JPS60147766A - Case of powdery particle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To seal opening parts more surely and to prevent toner completely from leakage by arranging a sealing member for pressing a seal member to an opening part of an inner cylinder at the disconnection of the inner cylinder and an outer cylinder on the inside of the outer cylinder. CONSTITUTION:Both the end edges of the flexible seal member 9 are fixed to the outside of the inner cylinder 1 and the inside of the outer cylinder 2. The seal member 9 seals the opening parts 5, 4 so as to cover the whole. On the other hand, the elastic sealing member 10 is fixed to the inside of the outer cylinder 2 opposed to the opening part 4 of the inner cylinder 1 at the disconnection of the opening parts 4, 5. Thus, the sealing member 10 presses the seal member 9 covering the opening part 4 of the inner cylinder 1 at the time of disconnection to the opening part 4, so that the opening part 4 is sealed more surely and toner leakage can be completely prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a powder container, and more particularly to a powder container for supplying toner to a recording device such as a copying device.

[Prior art]

Generally, in a recording device such as a copying machine, the developing toner used in the developing device is stored in a hopper in the developing device, and if the amount of toner remaining in the hopper decreases, development will not be performed smoothly. When the amount of toner remaining is low, it is refilled immediately.

Conventionally, when replenishing toner when the remaining amount of toner is low, a special container is not used for replenishment.
Toner is supplied directly from a general bag or bottle containing toner to the hopper of the developing device. - However, in this case, when toner is supplied, there is a risk that toner may spill inside the recording device such as around the hopper, or even on the indoor floor outside the recording device, and if it spills, it is difficult to clean up afterwards. It had the disadvantage of being incompetent.

Conventionally, toner is placed in a container that can be set above the hopper, and an opening formed in the container is covered and sealed with a film sheet. There was one in which a hopper was set above the hopper and toner was supplied from there. However, with such products, when the film sheet is removed, the toner adhering to the film sheet may spill onto the indoor floor, etc., and if the container with the film sheet removed is carelessly tilted, the toner may spill. Furthermore, once the film sheet is peeled off, the opening of the container cannot be resealed, so that the remaining toner may spill out when the container is removed from the cent position.

Furthermore, conventionally, a cylindrical lid having a notch is attached to a cylindrical container having an opening that can be set above the hopper, and by aligning the position of the notch with the opening, the toner inside the container is removed. There was something that was designed to supply

However, this type of product has the disadvantage that toner may get into the gap between the container and the lid, making it impossible to open the lid, and when vibrated, toner leaks through the gap between the container and the lid. (Jetkai 5th year)
3-20944).

(Object of the Invention) The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional toner as described above, and eliminates toner leakage even when vibrated, and when setting it in a predetermined position for replenishment. Needless to say, it is an object of the present invention to provide a powder container which is free from the risk of toner spilling even when removed from the cent position and which can be opened and closed in a stable manner at all times.

[Structure of the invention]

This invention provides a powder container for replenishing toner to a recording device, in which an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that are fitted to each other so as to be relatively rotatable are each formed with openings that can communicate with each other, and the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder and fixing both ends of a flexible sealing member that seals the opening of the inner cylinder when the openings are in the non-communicating position, and further fixing the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder in the non-communicating position. A sealing member is provided on the inner surface of the outer cylinder to press the sealing member against the opening of the inner cylinder when the cylinder is in the position.

[Embodiments of the invention].

Embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

The drawing shows a powder container according to the present invention, which consists of a cylindrical inner cylinder 1 made of iron Mwi with both ends closed, and a cylindrical iron can with one end open. An opening 4 is formed in the circumferential wall of the inner cylinder 1. The opening 4 is divided into two by a central uncut portion 3.

On the other hand, an opening 5 slightly larger than the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1 is also formed in the peripheral wall of the outer cylinder 2.

On the open end side of the outer cylinder 2, the inner cylinder l located inside has a knob 6 for rotation operation having a protrusion 11 on the circumferential surface and a projection 7 for regulating the rotation range. The projection 7 is located in a groove 8 formed at the open end of the outer cylinder 2, and the opening 4 and the opening 5 form a circle at a position where the projection 7 abuts one end of the groove 8. At a position where the projection 7 contacts the other end of the groove 8 due to the rotation of the inner cylinder 1, the opening 4 and the opening 5 completely coincide with each other in the circumferential direction. They are designed to communicate with each other.

Since the inner cylinder 1 is made of a highly rigid iron can and the presence of the uncut portion 3, the axial edge of the opening 4 is prevented from expanding outward in the radial direction, In addition, since the outer cylinder 2 is made of a highly rigid iron can and the edge of the opening 5 is bent outward to further increase the rigidity of this part, the axial direction of the opening 5 is The edges of the inner tube 1 and the outer tube 2 are prevented from expanding radially outward, so that both the inner tube 1 and the outer tube 2 maintain their cylindrical shape, and the gap between the inner tube 1 and the outer tube 2 is also uniform. is maintained.

