WO2007022690A1

WO2007022690A1 - Developer supply container

Info

Publication number: WO2007022690A1
Application number: PCT/CN2006/001997
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zhiya He
Original assignee: Print-Rite-Unicorn Image Products Co., Ltd. Of Zh Uhai
Priority date: 2005-08-24
Filing date: 2006-08-07
Publication date: 2007-03-01
Also published as: CN2831190Y

Abstract

A developer supply container (1), which includes: a body (2) for containing developer; a developer discharge opening (3) for discharge developer; and a valve portion (4) for opening and closing the developer discharge opening (3). Wherein, the valve portion (4) has a hold portion (4b), for being held by the operator to open and close the developer discharge opening (3).

Description

Developer supply container

The present invention relates to a developer supply container for providing a developer detachably mounted in an image forming apparatus, which may be of an electrophotographic type or an electrostatic recording type such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine or the like. Background technique

The image forming apparatus continuously consumes the developer during use, and thus needs to be replenished after the developer is used up. The developer supply container can be divided into two types in a different manner, one is a primary type developer supply container, and when the developer is replenished, the developer in the developer supply container is once put into the developer of the image forming apparatus main unit. The receiving portion; the other is a fixed type developer supply container from which the developer is gradually supplied into the image forming apparatus until the developer in the container is exhausted. The latter requires a relatively long period of time to place the developer container in the developing device.

In order to reduce the size of the imaging device, a recent trend is to use a fixed type container. In order to prevent the developer remaining in the container from being scattered from the discharge port when the developer container is replaced, a shutter member for sealing is usually disposed at the developer discharge port.

There is a developer supply container comprising a shutter member provided at a developer discharge port, a rotary member provided at one end portion of the container body, and gears provided on both the rotary member and the shutter member. When the developer supply container is placed in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, the rotational driving force of the rotary rotating member is transmitted to the shutter member by the cooperation between a transmission member in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus and the gear on the rotary member and the shutter member Thereby opening and closing of the developer discharge port.

In order to limit the rotation of the rotatable member in the direction of opening the shutter member, the Chinese Patent Application No. CM460901A entitled "Developer Supply Container" discloses a developer supply container further comprising a restricting member for restricting the rotatable member along The slamming shutter member is directionalally rotated and includes an extension portion integral with the rotatable member and extending substantially in a closing rotational direction of the rotatable member and a portion extending from the extension portion toward the main assembly for abutting against the main body The protrusions of the movement protrusions.

The above developer supply container has the following problems. The first is that the gears that transmit the rotational driving force often slip when they cooperate with each other, which tends to cause the shutter member to be opened/closed, or the opening/closing is not in place; Second, the number of parts is large, resulting in many assembly steps and relatively high manufacturing costs. The third is that during the transportation process, the limiting members are easily released indiscriminately, causing the container body to leak the developer. Summary of the invention

The main object of the present invention is to provide a developer supply container which can directly rotate the shutter member to open/close the developer discharge port;

Another object of the present invention is to provide a developer supply container which can restrict the rotation of the shutter member in the direction of opening/closing the developer discharge opening by a simple structure;

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a developer supply container which is locked when it is not mounted to an image forming apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, a developer supply container provided by the present invention includes a main body for accommodating a developer, a developer discharge port provided on the main body for discharging the developer, and a shutter member for opening and closing the developer discharge port. . Wherein, the shutter member is provided with a grip portion.

The developer supply container may further include: a guide rail provided on one end surface of the main body, the rib provided at the grip portion of the shutter member, and the rib being abutted against the guide rail to restrict the rotation of the shutter member when the shutter member is rotated. Wherein, the guide rail is arc-shaped and coaxial with the shutter member.

The developer supply container further includes a stopper protrusion adjacent to the body end of the shutter member grip portion, and a locking member for preventing the shutter member from rotating, wherein the locking member includes one that is integral with the shutter member grip portion and is substantially closed along the shutter member An extending portion extending in a direction and a locking projection extending from the extending portion toward the main body for abutting against the stopper projection on the main body; two of the stopper projections. DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic structural view of an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the structure of the shutter member in an open state according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the shutter member in the embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and the embodiments. detailed description

The invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the developer supply container 1 includes a developer accommodating portion 2 for containing a developer, a developer discharge port 3 for discharging the developer, and a shutter for opening/closing the developer discharge port 3. Member 4.

The developer accommodating portion 2 is too a hollow cylindrical casing which can be manufactured by injection molding, blow molding, injection blow molding or the like using a plastic resin material.

The developer discharge port 3 is provided on the circumferential surface of the developer accommodating portion 2 adjacent to one axial end portion, is substantially rectangular, and is sealable by the shutter member 4.

A developer feeding mechanism for feeding the developer to the discharge port 3 is provided in the developer accommodating portion 2. In this embodiment, the feed mechanism is a stirring member, but other known types of components may be used.

