TWI749461B - Waste toner detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a waste carbon powder detection device, which includes a stirring rod, a transmission member, a rotating arm, and a marking member. The stirring rod is used to agitate the waste carbon powder. The axis moves between the transmission position and the disengagement position. When the transmission member is in the transmission position, it can transmit rotation to the stirring rod. When the transmission member is in the disengagement position, it cannot transmit rotation to the agitator rod. In the position, the top can drive the rotating arm from the engaged position to the released position, and the marking member can be moved from the retracted position to the extended position under the action of elastic force. When the rotating arm is in the engaged position, the marking member is restricted by the rotating arm While maintaining the retracted position, when the rotating arm is in the released position, the marker is no longer restricted by the rotating arm and can be moved to the extended position by elastic force; thereby, the waste toner detection device can accurately detect the recycling slot Whether the toner inside reaches the predetermined capacity.

Description

Waste toner detection device

The present invention relates to an electronic imaging device, and particularly refers to a waste carbon powder detecting device used in the recycling tank of the electronic imaging device.

General electronic imaging devices, such as photocopiers or printers, have a waste toner recycling tank inside to collect the excess toner that has not been transferred to the paper. After the recycling tank is filled with toner, the user can take it out and replace it. A new recycling tank, however, if the toner in the recycling tank is full and not processed immediately, it will cause toner overflow and poor printing quality. On the contrary, if the recycling tank is not full, replace the recycling tank with a new one. , It will cause unnecessary waste. Therefore, how to accurately detect whether the waste toner in the recycling tank reaches a predetermined capacity and needs to be replaced has become a problem that the industry seeks to solve.

An object of the present invention is to provide a waste toner detecting device that can accurately detect whether the toner in the recycling tank reaches a predetermined capacity.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the waste toner detection device of the present invention includes a stirring rod, a transmission member, a rotating arm, and a marking member. The stirring rod is used to agitate the waste toner. The rotating load moves along an axis of the stirring rod between a transmission position and a disengagement position. When the transmission member is in the transmission position, it can be transmitted and rotated to the stirring rod. When the transmission member is in the disengagement position Can not be transmitted to the stirring rod, the transmission member has a top portion, when the transmission member is in the disengaged position, the top portion can drive the rotating arm to rotate from a engaged position to a release position, the marking member can be received An elastic force moves from a retracted position to an extended position. When the rotating arm is in the engaged position, the marking member is restricted by the rotating arm and maintained in the retracted position. When the rotating arm is in the released position Position, the marking member is no longer restricted by the spiral arm and can be moved to the extended position by the elastic force; thereby, the waste toner detection device can accurately detect whether the toner in a recycling tank reaches Scheduled capacity.

The following describes the technical content and features of the present invention in detail with a preferred embodiment in conjunction with the drawings. As shown in Figure 1, the waste toner detection device 10 provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention is set in a A three-dimensional view of the recovery tank 1. The recovery tank 1 is used to set up an electronic imaging device (not shown) such as a photocopier or printer, etc. The electronic imaging device has a power source (not shown) and a sensor器(picture not shown). The recycling tank 1 has a housing 2, an inlet 4 provided above the housing 2, and a side cover 6 provided on one side of the housing 2, the side cover 6 is provided with a slot 7, the waste toner detecting device 10 is mainly arranged between the housing 2 and the side cover 6, the inlet 4 is used to receive the excess waste toner of the electronic imaging device, and the sensor can sense the activity of the waste toner detection device 10. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the waste toner detection device 10 includes a gear 13, a transmission member 20, a first elastic member 29, a stirring rod 30, a fixing seat 40, a rotating arm 50, and a The second elastic member 59, a marking member 60, and a third elastic member 69.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the gear 13 is rotatably disposed on the side cover 6 and connected to the power source. The gear 13 can be driven by the power source to rotate about an axis L relative to the housing 2. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 4A and 4B, the gear 13 has a ring-shaped body 14, a tube 15 located at the center of the body 14 and parallel to the axis L, and a bottom 16 is provided on the tube 15 One end far away from the transmission member 20, the four retaining wall 17 extends radially from the tube portion 16 and is connected to the body 21, the four hollow portion 18 is located between the two adjacent retaining walls 17, and the four-axis sliding groove 19 Located at the inner edge of the main body 14, the outer edge of the main body 14 has a toothed rim 141 capable of receiving the power of the power source, wherein each of the axial sliding grooves 19 extends parallel to the axis L and has a block close to the transmission member 20止部19a.

