WO2008019628A1

WO2008019628A1 - Carbon dust boxes

Info

Publication number: WO2008019628A1
Application number: PCT/CN2007/070479
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xiantang Song; Qingjiang Long; Limin Bai
Original assignee: Print-Rite Technology Development Co., Ltd Of Zhuhai
Priority date: 2006-08-16
Filing date: 2007-08-15
Publication date: 2008-02-21
Also published as: CN2932442Y

Abstract

The carbon dust box includes a dust storehouse, a dust storehouse cover, a handle and a bracket. A connection part is set at the outer wall of the dust storehouse. The handle is set on the dust storehouse cover, and it is rotational. The bracket is set at the dust storehouse connection part, and can move relatively. A curve surface of the handle is contacted with the top of the bracket. There is a different distance between the curve surface and the rolling axes of the handle. If the rolling angle of the handle is larger, a part of the curve surface of the handle, which has the larger distance to the rolling axes of the handle, is contacted with the top of the bracket. The handle is contacted with the bracket by the curve surface, so that the handle is circumvolved smoothly, worked reliably and operated expediently.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved toner cartridge. The present invention is based on a Chinese utility model patent application filed on Aug. 16, 2006, with the application number of 200620063207. 4, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The function of an image forming apparatus is to print toner or toner in a certain manner onto the surface of a printing medium such as paper, and the toner required for the image forming apparatus is provided by a dedicated toner cartridge, which is detachable with respect to the image forming apparatus. The toner cartridge case must be positioned in the imaging device, which means that the positional relationship of the toner cartridge relative to other related components in the imaging device host should be accurate. For accurate positioning, the toner cartridge is usually provided with a locking structure and a plurality of positioning structures with the main body of the image forming apparatus, the positioning structure enables the toner cartridge to be positioned in the image forming apparatus, and the locking structure relatively images the positioned toner cartridge The device is locked. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a conventional toner cartridge for a laser printer. In FIG. 1, the handle 104 has been rotated by an angle with respect to the powder cover 102. The locking structure of the toner cartridge is two locking blocks 110 and 120 disposed on the outer wall surface of the powder bin. After the toner cartridge is loaded into the printer, the locking blocks 110 and 120 are inserted into the locking holes on the printer to place the toner cartridge. Locked on the printer, you need to remove the lock to remove the toner cartridge from the printer. The lock release structure of the toner cartridge includes: a bracket 105 disposed on the outer wall of the powder silo 101 and movable up and down relative to the powder silo 101, and a handle 104 disposed on the powder silo cover 102 rotatable relative to the powder silo cover 102, the handle 104 is in constant contact with the bracket 105. When the handle 104 is turned, the handle 104 pushes the bracket 105 down. The holder 105, which is moved down a distance, is placed against the wall of the locking hole on the printer so as to be deformed away from the locking block, and the locking blocks 110, 120 are separated from the locking hole, and the toner cartridge can be taken out. When the external force acting on the handle 104 is eliminated, the bracket 105 and the handle 104 are returned to the original state by the restoring force of a spring (not shown). In the above toner cartridge, in contact with the holder is a plane on the handle on one side of the rotation axis of the handle. During the rotation of the handle, the surface of the bracket that is in contact with the handle slides in the above plane, which results in unreliable contact between the handle and the bracket, the handle is not smoothly rotated, and the operation is inconvenient. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner cartridge that is reliable in operation and convenient to operate.

In order to achieve the above object, the toner cartridge of the present invention comprises a toner hopper containing toner, a powder hopper cover which is covered with the powder hopper, a handle, a bracket and a spring. The outer wall surface of the powder silo is provided with a connecting portion. The bracket is mounted on the powder compartment connection and can move up and down relative to the powder compartment. The handle is rotatably disposed on the powder cover, and is rotatable relative to the powder cover. The handle has a contact portion, and the contact portion has a smooth curved surface that is in contact with the top of the bracket. The distance from the curved surface to the rotation axis of the handle is not equal, and the rotation angle of the handle is larger. The portion of the surface that is at a greater distance from the axis of rotation of the handle contacts the top of the bracket. The spring is disposed between the bracket and the outer wall of the powder bin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of a conventional toner cartridge;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the structure of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic view showing the structure of the handle 4 of Figure 2;

4 is a front view of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of a contact portion on a powder silo according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a schematic view of the structure of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 is a schematic illustration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention rotated at an angle.

