JPH08297401A - Toner cartridge and developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate operation in the case of the attachment/detachment of a toner cartridge. CONSTITUTION: The toner cartridge 35 is rotatably supported by a developing unit developing an electrostatic latent image by toner, is an attachable/ detachable cylindrical type, and is provided with an inner cylinder member 41, an outer cylinder member 42, and an engagement projection 45. As for the member 41, the toner is housed inside, and an aperture 43 is formed on a peripheral surface. As for the member 42, it is relatively rotatably arranged on the external peripheral side of the member 41, and the aperture 52 which can be opposed to the aperture 43 is formed on the peripheral surface. The projection 45 is formed on the member 41, and is engaged with a nearly spiral reversal guide groove 37 formed on the internal peripheral surface of the attachment hole 36 of a toner hopper 34 so that the member 41 is rotated in the case of the attachment/detachment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner cartridge and a developing device, and more particularly to a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor and a toner cartridge rotatably supported by the toner cartridge and detachable laterally.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a laser printer forms an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum by exposure. A developing device for converting the electrostatic latent image into a toner image is provided around the photosensitive drum. A mounting hole is formed in the developing device, and a toner hopper for supplying toner to the mounting hole is provided. A toner cartridge is detachably attached to the toner hopper, and the toner is replenished by exchanging the toner cartridge.

A cylindrical toner cartridge is known as this type of toner cartridge. The cylindrical toner cartridge has a cylindrical member having an opening for discharging toner on the peripheral surface and containing toner therein, and a peelable sealing film for sealing the opening. In this cylindrical toner cartridge, the toner cartridge is inserted into the mounting hole of the toner hopper with the opening facing upward. After that, the sealing film is peeled off, the toner cartridge is turned over by 180 °, and the opening is arranged downward. As a result, the toner in the toner cartridge is supplied into the toner hopper.

In this cylindrical type toner cartridge, if the sealing film is peeled off after the cylindrical member is erroneously half-turned, the toner may scatter when the film is peeled off. A double cylinder type toner cartridge is known as a means for preventing toner from scattering. This double-cylindrical toner cartridge is provided with an inner cylinder member having an opening formed on the peripheral surface and containing toner therein, and an outer cylinder side of the inner cylinder member so as to be rotatable relative to each other, and an opening of the inner cylinder member on the peripheral surface. And an outer cylinder member having an opening that can be opposed thereto. In this double cylinder type toner cartridge, when not mounted, the opening of the outer cylinder member and the opening of the inner cylinder member are arranged in opposite directions to keep the toner contained in the inner cylinder member in a sealed state. At the time of mounting, the toner cartridge is inserted into the mounting hole of the toner hopper with the opening of the outer cylinder member facing downward, and after insertion, the inner cylinder member is rotated a half turn to align the two openings. As a result, the toner contained in the inner cylinder member is supplied into the toner hopper.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional cylindrical cartridge, when mounting the toner cartridge,
After the toner cartridge is mounted in the toner hopper, the rotating operation of rotating the cylindrical member in the former toner cartridge and the rotating operation of rotating the inner cylinder member in the latter toner cartridge are required. Further, when the empty toner cartridge is taken out from the toner hopper, if the toner cartridge is taken out without being rotated, the opening is directed downward, so that the toner remaining around or inside the opening falls from the opening. Therefore, it is necessary to surely turn over the cylindrical member or the inner cylindrical member so that the opening faces upward even when taking out. As described above, since the rotation operation must be performed at the time of attachment / detachment, the operation of attaching / detaching the toner cartridge becomes complicated.

An object of the present invention is to facilitate the attachment / detachment operation of the toner cartridge when replenishing the toner.

[0007]

A toner cartridge according to a first aspect is a cylindrical type which is rotatably supported by a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image with toner and which is detachable in a lateral direction. It has a cylindrical member and an engaging portion. The cylindrical member accommodates the toner and has an opening formed on the peripheral surface. The engaging portion is formed on a cylindrical member, and engages with a reversing guide portion formed on the developing device so that the cylindrical member rotates during attachment / detachment.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge according to the first aspect, wherein the cylindrical member accommodates toner, and the inner cylinder member having the first opening formed on the peripheral surface is opposed to the outer peripheral side of the inner cylinder member. An outer cylinder member that is rotatably arranged and has a second opening that can face the first opening and that faces the outer surface, and the engaging portion is formed on one of the inner cylinder member and the outer cylinder member. There is.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the toner cartridge according to the second aspect, wherein the second opening of the outer cylindrical member is arranged so as to face downward when the cylindrical member is mounted.
The engaging portion is formed on the inner tubular member, and the inner tubular member rotates with respect to the outer tubular member when being attached and detached. A toner cartridge according to a fourth aspect is the toner cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the reversing guide portion of the developing device has a guide groove formed in a substantially spiral shape in the attaching / detaching direction of the cylindrical member. The joint portion has an engagement protrusion that engages with the guide groove.

