JPH0548471B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a toner replenishing device for receiving toner in a separately prepared toner container unit in an electrostatic recording device using a dry type developer.

In an electrostatic recording device using a dry two-component developer or an electrostatic recording device using a single-component toner, the toner is consumed as copies are made;
After a large number of copies have been made, it is necessary to replenish toner. Toner is generally replenished by replenishing a toner receiving device (hopper) of an electrostatic recording device from a toner container unit containing toner. Toner is a powder with an average particle diameter of more than 10 microns and is easily scattered.When replenishing toner by attaching a toner container unit to the toner receiving opening of the hopper, the toner may leak out or scatter. This often resulted in contamination of the surrounding area. Further, toner contamination often occurs due to incorrect operation during installation of the toner container unit or other operations.

The present invention aims to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and provides a toner container having an opening, a sealing member, and a sliding lid that opens and closes together with the sealing member, and a toner container that is received with the opening facing downward. a toner receiving device having an opening/closing lid that opens and closes to replenish toner from the opening; when the toner container is not attached to the toner receiving device, the opening/closing lid cannot be opened; and the toner container is an opening/closing lid locking means that enables the opening/closing lid to be opened in the installed state; a locking means that prevents the toner container from being removed from the toner receiving device; and a locking means that prevents the toner container from being removed from the toner receiving device; After replenishing toner, the means is actuated to move the opening/closing lid along the opening, engage the opening/closing lid, move the sliding lid, close the sliding lid, and close the sealing member to the toner container. 1. A toner replenishing device comprising means for unlocking said locking means to enable removal of said toner container while the entire opening of said toner container is covered. This is achieved by

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the structure of the toner container unit will be explained, and then the structure and operation of the toner receiving device (hopper) to which the toner container unit is attached and which receives toner replenishment will be explained.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the toner container unit 1, showing a case where the opening thereof is sealed with a film-like sheet, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view along line AA in FIG. 1) in this state.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a container body, which has a cylindrical shape with at least one end open, and is made of plastic, paper, or the like.

12 is a fixed lid, but the fixed lid 12 may be integrally molded with the container body 11 as a plastic molded product.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a mouthpiece, which is attached to the open end of the container body 11. Note that the container body 11 may be made of plastic and may be molded integrally with the mouthpiece 13. This mouthpiece 13 has a protruding portion 131 that engages with a sliding portion of a sliding lid 15, which will be described later.
(Fig. 3) on the left and right with respect to the sliding direction.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a film-like sheet for sealing the opening 132 of the mouthpiece 13, and is removably adhered to the lower end surface 133 of the mouthpiece 3 on the circumferential surface of the opening 132, for example, with an adhesive. The tip 141 of this film-like sheet 14 is adhesively fixed to the tip fixing portion 1321 near one end of the opening 132, and is releasably bonded to the lower end surface 133, and then from the sealed end near the other end of the extension opening 132. It is folded back, passes through the outside of the slide lid 15, and the rear end 142 is adhesively fixed to the rear end fixing part 1322 on the upper surface near the tip fixing part 1321 of the base part 13. As the material of the film-like sheet 14, a material that is flexible and strong against breakage, such as polyester film, is used.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a sliding lid, which is made of metal, plastic, etc., and serves both to protect the film-like sheet 14 for sealing during storage or transportation, and for opening the seal. The slide lid 15 is provided with a slide groove 151 that engages with the protrusion 131 of the base portion 13. As is clear from the sectional view of FIG. 2, the toner inside the container body 11 is supported by both the film-like sheet 14 and the slide lid 15 during storage or transportation.

Figure 3 shows toner container unit 1 when replenishing toner.
FIG. 4 shows a sectional view in this state (BB sectional view in FIG. 3), and FIG. 5 shows an external view in the same state as seen diagonally from below.

When the slide lid 15 is pulled out in the direction of the fixed parts 1321 and 1322 (rightward in the figure), the film-like sheet 14 is also pulled as the slide lid 15 moves, and is gradually peeled off from the other end side of the lower end surface 133 of the opening 132. be done. When the slide lid 15 is fully pulled out to the right, the opening 132 is almost open, and the toner T in the container body 11 is replenished by falling.

When the toner supply is completed, slide the slide lid 15 to the left. The film-like sheet 14 that was peeled off earlier also returns to its original position, returning to the state shown in FIG. Next, the toner container unit 1 is removed from the copying machine hopper, which will be described next.

