JPH0136941B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a toner receiving device for receiving toner in a separately prepared toner container unit in an electrostatic recording device using a dry type developer.

In an electrostatic recording device using a dry two-component developer or an electrostatic recording device using a single-component toner, the toner is consumed as copies are made;
After a large number of copies have been made, it is necessary to replenish toner. Toner is generally replenished by replenishing a toner receiving device (hopper) of an electrostatic recording device from a toner container unit containing toner. Toner is a powder with a uniform particle size of more than 10 microns and easily scatters.
When replenishing toner by attaching the toner container unit to the toner receiving opening of the hopper,
Toner often leaks or scatters to the outside, contaminating the surrounding area. Furthermore, toner contamination is often caused by erroneous operations when installing the toner container unit or during other operations. Furthermore, if the toner container unit is mistakenly removed during toner replenishment, the toner will scatter around the device, making it difficult to clean it up.

The purpose of the present invention is to prevent toner contamination in the vicinity of the hopper due to careless operation. When the slider is attached to an opening provided with an opening/closing lid that can be opened and closed to receive toner, the sliding lid is engaged with the opening/closing lid of the opening, and the sliding lid is opened/closed in conjunction with the opening/closing operation of the opening/closing lid. The lid is configured to be opened and closed, and a lock member located in a retracted position of the opening and biased by an elastic member in the opening direction of the opening/closing lid prevents the toner container from being removed when the opening/closing lid starts to open. the toner container is held by protruding into the opening, and when the opening/closing lid is completely closed, the locking member is moved from the locking position to the retracted position by the opening/closing lid, and the toner container is unlocked. This is achieved by a toner receiving device configured as follows.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the structure of the toner container unit will be explained, and then the structure and operation of the toner receiving device (hopper) of the present invention to which the toner container unit is attached and which receives toner replenishment will be explained.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the toner container unit 1, showing a case where the opening thereof is sealed with a film-like sheet, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (AA cross-sectional view of FIG. 1) in this state.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a container body, which has a cylindrical shape with at least one end open, and is made of plastic, paper, or the like. 12 is a fixed lid, but the fixed lid 12 may be integrally molded with the container body 11 as a plastic molded product.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a mouthpiece, which is attached to the open end of the container body 11. Note that the container body 11 may be made of plastic and may be molded integrally with the mouthpiece 13. This mouthpiece 13 has a protruding portion 131 that engages with a sliding portion of a sliding lid 15, which will be described later.
(Fig. 3) on the left and right with respect to the sliding direction.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a film-like sheet that covers the opening 132 as a toner replenishment port of the mouthpiece 13, and is peelably adhered to the lower end surface 133 of the mouthpiece 3 on the circumferential surface of the opening 132, for example, with an adhesive. Ru. The leading end 141 of this film-like sheet 14 is adhesively fixed to a leading end fixing part 1321 near one end of the opening 132 serving as a toner replenishing port, and is removably adhesively bonded to the lower end 133, and then the extension part is used as a toner replenishing port. The rear end 142 is folded back from the sealed end near the other end of the opening 132 and is adhesively fixed to a rear end fixing part 1322 corresponding to the outer surface of the slide lid 15 . The material used for the film-like sheet 14 is polyester film or the like, which is flexible and strong against breakage.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a sliding lid which serves both to protect the film-like sheet 14 for sealing during storage or transportation and for opening the lid, and is made of metal, plastic, or the like. The slide lid 15 is provided with a slide groove 151 that engages with the protrusion 131 of the base portion 13. As is clear from the sectional view of FIG. 2, the toner inside the container body 11 is supported by both the film-like sheet 14 and the slide lid 15 during storage or transportation.

Figure 3 shows toner container unit 1 when replenishing toner.
FIG. 4 shows a sectional view in this state (BB sectional view in FIG. 3), and FIG. 5 shows an external view in the same state as seen diagonally from below.

When the slide lid 15 is pulled out in the direction of the fixed parts 1321 and 1322 (rightward in the figure), the film-like sheet 14 is also pulled as the slide lid 15 moves, and is gradually peeled off from the other end side of the lower end surface 133 of the opening 132. be done. When the slide lid 15 is fully pulled out to the right, the opening 132 is almost open, and the toner T in the container body 11 is replenished by falling.