A developing device according to a fifth aspect is a device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor, and comprises a developing portion, a toner cartridge, a cartridge mounting portion, and a reversing mechanism. ing. The developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image with toner. The toner cartridge is a cylindrical one having an opening formed on its peripheral surface and having a toner storage portion for storing toner. The cartridge mounting portion rotatably supports the toner cartridge and detachably mounts the toner cartridge in the lateral direction. The reversing mechanism is provided in the toner cartridge and the cartridge mounting portion and reverses the toner cartridge when the toner cartridge is mounted.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the developing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the reversing mechanism has a protrusion formed on the peripheral surface of the toner cartridge so as to project outward and a protrusion formed on the cartridge mounting portion. And a spiral guide groove that engages with.

[0012]

In the toner cartridge according to the first aspect, when the cylindrical member is inserted into the developing device at the time of mounting, the engaging portion engages with the reversing guide portion formed in the developing device, the cylindrical member rotates, and the opening faces downward. become. On the contrary, when the toner cartridge is taken out from the developing device, the opening arranged downward is rotated to be arranged upward.

In this case, since the cylindrical member is rotated only by moving the toner cartridge laterally at the time of attachment / detachment, at the time of mounting, the cylindrical member is rotated only by mounting the cylindrical member in the developing device with the opening facing upward. Then, the opening is arranged downward, and when the cartridge is taken out, the opening is arranged upward only by taking out the cartridge. Therefore, the rotation operation at the time of attachment / detachment becomes unnecessary, and the attachment / detachment operation at the time of toner replenishment becomes easy.

In the toner cartridge according to claim 2,
The cylindrical member has an inner cylinder member and an outer cylinder member that are relatively rotatable, and since toner can be supplied by matching their openings, a toner sealing film becomes unnecessary,
Toner can be replenished just by rotating. In the toner cartridge according to the third aspect, the engaging portion is formed on the inner cylinder member, and the opening is aligned and the toner is supplied by the rotation of the inner cylinder member during attachment / detachment. On the contrary, the opening is displaced and the toner is sealed.

In the toner cartridge according to claim 4,
Since the reversing guide portion has the guide groove and the engaging portion has the engaging protrusion, the structure of the rotating mechanism is simplified. In the developing device according to the fifth aspect, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor is developed by the developing unit. The toner cartridge is rotatably supported by the cartridge mounting portion and is also removable in the lateral direction. When the toner cartridge is attached or detached, the toner is reversed by the reversing mechanism. Here, when the toner cartridge is mounted, the opening can be inverted from upward to downward with a mounting operation, and conversely, when the toner cartridge is removed, the opening can be reversed from downward to upward with a removal operation. Therefore, no special operation is required at the time of attachment / detachment.

In the developing device according to the sixth aspect, the reversing mechanism includes a protrusion formed on the peripheral surface of the toner cartridge so as to project outward, and a spiral guide formed on the cartridge mounting portion and engaged with the protrusion. Since the groove is provided, the structure of the rotating mechanism is simplified.

[0017]

1 is an external perspective view of a facsimile apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing the structure thereof. As shown in these drawings, the facsimile apparatus includes a reading unit 1 arranged at an upper portion for reading image information of a document, and an output unit 2 arranged at a substantially central portion of the apparatus to form received image information on a sheet surface. And a paper feed unit 3 which is arranged at the bottom of the apparatus and supplies paper to the output unit 2.

The reading unit 1 includes a document table 5 on which a document is placed.
And a document transport section 6 for transporting the document, and a document discharge tray 7 for storing the document discharged from the document transport section 6. An image information reading sensor 8 for reading the image information of the original is arranged in the original conveying section 6. Also,
An operation panel 9 including various keys and a display unit is arranged on the upper surface of the device. Furthermore, a handset 10 is arranged on the upper part of the device.

