JPH03192379A - Toner replenishment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily exchange a toner cartridge without contamination of the periphery by the toner by loading a new toner cartridge in a cartridge fitting part and turning a cartridge loading member. CONSTITUTION:By loading the new toner cartridge 25 in the cartridge fitting part 27 and turning the cartridge loading member 26 against the fixing and energizing force of a fixing means 39, the opening and closing cover 34 of the empty toner cartridge 25 rides on the upper surface of a surface plate 23 from a cam surface part and the aperture for replenishing toner of the empty toner cartridge 25 is automatically closed by the cover 34. Meanwhile, a lock means is switched to be in a locking released state by a locking releasing means 40 just before the new toner cartridge 25 is fixed to the member 26 by the means 39, and the opening and closing cover of the new toner cartridge 25 is automatically opened, then the toner is replenished in a toner replenishment part 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device for a developing device installed in an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatographic copying machine or a printer.

[Conventional technology]

A toner cartridge is generally used to replenish toner to a toner replenishing section for a developing device.

One of the toner replenishing devices using this toner cartridge was developed by the present applicant in Utility Application No. 62-149128 (U.S. Pat.
-54066).

This device includes a toner cartridge filled with toner, a cartridge case housing the toner cartridge, an insertion portion into which the toner cartridge taken out from the cartridge case is inserted, and a toner cartridge into which the cartridge case is attached. The developing device is equipped with a cartridge loading section having a take-out section from which the cartridge can be taken out.

According to the developing device configured as described above, when replacing the toner cartridge loaded in the cartridge loading section, the developing device unit is taken out of the device, and at the same time, the case lid of the cartridge case is removed and the new toner cartridge is taken out from the case body. Then, the case body is attached to the ejection part of the cartridge loading part, and the new toner cartridge is inserted into the cartridge loading part, and the empty toner cartridge in the cartridge loading part is inserted into the case body by inserting this toner cartridge. By pushing the toner cartridge in and attaching the case lid to the case body, a new toner cartridge can be replaced without directly touching the empty toner cartridge, and the empty toner cartridge can be stored inside the cartridge case. This enables good post-processing without contaminating the surrounding toner.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, it is difficult to remove the developing device unit from the apparatus, remove the case lid from the case body of the cartridge case, attach the case body to the cartridge loading section, and insert the new toner cartridge into the cartridge loading section. , it is necessary to perform several operations such as pushing the empty toner cartridge into the case body by inserting the toner cartridge, attaching the case lid to the case body, and further setting the developing unit into the apparatus. There was room for improvement in this respect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing device that improves the operability of replacing a toner cartridge through extremely rational improved technology.

[Means to solve the problem]

A toner replenishing device for a toner replenishing section of a developing device according to the present invention, which has achieved the above object, includes a cartridge loading member that is rotatable around a vertical axis near the toner replenishing port of the toner replenishing section, and a lower part of the toner replenishing section. two toner cartridge attachment/detachment parts each having a toner replenishment opening and a locking means for an opening/closing lid for the toner replenishment opening are provided on the cartridge loading member at a predetermined interval around the vertical axis; A fixing means is provided for biasing and fixing the cartridge loading member with the toner supply openings corresponding to the toner supply ports, and rotation of the cartridge loading member resists the biasing and fixing force of the fixing means. The device is characterized in that it is provided with a lock release means for switching the lock means to an unlock state and a closing means for switching the opening/closing lid to a closed state as the lid moves.

[Effect]

According to the above characteristic configuration, when replacing an empty toner cartridge that is installed in one of the cartridge attachment parts of the cartridge loading member and whose toner replenishment opening corresponds to the toner replenishment port of the toner replenishment part, the other When a new toner cartridge is installed in the cartridge removal section of the empty toner cartridge and the cartridge loading member is rotated so that the toner replenishment opening of the new toner cartridge corresponds to the toner replenishment port, the toner replenishment opening of the empty toner cartridge is opened. The opening is automatically closed with an opening/closing lid, and the opening/closing lid of the new toner cartridge is automatically opened to replenish toner to the toner replenishing section, and the new toner cartridge is installed in the cartridge removal section. Replacement of the empty toner cartridge is achieved through three operations: 1. Rotating the cartridge loading member and removing the empty toner cartridge.

(Example〕 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 schematically shows an image forming section in an electrophotographic copying machine, which is an example of an image forming apparatus.A main charge +2, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4,
A transfer charger 5, a paper separation charger 6, and a cleaning device 7 are arranged in that order, and the developing device 4
A toner replenishing device 9 is provided for supplying a toner replenishing section 8 to the toner replenishing section 8.

The developing device 4 is constructed as follows.