The transmission member 20 can move along the axis L between a transmission position P1 (as shown in Fig. 9A) and a disengagement position P2 (as shown in Fig. 9B), and as shown in Figs. 5A and 5B, The transmission member 20 has a disc body 21 in the shape of a circular plate, a top 22 extending axially from the outer edge of the disc body 21 toward the gear 13, and two engaging parts 25 from the disc body 21 facing away from the gear 13 The gear 13 extends in the direction of the gear 13, the four arms 26 extend from the disc body 21 in the direction of the gear 13, the four protrusions 27 respectively extend radially outward from the ends of the arms 26, and a perforation 28 is located in the center of the plate body 21, the abutting top portion 22 has a first inclined hook surface 23, and the first inclined hook surface 23 and the axis L have an included angle of about 10 degrees. Each of the supporting arms 26 extends into each of the hollow portions 18, and each of the protrusions 27 extends into the axial sliding groove 19, so that the transmission member 20 can rotate coaxially with the gear 13, and the gear 13 blocks The stop portion 19 a can prevent the protrusion 27 from escaping from the axial sliding groove 19 in a direction away from the gear 13.

The first elastic member 29 is a cylindrical helical spring. The two ends of the first elastic member 29 are pressed against the body 14 of the gear 13 and the plate 21 of the transmission member 20. The first elastic member 29 applies The force of the transmission member 20 toward the transmission position P1.

The stirring rod 30 extends into the housing 2 and extends along the axis L for stirring waste carbon powder. One end of the stirring rod 30 is provided with a clamping member 31, and the clamping member 31 is clamped and connected to the stirring rod 30. It can rotate together. The engaging member 31 has a shaft 32 and two protrusions 35. The shaft 32 passes through the through hole 28 of the transmission member 20 and extends into the tube portion 15 of the gear 13, and each protrusion 35 can be They are respectively engaged with the engaging parts 25 of the transmission member 20, so that the stirring rod 30 can be driven by the transmission member 20 to rotate together. The stirring rod 30 has a plurality of blades 37. When the stirring rod 30 rotates, the blades 37 The waste carbon powder in the recycling tank 1 can be agitated, so that the waste carbon powder is evenly distributed in the shell 2 of the recycling tank 1.

The fixing seat 40 is disposed on the side cover 6, and as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the fixing seat 40 includes a pivot 43 extending parallel to the axis L, a first hooking portion 45, and a first limiter. Bit slot 47.

The rotating arm 50 is rotatably disposed on the fixing base 40, and as shown in FIG. 7, the rotating arm 50 has a first end 51, a second end 52 opposite to the first end 51, and a resisting end. The portion 53 is provided at the first end 51, a limiting post 55 extends from the second end 52 toward the marking member 60, a pivotal portion 56 is located between the first end 51 and the second end 52, And a second hooking portion 57 extends from the second end 52 in a direction away from the marking member 60, and the resisting portion 53 has a second inclined hooking surface 54 that can interact with the second inclined hooking surface 54 First diagonal hook The surfaces 23 are hooked to each other, and the pivotal portion 56 is pivoted on the pivot 43 of the fixing seat 40, whereby when the abutting portion 53 is pushed against the top portion 22 of the transmission member 20, the rotating arm 50 can Rotate around this pivot 43.

The second elastic member 59 is a tension spring, and its two ends are arranged on the first hooking portion 45 and the second hooking portion 57, whereby the second elastic member 59 can provide the rotation arm 50 The force of the second end toward the axis L, that is, the second elastic member 59 applies to the rotating arm 50 to maintain an engagement position P3 (as shown in FIG. 10A) or a release position P4 (as shown in FIG. 10C) Shown).

The marking member 60 is movably disposed on the fixed seat 40, and the marking member 60 can be moved from a retracted position P5 (as shown in Fig. 11A) to an extended position P6 (as shown in Fig. 11C) by an elastic force. Shown), and as shown in Figures 8A and 8B, the marking member 60 has a baffle 61, an arc groove 63 is provided on the baffle 61 on the side close to the swing arm 50, and a base 67 is formed by the baffle 61 extends from the bottom side, and a second limiting slot 68 is provided on the bottom surface of the base 67. The arc slot 63 has a closed end 64 and an open end 65. The arc slot 63 is used for limiting the arm 50. The position post 55 extends, and the position of the second limit slot 68 corresponds to the first limit slot 47 of the fixing seat 40. When the marking member 60 moves from the retracted position P5 to the extended position P6, the The marking member 60 is far away from the axis L of the stirring rod 30.

The third elastic member 69 is a compression spring, and the third elastic member 69 is positioned with its two ends extending into the first limiting groove 47 of the fixing seat 40 and the second limiting groove 68 of the marking member 60, by Therefore, the third elastic member 69 can provide the marking member 60 with a force away from the axis L, that is, the third elastic member 69 exerts a force on the marking member 60 toward the extended position P6.

