JP4461186B2 - Toner storage container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a toner storage container and an image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, facsimiles, etc., toner storage containers that store powder toner are made of hard bottles such as cartridges and bottles, but used containers that accompany replacement of toner storage containers There was a big problem in the disposal of In other words, the used toner storage container is collected from the user by the manufacturer, and when it is recycled or reused, the container must be cleaned, but it is difficult to clean the container and the toner cannot be completely washed out. there were. For this reason, the used toner storage container is currently disposed of in landfill and becomes garbage.

  Furthermore, toner storage containers made of hard bottles such as cartridges and bottles are collected from the user by the manufacturer when they are used, and are recycled, reused, and incinerated. It required a large amount of logistics costs to do.

Conventionally, there is a proposal that the toner storage container is not a hard bottle and can reduce the volume.
However, when a toner storage container whose volume can be reduced is supplied from the container using a toner supply device, the supply performance cannot be stably maintained. It has also been proposed to use a container whose volume can be reduced only during transportation, but in this case as well, problems such as contamination caused by toner scattering are solved when transferring toner to a hard bottle or toner hopper. The current situation is that it has not been put into practical use.

  By the way, the applicant of the present application has not proposed a toner storage container that can alleviate the above-mentioned problem, but has already proposed it. The toner storage container is configured as a bag-in-box in which an outer case body made of a rigid material and an inner bag body containing a flexible toner are stored in the outer case body. In such a toner storage container, since the toner is stored in a flexible inner bag body, the volume can be greatly reduced after use, and the outer box body can also be folded small, so that the transportation cost for collection can be greatly reduced. In addition, since the flexible inner bag is housed in a rigid outer box when in use, the inner bag is protected by the outer box even when subjected to external impacts, and is also handled by the outer box. Various advantages such as good performance can be obtained.

  Thus, a bag-in-box type toner storage container is preferable, but it is easier to detach and attach the inner bag body from the outer box body, and anyone can fold the outer box body after use correctly. It is desired to be able to

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the circumstances described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner storage container and an image forming apparatus capable of easily and reliably assembling and disassembling an outer box body to which an inner bag body is attached and detached .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a resin having a deformable inner bag body for storing toner and an internal space in which the inner bag body can be stored, and having a rigidity higher than that of the inner bag body. in the toner container to have a the outer box body manufactured, the inner bag is through the developing device and the toner supply path in the image forming apparatus when the toner container is set in the set portion of the image forming apparatus main body The toner discharge portion is provided in a base member that is fixed to the inner bag body and is detachably attached to the outer box body . It is a polyhedron shape composed of four or more face plates that can be developed into a plate shape, each face plate has at least one side separating the face plates, and any of the face plates is a face plate It has a connection side that connects each other, and the connection side has an inner surface Have a V-shaped groove in one of said faceplate, proposes a toner container toner container, characterized in that the slide receiving portion to which the cap member is connected to the slide is provided To do.

In the present invention, the face plate having the separation side and having the separation sides facing each other when assembling the polyhedral shape, one of the face plates has a locking projection, and the other face plate is the face plate. It is effective to have a locking hole at an opposing position so that the locking projection can be locked .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention proposes an image forming apparatus using the toner storage container according to claim 1 or 2.

According to the present invention, any one of the face plates has a connecting side that connects the face plates to each other, and the connecting side has a V-shaped groove on the inner surface side thereof, so a V-shaped groove is provided. When the surface forming the surface is bent in a contact direction, the bending angle of the face plates connected through the V-shaped groove can be regulated. On the contrary, when the surface forming the V-shaped groove is bent away from the surface, there is no restriction, so that it can be bent to a position where the face plates overlap.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a color laser printer as an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a toner replenishing device according to the present invention. This color laser printer has a configuration in which a paper feed unit 2 is disposed at the bottom of the apparatus main body 1 and an image forming unit 3 is disposed above the paper feed unit 2. The image forming unit 3 is provided with a transfer belt device arranged so as to be inclined so that the paper feed side is on the bottom and the paper discharge side is on the top. The transfer belt device has an endless transfer belt 12 wound around a plurality of belt wheels 11, in this example, four belt wheels 11, and magenta (M ), Cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (Bk), four image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk are arranged in parallel.

