JPS63178272A - Toner replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use a toner container in common, even if the kind of copying machines, and the toner containing quantity of the toner container, etc. are different, by providing a slide cover and a film seal of the same specification, on the toner hopper side of a developing device and the opening part of the toner container. CONSTITUTION:A toner hopper is provided with a slide cover 50, and a film seal 30 which is slid together with the slide cover 50, and a toner container 1 supports a slide cover 10 so as to be slidable by providing a container lower frame 5 on the lower part of a container body 2 of roughly square type. Also, by fixing the specification of the toner container 1 and setting the specification of the lower frame 5 to the same, the upper member of the toner hopper provided on a developing device of a coping machine body can be formed as the same one. Accordingly, it becomes possible to cope wit by only varying the height of the toner container by the toner capacity. In such a way, the toner container can be used in common, irrespective of the kind of copying machines, therefore, a replenishing member of the copying machine can be managed easily.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (II. Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method of forming a toner image on the surface of a photoreceptor drum using a dry type toner and transferring the toner image to paper. The present invention relates to a device such as an electronic copying machine that allows toner to be easily replenished to a toner hopper provided in the electronic copying machine, and in particular, a sliding lid provided on a toner container and a sliding lid of a toner hopper. 3J! ! The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device which can prevent toner from leaking outside due to movement while being moved.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in devices such as copying machines, dry toner is used, and the toner forms a dot on the surface of a photoreceptor drum.
An apparatus is used that is configured to form an image and transfer the toner image to paper.

In such devices, the toner in the developing machine is gradually consumed as the number of copies increases.
It is necessary to replenish at regular intervals.

In addition, in devices such as electronic copying machines that have been commonly used in the past, the toner used for the developing device of the electronic copying machine; In some cases, two-component toner is used, but with either type of toner, it is necessary to replenish the toner every predetermined number of sheets.

As mentioned above, when replenishing the developing device,
The most common method is to remove the cartridge containing toner and transfer it directly to the toner hopper, but when using such a method, the toner may scatter and contaminate the area around the developing device. There are some inconveniences such as being left behind.

Therefore, a method has been used in which the toner is stored in a cylindrical cartridge and the cartridge is inserted into a hopper of a developing device. These six types of cartridges have an opening in the longitudinal direction on the side of the cylinder that houses the toner, and the opening is covered with a sheet, so that the sheet can be pulled out after being installed in the developing device. This forms an opening, allowing the toner to fall.

Therefore, in the case of such a toner supply device, the opening of the cartridge is not exposed outside the copying machine body, so even if the operator is careless, toner may scatter from the cartridge and cause damage to other parts of the copying machine. This will prevent any inconvenient situation from occurring, such as contaminating the equipment.

However, when using a cylindrical cartridge like the one mentioned above,
A device that is attached to a fixing device or a copying machine main body has a drawback that the cartridge housing portion thereof becomes a dead space. In addition, in small-sized copying machines, the amount of toner consumed is small, so a relatively small cartridge can be used. Toner consumption increases proportionally.

However, although the hopper etc. of the developing S device can be made relatively large, making the toner cartridge large increases the dead space of the cartridge accommodating section, which places restrictions on other mechanisms of the copying machine. In order to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional devices, such as the problem of overflow, a "toner receiver" using a toner container with a special opening/closing lid has been proposed, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-36268. ``Insertion device'' has been proposed.

The toner receiving device shown in this conventional example is as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and the toner container 11a has an opening formed on the lower surface of a substantially square cylindrical main body. The opening is covered with a film seal 20a and a slide fil Oa.

Then, after placing the toner container 1a'' in the toner receiver provided in the toner hopper of the current I & device and fixing the position of the container lower frame 5a,
Slide 1ioa along the protrusion 7a provided on the side of a.
When the toner container 1a is slid, the film seal 20a closes the toner container 1a.
is peeled off from the area around the lower opening. therefore,
As shown in FIG. 8, an opening 3a is formed at the bottom of the main body of the toner container 318, and the toner falls into the toner popper of the developing device through the opening 3a.

In the conventional toner replenishing device as described above, all that is required is to set the toner container in the toner hopper of the developing device and move the slide lid together with the film seal.
An opening can be formed in the container, and toner can be replenished in an almost airtight state without contaminating the surrounding area of the developing device.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the toner replenishing device having the above-described configuration, the film seal is peeled off from the lower part of the main body of the toner container and moved along the lower surface of the slide lid. At that time, the surface of the film seal that was in contact with the toner will be exposed to the bottom surface of the slide lid, and as a result, the surface of the film seal that was in contact with the toner will be exposed to the lower surface of the slide lid, and this will cause the surface of the film seal to be exposed around the toner hopper of the developing device or other areas other than the developing H position of the copying machine. A situation often occurs in which the parts are stained by scattered toner.

