JPS63294583A - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent splashing of a toner by providing a detaining member which stops the pull out and rotation of a container to the container mounting port of a developing device mounted freely turnably with the container and the container in the position where the aperture of the container and the toner supplying port of the developing device align to each other. CONSTITUTION:A taking-up shaft 15 provided at an axial center begins to revolve when the driving for a toner replenishment is transmitted from a main driving gear 17 to a driving gear 16. A toner cartridge 3 starts revolving in the same direction simultaneously with the revolution of the shaft 15. The cartridge 3 is blocked of the rotating power and is thereby stopped when the projecting part 13 of the cartridge comes into contact with the detaining part 6 formed to a hopper 4 of the developing device 2. The aperture 14 of the cartridge 3 and the toner supplying port 20 of the hopper 4 align to each other at this time. From this time on, only the shaft 15 keeps revolving and a sheet 18 fixed thereto is gradually taken up from the part A at one end thereof, by which the part B of the sheet 18 sealing the aperture 14 is stripped away. The splashing of the toner 7 is thereby prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a toner cartridge used as a toner replaceable replenishment container for dry toner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A toner cartridge that has been commonly used in the past has a five-cylindrical shape and contains toner.

An opening for toner discharge is formed along the axial direction in the side surface of this cylindrical container, and this opening is sealed from the outer wall side with a sealing member. When toner is supplied to such a toner cartridge, the toner is supplied by peeling off a sealing member attached to the outer wall of the opening, or by setting the toner in a developing device after peeling off the sealing member.

However, this toner supply method has a problem in that when the seal member is peeled off, the toner adhering to the seal member flies off and stains clothes and nearby devices.

In order to prevent such toner scattering, some toner cartridges have a double structure or a take-up roller for winding up the sealing member is provided near the cartridge installation opening of the hopper of the developing device. However, in such a case, there is a problem in that the cost of the toner cartridge itself and the cost of accessories for the developing device increase.

OBJECTS The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a toner cartridge that prevents toner from scattering when replacing the toner cartridge and simplifies the replacement work.

Structure The present invention provides a seal member having a portion for sealing an opening for toner discharge formed in a part of a cylindrical container containing toner from the inner wall side, and connects one end of the seal member to the container. It is fixed to the winding shaft rotatably mounted at the center.
A driving section located outside the cylindrical container is connected to the winding shaft, and a container mounting section of the developing device to which the container is rotatably attached is connected to the opening of the container and the toner of the developing device. Since a locking part is provided to stop the front cylindrical container from coming out and rotating at a position that coincides with the supply port, the part of the sealing member that seals the opening from the inner wall side can be placed in the developing device. Since the toner is peeled off by the take-up shaft, there is no chance of the toner flying off and staining clothes or nearby equipment. In addition, the force from the drive unit rotates the container and removes the toner from the opening of the container and the developing device. The toner supply port can be automatically aligned with the toner supply port, and furthermore, the toner that has aggregated during storage can be naturally loosened by the movement of the sealing member that is wound up.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

First, the developing device 2, which is provided close to the photoreceptor 1, has a hopper 4, which has a container attached thereto, into which the toner cartridge 3, which is a cylindrical container, is inserted.
is formed in a cylindrical shape. A groove 5 for alignment during insertion and a locking portion 6 for preventing the toner cartridge 3 from coming off and rotating are formed along the axial direction on the cylindrical side surface of the hopper 4. Furthermore, a toner replenishment roller 8 to which the toner 7 is fed and an agitation brush 9 to agitate the toner 7 are sequentially provided below the hopper 4 . Further, a developing sleeve 10 supplies the toner 7 sent from the stirring brush 9 to the photoreceptor 1.
is provided.

Next, the toner cartridge 3 is removed from its cylindrical container 11.
Projections 13 are formed on both end plates 12 of the cylindrical container 11, and an opening 14 for discharging toner is formed along the axial direction on the cylindrical side surface of the cylindrical container 11. Further, a rotatable take-up shaft 15 is provided at the axis of the cylindrical container 11, and a drive gear 16 as a drive unit for rotating the take-up shaft 15 is connected to one end of the take-up shaft 15. The drive gear 16 is driven by transmission from the main body drive gear 17.