When the toner supply is completed, slide the slide lid 15 to the left. The film-like sheet 14 that was peeled off earlier also returns to its original position, returning to the state shown in FIG. Next, the toner container unit 1 is removed from the copying machine hopper, which will be described next.

Next, the toner receiving device (hopper) 2 of the present invention
I will explain about it. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toner receiving device, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the opening/closing lid. Furthermore, Figs. 9, 10, and 11 all show the toner receiving device 2.
FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a state in which the toner container unit 1 is not attached. FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a state in which the toner container unit 1 is only installed. FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a state in which after the toner container unit 1 is installed, a knob 25, which will be described later, is moved to the right in the figure to open the lid. Also, Fig. 12 shows Z in Fig. 8.
It is a sectional view showing a -Z cross section. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing how the components of the toner receiving device 2 of the present invention are attached.

First, the structure of the toner receiving device 2 of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. An upper lid 21 and an inner lid 22 are integrally fixed to the upper surface of the toner receiving device 2. The upper lid 21 is made of molded synthetic resin and has an upper lid opening 211, and the inner lid 22 is also made of molded synthetic resin and has an inner lid opening 221 at the position corresponding to the upper lid opening 211. The openings 211 and 221 are openings for attaching the toner container unit 1. The upper lid 21 also has a long hole 212 provided for moving the knob 25.

There is an opening/closing lid 23 which is held between the upper lid 21 and the inner lid 22 and slides to open and close the openings 211 and 221. The opening/closing lid 23 is also made of molded synthetic resin, and a knob 231 is fixed at one end of the lid.
A knob 25 is attached to the upper surface of the upper cover 21 through the elongated hole 212 of 1. The other end of the opening/closing lid 23 has an inclined surface projecting upward, and a blade 232 made of a thin elastic plate is attached to this inclined surface.

Further, a compression spring 233 is provided at the right end of the opening/closing lid 23, and the compression spring 233 comes into contact with a rising portion 241 provided on the end surface of the sliding plate 24 that slides, and the sliding plate 24 is moved to the left in the figure. I'm pushing it. Sliding plate 24
The other end surface of is bent to form a U-shaped part 242, and the open/close lid 23 is sandwiched between the U-shaped parts 242, and the tip of the open/close lid is formed by the U-shaped part 242 of the sliding plate 24. ing.

A push-up spring A 222 and a push-up spring B 223 are attached to the upper surface of the inner lid 22 to push the opening/closing lid 23 upward, and the upper surface of the opening/closing lid 23 is in contact with the back surface of the upper lid 21 . The blade 232 is in sliding contact with the sliding surface on the back surface of the upper lid 21, and is used to remove toner adhering to the sliding surface when the opening/closing lid 23 is closed to the left. In addition, a packing 224 made of sponge material is attached to the upper surface of the inner lid 22.
This prevents toner from entering between the opening and closing lid 23.

Steps 2301 are provided on both upper surfaces of the opening/closing lid 23, and a step 2101 is provided on the bottom surface of the upper lid 21, and when the lid is closed (FIG. 9), the opening/closing lid 23 is moved by a push-up spring A222. , push-up spring B223
The stepped portion 2301 and the stepped portion 210 are pushed up by the
1 is engaged. FIG. 15 shows a situation in which the push-up spring B223 pushes up the opening/closing lid 23, and FIG. 14 shows this engagement relationship.

Further, at the left end of the inner lid 22, there is a locking mechanism according to the present invention. In other words, the compression spring 234 pushes rightward the lock member 26, which is made up of the lock pawl member 261 and the lower lock plate 262 and is slidable from side to side. The lock member 26 is attached to the toner container unit 1.
When the opening/closing lid 23 is opened, it operates as a locking mechanism, but when the opening/closing lid 23 is closed, the tip 2302 of the opening/closing lid 23 prevents the locking member 26 from moving to the right. Even if the toner container unit 1 is installed, the lock mechanism will not operate.

