JPS62127875A - Developing powder supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the contamination of the inside of a device by providing a cartridge guide on a cartridge containing part placed on a toner hopper, collecting a toner which is split to the outside of the hopper, and recovering the collected toner into the hopper through a groove which has been pierced in the guide by utilizing a vibration of the device. CONSTITUTION:In case of drawing out a cartridge 1, a toner is started to be split before an opening part 2 turns right below by turning the cartridge 1, and the toner which has adhered to the inner wall of a containing part adheres to the outer wall, too, of the cartridge 1. As for those toners which have adhered, they drop down due to a friction, etc. by an action for drawing out the cartridge 1, but its toner drops down on a cartridge guide 5. Subsequently, it is accumulated gradually into a toner collecting groove 6 by a vibration of the whole device at the when an image forming device is used, moves along an inclination of the inside of the groove 6, and in the end, drops down into a hopper 10 through an opening part 9. In this way, the inside of the device is not contaminated, and also the toner can be utilized effectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a developing powder supply device used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, when supplying developer to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers, cartridges containing developer have come to be increasingly used.

For example, JP-A-56-156859 and JP-A-54-
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 2851, as shown in FIG.
The toner cartridge 14 is inserted into the hopper 3 and rotated by a predetermined angle so that the toner 15 inside the cartridge 14 falls into the hopper from the opening 14a.

In addition, the toner cartridge 14 is inserted into the cartridge storage section 1.
3, a cartridge guide groove 13a is provided, and the cartridge 14 is set by engaging a protrusion 14b provided on the cartridge 14 along this guide groove 13a.

[One value point while the invention is trying to solve the problem] However, when inserting the toner cartridge, it is guided with the opening of the container facing upward, so there is no chance of the toner spilling out, but there is a risk of the toner falling. Thereafter, when the cartridge is removed, there is a problem in that when the toner falls, the toner adhering to the outside of the cartridge rubs against the guide portion and falls, contaminating the inside of the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a special image powder supply device that receives toner that falls when a toner cartridge is removed and returns the fallen toner into a hopper.

[Means and actions for solving problems]

This device is equipped with a fluid cartridge guide in front of the toner cartridge storage section, which serves as a guide when inserting the toner cartridge and also receives the toner that falls when the cartridge is removed. The toner is returned to the hopper through the hopper.

〔Example〕

1 is a toner cartridge, which is formed into a cylindrical shape;
The upper opening 2 is for dropping and releasing toner (not shown), and when not in use, paper or the like (not shown) is pasted thereon to prevent the toner from spilling. A stopper 3a, which is a handle for rotating the 3-piece cartridge 1 and protrudes from the cylindrical body part, is connected to a cartridge guide 5, which will be described later.
The cartridge 1 is set in a predetermined position by coming into contact with the edge of the cartridge. In addition, an insertion guide protrusion 4 is provided on the leading end edge of the insertion side of the toner cartridge 1 in the same direction as the stopper 33, which positions the cartridge 1 when it is inserted, and also directs the cartridge opening 2 toward the top when the cartridge 1 is inserted. That's what I do.

On the other hand, the cartridge storage section 7 into which the toner cartridge 1 is inserted is made of a cylindrical body that is slightly larger than the cartridge 1, and has an opening 9 that is larger than the cartridge and the opening section 2 on the lower side. Furthermore, a door-shaped cartridge guide 5 is integrally protruded from the cartridge insertion side of the storage section 7, and one end surface 5a of the guide 5 is formed to assist in guiding the insertion position when the cartridge is inserted, and the other end surface 5a is formed to assist in guiding the insertion position when the cartridge is inserted. 5b is designed to stop the rotation of the stopper 3a and determine the position of the toner drop.

A guide groove 8, which fits into the insertion guide 4, is provided in a protruding manner approximately right next to the side surface of the cartridge storage portion 7, that is, in an extension of the end surface 5a of the cartridge guide 5.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inner bottom surface of the cartridge guide 5 is provided with a toner collection groove 6 that gradually becomes deeper toward the toner hopper IO. It is connected to an opening 9 provided in the section 7 for toner to fall.

To insert the toner cartridge 1 into the toner supply device configured as described above, first peel off the sealing material covering the opening 2 of the cartridge 1, grasp the handle 3 or the cartridge body, and insert the cartridge guide 5. Place it on top. Then, the cartridge 1 is pushed toward the storage section 7, and the insertion guide protrusion 4 and the guide groove 8 are fitted together, and then the cartridge 1 is pushed in until the stopper 3a comes into contact with the edge of the storage section 7. In this case, the insertion guide protrusion 4 protrudes outside the guide groove 8.

Thereafter, the handle 3 is rotated until the stopper 3a abuts the other edge 5b of the cartridge guide 5. In this case, the guide protrusion 4
This prevents the cartridge 1 from being removed. As the cartridge 1 rotates, the stored toner falls into the hopper 10 from the opening 2 of the cartridge 1 through the opening 9 of the storage section 7.

The image forming apparatus is used in such a state and detects when the amount of toner in the hopper 10 has become less than a predetermined value, notifies the user and replaces the cartridge with the next one. For the exchange of 1,
Turn the handle 3 and pull out the cartridge 1 with the stopper 3a in contact with the edge 5a of the cartridge guide 5.

When pulling out the cartridge 1, the toner adhering to the outside of the cartridge 1 or the inside of the confinement part 7, that is, the toner that is attached to the opening 2 by rotating the cartridge 1 when supplying toner.
The toner spills out before the toner turns straight down, and the toner that adheres to the inner wall of the storage section also adheres to the outer wall of the cartridge L. The adhered toner falls off due to friction caused by the ejecting action of the cartridge 1, and the toner falls onto the cartridge guide 5. The toner that has fallen onto the cartridge guide 5 is gradually collected in the toner collection groove 6 by photographing the entire image forming apparatus when the image forming apparatus is in use, and moves along the slope in the groove 6, and the toner is moved to the opening 9. It falls into the hopper 10 through the.

In this way, the toner that previously fell into the device and contaminated the inside of the device is caught in advance by the guide part, and the toner collected during use is captured in the collection groove, and the vibration of the device is used to collect the toner. Since the toner is collected from the collection groove into the hopper, there is no contamination within the device, and the toner can be used effectively.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the groove 6a formed in the cartridge guide 5 is tapered to increase the toner accumulation or movement speed.

However, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the shape and structure may be modified without changing the gist, and the cartridge may be inserted or removed as appropriate to suit the convenience of the user. There is no problem with changing it.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to this invention, a cartridge guide is provided in the cartridge storage section on the toner hopper, and the toner that spills out of the hopper is collected on the guide, and the collected toner is moved through the groove bored in the gas using the imaging of the device. -C It is possible to provide a developing powder supply device that prevents the inside of the device from becoming contaminated by collecting toner in a hopper, and allows efficient use of toner without wasting time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are diagrams for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a sectional view, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of main parts, and FIG. , a main part explanatory diagram for explaining another embodiment of the present invention, :π5 diagram is a conventional explanatory diagram. 1... Toss - Car - Cartridge 3... Handle 3a... S)y Par 5
・Cartridge guide 6・Toner collection groove 7・
...Cartridge storage section 10...Hopper Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] In devices that supply developing powder by inserting a cartridge containing toner, a groove is bored in the cartridge guide connected to the storage section provided on the hopper, and the groove becomes lower as it goes toward the hopper. Characteristic developing powder supply device.