KR20080063946A - Locking apparatus for toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

A toner cartridge locking apparatus is provided to confirm whether a replacement component is mounted in an exact location visually and maintain locking reliability even when external impacts are applied. A fixing groove is prepared in a toner cartridge mount unit of a developing unit. A fixing member is prepared in a toner cartridge(20), and has a protrusion unit(110,120) and an elastic unit. The protrusion unit is protruded in both outer sides of the toner cartridge. The elastic unit performs inwardly and elastically biases the protrusion unit. On operating member is installed in the toner cartridge so as to move to at least first and second positions. The operating member protrudes the protrusion outwardly in the second position so as to be inserted into the fixing groove.

Description

Toner cartridge locking device {Locking apparatus for toner cartridge}

1 is a side view showing an example of a locking device of a general toner cartridge;

2 is a perspective view showing an example of a locking device of a toner cartridge according to the present invention;

3 is a perspective view showing an extract of the fixing member and the rotating handle of Figure 2,

4 is a plan view showing the fixing member of FIG.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing a state where the fixing member is fixed by a support piece formed on the rotary knob when the toner cartridge is locked.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

20; Toner cartridge 30; Developing Unit

100; Fixing members 110 and 120; First and second protrusions

130; Elastic part 200; Rotary knob

300; Fixing groove

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a toner cartridge locking apparatus applicable to a replaceable part detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus.

Generally, various types of removable replacement parts are installed in the image forming apparatus. Since these replacement parts are not only mounted on the mounting part but also need to be fixed, a locking device for fixing the position is provided.

1 shows a locking structure of a toner cartridge detachably installed in a developing unit as an example.

As shown in the drawing, the toner cartridge mounting unit 1 provided in the developing unit is provided with a locking device 10 for guiding the mounting of the toner cartridge 2 and preventing separation of the mounted toner cartridge 2.

The locking device 10 is installed in the mounting portion 1, and is provided with a fixing projection 11 and a projection seating groove 12 provided at a position corresponding to the fixing projection 11 of the toner cartridge 2 configured to be sunk. Include.

The fixing protrusion 11 has a protruding portion having a hemispherical shape. When the toner cartridge 2 is inserted / mounted into the mounting portion 1, the fixing protrusion 11 is pressed by the toner cartridge 2, and then the toner cartridge is pressed. When (2) is inserted up to the mounting portion, it protrudes into the projection seating groove 12 to fix the position of the toner cartridge 2.

However, when the locking device 10 is formed in such a structure, it is difficult to know whether the locking device 10 is mounted according to the feeling of mounting, and the fixing protrusion 11 is worn out during continuous repeated use, thereby leaving the toner cartridge 2 and the toner cartridge. Defects may occur due to deviations. In addition, since the position of the fixing protrusion 11 is not fixed, when an external shock or the like occurs, there is a problem that the locking is easily released.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, it is possible to visually check whether the replacement parts are mounted in the correct position, and to provide a toner cartridge locking device having an improved structure to maintain the locking reliability in the event of external impact Its purpose is to.

Toner cartridge locking device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a fixing groove provided in the toner cartridge mounting portion of the developing unit; A fixing member provided in the toner cartridge and having protrusions protruding outwardly of the toner cartridge and elastic portions elastically biasing the protrusions inwardly; And an actuating member installed in the toner cartridge so as to be movable to at least a first position and a second position and protruding the protrusion outwardly from the second position to be inserted into the fixing groove.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the operating member is composed of a toner cartridge handling handle.

It is preferable that the elastic portion of the fixing member has a ring shape, and the operating member includes a fixing piece positioned inside the elastic portion at a second position.

The protrusion of the fixing member is preferably rounded at its ends.

Hereinafter, a toner cartridge locking device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the toner cartridge locking device includes a fixing member 100, an operating member 200, and a fixing groove 300.