Next, the toner receiving device (hopper) 2 of the present invention
I will explain about this. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toner receiving device, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the main part thereof, and FIG.
The figure shows a perspective view of the opening/closing lid. Furthermore, Figs. 9, 10, and 11 all show the toner receiving device 2.
FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a state in which the toner container unit 1 is not attached. FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a state in which the toner container unit 1 is only installed. FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a state in which after the toner container unit 1 is installed, a knob 25, which will be described later, is moved to the right in the figure to open the lid. Moreover, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the Z-Z cross section in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing how the components of the toner receiving device 2 of the present invention are attached.

First, the structure of the toner receiving device 2 of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. An upper lid 21 and an inner lid 22 are integrally fixed to the upper surface of the toner receiving device 2. The upper lid 21 is made of molded synthetic resin and has an upper lid opening 211, and the inner lid 22 is also made of molded synthetic resin and has an inner lid opening 2 at the position corresponding to the upper lid opening 211.
There are 21. The openings 211 and 221 are openings for attaching the toner container unit 1. The upper lid 21 also has a long hole 212 provided for moving the knob 25.

There is an opening/closing lid 23 which is held between the upper lid 21 and the inner lid 22 and slides to open and close the openings 211 and 221. The opening/closing lid 23 is also made of molded synthetic resin, and a knob mounting plate 231 is fixed at one end thereof, the tip of which passes through a long hole 212 in the upper lid 21 to the upper surface of the upper lid 21, and a knob 25 is attached thereto. Opening/closing lid 23
The other end is an inclined surface projecting upward, and a thin elastic plate 232 is attached to this.

Further, a compression spring 233 is provided at the right end of the opening/closing lid 23, and the compression spring 233 is connected to a rising portion 23 provided on the end face of the sliding plate 24 that slides on the opening/closing lid 23.
1 and pushes the sliding plate 24 to the left in the figure. The other end surface of the sliding plate 24 is bent to form a U-shaped portion 242, and the opening/closing lid 23 is sandwiched between the U-shaped portions 242, and the tip of the opening/closing lid meets the U-shaped portion of the sliding plate 24. 242.

A push-up spring A 222 and a push-up spring B 223 are attached to the upper surface of the inner lid 22 to push the opening/closing lid 23 upward, and the upper surface of the opening/closing lid 23 is in contact with the back surface of the upper lid 21 . The blade 232 is in sliding contact with the sliding surface on the back surface of the upper lid 21, and is used to remove toner adhering to the sliding surface when the opening/closing lid 23 is closed to the left. In addition, a packing 224 made of sponge material is attached to the upper surface of the inner lid 22.
This prevents toner from entering between the opening and closing lid 23.

Steps 2301 are provided on both upper surfaces of the opening/closing lid 23, and a step 2101 is provided on the bottom surface of the upper lid 21, and when the lid is closed (FIG. 9), the opening/closing lid 23 is moved by a push-up spring A222. , push-up spring B223
The stepped portion 2301 and the stepped portion 210 are pushed up by the
1 is engaged. FIG. 15 shows a situation in which the push-up spring B223 pushes up the opening/closing lid 23.
FIG. 14 shows this engagement relationship.

In addition, there is a compression spring 234 at the left end of the inner lid 22.
A lock pawl member 261 and a lower lock plate 262 are integrally coupled to push the lock member 26, which has an external lock knob 263 and is slidable from side to side, to the right. The locking member 26 is a locking member for attaching and holding the toner container unit 1.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show cross-sectional views of the locking mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 16 shows a state in which the opening/closing lid 23 is closed, and FIG. 17 shows a state in which the toner container unit 1 is loaded and the opening/closing lid 23 is opened. The push-up spring 223 is a plate spring having a projection 2231 in the middle and a step 2232 near the tip. In addition, there is a lock hole 2 in the lower lock plate 262.
There are 621. When the opening/closing lid 23 is closed, the tip protruding portion 239 of the opening/closing lid 23 hits the stepped portion 2232 of the push-up spring B223, as shown in FIG. 16, and pushes the push-up spring 223 downward. Push-up spring B223
When the push-up spring 223 is pressed down, the projection 2231 of the push-up spring 223 comes out of the lock hole 2621, and the lock member 26 can move to the left against the compression spring 234. Toner container unit 1
When loading, move the locking member 26 to the left,
Returns to original position after loading.