The invention will now be further described in conjunction with the drawings and preferred embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to Figures 2 and 6, a preferred embodiment of a toner cartridge provided by the present invention includes a powder compartment 1, a powder compartment cover 2, a handle 3, a handle 4, a bracket 5 and a spring 6. The powder silo 1 is a semi-closed box body for placing toner, a stirring frame, etc., and the outer wall surface is integrally formed with elongated protrusions 13, 14 and locking blocks 11, 12, the upper half of the projections 13, 14. The portion is provided with a rectangular parallelepiped cavity with front and top openings. Locking blocks 11, 12 are used to cooperate with locking holes in the printer to lock the toner cartridge to the printer. The limiting piece 7 is a rectangular steel piece, and each of the upper side edges thereof has a connecting block 71 which protrudes rearward and rises above the upper edge thereof. 72. The connecting blocks 71, 72 are respectively inserted into the cavities of the protrusions 13, 14, and the top end thereof protrudes from the top surface opening of the cavity, and the limiting piece 7 and the protrusions 13, 14 form a snap connection to form the powder bin 1. Connection. The bracket 5 is placed in the space defined by the limiting piece 7 and the powder bin 1, and can be moved up and down with respect to the powder bin 1. Between the projections 13, 14 there is a projection 15 having a square root and a cylindrical top for placing the spring 6. Referring to Fig. 2, the bracket 5 is generally in the form of a flat plate having a hollowed-out structure, which provides a space for the spring 6 to be placed and a weight of the bracket 5 on the other hand. The top 52 of the bracket 5 extends from both sides. During the downward movement of the bracket 5, when the top 52 is blocked by the projections 13, 14 on the powder compartment 1, the bracket 5 is moved down to the lowest position. The bracket 5 has a cylindrical projection 51 having a downward diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the spring 6, for inserting into the spring 6, and positioning the spring 6. The powder cover 2 is used for covering the powder bin 1, and its structure is as shown in FIG. Two pairs of arcuate grooves 21, 22 larger than a semicircle are opened in the middle of the upper wall surface of the powder cover 2, and the two grooves constituting each pair of grooves are arranged opposite to each other in the width direction parallel to the powder cover 2.

The handle 3 and the handle 4 are symmetrical, and the structure of the handle is described below by taking only the handle 4 as an example. Referring to Figure 3, the handle 4 includes a hand portion 41, a shaft 42 and a contact portion 43. The shaft 42 is substantially cylindrical and connected to the grip portion 41 and has a diameter equal to or slightly smaller than the diameter of the recess 21 of the powder container cover 2. 4 is a front view of the handle 4 shown in FIG. 3. To clearly illustrate the structure of the handle 4, the invisible shaft 42 is indicated by a broken line. The contact portion 43 projects downward from the end of the shaft 42 and in a direction opposite to the hand portion 41. The circumferential outer contour surface of the contact portion 43 is composed of a cylindrical surface, a flat surface, and a smooth involute curved surface 431. When the handle 4 is mounted on the powder bin 2 in a natural state, as shown in FIG. 4, the letter 0 indicates the rotation axis of the handle 4, the word A indicates the lowest point of the curved surface 431, and the letter B indicates that the curved surface 431 is rotated from the handle 4. The farthest point of the axis. The distance from the point on the curve AB to the 0 point gradually increases from point A to point B, that is, the distance from the contact surface 431 to the rotation axis of the handle gradually increases from A to B.

During installation, the spring 6 is placed on the flat upper end surface of the projection 15 on the powder compartment 1, and the bracket 5 is placed between the projections 13, 14 on the powder compartment 1 so that the projection 51 on the bracket 5 is inserted into the spring 6. Then, the connecting blocks 71, 72 on the limiting piece 7 are respectively inserted into the cavities of the protrusions 13, 14 on the powder bin 1, and the top end thereof protrudes from the top surface opening of the cavity, the limiting piece 7 and the powder bin The projections 13, 14 of 1 form a snap connection. At this time, the bracket 5 is defined in the upper and lower through cavities defined by the limiting piece 7 and the powder bin 1, and is movable up and down with respect to the powder bin 1. After the powder cover 2 and the powder bin 1 are closed, the shafts 52 of the handles 3 and 4 are respectively stuck into the powder. The grooves 22, 21 of the cover 2, since the grooves 22, 21 have a diameter equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the handle shaft 52, the handles 3, 4 are rotatable relative to the powder cover 2 without being removed from the powder cover 2. The handles 3, 4 are arranged facing each other with the opposite direction of rotation. The installed toner cartridge locking release structure is as shown in Fig. 6, wherein the handles 3, 4 are horizontally placed in a natural state, see Fig. 4, and the A on the curved surface 431 of the handle 4 is in contact with the bracket 5. After the toner cartridge is loaded into the printer, the locking blocks 11, 12 on the powder compartment 1 are inserted into the locking holes on the printer to lock the toner cartridge to the printer. The working principle of the handle 3 and the handle 4 of the embodiment is the same, and the whole working process is completed under the joint action of the two. The working process of the embodiment is described below by taking only the movement process of the handle 4.

