DEVELOPER CONTAINER, DEVELOPING APPARATUS, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, APPARATUS MAIN BODY, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS

• US 20160223950A1
• Filed: 01/27/2016
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yamauchi, Kazumi, Kato, Masahito, Shibukawa, Kenta, Abe, Katsuichi, Asanuma, Naoya, Toda, Atsushi, Kishi, Yosuke, Fukushima, Naoki
• Granted Patent: US 9,857,730 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0856 Detection or control means for the developer level
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/086 the level being measured by electro-magnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0889 for agitation or stirring
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/085 Stirring member in developer container
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0888 Arrangements for detecting toner level or concentration in the developing device

Abstract

A developer container includes: a housing chamber 147 which includes an opening 145 and which houses developer; a stirring member 160 which includes a sheet-like stirring portion 160b and a rotary shaft 160a to which the stirring portion 160b is attached; and a first electrode 143 and a second electrode 144 which are used to detect an amount of the developer and which are arranged with an interval therebetween, where in an area X1 between the first electrode 143 and the second electrode 144 in the housing chamber 147 is positioned below the rotary shaft 160a of the stirring member 160, and the sheet-like stirring portion 160b comes into contact with the area X1 due to rotation of the stirring member 160.

Claims

1. A developer container comprising:

a housing chamber which includes an opening and which houses developer;

a stirring member which includes a sheet-like stirring portion and a rotary shaft to which the stirring portion is attached; and

a first electrode and a second electrode which are used to detect an amount of the developer and which are arranged with an interval therebetween, wherein

an area between the first electrode and the second electrode in the housing chamber is positioned below the rotary shaft of the stirring member, and

the sheet-like stirring portion comes into contact with the area due to rotation of the stirring member.

2. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are positioned below the rotary shaft of the stirring member.

3. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the area is an area including a lowermost position in the housing chamber.

4. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode, the second electrode, and the area are arranged in an order of the second electrode, the area, and the first electrode in a rotational direction of the stirring member below a center of the rotary shaft.

5. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are sheet-like conductive members installed along a wall surface of the housing chamber.

6. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein

the housing chamber is divided into a first housing area and a second housing area from a side of the opening toward a distal side,

a first stirring member is rotatably provided in the first housing area,

a second stirring member is rotatably provided in the second housing area,

the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged in the first housing area, and

the developer container further comprises a third electrode and a fourth electrode which are used to detect an amount of the developer and which are arranged with an interval therebetween in the second housing area.

7. The developer container according to claim 6, wherein the second electrode and the third electrode are a single electrode member arranged so as to straddle the first housing area and the second housing area.

8. The developer container according to claim 6, wherein

the first electrode is positioned below a rotary shaft of the first stirring member, and

the fourth electrode is positioned below a rotary shaft of the second stirring member.

9. The developer container according to claim 6, wherein

the first stirring member comes into contact with a first area between the first electrode and the second electrode in the first housing area due to rotation, and

the second stirring member comes into contact with a second area between the third electrode and the fourth electrode in the second housing area due to rotation.

10. The developer container according to claim 6, wherein the first housing area and the second housing area are divided by a convex portion that protrudes upward in a vertical direction on the wall surface forming the housing chamber.

11. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the opening is positioned above the rotary shaft.

12. The developer container according to claim 1, further comprising:

a detecting portion for detecting an amount of the developer; and

a contact portion which is capable of coming into contact with the rotating stirring member and which is capable of coming into contact so as push off developer on the stirring member such that the developer drops at a faster rate than when the developer drops from the stirring member by its own weight.

13. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein

a difference between an initial value that is a value of capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode immediately after start of use of a new image forming apparatus and a value of the capacitance at a predetermined timing is acquired,

a remaining amount of developer in the housing chamber is acquired based on the difference, and

the initial value is a value of the capacitance acquired after the developer in the housing chamber is stirred by the stirring member.