That is, a developing roller 11 having a static magnet therein is provided at the opening of the developing case 10 facing the photoreceptor 1, and toner is supplied into the developing case 10 via a toner replenishing roller 12. A partition plate that connects a toner storage section 13 for supply to the upper side of the developing case 1o, and allows the developer after cutting the spikes by the spike cutting member 14 to flow back toward the stirring tool 15 at the lower part of the toner storage section. 16 and a developing sub-supplying means 17 for supplying the agitated developer to the developing roller 11 are provided in the developing case 10, and the toner supplied to the toner replenishing section 8 is transferred to the toner storage section 13. Toner supply means 1 for replenishing
It consists of 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, the toner supply section 8 is connected to the front cover 1.
On the other hand, the toner replenishing means 18 has a helical shaft 20 for conveying toner installed in the toner storage section 13, and also connects one end of the helical shaft 20 to the toner conveying cylinder 21. The toner receiver is connected to the toner replenishing section 8 via the toner replenishing section 8, and has a wide slit a on the downstream side in the toner transport direction for flowing down the toner.
It is arranged in the lower half of the helical shaft 20 inside the toner storage section 13.

Next, the specific structure of the toner replenishing device 9 will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, this device has a semicircular shape with a straight portion and a downwardly extending guide surface. The face plate 23 is arranged horizontally with its guide surface along the inner surface of the closed front cover 19, and a bracket 24 is provided above the face plate 23, and the bracket 24 and the face plate 23, a cartridge loading member 26 is provided to provide a passage gap for a toner cartridge 25, which will be described later.

For more details, see the H-shaped retainer C of the toner cartridge 25.
The two cartridge attachment/detachment parts 27 that engage from above,
The cartridge loading member 26 is provided with a phase of 180 degrees to each other, and the cartridge loading member 2
A hole d in the vertical direction is formed in the center of the face plate 23 and the bracket 24, while a hole e around the semicircular center is formed in each of the face plate 23 and the bracket 24.
A bolt 28 is inserted from the hole f on the bracket 24 side to the hole d of the cartridge loading member 26 and the center hole e of the face plate 23, and a nut 29 is screwed into this bolt 28 via a washer g. In addition, the cartridge loading member 26 is configured to be rotatable around the vertical axis P of the bolt 28.

A circular rotation operating tool 30 for rotating the cartridge loading member 26 is connected to the lower end side of the cartridge loading member 26, and the circumference of the rotation operating tool 30 is connected to the lower end of the cartridge loading member 26. A locking recess for locking a ratchet pawl 31 attached to the face plate 23 is formed in the surface, and the cartridge loading member 26 is configured to be rotatable in only one direction.

The toner cartridge 25 is made of synthetic resin, for example, and has the H-shaped engaging portion C on one side of the cartridge body 25a, and a rectangular toner replenishment opening 32 in the lower opening of the cartridge body 25a. Hinge 3
An opening/closing lid 34 for opening and closing the toner replenishing opening 32 via the toner replenishing opening 32 and an opening means 35 for locking the opening/closing lid 34 in the closed state are each attached to a body-molded opening member 36 by bonding or the like. It consists of means.

Note that the hinge 33 is connected to the cartridge loading member 26.
It is provided on the downstream side in the rotational direction when the toner cartridge 25 rotates as the toner cartridge 25 rotates in one direction, and the fifth
As shown in the figure, the opening/closing lid 34 is shaped so as to be biased in the opening direction.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the locking means 35 includes a claw member 37 provided with a locking portion i for locking the free end side of the open/close lid 34 in the closed state. A cam portion j is formed on the hinge 33 side of this claw member 37, and when the claw member 37 is bent in a direction away from the hinge 33, the locking lock on the free end side of the opening/closing lid 34 is released. Then, the opening/closing lid 34 is opened by the biasing force in the opening direction provided on the hinge 33, and when the opening/closing lid 34 under the opening is lifted, the claw member 3
7 is once bent in the direction away from the hinge 33 by the action of the cam part j, and the opening/closing lid 34 is closed, and the free end side of the opening/closing lid 34 is engaged with the locking lock by the locking part i of the claw member 37. is configured to be

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, on the upper surface of the face plate 23,
The hinge 33 and the claw member 37 of the toner cartridge 25
A recessed groove k for recessing is formed around the vertical axis P, and an opening 38 facing the toner replenishment port m of the toner replenishing section 8 is formed in the face plate 23 with the recessed groove k separated. In addition, Figure 1 and Figures 4 to 6
As shown in the figure, a fixing means 39 is provided for biasing and fixing the cartridge loading member 26 at a predetermined position, and the cartridge loading member 26 is moved in one direction against the biasing and fixing force of the fixing means 39. A lock release means 40 for switching the opening/closing lid locking means 35 to an unlocked state and a closing means 41 for switching the opening/closing lid 34 to a closed state are provided.

Specifically, the fixing means 39 includes a fixed side member 4 that includes a ball n, a holding member 42 that holds the ball n, and a spring 43 that causes a portion of the ball n to protrude above the holding member 42.
4 is provided on the side of the face plate 23, and the toner replenishment opening 32 of each toner cartridge 25 loaded in the cartridge detachment section 27 corresponds to the opening 38 of the face plate 23 and, in turn, to the toner replenishment port m of the toner replenishment section 8. Recesses r, r into which the ball n is inserted in the rotated state are formed on the lower surface of the rotary operating tool 30.

