JPH0720709A - Toner replenishment container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out toner replenishment very easily without soiling a hand and surroundings by tearing the thick part of a bottom cover where a cut is positioned, by means of an external operation, thereby opening the cut bottom cover outward like a double-leaved hinged door. CONSTITUTION:The container is provided with the bottom cover 3 with the cut 3a made along a center line, and the bottom cover pressing member 4 provided so as to move vertically in relation to a container main body 2 freely. In the bottom cover pressing member 4, a push button at its head projects beyond the outside of the container main body 2, and when the push button 4a is pushed down with a finger in a state where a toner replenishment container 1 loaded and set in a toner replenishment hopper, the pointed lower end of the bottom cover pressing member 4 pushes the bottom cover 3, and tears the thick part of the bottom cover 3 where the cut 3 is positioned. Consequently, the bottom cover 3 is divided in two, and each part of the divided bottom cover 3 opens outward around its one end as a fulcrum, as in a double- leafed hinged door. Thus, toner replenishment can be carried out only by pushing the push button 4a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner supply container used for supplying toner to a developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image with toner and having a structure in which toner is replenished, a toner replenishing container is generally used, and replenishment toner is supplied from this container to the developing device. (Hereinafter, this is referred to as "supplementation").

The toner replenishing container is provided with an opening for discharging toner, and the opening is closed with a predetermined sealing material. At the time of toner replenishment, the toner replenishing container is loaded and set in a predetermined portion of the developing device, the seal material is peeled off, the toner discharging opening is opened, and the replenishing toner in the toner replenishing container is put in the developing device. At this time, the toner attached to the sealing material sticks to the hand or scatters to the surroundings, and the hands and the surroundings are stained with the toner. Further, since it is necessary to peel off the sealing material, this kind of toner replenishment work is extremely troublesome.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner replenishing container capable of replenishing toner very easily without soiling the hands or the surroundings with the toner.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is detachably attached to a developing device which visualizes an electrostatic latent image with toner, and is internally supplied to the developing device. In the toner replenishing container for storing the replenishing toner for storing the replenishment toner, the replenishing toner storage space is formed by the box-shaped container body having the lower opening and the container body fitted in the opening, A bottom cover that is inserted, and a skimmer sealing member that seals a gap between the bottom cover and the inner wall of the container main body, and a bottom cover meat portion that is provided on the container main body and is cut by being pressed by an external operation. To break each of the two bottom cover parts,
The present invention proposes a toner replenishing container having a bottom cover pressing member that opens outward in a double-door manner with one end serving as a fulcrum.

It is effective to open the bottom cover by the force of the spring after breaking.

Further, the upper end portion of the bottom cover pressing member is used as a finger pushing portion for external operation, and the container body around the finger pushing portion is
It is effective to provide the bottom cover pressing member on the container body so as to make it easy to hold by hand and to prevent the finger pressing portion from protruding from the container body.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a toner supply container according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a toner replenishing container 1 forms a storage space for replenishing toner with a box-shaped container body 2 having an opening at the bottom and a container body 2 fitted in the opening, and along the center line. Bottom cover 3 with cut 3a and container body 2
And a bottom cover pressing member 4 that is vertically movable.

Further, the toner supply container 1 includes a bottom cover 3 and
It has skimmer sealing members 5 and 6 for sealing skimmer between the inner wall of the container body 2. In the toner replenishing container of this embodiment, one skimmer sealing member 5 is made of sponge, and the other skimmer sealing member 6 is made of an extremely thin resin film-like elastic member.

FIGS. 1 and 5 show such skimmer sealing members 5 and 6, but each skimmer sealing member 5 and 6 is
They have the same structure and are provided so as to face each other. In these figures, for the sake of convenience, only one skimmer sealing member 5 and 6 are shown. In addition, in this example, the clearance blocking members 5 and 6 are not the bottom cover 3 but the container body 2
The opposite surface is fixed to the.

In the space formed by the container body 2 and the bottom cover 3, replenishment toner (not shown) for replenishing the developing device, which will be described later, is stored.
No. 6 seals the inside of the container body so that the replenishment toner does not scatter out of the container.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a round hole 2a is formed in the center of the ceiling of the container body 2, and the shaft portion 4b of the bottom cover pressing member 4 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the member 4 is vertically movable. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, a pair of protrusions 2b are formed separately on both sides of the container body 2.

FIG. 2 shows a toner replenishing hopper portion which is a part of the developing device. The toner replenishing hopper portion 7 is provided with protrusion hooking portions 7a which are recessed so as to face each other inside. As shown in FIG. 7, push both sides of the container body 2 (the side having the protrusion 2b) with fingers to bend the both sides inward and insert the lower part of the toner supply container 1 into the toner supply hopper section 7. Then, the protrusion 2b is engaged with the protrusion hooking portion 7a of FIG. In this state, the loading setting of the toner supply container 1 is completed.

The toner supply container 1 is replaced with the toner supply hopper section 7.
To remove the toner replenishing container 1, the both side surfaces of the container body 2 are pushed inward, the protrusion 2b is removed from the protrusion hooking portion 7a, and the toner supply container 1 is pulled out upward. As described above, the toner replenishing container 1 is attachable to and detachable from the developing device, which is a part of the toner replenishing hopper 7 in this example. In the developing device, the main body is not shown,
As is well known, it is used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and visualizes an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member such as a photoconductor with toner.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom cover pressing member 4
The push button portion 4a of this head projects out of the container body, and the toner replenishing container 1 is loaded and set in the toner replenishing hopper portion 7 as shown in FIG. When pushed in, the sharp lower end of the bottom cover pressing member 4 of FIG.
The bottom cover meat part (the part shown by the broken line) where a is located is broken. As a result, the bottom cover 3 is split into two pieces, and each of the split bottom cover portions opens outward in a double-door manner with one end as a fulcrum.

