JP3178779B2 - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner cartridge for supplying toner to a developing device of an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a toner cartridge has an opening for dropping toner on a lower surface thereof, and a storage case for storing toner therein, and a toner cartridge which is detachably attached to the lower surface of the storage case. A sheet-shaped sealing member that closes the toner dropping opening.

[0003] After the toner cartridge is set by inserting it into the housing recess of the image forming apparatus main body, the seal member is peeled off. As a result, the toner drop opening is opened, and the toner in the storage case is dropped and supplied to the developing device of the image forming apparatus main body disposed below the storage case. When the toner in the developing device is completely consumed, the toner cartridge is removed from the storage recess, and a new toner cartridge is set in the storage recess, thereby replacing the used toner cartridge with a new one. I want to.

However, a small amount of toner including the toner adhered to the seal member remains in the storage case of the used toner cartridge. Therefore, when the used toner cartridge is removed from the storage recess, there is a problem that the remaining toner drops from the toner dropping opening and the dropped toner is scattered inside or outside the image forming apparatus main body. there were.

Therefore, before removing the used toner cartridge, a plate-shaped shutter member is inserted into the housing recess of the image forming apparatus main body along the lower surface of the toner cartridge, and is mounted at a predetermined position of the toner cartridge. Further, there is provided a toner cartridge which is removed in a state where the toner dropping opening is closed by the attached shutter member.

[0006]

However, when not in use, the shutter member is completely separated from the toner cartridge, removed, and stored somewhere.
For this reason, when the shutter member is required when removing the toner cartridge, the shutter member cannot be found or it takes time to find the shutter member. Also,
When attaching the detached shutter member to the toner cartridge, it is necessary to perform an operation of aligning the shutter member with the toner cartridge, which is troublesome. As described above, there is a problem that the replacement of the toner cartridge is troublesome.

Therefore, the toner cartridge body has a double container structure composed of an inner container and an outer container, and a flexible and relatively rigid member is employed as a shutter member. There has been provided one that is accommodated in a space between an inner container and an outer container (see JP-A-4-226173). However, in the case of the double container structure, the structure becomes complicated, and a space for accommodating the shutter member must be secured inside the toner cartridge main body. Problems are expected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a small-sized toner cartridge which can reliably prevent toner from being scattered at the time of replacement, facilitates replacement, and has a simple structure.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge containing a toner therein and having a toner drop opening on a lower surface thereof. A film-shaped sealing member which is peelably attached to the lower surface of the toner cartridge body and closes the toner dropping opening, and which is set in the toner replenishing device so as to be able to be pulled out along a predetermined direction. And a plate-shaped shutter member slidable along the lower surface of the toner cartridge body at a closing position for closing the toner dropping opening below the seal member and an opening position for opening the toner dropping opening. In a state where the shutter member is in the open position, at least a part thereof is along the drawing-side end surface of the toner cartridge main body. As can be retracted to the retracted position, it is connected to the toner cartridge main body, the shutter member
Slides along the bottom of the toner cartridge
First and freely rotatable relative to each other
And a second part, wherein the shutter member is provided by the first part.
The toner drop opening is opened and closed by the
2 only along the bottom of the toner cartridge body.
And only the first part is attached to the toner cartridge body.
Uncoupling and pivoting with respect to the second part
Along the pull-out end of the toner cartridge body
It is characterized by being evacuated to the power .

According to the above configuration, when the toner cartridge is mounted on the toner replenishing device, the shutter member is slid to the open position, and at least a part of the shutter member is retracted along the pull-out side end surface of the toner cartridge body. Evacuate to a posture. On the other hand, when removing the toner cartridge, the retracted shutter member is returned to a position along the lower surface of the toner cartridge body, and then the shutter member is slid to the closing position .

Further, when mounting the toner cartridge into the toner replenishing apparatus, the shutter member is slid to an open position along the bottom surface of the toner cartridge main body, thereby, the first as well as open the opening for toner drop The connection of the portion to the toner cartridge body is released. Next, the first portion is rotated with respect to the second portion connected to the toner cartridge main body, and retracted to a position along the drawing-side end surface. (2) The toner cartridge according to the second aspect is the first aspect.
In the toner cartridge described above, the first and second
Is formed of an integrally molded product made of resin, and the portion connecting the two to be relatively rotatable is formed of a bent line formed thinner than the other portions.

According to the above configuration, since the first and second portions are integrally formed, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where these are formed as separate parts. In addition, the part that connects the two parts so as to be relatively rotatable can be easily manufactured by being formed thinner than the other parts during molding.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal cross section of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus to which a toner supply device including a toner cartridge of the present embodiment is applied, and FIG. 2 shows a copying machine when a toner cartridge is inserted and removed. It is a perspective view of.

