JPH05158347A - Toner cartridge attaching structure for developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain toner cartridge attaching structure by which a toner cartridge is easily and surely attached to/detached from the hopper of a developing device and the toner is prevented from being scattered in a state where the toner cartridge is attached to the hopper. CONSTITUTION:The cover 2 of the toner cartridge 1 is held along the rear face of the toner cartridge 1 attached to the hopper 42. Then, the toner cartridge 1 is allowed to be in pressurized contact with the hopper 42 by a projection 22 formed on the cover 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner for replenishing powdery toner to a developing device used in an image forming apparatus utilizing so-called electrophotography, such as an electrostatic copying machine and a laser beam printer. The present invention relates to a mounting structure for mounting a cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as the developing device, as shown in FIG. 6, an opening 91 facing a photosensitive drum of an image forming device.
An apparatus main body 91 having a and containing a developer therein, and an opening of the apparatus main body 91 provided with a developing sleeve 92 which is arranged to face the photosensitive drum and is opposed to the photosensitive drum by a predetermined distance are used. ..

The developing sleeve 92 attracts a carrier made of a magnetic material such as ferrite contained in the developer by a built-in magnet (not shown), so that the surface of the developing sleeve 92 holds the developer. It rotates according to the rotation of the photoconductor drum. Then, the developer is brought into contact with the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum, and the toner contained in the developer is electrostatically adhered to the electrostatic latent image to visualize the electrostatic latent image. Turn into. Then, the visualized toner image is transferred onto paper or the like and fixed, whereby an image corresponding to the electrostatic latent image is obtained.

Since the toner in the developer is consumed in the above image forming process, a toner cartridge 94 (see FIG. 7) containing replenishment toner is attached to the apparatus main body 91, and the toner is removed from the toner cartridge 94. A hopper 91b is provided for receiving the replenishment. Also, the hopper 9
A guide member 95 for guiding the toner cartridge 94 to a regular mounting position is provided on the upper portion of the 1b, and the guide member 95.
There is provided a cover 93 mounted on the hopper 91b for preventing foreign matter other than toner from entering the hopper 91b. Then, the toner cartridge 94 is attached to and detached from the hopper 91b through the opening 93a on the side of the cover 93.

[0005]

If there is a gap between the toner cartridge 94 mounted on the hopper 91b and the hopper 91b, the toner is scattered from there. Therefore, conventionally, means for pressing the toner cartridge 94 to the hopper 91b is provided on the guide member 95, the cover 93, and the like.

However, since the above-mentioned press-contact means normally works also when attaching and detaching the toner cartridge 94, not only is the attachment and detachment of the toner cartridge 94 heavy, but the toner cartridge 94 rattles and moves during the attachment and detachment work. There is a risk that the toner cartridge 94 will disappear, or on the contrary, the toner cartridge 94 will come off vigorously, and when these problems occur, there is a risk that the spilled toner may stain the inside of the device or the hands of workers. .

It is conceivable to employ a pressure contact means that can release the pressure contact force when attaching and detaching the toner cartridge 94, but the structure of the pressure contact means becomes complicated, and the attaching and detaching work becomes complicated, and forgetting to release it. The pressure contact means, the toner cartridge 94, and the like may be damaged when the attachment / detachment is performed. Further, in the structure shown in the drawing, the cover 93 is provided on the guide member 95.
When the toner cartridge 94 is attached or detached, if the above problem occurs, it is difficult to process the problem. Moreover, the cover 93
Since the number of parts is increased due to the necessity of the above, it is also disadvantageous in terms of the number of man-hours for assembling the device and the cost.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the toner cartridge 94 is removed from the hopper 91b during use or after use, the toner cartridge 94 is usually used.
A lid 9 that closes the toner supply port to prevent toner from scattering
5 is attached, the lid 95 needs to be stored separately while the toner cartridge 94 is attached to the hopper 91b, and there is a problem that the handling is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner cartridge mounting structure for a developing device, in which all of the above problems are solved.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, the toner cartridge mounting structure of the developing device of the present invention is provided with a guide member for guiding the toner cartridge to the mounting position to the hopper. The member holds the lid of the toner cartridge along the back surface of the toner cartridge arranged at the mounting position, and the lid is provided with a projection that comes into contact with the back surface of the toner cartridge. It is characterized by being pressed against.

[0011]

According to the toner cartridge mounting structure of the present invention having the above structure, when the lid having the protrusion for pressing the toner cartridge to the hopper is removed from the guide member of the hopper, the pressing force of the toner cartridge to the hopper is increased. Since the toner cartridge can be attached to and detached from the hopper without applying the toner cartridge, the toner cartridge can be attached and detached easily and securely.