To deal with this, a method is used in which a cover member is provided near the upper opening of the toner hopper to prevent the dirt on the upper part of the film seal from scattering to the surrounding area. Even if you use such means,
The effect of preventing scattering of toner cannot be maximized.

In addition, in the conventional device described above, the mechanism for sealing the toner on the toner small sleeve side is complicated and has a large number of parts, which tends to affect the manufacturing cost of the developing device or toner cartridge. was there.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional device.The present invention simplifies the structure of the toner cartridge, prevents the toner from scattering to the surroundings, and prevents the toner cartridge from scattering. - The first objective is to provide a device that can easily replenish toner to a hopper, and furthermore, by configuring the slide lid of the toner container and the slide lid of the toner hopper to be of the same standard. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to easily replenish toner and to reduce the manufacturing cost of a copying machine.

(Means and effects for solving the problems) The toner replenishing device of the present invention is provided with an openable and closable lid member at the opening of the toner hopper of the developing device provided in the main body of the copying machine, and is set on the lid member. A toner container for supplying toner is also provided with an openable and closable lid member.

Each of the above-mentioned lid members is composed of a slide lid and a film seal, and the portion of the slide lid that contacts the toner is covered with the film seal, and when the slide lid is slid, The film seal is opened and moved.

Furthermore, the slide lids provided at each opening of the present invention are configured so that when the toner container is set in the toner hopper, the upper and lower slide lids are interlocked, and the slide lids of the toner hopper are connected to each other. By moving the provided knob, the upper and lower slide lids can be moved to open and close the opening.

Therefore, in the toner replenishing device of the present invention, the dirty surfaces of the upper and lower film seals are polymerized when the film seals slide, and the toner adhering to the surface of the film seals is transferred to the toner hopper. This eliminates the occurrence of inconvenient situations such as scattering around and staining the operator's hands.

Further, in the toner replenishing device of the present invention, the tonneau container can be used in common regardless of the type of copying machine, so that the replenishment members of the copying machine can be easily managed.

(Embodiment) The configuration of the toner replenishing device of the present invention will be described according to the illustrated embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of each component, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, in the main body of the copying machine, a toner hopper 40 provided in the developing device includes a slide lid 50 and a film seal 3 that slides together with the slide M50.
0.

Then, the slide lid 50 and the film seal 30
When the toner hopper 40 is set in the fixed position,
The opening 42 of the toner hopper is closed in a sealed state, and the slide lid 50 is moved together with the slide M10 of the toner container 1, as will be described later.
It is designed to open.

The toner hopper 40 of the present invention also has an opening 42.
A slide M50 is provided so as to cover the. This slide lid 50 is integrally provided with side members 51 on both sides in the longitudinal direction. The side member 51 is provided with a recess 54 on its inner surface, and is provided with a recess 52 on the lower surface of both ends thereof, into which a protrusion 15 provided on the side member 11 of the toner container 1 is engaged, as will be described later. There is.

Further, a protruding strip 53 is provided on the outside of the side member 51, and the protruding strip 53 is connected to the hopper upper member 4 of the toner hopper 40.
1, the slide lid 50 is engaged with a guide groove 44 of a locking member 43 provided in a protruding state on the upper surface thereof, and is provided so as to be movable along the guide groove 44. The opening 42 of the hopper 40 is configured to be able to be closed and to be moved so that the opening can be heard.

In addition, the side member 51 of the slide lid 50 of the present invention is provided with a knob 56 and a lock member 55 on its upper portion. This knob 56 is provided so that the operator can easily reach it when moving the slide lid 50, and the locking member 55 engages with the container lower frame 5 of the toner container 1. This is used to enable the toner container 1 to be set in a locked state during the toner replenishment operation.

The toner container 1 of the present invention is positioned at the upper part of the toner hopper 40 configured as described above and is used for replenishing toner. An opening 3 is formed in the frame 5. The container lower frame 5
A groove 6 and a protrusion 7 are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the slide M.
10 is supported on slide 01.

The slide lid 10 is integrally provided with side members 11 on both sides of the toner container 1 in the longitudinal direction. This side member 11 has a groove 13 and a lower opening 14 formed in the upper and lower parts thereof so as to sandwich the slide lid 10 therebetween.

Then, the protrusion 12 forming the upper part of the upper groove 13 is engaged with the recess 1n6 of the container lower frame 5, and the protrusion 7 of the container lower frame 5 is engaged with the upper groove 13. Therefore,
The relationship between the two members is such that the slide lid 10 can slide with respect to the container lower frame 5.