Referring to FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 according to the present invention exposes and scans a document placed on a transparent document placing plate 20 in a copying machine main body 10 to expose reflected light from the document. An optical system 30 for guiding the photosensitive drum 41 to an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 41;
3 includes an image forming unit 40 for transferring the image to a sheet after being visualized, and a fixing device 51 for heating and fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet, and is discharged from a sheet feed tray 52 to an output tray 53 through the image forming unit 40. And a paper transport unit 50 that performs the following operations.

The image forming section 40 is such that a charging charger 42, a developing device 43, a transfer charger 44, and a cleaning device 45 are arranged around a photosensitive drum 41 in this order. The image forming unit 40 forms an electrostatic latent image by forming an original image on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 41 uniformly charged by the charging charger 42, and then forms the electrostatic latent image by the developing device 43. The toner image is visualized as a toner image, the toner image is transferred to a sheet by a transfer charger 44, and the residual toner is collected by a cleaning device 45.

The toner supply device 100 includes a developing device 43
And supplies the toner to the developing device 43. The toner supply device 100 includes a toner cartridge 200 containing toner for replenishment, a toner cartridge 200 having a retractable guide tray 310 for guiding the insertion and removal of the toner cartridge 200 while setting the toner cartridge 200 to be able to be pulled out. Supply device body 300
And

The guide tray 310 is, as shown in FIG.
The toner cartridge 200 is guided in a horizontal posture (hereinafter, referred to as a “guidance posture”) which is tilted forward of the copying machine, and is rotated around a predetermined axis 60 to thereby set the set toner. The cartridge 200 can be retracted to a vertical position (hereinafter referred to as a “retreat position”) along the pull-out side end surface 205.

When replacing the toner cartridge 7,
As shown in FIG. 2, the opening / closing cover 12 constituting a part of the front surface 11 of the copier main body 10 is opened, and the guide tray 310 is opened.
The old and new toner cartridges 200 are inserted and removed in a state where is tilted to a horizontal guiding posture. The opening / closing cover 12 has a front surface 11
The interior of the copier main body 10 can be opened and closed by pivoting about a horizontal axis 13 along When the setting of the toner cartridge 200 is completed, the guide tray 310 is raised to a vertical retreat position along the pull-out side end surface 205 of the toner cartridge 200, and then the opening / closing cover 12 is raised to the vertical position and closed.

Even if the guide tray 310 is kept in the horizontal guiding posture shown in FIG. 2, when the cover 12 is closed, the cover 12 comes into contact with the guide tray 310, The guide tray 310 can be raised to a vertical evacuation position. Next, the toner supply device main body 300 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the arrow X direction indicates the toner cartridge 2.
00 is the insertion direction. The toner supply device main body 300
The above-described guide tray 310 and a tension coil spring 31 as an urging means for maintaining a vertical retracting posture or a horizontal guiding posture in accordance with the rotation angle of the guide tray 310.
2, a mounting portion 321 for setting the toner cartridge 200 guided by the guide tray 310 to be inserted and removed at a predetermined set position, and a driven gear 2 described later of the toner cartridge 200 set at the set position.
30 includes a drive gear 332 that meshes with
A gear mechanism 331 supported by the
Motor 333 for rotationally driving the mounting portion 321
The toner cartridge 2 which is provided below and is set
Hopper section 320 for receiving and storing toner falling from 00
And a screw conveyor 340 as a transporting unit for transporting the toner from the hopper unit 320 to the developing device 43.

The guide tray 310 is mounted on the mounting portion 32.
The front end (the end on the side opposite to the X direction) of 1 is toggled so as to be rotatable around the axis 60. This guide tray 3
Reference numeral 10 has a pair of guide grooves 311 along the X direction which is the insertion / removal direction of the toner cartridge 200 in the above-described guide posture. These grooves 311 guide a shutter member 250 of the toner cartridge 200 described later. The guide tray 310 is provided with a shutter member 2 for moving the shutter member 250 to the open position when the toner cartridge 200 is inserted.
50.

