JP2004110049A - Toner bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner bottle by which restriction of usable toner can be eliminated and further decrease of replenishing amount of the toner can also be prevented. <P>SOLUTION: When a cap 5 is at a stopper opening position, the toner at an opening 3 of the toner bottle 1 is loosened by a loosening member 20 provided at the cap 5 so that the toner moves into the opening 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a toner bottle containing toner to be supplied to a developing device of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile.

A copier, a facsimile machine, and the like, which form an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductive photoreceptor and transfer an image formed of the obtained toner to transfer paper by a colored particle that charges the latent image. Printers and the like are widely used. In the image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic method, when the toner is consumed from the developing unit, the toner is supplied to the developing unit and the toner is continuously used. As an example of a mechanism for replenishing toner, JP-A-59-188678 and JP-A-60-146265 disclose storing a toner, opening a front end of one end side, and rotating a toner bottle serving as a discharge port. An apparatus that supplies toner from the discharge port to the developing unit of the image forming apparatus with rotation is disclosed. In this toner replenishing device, a mechanism for installing a toner bottle in the image forming apparatus main body is as follows. That is, at the time of the toner replenishing operation, the container mounting holder horizontally provided in the image forming apparatus main body is swung downward about one end as an axis so as to be in a vertical state. Remove the empty bottle after use at that position, attach a new bottle filled with toner to the holder described above, and then swing the container mounting holder to the horizontal position, which is the operation position, to complete I do. The operation of attaching the new bottle to the container holder in a vertical state will be described. First, with the opening of the new container facing upward, the cap provided at the opening is removed, and the toner as the content is removed. In order to prevent spillage, the mounting part is attached to the mounting holder with the opening facing upwards.However, in this method, the mounting holder is swung between the horizontal position and the vertical position around one of the The length of the holder needs to be shorter than the height of the image forming apparatus. A general image forming apparatus is low in height, and therefore the length of the toner bottle is short, and the filling amount is small. Therefore, the container tends to be frequently replaced. Further, in this toner supply mechanism, there is a design limitation in the internal structure of the image forming apparatus, and it is difficult to reduce the size of the apparatus.

Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a mechanism for exchanging the cylindrical toner container while keeping the container mounting holder horizontal (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-20705). In this mechanism, the toner bottle is placed on a placement holder with a cap on the opening, and the cap is automatically opened using a collet chuck that is linked to the bottle mounting operation. Next, the mechanism and operation of removing the cap from the toner bottle will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the toner bottle 1 has a bottle body 2 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and an opening 3 having a smaller diameter than the cylindrical portion of the bottle body 2 is provided at substantially the center of one end surface. The opening is formed at the tip of a collar 4 projecting outward, and a cap 5 is provided to seal the opening 3. A knob 6 is formed at the center of the cap 5. A guide groove 7 for guiding the stored toner inside to the opening 3 side by the rotation of the toner bottle 1 is formed in a spiral shape in the cylindrical portion of the main body.

The mechanism for removing the cap 5 from the toner bottle 1 includes a chuck 10 as a cap holding unit, and an advancing / retreating unit for advancing and retracting the chuck 10 with respect to the toner bottle 1. In the illustrated example of the mechanism for removing the cap 5, the chuck 10 is supported by a hole 12 of a support wall 11 formed on a part of the bottle holder 8 that supports the toner bottle 1, and is free as shown in FIG. In such a state, the holding portion 13 formed at the tip is urged to expand. FIG. 1B shows a state when the toner bottle 1 is placed at the set position of the bottle holder 8. When the chuck 10 is moved to a position more distant from the toner bottle 1 by the advance / retreat moving means, the large-diameter portion on the outer periphery of the chuck 10 is pressed by the hole 12 on the inner peripheral surface to narrow the holding portion 13. As a result, the knob 6 of the cap 5 is clamped. The chuck 10 moves the cap 5 to a position where the opening 3 can be completely opened as shown in FIG. 1C while holding the knob 6 of the cap 5. This position is the opening position of the cap 5, and the cap 5 is fixedly held at the opening position while the toner bottle 1 is mounted at the regular position.