Further, when the toner cartridge is arranged at the mounting position to the hopper, and the lid is held by the guide member, the toner cartridge is pressed against the hopper by the projection of the lid, so that the toner scattering can be surely prevented. .. Further, according to the above structure, the problem of storing the lid while the toner cartridge is mounted in the hopper is solved. Further, according to the above structure, the lid held by the guide member is
Since it also serves as a cover for preventing foreign matter other than toner from entering the hopper, the cover is not required, which is advantageous in terms of the number of assembly steps and cost of the apparatus. In addition, since the lid is removed from the guide member when the toner cartridge is attached and detached as described above, it is possible to easily perform the processing when a problem such as the toner cartridge getting caught occurs.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A toner cartridge mounting structure for a developing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment thereof. 4 and 5 show the toner cartridge 1 used in the toner cartridge mounting structure of this embodiment and the lid 2 attached to the toner cartridge.

The toner cartridge 1 has a main body 10 containing toner and a flange extending outward of the main body 10 flush with the surface of the main body 10 on which a toner supply port (not shown) is formed. The part 11 and the part 11 are integrally formed of synthetic resin. As shown in these figures, the collar portion 11 has a lid 2
It engages with the grooves 21a of the main body 10 and acts as a supporting portion when the lid 2 is attached to the main body 10, and a portion 11 of the flange portion 11 that is largely extended from one end side of the main body 10.
The a is also used as a handle when the toner cartridge 1 is attached to and detached from the hopper 42 described later. The surface of the collar portion 11 on the toner supply port side is also used as a sealing surface when the toner supply port of the toner cartridge 1 before use is sealed with a seal film.

The lid 2 includes one rectangular plate body 20 and a frame body 2 provided on two sides of the plate body 20 parallel to each other.
1 and 21 are integrally formed of synthetic resin. The grooves 21a, 21a, 21a, 21a, 21a, 21a,
21b and 21b are formed. Grooves 21a, 21a
As described above, the collar portion 11 of the toner cartridge 1
And is used when the lid 2 is attached to the main body 10. On the other hand, the grooves 21b, 21b are used when the lid 2 is held by the guide member 3 by engaging with the lid holding plates 33, 33 of the guide member 3 described later.

When held by the guide member 3, the surface of the plate member 20 on the side of the grooves 21b, 21b is brought into contact with the back surface of the toner cartridge 1 and the toner cartridge 1
A projection 22 for pressing the hopper 42 into contact with a hopper 42 described later.
22 and 22 are formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion 22 is formed in a plate shape along the longitudinal direction of the lid 2,
Its outer shape is semicircular. This prevents the protrusion 22 that is in contact with the back surface of the toner cartridge 1 from interfering with the sliding of the lid 2 when the lid 2 is slid and held by the guide member 3, so that the lid 2 slides smoothly. This is because.

The developing device D in which the toner cartridge 1 and the lid 2 are mounted is constructed in the same manner as the conventional one except for the guide member 3, as shown in FIGS. It That is, the developing device D has the opening 41 facing the photosensitive drum of the image forming apparatus, the apparatus main body 4 for accommodating the developer therein, and the opening of the apparatus main body 4,
The developing sleeve 5 is provided so as to face the photosensitive drum and be separated from the photosensitive drum by a predetermined distance. A hopper 42 for receiving toner from the mounted toner cartridge 1 is provided above the opening 41 of the apparatus body 4. A guide member 3 for mounting the toner cartridge 1 in the hopper 42 is attached to the upper part of the hopper 42.

The guide member 3 is integrally formed by bending a sheet of metal plate, and the toner cartridge 1 is placed on the flange 11 with its surface facing the flange 11 side. Shaped bottom plate 30, a pair of side plates 31, 31 standing up from two parallel sides of the bottom plate 30, and a pair of oblique side plates 32 extending obliquely upward from the upper sides of the side plates 31, 31. , 32 and a pair of lid holding plates 33, 33 horizontally extending outward from the upper side of the slant side plates 32, 32.

The distance between the pair of side plates 31, 31 is as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the width matches the width of the flange portion 11 of the toner cartridge 1, so that the opening 3a at the side end (see FIG.
The guide cartridge 3 guides the toner cartridge 1 inserted into the guide member 3 to the regular mounting position with respect to the hopper 42. As described above, the lid holding plates 33, 33 are for holding the lid 2 by engaging with the grooves 21b, 21b of the lid 2, and when the lid 2 is held, the protrusions 22,
22 and 22 contact the back surface of the toner cartridge 1,
The forming height is set so that the toner cartridge 1 can be pressed against the hopper 42.

