JP2594730Y2 - Toner supply device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a toner supply device for supplying a toner contained in a cartridge to a developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an image forming apparatus for visualizing an electrostatic latent image, an electrophotographic copying apparatus, an electrostatic recording apparatus and the like are known. These devices supply a powder developer (toner) to an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive member or a non-charged member by a predetermined process to obtain a visible image. This visible image is transferred to another transfer material and used as a copy or data. When the visualization (development) of the electrostatic latent image is repeated, the toner in the developing device is consumed, so that it is necessary to replenish the toner in a timely manner. There is a developing device for replenishing the toner, which is provided with a hopper-shaped storage unit for storing replenishing toner.

However, the amount of toner stored in the storage section is limited, and if the developing device is used for a long time,
The toner in the storage section is also used up. In such a case,
Many conventional devices employ a method of replenishing toner newly stored in a separate container before the toner in the storage unit is exhausted. However, when the toner is transferred from another container to the storage unit, the toner is liable to be scattered, contaminating peripheral devices and workers, causing a mechanical failure or soiling a completed copy.

As a means generally used at present to solve the scattering of the toner, toner is stored in a fixed container having a structure detachable from a developing device main body, and the toner in the container is exhausted. There is a type that replaces the whole container. Such a container that can be attached to and detached from the main body is called a cartridge. This cartridge system is much more effective in preventing toner scattering during replenishment than the type that only transfers toner as described above,
There is an advantage that toner or developer can be easily supplied.

[0005]

However, even when the cartridge is used, when the cartridge is removed from the developing device after the replenishment toner in the cartridge has been transferred even when the cartridge is used,
The toner remaining on the inner wall of the cartridge may scatter from the opening connecting the developing device and the cartridge, or the operator's hand may be stained. That is, the conventional problems have not been completely solved.

In order to solve this problem, means for providing a shielding member for closing the opening, for example, a shutter may be considered. However, even by this means, the toner in the cartridge has not been completely transferred and the toner still remains in the cartridge. When the operator removes the cartridge with the toner remaining, the surface of the shutter becomes dirty due to the toner remaining in the opening, and this is not a complete solution. Further, in order to solve this problem, the shutter provided in the opening may be doubled, or a lock mechanism or the like may be provided which makes it impossible to remove the cartridge until the toner is completely transferred. However, although these means can solve the above problems, the structure becomes complicated and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a toner supply device which has a simple configuration and can prevent toner contamination at the time of toner supply.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a cartridge having a built-in toner, and a cartridge for detachably mounting the cartridge, and for developing by receiving a supply of toner from the cartridge. A toner supply device provided with a developing device, wherein the cartridge is connected to the developing device by an opening and closing mechanism that swings around an end on one side of the supply port for opening and closing a toner supply port of the cartridge. A door is provided, and the opening / closing door has a flat plate shutter portion as a flat plate portion capable of closing the supply port, and an extension extending from a leading edge of the flat plate shutter portion in a swing direction for closing the supply port. A wall was provided, and a toner supply window was formed in the extended wall.

[0009]

When the toner is supplied from the cartridge to the developing device, the cartridge is connected to the developing device, the opening / closing door is opened, and the toner is supplied from a toner supply window formed in the extension wall . When the empty cartridge is to be removed from the developing device, the door is first closed. Then, the rising wall of the extension wall prevents the toner remaining in the cartridge from leaking to the outside.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an overall image of an image forming process of an electrophotographic apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrophotographic apparatus includes an automatic paper feeder 22 and a manual paper feeder 21, and paper is fed to the image forming unit 15 by one of the paper feeders 21 and 22. Sent out to. Paper feeders 21 and 22
Are fed by guides 10a, 10b and 10c arranged downstream of the respective sheet feeding devices 21 and 22, and the pair of registration rollers 6a and 6b are fed by sheet detecting means 30 provided upstream thereof. After the passage is detected, the rotation is started after a lapse of a predetermined time according to the signal. After the sheet is corrected for skew at the rotational contact position of the pair of registration rollers 6a and 6b, the sheet is sent downstream while being sandwiched between the pair of registration rollers 6a and 6b with the rotation of the pair of registration rollers 6a and 6b.

Behind the pair of registration rollers 6a and 6b, guides 7a and 7b for forming a sheet path facing each other, and a photoconductor 9 and a pre-transfer roller 8 are arranged to face each other. The pre-transfer roller 8 guides the sheet in the image forming unit 15 so that the sheet comes into close contact with the photoconductor 9. At the upper left of the photoconductor 9, a cartridge 40 and a developing device 50 according to the gist of the present invention are provided. After the sheet is sent out by the pair of registration rollers 6a and 6b, the guides 7a and 7b and the pre-transfer roller 8 are used.
The paper is fed to the image forming unit 15 while being guided. The image forming unit 15 includes an exposure device 24 that performs exposure to form an image on the photosensitive member 9 formed in a drum shape, a developing device 23 that develops an electrostatic latent image formed by exposure, and A transfer unit 16 for transferring the latent image onto the sheet, and a static eliminator 17 for gradually discharging the sheet to separate the sheet from the photoreceptor 9 after the transfer
The image is formed on the sheet by the image forming unit 15 and is conveyed to the succeeding fixing device 25 while being guided on the conveyance guide unit 1b. The image on the paper is fixed by the fixing device 25.
After the image is fixed in the sheet discharging section, the sheet is sent upward along the sheet path of the sheet ejection section 27 and sent out onto the sheet ejection tray 28 by the sheet ejection roller pair 26.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, when the cartridge is attached to and detached from the developing device, the upper housing of the main body of the electrophotographic apparatus (printer) is opened, and the cartridge is attached to and detached from the developing device fixed to the upper housing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the cartridge 40 and the developing device 50. Cartridge 40
An intermediate frame 60 which constitutes the opening and closing door of the present invention described below is attached to the lower surface of the device.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cartridge housing 41 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a mounting table 42 having an inverted roof shape is formed on the left side of the lower surface, and the mounting table 42 is a main body of the electrophotographic apparatus. (Not shown). On the right side of the mounting table 42, an engaging portion 43 is formed which engages with a toner receiving window 52 cut out in the developing device 50. The engaging portion 43 has a window 43a for mounting the intermediate frame 60. Is formed. On the front side wall of the cartridge housing 41, a guide hole 41a serving as a guide of a knob 64 for rotating the intermediate frame 60 described below is formed. The cartridge 40 is provided with a first agitator 44 which is a stirring blade for stirring the toner T inside.

