JPS63178273A - Toner replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent such an accident as toner scattering on the periphery, etc., by constituting the titled device so that a lock member locks the lower frame member of a toner container, and the toner container can be held at a fixed position, in case of replenishing the toner. CONSTITUTION:For a side member 51 of a slide cover 50, a knob 56 and a lock member 55 are provided on its upper part, and by engaging the lock member 55 to a container lower frame 5 of a toner container 1, the toner container 1 is set to a lock state, while an operation of toner replenishment is being executed. Also, one projecting part of the lower frame 5 is inserted under the upper guide 45 of a toner hopper, and when the other projecting part is set in contact with a rise part 46 of the upper member 41 and the toner container 1 of the toner hopper is positioned, and also, the toner container is fixed. In such a way, the toner container 11 is not separated from the toner hopper and such an unexpected accident as toner scattering, etc. is not generated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention is applicable to electronic copying machines, etc. that use dry toner to form a toner image on the surface of a photoreceptor drum and transfer the toner image to paper. This invention relates to a device that allows easy replenishment of toner to a toner hopper provided in an electronic copying machine, in particular, a device in which a slide lid provided on a toner container and a slide lid of the toner hopper are linked. The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device that can hold a toner container in a fixed position when moving the toner container.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, devices such as copying machines use dry toner, form a toner image on the surface of a photoreceptor drum with the toner, and transfer the toner image to paper. is used.

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

Furthermore, in devices such as electronic copying machines that have been commonly used in the past, the toner used in the developing device of the electronic copying machine etc. depends on the characteristics of the copying machine, in some cases using -component toner and in other cases using two-component toner. However, in either case, it is necessary to replenish the toner every predetermined number of copies.

As mentioned above, the most common method for replenishing toner in the developing device is to open the cartridge containing the toner and transfer it directly to the toner hopper.
When such a method is used, there are inconveniences such as the toner scattering around and staining the area around the developing device.

Therefore, a method has been used in which the toner is stored in a cylindrical cartridge and the cartridge is inserted onto the popper of the developing device. This type of cartridge has an opening in the longitudinal direction on the side of the cylinder that houses the toner, and the opening is covered with a sheet, and after being installed in the developing device, the sheet can be pulled out. , an opening is formed to allow the toner to fall.

Therefore, in the case of such an I-toner replenishing 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 the copying machine may be damaged. This is intended to prevent inconvenient situations from occurring, such as contaminating other equipment.

However, when using a cylindrical cartridge like the one mentioned above,
An SN device that is attached to a fixing device or a copying machine main body has a drawback that its cartridge accommodating portion becomes a dead space. In addition, in small copy machines,
Since the amount of toner consumed is small, a relatively small cartridge can be used, but in devices such as relatively large electronic copiers that make copies at high speed, the amount of toner consumed increases in proportion to the number of copies made. .

However, although the hopper of the developing device can be made relatively large, making the toner cartridge large means that the dead space in the cartridge storage section becomes large, which puts 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 container with a special opening/closing lid is used.
A "l-ner receiving device" has been proposed.

The toner receiving device shown in this conventional example is as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. The opening is covered by a film seal 20a and a slide M10a.

The toner container 1a is placed in the opening of the toner receiver provided in the toner hopper of the developing device. When the slide lid 10a is slid along the protrusion 7a provided on the side of the container bottom frame 5a after the container bottom frame 5a is fixed in position, the film seal 20a is attached to the bottom of the toner container 1a. It is peeled off from the area around the opening. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, an opening 3a is formed in the lower part of the main body of the containers 1 to 1a, and the toner falls from the opening into the toner hopper of the developing device.

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-mentioned configuration, when 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, , the surface of the film seal that was in contact with the toner,
The toner is exposed on the underside of the slide lid, which often causes the area around the toner hopper of the developing device or other parts of the copying machine other than the developing device to be contaminated by scattered toner. .

To deal with this, a method is used in which a guard member is installed near the upper opening of the toner hopper to prevent the dirt at the bottom of the film seal from scattering around. Even if you use such means,
The effect of preventing scattering of toner cannot be sufficiently exhibited.

In addition, in the conventional apparatus described above, the mechanism for sealing the toner on the toner hopper 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 from scattering. The purpose is to provide a device that can easily replenish toner to a hopper, and further,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner replenishing device provided with a mechanism capable of holding a toner container in a fixed position when the toner container is set in the opening of a toner hopper and toner is replenished.