The mounting portion 321 has a pair of grooves 322 extending in the X direction, which is the direction in which the toner cartridge 200 is inserted and removed. The groove 322 guides a flange 203 of the toner cartridge 200 described later. Next, the toner cartridge 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. The toner cartridge 200 has a flange 203 forming a lower surface portion,
A container-shaped toner cartridge main body 201 having a toner drop opening 202 formed therein, and a toner drop opening 20 which is detachably attached to the lower surface of the flange 203.
2. A film-shaped sealing member 210 having a closed block 2 and one end of the sealing member 210 are fixed.
Winding shaft 2 that winds up 0 while peeling it off from flange 203
20, the driven gear 230 that rotates integrally with the winding shaft 220, and the sliding member that is slidably fitted to the flange 203, and is slid.
And a shutter member 250 that opens and closes the toner dropping opening 202 below 0. Note that 205 is
This is the end surface on the pull-out side of the toner cartridge 200.

Next, referring to FIG. 3 and FIGS.
The shutter member 250 will be described. Shutter member 2
Reference numeral 50 denotes a closing position for closing the toner drop opening 202 by sliding with respect to the flange 203 (FIG. 3).
(See FIG. 5) and an opening position (see FIG. 5) for opening the toner dropping opening 202. Then, in the open position, a part (first part 251 described later) of the shutter member 250 is rotated with respect to the remaining part (second part 252 described later), and shown in FIG. Thus, the toner cartridge 200 is in the retracted posture along the pull-out side end surface 205.

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, shutter member 250 is slidable along flange 203 and is connected to first portion 251 and rotatably connected to each other. 2 portion 252. The first and second portions 251 and 252 are formed of an integrally molded product made of resin, and a portion connecting the two 251 and 252 so as to be relatively rotatable is a bent line 253 formed thinner than the other portions. Consists of In the present embodiment, the V-groove is formed on the lower surface of the shutter member 250,
The bent line 253 is formed to be thin.

On the pair of opposing edges of the first portion 251, elongated L-shaped plates 254 extending in opposite directions extend from each other. Guide grooves 25 for respectively introducing the corresponding edges
4 are formed. Also, opposite L-shaped projections 256 extend from opposite edges of the second portion 252, and each L-shaped projection 256 guides a corresponding edge of the flange 203. A groove 257 is formed. The L-shaped projections 256 are adapted to engage with the retaining projections 2030 at the pull-out end of the flange 203 in a state where the shutter member 250 is at the open position (see FIG. 5).

When the shutter member 250 is in the open position shown in FIG. 5, only the first portion 251 is disengaged from the toner cartridge body 201 and rotates with respect to the second portion 252. As shown in FIG. 7, the toner cartridge body 201 is retracted to a retracted posture along the pull-out side end surface 205 thereof. Operation Referring to FIG. 8 to FIG.
The operation of mounting 0 on the toner supply device main body 300 will be described. 1) First, as shown in FIG. 8, the guide tray 310 in the standing posture is moved down to the horizontal guiding posture. 2) Next, as shown in FIG. 9, with the shutter member 250 at the closed position of the new toner cartridge 200 introduced into the groove 311 of the guide tray 310 in the horizontal guide posture, the toner cartridge 200 is moved in the X direction. Along the guide tray 310 while sliding it. 3) The entirety of the shutter member 250 is the guide tray 310.
At this point, the guide tray 310 is engaged, and the movement with respect to the guide tray 310 is stopped. 4) When the toner cartridge main body 201 is further pushed in the X direction in a state where the movement of the shutter member 250 is stopped, the flange 203 is introduced into the groove 322 of the mounting portion 321 and guided, and the toner cartridge main body 20 is guided.
1 moves on the mounting portion 321. Then, as shown in FIG.
The shutter member 250 is set at the upper predetermined set position and the shutter member 250 is displaced to the open position. 5) At the set position, the rotation axis 60 of the guide tray 310 and the bending line 253 that is the rotation axis of the shutter member 250 are substantially coaxial, and the collective rotation of both is allowed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the shutter member 250 and the guide tray 310 holding the shutter member 250 are rotated collectively, and are retracted to a standing evacuation posture. In this retracted position, as shown in detail in FIG. 12, the first portion 251 of the upright shutter member 250 comes into contact with the withdrawal side end 2031 of the flange 203 of the toner cartridge main body 201 while the tension coil spring 312 Since the urging force acts to maintain the retracted posture of the guide tray 310 and the shutter member 310, the toner cartridge main body 2
No. 01 is prevented from being pulled out from the set position while being positioned at the set position.

It is assumed that the toner cartridge body 20
If 1 is not completely set at the set position,
Axis 6 of rotation of guide tray 310 and shutter member 250
0, 253 are shifted from each other, so that the guide tray 310
Cannot be rotated. Thereby, the operator can recognize that the toner cartridge 200 is not set correctly at the set position.

