JPS6259309B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device equipped with a toner cartridge that is incorporated into a magnetic toner developing device used in an electronic copying machine or the like.

Unlike two-component developer, which is a mixed powder of non-magnetic toner and iron powder carrier, magnetic toner is a toner that only needs to be replenished because the developer is only consumed and there is no need to replace the carrier due to carrier fatigue. It has a number of advantages, including triboelectrification of the carrier and no need for mixing to achieve a uniform toner concentration. Therefore, magnetic toner is being used in electrophotographic copiers, facsimile machines, printers, etc. in place of two-component developers.

As a developing device using magnetic toner, the one shown in FIG. 1, for example, is used. In the figure, 1 is a magnetic toner, 2 is a hopper for storing the toner, and 3 is a lid. 4 is a magnet roll, and a magnet fixed to a shaft 6 is provided inside a non-magnetic sleeve 5. When using the above-mentioned developing device, the non-magnetic sleeve 5 and the magnet 7 are rotated relative to each other, for example, in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, and the magnetic toner 2 is pulled out from the discharge port 8 and transferred onto the sleeve 5. A magnetic brush is formed by being conveyed in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, and the surface of the photoreceptor 9 is rubbed with this magnetic brush to develop the electrostatic latent image formed thereon. When replenishing the magnetic toner 2 into the hopper 1, the lid 3 is opened and this is done manually.
Toner spilled and stained the inside of the machine, or it was necessary to perform operations such as leveling out the replenished toner.

Therefore, in order to perform toner replenishment with one touch, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-1246 and Japanese Patent Application No. 54-3664 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 54-3664)
Various toner cartridges have been proposed, such as in No. 55-96966. However, the conventional toner cartridge has a relatively complicated structure, and the structure of the member into which the toner cartridge is inserted is also complicated.

The object of the invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art and to
To provide a toner replenishing device having a simple structure and capable of reliably replenishing toner with a single touch.

The toner replenishing device of the present invention includes a hopper that accommodates magnetic toner, and a non-magnetic sleeve in which a magnet roll having a plurality of magnetic poles is arranged, and the toner replenishment device has a hopper that stores magnetic toner. a toner cartridge that stores toner to be supplied to a magnetic toner developing device configured to adsorb and convey magnetic toner onto a non-magnetic sleeve; and a cartridge housing in which the toner cartridge is removably incorporated and provided in a hopper. The toner cartridge is a toner replenishing device comprising: a cylindrical hollow container having a toner outlet extending in the longitudinal direction on an outer circumferential surface; a peelable seal member sealing the toner outlet; a pair of flange members sealing both ends of the hollow container, one flange member having a handle member for attachment and detachment and formed in a size such that its end can come into contact with the end surface of the cartridge accommodating portion; The flange member has a protrusion on the outer peripheral surface of its end, and the protrusion is inserted into a guide groove formed in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge accommodating part. having a length such that the protrusion comes off the guide groove and the hollow container can rotate when inserted into the hollow container;
The present invention is characterized in that a stopper is provided at the end of the cartridge accommodating part to lock the protrusion and restrict rotation of the hollow container when the hollow container is rotated until the toner outlet is located below.

The details of the present invention will be explained below with reference to drawings showing embodiments. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a toner cartridge used in a toner replenishment device;
The figure is a sectional view when the toner cartridge of the present invention is partially assembled into the developing device, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the main part when the toner cartridge of the present invention is completely assembled into the developing device. .

Note that in FIGS. 3 and 4, the same parts as in FIGS. 1 and 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 2, 10 is a cylinder made of non-magnetic material such as paper or plastic, and an opening 11 for toner replenishment is provided in the longitudinal direction.
1 is sealed with a sealing material 19. Flanges 12 and 13 are fixed to both ends of the cylindrical body 10, respectively, to seal both ends of the cylindrical body. Flange 1
The outer diameter of the end portion 2 is larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical body 10, and a knob 14 is also formed. A protrusion 15 (not shown in FIG. 2) is formed on the outer periphery of the flange 13. After storing the magnetic toner 2 in the cartridge, a cap 16 is attached to the flange 13.