  1 and 2, each of the image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk is provided with a photosensitive drum 5 as an image carrier, and the photosensitive drum 5 is rotated clockwise by a driving unit (not shown). Driven. Around the photosensitive drum 5, a charging roll 6 as a charging unit, an optical writing unit in which writing by laser light is performed by an optical writing unit 8, a developing unit 10 as a developing unit, and a cleaning unit 9 as a cleaning unit are provided. Yes. The developing device 10 is a two-component developing device composed of toner and a carrier, and the toner is replenished by a toner replenishing device (to be described later) corresponding to the amount of consumed toner.

Next, an image forming operation for performing full color printing of the color printer shown in FIG. 1 will be described using the magenta image forming unit 4M.
The photosensitive drum 5 charged by the charging roll 6 is driven by an LD (laser diode) (not shown) to irradiate the polygon mirror 8a with laser light, and the reflected light is passed through the cylinder lens or the like. Optical writing of an optical image to be developed with magenta toner is performed by the optical writing device 8 guided upward. By this writing, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 5 based on image data sent from a host machine such as a personal computer, and the latent image becomes a visible image of magenta toner by the developing device 10.

  On the other hand, a sheet designated as a transfer material is fed from the sheet feeding unit 2, and the fed sheet is once abutted against a registration roller 13 provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the transfer belt 12. Then, the sheet is fed onto the transfer belt 12 in synchronism with the visible image, and reaches the transfer position facing the photosensitive drum 5 by running of the belt. At this transfer position, a visible image of magenta toner is transferred to the paper by the action of the transfer roll 14 disposed on the back side of the transfer belt 12.

  In the same manner as in the above image forming operation, in the other image forming units 4C, 4Y, 4Bk, visible images are formed by the respective toners on the surfaces of the respective photosensitive drums 5, and these visible images are conveyed by the transfer belt 12. Each time the sheet to be transferred arrives at each transfer position, the transfer is performed. Therefore, in this color printer, a full-color image is superimposed and transferred onto a sheet in a short time almost the same as that of monochrome. The transferred paper is separated from the transfer belt 20 and fixed by the fixing device 15. The sheet after fixing is normally discharged out of the apparatus as it is, or at this time, the sheet is reversed and discharged on the back side to a discharge tray 16 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus body 1. Backside paper discharge is an almost indispensable condition for the printer to arrange prints in page order.

  Next, a toner replenishing device that replenishes toners stored in the toner storage containers 20M, 20C, 20Y, and 20Bk to the image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk will be described with reference to FIG. The toner replenishing devices that replenish the image forming units 4M, 4C, 4Y, and 4Bk have substantially the same structure.

  The developing device 10 is provided with a uniaxial eccentric screw pump that is a suction type powder pump 40 in the vicinity or integrally therewith. As shown in FIG. 2, the powder pump 40 is composed of a rotor 41 made of a screw having an eccentric shape made of a rigid material such as metal, and an elastic body such as rubber. And a holder 43 made of a resin material or the like that wraps the stator 42 and forms a powder conveyance path. The rotor 41 is rotationally driven through a gear 44 that is integrally connected to a drive shaft 41a that is connected by a pin joint. Reference numeral 45 denotes an electromagnetic clutch, and the operation of the powder pump 40 is controlled by the clutch.

  A toner suction portion 43a is provided at the tip of the holder 43, that is, the right end in FIG. 2, and is connected to the toner suction portion 43a by a toner connection port 165 provided in a nozzle 160 described later and a toner transfer tube 149. ing. As the toner transfer tube 149, for example, a flexible tube having a diameter of 4 to 10 mm and made of a rubber material having excellent toner resistance (for example, polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, silicon, etc.) is extremely used. An effective and flexible tube can be easily piped up and down, left and right.

  In the toner replenishing device configured as described above, the single-shaft eccentric screw pump, which is the powder pump 40, is capable of continuous quantitative transfer at a high solid-gas ratio, and is an accurate toner proportional to the rotational speed of the rotor 41. It is known that the transfer amount can be obtained. Therefore, when a toner replenishment command is issued by image density detection or the like, the powder pump 40 is operated, and the requested amount of toner is replenished to the developing device 10.

  On the other hand, the setting unit 200 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 1 in which the toner storage container 20 is set is configured as a separate unit from the developing device 10. The set unit 200 is provided with a nozzle 160 having a circular cross section inserted into the toner storage container 20, and the toner storage container 20 is set to the set unit 200 of the image forming apparatus main body 1 from above. The nozzle 160 provided in the set unit 200 has a single tube structure, and a tip member 161 formed in a conical shape in cross section is provided on the upper part by integral molding or fixing, and air supply is provided following the tip member 161. A path 163 serving as a path and a toner supply path is provided. The inside of the nozzle 160 has a single tube structure, and the passage 163 is bent to the left in the drawing at the lower end of the nozzle 160 and is provided with a toner connection port 35 to which the toner transfer tube 149 is connected at the tip. Yes. The passage 163 is bent to the right in the figure above the toner connection port 165 and is provided with an air connection port 164.