The outer surface of the inner cylinder 1 close to the opening 4 and the opening 5
Both ends of a flexible sealing member 9 are fixed to the inner surface of the outer cylinder 2 adjacent to the inner surface of the outer cylinder 2 with double-sided tape, etc. It is longer and wider than the opening 4, and has approximately the same length as the opening 5 of the outer cylinder 2. Then, the opening 4 which is not in communication with the opening 5 is completely covered and sealed.

In addition, when the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1 and the opening 5 of the outer cylinder 2 are in a completely misaligned non-communicating position, the inner surface of the outer cylinder 2 facing the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1 has elasticity. A sealing member (for example, foamed urethane) 10 is fixed, and this sealing member IO presses the sealing member 9 covering the opening 4 of the inner space 1 at the non-communicating position against the opening 4. This makes the sealing of the opening 4 by the seal portion +A9 more solid and reliable.

Next, the operation of the above will be explained.

First, the inner cylinder 1 is filled with toner, and the opening 4 is sealed by the sealing member 9, that is, the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1 and the opening 5 of the outer cylinder 2 are aligned in the circumferential direction. Leave it completely out of alignment.

For example, even if the powder container is vibrated in this state, the opening 4 is firmly sealed by the sealing member 9, and there is a sealing member 10 between the inner surface of the outer cylinder 2 and the sealing member 9.
Since the sealing member 10 is located at this position, the sealing member 9 is pressed by the sealing member 10 to more reliably seal the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1, thereby completely preventing toner from leaking.

Next, place the powder container at the predetermined position of the recording device in the outer cylinder 2.
After setting the inner cylinder 1 with the opening 5 facing downward, turn the knob 6 to rotate the inner cylinder 1. The inner cylinder 1 can be rotated until the protrusion 7 comes into contact with the other end of the groove 8, so that the inner cylinder 1 can be rotated to a position where its opening 4 communicates with the opening 5 of the outer cylinder 2. As a result, the sealing member 9 hangs down from the opening 5 and releases the sealing of the opening 4, and as a result, the toner in the inner cylinder 1 flows through the opening 4 and the opening 5. The liquid then falls through and is supplied to a predetermined hopper of the developing device.

In addition, when removing the powder container after toner supply has finished, there is a risk that the toner remaining inside the powder container may spill; in this case, turn the knob 6 in the opposite direction. When the inner cylinder 1 moves, the inner cylinder 1 rotates until the protrusion 7 comes into contact with one end of the groove 8 and then stops, whereby the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1 is completely misaligned with the opening 5 of the outer cylinder 2. At this time, the opening 4 is reliably sealed by the sealing member 9 pressed by the sealing member 10, thereby reliably preventing residual toner from spilling.

In this case, since the sealing member 9 has flexibility, the inner cylinder 1 can be rotated to bring the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1 into a communicating position with the opening 5 of the outer cylinder 2, or the seal member 9 can be moved to the opposite side. Even if the sealing member 9 is repeatedly rotated to bring the opening 4 and the open L1 portion 5 into a non-communicating position, there is no fear that the sealing member 9 will bend.

No matter which direction the knob 6 is turned, if the opening 4 of the inner cylinder 1 and the opening 5 of the outer cylinder 2 do not communicate with each other, the opening 4 and the sealing member 9 and the sealing member 9 is covered with the sealing member 1.
Since the pressure is set at 0, there is no risk of the toner filled inside the inner cylinder l leaking from the opening 4 (thereby, there is no risk of toner being located between the inner cylinder 1 and the outer cylinder 2). Therefore, leakage of the internal toner to the outside can be reliably prevented, and thereby the rotation operation of the knob 6 can always be performed without any trouble.

Incidentally, in the above embodiment, both the inner cylinder l and the outer cylinder 2 are constructed of iron cans, but the invention is not limited to this, and any material that can provide the necessary rigidity may be used. Although both ends of the seal portion JfA9 are fixed to the outer surface of the inner tube 1 and the inner surface of the outer tube 2, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. The powder container of the present invention may be used for a one-component developer,
It may also be used to replenish toner for two-component developers. Note that either magnetic or non-magnetic toner can be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Due to the above-described structure of the present invention, there is no risk of toner leaking even when the toner is vibrated, and when the toner is placed in a predetermined position for replenishment, it is also There is no risk of toner spilling when the toner is removed from the toner, and the toner-filled interior can always be opened and closed in a stable manner under any circumstances.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the powder container in a closed state, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the powder container in an open state, and FIG. 3 shows the open state. The partially cutaway bottom view and FIG. 4 are perspective views of the main parts. 1-・-Inner cylinder 2-・-・-・-Outer cylinder 3-----All remaining part 4.5-・--・-Opening part 6-
・・・－・A pinch? ---Protrusion 8--Groove 9--Sealing member 10--Sealing member 11--Protrusion Figure 1 = Figure 3 22 Yoyo Kanji

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a powder container for replenishing toner to a recording device, openings that can communicate with each other are formed in an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that are fitted together so as to be relatively rotatable, and the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are connected to each other. When the openings are in the non-communicating position, both ends of a flexible sealing member that seals the opening of the inner cylinder are fixed, and the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are in the non-communicating position. 1. A powder container, characterized in that a sealing member is provided on the inner surface of the outer cylinder to press the sealing member against the opening of the inner cylinder when the container is in the powder container. (2) The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is a foamable elastic member.