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

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 linked to open and open the opening. Further, the sliding lid member on the hopper side of the present invention is provided with a locking mechanism on the side member, and when the sliding lid member is moved, the locking member locks the lower frame of the toner container and locks the lower frame of the toner container. Prevent the container from moving.

Therefore, in toner replenishment II of the present invention, when the upper and lower slide lid members are moved, polymerization occurs when the toner is moved, the reel is on a dirty surface, and the film seal is slid. This prevents inconvenient conditions such as toner adhering to the surface of the film seal from scattering around the toner hopper and staining the operator's hands.

Furthermore, in the toner replenishing device of the present invention, the locking mechanism prevents movement of the toner container until 1-toner is being replenished from the toner container, even if the operator makes a mistake in operation. This prevents the container from coming off, thereby ensuring that the container is securely fixed during toner replenishment.

(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, the toner hopper 40 provided in the current III device is provided with a slide lid 50 and a film seal 3o that slides together with the slide lid 50. .

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 i-ner hopper is closed in a sealed state, and the slide lid 50 is moved together with the slide lid 10 of the toner container 1, as will be described later.
You are now listening to 2.

The toner hopper 40 of the present invention also has an opening 42.
A slide lid 50@ is provided 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 groove 54 on its inner surface, and is provided with a recess 52 on the upper surface of both ends, into which a protrusion 15 provided on the side member 11 of the toner container 1 is engaged, as will be described later. ing.

Further, a protruding strip 53 is provided on the outside of the side member 51,
The protruding strip 53 is engaged with a guide groove 44 of a locking member 43 provided in a protruding manner on the upper surface of the hopper upper member 41 of the hopper 1 to 40, and is guided along the guide groove 44. Since the sliding lid 50 is slidably provided, the sliding lid 50 is configured to be able to close the opening 42 of the toner hopper 40 and open the opening by being moved.

In addition to this, the side member 51 of the slide M50 of the present invention
is provided with a knob 56 and a locking 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 above the toner hopper 40 configured as described above and is used for replenishing toner. An opening 3 is formed in the lower 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 slidably supported.

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 an upper groove 13 and a lower groove 14 formed in the upper and lower parts so as to sandwich the slide lid 10 therebetween.

Then, the protruding strip 12 forming the upper part of the upper groove 13 is engaged with the concave groove 6 of the container F frame 5, and the protruding strip 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, on the lower surface of both ends of the side member 11, protrusions/protrusions 15 are provided.
are respectively provided, and when the toner container 1 is set in the toner hopper 40, these protrusions 15 are connected to the recesses 52 of the side member 51 integrally provided on the side of the slide lid 50 of the toner hopper 40. is locked.

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 openings of each member are brought into close contact 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 top surface of the slide lid 10, and the other end of the slide lid 10 is
It extends to a film holding member 22 placed on the stone surface.

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. During this sliding, the film seal 30 is set to move twice as far as the slide 140 moves.゛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, 32 can move together.

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
, a film seal 20 is placed 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, the slide lid 50 and the film seal 30 are attached to the upper member 41 of the toner hopper 40 with the protrusion 53 of the slide lid 50 being locked to the guide tf 444 formed by the locking member 43. 40 openings 42
It is installed in such a way that it covers the

In the apparatus of the present invention, in order to replenish toner to the toner dropper of the fixed @ device of the copying machine, a new toner container 1
When the toner container is set at the top of the toner hopper 40, the projections 15 of the slide lid 10 provided at the bottom of the toner container are respectively locked in the recesses 52 of the slide lid 50, and the upper and lower slides 1i10 and 50 can be moved together.

Furthermore, the holding members 22 and 32 provided at the respective ends of the film seals 20 and 30 are such that their respective concave portions and protrusions 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.
1 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5, the lock member 55 is initially engaged with the upper surface 5b of the lower frame 5,
The locking member comes to slide along the upper surface of the legal frame 5b. In this state, the toner container 1 is locked onto the toner hopper 40 with one side held by the upper guide 45 and the other two sides held by the locking member 55.

Then, by moving the locking member 55 to the right side in the figure, the slide 150 is moved around via the side member 51 in which the locking member 55 and the knob 56 are integrally provided. Along with 150,
As shown in FIG. 6, the film seal 30 is wrapped around the slide lid 50 as the slide lid 50 is slid. is now moved by 2X with respect to the movement opening X of the slide M50, and at the same time, a movement mx of the slide lid 10 and a movement #Jffl 2X of the film seal 20 are 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 toner hopper side via the film adhesive part 31. For the film seal 30,
As shown in the figure, the film seals 20 which are interlocked with each other through the holding members 32 and 22 are overlapped with each other so that the portions in contact with the toner are in contact with each other.

