JPH06161243A - Toner cartridge for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a toner cartridge which is easily exchanged, and where the adhesion and the scattering of toner are eliminated and an operator is prevented from getting his hands soiled by inclining an inclination member so that the toner may be ejected in the case an opening/closing member performs opening operation. CONSTITUTION:As the toner cartridge 1 is inserted in a toner cartridge receiving part 11, a member to be stuck 8 at the end of the aperture of an opening/closing part 3 abuts on the sticking member 12 of the receiving part 11 and is attracted to be stuck by magnetic force. By inserting the toner cartridge 1 further, the member 3 slides to this side with reference to an inserting direction, so that an aperture part 14 starts to open. At the same time, the inclination member 4 moves and ascends on the inner wall of a toner cartridge housing 2 along a guiding member 10 while scouping and lifting the toner with a scraping member 6. When the member 4 finishes ascending, the aperture part 14 is totally opened and the remaining toner slips down the upper surface of the member 4 and all the toner is supplied in a toner hopper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner cartridge used in an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional toner cartridge of an image forming apparatus is provided with a swingable movable piece on a side wall thereof, and a toner cartridge receiving portion is engaged with a guide groove for sliding the movable piece and the movable piece. When the toner cartridge is mounted in the toner container, the movable piece moves along the guide groove, and the toner cartridge is rotated to engage and fix the two, and the reverse operation is performed when the toner cartridge is taken out. What is used is used.

[0003]

The conventional toner cartridge as described above is difficult to handle because it cannot be done in one step to mount it in the toner container, and when the toner cartridge is replaced, it is operated with the attached toner. There is a problem that people get their hands dirty.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner cartridge for an image forming apparatus in which the toner cartridge can be easily replaced, the toner is not attached or scattered, and the operator's hands are not soiled.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 supplies the toner by inserting it into the toner cartridge receiving portion of the developing device main body of the image forming apparatus. In the toner cartridge, the opening / closing member for opening / closing the opening is slidably provided in the opening for discharging the toner provided on one side surface of the toner cartridge. It is characterized in that the rear end of an inclined member having a scraping member at the front end is rotatably attached, and the inclined member is inclined so as to discharge toner when the opening / closing member is opened. The invention of claim 2 is the same as the invention of claim 1,
A part of the inclined member is made of an elastic body. According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the friction coefficient of the surface of the inclined member on which the toner moves is configured to be as close to zero as possible. According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a guide member is provided on the inner wall of the toner cartridge so that the inclination member inclines so as to discharge the toner when the opening / closing member performs the opening operation. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an adhesive member is provided in the toner cartridge receiving portion and an adhered member is provided in the opening / closing member, and both are brought into contact with or separated from each other according to the movement of the opening / closing member.

[0006]

