JP4494343B2 - Toner cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a digital multifunction peripheral, and a toner cartridge that supplies toner to a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 9 is an internal perspective view of a toner cartridge for explaining a process of attaching a container shutter to the toner cartridge in a conventional toner cartridge manufacturing process. 10A and 10B are views showing a toner cartridge to which a container shutter is attached, where FIG. 10A is an overall perspective view, FIG. 10B is an enlarged view near the left end of the container shutter, and FIG. Shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the right end of the container shutter.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the toner cartridge includes a box-shaped housing 11A. The casing 11A includes a container shutter accommodating portion 12A to which the container shutter 16A is attached. The container shutter accommodating portion 12A has a semi-cylindrical bottom surface, and a toner supply port 13A is formed at the center. The toner supply port 13A is a hole formed to supply toner to the developing device with the longitudinal direction of the container shutter 16A being the longitudinal direction. A rib 151A that restricts the vertical movement of the container shutter 16A is formed on the right side wall 15A of the container shutter accommodating portion 12A.

  Ends 161A and 162A in the longitudinal direction of the container shutter 16A are pivotally supported by the side walls 14A and 15A so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal direction as an axis. The portion of the container shutter 16A that faces the toner supply port 13A has a semi-cylindrical shape. The container shutter 16A opens the toner supply port 13A by connecting the communication hole formed in the semi-cylindrical portion to the toner supply port 13A, and closes the toner supply port 13A by not connecting the communication hole.

  As shown in FIG. 10B, a seal member 17A is attached to the side wall side of the end portion 161A, and the end portion 161A is inserted into the side wall 14A via the seal member 17A. The seal member 17A prevents the toner accommodated in the housing 11A from leaking through a hole 141A (see FIG. 9) formed so as to penetrate the side wall 161A from the outside, and in the longitudinal direction of the container shutter 16A. Prevent rattling.

  Here, the distance a between both ends of the container shutter 16A is set to be substantially the same as the distance b between the side walls 14A and 15A. Therefore, in order to attach the container shutter 16A to the container shutter accommodating portion 12A, first, as shown in FIG. 9, the end portion 162A is made to enter the rib 151A below. Next, the end portion 161A side is tilted downward (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 9), and the end portion 161A is inserted into the side wall 14A. Then, as shown in FIG. 10A, the container shutter 16A is fitted between the side walls 14A and 15A.

For example, Patent Document 1 is known as a technique related to the present invention.
Japanese Patent No. 3210529

  However, in the conventional toner cartridge, since the container shutter 16A is kneaded into the side wall 14A, the seal member 17A is damaged by rubbing against the side wall 14A or turned from the end portion 161A, and toner leakage or the like occurs. There was a problem.

  In addition, since the container shutter 16A is inserted into the lower side of the rib 151A from an oblique direction and is fitted between the side walls 14A and 15A so that the seal member 17A is not damaged, a certain trick is required. There was a problem that the burden on the person was heavy.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a toner cartridge in which toner leakage can be prevented and a container shutter can be attached to a container shutter accommodating portion by a simple operation, and an image forming apparatus including the toner cartridge.

  The toner cartridge according to the present invention is a toner cartridge that supplies toner to the developing device, and is a container shutter that opens the toner supply port in a state before rotation and closes the toner supply port by rotating a predetermined angle. The toner supply port is formed on the bottom surface, and a container shutter accommodating portion that rotatably supports both ends of the container shutter in the longitudinal direction by the first and second support portions, the container shutter, A disc-shaped first end portion supported by the first support portion, a disc-shaped second end portion supported by the second support portion, and outward in the longitudinal direction of the container shutter. A first rib projecting and formed so as to be continuous with the peripheral surface of the first end, wherein the first rib is in a rotation direction of the container shutter. The first support portion includes a rib accommodating portion that accommodates the first rib and the first rib accommodated in the rib accommodating portion. And the second support part includes a second rib formed to project inward in the longitudinal direction so as to be continuous with the peripheral surface, The distance between the end face on the longitudinal direction side of the first rib and the second end is set shorter than the distance between the first support and the second support, and the first end and The distance from the second end is set to be shorter than the distance between the first support and the end surface of the second rib, and the oblique side is the contact surface as the container shutter rotates. The end surface of the first rib is guided to the side wall of the first support portion by abutting with the first support portion. The features.