By providing a mechanism for removing the cap 5 in the toner supply unit of the developing unit in the image forming apparatus, the toner bottle 1 is placed on the bottle holder 8 with the opening 3 kept sealed by the cap 5. be able to. When the toner in the toner bottle 1 is consumed and becomes empty and the toner bottle 1 is taken out from the bottle holder 8, the chuck 10 is moved in the reverse direction by the advance / retreat moving means, and the opening of the empty toner bottle 1 is opened. The cap 5 may be attached to the cap 3. According to this, when the toner bottle 1 is taken out of the bottle holder 8, the opening 3 is sealed with the cap 5, so that the toner attached to the opening falls and the hands and clothes of the bottle changer are removed. Don't get dirty.

The toner bottle 1 configured as described above has various advantages when used in a toner replenishment unit having a mechanism for removing the cap 5. However, due to the mechanism, the opening 3 must be made smaller in diameter than the cylindrical body. No. However, if the diameter of the opening 3 is small, the fluidity of the toner in the vicinity of the opening 3 is deteriorated. Therefore, depending on the physical properties of the toner, as shown in FIG. For this reason, only the toner T having good fluidity can be used, and the type of the toner T that can be used is limited. Therefore, there is a problem that there is an image forming apparatus which cannot mechanically adopt a toner supply unit from which the cap 5 is removed due to the limitation of the toner T. Further, even in a high-temperature environment, even the toner T having no problem at normal temperature adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the opening 3 to reduce the opening area as shown in FIG. There was also a problem that the amount was reduced.

The object of the present invention is to provide a toner bottle that solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, eliminates restrictions on usable toner, and can also prevent a decrease in the amount of replenished toner.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a bottle main body that gives a conveying action to stored toner in one direction by a rotation operation, and a cap that closes a toner supply opening formed in the bottle main body. In a toner bottle in which toner is supplied while the cap is fixedly held at an opening position where the opening is opened and the toner is supplied, the cap extends in a direction to enter the bottle main body from the opening and has elasticity. A member is provided, and the loosening member enters the bottle body through the opening even when the cap is in the open position.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the cap is provided with a loosening member extending in a direction to enter the bottle main body from the opening, and the loosening member is provided when the cap is in the open position. Is also inserted into the bottle body through the opening and is slidably contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the opening.

Still further, in order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the cap is provided with an unraveling member that extends from the opening into the bottle main body and has elasticity. Also at the opening position, the bottle enters the bottle body through the opening and slides on the inner peripheral surface of the opening.

The present invention is effective when the elastic loosening member is formed with a twist in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the bottle body and is slidably contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the opening.

Further, the present invention is effective when the loosening member having elasticity is formed to have a width in the diameter direction of the cap smaller than the radius of the opening, and is slidably contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the opening. .

Still further, according to the present invention, the loosening member having elasticity is formed such that an angle formed between a contact portion with a cap and an inner peripheral surface of the opening is formed at an acute angle, and is slidably contacted with an inner peripheral surface of the opening. Is effective.

Furthermore, it is effective if the thickness of the elastic loosening member is 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the width of the loosening member in the diameter direction of the cap is formed to be smaller than the radius of the opening, and the outer edge thereof is disposed at a position in contact with or close to the inner peripheral surface of the opening. Being effective is effective.

Furthermore, it is effective if a plurality of loosening members are provided and arranged at positions equally dividing the circumference of the cap.
Furthermore, the present invention is effective when an inclined portion is formed closer to the center line of the cap as the loosening member moves toward the distal end toward the distal end, and the distal end is located inside the opening.

According to the configuration of the first aspect, by providing the cap with an elastic loosening member that enters the opening of the toner bottle at the open position, the toner can be reliably prevented from aggregating at the opening and the like. The degree of freedom in the setting direction of the camera also increases.

According to the configuration of the second aspect, since the loosening member is slid, the toner is surely prevented from aggregating in the opening and the like, so that the toner is not stagnant, and the toner attached to the opening and the like is scraped out. However, a sufficient supply can be obtained.

According to the configuration of the third aspect, the loosening member having elasticity at the time of rotation of the bottle is bent and slidably in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the opening or the like, so that toner adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the opening or the like can be prevented. In addition, the contact pressure of the loosening member is small, so that deformation of the cap, breakage of the chuck, and an increase in bottle driving load can be prevented.

