JPH049976A - Developer replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly load a toner cartridge by dividually sealing the replenishing port of a developer container by at least two sealing members and arranging the members so that peeling force on a peeling force acting part may be nearly equal. CONSTITUTION:The toner cartridge 1 is inserted and fitted from the upper side of a mount part 7 in a state where the sealing members 5 and 6 turn downward. Projections 71 and 72 abut on the peeling force acting parts 54 and 64 of the members 5 and 6 and are pushed into the areas 32 and 42 of walls 3 and 4 in a U-shaped bent state. The peeled parts of the members 5 and 6 are peeled off from the toner replenishing ports 26 and 27 so as to supply stored toner to a developing device through a drop port 73. Since the members 5 and 6 are divided to be two, all the toner is dropped in a short time. Then, the uniform peeling force acts in the circumferential direction of the cartridge, so that the excessive force is prevented from acting on and breaking a part of the cartridge.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a developer replenishing device using a developer storage container applied to image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and printers, and more specifically relates to a developer replenishing device using a developer storage container. The present invention relates to an improvement of a developer replenishing device that is capable of simultaneously performing a developer storage container mounting operation and a sealing member peeling operation.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in an electrophotographic copying machine, it is necessary to appropriately replenish the developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) consumed during development. Toner is replenished by attaching a developer storage container (hereinafter referred to as a "toner cartridge") whose toner replenishment port (hereinafter referred to as a toner replenishment port) is closed by a sealing member to the mounting portion of the developer replenishing device and peeling off the sealing member. There is something.

As this type of toner cartridge, for example,
No. 2066, by providing a finger hook that engages with the cartridge insertion portion of the developing unit at one end of the sealing member, the finger hook of the sealing member moves the finger hook of the sealing member to the cartridge insertion portion in conjunction with the installation operation of the toner cartridge. A toner cartridge has been proposed in which the seal member is peeled off by engaging with the toner cartridge.This allows the toner cartridge installation work and the seal member peeling work to be performed at the same time, significantly improving work efficiency when replenishing toner. The idea is to do so.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, according to the above-mentioned toner cartridge, the finger hook provided at one end of the sealing member has a piece that engages with the cartridge insertion portion, so that the toner cartridge cannot be opened. The attachment force is applied only to one side of the toner cartridge finger hook, and the finger hook of the sealing member does not act on the other end of the toner cartridge. Therefore, the attachment force is not applied uniformly in the circumferential direction of the toner cartridge, and the toner cartridge is Smooth installation may become difficult.

Also, the mounting force when installing the toner cartridge is l.
- Because the finger grip of the toner cartridge acts only on one side, excessive peeling force may sometimes be applied and the toner cartridge itself may be damaged.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its main purpose is to provide good developer replenishment workability in that the work of installing the developer storage container and the work of peeling off the seal member can be performed at the same time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a developer replenishing device that can smoothly attach a developer storage container to a mounting portion while maintaining the same. Another object of the present invention is to maintain good developer replenishment workability in that it is possible to simultaneously perform the work of installing the developer storage container and the work of peeling off the seal member, and to mount the toner cartridge without damaging it. An object of the present invention is to provide a developer replenishing device that can perform the following tasks.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The developer replenishment device of the present invention includes a container main body for accommodating developer, a replenishment port provided in the container main body for replenishing the developer, and a replenishment port that can be peeled off. a developer storage container having a sealing member that can be closed; and a mounting portion to which the developer storage container is mounted, the mounting portion having a peeling member for peeling off the sealing member; The developer replenishing device is configured such that the sealing member is peeled off in conjunction with the mounting operation of the developer storage container, the developer replenishing device having at least two replenishment openings of the developer storage container.
The sealing member is divided and closed by two sealing members, and each of the peeling force acting portions is arranged so that the peeling force applied to the peeling force acting portion of these sealing members that receives the peeling force from the peeling member is approximately equal. It is something.

(Function) According to the developer replenishment device of the present invention, when the developer storage container is installed in the mounting portion, the installation force acting on the developer storage container is applied to the peeling force acting portion of the plurality of seal members that close the replenishment port. Since the toner cartridges act almost equally, the mounting force acts approximately uniformly as a peeling force in the circumferential direction of the developer storage container, making it possible to smoothly mount the toner cartridge.

