flow path 21b formed therein, one end (upstream side) of which is connected to the check valve 22, and the other end (downstream side) of which is connected to the inlet pipe 11. The ejector flow path 21b is formed so that air sucked from the air suction pipe 21a can flow in. Then, using the force of the air (high-pressure fluid) sucked from the air suction pipe 21a, low-pressure fluid (air removed together with the toner T from the nozzle 6) is sucked in, and the air is discharged together with the toner T at medium pressure via the inlet pipe 11 into the storage tank 10. Then, the toner T discharged from the suction device 20 is stored in the storage tank 10 and is reused when filling the toner container 50 with toner.

[0024] In this way, after filling of the toner container 50 with toner is completed, the flow path 8c of the valve unit 8 is opened and the suction device 20 is operated, causing the remaining toner T in the nozzle 6 to flow in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2. At this time, it is preferable to set the nozzle 6 so that the tip of the nozzle 6 is not buried in the filled toner T in the toner container 50 so that the toner T filled in the toner container 50 is not sucked. After the removal of the residual toner T from the nozzle 6 is completed, the flow path 8c of the valve unit 8 is closed again, and the operation of the suction device 20 is stopped.

[0025] In this way, since the powder filling device 1 in this embodiment is equipped with the nozzle cleaning device 7, the toner T remaining in the nozzle 6 can be removed (cleaned) by the nozzle cleaning device 7 when toner filling into the toner container 50 is completed. Therefore, when toner filling is completed, problems such as the remaining toner T being wasted in the nozzle 6 (problem causing toner consumption in the storage tank 10 to increase), the remaining toner T falling (dripping) into the toner container 50, causing a change in the content volume of the toner container 50, and the toner container 50 and the surrounding area of ​​the powder filling device 1 becoming soiled with toner T are less likely to occur. In particular, in this embodiment, the toner T sucked by the nozzle cleaning device 7 is returned to the storage tank 10 and reused as new toner for refilling the next time toner is refilled, thereby improving the toner consumption efficiency in the storage tank 10. Furthermore, since the nozzle cleaning device 7 (the valve unit 8, the suction device 20, etc.) has a relatively simple configuration, the powder filling device 1 does not become large in size or expensive.

[0026] As described above, the powder filling device 1 in this embodiment fills the inside of the toner container 50 (powder container) with toner T (powder), and is provided with a nozzle 6 that is inserted into the toner container 50 and allows the toner T to flow into the inside of the toner container 50. Also, a nozzle cleaning device 7 is provided that, after filling of the toner container 50 with the toner T is completed, sucks up and removes the toner T remaining inside the nozzle 6 while the nozzle 6 remains inserted in the toner container 50. This makes it possible to prevent the toner T from remaining in the nozzle 6 when the filling of the toner container 50 with the toner T is completed.

[0027] In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a powder filling device 1 that fills toner into a toner container 50 serving as a powder container that contains toner (one-component developer) as a powder. However, the powder filling device to which the present invention is applied is not limited thereto, and the present invention can be applied to all powder filling devices that fill powder containers that contain powder, such as a powder filling device that fills a powder container that contains a two-component developer (a developer consisting of toner and carrier) as a powder, a powder filling device that fills a powder container that contains edible powder such as wheat flour or potato starch, or a powder filling device that fills a powder container that contains daily powder such as powdered soap or cosmetic powder. Even in such a case, substantially the same effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained.

[0028] It is clear that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and that the present embodiment may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention in addition to the modifications suggested in the present embodiment. Furthermore, the number, position, shape, etc. of the above-mentioned components are not limited to the present embodiment, and may be any number, position, shape, etc. suitable for implementing the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1 Powder filling device (toner filling device), 2 suction device, 3 filling units, 4 Supply channels, 6 Nozzle (tubular member), 6a Inlet path (inlet) 6b filling path, 6c Branching pathway, 7 Nozzle cleaning device, 8 valve units, 8a metal tube, 8a1 Air inlet / outlet (air inlet / outlet pipe), 8b Valve (elastic member), 8c flow path (valve flow path), 9 Opening and closing device (air supply and suction device), 9a air supply section, 9b Air suction part, 10 storage tanks, 11 inflow pipe; 12 outflow pipe, 15 Suction pathway, 15 Suction pathway, 20 suction device, 21 Ejector, 21a air suction pipe, 21b ejector flow path, 22 check valve, 30 Weight scale (detection means), 50 Toner container (powder container), T Toner (powder).