  According to this configuration, the distance between the first end portion and the second end portion constituting the container shutter is the distance between the first end portion and the end surface of the second rib formed on the second support portion. It is set shorter than the distance. Therefore, as in the conventional toner cartridge, the user inserts the second end portion under the second rib to incline the container shutter obliquely, and then supports the first end portion as the first support. The container shutter is accommodated in the container shutter accommodating portion so that the first rib is accommodated in the rib accommodating portion without performing a work requiring a certain knack, such as piling into the portion. The container can be accommodated in the container shutter accommodating portion so as to maintain a horizontal posture without being inclined.

  When the container shutter is rotated, the hypotenuse of the first rib contacts the contact surface of the first support portion, thereby guiding the end surface of the first rib to the side wall of the first support portion. To do. Here, since the distance between the end surface of the first rib and the second end portion is shorter than the distance between the first support portion and the second support portion, the container shutter is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the first rib. By sliding in the longitudinal direction by the length and being accommodated between the first support portion and the second support portion and closing the toner supply port, toner leakage can be prevented.

  In the above configuration, the distance between the end face on the longitudinal direction side of the first rib and the second end is a value that does not exceed the distance between the first support and the second support. Therefore, it is preferable that they are set to substantially the same value.

  According to this configuration, the distance between the end surface on the longitudinal direction side of the first rib and the second end is a value that does not exceed the distance between the first support and the second support. Since the values are set to substantially the same value, the first and second support portions can support the container shutter so that it does not rattle at the time of closing, and toner leakage can be prevented.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said rib accommodating part is equipped with the rib mounting part in which a said 1st rib is mounted.

  According to this configuration, the container shutter can be accommodated in the container shutter accommodating portion so that the first rib is placed on the rib placing portion, and the installation work of the container shutter can be further simplified. The burden on the operator can be further reduced.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and a developing device equipped with the toner cartridge.

  According to this configuration, since the toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided, an image forming apparatus capable of preventing toner leakage while simplifying the operation of attaching the container shutter is provided. can do.

  According to the present invention, toner leakage can be prevented and the container shutter can be attached to the toner cartridge by a simple operation.

  FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a network printer printer, a facsimile, and a digital multifunction peripheral having various functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is disposed above the sheet feeding unit 100, a sheet conveying unit 200 disposed above the sheet feeding unit 100, and a sheet conveying unit 200 disposed below the sheet feeding unit 100. The image forming unit 300, the fixing unit 400 disposed above the image forming unit 300, and the image reading unit 500 disposed above the image forming unit 300 and the fixing unit 400 are provided.

  The sheet feeding unit 100 feeds a stack of sheets stacked and loaded in the sheet feeding cassette 101 one by one from the uppermost sheet to the sheet conveying unit 200 by the rotation operation of the sheet feeding roller 115. The paper transport unit 200 transports the paper fed from the paper feed unit 100 to the image forming unit 300 by various roller pairs 202. Further, the paper feeding unit 100 discharges the paper on which the image is formed in the image forming unit 300 and the fixing unit 400 to a paper discharge tray 204 provided on the side of the apparatus main body 2 by the discharge roller 205.

  The image reading unit 500 irradiates a document placed on the contact glass with light from an exposure lamp, and guides the reflected light to a photoelectric conversion unit including a CCD line sensor or the like through a reflecting mirror. Read image information. The image forming unit 300 is disposed below the image reading unit 500 and forms a predetermined toner image on a sheet by an electrophotographic process. The image forming unit 300 includes a photoconductive drum 301 having a photoconductivity that is pivotally supported. Around the photosensitive drum 301, a charging device 302, an exposure device 303, a developing device 10, a transfer device 305, a cleaning device 306, and a charge removal device (not shown) are disposed along the rotation direction.

  The fixing unit 400 is disposed downstream of the image forming unit 300 in the sheet conveyance direction, and heats the sheet on which the toner image has been transferred in the image forming unit 300 with a pair of fixing rollers 401 between them. Fix the image.

  The basic operation state of the image forming apparatus 1 will be briefly described. The photosensitive drum 301 that rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 by the charging device 302 is uniformly charged, and the image information read by the image reading unit 500 is read. Based on the above, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 301 by image exposure from an exposure device 303 (laser scanning device or the like), and toner consisting of a magnetic material is attached to the electrostatic latent image by the developing device 10. An image is formed.

  The sheet is conveyed from the sheet feeding unit 100 to the image forming unit 300 toward the photosensitive drum 301 on which the toner image is formed as described above, and is transferred from the transfer roller or the like in the image forming unit 300. The toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 301 is transferred onto a sheet by the transfer device 305. The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 301 and conveyed to the fixing unit 400 to fix the toner image. The sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 400 is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 204 via the discharge roller 205. After the transfer by the transfer device 305, the photosensitive drum 301 is removed by the cleaning device 306 and the charge removal device to remove residual toner and residual charge, and is charged again by the charging device 302 as necessary.