The opening/closing lid 23 has a protrusion 2303 that protrudes laterally.
have. A slide member 271 engaged with the protrusion 2303 is placed thereon and slides within the inner lid 22 as the opening/closing lid 23 moves. The slide member 271 has an opening 221 perpendicular to its sliding direction.
A shaft 272 and a stopper member 273 for supporting the shaft 272 are provided at a position further to the left. axis 27
2 includes a leveling plate 2 that can be rotated around a shaft 272;
8 is provided. However, the rotation of the leveling plate 28 in the clockwise direction is stopped at the vertical position by the stopper member 273. It can also be rotated counterclockwise to a horizontal position. (FIG. 11) When the knob 25 is moved to the right and the opening/closing lid 23 is opened, the leveling plate 28 is moved to the right together with this. Therefore, the leveling board 28
moves to the right inside the toner receiving device 2 while maintaining a vertical posture by the stopper member 273.

In the final stroke of the rightward movement of the leveling plate 28, the protrusion 2201 provided on the lower surface of the inner lid 22
A part of the leveling plate 28 comes into contact with the protruding piece 281 that protrudes above the shaft 272, and the leveling plate 28, which is in a vertical position, is rotated counterclockwise around the shaft 272 until it is nearly horizontal, and the toner is removed. It performs an operation such as kicking up.

Next, the operation of the toner receiving device 2 described above will be explained in relation to the loading operation of the toner container unit 1.

FIG. 9 shows a cross section of the toner receiving device 2 in a state before loading the toner container unit 1, and shows openings 211, 221 of the toner receiving device 2.
is closed by an opening/closing lid 23. Opening/closing lid 2
3 is pushed up by push-up springs A222 and B223, and the back surface of the top cover 21 and the top surface of the opening/closing cover 23 are in close contact with each other at the peripheral edges, so that the toner in the toner receiving device 2 does not leak to the outside. Furthermore, since the stepped portion 2101 provided on the back surface of the top lid 21 and the stepped portion 2301 provided on the top surface of the opening/closing lid 23 are engaged, the knob 2
Even if you try to move 5 to the right, it will be locked and will not move. That is, the openings 211 and 221 are locked in the closed state by the opening/closing lid 23.

In the opening 211 of the toner receiving device 2, the toner container unit 1 is inserted into its fixing portions 1321, 132.
Insert from the 2nd side in the direction of arrow S (Fig. 9). The rear end (right end in the figure) of the slide lid 15 of the toner container unit 1 abuts against the rising portion 241 of the sliding plate 24, and compresses the compression spring 233 while closing the opening 221.
It is loaded by dropping it into the (Figure 10)
Here, the sliding plate 24 moves to the right by l ₁ , and from the tip of the slide lid 15 to the tip of the opening/closing lid (the tip of the sliding plate 24
2) is located on the right. This prevents toner from adhering to the opening/closing lid 23 when the lid is opened. When loading the toner container unit 1, move the lock knob 263 to the left and insert it. When you release your hand after insertion, the lock member 26 returns to the right by the compression spring 234, and the lock claw member 261 The claw portion is located on the stepped cap portion 13 of the toner container unit 1 and ensures the retention of the toner container unit 1.

Furthermore, when the toner container unit 1 is loaded, the opening/closing lid 23, which had been pushed up by the push-up springs A222 and B223, sinks downward by l ₂ (FIG. 14) and engages with the stepped portions 2101 and 2301. The lock is released and the knob 25 can be moved to the right (in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 10).

Then, when the knob 25 is pulled to the right, the step 2304 of the opening/closing lid 23 is engaged with the tip of the sliding lid 15 of the toner container unit 1, so the opening/closing lid 2
3, the slide lid 15 also moves to the right while peeling off the film-like sheet 14 adhered to the lower end surface of the opening 132.

When the opening/closing lid 23 moves to the right, the push-up spring B223, which had been pressed down by the tip protrusion 239 of the opening/closing lid 23, moves upward, and the push-up spring B22
The protrusion 2231 of No. 3 is engaged with the lock hole 2621 of the lower lock plate 262, and the lock member 26 is fixed. Therefore, the slide lid 1 of the toner container unit 1
5 and opening/closing lid 23. While the lid is open, lock knob 26
Even if an attempt is made to remove the toner container unit 1 by moving the toner container unit 3 to the left, it is in a locked state and the lock knob 263 cannot be moved. In this way, erroneous operations are prevented. 1st
Figure 7 shows this state.