[0016] The intermediate frame 60 as a whole have a plate-like rectangle of the to flat portion, extending with an opening 62 of the toner supply window allowed to pass through the toner T to the front longitudinal
Side wall 61 of the walls are formed, falling <br/> rising portion 61a is formed in the side wall 61. The opening 62 is
To have a shutter function by opening and closing of the intermediate frame 60. Also,
Fan-shaped side walls 63a and 63b are formed on the left and right side surfaces of the intermediate frame 60. The base end of the intermediate frame 60 is rotatably attached to one end of the window 43a of the cartridge housing 41. The side wall 61 is formed so as to match the curvature of the curved surface formed by the locus of the side wall 61 when the intermediate frame 60 is rotated.

The housing 51 of the developing device 50 has a box shape as a whole, and is provided with the toner receiving window 52 through which an intermediate frame 60 rotated leftward passes. A cutout 52 a is formed in a side wall of the toner receiving window 52 to serve as a passage for the knob 64. A developing sleeve 53 having a magnetic material inside the housing 51;
A doctor blade 54 that regulates the height of the magnetic brush formed on the cartridge 3, a second agitator 55 that agitates the toner T in the developing device 50, and an intermediate frame 60 of the cartridge that rotates to The space 56 in which the intermediate frame 60 just fits when the intermediate frame 60
Shutter 57 that opens and closes in response to the operation when
And a wall in which a hole 58 is formed which coincides with the opening 62 formed in the intermediate frame 60 when the intermediate frame 60 projects.

Next, the operation when the cartridge 40 is mounted on the developing device 50 will be described with reference to FIGS.
A description will be given based on (A) and (B). As shown in FIG. 3A, the engaging portion 43 of the cartridge 40 is
The cartridge 40 is mounted on the developing device 50 by engaging with the receiving window 52 of FIG. At this time, the cartridge 40 is sealed by the intermediate frame 60.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the knob 64 is operated to rotate the intermediate frame 60 clockwise, and the developing device 5
The shutter 57 is opened at the same time as it projects to the 0 side, and the opening and the hole 6 formed in the intermediate frame 60 and the developing device 50 are formed.
2,58 match. Then, the toner T can be dropped from the cartridge 40 to the developing device 50 as indicated by an arrow in the drawing.

Conversely, when the cartridge 40 is to be removed from the developing device 50, the upper frame of the printer is opened, and the knob 64 is grasped before the cartridge 40 is removed.
0 is turned counterclockwise and returned to the cartridge 40 side (from the state shown in FIG. 4A to the state shown in FIG. 4B). By this rotation, a space (toner dead space) 56 is formed in the developing device 50, and the shutter 57 is closed with the counterclockwise rotation of the intermediate frame 60, and then the cartridge 40 is removed from the developing device 50.

As described above, the cartridge 40 is
Even if removed from zero, the toner T remaining inside the cartridge 40 is prevented from leaking outside due to the rising portion 61 a of the side wall 61. Therefore, the residual toner does not scatter outside.

[0022]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, even when the cartridge is removed from the developing device with the toner remaining in the developing device and the cartridge, the intermediate frame is provided before the cartridge is removed. Is returned into the cartridge, the rise of the side wall prevents the toner from leaking to the outside, so that the toner does not scatter outside. Moreover, the configuration becomes simple and the cost is low.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the cartridge and the developing device of the embodiment are mounted, and toner is dropped from the cartridge to the developing device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a case where an intermediate frame of the cartridge is closed in a state where the cartridge and the developing device of the embodiment are mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 9 photoreceptor 40 cartridge 43 engagement part 43a window (toner supply port) 50 developing device 52 toner receiving window 53 developing sleeve 57 shutter 58 hole 60 intermediate frame (opening / closing door) 61 side wall ( Extended wall ) 61a ... Rising portion of side wall 62 ... Opening ( toner supply window ) 63a, 63b ... side wall T ... Toner

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A toner supply device comprising: a cartridge having a built-in toner; and a developing device to which the cartridge is detachably mounted and which receives and supplies the toner from the cartridge and performs development. A swingable opening / closing door for opening / closing the toner supply port of the cartridge is provided at a coupling portion to the apparatus, and the opening / closing door swings around an end on one side of the supply port.
A flat plate portion which is freely provided and which can close the supply port, and a front end from an end opposite to the end serving as a center of the swing.
An extension wall extending in the swing direction for closing the supply port, and extending from the other end of the flat plate portion, and continuous with the extension wall.
And a toner supply window formed on the extension wall .