31 results about "Toner refill" patented technology

A toner supplying device which is capable of individually supplying toners of different colors. The toner supplying device can include a driving source; a plurality of toner receptacles in which different color toners are contained and respective toner discharging members are provided in order to discharge toners while being driven by power transmitted from the driving source; and a plurality of spring clutches to selectively transmit power from the driving source to the toner discharging members. The toner supplying device according to the present general inventive concept can be advantageously employed in toner-refill type color image forming apparatuses in view of the miniaturization of the apparatus and reduction in the manufacturing costs.

A toner replenishing device having a stable performance without causing variation of the toner suction pressure, even if the toner characteristics vary in a toner vessel in a volume-reducing type toner carrying device. In the toner replenishing device comprising a flexible toner storing vessel, a sucking means for arrying the toner in the toner storing vessel to a prescribed place by a negative pressure, and a substantially airtight toner carrying passage, the toner storing vessel being reduced in volume by sucking the toner, the sucking means is a single-shaft eccentric screw pump, whose operation time is longer than the time for generating a maximum pressure.

A hopper engagement device includes a base member having an orifice releasably engaging with a toner container. The orifice is provides an interference fit with an opening of the container. The engagement device includes a sealing member on the container wherein the sealing member includes an adhesive portion configured to engage an outer surface of a lid. When the lid is opened, the sealing member is peeled off from an opening of the container. A toner refilling kit includes a hopper engagement device having an orifice and a toner hopper container having a removable sealing member having an adhesive portion. The adhesive portion engages an outer surface of a hopper cover when the container engages the hopper engagement device. A toner container includes an opening and a sealing member attached to the opening. A refill kit includes a base member having an orifice and a toner container.

A remanufacturing method of remanufacting a process cartridge includes (a) a step of preparing a used process cartridge which comprises a toner developing container, a cleaning container and pins for coupling the toner developing container and the cleaning container at opposite longitudinal ends of the process cartridge; the toner developing container including a toner accommodating portion, a toner supply opening, a developing roller and a developing blade; the cleaning container including an electrophotographic photosensitive drum; (b) a container separating step of separating the process cartridge into the toner developing container and the developing container by disengaging the pins from the process cartridge; (c) a developing roller dismounting step of dismounting the developing roller from the toner developing container separated by the container separating step; (d) a developing blade dismounting step of dismounting the developing blade from the toner developing container separated by the container separating step; (e) an elastic member mounting step of mounting an elastic member to a longitudinally inside of an end seal provided adjacent each of opposite longitudinal ends of a or the developing roller, at a position laterally outside of the end seal; (f) a developing blade mounting step of mounting a or the developing blade on a or the toner developer container; (g) a developing roller mounting step of mounting a or the developing roller on the toner developer container having the developing blade; (h) a toner refilling step of refilling the toner into a or the toner accommodating portion of the toner developing container having the developing blade and the developing roller; and (i) a container coupling step of coupling the toner developing container having the developing blade and the developing roller with a or the cleaning container by engaging a or the pin into them.

A toner refill device includes first and second adapter units defining first and second refill openings, and first and second closure members movable between closed positions open and closed positions to respectively close and open the refill openings. The second closure member has a passage forming element connecting the refill openings when the second closure member is in the open position. The second adapter unit defines an accommodation space for accommodating the passage forming element when the second closure member is in the closed position. The closure members are adapted to be coupled to one another for a joint movement relative to the adapter units. The closure members are rotatably supported in their respective adapter units so as to be jointly rotatable about a common axis of rotation. The second refill opening and the accommodation space are angularly offset from one another about said common axis of rotation.

A toner cartridge includes a main cartridge body having a housing formed with an opening and also having a rotary shaft supported by the housing for rotation about an axis thereof, a detachable member mounted to the opening and having a toner outlet through which the toner is discharged and a sealing film having a first end so attached to the detachable member as to close the toner outlet and a second end attached to a part of the main cartridge body, the first end of the sealing film being peeled off from the detachable member by the rotation of the rotary shaft.

A supply recycling system for recycling supply goods used in an office-automation equipment includes a toner refilling process including removing waste toner from a toner bottle retrieved from a market, and filling the toner bottle with new toner; and a steelmaking-dust molding process including blending the waste toner removed at the toner refilling process with steelmaking dust, and molding the steelmaking dust blended with the waste toner.

The present invention prevents a toner bottle from being erroneously determined to be empty and allows toner to be reliably refilled into a hopper and thus a developing unit in an image forming apparatus including the developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier, using toner.

A toner refill device includes first and second adapter units defining first and second refill openings, and first and second closure members movable between closed positions open and closed positions to respectively close and open the refill openings. The second closure member has a passage forming element connecting the refill openings when the second closure member is in the open position. The second adapter unit defines an accommodation space for accommodating the passage forming element when the second closure member is in the closed position. The closure members are adapted to be coupled to one another for a joint movement relative to the adapter units. The closure members are rotatably supported in their respective adapter units so as to be jointly rotatable about a common axis of rotation. The second refill opening and the accommodation space are angularly offset from one another about said common axis of rotation.