  In the present embodiment, the air connection port 164 is connected to an air pump 151 as an air supply source in the air supply device via an air transfer pipe 152. When the air pump 151 is operated, air is ejected from the lower side into the toner storage container 20 through the air transfer pipe 152 and the air supply path 162. Then, the air blown into the toner storage container 20 flows through the toner layer while stirring the toner.

  2 and 3, for example, a toner bag 22 as an inner bag made of a flexible sheet made of resin or paper such as polyethylene or nylon of about 80 to 200 μm, and the toner, and the toner It is comprised by the outer box 50 as an outer box body in which the bag 22 is accommodated. The toner bag 22 is provided with a toner discharge portion and is fixed to a base member 21 made of a resin or the like formed by injection molding or the like. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the base member 21 is provided with a through hole 24 as a toner discharge portion penetrating in the vertical direction, and a connecting means formed in a substantially rectangular shape on the outer periphery of the intermediate region of the through hole 24. A slide plate 25 configured as a connecting convex portion is fixed or integrally formed. Further, the cap member 21 is provided with a fixing portion 26 formed in a boat shape to which the toner bag 22 is fixed above the slide plate 25, and the through hole 24 is formed on the lower side of the slide plate 25. A discharge portion 27 formed in a cylindrical shape is provided. The discharge part 27 is provided with a self-closing valve, for example, a seal valve 23 made of foamed sponge or the like. Further, a cap piece 28 that closes the discharge portion 27 is integrally provided on the base member 21 via a connecting portion 29, and a circular recess 28 a that fits into the discharge portion 27 is formed on the cap piece 28. ing.

  Next, the outer box 50 of the toner container 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The outer box 50 of this embodiment has an internal space that can accommodate the toner bag 22, and the material thereof is made of resin or paper that is more rigid than the toner bag 22. The outer box 50 is formed in a polyhedron, in this example, an octahedron. An opening 55 is formed in the outer box 50, and the toner bag 22 is taken in and out from the direction of arrow P through the opening 55.

Since the toner container 20 configured as described above has the opening 55 formed in the outer box 50, anyone can easily replace the toner bag 22.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, face plates 50a and 50b as door members capable of opening and closing the opening 55 are provided. The outer box 50 is an octahedron provided with face plates 50a to 50h. FIGS. 7 and 8 show an inner surface and an outer surface of an example in which the outer box 50 is developed on a flat plate. Each of the face plates 50a to 50h has a straight side that is a connecting side to which the face plates are connected and a separated side from which the face plates are separated, and each face plate has at least one connecting side. Therefore, the outer box 50 can be developed into a single-plate shape having various shapes by appropriately selecting the connecting sides and the separating sides of the face plates 50a to 50h. A face plate that completely separates does not occur.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a V-shaped groove 51 for regulating the bending angle is formed on the inner side of the connecting sides of the face plates 50a to 50h. The V-shaped groove 51 sets the angle of the V-groove according to the angle at which the connecting side is bent. That is, if the angle of V is approximately 90 degrees, the face plate connected via the V groove 51 can be regulated to approximately 90 degrees when bent in the direction in which the surface forming V abuts. . On the contrary, when the surface forming the V is bent away from the surface, there is no restriction, so that the surface plates are bent to a position where they overlap. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, locking protrusions 52 are provided on one face plate and locking holes 53 are provided on the other face plate at the separation sides of the face plates 50 a to 50 h to lock the face plates. be able to. Therefore, if the inner surface side is bent in an appropriate order from the state in which the face plate is spread in a single plate shape, and the locking projection 52 is locked in the locking hole 53, the outer box can be used without using a tool or the like. 50 is completed.

  Further, the outer box 50 is unfolded with the outer surface facing upward as shown in FIG. 11, and when folded into two so that the face plate 50c overlaps the face plate 50f as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, when the face plate 50g protruding downward is folded and overlapped with this two-folded body, the area is small and the thickness is not so thick. Therefore, the outer box 50 folded in this way can be stored in an appropriately sized envelope 59. In addition, since the face plate 50g to be folded last is stacked on the stacked body of the face plates, the stacking allowance is insufficient when the V groove 51 is formed. Therefore, only the face plate 50g is formed with a W-shaped groove 54 at the connecting side as shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a guide receiving portion 58 as a connecting recess portion on which the slide plate 25 of the base member 21 is slid and mounted is provided on the outer box 50 on the face plate 50d on which the base member 21 of the toner bag 22 is mounted. It is provided integrally.