The output unit 2 includes an imaging unit 11 including a photosensitive drum 30 and the like, a developing unit 12 including a developing roller 33, a toner hopper 34 and a toner cartridge 35, and toner formed on the photosensitive drum 30 by the developing unit 12. A transfer roller 13 for transferring an image to a sheet, a laser device 15 for forming an image according to received information on the surface of the photosensitive drum 30 of the imaging unit 11, and for fixing the toner image transferred on the surface of the sheet. And the fixing and conveying device 16. A paper discharge tray 17 is provided on the downstream side of the fixing and conveying device 16.

The paper feed unit 3 is a paper feed cassette 21 that is detachable from an opening 20 provided at the bottom of the apparatus main body, and feeds paper from the paper feed cassette 21 and supplies the paper to the output unit 2. And a paper device 22. The main body of the apparatus is divided into an upper case 25 and a lower case 26, and the upper case 25 has a lower case 2 centered on a hinge portion 27.
6 can be opened and closed freely. The reading unit 1 and the imaging unit 11, the developing unit 12, and the laser device 15 of the output unit 2 are attached to the upper case 25, and the transfer roller 1 of the output unit 2 is attached to the lower case 26.
3 and the fixing / conveying device 16 and the sheet feeding section 3 are arranged.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the toner cartridge mounting portion of the toner hopper 34. The toner hopper 34 is
It has a mounting hole 36 for mounting the toner cartridge 35. A spiral inversion guide groove 37 is formed on the inner peripheral surface on the upper side of the mounting hole 36. One end of the reversal guide groove 37 is open to the left side of the front surface of the mounting hole 36 and is formed over an angle range of 180 degrees, and the other end is mounted in the mounting hole 36.
There is an opening on the right side of the rear surface.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the toner cartridge 35 includes an inner cylinder member 41 for containing toner, and an outer cylinder member 42 concentrically and relatively rotatably arranged on the outer peripheral side of the inner cylinder member 41. have. An opening 43 for dropping toner is formed on the peripheral surface of the inner cylinder member 41. A back end of the inner cylinder member 41 is closed by a lid member 44.
The lid member 44 has the same diameter as the outer cylinder member 42, and an engaging projection 45 for rotation is formed on the peripheral surface thereof. The engagement protrusion 45 has a shape that engages with the reversal guide groove 37, and projects outward.

A seal member 46 is attached to the peripheral surface of the inner cylinder member 41 around the opening 43. The seal member 46 is made of felt and prevents the toner contained in the inner cylinder member 41 from scattering from the opening 43 by coming into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder member 42. Outer cylinder member 42
Is closed at its front end by a lid member 50.
A handle 51 for mounting the cartridge is provided on the outer side of the lid member 50.
Is attached. Further, on the peripheral surface of the outer cylinder member 42,
An opening 52 is formed so as to face the opening 43 when toner is supplied. The opening 52 has a slightly larger area than the opening 43. In the state where the engaging projection 45 is engaged with the open end of the reversal guide groove 37, the opening 43 of the inner tubular member 41 is arranged upward and the opening 52 of the outer tubular member 42 is arranged downward. When the toner cartridge 35 is mounted, the engagement protrusion 45 of the inner cylinder member 41 engages with the reverse guide groove 37, the inner cylinder member 41 rotates, and the opening 43 and the opening 52 face each other.

Next, the procedure for attaching and detaching the toner cartridge will be described. In the toner empty state, when the toner cartridge 35 is replaced with a new one, the upper case 25 is opened to expose the developing unit 12. Then, the grip 51 provided on the outer cylinder member 42 is gripped and the empty toner cartridge 35 is pulled out to the front side (front side in the drawing of FIG. 2). Then, since the outer cylinder member 42 is fixed by the handle 51, the outer cylinder member 42 does not rotate, and the engagement protrusion 45 is guided by the reverse guide groove 37 to rotate the inner cylinder member 41, and finally the opening 43 and the opening 52 are formed. It is arranged on the opposite side of 180 ° and the opening 52 is sealed by the inner cylinder member 41.

Then, a new toner cartridge 35 is inserted. At this time, the engaging projection 45 is engaged with the inversion guide groove 37 opened on the front surface, and the grip 51 is held and the toner cartridge 35 is inserted into the mounting hole 36 as it is. Then, since the outer cylinder member 42 is fixed by the handle 51, the outer cylinder member 42 does not rotate, but the engagement protrusion 45 is guided by the reverse guide groove 37, and the inner cylinder member 41 rotates 180 °. The inner cylinder member 41 is 180
When rotated, the opening 43 of the inner cylinder member 41 faces the opening 52 of the outer cylinder member 42 arranged downward, and the toner stored inside is supplied to the toner hopper 34.