A developing device develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum. A bottle rotation sensor detects rotation of a toner bottle that stores toner. A bottle motor drives the toner bottle for rotation to thereby discharge toner from the toner bottle. A hopper-internal toner sensor detects presence / absence of toner stored in a hopper that stores toner discharged from the toner bottle. A replenishment unit replenishes toner stored in the hopper to the developing device. Which of failure of the bottle rotation sensor and rotation failure of the toner bottle has occurred is determined based on a detection result of the bottle rotation sensor and a detection result of the hopper-internal toner sensor.

An apparatus and method for obtaining data regarding toner refilled in an image forming apparatus, to achieve the highest printing quality using the refilled toner. The method includes checking whether the image forming apparatus has been refilled with toner; checking whether toner identification information is present, when the image forming apparatus has been refilled with toner; obtaining toner data using the toner identification information from outside the image forming apparatus, when the toner identification information is present; and determining the toner data in the image forming apparatus, when no toner identification information is present. Accordingly, when the image forming apparatus is refilled with better toner than the original, it is possible to improve the quality of printing by setting data regarding the refilled toner in the image forming apparatus.

A key for unlocking locking-type toner hoppers includes at least one projection configured to unlock a locking-type toner hopper. The key is not monolithically formed with a toner container. A kit includes the key and a toner container where the key is not monolithically formed with the toner container. Preferably, the key includes a plurality of projections arranged into two sets of projections, each set being configured to unlock one type of a locking toner hopper.

A developing device develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum. A bottle rotation sensor detects rotation of a toner bottle that stores toner. A bottle motor drives the toner bottle for rotation to thereby discharge toner from the toner bottle. A hopper-internal toner sensor detects presence / absence of toner stored in a hopper that stores toner discharged from the toner bottle. A replenishment unit replenishes toner stored in the hopper to the developing device. Which of failure of the bottle rotation sensor and rotation failure of the toner bottle has occurred is determined based on a detection result of the bottle rotation sensor and a detection result of the hopper-internal toner sensor.

In a new printer, a toner cartridge is mounted in the state where there is no toner in a reserve tank, and toner of the amount of filling toner D therein is supplied with the amount of full accommodation toner E for filling up the reserve tank by a toner supply mechanism. The toner of the amount of remaining surplus toner F remains in the toner cartridge. The amount of toner consumption G is measured by a dot counter during a printing execution. In the case where a toner density sensor detects a toner decreasing, the toner is supplied to a developing unit from the reserve tank. When it becomes G>F, it display-informs a user of "toner cartridge exchange is allowed". Hereby, it enables to exchange the toner cartridge without stopping operation of the main body of the image forming apparatus using a two-component developer.

Provided is an image forming apparatus which includes an image forming job unit in which a toner cartridge is mounted, a toner refill unit, and a controller. The toner refill unit may be connected to refill toner supplies, and to supply refill toner to the mounted toner cartridge from the refill toner supplies. The controller may control the image forming apparatus, based on an operation of the toner refill unit.

A toner detection device includes sensor cases, optical sensors, a cleaning member, a motor, and a control unit. The sensor cases include detection surfaces and are placed on wall surfaces of a hopper container. The optical sensors are housed in the sensor cases and detect presence or absence of toner at a specified elevation through the detection surfaces. The cleaning member slides and rubs on the detection surfaces. The motor moves the cleaning member. In case where the cleaning member is to be stopped, the control unit controls the motor so as to stop the cleaning member in a region in which the cleaning member does not come into contact with the detection surfaces.

A developing device (20) of this disclosure has: a housing (210), a developing roller (21), a developer conveying path (220), a partition board (22), a second communication path (224), a developer receiving port (25), a first conveying member (23), a second conveying member (24), and a conveyance capability inhibition part (26). A toner is cyclically conveyed in a first conveying path (221) and a second conveying path (222). A first stirring screw is disposed in the first conveying path and driven into ration around a first rotation axis for toner conveyance. Formed downstream of the first stirring screw by the conveyance capability inhibition part is a toner accumulation part (27), and the amount of toner refilled from a toner refill port is adjusted. Where an aperture area of the first communication path is A1 and a circular area formed by an outer circumferential edge of the first stirring screw in section orthogonal to the first rotation axis is A2, relationship 0.5×A2<A1<1.2×A2 is satisfied.

A toner replenishing device includes a toner container that stores toner, a toner replenishing device that supplies toner from the toner container to a developing device, and a toner condition detector that detects an aggregated condition of the toner stored in the toner container. A toner softening device is provided to soften toner stored in the toner container. A controller is also provided to drive the toner softening device for a prescribed time period in accordance with a detection result obtained by the toner condition detector.

A rechargeable toner cartridge assembly includes a toner cartridge, a toner refilling bottle and a filter device. The toner cartridge includes a toner refilling hole and a connection portion, both of which are disposed on one end of the toner cartridge and penetrate through a housing of the toner cartridge. The toner refilling bottle contains toner, which is refilled into the toner cartridge through the toner refilling hole. The filter device connected to the connection portion filters the toner off a mixed gas overflowing from the toner cartridge to discharge clean air, wherein the toner cartridge and the filter device are two independent devices. The filter device and a rechargeable toner cartridge without a built-in inner air filter element are also provided.