According to the present invention as described above, when the toner cartridge is inserted into the toner cartridge receiving portion and the opening / closing member slides through the opening portion to perform the opening operation, the opening / closing member is mounted on the opening / closing member. The inclined member scoops the toner by the scraping member of the inclined member and inclines and discharges the toner to the toner hopper portion of the toner cartridge receiving portion. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the scraping member of the slanting member is made of an elastic body, so that the inner wall of the toner cartridge is brought into close contact and the toner is scooped out without leaking.
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the friction coefficient of the surface of the inclined member on which the toner moves is configured to be as close to zero as possible, and the toner slides down well and is discharged without any residue. . According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the inner wall of the toner cartridge is provided with a guide member for inclining the inclined member to discharge toner, and when the toner cartridge is inserted into the toner cartridge receiving portion, The slanting member is pushed up along the guide member to scoop up the toner and discharge the entire toner. Claim 5
In the invention of claim 1, when the toner cartridge is inserted into the toner cartridge receiving portion, after the adhered member provided in the toner cartridge comes into contact with the adhesive member provided in the toner cartridge receiving portion, The opening / closing member is stopped against the insertion operation of the toner cartridge to open the opening of the toner cartridge, and when the toner cartridge is pulled out, the adhered member and the adhesive member move in a state of being adhered to each other to open / close the opening / closing member. Is pulled out to close the opening, and the opening is closed when the toner cartridge is taken out.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. Figure 1,
In FIG. 5, 1 is a toner cartridge, 2 is a toner cartridge housing, 3 is an opening / closing member that constitutes an opening for supplying toner to a toner hopper portion, 4 is a tip end portion in the insertion direction of the opening / closing member 3, and one end is rotatable. The inclined member is attached by a member 5, and the other end is an inclined member having a scraping member 6 using an elastic body, and 7 is provided at a side which is located at the front end in the insertion direction of the opening / closing member 2 and is in contact with the inner wall of the toner cartridge. A cleaning member using an elastic body, 8 is a member to be adhered in which the opening / closing member 3 is bent outward and a magnetic plate 9 is provided there, and 10 is provided on the inner wall of the toner cartridge to guide the inclined member 4 to guide the toner. Is a guide member that is inclined so that the inclined member 4 is discharged, and the rotating member 5 may be a hinge with a spring, or may be a spring member, and is always biased to press the inclining member 4 against the opening / closing member 3. What is A. Further, 11 is a toner cartridge receiving portion for storing toner of a developing device (not shown) having a toner hopper portion, 12 is provided at one end of the toner receiving portion of the cartridge receiving portion 11 at the front side in the toner cartridge insertion direction, and the opening / closing member 3 is provided. The adhesive member has a magnet 13 that engages with the adherend member 8.

The surface of the inclined member 4 on which the toner is moved is subjected to processing such as resin processing or mirror finishing so as to make the toner slip well, and plating is performed so that the friction coefficient becomes as close to zero as possible. To do.

As shown in FIG. 6, the width of the opening / closing member 3 is smaller than the space between the guide members 10, and the opening / closing member 3 is formed so as not to hit the guide member 10 when the opening / closing member 3 slides. It moves by being guided by a guide rail (not shown) provided on the housing 2.

In this embodiment, the opening / closing member 3 is at the position shown in FIG. 1 before the toner cartridge 1 is attached to the toner cartridge receiving portion 11, and when the toner cartridge 1 is inserted into the toner cartridge receiving portion 11, As shown in FIG. 2, the adhered member 8 at the opening end of the opening / closing member 3 and the adhesive member 12 of the toner cartridge receiving portion 11 come into contact with each other, and when further inserted, the opening / closing member 3 of the toner cartridge remains stopped. The opening 14 starts to open, and the toner drops. As it is further inserted, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing member 3
Slides toward the front side with respect to the insertion direction, and at the same time, the tilting member 4 also moves, scooping up the toner together with the scraping member 6 and climbing the inner wall of the toner cartridge housing 2 along the guide member 10 while climbing up. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the opening 14 is fully opened, the remaining toner slides down on the upper surface of the inclined member 4, and all the toner is replenished in the toner hopper. When the toner is no longer used, the toner cartridge 1 is pulled out for replacement. At this time, the adhered member 8 and the adhesive member 12 are attracted by the magnetic force and the opening / closing member 3 is moved to the back side while being adhered. It is pulled and moved to close the opening 14. When the toner cartridge 1 is pulled out from the toner cartridge receiving portion 11, the adhered member 8 and the adhesive member 12 are separated from each other and separated, and the opening 14 of the toner cartridge 1 can be taken out in a closed state. When the toner cartridge 1 is inserted, toner does not adhere to the inner wall of the toner cartridge 1 below the opening / closing member 3 due to the cleaning member 7 provided at one end of the opening / closing member 3, and the outer surface of the opening / closing member 3 is prevented. No toner adheres to the. Therefore, even if the toner cartridge 1 is pulled out, the toner does not adhere to the outer surface of the toner cartridge 1 or scatter.

