JPH04369668A - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily execute the peeling work of a seal member without soiling a toner cartridge by toner. CONSTITUTION:On the toner cartridge obtained by sealing the aperture of the cartridge main body 4 with a seal member 3 so that it can be peeled, a first shutter 1 is provided so that it can be slid along the aperture and a second shutter 2 is provided so that it can be slid along the shutter 1. The seal member 3 consists of a seal part which seals the aperture and an extention part which is bent on a peeling start side, passed through a first slit 11 and a second slit 12 and fixed to the shutter 1. By driving the shutter 2, the shutter 1 is moved through the seal member 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to toner cartridges. More specifically, the present invention relates to a toner cartridge used in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In image forming apparatuses that perform toner development, toner is generally replenished using a toner cartridge. As a toner cartridge, for example, one in which the opening of the cartridge body is sealed with a film-like sealing member is known. When this cartridge is used, toner replenishment is performed by peeling off the sealing member after installing the toner cartridge in the toner hopper.

At this time, it is necessary to peel off the seal member of the cartridge until the opening of the cartridge body is completely opened, but if the stroke required for this peeling is long, the seal peeling operation becomes complicated.

In Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-60142, in order to shorten the stroke, a shutter and a seal are provided which have a means for peeling off the sealing member welded to the toner cartridge and a means for closing the opening of the cartridge again after opening. A seal welded to the opening is formed into a loop so that the shutter is surrounded by the seal. With this configuration, the moving distance of the shutter is equal to the distance of the opening in the peeling direction.

Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-280781, in order to shorten the stroke, the sealing member is fixed to the container on the opposite side of the folded portion of the sealing portion, instead of being formed into a loop.

[0006]

However, the above conventional example has the following problems in toner replenishment work.

First, there is a problem that toner contamination is likely to occur. This toner contamination is caused by the toner being scattered on workers and surrounding equipment when the sealing member is peeled off with the toner adhesion surface exposed to the outside. In particular, when the shutter is opened, the toner-stained surface of the peeled-off seal member is located under the pulled-out shutter, which causes the problem that toner adhering to the seal easily falls and stains the floor, etc. be.

[0008] Second, there is a problem in that a large force is required to peel off the seal member when it starts to peel off. This is because, in the welded portion, the welded area of the peeling start portion is large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner cartridge whose seal member can be easily removed without causing toner contamination.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a toner cartridge of the present invention includes a cartridge body having an opening for discharging toner, and a sealing member for removably sealing the opening. a first shutter slidably provided in the cartridge body along the opening and having a first slit on the peeling start side of the seal member; and a first shutter slidably provided in the cartridge body along the first shutter and the seal a second shutter having a second slit on the peeling end side of the member, a sealing part that seals the opening, and a sealing part that is folded back on the peeling start side and passes through the first slit and the second slit and is fixed to the first shutter. and a sealing member consisting of an extension, and the first shutter is configured to move via the sealing member by driving the second shutter.

[0011] The sealing member passes between the first shutter and the cartridge main body, and passes through the first slit on the peeling start side of the sealing member and passes through the second slit on the peeling end side of the sealing member. may be configured.

[0012] The sealing member passes between the first shutter and the second shutter, passes through the first slit on the peeling start side of the sealing member, and passes through the second slit on the peeling end side of the sealing member. It may be configured as follows.

[0013] The first shutter may slidably hold the second shutter.

[0014]

[Operation] According to such a configuration, when the second shutter is slid in the direction in which the seal member is peeled off, the seal member slides through the first and second slits, and accordingly, the first shutter slides through the first and second slits. It slides in the same direction as the second shutter at a slower speed than the second shutter. As a result, the opening of the cartridge is gradually exposed and is fully opened at the end of the peeling stroke of the second shutter. With this configuration, a relatively small stroke is required to fully open the cartridge, and a relatively small force is required to be applied to the second shutter when starting to open the cartridge.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a toner cartridge of the present invention applied to an electronic copying machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. The toner cartridge of this embodiment mainly includes a cartridge body 4, a lid body 33, and a shutter mounting body 34.
, first shutter 1, second shutter 2, seal member 3
It is composed of etc.

The cartridge body 4 is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape, and contains toner therein. Further, an opening 31 (the length in the peeling direction of the sealing member 3 described later is L) is provided in the lower part.

The lid body 33 is attached to the upper opening of the cartridge body 4 by adhesive, and a cap 32 for sealing the toner filling opening is attached.