A case where the above toner cartridge is incorporated into a developing device and toner replenishment work is performed will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. First, after peeling off the sealing material 19 that seals the opening of the toner cartridge, the protrusion 15 provided on the flange 13 is formed in the cartridge accommodating portion 1a provided at the top of the toner box 1 of the developing device. The cartridge is inserted into the guide groove 17 and pushed along the guide groove 17. At this time, the length of the guide groove 17 is set so that the protrusion 15 comes off from the guide groove 17 when the cartridge is pushed all the way in, that is, until the large diameter end portion of the flange 12 hits the cartridge accommodating portion 1a. Therefore, when the knob 14 is turned after inserting the cartridge to the innermost end, the cartridge rotates and magnetic toner is supplied into the toner box 1 from the opening 11. In this case, a protrusion is provided on the housing portion so that when the cartridge rotates and the opening 11 faces downward, the rotation of the cartridge stops at that position.
5 is provided with a stopper 18 for locking it.

When storing magnetic toner in the above-mentioned toner cartridge, the toner replenishment opening provided in the cartridge should be sealed with a sealing material 19 shown in FIG. It is necessary to keep it sealed. To seal the opening, a non-magnetic sealing material such as aluminum foil with good airtightness is usually used, but adhesives have traditionally been used to fix this sealing material to the cartridge, which is a cumbersome process. Ta. On the other hand, if the sealing material is fixed as shown below, it can be done extremely easily. That is, a hot-melt agent made of wax and ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer is applied to the back side of a sealing material such as a transparent plastic sheet, aluminum foil, or kraft paper lined with silver paper, and then the sealing material is placed over the opening and sealed for 100 minutes. The sealing material is fixed in the opening by heating it for a few seconds at ~200°C. Moreover, the sealing material can be easily peeled off.

As described above, according to the present invention, both the toner cartridge and the cartridge accommodating portion can have a simple structure, and toner replenishment can be performed extremely smoothly with simple operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a developing device for magnetic toner, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of a toner cartridge used in the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view and a plan view of essential parts of a developing device incorporating the cartridge shown in the figure. 1: Toner box, 1a: Toner cartridge storage section, 2: Magnetic toner, 10: Cylindrical body, 11:
Opening, 12: flange, 13: flange, 14:
Knob, 15: Protrusion, 17: Guide groove, 18: Stopper, 19: Seal material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A hopper containing magnetic toner, and a non-magnetic sleeve in which a magnet roll having a plurality of magnetic poles is disposed, and the magnetic toner is moved by relative rotation between the magnet roll and the non-magnetic sleeve. a toner cartridge for storing toner to be supplied to a magnetic toner developing device configured to adsorb and convey the magnetic toner onto the non-magnetic sleeve; and the toner cartridge is removably incorporated into the hopper. In the toner replenishing device, the toner cartridge includes a cylindrical hollow container having a toner outlet extending in the longitudinal direction on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and a peelable container that seals the toner outlet. a sealing member, and a pair of flange members that seal both ends of the hollow container, one of the flange members has a handle member for attachment and detachment, and the end thereof is large enough to come into contact with the end surface of the cartridge accommodating portion. The other flange member has a protrusion on the outer peripheral surface of its end, the protrusion is inserted into a guide groove formed in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge accommodating part, and the guide groove is formed in the hollow an end portion of the cartridge accommodating portion having a length such that when the entire container is inserted into the cartridge accommodating portion along the guide groove, the protruding portion comes off the guide groove and the hollow container can rotate; The toner replenishing device further comprises a stopper that locks the protrusion and restricts rotation of the hollow container when the hollow container rotates until the toner outlet is located at a lower position. 2. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the toner outlet is sealed by a sealing member fixed to the hollow container using a hot melt agent.