[0011]

The present invention is as described above, and the invention of claim 1 is a toner cartridge which is inserted into a toner cartridge receiving portion of a developing device main body of an image forming apparatus to supply toner. An opening / closing member for opening / closing the opening is slidably provided in the opening for discharging the toner provided on one side surface, and the opening / closing member is provided with:
An inner end of an inclined member, which is located on the inner surface and has a scraping member at the front end in the insertion direction, is rotatably mounted, and the inclined member inclines so as to discharge toner when the opening / closing member performs an opening operation. Therefore, when the toner cartridge is replaced, the toner can be replenished by one operation of inserting the toner cartridge, and even when the toner cartridge is pulled out, it can be taken out by one operation of the drawer, and the operation is extremely easy. When the toner cartridge is removed from the toner cartridge receiving section,
Since the opening is also closed, there is an effect that there is no stain or scattering due to the adhesion of toner on the opening / closing member, and the operator's hand is not soiled. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, since the inclined member is partially made of an elastic body,
There is an effect that the toner can be scooped well and replenished. According to the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1, the friction coefficient of the surface of the inclined member on which the toner moves is configured to be as close to zero as possible, so that there is an effect that the toner can slide down well and be discharged. . According to the invention of claim 4, in the invention of claim 1, a guide member is provided on the inner wall of the toner cartridge for inclining the inclined member so as to discharge the toner when the opening / closing member performs the opening operation. Then, there is an effect that the toner can be completely discharged. According to the invention of claim 5, in the invention of claim 1,
The toner cartridge receiving portion is provided with an adhesive member and the opening / closing member is provided with an adhered member, and the adhesive member and the adhered member come into contact with and separate from each other according to the movement of the opening / closing member. The opening is opened to replenish the toner, and when the toner cartridge is taken out, the opening is closed and the toner cartridge can be replaced with one-touch operation, resulting in dirt due to toner scattering and toner sticking to the toner cartridge. Therefore, there is an effect that the operator's hand is not soiled.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the above toner cartridge is inserted up to the position of the stopper portion of the cartridge receiving portion.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the above toner cartridge is further inserted from the position of the stopper portion of the cartridge receiving portion.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a state where the opening of the toner cartridge of the above is inserted to a position where the toner cartridge is fully opened.

FIG. 5 is a partial schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a stopper portion of the above toner cartridge and a cartridge receiving portion.

FIG. 6 is a schematic top sectional view of the guide member and the tilting member in FIG. 3 above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner cartridge 2 Toner cartridge housing 3 Opening / closing member 4 Inclining member 5 Rotating member 6 Scraping member 7 Cleaning member 8 Adhered member 9 Magnetic plate 10 Guide member 11 Toner cartridge receiving portion 12 Adhesive member 13 Magnet 14 Opening portion

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A toner cartridge, which is inserted into a toner cartridge receiving portion of a developing device main body of an image forming apparatus to supply toner, has an opening for discharging toner provided on one side surface of the toner cartridge. An opening / closing member for opening and closing is provided slidably, and the opening / closing member is rotatably attached to the inner surface of the opening / closing member, and the back end of a tilting member having a scraping member at the front end in the insertion direction of the toner cartridge is rotatably mounted. A toner cartridge for an image forming apparatus, wherein the inclined member is inclined so as to discharge toner when the member is opened. 2. The toner cartridge for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a part of the inclined member is made of an elastic body. 3. The toner cartridge for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the friction coefficient of the surface of the inclined member on which the toner moves is as close to zero as possible. 4. The toner cartridge for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member provided on an inner wall of the toner cartridge, the guide member being inclined so that the inclination member discharges the toner when the opening / closing member is opened. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridge receiving portion is provided with an adhesive member and the opening / closing member is provided with an adhered member, and the adhesive member and the adhered member come into contact with and separate from each other according to the movement of the opening / closing member. Toner cartridge.