The shutter mounting body 34 is attached to the lower part of the cartridge body 4 by adhesive. Further, the shutter mounting body 34 is formed of a resin material into a box shape, and is formed hollow so that the first shutter 1 described later can be accommodated and slid inside. The inner surfaces 35 on both sides of the shutter mounting body 34 are connected to the first shutter 1
It serves as a guide surface to guide the movement of the robot. Also,
A toner discharge opening 36 corresponding to the opening 31 of the cartridge main body 4 is formed in the center, passing through the upper and lower surfaces. Furthermore, a bridge portion 37 is provided on the lower surface of the mounting body 34 to prevent the first shutter 1 from coming off when it slides and to reinforce the mounting body 34.

The mounting body 34 includes a locking portion 38 as a locking means when the cartridge is installed in a toner hopper (not shown), a pair of projections 39 as a means for unlocking the hopper lid (not shown), and a pair of protrusions 39 (not shown) as a locking means for the hopper lid. A pair of guide tongues 40 are provided to be guided to the guide portion of the toner hopper.

[0021] The first shutter 1 is attached to the shutter mounting body 3
4 is slidably attached. Further, the first shutter 1 is formed of a resin material into a plate shape, and has a side portion that is integral with a bottom portion. The inner surfaces of the both sides have a U-shaped cross section and serve as guide grooves for guiding the movement of the second shutter 2. A first slit 11 through which a portion of the seal member 3 is inserted is formed at the rear end of the first shutter 1 . Further, a projection 20 for preventing the first shutter 1 from coming off is formed on the lower surface of the tip end of the first shutter 1 and comes into contact with the bridge portion 37 of the mounting body 34 to prevent the first shutter 1 from moving.

The second shutter 2 is slidably attached to the first shutter 1. Further, the second shutter 2 is made of a resin material formed into a plate shape, and a second slit 12 is provided at the tip thereof as a traction port for pulling the seal member 3 through which a part of the seal member 3 is inserted. It is being Further, a handle 54 is provided at the rear end portion for an operator to hook his/her finger and perform a sliding operation. The lower surface of the tip of the second shutter 2 (on the rear end side of the second slit 12) comes into contact with the first shutter 1 and prevents movement of the second shutter 2, so that the second shutter 2 and the second shutter 2 are placed inside the cartridge body 4. A protrusion 21 is formed for compact storage.

The seal member 3 seals the entire surface of the opening 31 from one end of the cartridge body 4 through which toner is discharged. Further, the sealing member 3 is formed in a film shape and consists of a sealed portion that seals the opening 31 of the cartridge body 4 and an unsealed portion that is folded back continuously to the sealed portion. The sealing part has one end (peeling end fixed part 25A in FIG. 3(a)) fixed to the inner surface of the shutter mounting body 34, a part continuous to this part sealing the opening 31 of the cartridge body 4, and the other end (Peeling start side fixing portion 25B in FIG. 3(a)) is releasably bonded to the inner surface of the shutter mounting body 34 on the side different from the one end side. Further, the unsealed portion is folded back at the other end side, passes through the first slit 11 from the lower surface side of the first shutter 1 to the second shutter 2 side, and passes between the first shutter 1 and the second shutter 2. After passing through, it passes through the second slit 12 and is fixed to the end of the first shutter 1 (the fixing part 26 in FIGS. 1 and 3(a)).

Next, the peeling operation of the seal member 3 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. 3(a) and 3(b) are cross-sectional views of the state of this embodiment before the seal member 3 is peeled off. In this state, the sealing member 3 is closed to the opening 31 (see FIG.
) covers the entire surface. Although the projection 21 is shown in a state apart from the state in which it is in contact with the first shutter 1 in the figure, it is possible to insert the first and second shutters 1 and 2 into the shutter mounting body 34 in the state in which the projection 21 is in contact with the first shutter 1. It is also possible to store it.

First, grip the handle 54 of the second shutter 2 and pull it in the seal peeling direction (arrow m1 direction).
The seal member 3 receives a traction force from the second slit 12 . As a result, the seal member 3 passes through the second slit 12 and the first slit 11 and pulls the first shutter 1 fixed by the fixing part 26, and moves in the direction of the arrow m1 later than the second shutter 2 due to the pulley principle. It will be moved to.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first shutter 1 is located at a position where the protrusion 20 comes into contact with the bridge portion 37 of the shutter mounting body 34 and the movement of the first shutter 1 is restricted (a position where the opening 31 is completely opened). ), it can slide integrally with the second shutter 2 by a length L up to ). Along with this sliding, the sealing member 3 opens the second slit 1
2, and as a result, the sealing part of the sealing member 3 is pulled through the opening 31.
The opening 31 is gradually peeled off from the seal peeling start position (peeling start side fixed part 25B in FIG. 3(a)) and opened.
The toner is discharged downward. Furthermore, Fig. 13(a)
As shown in FIG.
0 may be provided in the side surface of the shutter mount 34. FIG. 13(b) shows a state in which the protrusion 50 and the hole 52 are engaged.