  In the toner container 20, the toner bag 22 filled with toner is attached to the outer box 50. At this time, the outer box 50 is assembled in a box shape with only the face plates 50a and 50b being opened. When the toner bag 22 is inserted into the outer box 50 as shown in FIG. 6 and the open face plates 50a and 50b are closed after the insertion, it is almost completed. That is, the toner storage container 20 is completed by closing the face plates 50a and 50b and engaging the engaging protrusions 52 with the engaging holes 53 between the face plates 50h.

  The completed toner storage container 20 is provided with holding means for holding the face plate 50b in a closed state. The face plate 50b is a face plate that is closed together with the face plate 50a at the final stage when the container is completed, and the face plates 50a and 50b constitute the door member of the present embodiment. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, a portion corresponding to the side surface of the outer box 50 as a holding means for holding the face plate 50 b is configured by a sheet material 60 wound around the entire circumference. The sheet material 60 may be made of paper, but in the case of this example, it is composed of a heat-shrink sheet of a resin film. The side surface of the outer box 50 around which the sheet material 60 is wound is a direction that passes through both side edges of the rotation fulcrum side of the face plate 50b and the side locked to the face plate 50h. Reference numeral 64 is a convex portion as a positioning means for positioning the sheet material 60 and preventing the sheet material 60 from falling off in the form of a ring, and the convex portion 64 is an upper edge of the sheet material 60 of at least one face plate and It is provided so as to contact or approach the lower edge.

  In the toner container 20 configured as described above, by winding the sheet material 60 so as to hold the face plate 50b, the face plate 50b can be opened even if an impact such as vibration or dropping occurs during transportation. It can be surely prevented.

  By the way, although the toner storage container 20 of the present invention is a bag-in-box type, the user uses the toner storage container 20 as an image forming apparatus for the first time. It can happen enough to take it out. In order to prevent such a problem from occurring, as shown in FIG. 16, on the sheet material 60, information 61 such as illustrations regarding use that can be understood to be set in the setting unit of the image forming apparatus is displayed by printing or the like. Has been.

With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the user's mistaken disassembly of the toner storage container set in the image forming apparatus.
In addition, when the toner storage container 20 is used, it is very advantageous in terms of transportation to disassemble and fold as described above and send the outer box 50 to the toner filling factory. This disassembly and folding is preferably performed, for example, at a store where used containers are collected from the user. However, if the container is disassembled at a store or the like, the employee must be familiar with the disassembly of the toner storage container 20, but it is difficult to teach the person in charge of the disassembly method in advance. Even employees in stores may be unfamiliar with disassembly. If the operation is performed without knowing the procedure for disassembling the container, the locking portion of the outer box 50 or the like may be damaged, or unexpected time may be consumed.

  In disassembling the toner container 20, the sheet material 60 must first be peeled off. Therefore, the sheet material 60 is formed with perforations 62 in a direction different from the winding direction, for example, a direction perpendicular to the winding direction, as means for promoting cutting for peeling off the sheet material 60. As means for urging the cutting, other than the perforation 62, a shrink wrap, a cut or the like may be used.

  Thus, the sheet material 60 can be easily peeled off, but in order to facilitate the cutting operation at the perforation 62, a knob 62a is formed in the portion. When the perforation 62 is cut by holding the knob 62a, most operators hold the container with their left hand and lower the knob 62a from below to cut it. Therefore, if the knob 62a is provided on the toner discharge portion 27 side, the operator can cut the sheet material 60 with the toner discharge portion 27 facing upward. Further, the perforation 62 may be marked with a mark 62b indicating the cutting direction. Further, since the perforation 62 is provided on the face plate 50h adjacent to the opening side of the face plate 50b that opens first, and is disposed in the vicinity of the opening side of the face plate 50b, the operator cuts the perforation 62, The face plates 50a and 50b can be opened without changing the outer box 50.

  The container after the sheet material 60 is peeled is disassembled by first opening the face plates 50a and 50b and taking out the toner bag 22, and then returning the outer box 50 to the unfolded state. As shown in FIG. 5, a finger hook 65 for opening the face plate 50b appears as a shape for assisting disassembly. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the sheet material 60 is peeled off, information 63 relating to the disassembling procedure and the like is written in the portion that appears by peeling the sheet material 60 as shown in FIG. Therefore, even if an unfamiliar person disassembles, it is possible to carry out the procedure without making a mistake with the information.