Next, the sheet 18 as a sealing member may be made of a material that does not break during winding, such as a vinyl sheet, and can be rotated at its adhesive margins A and B (shaded areas). A fixed to the winding shaft 15
and a portion B that seals the opening 14 from the inner wall side. Further, a portion C made of a flexible sheet 19 is connected to one end of the portion B of this sheet 18 with double-sided tape or adhesive. This flexibility sheet 19
is fixed to the inner wall of the cylindrical container 11, and the material thereof is a thick elastic film, for example, a thickness of 0.5 to 1
, 0+m+m polyester film. Further, the sheet 18 has a tapered shape to reduce the winding force, thereby making it easier to peel off the adhesive margin B.

Note that although the rotational force of the winding shaft 15 is transmitted and driven by a gear, it may alternatively be transmitted by a dog clutch (not shown).

In such a configuration, first, the toner cartridge 3
The protrusion 13 is set and inserted into the groove 5 formed in the hopper 4 of the developing device 2.

Next, when the drive for toner replenishment is transmitted from the main body drive gear 17 to the drive gear 16, the take-up shaft 15 provided at the axis begins to rotate in the direction of the arrow. As the take-up shaft 15 rotates, the toner cartridge 3 also rotates in the same direction, and when the protrusion 13 hits the locking part 6 formed on the hopper 4 of the developing device 2, the toner cartridge 3 is blocked by its rotational force and stops. At this time, the opening 14 of the toner cartridge 3 and the toner supply port 20 of the hopper 4 are aligned.

After that, only the first winding shaft 15 rotates, and the sheet 18 fixed to it is gradually wound up from the A part at one end, and the B part of the sheet 18 that had sealed the opening 14 is removed. It gets ripped off.

After this part B is peeled off, the winding shaft 15 rotates without taking up part C of the flexible sheet 19, so that this part C transfers the toner 7 inside to the toner in the hopper 4. It is sent out sequentially to the supply port 20 side. After that,
The toner 7 is supplied to the surface of the photoreceptor 1 by the developing sleeve 10 via the toner supply roller 8 and the stirring brush 9, thereby performing development.

Therefore, since the sheet 18 is naturally peeled off by the take-up shaft 15 while it is set in the developing device 2, there is no possibility that the toner 7 will scatter and stain clothes or the like.

Note that, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, even if the toner supply port 20 of the hopper 4 is oriented horizontally instead of vertically, the flexible sheet fixed to the inner wall as described above By the action of the C part 19, the toner 7 can be sequentially sent out to the toner supply port 2o side of the hopper 4, and the toner 7 that has been aggregated during storage can also be loosened naturally.

Effects The present invention provides a seal member having a portion that seals a toner discharge opening formed in a part of a cylindrical container containing toner from the inner wall side, and connects one end of the seal member to the container. It is fixed to the winding shaft rotatably installed in the center.
A drive unit located outside the cylindrical container is connected to the winding shaft, and the container of the developing device is rotatably mounted. Since a locking part is provided to stop the container from coming out and rotating at a position that coincides with the toner supply port, the part of the sealing member that seals the opening from the inner wall side can be wound up while being set in the developing device. Since the toner is peeled off by the shaft, there is no chance of the toner scattering and staining clothes or nearby devices.This further simplifies the task of replacing the toner cartridge, and the force from the drive unit rotates the container. The opening of the container can be automatically aligned with the toner supply port of the developing device, and furthermore, the movement of the sealing member that is wound up can naturally loosen toner that has aggregated during storage. It can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view thereof, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the expanded view portion of the sealing member in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 1 is a cutaway vertical side view when the toner cartridge shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the developing device, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the hopper portion thereof, FIG. FIG. 7 is a cutaway longitudinal sectional side view of the toner cartridge inserted into the developing device. 2... Developing device, 3... Toner cartridge (container), 4... Hopper (container mounting part), 6... Locking part, 7... Toner, 14... Opening part, 15... Winding shaft, 16... Drive gear (drive part), 18... Sheet (sealing member). 20... Toner supply port applicant Rico Co., Ltd. -11゛...f
ll 36 kun (a) (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a toner cartridge in which a toner discharge opening formed in a part of a cylindrical container containing toner is sealed with a sealing member, a sealing member having a portion for sealing the opening from an inner wall side is provided, one end of this sealing member is fixed to a winding shaft rotatably attached to the center of the container,
A drive unit located outside the container is connected to this winding shaft,
A lock that stops the container from coming out and rotating at a position where the opening of the container and the toner supply port of the developing device coincide with the container mounting portion of the developing device to which the container is rotatably attached. A toner cartridge characterized by having a section.