According to the configuration of claim 4, the twisting of the loosening member is returned when the bottle rotates, and the sliding member comes into sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface such as the opening, and when the rotation of the toner bottle is stopped, the torsion returns to the original position, so that the inner peripheral surface is rotated. The attached toner can be scraped off.

According to the configuration of claim 5, the width in the diameter direction of the cap in one elastic loosening member is formed to be smaller than the radius of the opening, and the outer edge thereof is slidably in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the opening. Therefore, the toner flow path can be enlarged to prevent toner aggregation at the opening.

According to the configuration of claim 6, since the angle formed between the contact portion between the loosening member and the cap and the inner peripheral surface such as the opening is set to an acute angle, the loosening member is easily twisted when the bottle is rotated, and the rotation is stopped. Sometimes, the twist returns to the original state, so that the toner attached to the inner peripheral surface such as the opening can be scraped off.

According to the structure of claim 7, when the loosening member is made of plastic having a hardness of about polyethylene, if the thickness is set in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, favorable elasticity for toner discharge can be obtained. .

According to the configuration of claim 8, the diametrical width of the cap in one loosening member is formed to be smaller than the radius of the opening, and the outer edge thereof is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the opening. In addition, it is possible to prevent toner aggregation at the opening by enlarging the toner flow path.

According to the configuration of claim 9, since a plurality of loosening members are provided and arranged at positions equally dividing the circumference of the cap, the force applied to the cap is equalized, and the inclination of the held cap is reduced. Thus, the cap closing operation can be reliably performed.

According to the configuration of claim 10, the inclined portion is formed closer to the center line of the cap as the unraveling member moves toward the distal end, and the distal end is located inside the opening. Does not catch on the opening, and the assemblability of the cap is greatly improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the cap is removed by the cap removing mechanism in the toner bottle according to the present invention. The same members as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 4, the cap 5 is provided with two loosening members 20 extending on the surface of the bottle body 1, that is, the surface opposite to the knob 6 of the cap 5, extending in the direction into the bottle body 1. The cap 5 and the loosening member 20 are made by integrally molding a plastic material, for example, polyethylene. The loosening member 20 has a length that penetrates the opening 3 and the collar 4 following the opening 3 even when the cap 5 shown in FIG. 4 is held in a state of being opened by the reciprocating movement means. Further, the loosening member 21 is formed to have elasticity. In this case, the loosening member 20 itself can be formed of plastic having elasticity. However, when the loosening member 20 is made of plastic having some rigidity, its thickness is reduced. Elasticity can be given to the loosening member 20 by appropriately selecting it. Reference numeral 14 in FIG. 4 denotes a plate cam member which is a component of the advancing / retreating means.

In the toner bottle thus configured, the cap 5 fixed and held at the open position by the advance / retreat moving means and the toner bottle 1 are in a relative relationship, and when the toner bottle 1 is rotated in the open state, the position becomes The same effect as when the loosening member 20 is rotated with respect to the fixed toner bottle 1 is obtained, and the toner in the opening 3 and the collar 4 is discharged from the opening 3 loosened by the loosening member 20. By this loosening action, toner blocking at the opening 3 and the collar 4 is reliably prevented, so that toner having poor fluidity and physical properties can be used without any trouble. As a result, usable toner is not limited, so that a toner replenishing unit having a cap removing mechanism can be used in various types of image forming apparatuses. Further, if the loosening member 20 has elasticity, the degree of freedom in the setting direction of the cap 5 increases, and the cap 5 can be set obliquely.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cap 5 showing one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, two elastic loosening members 21 contact the outer edge thereof with the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4. Is provided on the cap 5. The loosening member 21 has an inclined portion 9 that is closer to the center line of the cap 5 toward the distal end on the distal end side, and the distal end 9 a is located inside the opening 3. Further, the loosening member 21 is joined to the cap 5 at the contact portion 5a, and the angle θ formed between the contact portion 5a and the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4 is set to be an acute angle.

