JPH05107918A - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a toner cartridge used also as a discharged toner recovery container where recovered discharged toner is prevented from being pushed back. CONSTITUTION:This toner cartridge 10 is provided with a supplied toner container 8 and a container main body 12 used also as the discharged toner container. Then, the cartridge 10 is provided with a partitioning plate 14 which slides and moves in a supplied toner pushing out direction along the inner wall of the container main body 12, a supply port 10a for releasing the supplied toner 15 to the inside of a developing device 3 when the cartridge 10 is attached to the device 3, and an aperture for recovering the discharged toner 13 for introducing the recovered discharged toner 16 in the container main body 12. The inside of the container main body 12 on the supply port 10a side of the plate 14 is a supplied toner storing part and the inside of the container main body on an aperture side for recovering the discharged toner of the plate 14 is a discharged toner storing part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a toner cartridge for supplying toner to a developing device of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or a facsimile machine which utilizes an electrophotographic process, a toner cartridge (toner bottle) for replenishing toner to a developing device has a collection container for discarded toner. There is one that doubles as For example, JP-A-59-1843
No. 73 discloses that the inside of one toner bottle is partitioned by an elastic sheet, and unused toner is stored in one of the compartments, and a recovery toner introduction pipe is connected to the other compartment and introduced into the other compartment. It is disclosed that the unused toner is pushed out from the inside of the toner bottle to the developing tank side by pressing and deforming the elastic sheet by the pressure of the waste toner. Since this toner bottle doubles as a replenishing container and a waste toner collecting bottle by one bottle, it is possible to reduce the storage space of the toner bottle and the cost.

However, since this toner container pushes the waste toner into the container against the repulsive force of the elastic sheet,
A large pushing force is required, and the waste toner may be pushed back by the repulsive force of the elastic sheet.
Therefore, it is important not to be influenced by the elastic sheet in order to reliably store the collected waste toner, and the purpose of effectively utilizing the inside of the container cannot be achieved.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner cartridge which also serves as a waste toner collecting container in which collected waste toner is not pushed back.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a toner cartridge provided with a toner container for replenishment and a container body which also serves as a waste toner container, the toner cartridge being replenished along the inner wall of the container body. Partition plate that slides in the direction of pushing out toner, a supply port for discharging replenishment toner into the developing device when the toner cartridge is installed in the developing device, and the collected waste toner inside the container body. With an opening for collecting waste toner for introduction,
The inside of the container body on the replenishment port side of the partition plate is a replenishment toner accommodating portion, and the inside of the container body on the waste toner recovery opening side of the partition plate is a waste toner accommodating portion. The sliding movement is made possible by elastically urging toward the replenishment port, and the partition plate and the inner wall of the container are provided with an uneven guide mechanism that engages with each other in an uneven manner. An elastic sliding packing member is interposed in the portion to prevent toner leakage.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural explanatory view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a photosensitive drum 2 as a latent image carrier and a static image on the photosensitive drum 2. The cleaning device 5 includes a developing device 3 for applying a toner onto the latent image to make it visible, and a cleaning device 5 for removing the toner remaining on the outer periphery of the photoconductor drum which has been transferred at the transfer portion 4. The used toner collected by the developing device 3 is collected through a waste toner collecting pipe (not shown).
It is collected in the toner cartridge 10 attached to the.

2 (a), 2 (b) and 3 are sectional views showing the construction and operation of an embodiment of the toner cartridge of the present invention. This toner cartridge 10 is an upper portion of the toner tank 8 of the developing device 3. Replenishment port 10 with respect to mounting port 8a provided in
It is fixed by mounting a, and has an opening 13 for collecting waste toner on the upper side wall of the cylindrical container body 12, and can be lifted up and down by hermetically sliding contact with the inner wall of the container body 12 at the outer peripheral edge. It has a partition plate 14 supported by.
In the state where the cartridge is mounted as shown in FIG. 2A, the unused toner (replenishment toner) 15 is located below the partition plate 14, and the unused toner 15 flows into the tank 8. Along with this, the partition plate 14 descends due to its own weight. The collected waste toner 16 is discharged from the opening 13 onto the partition plate 14, but the storage space for the waste toner 16 expands as the partition plate 14 descends in accordance with the consumption of the unused toner 15. Become. Since about 20 to 30% of the unused toner is collected as the waste toner, the waste toner storage space formed above the partition plate 14 is sufficient and the waste toner does not overflow. Further, since the partition plate 14 pushes the unused toner 15 downward by its own weight, it serves as a lid for preventing the toner from being left over and preventing the waste toner 16 from leaking after the toner has been used (FIG. 3). ..

Next, FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) show a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein the partition plate 14 is elastically biased downward by a spring 20 to remove the unused toner from the partition plate 14. This is an enhancement of the extrusion effect. The support portion at the lower end of the spring 20 may be appropriately designed so as not to hinder the outflow of toner from the replenishment port 10a. According to this embodiment, since the partition plate is pushed down more positively not only by the weight of the partition plate 14, the effect of preventing the toner from being left over and the securement of the waste toner storage space can be ensured. You can

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, which is characterized in that the container body 12 is tilted in one direction and the partition plate 14 is elastically biased by a spring 20.
According to this embodiment, the upward protrusion length of the cartridge can be reduced, which is advantageous in the layout of the image forming apparatus (in particular, the reduction in the height direction dimension). The spring 20 can compensate for a decrease in the pushing-down effect due to the weight of the partition plate caused by the tilting of the partition plate.

Although not shown in the drawing, in order to prevent the partition plate 14 from collapsing, a plurality of guide rails (or grooves) extending in the axial direction are formed on the inner wall of the container body at predetermined intervals. A groove (or a ridge) that slidably fits on a guide rail or the like may be formed on the outer periphery of the partition plate 14.
In addition, in the claims, a mechanism in which these concave and convex portions are fitted with each other is referred to as a concave and convex guide mechanism. Further, in order to prevent the waste toner from leaking, a sliding packing member (elastic sliding packing member) such as sponge may be provided on either one of the partition plate and the inner wall of the container body.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the toner cartridge which also serves as the waste toner collecting container, the collected waste toner can be prevented from being pushed back, and the extrudability of the unused toner can be improved. ..

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

2A and 2B are configuration explanatory views of a first embodiment of a cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a partition plate is lowered in the embodiment of FIG.

4 (a) and 4 (b) are configuration explanatory views of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a structural explanatory view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Image forming apparatus, 2 ... Photosensitive drum, 3 ...
・ Developing device, 4 ... Transfer unit, 5 ... Cleaning device, 8 ... Toner tank, 8a ... Mounting port, 10.
..Toner cartridge, 10a ... Replenishment port, 12.
..Container body, 14 ... Partition plate, 15 ... Unused toner, 16 ... Waste toner,

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A toner cartridge comprising a replenishment toner container and a container body that also serves as a waste toner container, wherein the toner cartridge is a partition that slides along the inner wall of the container body in the replenishment toner pushing direction. A plate, a replenishing port for discharging replenishment toner into the developing device when the toner cartridge is mounted in the developing device, and a waste toner collecting opening for introducing the collected waste toner into the container body. The container body on the supply port side of the partition plate is a replenishment toner container, and the container body on the waste toner recovery opening side of the partition plate is a waste toner container. Toner cartridge. 2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the partition plate is elastically biased toward the supply port. 3. The partition plate and the inner wall of the container are provided with concave-convex guide mechanisms for fitting in concave and convex portions, respectively, to enable the sliding movement, and the sliding portion is provided with an elastic sliding packing member. 3. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridge is provided so as to prevent the toner from leaking.