[0030] The present invention can also be embodied in the following combinations of Supplementary Notes 1 to 6. (Appendix 1) A powder filling device for filling a powder container with powder, comprising: a nozzle that is inserted into the powder container and allows powder to flow into the powder container; a nozzle cleaning device that, after the powder container is filled with powder, sucks and removes powder remaining inside the nozzle while the nozzle is inserted in the powder container; A powder filling device comprising: (Appendix 2) The nozzle cleaning device is a valve unit connected to a branch path that branches off from an inflow path through which powder flows in the nozzle to a filling path leading to the powder container, the branch path being branched off at a position of the inflow path; an opening / closing device for opening and closing a valve of the valve unit; a suction device that sucks powder remaining inside the nozzle through the valve unit in a state in which the valve is opened by the opening / closing device; 2. A powder filling device according to claim 1, comprising: (Appendix 3) The suction device comprises: a check valve connected to a suction path through which the powder sucked through the valve unit flows; an ejector connected to the downstream side of the check valve; 3. A powder filling device according to claim 2, comprising: (Appendix 4) A storage tank is provided in which the powder discharged from the suction device is stored, The powder filling device described in Appendix 2 or Appendix 3, characterized in that when the powder container is filled with powder, the powder stored inside the storage tank flows out toward the inlet path of the nozzle. (Appendix 5) The valve is an elastic member that opens and closes a flow path formed inside the valve unit by elastically deforming, The opening and closing device includes: When the powder container is filled with powder, air is supplied into the valve unit to elastically deform the valve so as to close the flow path, 5. A powder filling device as described in any one of Appendix 2 to Appendix 4, characterized in that after filling of the powder container with powder is completed, the valve is elastically deformed to open the flow path by sucking air from inside the valve unit. (Appendix 6) a detection means for detecting whether or not the filling of the powder container with the powder has been completed; A powder filling device as described in any one of Supplementary Note 2 to Supplementary Note 5, characterized in that when the detection means detects that the filling of powder into the powder container has been completed from a state in which powder is being filled into the powder container, the filling of powder into the powder container is terminated, the valve is opened by the opening / closing device, and the powder is sucked in by the suction device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0031] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-41501 A

Claims

1. A powder filling device for filling a powder container with powder, comprising: a nozzle that is inserted into the powder container and allows powder to flow into the powder container; a nozzle cleaning device that, after the powder container is filled with powder, sucks and removes powder remaining inside the nozzle while the nozzle is inserted in the powder container; A powder filling device comprising:

2. The nozzle cleaning device is a valve unit connected to a branch path that branches off from an inflow path through which powder flows in the nozzle to a filling path leading to the powder container, the branch path being branched off at a position of the inflow path; an opening / closing device for opening and closing a valve of the valve unit; a suction device that sucks powder remaining inside the nozzle through the valve unit in a state in which the valve is opened by the opening / closing device; 2. The powder filling device according to claim 1, further comprising:

3. The suction device comprises: a check valve connected to a suction path through which the powder sucked through the valve unit flows; an ejector connected to the downstream side of the check valve; 3. The powder filling device according to claim 2, further comprising:

4. A storage tank is provided in which the powder discharged from the suction device is stored, 4. The powder filling device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when the powder container is filled with powder, the powder stored in the storage tank flows out toward the inflow path of the nozzle.

5. The valve is an elastic member that opens and closes a flow path formed inside the valve unit by elastically deforming, The opening and closing device includes: When the powder container is filled with powder, air is supplied into the valve unit to elastically deform the valve so as to close the flow path, 4. The powder filling device according to claim 2, wherein after the powder container has been filled with powder, the valve is elastically deformed to open the flow path by sucking air from inside the valve unit.

6. a detection means for detecting whether or not the filling of the powder container with the powder has been completed; A powder filling device as described in claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that when the detection means detects that the filling of powder into the powder container has been completed from a state in which powder is being filled into the powder container, the filling of powder into the powder container is terminated, the valve is opened by the opening / closing device, and the powder is sucked up by the suction device.

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