With the above structure, in the initial state, as shown in FIG. 9A, the transmission member 20 is located at the transmission position P1 and has a certain distance from the swing arm 50. The transmission member 20 passes through the engaging portion 25 and the stirring The engagement of the engaging member 31 of the rod 30 transmits the rotational force of the gear 13 to the stirring rod 30, so that the stirring rod 30 rotates with the transmission member 20, and the blades 37 can agitate the waste carbon in the recycling tank 1 Powder to make the waste toner evenly Distributed in the recovery slot 1, at this time, the second elastic member 59 maintains the rotating arm 50 at the engaging position P3, as shown in FIG. 10A, the limiting post 55 is located at the closed end of the arc slot 63 64. Since the limiting post 55 abuts against a bottom side of the arc groove 63, the marking member 60 cannot be moved away from the axis L by the elastic force of the third elastic member 69, that is, the marking member 60 is restricted by the swing arm 50 and maintained at the retracted position P5, as shown in Figures 10A and 11A; as the waste carbon powder in the recovery tank 1 gradually increases, the resistance to the rotation of the stirring rod 30 becomes greater, namely As the rotating load increases, the engaging portion 25 of the transmission member 20 and the engaging member 31 of the stirring rod 30 begin to be misaligned, so that the transmission member 20 overcomes the elastic force of the first elastic member 29 and is gradually pushed toward In the release position P2, when the waste toner in the recovery tank 1 reaches a predetermined volume, the resistance of the stirring rod 30 reaches a threshold, so that the transmission member 20 is pushed to the position closest to the gear 13. At this time, the The engaging portion 25 of the transmission member 20 is disengaged from the engaging member 31 of the stirring rod 30 so that the stirring rod 30 cannot rotate together with the transmission member 20, and the transmission member 20 is located at the disengaged position P2 and is close to the rotating arm 50 , As shown in Figure 9B.

When the transmission member 20 is at the disengagement position P2, the transmission member 20 continues to rotate with the gear 13, so that the first inclined hook surface 23 of the abutting top portion 22 and the second inclined hook surface 54 of the arm 50 are mutually hooked Holding, the transmission member 20 can push against the first end 51 of the rotating arm 50, so that the rotating arm 50 rotates from the engaging position P3 to the releasing position P4. During the rotation of the rotating arm 50, the limit The position post 55 moves along the arc groove 63 to the position shown in Figure 10B. At this time, the second elastic member 39 is stretched to the longest position. When the swing arm 50 continues to rotate to the release position P4, the limit position The column 55 rotates to the open end 65 and escapes from the arc groove 63. At this time, the second elastic member 39 exerts the elastic force of the rotating arm 50 to maintain it at the release position P4, as shown in Figure 10C, the mark The member 60 is no longer restricted by the rotating arm 50 but can be moved to the extended position P6 by the elastic force of the third elastic member 69. The base 67 is attached to the inner wall of the side cover 6, so that the marking member 60 is affected by the The side cover 6 is restricted and maintained at the extended position P6; when the marking member 60 is located at the extended position P6, as shown in Figure 11C, at this time, the baffle 61 can be sensed by the sensor, The electronic imaging device can then issue a warning that the recovery slot 1 needs to be replaced.

With the above-mentioned structure, when the waste toner reaches a predetermined capacity, the marking member 60 of the waste toner detection device 10 can protrude from the side cover 6 through the slot 7 to be detected by the electronic imaging device. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, in this way, it can be accurately detected whether the toner in the recovery tank reaches the predetermined capacity, thereby achieving the purpose of the invention.

It should be noted that the sensor of the electronic imaging device, the clamping method of the transmission member 20 and the stirring rod 30, the clamping structure of the rotating arm 50 and the marking member 60, and the gear 13 and the transmission member 20 The structure and connection method are not the focus of this case, but other design changes are possible.

Based on the design spirit of the present invention, the structure of the waste toner detection device 10 can have other changes, for example: the fixing seat 40 can be integrally formed with the side cover 6 or the structure can have other changes; or the first, The two inclined hook surfaces 23 and 54 can be omitted, as long as the transmission member 20 can push the rotating arm 50 to rotate. All of these structural changes that can be easily thought of should be covered by the scope of the patent application for the invention.