When the toner bottle thus configured is rotated after the cap is opened, the toner blocking is prevented, and the loosening member 21 slides on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 3 and the collar 4, and the toner adhered to the inner peripheral surface thereof Scrape off. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the toner from adhering and reducing the opening area of the opening 3 to reduce the toner supply amount. When the outer edge of the loosening member 21 is slid in contact with the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4, if the contact pressure is large, the load at the time of rotation of the toner bottle becomes large and the cap 5 is deformed. There is a possibility that a problem such as breakage of the chuck may occur. However, since the loosening member 21 has elasticity, the contact pressure can be reduced even when the loosening member 21 is brought into sliding contact with the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4, and the above problem does not occur. By the way, when the loosening member 21 is made of polyethylene, if the thickness is set in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, favorable elasticity for toner discharge can be obtained. In particular, the thickness is set to 0.3 mm. Sometimes the most favorable deflection was obtained. If the thickness of the loosening member 21 is set to 0.1 mm or less, it becomes excessively bent, so that it becomes difficult to scrape off the toner, and it becomes difficult to mold the toner itself. When the thickness of the loosening member 21 is larger than 0.5, the bending is small, and it is difficult to set the cap 5 unless the corner of the outer edge is chamfered.

Further, by providing the slack portion 9 on the loosening member 21, the tip 9a of the loosening member 21 does not catch on the opening 3 when the cap 5 is set, and the center line of the opening 3 Even if the center line of 5 is displaced, it is corrected by the inclined portion 9, so that the setting of the cap 5 is greatly improved.

Further, since the angle θ formed between the contact portion 5a between the loosening member 21 and the cap 5 and the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4 is set to an acute angle, the loosening member 21 is easily twisted at the time of rotation of the bottle. By returning the twist at the time of stopping, the toner attached to the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4 can be scraped off. Moreover, the loosening member 21 can maintain the sliding contact width between the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4 even in a twisted state. If the angle θ is a right angle, the unraveling member 21 may be in contact with the opening 3 at the root portion, or may be in sliding contact with the collar 4 at the tip portion, and may not be in sliding contact with the central portion, leaving a space.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C show the front, plan, and side surfaces of a cap 5 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the toner is centered on the rotation axis of the toner bottle 1. A loosening member 22 having a twist in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the bottle 1 is provided. The loosening member 22 may be arranged so as not to contact the opening 3 and the collar 4, but in this example, the loosening member 22 is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface. The loosening member 22 is also formed to have elasticity.

In the toner bottle 1 configured as described above, when the cap 5 is opened and the toner bottle 1 rotates, the loosening member 22 slides on the opening 3 and the collar 4 to reliably prevent toner aggregation. Further, since the twist is formed in the loosening member 22, as shown in FIG. 7, the flow of the toner is scraped out of the toner in the opening 3 and the collar 4 where the flow becomes slightly stagnant, and a sufficient replenishing amount is obtained. . Further, since the loosening member 22 has elasticity, when the toner bottle 1 rotates, the shape changes in a direction in which the twist is eliminated, and the toner is discharged. When the rotation of the toner bottle 1 stops, the twist returns to the original state. With this, the toner on the inner peripheral surface can be scraped off.

Next, different modifications of the loosening member will be sequentially described.
The loosening member 23 shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B is made of one plate material substantially along the diameter of the cap 5, and both side edges of the loosening member 23 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the opening 3 and the collar 4. Does not touch, but has reached a close position.

This loosening member 23 can prevent toner blocking by rotation of the toner bottle 1. The presence or absence of elasticity in the loosening member 23 is arbitrary.
The loosening member 24 shown in FIG. 9 has a shape obtained by cutting out a central portion of the loosening member 24 in FIG. 8, and the width in the diameter direction of the cap 5 of one loosening member 24 is formed smaller than the radius of the opening 3. .

The loosening member 24 prevents toner blocking and allows a larger toner flow path in the opening 3 and the collar 4 than the loosening member 24. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, two loosening members 24 are provided, but the loosening member 24 may be constituted by only one of the upper and lower members shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, when the loosening member 25 is divided into a plurality of parts, the loosening member 25 is arranged at a position where each part equally divides the circumference of the cap 5. Have been.