The shutter member 4 is integrally provided with a shutter portion 4a and a grip portion 4b. The shutter portion 4a is for sealing the developer discharge opening 3, which is curved and extends along the outer surface of the developer accommodating portion 2; the grip portion 4b is substantially rectangular, but may have other shapes. On the side of the shutter portion 4a opposite to the developer discharge opening, a guide portion 4f having a groove-shaped cross section is provided. By the guide portion 4f, the shutter portion 4a is engaged with the two parallel ribs 5 extending circumferentially in the vicinity of the developer discharge opening 3 of the developer accommodating portion 2, thereby realizing the reciprocation of the shutter portion 4a in the circumferential direction of the developer accommodating portion 2 motion. At the end of the grip portion 4b of the shutter member 4 near the developer accommodating portion 2, there is a rib 6 which engages with the groove-shaped guide rail 7 provided on the end surface of the corresponding developer accommodating portion 2 to restrict the movement of the grip portion. It is ensured that the shutter portion 4a can only rotate at an angle at which the developer discharge opening is opened/closed. The guide rail 7 has a circular arc shape and is coaxial with the shutter portion 4a of the shutter member 4. The angle of the arc length with respect to the central angle can be selected according to the radius. In the present embodiment, the angle of the guide rail 7 is about 33°.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the operator holds the grip portion 4b of the shutter member 4 to rotate, and the opening and closing of the developer discharge port 3 can be directly realized.

Preferably, the shutter member 4 is formed by injection molding using a plastic resin, but other materials and manufacturing methods may be employed. The shutter portion 4a preferably has good rigidity and slidability, and this example is made of an ABS resin material.

In order to prevent the developer member 1 from being opened during storage and transportation, the developer container is leaked, and the developer container 1 is provided with a self-locking mechanism. The self-locking mechanism includes a locking mechanism provided on the shutter member 4 and two stopper projections 8a, 8b provided on the periphery of the end face of the developer container near the shutter mechanism 4 side. Lock The mechanism includes an arm portion 4c extending from the grip portion 4b in the closing direction of the shutter member 4, a locking projection 4d at the free end of the arm portion 4c, and an unlocking projection 4e. The locking projection 4d extends toward the developer accommodating portion 2, and before the developing supply container 1 is not mounted to the image forming apparatus, the locking projection 4d abuts between the two stopper projections 8a, 8b, and the shutter member 4 is locked, at the opening / The direction in which the developer discharge port 3 is closed cannot be rotated. The unlocking projection 4e extends radially outward along the circumferential surface of the developer accommodating portion 2, and after the developing supply container 1 is mounted to the image forming apparatus, the unlocking projection 4e abuts against a stopper (not shown) on the image forming apparatus, Pushing in the opposite direction to the mounting causes the locking projection 4d to be ejected from the stopper projections 8a, 8b, the lock is automatically opened, and the shutter member 4 can be rotated.

At the time of installation, the operator can grip the grip portion 4b of the shutter member 4, insert the developer supply container 1 into the developing device in the Xa direction, and cause the unlocking projection 4e to abut against a stopper of the image forming device. At this time, the locking projection 4d is ejected from the stopper projections 8a, 8b, and the lock is automatically opened. At this time, by rotating the grip portion 4b of the shutter member 4 in the direction in which the developer discharge port 3 is opened (Ya direction), the shutter portion 4a can be rotated to open the developer discharge port.

When disassembling, the grip portion 4b is rotated in the direction of closing the developer discharge port (Yb direction), the developer discharge port is closed, and the developer supply container is pulled outward in the Xb direction, and the unlocking projection 4e is lost with the image forming device The engagement of the blocks, the locking projections 4d abut against the stop projections 8a, 8b, and the shutter member 4 is locked. At this time, the developer supply container is removed, and the developer remaining in the container is not leaked, thereby preventing contamination of the developing device and the operator's hand.

An indication of the direction of rotation is provided on the end face of the developer accommodating portion 2, "on" represents the opening direction of the developer discharge port 3, and "off" represents the closing direction of the developer discharge port 3. When installing and disassembling, the operator can rotate the grip portion 4b in the direction indicated.

There is a slider 9 in the developer supply container, and the slider 9 has a mouthpiece (not shown). When the developer supply container is mounted to the image forming apparatus, the shutter portion 4a of the shutter member 4 is inserted into the slider 9, so that the movement of the slider 9 and the shutter member 4 in association with each other can realize the discharge port 3 of the developer supply container 1, The opening of the slider 9 on the developing device side and the opening (not shown) of the developer receiving portion are simultaneously opened and closed.

Variations based on the inventive concept are not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes are possible. The structures in the above embodiments can also be selectively selected and combined with new implementations. These simple structural changes are still The scope of protection required by the present invention. Industrial applicability

The developer supply container according to the present invention not only opens and closes the shutter mechanism more easily and accurately, but also has a simpler structure, fewer assembly steps, lower manufacturing cost, and ensures that the shutter mechanism does not open itself during storage and transportation. , causing the developer to leak.

Claims

Claim

1. Developer supply container, including

a body for containing a developer;

a developer discharge port disposed on the main body for discharging the developer;

a shutter member for snoring and closing the developer discharge port;

It is characterized by:

The shutter member is provided with a grip.

2. The developer supply container according to claim 1, wherein:

One end surface of the main body is provided with a circular arc guide rail coaxial with the shutter member;

The grip portion of the shutter member is provided with a rib that abuts against the guide rail to restrict rotation of the shutter member when the shutter member is rotated.

The developer supply container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: a stopper projection adjacent to a main body end portion of the shutter member grip portion;

a locking member for preventing rotation of the shutter member, comprising an extension portion integral with the shutter member grip portion and extending substantially in a closing direction of the shutter member, and an extension portion extending from the extension portion toward the body for A locking projection that abuts against the stop projection.

4. The developer supply container according to claim 3, wherein:

There are two stopping protrusions, and the spacing of the two stopping protrusions can accommodate the locking protrusions.