As shown in FIG. 5, projection shafts 3b are provided at corners at both ends of the bottom cover 3, and the projection shafts 3b are fitted into the shaft holes 2c of the container body 2 shown in FIGS. The bottom cover, which is split in two, rotates around the center of the protrusion shaft 3b and opens in a double-door manner.

Along with this, the toner in the toner supply container 1 falls by its own weight and enters the toner supply hopper section 7. In this way, the toner is supplied to the developing device.

According to such a toner replenishing container, the toner can be replenished simply by pressing the push button portion 4a of the bottom cover pressing member 4 by an external operation. That is, the toner can be replenished by a one-touch operation without the troublesome work of peeling off the sealing material.
At this time, the hands and surroundings are not soiled with toner.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the bottom cover 3 is forcibly opened by the force of a spring after it is broken.

The torsion coil springs 8 and 8 are the main body 2 of the container.
It is provided in a substantially central portion (longitudinal center portion) of the inside, and has a form as shown in FIG. 12 before attachment, one end of which is engaged with the side of the bottom cover 3 and the other end is Container body 2
Is locked on the side of the inner wall of the. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 10, and the other end of the torsion coil spring 8 is
Thus, it is locked to the inner wall of the container body.

When the push button portion 4a of the bottom cover pressing member 4 shown in FIG. 9 is pushed downward, the bottom cover 3 is broken into two parts. As shown in FIG. The pressurizing action of the springs 8, 8 ensures that the lower opening of the container body 2 is completely opened without any delay.

FIG. 13 shows a toner supply container 11 according to another embodiment.
Indicates. The toner supply container 11 has a bottom cover pressing member 24 as shown in FIG. 14, which corresponds to the bottom cover pressing member 4 shown in FIG. 1 and is provided in the container body 12. An upper end portion of the bottom cover pressing member 24 is a push button portion 24a which is a finger pushing portion for external operation.
In 3, the head of the push button portion 24a is visible.

The toner replenishing container 11 of this example is a container body 1.
2 of the container body 12A around the push button 24a
Has a rounded elliptical shape that makes it easier to hold by hand. A bottom cover pressing member 24 is provided inside the container body so that the push button portion 24a does not travel outside the portion 12A held by hand.

When the toner replenishing container 11 shown in FIG. 13 is loaded and set in the toner replenishing hopper portion 7 (FIG. 7) and the push button portion 24a is pushed in, just as in the above-mentioned respective embodiments,
A bottom cover (not shown) is broken into two, and the bottom cover broken into two is opened, and the toner in the toner supply container 11 is supplied to the developing device. Also in this example, the system using the spring 8 (FIG. 9) can be adopted.

According to such a toner supply container, since the push button portion of the bottom cover pressing member does not travel, it is possible to prevent an unexpected situation where the toner is dropped accidentally by hitting this portion. Can also be
It is possible to easily hold the toner supply container.

[0027]

According to the toner replenishing container of the first aspect, the toner can be replenished by the extremely simple operation, that is, the one-touch operation, and at this time, the hands and the surroundings may be contaminated with the toner. Absent.

According to the toner replenishing container of the second aspect, the bottom cover can be reliably opened, and the complete replenishment of the toner can be guaranteed.

According to the toner replenishing container of the third aspect, the push button portion of the bottom cover pressing member does not travel, so it is possible to accidentally drop the toner inside by hitting this portion. It is possible to prevent a situation from occurring, and it is possible to easily hold the toner supply container.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a toner supply container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of a toner replenishing hopper unit for loading and setting the same toner replenishing container.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a container body, which is one component of the toner supply container.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the container body.

FIG. 5 is a configuration perspective view around a bottom cover that is one component of the toner supply container.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a bottom cover pressing member that is one component of the toner supply container.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a toner replenishing component showing a state before mounting setting of the toner replenishing container.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state where the bottom cover pressing member is pressed with a finger.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the toner supply container.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a state in which the bottom cover of the toner supply container is opened.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of one end of a torsion coil spring provided in the same toner supply container.

FIG. 12 is an overall perspective view of the same torsion coil spring.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the toner supply container.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a bottom cover pressing member provided in the same toner supply container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Toner Supply Container 2 Container Body 3 Bottom Cover 3a Notch 4 Bottom Cover Pressing Member 5 Skimmer Sealing Member 6 Skimmer Sealing Member 8 Spring 11 Toner Supply Container 12 Container Main Body 12A Container Main Body 24 Bottom Cover Pressing Member 24a Push as Finger Pushing Unit Button part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A toner replenishing container that is detachable from a developing device that visualizes an electrostatic latent image with toner and that contains replenishment toner for supplying to the developing device. A box-shaped container main body having an opening, and a container main body in a state of being fitted into the opening to form a storage space for replenishment toner, and a notched bottom cover, and the bottom cover and the container main body inner wall portion. Each of the bottom cover part which is provided in the container body and which is provided on the container body and is pressed by an external operation to break the bottom cover meat part where the notch is located, thereby breaking the gap between the two To
A toner replenishing container having a bottom cover pressing member that opens outward in a double-door manner with one end serving as a fulcrum. 2. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the bottom cover is opened by the force of a spring after the break. 3. The container of the finger pressing portion, wherein the upper end portion of the bottom cover pressing member serves as a finger pushing portion for external operation, and the container body portion around the finger pushing portion is configured to be easily held by hand. 3. The toner replenishing container according to claim 1, wherein the bottom cover pressing member is provided on the container body so that the protrusion from the body is eliminated.