  2A and 2B are external configuration diagrams of the toner cartridge 20 mounted on the developing device 10, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view from above, FIG. 2B is a top view, and FIG. A cross-sectional view from the A direction is shown. 2A to 2C, the x direction, the y direction, and the z direction represent the longitudinal direction, the front direction, and the height direction of the toner cartridge 20, respectively. Further, the −y direction and the −z direction respectively represent the rear and lower sides of the toner cartridge 20. These x direction, y direction, and z direction have the same meaning in other drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the toner cartridge 20 generally has a cubic shape and includes an upper lid 21 and a toner storage portion 22. The toner storage unit 22 is a box having an upper surface opened, and stores toner therein. The upper lid 21 is attached to the upper surface of the toner storage unit 22 and seals the toner storage unit 22. A container shutter accommodating portion 26 for accommodating a container shutter (see FIG. 3) 27 is formed at the center in the longitudinal direction of the toner accommodating portion 22 so as to protrude forward. Further, guide members 25 for guiding the toner cartridge 20 to the developing device 10 when the toner cartridge 20 is attached to the developing device 10 are disposed on both side walls of the toner accommodating portion 22. Further, an agitation drive gear 31 for driving an agitation paddle disposed inside the toner accommodating portion 22 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the side wall on the −x direction side of the toner accommodating portion 22. Further, an idle gear 24 for driving the stirring drive gear 31 is disposed on the side wall on the −x direction side of the toner containing portion 22.

  FIG. 3 is an external configuration diagram of the container shutter 27. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inside of the toner storage unit 22. The container shutter 27 is generally composed of a cylindrical member, and opens or closes the toner supply port 28 formed on the bottom surface of the container shutter accommodating portion 26 shown in FIG.

  The container shutter 27 shown in FIG. 3 includes a toner supply screw 271, end portions 272 (first end portions), 273 (second end portions), a flange 274, and a paddle portion 275. The toner supply screw 271 is a cylindrical member whose longitudinal direction is the x direction, and an area of about 3/4 of the longitudinal direction is opened. In this area, the semi-cylindrical portion 276 is provided in the toner supply screw 271. Is formed. A sponge roller may be employed instead of the toner supply screw 271.

  On the right side of the toner supply screw 271, a disc-shaped end 273 having a slightly larger diameter than the toner supply screw 271 is formed. A flange 274 is disposed on the left side of the toner supply screw 271 via a paddle part 275. The paddle portion 275 has a shape in which two rectangular flat plates intersect at a center line parallel to the longitudinal direction. A flange portion of the flange 274 is an end portion 272. The diameter of the end 272 is substantially the same as the diameter of the end 273. A rib 278 is formed at the end 272. The rib 278 protrudes in the −x direction so as to be continuous with the peripheral surface of the end portion 272, and one side on the A2 direction side indicating the rotation direction is an oblique side 278a inclined at an acute angle with respect to the A2 direction.

  The bottom surface of the container shutter accommodating portion 26 shown in FIG. 4 is a curved surface having substantially the same curvature as the end portions 272 and 273 of the container shutter 27, and a toner supply port 28 whose longitudinal direction is the x direction is formed at the center portion. Is formed. The toner supply port 28 is a hole for supplying the toner stored in the toner storage unit 22 to the developing device. A support part 221 (first support part) and a support part 222 (second support part) that rotatably support the ends 272 and 273 of the container shutter 27 are formed on the left and right sides of the container shutter accommodating part 26. ing.

  The support portion 222 is formed of a disk-shaped member having substantially the same radius as the end portion 273 of the container shutter 27, and protrudes toward the −x direction at a part on the upper side, and a rib 223 (presses the container shutter 27 from above. A second rib) is formed.

  The support portion 221 faces the A2 direction and includes a contact surface 224 that contacts the oblique side 278a of the rib 278, a rib placement portion 225 on which the rib 278 is placed, and a restriction portion 226 that restricts the rotation of the rib 278. It is configured.

  Here, the distance d between the end surface 278b and the end portion 273 of the rib 278 shown in FIG. 3 is a value that does not exceed the distance a between the support portion 221 and the support portion 222 shown in FIG. (A = d). Also, the distance c between the end surface 272a and the end 273 of the end 272 shown in FIG. 3 is shorter than the distance b shown in FIG. 4 (c <b).