The fixing member 100 and the operation member 200 are installed in the toner cartridge 20, and the fixing groove 300 is formed in the toner cartridge mounting portion provided in the developing unit 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the fixing member 100 includes first and second protrusions 110 and 120 that protrude outwardly from the toner cartridge 20, and the first and second protrusions 110 and 120. It includes an elastic portion 130 to elastically bias inward).

The fixing member 100 has the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 recessed inside the toner cartridge 20 when no external force is applied, and when the interference of the operating member 200 is applied. Only the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 protrude outwardly of the toner cartridge 20. That is, the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 are recessed on both sides of the toner cartridge 20 at the first position of the actuating member 200 (see the dotted line in FIG. 4), and the actuating member 200. In the second position of), the toner cartridge 20 protrudes outwardly and is inserted into the fixing groove 300. The end portions 110a and 120a of the first and second protrusions are rounded, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The actuating member 200 is installed in the toner cartridge 20. The first member does not interfere with the fixing member 100, and the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 may interfere with the fixing member 100. Is rotated between the second positions which project the outer side of the toner cartridge 20 outwardly. And the back surface of the operating member 200 is integrally formed with a fixing piece 210 for fixing the position of the first and second protrusions 110, 120 in the second position.

The operation member 200 is preferably composed of a toner cartridge handling handle so that the operation member 200 can be gripped when the toner cartridge 20 is inserted and removed. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4, the toner cartridge 20 may be provided with a gripping groove 21 for assisting gripping of the operation member 200 configured as a handling handle.

Hereinafter, the operation of the toner cartridge locking apparatus according to the present invention will be described with the accompanying drawings.

When inserting the toner cartridge 20 into the mounting portion provided in the developing unit 30, the operation member 200 is rotated to a first position parallel to the insertion direction, as shown in Figs. The 210 does not interfere with the first and second protrusions 110 and 120.

Then, the toner cartridge 20 is inserted into the mounting portion with the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 recessed inside. Since the toner cartridge 20 is mounted in such a state that the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 are recessed, there is no fear of wear of the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 due to repeated use.

Then, when the toner cartridge 20 is completely inserted into the mounting portion, the user rotates the operation member 200 to the second position, as shown in FIG. It can be inserted into the space (S) formed between the second protrusion (110, 120). Then, the fixing piece 210 pushes the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 in the direction of the arrow, and protrudes to the outside of the toner cartridge 20. The protruding first and second protrusions 110 and 120 are inserted into the fixing groove 300 provided in the toner cartridge mounting portion to prevent the toner cartridge 20 from being separated from the mounting portion.

Therefore, even if a strong force is applied from the outside, the positions of the first and second protrusions 110 and 120 do not change inside the fixing groove 300, so that the toner cartridge 20 can remain coupled to the mounting portion. . When the toner cartridge 20 is removed from the mounting portion, the toner cartridge 20 may be performed in the reverse order of the above process.

On the other hand, the operation of the locking device according to the present invention has been described above by taking the toner cartridge 20, which is most frequently used as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is detachably installed on an image forming apparatus such as a fixing unit and a transfer unit. Any modular replacement can be applied to anything.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to visually check whether a replacement part such as a toner cartridge is mounted at the correct position, and there is no fear of unlocking the toner cartridge due to external impact and repeated use, thereby improving product reliability. Can be.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the appended claims.

Claims (4)

A fixing groove provided in the toner cartridge mounting portion of the developing unit; A fixing member provided in the toner cartridge and having protrusions protruding outwardly of the toner cartridge and elastic portions elastically biasing the protrusions inwardly; And A toner cartridge movably installed in at least a first position and a second position of the toner cartridge, the actuating member protruding the protrusion outwardly from the second position to be inserted into the fixing groove; Locking device. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation member, A toner cartridge locking device comprising a toner cartridge handling handle. The method of claim 1, The elastic portion has a ring shape, And the actuating member includes a fixing piece positioned inside the elastic portion at a second position. The method of claim 1, wherein the protrusion, A toner cartridge locking device, characterized in that its end is rounded.

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