Further, the lock release means 40 is formed by protruding and bending a tongue piece t in a recessed groove on the upstream side of the rotational direction of the cartridge loading member 26 with respect to the opening 38. 26 rotates in one direction, the claw member 37 comes into contact with the tongue piece t, so that the locking means 3
5 can be switched to the unlocked state.

The closing means 41 connects the edge of the opening 38 on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the cartridge loading member 26 to a cam surface portion S;
The cartridge loading member 26
As the opening/closing lid 34 rotates in one direction, the opening/closing lid 34 moves to the cam surface portion S.
By riding on the upper surface of the face plate 23 from the opening/closing lid 34, the opening/closing lid 34 can be switched to the closed state.

According to the above configuration, when replacing the empty toner cartridge 25 loaded in one of the cartridge attachment/detachment portions 27 and having the toner replenishment opening 32 corresponding to the toner replenishment port m, the front cover 19 and install a new toner cartridge 25 into the other cartridge attachment/detachment section 27 , the fixing section When the cartridge loading member 26 is rotated against the fixed biasing force of the means 39, at the beginning of the rotation, as shown in FIG.
The opening/closing lid 34 of the empty toner cartridge 25 rides on the top surface of the face plate 23 from the cam surface portion S, and the toner replenishing opening 32 of the empty toner cartridge 25 is opened/closing the opening/closing lid 3.
4, it is automatically occluded.

On the other hand, the toner replenishing opening 32 of the new toner cartridge 25 corresponds to the toner replenishing port m of the toner replenishing section 8, and immediately before the cartridge loading member 26 is forcefully fixed by the fixing means 39, as shown in FIG. As shown, the locking means 35 is switched to the unlocked state by the unlocking means 40, and the opening/closing lid 34 of the new toner cartridge 25 is automatically opened, thereby allowing toner to be replenished through the toner replenishing opening 32. Toner is replenished into the section 8. Thus, the new toner cartridge 25 is installed in the other cartridge removal section 27, and the cartridge loading member 2 is installed.
With the toner replenishment opening 32 closed by the three operations of rotation operation 6 and ejection of the empty toner cartridge 25 to prevent toner contamination in the surrounding area,
Empty toner cartridge 25 can be replaced easily.

In the embodiment, the developing device 4 using a so-called two-component developer in which a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier are mixed was described as an object of implementation of the toner replenishing device 9 according to the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be practiced with respect to a developing device using a type of developer.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the toner supply device of the present invention,
By attaching a new toner cartridge to the cartridge removal section and rotating the cartridge loading member, the toner replenishment opening is closed and the empty toner cartridge is removed so that the toner replenishment opening is closed and the cartridge loading member is rotated. The toner cartridge can be taken out, and at the same time, the opening/closing lid of the new toner cartridge is opened in the toner replenishing section, and the toner in the toner cartridge is supplied to the toner replenishing section. It has become possible to easily replace an empty toner cartridge with three operations: mounting the toner cartridge, rotating the cartridge loading member, and removing the empty toner cartridge.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a developing device and a toner replenishing device, FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view of a developing device and a toner replenishing device in an electrostatographic copying machine, which is an example of an image forming apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal side view of a toner replenishing device. The perspective view and FIGS. 4 to 6 are cross-sectional views for explaining the opening/closing operation of the opening/closing lid. 4...Developing device, 8...Toner supply section, 25...
Toner cartridge, 26... Cartridge loading member, 27... Cartridge attachment/detachment part, 32... Toner supply opening, 34... Opening/closing lid, 35... Locking means,
39... Fixing means, 40... Lock release means, 41
...Closing means, m...Toner supply port, P...Vertical axis line. Applicant: Sanda Kogyo Co., Ltd. Representative: Patent Attorney: Hideo Fujimoto 4...Developing device 8...Toner supply section 25...Toner cartridge 26...Cartridge loading member 27...Cartridge attachment section 32... ... Toner supply opening 34 ... Opening/closing lid 35 ... Locking means 39 ... Fixing means 40 ... Lock release means 41 ... Closing means m ... Toner supply port P ... Vertical axis Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] A toner replenishing device for a toner replenishing section of a developing device, wherein a cartridge loading member is provided near the toner replenishing port of the toner replenishing section so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis, and a toner replenishing opening and the toner are provided at a lower portion thereof. Two toner cartridge removable portions each having a means for locking an opening/closing lid with respect to the replenishment opening are provided on the cartridge loading member at a predetermined interval around the vertical axis, and further, the toner replenishment opening is connected to the toner replenishment opening, respectively. A fixing means is provided for urging and fixing the cartridge loading member in a state corresponding to the locking means, and as the cartridge loading member rotates against the urging and fixing force of the fixing means, the locking means is A toner replenishing device characterized in that it is provided with a lock release means for switching to an unlocked state and a closing means for switching an opening/closing lid to a closed state.