As described above, the opening 43 is automatically opened / closed only by mounting / removing the toner cartridge 35, so that the rotation operation of the toner cartridge at the time of mounting / dismounting becomes unnecessary, and the mounting / dismounting operation of the toner cartridge becomes easy. [Other Embodiments] (a) Instead of the configuration in which the opening 52 of the outer cylinder member is arranged downward and the inner cylinder member is rotated at the time of mounting, the opening 43 of the inner cylinder member is arranged downward and the outer cylinder member is arranged. May be rotated. In this case, the handle 51 may be provided on the inner tubular member 41, and conversely, the engaging protrusion 45 may be provided on the outer tubular member 42. In the toner cartridge of this configuration, when the toner cartridge 35 is inserted into the attachment hole 36 by holding the grip 51 when the toner cartridge is attached to the toner hopper 34, the outer cylinder member becomes 1
Rotate 80 ° and the opening 52 goes from top to bottom. Further, when taking out from the toner hopper 34, the outer cylinder member 4
The second opening 52 faces downward from upward. In this case, when the toner cartridge 35 is taken out, the opening 5
Since No. 2 is arranged upward, the toner attached to the opening 52 does not easily scatter to the outside. (B) The present invention can be applied to a cylindrical toner cartridge having a tubular member and a sealing film instead of the cylindrical toner cartridge having the outer tubular member and the inner tubular member. (C) The engaging projection may be provided on the toner hopper, and the reversal guide groove may be provided on the toner cartridge.

[0027]

According to the toner cartridge of the present invention,
The cylindrical member rotates by simply moving the toner cartridge in the horizontal direction at the time of attachment / detachment.Therefore, at the time of mounting, simply mount the cylindrical member on the developing device with the opening facing upward, and the cylindrical member rotates and the opening moves downward. When the cartridge is taken out, the opening is arranged upward only by taking out the cartridge. Therefore, the rotation operation at the time of attachment / detachment becomes unnecessary, and the attachment / detachment operation at the time of toner replenishment becomes easy.

In the developing device according to the present invention, when the toner cartridge is mounted, the opening can be inverted from the upper side to the lower side with the mounting operation, and conversely, when the toner cartridge is removed, the opening can be reversed from the lower side to the upper side with the removal operation. Therefore, no special operation is required at the time of attachment / detachment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a facsimile device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vertical cross section of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the toner hopper.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a toner cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Imaging Unit 12 Developing Unit 34 Toner Hopper 35 Toner Cartridge 37 Reversing Guide Groove 41 Inner Tube Member 42 Outer Tube Member 43, 52 Opening 45 Engagement Protrusion 51 Handle

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical toner cartridge which is rotatably supported by a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image with toner and which is detachably mounted in a lateral direction. The toner cartridge accommodates the toner, and an opening is formed on a peripheral surface thereof. Toner cartridge, which is formed on the cylindrical member and which engages with a reversing guide formed on the developing device so that the cylindrical member rotates when being attached and detached. 2. The cylindrical member, which accommodates the toner, is provided with an inner cylinder member having a first opening formed on a peripheral surface thereof, and is rotatably disposed on an outer peripheral side of the inner cylinder member, and is provided on the peripheral surface. The outer cylinder member having a second opening capable of facing the first opening, and the engaging portion is formed on one of the inner cylinder member and the outer cylinder member. Toner cartridge. 3. The second opening of the outer cylinder member is arranged so as to face downward when the cylinder member is mounted, the engaging portion is formed on the inner cylinder member, and the inner cylinder member is attached and detached at the time of attachment and detachment. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the toner cartridge rotates with respect to the outer cylinder member. 4. The reversing guide portion of the developing device has a guide groove formed in a substantially spiral shape in the attaching / detaching direction of the cylindrical member, and the engaging portion has an engaging projection engaging with the guide groove. are doing,
The toner cartridge according to claim 1. 5. A developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor, comprising: a developing unit for developing the electrostatic latent image with toner; and an opening formed on a peripheral surface of the developing unit. A cylindrical toner cartridge having a toner storage portion for storing; a cartridge mounting portion that rotatably supports the toner cartridge and that is capable of laterally detaching the toner cartridge; and the toner cartridge and the cartridge mounting portion. And a reversing mechanism for reversing the toner cartridge when the toner cartridge is mounted. 6. The reversing mechanism includes a protrusion formed on the peripheral surface of the toner cartridge so as to protrude outward, and a spiral guide groove formed on the cartridge mounting portion and engaged with the protrusion. The developing device according to claim 5, which has.