Toner producing apparatus and toner producing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9573136-B2
Application number	US-201314018922-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 5, 2013
Priority date	Sep 7, 2012
Publication date	Feb 21, 2017
Grant date	Feb 21, 2017

Abstract

A toner producing apparatus including: a foreign matter separating unit including a foreign matter separating chamber for separating metallic foreign matters contained in raw powder material of toner from the raw powder material of toner by using gravity, a feeding pipe connected to the foreign matter separating chamber so as to feed the raw powder material of toner into the foreign matter separating chamber, and an exhausting pipe connected to the foreign matter separating chamber so as to exhaust the raw powder material of toner from the foreign matter separating chamber; and a pulverizing unit including a rotor, the pulverizing unit being connected to the exhausting pipe of the foreign matter separating unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A toner producing apparatus, comprising:
a foreign matter separating unit including:
a foreign matter separating chamber for separating metallic foreign matter contained in raw powder material of toner from the raw powder material of toner,
a feeding pipe connected to the foreign matter separating chamber so as to feed the raw powder material of toner into the foreign matter separating chamber, and
an exhausting pipe connected to the foreign matter separating chamber so as to exhaust the raw powder material of toner from the foreign matter separating chamber, wherein
one end of the feeding pipe connects to the foreign matter separating chamber at a first connected portion between the feeding pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber, and
a center of the one end of the feeding pipe is disposed at a gravitationally lower position than a center of an opposite end of the feeding pipe; and

a pulverizing unit including a rotor, the pulverizing unit being connected to the exhausting pipe of the foreign matter separating unit.

2. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the foreign matter separating chamber, one end of the exhausting pipe connects to the foreign matter separating chamber at a second connected portion between the exhausting pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber, and
the second connected portion is disposed at a gravitationally higher position than the first connected portion between the feeding pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber.

3. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
an angle formed between a perpendicular direction to a gravitational direction and a pipe center line that connects the center of the one end of the feeding pipe and the center of the opposite end of the feeding pipe is more than 0°, and 50° or less.

4. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the feeding pipe includes a blocking portion disposed on an inner surface of the feeding pipe on an opposite side to a gravitational direction, and
the blocking portion partially reduces an area of a cross section of the feeding pipe in a perpendicular direction to a conveyance direction of conveying the raw powder material of toner via the feeding pipe.

5. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the blocking portion reduces the area of the cross section of the feeding pipe in the perpendicular direction to the conveyance direction of the raw powder material of toner by 20% to 30%.

6. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the blocking portion sequentially blocks the inner surface of the feeding pipe toward the gravitational direction from the opposite direction to the gravitational direction of the inner surface of the feeding pipe.

7. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the exhausting pipe is connected to a surface of the foreign matter separating chamber on an opposite side to a gravitational direction.

8. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
one end of the exhausting pipe connects to the foreign matter separating chamber at a second connected portion between the exhausting pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber, and
the foreign matter separating chamber includes a projection projecting inward of the foreign matter separating chamber at the second connected portion.

9. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pulverizing unit includes a rotor, and a stator disposed outward of an outer peripheral surface of the rotor with a gap between the stator and the rotor.

10. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the foreign matter separating chamber, one end of the exhausting pipe connects to the foreign matter separating chamber at a second connected portion between the exhausting pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber,
the second connected portion is disposed at a gravitationally higher position than the first connected portion between the feeding pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber, and
a distance (L) between the second connected portion between the exhausting pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber, and the first connected portion between the feeding pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber satisfies the following Formula (1):
m×g×L h >(½)× m×v 2   Formula (1)

where in the above Formula (1), L h denotes a component (m) in the gravitational direction of the distance (L), m denotes mass (g) of the metallic foreign matter, g denotes acceleration of gravity (m/s 2 ), and v denotes speed of the metallic foreign matter (m/s) at the connected portion between the feeding pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber.

11. A toner producing apparatus, comprising:
a foreign matter separating unit including:
a foreign matter separating chamber for separating metallic foreign matter contained in raw powder material of toner from the raw powder material of toner,
a feeding pipe connected to the foreign matter separating chamber so as to feed the raw powder material of toner into the foreign matter separating chamber, and
an exhausting pipe connected to the foreign matter separating chamber so as to exhaust the raw powder material of toner from the foreign matter separating chamber, wherein
one end of the feeding pipe connects to the foreign matter separating chamber at a first connected portion between the feeding pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber,
one end of the exhausting pipe connects to the foreign matter separating chamber at a second connected portion between the exhausting pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber, and
the second connected portion is disposed at a gravitationally higher position than the first connected portion between the feeding pipe and the foreign matter separating chamber; and

a pulverizing unit including a rotor, the pulverizing unit being connected to the exhausting pipe of the foreign matter separating unit.

12. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
an angle formed between a perpendicular direction to a gravitational direction and a pipe center line that connects the center of the one end of the feeding pipe and the center of the opposite end of the feeding pipe is more than 0°, and 50° or less.

13. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
the feeding pipe includes a blocking portion disposed on an inner surface of the feeding pipe on an opposite side to a gravitational direction, and
the blocking portion partially reduces an area of a cross section of the feeding pipe in a perpendicular direction to a conveyance direction of conveying the raw powder material of toner via the feeding pipe.

14. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein
the blocking portion reduces the area of the cross section of the feeding pipe in the perpendicular direction to the conveyance direction of the raw powder material of toner by 20% to 30%.

15. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein
the blocking portion sequentially blocks the inner surface of the feeding pipe toward the gravitational direction from the opposite direction to the gravitational direction of the inner surface of the feeding pipe.

16. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the exhausting pipe is connected to a surface of the foreign matter separating chamber on an opposite side to a gravitational direction.

17. The toner producing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
the

Assignees

• Noge Koji
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Noge Koji

Classifications

• G03G9/0819

  characterised by the dimensions of the particles · CPC title

• B02C13/00

  Disintegrating by mills having rotary beater elements {; Hammer mills} · CPC title

• B07B7/04

  by impingement against baffle separators · CPC title

• G03G9/081

  by mixing the toner components in a liquefied state; melt kneading; reactive mixing · CPC title

• G03G9/0815

  Post-treatment · CPC title