1: Recovery slot 2: shell 4: entrance 6: Side cover 7: Slotting 10: Waste toner detection device 13: Gear 14: body 141: tooth edge 15: Pipe Department 16: bottom 17: retaining wall 18: hollow part 19: Axial chute 19a: Stop L: axis 20: Transmission parts 21: Disc body 22: reach the top 23: The first oblique hook surface 25: card joint 26: support arm 27: bump 28: Piercing 29: The first elastic part P1: Transmission position P2: Out of position 30: Stirring rod 31: Clip 32: Axle 35: bump 37: Blade 40: fixed seat 43: pivot 45: The first hook 47: The first limit slot 50: Swivel arm 51: first end 52: second end 53: Incoming Department 54: second inclined hook surface 55: limit column 56: Pivot 57: The second hook part 59: second elastic part P3: Snap position P4: Release position 60: logo 61: bezel 63: Arc Groove 64: closed end 65: open end 67: base 68: second limit slot 69: The third elastic part P5: Retracted position P6: Outreach position

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a recovery tank in a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a waste toner detecting device in a recycling tank according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a partial exploded view of the recovery tank of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figures 4A and 4B are perspective views of the gears of the waste toner detection device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention at different angles; Figures 5A and 5B are perspective views of the transmission part of the waste toner detection device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention at different angles; Figures 6A and 6B are perspective views of the fixing seat of the waste toner detection device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention at different angles; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a rotating arm of a waste toner detection device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 8A and 8B are three-dimensional views of the marking member of the waste toner detection device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention at different angles; Figures 9A and 9B are perspective views of the transmission parts of the waste toner detection device in different positions of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figures 10A-10C are schematic diagrams of the operation of a waste toner detection device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figures 11A-11C are schematic diagrams of actions taken from different angles in Figures 10A-10C.

6: Side cover

7: Slotting

10: Waste toner detection device

13: Gear

L: axis

20: Transmission parts

29: The first elastic part

30: Stirring rod

31: Clip

32: Axle

35: bump

37: Blade

40: fixed seat

50: Swivel arm

59: second elastic part

60: logo

69: The third elastic part

Claims (14)

A waste toner detection device, including: A stirring rod, used to stir waste toner; A transmission member capable of moving between a transmission position and a disengagement position along an axis of the stirring rod based on the rotational load of the stirring rod, and can transmit and rotate to the stirring rod when the transmission member is in the transmission position, When the transmission member is in the disengaged position, the rotation cannot be transmitted to the stirring rod, and the transmission member has a top portion; A revolving arm, when the transmission member is in the disengaged position, the abutting top can drive the revolving arm from a engaged position to a released position; and A marker can be moved from a retracted position to an extended position by an elastic force. When the rotating arm is in the engaging position, the marker is restricted by the rotating arm and maintained in the retracted position. When the rotating arm is located at the release position, the marking member is no longer restricted by the rotating arm and can be moved to the extended position by the elastic force. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission member has a disc body, and the abutment portion is extended from the disc body. The waste toner detection device according to claim 2, wherein the plate body of the transmission member extends toward the stirring rod with an engaging part, and one end of the stirring rod is provided with an engaging part, when the transmission member is located at the transmission position When the engaging portion is engaged with the engaging member to make the stirring rod and the transmission member rotate together, when the transmission member is located at the disengagement position, the engaging portion is disengaged from the engaging member to cause the stirring rod Cannot rotate with the transmission member. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a first elastic member to apply a force to the transmission member toward the transmission position. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 4 further includes a gear that rotates with the transmission member, and the first elastic member is arranged between the gear and the transmission member. The waste toner detection device according to claim 1, further comprising a second elastic member for applying force to the rotating arm to maintain the engagement position or the release position. The waste toner detection device according to claim 6, further comprising a fixed seat, the rotating arm is rotatably arranged on the fixed seat, the marking member is movably arranged on the fixed seat, and the second elastic member is arranged Between the fixed seat and the rotating arm. The waste toner detection device according to claim 1, wherein one end of the rotary arm has a resisting part, which can be pushed by the upper part of the transmission member to rotate the rotary arm from the engaged position to the released Location. The waste toner detection device according to claim 8, wherein the other end of the rotating arm has a limit post, the marking member has an arc groove for the limit post to extend, the arc groove has a closed end, and An open end. When the rotating arm is located at the engaging position, the limiting post is located at the closed end of the arc groove, and when the rotating arm is located at the release position, the limiting post is separated from the arc groove from the open end. The waste toner detection device according to claim 8, wherein the abutting portion of the transmission member has a first inclined hook surface, and the receiving portion of the rotating arm has a second inclined hook surface, and the first inclined hook surface It can be mutually hooked with the second inclined hook surface. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a third elastic member applying force to the marking member toward the extended position. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 11, further comprising a fixed seat, the rotating arm is rotatably arranged on the fixed seat, the marking member is movably arranged on the fixed seat, and the third elastic member is arranged Between the fixing seat and the marking piece. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 1, wherein when the marking member is moved from the retracted position to the extended position, the marking member is away from the axis of the stirring rod. The waste toner detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a fixed seat, the rotating arm is rotatably arranged on the fixed seat, and the marking member is movably arranged on the fixed seat.

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