  Further, in this embodiment, if the information 63a of the face plate to be opened next is marked on the back side of the face plate 50b to be opened first, and the face plate to be opened next is written on the sequentially opened face plate, anyone can easily install the toner container 20. Can be disassembled. Therefore, a sales system in which the user purchases and replaces only the toner bag 22 can be used, or a system in which the toner bag 22 is replaced at a store or the like.

  However, if the user or the dealer replaces the toner bag 22, the sheet material 60 is wound around the completed container, so that some equipment is required. Therefore, the face plate 50 b is substantially held by the sheet material 60. I can't let you. Therefore, an adhesive seal 66 as shown in FIG. 18 may be used as a holding means for holding the face plate 50b in a closed state. In this case, the seal 66 is stuck so as to straddle the face plate 50b and the face plate 50h.

  The toner container 20 configured as described above removes the toner bag 22 that has been emptied from the outer box 50 by removing the sheet material 60 and the like after taking out from the main body of the image forming apparatus when the stored toner is almost empty. Easy to take out. Since the taken out outer box 50 can be folded small as described above, it is easy to handle during transportation and storage, and the advantage of not taking up storage space during transportation and storage is further increased. It is possible to significantly reduce the cost of recovered logistics. Moreover, if the outer box 50 is made of a material having a certain degree of durability, it can be used repeatedly a plurality of times, and a significant cost reduction is expected.

  On the other hand, the toner bag 22 is incinerated for reuse or the like. However, since the toner bag 22 is flexible, the volume is greatly reduced, and the transportation cost for collection is significantly reduced in the same manner as the outer box 50.

  The toner container 20 configured as described above can be freely reduced in volume since the toner bag 22 is flexible even after being used. Furthermore, since the outer box 50 can be folded small, and can be expanded and formed into a plate shape, it is possible to select and transport an advantageous form as appropriate. Therefore, handling at the time of transportation and storage is greatly improved as compared with the hard case, and it is possible to significantly reduce the cost of collected logistics from the user to the manufacturer. It should be noted that it is advantageous to use the same material or the same material for the toner bag 22, the base member 21, and the seal valve 23, because it eliminates the need to separate them during recycling.

  Note that the outer box 50 provided with the opening 55 shown in FIG. 3 is not limited to the one to be developed, and may be, for example, two pieces that are broken as shown in FIG. .

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is an explanatory view showing the toner supply mechanism. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a toner storage container according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a base member portion of a toner storage container. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a base member of a toner storage container. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of a toner storage container according to the present invention. It is an expanded view in the outer surface side of an outer case. It is an expanded view in the inner surface side of an outer case. It is sectional drawing between the face plates currently joined. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing of the latching means which latches the face plates of an outer box. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing which shows the folding procedure of an outer box. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing which shows the folding procedure of an outer box. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing which shows the folding procedure of an outer box. It is sectional drawing between the face plates currently joined. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a toner storage container. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a toner storage container. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a toner storage container with a sheet material removed. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of a toner storage container. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of a toner storage container.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Developing device 2 Toner storage container 20 Toner bag 50 Outer box 60 Sheet material 61, 63 Information display 62 Perforation 64 Protruding part 65 Finger hook 66 Seal

Claims (3)

A deformable inner bag for storing toner;
The inner bag body and androgynous an internal space capable of housing, and, in the toner container to have a an outer box body made of resin having high rigidity than the inner bag,
The inner bag body has a toner discharge portion that communicates with a developing device in the image forming apparatus via a toner replenishment path when the toner storage container is set in the set portion of the image forming apparatus main body,
The toner discharge portion is provided in a base member fixed to the inner bag body and detachably attached to the outer box body,
The outer box body is a polyhedron shape composed of four or more face plates that can be developed into a single plate shape,
Each face plate has at least one side separating the face plates from each other, and any of the face plates has a connecting side that connects the face plates,
The said connected sides, have a V-shaped groove on its inner surface,
A toner storage container , wherein one of the face plates is provided with a slide receiving portion to which the base member slides and is connected . In the face plate having the separation side and having the separation sides facing each other when assembling the polyhedral shape,
2. The toner storage according to claim 1, wherein one of the face plates has a locking projection, and the other face plate has a locking hole at an opposing position so that the locking projection can be locked. container.   An image forming apparatus using the toner storage container according to claim 1.

Images