Further, since a substantially uniform peeling force acts in the circumferential direction of the developer storage container, damage to the developer storage container itself can be prevented.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the developer replenishing device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Here, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the developer replenishing device of the present invention, and FIG. 2(A), FIG. 2(B), and FIG. FIG. 3 is an action explanatory diagram for explaining the action of the replenishment device.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a toner cartridge formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and this toner cartridge 1 includes a container body 2 having a rectangular cross section in both the horizontal and vertical directions. A first protruding wall 3 and a second protruding wall 4 each having a cross-sectional shape are provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the central axis of the first protruding wall.
And between the second protruding walls 3, 4 and the side wall of the container body 2, a first
An opening 33, a second opening 43, and a hollow third region 32 and a fourth region 42 are provided continuously thereto.

On the other hand, the inside of the container body 2 is divided into a first region 21 and a second region 22 by a partition wall 23 to store toner separately. When the first seal member 5° and the second seal member 6 that close the opening 26 and the second toner supply port 27 are peeled off, the first and second toner supply ports 26.
Toner is supplied by dropping through 27.

Here, regarding the first and second seal members 5 and 6, the first
The seal member 5 will be described as an example.

The first sealing member 5 has one end 51 fixed to the lower surface 24 of the right side wall of the container body, and a peeling portion continuous to the one end 51 releasably closing the first toner supply port 26. The remaining part continuous to the peeling part is the first toner supply port 2
6 is folded back at the other end side 52 (lower end surface of the partition wall 23 ) and straddles the first toner replenishing port 26 and the first opening 33 , the other end 53 becomes the lower end of the first protruding wall 3 It is fixed to 31. Here, in a portion straddling the first opening 33, there is a peeling force applying portion 54 for peeling off the first sealing member 5 by a projection 7172 of the mounting portion 7, which will be described later.
There is a first protruding wall 3 and a second protruding wall 4.
The peeling force acting portions 54 and 64 are set to be at symmetrical positions with respect to the central axis.

Next, the mounting section 7 of the developing device into which the above-described toner cartridge/nozzle 1 is mounted will be explained.

The mounting section 7 has a hollow interior for mounting the toner cartridge 1, and a drop lower 3 is provided below the mounting section 7 for supplying toner to a developing device (not shown). At locations corresponding to the protruding wall 3 and the second protruding wall 4, there is formed a substantially rib-like shape for peeling off the first sealing member 5 and the second sealing member 6, and the tip thereof is formed in an R-shape. A first protrusion 71 and a second protrusion 72 are provided as peeling members.

Subsequently, the operation based on the above-described configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. 2(A), FIG. 2(B), and FIG. 2(C).

First, insert the toner cartridge 1 into the first position from above the mounting section 7.
Then, the second seal members 5 and 6 are inserted and fitted in a downward state. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2(A), the first and second protrusions 71.72 come into contact with the peel force acting portions 54.64 of the first and second seal members 5, 6.

Then, when the toner cartridge 1 is pushed into the mounting portion 7, the first seal member 5 pops out by the first protrusion 71 and forms a U-shape in the third area 32 of the wall 3, as shown in FIG. 2(B). At the same time, the second sealing member 6 is bent into a U-shape and pushed into the fourth region 42 of the protruding wall 4 by the second protrusion 72 . As a result of the above-described operation, the peeled portion of the first seal member 5 is removed from the first seal member 5.
The toner separated from the toner supply port 26 and stored in the first area 21 is supplied to the developing device (not shown) through the first toner supply port 26 and the falling lower 3, and at the same time, the toner is separated from the second seal member The peeling portion 6 is peeled off from the second toner supply port 27, and the toner contained in the second region 22 is supplied to a developing device (not shown) through the second toner supply port 27 and the falling lower 3. At this time, the toner contained in the container body 2 of the toner cartridge 1 falls from near the center to the ends, so unlike the conventional method, the toner falls from one end to the other. This makes it possible to reduce the difference in the amount of toner supplied at one end and the other end compared to other toner cartridges. Also, since the toner supply port is divided and blocked using two sill members, one sole member
Compared to toner cartridges and cartridges that only use one toner cartridge, it is possible to remove all the toner in a short time when the sealing member is peeled off.

The pushing force acting on the toner cartridge 1 when the series of seal members 5 and 6 are peeled off is as follows:
Peeling force acting parts 54,64 are set to take positions symmetrical with respect to the central axis in the insertion direction into the mounting part 7, and the first protrusion 71 comes into contact with each peeling force acting part 5464.
and the second protrusion 72, the mounting force acts uniformly as a peeling force in the circumferential direction of the toner cartridge, allowing the toner cartridge 1 to be smoothly mounted without wobbling. In addition, since a uniform peeling force is applied in the circumferential direction of the toner cartridge 1, excessive peeling force is not applied to a part of the toner cartridge 1, and damage to the toner cartridge 1 can be prevented. .