Referring to Fig. 4, when the handle 4 is in a natural state, A on the curved surface 431 is in contact with the bracket top 52. Rotating the handle 4, the handle 4 is rotated about its rotation axis, and the curved surface 431 of the contact portion 43 of the handle 4 slides at a distance B from the top 52 of the bracket 5 by a small distance from the axis of rotation of the handle 4 to a large distance B, the contact surface 431 The distance from the contact with the top 52 of the bracket 5 to the axis of rotation of the handle 4 is gradually increased, that is, the distance between the top of the bracket 5 and the axis of rotation of the handle 4 is gradually increased, and thus the bracket 5 is gradually moved downward against the resistance of the spring 6. Referring to Figure 7, the handles 3, 4 are rotated at an angle relative to the powder cover 2, and the bracket 5 is moved down a distance. Continuing to rotate the handle 4, the bracket 5 continues to move downward. When the lower end of the handle 4 contacts the wall of the printer where the locking holes are mated with the locking blocks 11, 12, the handle 4 that continues to move downward will cause the wall of the printer to face away from the lock. The directions of the blocks 11, 12 are deformed, and the locking blocks 11, 12 are disengaged from the locking holes on the printer, and the handle is lifted up to remove the toner cartridge from the printer. After removing the toner cartridge, release the handle, and the restoring force of the spring 6 causes the bracket 5 to move up and return to the original state, and the upwardly moving bracket 5 rotates the handle in the opposite direction and returns to the original state.

Different embodiments can be obtained by changing the arrangement of the handles on the powder pan cover. For example, the handle is rotatably connected to the powder cover, and the rotation axis of the single handle may be parallel to the width direction of the powder cover, or the rotation axis of the single handle may be parallel to the length direction of the powder cover. The former is The two oppositely directed handles of the preferred embodiment described above are modified into a single handle having the same direction of rotation of the handle as the prior art toner cartridge handle rotation axis shown in FIG.

There are many different embodiments in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a powder container connection portion for arranging the holder up and down relative to the powder magazine on the powder magazine may be on the powder compartment. The protrusion 16 and the protrusion 16 have a "concave" cross section, and form a vertical and vertical connection with the powder silo wall for placing a part of the bracket. The small variations of the cavities, and the like, as well as equivalent variations, are intended to be included within the scope of the claims. Industrial applicability

Compared with the existing toner cartridge which is kept in contact with a flat surface of the handle and the bracket, the toner cartridge provided by the present invention maintains contact with the bracket by using a smooth curved surface on the handle, and the contact between the handle and the bracket is more reliable. The rotary motion of the handle is smoother, so it has the advantages of reliable operation and convenient operation.

Claims

Claim

1, toner cartridge, including

a powder silo for accommodating toner, the outer wall surface of which is provided with a connecting portion;

Powder silo cover, covered with powder silo;

a handle, rotatably disposed on the powder cover, having a contact portion thereon;

The bracket is installed at the connection portion of the powder bin, and can move up and down with respect to the powder bin, and the top is in contact with the contact portion of the handle;

a spring disposed between the bracket and the outer wall of the powder bin;

It is characterized by:

The handle contact portion has a smooth curved surface that is not equidistant from the axis of rotation of the handle. The greater the angle of rotation of the handle, the greater the distance from the curved surface to the axis of rotation of the handle is in contact with the bracket.

2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein:

The curved surface on the handle contact portion is an involute curved surface.

3. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein:

The handle rotation axis is parallel to the width direction of the powder compartment cover.

4. The toner cartridge according to claim 3, wherein:

The handle is two handles that rotate in opposite directions.

5. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein:

The handle rotation axis is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the powder compartment cover.

6. A toner cartridge according to claim 4 or 5, characterized by:

The powder pan connecting portion includes a protrusion on the outer wall of the powder bin and a limiting piece connected to the protrusion buckle, and the limiting piece and the powder box wall form a cavity for placing the upper and lower through holes of the bracket.

7. A toner cartridge according to claim 4 or 5, wherein: The powder pan connecting portion is a protrusion on the outer wall of the powder bin, and the protrusion and the powder silo wall form a cavity for inserting the upper and lower sides of the bracket.