Further, projections 15 are provided on the lower surfaces of both ends of the side member 11, and these projections 15 close the slide lid 50 of the toner hopper 40 when the toner container 1 is set in the toner hopper 40. It is locked in a recess 52 of a side member 51 that is integrally provided on the side of the holder.

Film seals 2 are provided on the slide lid 10 of the toner container 1 and the slide lid 50 of the toner hopper 40, respectively.
0 and 30 are integrally provided, and the opening of each member is tightly sealed together with the slide lid.

Among these film seals 20 and 30, the film seal 20 on the slide lid 10 side has one end adhered to the lower surface of the container lower frame 5 via the adhesive part 21, and the other end is attached to the lower surface of the container lower frame 5. It is glued to the end of member 22.

The film seal 20 covers the upper surface of the slide lid 10, and the other end of the slide M10 is
It extends to a film holding member 22 arranged on the lower surface thereof.

The film seal 30 has both ends connected to a film holding member 32 disposed on the top surface of the slide lid 50, and when the slide lid 50 is slid, the film holding member 32 is slid together. Make movements that move. This LF! During movement, the film seal 30 is set to move twice as far as the slide lid 40.

As shown in FIG. 4, the film seal 20 of the present invention
The film holding members 22 and 32, which respectively fix the ends of the film holding members 22 and 30, are provided with recesses and protrusions so as to face each other. Then, the film holding member 22
and 32, the recess 23 is engaged with the protrusion 34, and the protrusion 24 is engaged with the recess 33, so that the upper and lower film holding members 22 and 32 can move as a body. Become.

In the toner replenishing device of the present invention configured as described above, before the toner container 1 is installed in the toner hopper of a copying machine, the lower frame 5 of the toner container 1 is
Insert the film seal 20 so as to cover the opening 3.
is adhered thereto, and a slide lid 10 is attached to the lower surface of the film seal 20. Each of these members is positioned in the relationship shown in FIG.

Further, in the upper member 41 of the toner hopper 40, a slide lid 50 is provided in a guide groove 44 formed by a locking member 43.
The slide W50 and the film seal 30 are provided to cover the opening 42 of the toner hopper 40 with the protrusion 53 locked.

In the apparatus of the present invention, in order to replenish toner to a toner hopper of a fixing device of a copying machine, a new toner container 1
When set in the upper part of the toner hopper 40, as shown in FIG.
The ten protrusions 15 are respectively locked in the recesses 52 of the slide W50, so that the upper and lower slides 110 and 50 can move together.

Further, the four parts and the protrusions of the holding members 22 and 32 provided at the respective ends of the film seals 20 and 30 are engaged with each other. In this state, one protruding part of the lower frame 5 is inserted under the upper guide 45 of the toner hopper, and the other protruding part is set in contact with the rising part 46 of the upper member 41. The container 1 is positioned with respect to the toner hopper, and the toner container is fixed.

In this state, put your finger on the knob 56 and slide the lid side member 5.
When the toner container 1 is moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG. With the side portions held by the locking members 55, the toner hopper 40 is locked onto the toner hopper 40.

Then, by moving the lock member 55 to the right side in the drawing φh, the slide lid 50 is slid through the slide lid side member 51 in which the lock member 55 and the hole 156 are integrally provided, and its operation by slide 150
At the same time, the slide lid 10 of the toner container 1 is moved.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the slide lid 50 is slid, the film seal 30 wrapped around the slide I50 is moved by 2X with respect to the movement amount x of the slide lid 50. At the same time, the movement fi1x of the slide lid 10 and the film seal 2
0 movement ff12X is obtained.

The reason why the amount of movement of this film seal is twice that of the slide lid is because a part of the film seal 30 is fixed to the upper member 41 on the 1-ner hopper side via the film adhesive part 31. As shown in the figure, the film seals 20, which are linked to the film seal 30 through the holding members 32 and 22, also have their respective toner contacting parts in contact with each other. The state will overlap.

That is, in the apparatus of the present invention, the toner hopper 40
The lower surfaces of the film seal 30 provided to cover the opening of the toner container 1 and the film seal 20 that contacts the toner at the bottom of the toner container 1 are bent in the state shown in FIG. Since the toner is moved, the toner adhering to the surface of these film seals is not exposed to the outside, but is trapped between the film seals.

Therefore, the toner contained in the toner container 1 is transferred to the opening 4.
Even when the toner falls from the toner container 201.30 into the toner hopper 40, the dirt on the surface of the film seal caused by the falling toner is wrapped between the upper and lower film seals 201. Since no gaps are formed between the toner clouds, the toner cloud is also prevented from scattering to the outside.