FIG. 4 shows the sealing member 3 by a length of about L/2.
Fig. 5 shows the state in which it is fully opened. As is clear from these figures, the peeling strokes and opening lengths of the first and second shutters 1 and 2 are different. In other words, the movement relationship between the first shutter 1 and the second shutter 2 is such that while the first shutter 1 moves by L, the second shutter 2 moves by 3L/2. Therefore, the peeling stroke for the cartridge body 4 is 1.5L for the second shutter 2 and L for the first shutter 1.

Assuming that the length required to open the seal member 3 in this manner is L, it is sufficient to pull the second shutter 2 by a distance 1.5 times that length. For example, the first
, the sealing member 3 is m1 without using the second shutters 2 and 3.
When pulled in the direction (Figure 4), the peeling stroke is 2L.
becomes. Here, if the required force is f, in this example, due to the pulley principle, it takes 1.5 f to peel off the seal member.
This means that the power of In addition, in the above-mentioned conventional examples (JP-A-1-280781, JP-A-1-60142),
With a peeling stroke L, the force required for peeling is 2f.

As described above, in this embodiment, since both the peeling stroke and the force required for peeling are relatively small, the required space can be made relatively small, and the work of replenishing toner can be easily performed. In addition, the first and second shutters 1,
When the cartridge 2 is opened, the surface of the seal member 3 to which the toner is attached is sandwiched between the first shutter 1 and the second shutter 2, thereby preventing the toner from falling from the cartridge. be able to. In the fully opened state shown in FIG. 5, the tip end side of the movement (m1) of the toner adhering side of the sealing member 3 is exposed without being shielded by the first shutter 1; Since it is a non-sealed part, no toner is attached to it. Therefore, the problem of toner contamination does not arise. Further, in this embodiment, due to the characteristic arrangement of the sealing member 3 and the like as described above, these effects can be exhibited while preventing the cartridge from becoming large in the shutter housed state.

After toner replenishment is completed, as shown in FIG.
By pressing (arrow m2), both the first and second shutters can be housed in the cartridge main body 4 and returned to the state shown in FIG. 3. The protrusion 21 is connected to the first shutter 1
By pressing the handle 54 against the end of the first,
The second shutter is also compact inside the cartridge body 4.
It can be stored securely. Note that even if the protrusion 21 is not provided, the sealing member 3 is pressed by the end of the second shutter 2, so that it is possible to return to the state shown in FIG. 3.

In addition, in this embodiment, the shutter can be pulled smoothly with a constant force from the start of peeling to the end of peeling, so there is no discomfort during operation, and the shutter can be pulled smoothly and reliably until the peeling end position is reached. You can get an opening.

Next, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 will be described. The toner cartridge of this embodiment has the same structure as the first embodiment, except that the position of the seal member 3 with respect to the first and second shutters 1 and 2 and the position of the protrusion 21 are different. The same reference numerals are given to the configurations, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the unsealed portion of the sealing member 3 is folded back at the other end (peeling start side fixed portion 25B in FIG. 9(a)) as in the first embodiment, and First slit 1 from the bottom side of shutter 1 to the second shutter 2 side
1, passes between the second shutter 2 and the sealing part of the sealing member 3, passes through the second slit 12, and passes through the end of the first shutter 1 (fixed part in FIGS. 8 and 9(a)). 27).

Also, the lower surface of the tip of the second shutter 2 (
The distal end side of the second slit 12 is in contact with the first shutter 1 to prevent the second shutter 2 from moving.
A protrusion 22 is formed for compact storage in the cartridge body 4 together with the second shutter 2.

Next, the peeling operation of the seal member 3 will be explained according to FIGS. 9 to 12. Since FIGS. 9 to 12 correspond to FIGS. 3 to 6 showing the first embodiment, they are the same. A detailed explanation of the peeling operation will be omitted.

First, grasp the handle 54 of the second shutter 2 and pull it in the seal peeling direction (arrow m1 direction).
Similar to the first embodiment, the sealing member 3 has a second slit 1.
2 receives the traction force. As a result, the sealing member 3 passes through the second slit 12 and the first slit 11 and pulls the first shutter 1 fixed by the fixing part 27, and moves in the direction of the arrow m1 later than the second shutter 2 due to the pulley principle. It will be moved to.