The opening/closing lid 23 has a protrusion 2303 that protrudes laterally.
have. A slide member 271 engaged with the protrusion 2303 is placed thereon and slides within the inner lid 22 as the opening/closing lid 23 moves. The slide member 271 has an opening 221 perpendicular to its sliding direction.
A shaft 272 and a stopper member 273 for supporting the shaft 272 are provided at a position further to the left. axis 27
2 includes a leveling plate 2 that can be rotated around a shaft 272;
8 is provided. However, the rotation of the leveling plate 28 in the clockwise direction is stopped at the vertical position by the stopper member 273. It can also be rotated counterclockwise to a horizontal position. (FIG. 11) When the knob 25 is moved to the right and the opening/closing lid 23 is opened, the leveling plate 28 is moved to the right together with the knob 25. Therefore, leveling board 2
8 moves to the right within the toner receiving device 2 while maintaining a vertical posture by the stopper member 273.

In the final stroke of the rightward movement of the leveling plate 28, the protrusion 2201 provided on the lower surface of the inner lid 22
A part of the leveling plate 28 comes into contact with the protruding piece 281 that protrudes above the shaft 272, and the leveling plate 28, which is in a vertical position, is rotated counterclockwise around the shaft 272 until it is nearly horizontal, and the toner is removed. It performs an operation such as kicking up.

Next, the operation of the toner receiving device 2 described above will be explained in relation to the loading operation of the toner container unit 1.

FIG. 9 shows a cross section of the toner receiving device 2 in a state before loading the toner container unit 1, and shows openings 211, 221 of the toner receiving device 2.
is closed by an opening/closing lid 23. Opening/closing lid 2
3 is pushed up by push-up springs A222 and B223, and the back surface of the top cover 21 and the top surface of the opening/closing cover 23 are in close contact with each other at the peripheral edges, so that the toner in the toner receiving device 2 does not leak to the outside. Furthermore, since the stepped portion 2101 provided on the back surface of the top lid 21 and the stepped portion 2301 provided on the top surface of the opening/closing lid 23 are engaged, the knob 2
Even if you try to move 5 to the right, it will be locked and will not move. That is, the openings 211 and 221 are locked in the closed state by the opening/closing lid 23.

In the opening 211 of the toner receiving device 2, the toner container unit 1 is inserted into its fixing portions 1321, 132.
Insert from the 2nd side in the direction of arrow S (Fig. 9). The rear end (right end in the figure) of the slide lid 15 of the toner container unit 1 abuts against the rising portion 241 of the sliding plate 24, and compresses the compression spring 233 while closing the opening 221.
It is loaded by dropping it into the (Figure 10)
Here, the sliding plate 24 moves to the right by l ₁ , and from the tip of the slide lid 15 to the tip of the opening/closing lid (the tip of the sliding plate 24
2) is located on the right. This prevents toner from adhering to the opening/closing lid 23 when the lid is opened.

Furthermore, when the toner container unit 1 is loaded, the opening/closing lid 23, which had been pushed up by the push-up springs A222 and B223, sinks downward by l ₂ (FIG. 14) and engages with the stepped portions 2101 and 2301. The lock is released and the knob 25 can be moved to the right (in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 10).

Then, when the knob 25 is pulled to the right, the step 2304 of the opening/closing lid 23 is engaged with the tip of the sliding lid 15 of the toner container unit 1, so the opening/closing lid 2
3, the slide lid 15 also moves to the right while peeling off the film-like sheet 14 adhered to the lower end surface of the opening 132.

When the opening/closing lid 23 moves to the right, the locking member 26 of the present invention, which had been prevented from moving by the tip 2302 of the opening/closing lid 23, is moved by the biased compression spring 2.
34 to the right, that is, in the opening/closing direction of the opening/closing lid, and reaches the lock position, and the toner container unit 11 is secured and locked by the lock claw member 261 protruding from the opening. While the toner container unit 1 and the opening/closing lid 23 are being opened, they are locked by a locking member 26, and the toner container unit 1 cannot be removed.