  That is, since the distance c is shorter than the distance b, the container shutter 27 is slid parallel to the x direction and slid in the −z direction without having to pry from the diagonal direction as shown in FIG. The container shutter 27 can be accommodated in the container shutter accommodating portion 26 in a state where the horizontal posture is maintained.

  FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of the toner cartridge 20 when the container shutter 27 is accommodated in the container shutter accommodating portion 26, and FIG. 5B shows a perspective view from the lower side of the toner cartridge 20.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the rib placement portion 225 is configured by a curved surface having substantially the same curvature as the end portion 272. Therefore, it can be seen that the container shutter 27 is accommodated in the container shutter accommodating portion 26 such that the rib 278 is placed on the upper surface of the rib placing portion 225. Further, the rib 278 is restricted from turning in the A1 direction by the restricting portion 226, and is restricted from turning in the A2 direction by the contact surface 224. Accordingly, the container shutter 27 has a certain amount of play in the directions A1 to A2, and this play is set within a range that maintains the communication state between the communication hole 276a and the toner supply port 28 shown in FIG. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, a shutter opening / closing gear 30 is attached to the side wall of the container shutter accommodating portion 26. As shown in FIG. 2C, a pin 33 is fitted from the side wall of the container shutter accommodating portion 26 into the hole at the center of the end portion 272, and the shutter opening / closing gear 30 is integrally formed with the pin 33. As a result, when the shutter opening / closing gear 30 is rotated, the container shutter 27 is rotated. The pin 33 is attached with an O-ring 32 for preventing toner leakage.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the entire area of the rib 278 is placed on the rib placing portion 225, the communication hole 276 a (see FIG. 7) formed in the semi-cylindrical portion 276 and the toner. The supply port 28 communicates, and the toner supply port 28 is opened. The agitation paddle 29 is driven by the agitation drive gear 31 to agitate the toner stored in the toner storage unit 22.

  6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating a state in which the container shutter 27 is rotated. FIG. 6A illustrates a state in which the container shutter 27 has a rotation angle of 0 degree, and FIG. 6B illustrates an end in the state in FIG. The enlarged view of the part 272 is shown, (c) is a figure which shows the state whose rotation angle of the container shutter 27 is 90 degree | times, (d) shows the enlarged view of the edge part 272 in the state of (c). Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, before the container shutter 27 is rotated, the entire area of the rib 278 is placed on the upper surface of the rib placing portion 225, and the communication hole 276a (see FIG. 7) and the toner are placed. The toner supply port 28 is opened in communication with the supply port 28. When the toner cartridge 20 is removed from the developing device 10, the shutter opening / closing gear 30 rotates and the container shutter 27 rotates in the A2 direction. Note that the principle of rotating the container shutter 27 when the toner cartridge 20 is removed from the developing device 10 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-133260, and thus the description thereof is omitted. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6A, the rib 278 guides the rib 278 to the side wall 224a of the support portion 221 as a result of the oblique side 278a coming into contact with the contact surface 224 as the container shutter 27 rotates. To do. When the rotation angle of the container shutter 27 is 90 degrees, the end surface 278b of the rib 278 comes into contact with the side wall 224a, and the container shutter 27 closes the toner supply port 28. At this time, the container shutter 27 slides in the A3 direction by the length of the rib 278 in the longitudinal direction.

  Here, since the distance d shown in FIG. 3 is almost the same length as the distance a shown in FIG. 4, the container shutter 27 is supported by the support portions 221 and 222 so as to keep the toner supply port 28 closed. Supported. As a result, the container shutter 27 can block the toner supply port 28 without rattling.

  7A and 7B are cross-sectional views of the toner cartridge 20. FIG. 7A shows a state where the toner supply port 28 is opened, and FIG. 7B shows a state where the toner supply port 28 is closed. In FIG. 7, the upper lid 21 is removed. As shown in (a), a communication hole 276 a is formed in the semi-cylindrical portion 276 of the container shutter 27. The communication hole 276 a is formed at a position facing the toner supply port 28. Accordingly, when the rotation angle is 0 degree, the communication hole 276a and the toner supply port 28 communicate with each other, so that toner is supplied to the developing device 10.

  On the other hand, when the container shutter 27 is rotated 90 degrees, the communication hole 276a and the toner supply port 28 do not communicate with each other as shown in FIG. In this case, since the container shutter 27 is supported by the support portions 221 and 222 of the container shutter accommodating portion 26, it does not rattle and can prevent toner leakage.

  FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing the rotation operation of the container shutter in a simplified manner, where FIG. 8A shows a state where the rotation angle is 0 degree, and FIG. 8B shows a state where the rotation angle is 90 degrees. Yes. In FIG. 8, the container shutter 27 is shown in a simplified cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. 8A, since the distance c is shorter than the distance b, the container shutter 27 can be accommodated between the support portion 221 and the support portion 222 while maintaining a horizontal posture. Therefore, in the state (a), a clearance x is generated between the container shutter 27 and the support portion 222.

  When the container shutter 27 is rotated in the A2 direction, the hypotenuse 278a comes into contact with the contact surface 224 and guides the rib 278 to the side wall 224a of the support portion 221. Here, since the distance d is a value shorter than the distance a and substantially the same length, the container shutter 27 is supported by the support portions 221 and 222 without rattling in the state of (b). . Therefore, toner leakage can be prevented when the toner supply port 28 is closed.

  As described above, according to this image forming apparatus, it is possible to prevent toner leakage while simplifying the operation when attaching the container shutter 27 to the container shutter accommodating portion 26.

1 is an overall schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A and 1B are external configuration diagrams of a toner cartridge mounted on a developing device, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view from above, FIG. 2B is a top view, and FIG. Is shown. The external appearance block diagram of a container shutter is shown. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inside of a toner storage unit. (A) is a perspective view of the toner cartridge 20 when the container shutter 27 is accommodated in the container shutter accommodating portion 26, and (b) is a perspective view of the toner cartridge 20 from below. It is the figure which showed a mode that a container shutter rotated, (a) shows the state in which a container shutter has a 0 degree rotation angle, (b) shows the enlarged view of the edge part in the state of (a). (C) is a figure which shows the state whose rotation angle of a container shutter is 90 degree | times, (d) has shown the enlarged view of the edge part in the state of (c). Sectional views of the toner cartridge are shown, (a) shows a state where the toner supply port is opened, and (b) shows a state where the toner supply port is closed. It is the figure which simplified and showed the rotation operation | movement of a container shutter, (a) shows the state whose rotation angle is 0 degree | times, (b) has shown the state whose rotation angle is 90 degree | times. FIG. 7 is an internal perspective view of a toner cartridge for explaining a process of attaching a container shutter to the toner cartridge in a conventional toner cartridge manufacturing process. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a toner cartridge to which a container shutter is attached, where FIG. 5A is an overall perspective view, FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the left end of the container shutter, and FIG. An enlarged view of the vicinity of the right end is shown.

Explanation of symbols

20 Toner cartridge 21 Upper cover 22 Toner accommodating portion 24 Idle gear 25 Guide member 26 Container shutter accommodating portion 27 Container shutter 28 Toner supply port 29 Stirring paddle 30 Shutter opening / closing gear 31 Stirring drive gear 33 Pin 32 O-rings 221 and 222 Support portion 223 Rib 224a Side wall 224 Contact surface 225 Rib mounting portion 226 Restriction portion 271 Toner supply screw 272, 273 End portion 272a End surface 274 Flange 275 Paddle portion 276 Semi-cylindrical portion 276a Communication hole 278 Rib 278a Slope side 278b End surface

Claims (4)

A toner cartridge for supplying toner to a developing device,
A container shutter that opens the toner supply port in a state before rotation and closes the toner supply port by being rotated by a predetermined angle;
The toner supply port is formed on the bottom surface, and includes a container shutter accommodating portion that rotatably supports both ends of the container shutter in the longitudinal direction by first and second support portions;
The container shutter includes a disk-shaped first end supported by the first support, a disk-shaped second end supported by the second support, and a length of the container shutter. A first rib projecting and formed to be continuous with the peripheral surface of the first end toward the outside in the direction;
The one rib includes a hypotenuse inclined at an acute angle with respect to the rotation direction of the container shutter,
The first support portion is disposed so as to face the rotation direction with respect to a rib accommodating portion that accommodates the first rib and a first rib accommodated in the rib accommodating portion. Contact surface,
The second support portion includes a second rib formed to protrude inward in the longitudinal direction so as to be continuous with the peripheral surface,
The distance between the end face on the longitudinal direction side of the first rib and the second end is set shorter than the distance between the first support and the second support,
The distance between the first end and the second end is set shorter than the distance between the first support and the end surface of the second rib,
The hypotenuse guides the end surface of the first rib to the side wall of the first support portion by abutting against the abutment surface as the container shutter rotates. Toner cartridge.   The distance between the end face on the longitudinal direction side of the first rib and the second end is a value that does not exceed the distance between the first support and the second support, and is substantially the same value. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridge is set as follows.   The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rib housing portion includes a rib placement portion on which the first rib is placed. A toner cartridge according to claim 1;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing device equipped with the toner cartridge.

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