By moving the opening/closing lid 23 to the right, the toner in the toner container unit 1 falls into the toner receiving device 2. Delayed by this fall, the leveling plate 28 maintains a vertical posture and moves in a sweeping motion to the right inside the toner receiving device 2, smoothing out the piled up toner and carrying it to the right. Evenly distribute the toner inside. Furthermore, in the final process, leveling board 2
8 operates to kick up counterclockwise and send out the toner to the right.

In the process of opening the opening/closing lid 23 and the sliding lid 15, in order to ensure that the toner inside the toner container unit 1 falls into the toner receiving device 2, the opening/closing lid 23 and/or its sliding upper lid 2 are closed.
1. The sliding part on the back side is provided with unevenness, and the device moves along the unevenness. Therefore, when the opening/closing lid 23 is moved to the right, vibrations occur, and the toner solidified in the toner container unit 1 due to humidity or the like also falls due to the vibrations.

After toner is replenished, the knob 25 is moved to the left (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 11) to return to the state shown in FIG. 10. Since the blade 232 is in sliding contact with the sliding surface on the back surface of the upper lid 21 during movement, the toner adhering to the sliding surface is removed when the toner falls, and the opening/closing lid 23 is always moved smoothly.

When the opening/closing lid 23 moves to the left, the leveling plate 28, which is in a vertical position, rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 272, and moves the toner to the left as shown by the chain line in FIG. It returns by sliding on the toner surface without being carried.

When the opening/closing lid 23 is closed, the sliding lid 15 is also closed, and the film-like sheet 14 that was peeled off earlier also returns to its original state.

Moreover, when the opening/closing lid 23 is completely closed, the opening/closing lid 2
The tip protruding portion 239 of No. 3 pushes down the push-up spring B223 and engages with the stepped portion 2232. This push-up spring B2
23 is pressed down, the push-up spring B223
The protrusion 2231 and the lock hole 2621 are disengaged, and the lock member 26 becomes movable and unlocked. Therefore, when the lock knob 263 is moved to the left against the compression spring 234, the lock claw member 261 that has been engaged with the mouthpiece 13 of the toner container unit 1 is retracted to the left, and the toner container unit 1 is opened. It can be taken out from the section 211.

When the toner container unit 1 is removed from the opening 211, the opening/closing lid 23 is moved by the push-up spring A222 and the push-up spring B.
223, the stepped portion 23 is pushed upward by l ₂ .
01 and the stepped portion 2101 are engaged and locked, making it impossible to open the lid by moving the knob 25.

As explained above, according to the present invention, there is no possibility that the toner is accidentally contaminated during the installation of the toner container unit or other operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1, 3 and 5 show perspective views of the external appearance of the toner container unit, and FIGS. 2 and 4 show sectional views thereof. FIG. 6 and subsequent figures show the toner receiving device of the present invention, FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 show cross sections of three embodiments, FIG. 12 is a Z-Z sectional view of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view. It is a diagram. Moreover, FIG. 14 shows the engagement of the stepped portion, and FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the main part showing the relationship between the push-up spring and the opening/closing lid. Furthermore, FIGS. 16 and 17 are sectional views of two embodiments of the locking mechanism. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Toner container unit, 2... Toner receiving device, 13... Mouth part, 14... Film sheet, 15... Slide lid, 21... Upper lid, 22
...Inner lid, 23...Opening/closing lid, 24...Sliding plate, 2
5... Knob, 26... Lock member, 28... Leveling plate, 211, 221... Opening, 222, 22
3... Push-up spring, 261... Lock claw member, 26
2... Lock lower plate, 263... Lock knob.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A toner container having an opening, a sealing member, and a sliding lid that opens and closes together with the sealing member, which is opened and closed to receive the toner container with the opening facing downward and replenish toner from the opening. a toner receiving device having an opening/closing lid that opens and closes when the toner container is not attached to the toner receiving device; An opening/closing lid locking means that enables an opening operation; a locking means that prevents the toner container from being removed from the toner receiving device; the locking means is operated during the opening/closing operation of the opening/closing lid, and the locking means is operated during the opening/closing operation of the opening/closing lid, and the locking means is operated during the opening/closing operation of the opening/closing lid; The opening/closing lid is moved along the opening, the sliding lid is moved by engaging with the opening/closing lid, and the sliding lid is closed and the sealing member covers the entire opening of the toner container. A toner replenishing device comprising means for releasing the locking means to enable removal of the toner container.