By moving the opening/closing lid 23 to the right, the toner in the toner container unit 1 falls into the toner receiving device 2. Delayed by this fall, the leveling plate 28 maintains a vertical posture and moves in a sweeping motion to the right inside the toner receiving device 2, smoothing out the piled up toner and carrying it to the right. Evenly distribute the toner inside. Furthermore, in the final process, leveling board 2
8 operates to raise in the counterclockwise direction, and acts to send out the toner to the right.

In the process of opening the opening/closing lid 23 and the sliding lid 15, in order to ensure that the toner in the toner container unit 1 falls into the toner receiving device 2, the back side of the opening/closing lid 23 and/or its sliding top lid 21 is The sliding part is provided with unevenness so that it can move along the unevenness. Therefore, when the opening/closing lid 23 is moved to the right, vibrations occur, and the toner that is solidified in the toner container unit 1 due to the temperature or the like also falls due to the vibrations.

After the toner is replenished, the knob 25 is moved to the left (in the direction of arrow T in FIG. 11) to return to the state shown in FIG. 10. Since the blade 232 is in sliding contact with the sliding surface on the back surface of the upper lid 21 during movement, the toner adhering to the sliding surface is removed when the toner falls, and the opening/closing lid 23 is always moved smoothly.

When the opening/closing lid 23 moves to the left, the leveling plate 28, which is in a vertical position, rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 272, and moves the toner to the left as shown by the chain line in FIG. It returns by sliding on the toner surface without being carried.

When the opening/closing lid 23 is closed, the sliding lid 15 is also closed, and the film-like sheet 14 that was peeled off earlier also returns to its original state.

Further, the locking member 26 of the present invention, which has been engaged and locked with the mouthpiece 13 of the toner container unit 1 by the closing of the opening/closing lid 23, is pushed and moved to the left to reach the retracted position, and the toner container unit 1 The lock will be released. Open the toner container unit 1 at the opening 211.
When removed from the opening/closing lid 23, the push-up spring A222,
The step portions 2301 and 2101 are pushed upward by _l2 by the push-up spring B223, and are locked, making it impossible to open the lid by moving the knob 25.

The toner receiving device according to the present invention described above not only prevents the toner from leaking out or scattering when replenishing toner with the toner container unit attached, but also prevents the toner container unit from being removed by mistake while the lid is being opened. A safety device has been installed to prevent the equipment from becoming contaminated due to erroneous operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1, 3 and 5 show perspective views of the external appearance of the toner container unit, and FIGS. 2 and 4 show sectional views thereof. 6 and subsequent figures show the toner receiving device, FIG. 6 is a perspective view, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an opening/closing lid. Further, Figures 9, 10, and 11 show the cross sections of the three modes, and Figure 12 is a Z-Z cross-sectional view of Figure 11.
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view. Moreover, FIG. 14 shows the engagement of the stepped portion, and FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the main part showing the relationship between the push-up spring and the opening/closing lid. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Toner container unit, 2... Toner receiving device, 13... Mouth part, 14... Film sheet, 15... Slide lid, 21... Upper lid, 22
...Inner lid, 23...Opening/closing lid, 24...Sliding plate, 2
5... Knob, 26... Lock member, 28... Leveling plate, 211, 221... Opening, 222, 22
3... Push-up spring, 2101, 2301... Stepped portion,
234... Compression spring, 261... Lock claw member,
262...Lock lower plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When a toner container equipped with a slide lid that can be opened and closed with respect to the toner supply port is attached to an opening provided with a lid that can be opened and closed to receive toner, the sliding lid is inserted into the opening. The sliding lid is engaged with the opening/closing lid of the opening/closing lid, and the sliding lid is opened/closed in conjunction with the opening/closing operation of the opening/closing lid, and is located in a retracted position of the opening and is biased by an elastic member in the opening direction of the opening/closing lid. When the opening/closing lid starts to open, the locking member protrudes into the opening and holds the toner container so that the toner container cannot be removed, and when the opening/closing lid is completely closed, the locking member is locked by the opening/closing lid. The toner receiving device is configured such that the toner container is unlocked when the toner container is moved from the locked position to the retracted position.