In this embodiment including the above-mentioned parts, the toner cartridge 1 and the lid 2 are attached to the hopper 4 of the developing device D.
In order to attach the cover 2 to the second cover 2, first slide the cover 2 in the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG.
Then, the engagement with the flange portion 11 of the toner cartridge 1 is released, and the lid 2 is removed from the toner cartridge 1. At this time, since the toner supply port of the new toner cartridge 1 is sealed by the seal film, there is no risk of toner spilling.

Next, the toner cartridge 1 is attached to the opening 3
It is inserted into the guide member 3 from a and is arranged at a mounting position to the hopper 42 as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 2.
In this state, as described above, since no pressure contact force is applied to the toner cartridge 1, the toner cartridge 1 can be mounted easily and reliably. The seal film that seals the toner supply port described above is preferably peeled off from the toner cartridge 1 at this stage. This is because the pressure contact force is not applied to the toner cartridge 1, so the work of peeling off the seal film is easy, and since the toner cartridge 1 is arranged at the regular attachment position to the hopper 42, the toner is not exposed to the outside. This is because there is little risk of leakage.

Next, the lid holding plates 33, 33 of the guide member 3
, The groove 21b, 21b of the lid 2 is engaged with the end portion on the side of the opening 3a, and the lid 2 is slid to move to a position along the back surface of the toner cartridge 1 as shown in FIGS. To hold the lid 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the protrusions 22, 22, 22 of the lid 2 come into contact with the back surface of the toner cartridge 1, and the toner cartridge 1 moves to the hopper 4
It is pressed against 2 to prevent toner scattering. In this state, the problem of storage of the lid 2 does not occur while the toner cartridge 1 is attached to the hopper 42. Further, in this state, since the lid 2 also functions as a cover for protecting the hopper 42, it is possible to prevent foreign matter other than toner from entering the hopper 42.

When removing the toner cartridge 1 after use or during use, contrary to the above, first, the lid 2 is slid and removed from the guide member 3 so that no pressure contact force is applied to the toner cartridge 1. Then, the toner cartridge 1 may be pulled out of the guide member 3 through the opening 3a. In order to prevent the toner remaining in the toner cartridge 1 from spilling, the toner cartridge 1 is placed in a state where the lid 2 is in contact with the end portion of the bottom plate 30 of the guide member 3 on the side of the opening 3a. It is preferable that the toner supply port of the toner cartridge 1 is closed by the lid 2 at the same time as it is pulled out of the guide member 3.

The toner cartridge mounting structure of the developing device of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown in the drawings. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the collar portion 11 and the grooves 21a and 21a, and the lid holding plates 33 and 33 and the groove 2 are used.
Although the lid 2 is mounted on the toner cartridge 1 or the guide member 3 by the engagement of 1b and 21b, a groove is formed in the toner cartridge 1 and the guide member 3, and the lid 2 is inserted in this groove.
May be engaged.

In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0026]

According to the toner cartridge mounting structure of the developing device of the present invention, the toner cartridge can be attached to and detached from the hopper in a state in which the toner cartridge is not pressed against the hopper, so that the toner cartridge can be attached and detached easily and securely. become. Further, when the toner cartridge is attached to the hopper, the protrusion of the lid held by the guide member along the back surface of the toner cartridge causes
Since the toner cartridge can be pressed against the hopper, toner scattering can be reliably prevented. Further, according to the above structure, the problem of storing the lid while the toner cartridge is mounted in the hopper is solved. Further, according to the above structure, the lid is
Since it also serves as a cover to prevent foreign matter other than toner from entering the hopper, the cover is not required, which is advantageous in terms of the number of assembly steps and cost of the device, and when a problem such as a toner cartridge getting caught occurs. The process of is also easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 (a) is a front view showing a state before a lid is held by a guide member in an embodiment of a toner cartridge mounting structure of a developing device of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is a lid. It is a front view showing the state where it was made to hold by a guide member.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entire developing device in the state of FIG. 1 (a).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the entire developing device in the state of FIG. 1 (b).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing appearances of a toner cartridge and a lid.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of the side opposite to the toner cartridge and the lid.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an entire conventional developing device.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing appearances of a conventional toner cartridge and a lid.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Toner Cartridge 2 Lid 22 Protrusion D Developing Device 3 Guide Member 42 Hopper

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mounting structure for mounting a toner cartridge containing replenishment toner to a hopper of a developing device, wherein the hopper is provided with a guide member for guiding the toner cartridge to a mounting position to the hopper. The lid of the toner cartridge is held along the back surface of the toner cartridge arranged at the mounting position, and the lid is provided with a protrusion that comes into contact with the back surface of the toner cartridge. By this protrusion, the toner cartridge is pressed against the hopper. The toner cartridge mounting structure of the developing device, which is characterized in that