With this configuration, even when the outer edge of each part of the loosening member 25 is brought into contact with the opening 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 4, the force applied to the cap 5 is equalized, and the rotation of the toner bottle 1 causes the cap 5 to rotate. Tilt can be prevented. Further, even when the cap 5 is assembled, the inclination of the cap 5 is prevented, so that the assemblability is good.

As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cap is fixed and held at the opening position by grasping and pulling the cap with a chuck, but the cap is screwed into the bottle body, and is moved to the opening position by turning the cap and fixed and held. Can be applied.

When the loosening member is brought into sliding contact with the opening and the inner peripheral surface of the collar, a sliding contact member such as a brush is attached to an edge of the loosening member on the inner peripheral surface side, and the loosening member is opened through the sliding contact member. You may make it slidably contact the inner peripheral surface of a part and a collar.

(A), (b), (c) is a schematic explanatory view for explaining a mechanism and operation for removing a cap from a conventional toner bottle. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem of a conventional toner bottle. (A), (b) is sectional explanatory drawing which shows the problem of the conventional toner bottle. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a cap of the toner bottle of the present invention is removed by a cap removing mechanism. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cap according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A), (b), and (c) are a plan view, a front view, and a side view of a cap showing another embodiment of the toner bottle of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of toner when the toner bottle of FIG. 6 is used. (A), (b) is a sectional view and a perspective view of a cap showing still another embodiment of the toner bottle of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a cap showing still another embodiment of the toner bottle of the present invention. (A), (b) is a sectional view and a front view of a cap showing still another embodiment of the toner bottle of the present invention. (A), (b) is the front view and side view which show the cap of further another Example of this invention.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner bottle 2 Bottle main body 3 Opening 5 Cap 20,21,22,23,24,25 Relaxing member

Claims (10)

An opening position, comprising: a bottle body that gives a one-way conveying action to the stored toner by a rotation operation; and a cap that closes an opening for toner supply formed in the bottle body. In the toner bottle where the toner is supplied while being held at a fixed position,
The cap is provided with an unraveling member extending in the direction of entering the bottle main body from the opening and having elasticity. The loosening member is provided with the bottle main body through the opening even when the cap is in the open position. A toner bottle characterized by being penetrated. An opening position, comprising: a bottle body that gives a one-way conveying action to the stored toner by a rotation operation; and a cap that closes an opening for toner supply formed in the bottle body. In the toner bottle in which toner is supplied while being held in
The cap is provided with a loosening member extending in a direction of entering the bottle main body from the opening, and the loosening member enters the bottle main body from the opening through the opening even when the cap is at the open position and opens the bottle. A toner bottle that is slidably contacted with an inner peripheral surface of the portion. An opening position, comprising: a bottle body that gives a one-way conveying action to the stored toner by a rotation operation; and a cap that closes an opening for toner supply formed in the bottle body. In the toner bottle where the toner is supplied while being held at a fixed position,
The cap is provided with an unraveling member extending in the direction of entering the bottle main body from the opening and having elasticity. The loosening member is provided with the bottle main body through the opening even when the cap is in the open position. A toner bottle which enters the toner container and is slidably contacted with an inner peripheral surface of the opening. 4. The toner bottle according to claim 3, wherein the elastic loosening member is formed with a twist in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the bottle body, and is slidably contacted with an inner peripheral surface of the opening. Toner bottle. 4. The toner bottle according to claim 3, wherein the elastic loosening member has a width in a diameter direction of the cap smaller than a radius of the opening, and is slidably contacted with an inner peripheral surface of the opening. A toner bottle characterized by the following. 4. The toner bottle according to claim 3, wherein the elastic loosening member has an acute angle between a contact portion with a cap and an inner peripheral surface of the opening, and slides on an inner peripheral surface of the opening. A toner bottle characterized by being in contact with. 7. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the elastic loosening member has a thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. 3. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein a width of the loosening member in a diameter direction of the cap is formed to be smaller than a radius of the opening, and an outer edge thereof contacts an inner peripheral surface of the opening. Alternatively, the toner bottle is disposed at an adjacent position. 3. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the loosening members are provided, and are arranged at positions equally dividing the circumference of the cap. 4. 3. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein an inclined portion is formed closer to a center line of the cap as the loosening member moves toward the distal end, and the distal end is located inside the opening. 4. And a toner bottle.

Images