Then, when the toner replenishment operation is completed and the slide lid 50 is moved to the left via the knobs 5 and 6, the upper F slide lid and the film seal pass through the opposite movement path from when they are opened. Then, the opening 41 of the toner hopper 40 and the lower part of the toner container 1 are respectively covered.

In this case, the toner-stained surfaces of the upper and lower film seals are gradually separated as the film seals move and return to their original positions, so these toner stains are not exposed to the outside. becomes.

Further, while toner is being replenished from the toner container 1, the lower frame 5 of the toner container is secured to the toner hopper by the upper guide 45 on one side and the locking member 55 on the other two sides. Since it is fixed at the top, the toner container "E11" does not separate from the toner hopper, thereby reliably preventing unexpected accidents such as toner scattering.

In the toner replenishing device of the present invention having the above-described mechanism, the toner container 1 is manufactured with a constant standard, for example, 3000, 5000 Å, and the lower frame 5 has the same standard. By,
It is possible to manufacture the same upper member of the toner hopper provided in the developing device of the main body of the copying machine.

When using the toner replenishing device of the present invention, it is possible to adapt the toner container by simply changing the height of the toner container, and since the copying machine is large, the toner is consumed frequently. In such a case, the capacity of the toner hopper will naturally increase, so it is better to use several toner containers, and for a small-sized copying machine, it is better to use one small-sized toner container.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the toner replenishing device of the present invention has the above-described configuration, a slide lid of the same standard is installed on the toner hopper side of the developing device of the copying machine and the opening of the toner container. Since it is equipped with a film sticker, the type of copying machine,
Even if the toner containers have different toner containers, the same toner container can be used.

In addition, in the toner replenishing device invented by Wood, it is possible to easily replenish toner by simply setting the toner container on the top of the toner hopper, and the toner replenishment device is locked while replenishing the toner. Since the toner container is fixed by the mechanism, accidents such as toner scattering around can be prevented from occurring.

Furthermore, when replenishing toner using the toner container of the present invention, the surface of the film seal contaminated with toner is moved by the sliding of the slide lid in a superimposed state, so that the surface adheres to the film seal. This prevents the toner from being exposed to the upper part of the toner hopper or around the toner hopper, and prevents the surrounding equipment, the operator's hands, etc. from being contaminated by the toner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the toner replenishing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the same line B-B. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper and lower film seals and the holding member, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the toner container set in the toner hopper, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the toner container in the open state. 7 are perspective views showing the structure of a conventional toner container, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the toner container shown in FIG. 7 with the slide lid opened. Reference numeral 1 in the figure: toner container; 2: container body;
3...Opening, 5...Bottom frame, 6...
... Concave groove, 7 ... Convex strip, 10 ... Slide lid, 11 ... Slide lid side member, 12.
...Convex strip, 13...-H concave groove, 14...
... Lower groove, 15 ... Protrusion, 20 ...
... Film seal, 21 ... Film adhesive part, 22 ... Holding member, 23 ... Recessed part,
24...Convex strip, 30...Film seal, 31...Film adhesive part, 32...
・Holding member, 33... recess, 34...
Convex strip, 40... Toner hopper, 41...
...Top member, 42...Frontage, 43...
Locking member, 44... Guide groove, 45...
Upper guide, 46... Rising part, 50...
...Sliding lid, 51...Sliding lid side member, 52...Concave portion, 53...Convex strip, 54
... Concave groove, 55 ... Lock member, 56
······Knob. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Ig-1 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A lid member that can be opened and closed is provided at the opening of the toner hopper of the developing device provided in the main body of the copying machine, and the lid member includes a slide lid and a film seal provided to cover the slide lid. The toner container set in the opening of the toner hopper for supplying toner is provided with a lid member that can be opened and closed so as to cover the opening provided at the lower part of the toner container, and the lid member is slid to cover the opening provided at the bottom of the toner container. A member consisting of a lid and a film seal that covers the upper surface of the sliding lid is provided on each sliding lid to interlock both sliding lids, and by the operation of sliding one of the sliding lids, The other slide lid can be slid in conjunction with each other, and
A toner replenishing device characterized in that a film seal is slid along the opening in conjunction with the sliding of the slide lid, and the dirty surfaces of the film are in contact with each other. (2) The slide lid that is slidably provided on the bottom surface of the toner container is provided with a protrusion on the bottom surface, and when the protrusion is engaged with a recess provided in a corresponding part of the toner hopper, the slide lid can be slid up and down. 2. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the lid is slid relative to the opening in an interlocked state so that the opening can be opened and closed.