Further, when the first protrusion 71 is completely inserted into the third region 32 and the second protrusion 72 is completely inserted into the fourth region 42, each sealing member 5, 6 closes the respective toner supply. It is in a state where it has been completely peeled off from the mouth 26 and 27 (Figure 2 (
(see C)), all of the toner in the toner cartridge 1 is supplied to a developing device (not shown).

On the other hand, when removing the toner cartridge 1 from the mounting section 7, if the toner cartridge 1 is pulled upward,
The first sole member 5 is pushed into the third region 32 of the pop-out wall 3, and at the same time, the second seal member 6 remains pushed into the fourth region 42 of the pop-out wall 4. can be removed.

Developer replenishment device of this embodiment: A developer replenishment device of a type that can perform the installation work of the Yotoner cartridge nozzle and the work of peeling off the seal member at the same time is applied. As described below, the toner cartridge has unique and remarkable effects different from conventional toner cartridges. To give a supplementary explanation regarding the toner cartridge l of this embodiment, the present applicant filed Japanese Patent Application No. 1-24
The toner cartridge proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-244969 has the same structure as the combination of two toner cartridges proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-244969.

That is, according to the toner cartridge of this embodiment, the first
and the first and second seal members 5 and 6 that were folded double when closing the second toner supply port 2627.
When the first and second toner supply ports 26 and 27 are opened, the walls 3 and 4 will be folded double and protrude.
Since the toner cartridge 1 is configured to be housed inside, the mounting stroke of the toner cartridge 1 to the mounting portion 7 and the peeling stroke of the first and second seal members 5. The width of the toner cartridge 1 can be made substantially equal to the width of the toner replenishment port, thereby shortening the mounting dimension of the toner cartridge 1 and simplifying the mounting operation and the peeling operation of the seal member. Further, since the first and second seal members 5.6 that have been torn off are accommodated in the protruding walls 3 and 4, the toner cartridge 1 that has finished toner supply is removed from the mounting portion 7. This has the effect that toner adhering to the sealing member will not be scattered to the operator or the surrounding area even when the sealing member is damaged.

In the embodiment described above, the container body 2 of the toner cartridge 1 is divided into a first area 21 and a second area 22, and each toner supply port 26, 27 is connected to the first and second seal members 5. , 6, the peeling force acting parts of the sealing member were set at two positions symmetrical to the central axis, specifically, the included angle was 180°. For example, l-ner cartridge 1
The container body 2 is divided into four regions, in addition to the first region 21 and the second region 22, an 11th region and a 21st region. It may be set at four positions that are symmetrical to the axis, that is, at an included angle of 90 degrees, and the number of peeling force acting parts is set to two positions that are symmetrical to the central axis in the mounting direction of the toner cartridge 1.
More than one number can be applied.

In the above-described embodiment, the container body 2 is divided into two by the partition wall 23, but the partition wall 23 does not need to be separately provided, and in short, it is sufficient that the toner supply port is divided into two parts. The direction in which the toner cartridge 1 is installed and removed may be horizontal. Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, the same type of toner may be stored in the divided regions of the toner cartridge, or different types of toner or materials (carriers) may be stored therein.

(Effects) According to the developer replenishing device Q of the present invention, when the developer storage container is installed in the mounting portion, the installation force acting on the developer storage container is applied to the peeling force acting portion of the plurality of seal members that close the replenishment port. Since the mounting force acts almost equally as a peeling force in the circumferential direction of the developer storage container, the toner cartridge can be smoothly mounted.

Also, since a substantially uniform peeling force acts in the circumferential direction of the developer storage container, the developer storage container itself may be damaged.
This will prevent accidents from happening.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the developer replenishing device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (Δ), FIG. 2 (B), and FIG. FIG. 4 is an action explanatory diagram for explaining the action.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A developer storage container having a container body for storing developer, a replenishment port provided in the container body for replenishing the developer, and a sealing member for removably closing the replenishment port; A mounting part having a peeling member for peeling off the sealing member and a mounting part to which the developer storage container is mounted, and the sealing member is peeled off in conjunction with the mounting operation of the developer storage container to the mounting part. The developer replenishing device comprises dividing and closing the replenishing port of the developer storage container with at least two seal members, and applying a peeling force to a peeling force applying portion of these sealing members that receives a peeling force from the peeling member. 1. A developer replenishing device characterized in that respective peeling force acting parts are arranged so that the peeling force acting parts are approximately equal. (2) Developer replenishment according to claim (1), characterized in that the peeling force acting portion of the sealing member is arranged at a position symmetrical with respect to a central axis in a mounting direction of the developer storage container to the mounting portion. Device.