14. The developer container according to claim 13, wherein the initial value is a maximum value of the capacitance in a case where the capacitance increases after a temporary decrease.

15. The developer container according to claim 13, wherein the initial value is an average value of maximum values of the capacitance while the stirring member makes one round immediately after the start of use of the new image forming apparatus.

16. The developer container according to claim 13, wherein the initial value is a value of the capacitance after a developer bearing member that bears developer for developing an electrostatic latent image and the stirring member are driven for a predetermined period of time and is a maximum value of the capacitance while the stirring member makes one round.

17. A developing apparatus comprising:

the developer container according to claim 1; and

a developer bearing member to which developer is supplied via an opening provided on the developer container.

18. A process cartridge that can be detachable from an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus, comprising:

the developer container according to claim 1; and

an image bearing member which bears an electrostatic image to be developed by developer.

19. An image forming apparatus which forms an image on a recording material using developer, wherein

the developer container according to claim 1 is configured to be detachable from an apparatus main body.

20. An apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus to which a cartridge including a housing chamber that houses developer and a plurality of electrodes used to detect an amount of the developer in the housing chamber is mounted and which forms an image on a recording material, wherein

a plurality of types of the cartridges with different numbers of the electrodes are configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body,

the apparatus main body comprises a terminal that electrically connects to the electrodes when the cartridge is mounted to the apparatus main body, and

a number of the provided terminal is equal to or greater than a largest number among the numbers of the electrodes respectively included in the plurality of types of the cartridges.

21. An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material, comprising:

an apparatus main body;

a cartridge which includes a housing chamber that houses developer and electrodes used to detect an amount of the developer in the housing chamber and which is configured to be detachable from an apparatus main body; and

a terminal which electrically connects the electrodes and the apparatus main body to each other when the cartridge is mounted to the apparatus main body, wherein

the apparatus main body is configured such that a plurality of types of the cartridges with different numbers of the electrodes are detachable from the apparatus main body, and

a number of the provided terminal is equal to a largest number among the numbers of the electrodes respectively included in the plurality of types of the cartridges.

22. The image forming apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising:

an applying portion which applies voltage to a first electrode among the plurality of electrodes via the terminal;

a detecting portion which, due to the applying portion applying voltage to the first electrode, detects a voltage value corresponding to capacitance between the first electrode and a second electrode among the plurality of electrodes via the terminal; and

an acquiring portion which acquires an amount of the developer in the housing chamber based on the voltage value detected by the detecting portion.

23. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the acquiring portion acquires an amount of the developer in the housing chamber using a table including a correspondence relationship between the voltage value detected by the detecting portion and an amount of the developer in the housing chamber.

24. The image forming apparatus according to claim 23, further comprising:

a distinguishing portion which distinguishes a type of the cartridge mounted to the apparatus main body; and

a storage member which stores a plurality of the tables corresponding to the plurality of types of cartridges, wherein

the acquiring portion acquires an amount of developer in the housing chamber using the table corresponding to the type of the cartridge distinguished by the distinguishing portion.

25. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, wherein

a plurality of the second electrodes are provided, and

the detecting portion detects a voltage value corresponding to combined capacitance between the first electrode and the plurality of the second electrodes.

26. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, wherein

a plurality of the second electrodes are provided, and

the detecting portion detects voltage values respectively corresponding to respective capacitance between the first electrode and the plurality of the second electrodes.

27. The image forming apparatus according to claim 21, wherein

the cartridge includes a stirring member rotatably provided inside the housing chamber, and

a plurality of the electrodes are provided with intervals therebetween on a bottom surface of the housing chamber.

28. The image forming apparatus according to claim 21, wherein

the cartridge includes a first stirring member rotatably provided in a first housing area in the housing chamber and a second stirring member rotatably provided in a second housing area in the housing chamber, and

a plurality of the electrodes are respectively arranged with intervals therebetween on a first bottom surface in the first housing area and on a second bottom surface in the second housing area of the housing chamber.