Similar to the first embodiment, in this embodiment, both the peeling stroke and the force required for peeling are relatively small;
Toner replenishment work can be easily performed. Furthermore, when the first and second shutters 1 and 2 are opened, the surface of the sealing member 3 to which toner is attached is shielded by the second shutter 2, which prevents toner from falling from the cartridge. be able to. In addition, in the fully opened state shown in FIG. 11, the tip end side of the movement (arrow m1 in FIG. 10) of the surface of the sealing member 3 on the toner adhesion side is exposed without being shielded by the first shutter 1. As in the first embodiment, since this portion is the non-sealed portion, no toner is attached to it. Therefore, the problem of toner contamination does not arise.

After toner replenishment is completed, as shown in FIG. 12, by pressing the second shutter 2 (arrow m2) in the reverse procedure of peeling off the seal member 3, both the first and second shutters are removed from the cartridge body 4. It is possible to restore the state shown in FIG. 9 by storing it inside. By bringing the protrusion 22 into contact with the end of the first shutter 1 and pushing the handle 54, the first
Both the second shutter and the second shutter can be stored compactly and reliably within the cartridge main body 4. Note that even if the protrusion 22 is not provided, the seal member 3 is pressed by the end of the second shutter 2, so that it is possible to return to the state shown in FIG.

[0039]

As explained above, according to the present invention, the extension part of the sealing member is folded back at the peeling start side, passes through the first slit and the second slit, and is fixed to the first shutter. is finally housed while being shielded from the outside by the first sealing member and the second sealing member. Therefore, it is possible to realize a toner cartridge that does not cause toner contamination due to the peeled off seal member.

Furthermore, since the first shutter is configured to move through the sealing member by driving the second shutter, the sealing member can be peeled off with a relatively small force and a relatively short stroke based on the pulley principle. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to realize a toner cartridge in which the sealing member can be easily peeled off.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a first embodiment of the present invention as seen from the top side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the first embodiment of the present invention as seen from the bottom side.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the state before peeling of the seal member of the first embodiment of the present invention, seen from the front side and the side side.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention when the seal member is being peeled off, as seen from the front side.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the state of the first embodiment of the present invention when peeling of the seal member is completed, viewed from the front side.

FIG. 6: After peeling off the seal member of the first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the first and second shutters being returned to their original positions, as seen from the front side.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the second embodiment of the present invention as seen from the top side.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the second embodiment of the present invention as seen from the bottom side.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the state before peeling of the seal member according to the second embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the front side and the side side.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention when the seal member is being peeled off, as seen from the front side.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention when peeling of the seal member is completed, as seen from the front side.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the present invention, seen from the front side, showing a state in which the first and second shutters are being returned to their original positions after the seal member has been peeled off.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing locking protrusions and holes applicable to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...First shutter 2…Second shutter 3...Seal member 4... Cartridge body 11...First slit 12...Second slit 20...Protrusion 21...Protrusion 22...Protrusion 25A...Fixed part on the end of peeling 25B…Fixed part on peeling start side 26…Fixed part 27…Fixed part 31...Opening 32...Cap 33…Lid body 34...Shutter mounting body 35…Inner surface 36...Toner discharge opening 37...Bridge part 38...Locking part 39...Protrusion 40...Guiding tongue piece 50...Protrusion 52...hole

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A toner cartridge comprising a cartridge body having an opening for toner discharge, and a sealing member for removably sealing the opening, wherein the sealing member is slidably provided in the cartridge body along the opening. a first shutter having a first slit on the peeling start side of the seal member; a second shutter slidably provided in the cartridge body along the first shutter and having a second slit on the peeling end side of the seal member; and an extension part that is folded back on the peeling start side and is fixed to the first shutter through the first slit and the second slit,
A toner cartridge in which the first shutter is moved via the sealing member by driving the second shutter. 2. The sealing member passes between the first shutter and the cartridge main body, passes through the first slit on the peeling start side of the sealing member, and passes through the second slit on the peeling end side of the sealing member. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The seal member passes between the first shutter and the second shutter, passes through the first slit on the peeling start side of the seal member, and passes through the second slit on the peeling end side of the seal member. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridge passes through the toner cartridge. 4. Claim 1, wherein the first shutter slidably holds the second shutter.
The toner cartridge according to claim 2 or 3.