That is, in the apparatus of the present invention, the toner hopper 40
A film seal 30 is provided to cover the opening of the toner container 1, and a film seal 30 is provided to cover the opening of the toner container 1.
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Since the toners are moved in an overlapping manner as shown in the figure, the toner adhering to the surfaces of these film seals is not exposed to the outside, but is wrapped 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 20 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 20 and 30, and is also trapped at the connection between the toner container and the toner hopper. 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 side via the knob 56, the toner hopper is moved through the opposite movement path to the one in which the lower slide lid and film seal are opened. 40 , the opening 41 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 7 toner-stained surfaces are not exposed to the outside. Become something.

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 the toner container 1 is fixed at the top, the toner container 1 does not separate from the toner hopper, and it is possible to reliably prevent unexpected accidents such as toner scattering due to toner spillage.

In the toner replenishing device of the present invention having the above-mentioned mechanism, the toner container 1 can be manufactured with a constant specification and configured to hold, for example, 300 g or 500 (J). , the lower frame 5 of the toner container 1
The standards are set the same, and according to the toner capacity,
By changing the height of the container, it is possible to set the structure of the upper member of the toner hopper provided in the developing device of the copying machine body to the same standard, and to use the toner container in common.

When using the toner replenishing device of the present invention, it is possible to adapt the toner capacity by simply changing the height of the toner container. If there are many toner containers, the capacity of the toner hopper will naturally increase, so it is better to use several toner containers.
It is a good idea to use this book.

Further, a lock member provided in the toner hopper of the present invention,
The shape and structure of the members such as the knob are not limited to the embodiments described above, and other shapes may be used as long as the locking operation for the toner container can be performed accurately.

(Effects of the Invention) The toner replenishing device of the present invention can be used on soil. Since it has the configuration described above, the slide lid and film seal of the same standard for the developing device of the copying machine are provided, so even if the type of copying machine, the amount of toner contained in the toner container, etc. differ, A toner container can be used in common.

Further, in the toner replenishing device of the present invention, toner replenishment can be easily performed by simply placing the toner container in the upper part of the toner hopper. When the toner container of the present invention is installed and the toner hopper is refilled with toner, the locking mechanism fixes the toner container to the top of the hopper, so there is no risk of the toner scattering around. Accidents 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 toner from being exposed to the top of the toner hopper or its surroundings, and prevents surrounding equipment, operator's hands, etc. from being contaminated by toner.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the toner replenishing device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1, FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper and lower film seals and the holding member, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the state in which the toner container is set in the toner hopper.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the toner container in an open state, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of a conventional toner container, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the toner container shown in FIG. 7 with the slide lid opened. FIG. 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... Upper groove, 14...
... Lower groove, 15 ... Protrusion, 20 ...
・Film seal, 21...Film adhesive part,
22... Holding member, 23... Concavity, 2
4...Convex strip, 30...Film seal, 31...Film adhesive part, 32...
Holding member, 33... Concavity, 34... Convex strip, 4o... Toner hopper, 41...
- Upper member, 42... Frontage, 43... Locking member, 44... Guide groove, 45... Upper guide, 46...・Rising part, 50...
...Sliding lid, 51...Sliding lid side member,
52... Concavity, 53... Protrusion, 54.
...Concave groove, 55...Lock member, 56.
·····Knob. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7 Figure 8 cL

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A lid member that can be opened and closed is provided at the opening of a toner hopper of a developing device provided in the main body of the copying machine, and the lid member is provided with a slide lid and so as to cover the slide lid. The film seal is fixed to the side of the opening of the toner hopper via an adhesive, and the side member of the slide lid is capable of engaging with the lower frame of the toner container. A lower frame member is integrally provided with a locking member, and is placed in the opening of the toner hopper and is provided at the bottom of the toner container for replenishing toner.
A lid member that can be opened and closed is provided in the opening, and the lid member is composed of a sliding lid and a film seal that covers the upper surface of the sliding lid, and the sliding lid of the toner container and the sliding lid of the toner hopper are connected to each other. are interlocked and slid along the opening, and when the openings of both members are communicated to replenish toner, the locking member locks the lower frame member of the toner container and fixes the toner container. A toner replenishing device characterized in that it is configured to be able to be held in position.