According to the present embodiment, the shutter member 250 when not in use is connected to the toner cartridge main body 201, so that when the shutter member 250 becomes necessary, it is not necessary to search for the shutter member 250. In addition, the operation of aligning the shutter member 250 with the toner cartridge body 201 is not required, and the maintenance operation can be easily performed. Furthermore, the shutter member 250 when not in use is used.
Is retracted out of the toner cartridge main body 201 in a retracting position that does not interfere with the toner cartridge main body 201, so that a small-sized toner cartridge having a simpler structure than the conventional double-container structure can be realized. The toner cartridge 200 does not take up an unnecessary large space.

Further, as shown in FIG.
With the first portion 251 of the toner cartridge 50 retracted, the second portion 252 is
3, the first portion 251 is guided by sliding of the second portion, and is slidably connected to the flange 2 of the toner cartridge body 201.
03 can be easily led.

In addition, since the first and second portions 252 and 252 of the shutter member 250 and the portion for connecting the two members so as to be relatively rotatable are integrally formed of resin, the first and second portions 252 and 252 are formed. The manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the components are formed by separate parts and connected by pins or the like .

Various other modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0031]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, if the conventional shutter member is completely removed from the toner cartridge main body, it is necessary to search for the removed shutter member, and it is necessary to remove the shutter member. In order to attach the shutter member to the toner cartridge main body, it was necessary to align the two. However, according to the present invention, the shutter member is not connected to the toner cartridge main body when not in use. When a member becomes necessary, the trouble of searching for the member can be saved, and the work of aligning the shutter member with the toner cartridge main body becomes unnecessary, so that the maintenance work can be easily performed. In addition, since the shutter member when not in use is retracted to a position outside the toner cartridge body so as not to obstruct the toner cartridge, a compact and simple toner cartridge can be realized as compared with the conventional double container structure. In addition, the toner cartridge at the time of mounting does not take up an unnecessary large space.

Further, with the first portion of the shutter member is retracted, the second portion is connected slidably along the lower surface portion of the toner cartridge main body, by the sliding of the second part, The first portion can be guided and easily guided along the lower surface of the toner cartridge body. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first and second portions of the shutter member and the portion for connecting the shutter members so as to be relatively rotatable are integrally formed of resin, so that the first and second portions are separate parts. The manufacturing cost can be remarkably reduced as compared with the case where the components are configured and connected with pins or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal cross section of a copying machine to which a toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the copying machine with a front cover opened.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a toner supply device including a toner cartridge and a toner supply device main body.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the toner cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the toner cartridge with a shutter member opened.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toner cartridge with the shutter member retracted.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a shutter member.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of the main body of the toner supply device, showing a state in which the guide tray is lowered from a vertical evacuation posture to a horizontal guidance posture.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of the toner supply device showing a state where the shutter member of the toner cartridge has begun to be introduced into the guide tray.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of the toner supply device showing a state where the setting of the toner cartridge is completed.

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of the toner supply device showing a state in which the guide tray and the shutter member are collectively retracted after the setting of the toner cartridge is completed.

FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway side view showing an enlarged main part of the toner replenishing device in a state where the guide tray and the shutter member are in a retracted posture.

[Explanation of symbols]

 60 Axis 100 Toner replenishing device 200 Toner cartridge 201 Toner cartridge main body 202 Toner drop opening 203 Flange 205 Pull-out side end face 210 Seal member 250 Shutter member 251 First portion 252 Second portion 253 Bending line

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-49611 (JP, A) JP-A-63-213870 (JP, A) JP-A-63-174360 (JP, U) JP-A-64-32562 (JP) , U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A toner cartridge body containing a toner therein and having an opening for dropping toner on a lower surface thereof, and a film-like film which is peelably attached to the lower surface of the toner cartridge body and closes the opening for dropping toner. A toner cartridge which is set in the toner replenishing device so as to be able to be pulled out along a predetermined direction, wherein the toner drop opening is closed below the seal member and the toner drop opening is opened. A shutter member slidable along the lower surface of the toner cartridge main body at an open position to be opened, and at least a part of the shutter member along the pull-out side end surface of the toner cartridge main body in the open position. as can be retracted to the retracted position, it is connected to the toner cartridge main body, the shutter unit It is a bottom portion of the toner cartridge body
Can slide along and can rotate relative to each other
The shutter member has a toner drop opening by the first portion.
Open and close, and in the retracted position, only the second part is the toner cartridge.
Along the lower surface of the main body, and only the first portion
The connection to the cartridge body is released and the second part
The toner cartridge body
A toner cartridge, wherein the toner cartridge is retracted to a position along a drawing-side end surface . 2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said first and second parts are integrally formed of resin.
The part that connects the two so that they can rotate relative to each other
A toner cartridge comprising a bent line formed thinner than a portion .