JP3232505B2 - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner cartridge for supplying toner to a developing device provided in an image forming machine such as an electrostatic copying machine or an electrostatic printing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or an electrostatic printing machine is provided with a developing device for applying a toner to an electrostatic latent image and developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. In this developing device, toner is consumed as the development is performed.
It is necessary to supply toner appropriately. To replenish the toner, a toner cartridge removably mounted on a developing device is widely used.

[0003] The toner cartridge comprises a container having an opening at the lower end, and a seal member removably mounted on the lower surface of the container and closing the opening. The container filled with the toner is formed by injection molding from an appropriate synthetic resin. The container of the toner cartridge formed of a synthetic resin includes a cylindrical container and a rectangular parallelepiped container. The rectangular parallelepiped container has an upper surface wall, both side walls configured to hang parallel to each other from both side edges of the upper wall, and both ends configured to hang down from both end edges of the upper wall and connect to the both side walls. It has a wall, a flange formed at the lower end of each of the both side walls and both end walls to protrude outward, a toner discharge opening at the lower end, and a toner filling port at one end wall. In such a rectangular parallelepiped container, particularly, a container having long side walls has a so-called inner wall that a central portion is curved inward after molding. In order to prevent the side walls from being deformed, the conventional container has a plurality of ribs projecting inward from each other and extending in the vertical direction on the inner surface of the side walls.

[0004]

Since the plurality of ribs formed on both side walls of the container constituting the toner cartridge are provided so as to face each other, the interval between the opposing ribs becomes narrow. . For this reason, when filling the toner from the toner filling port provided on one end wall of the container, the flow of the toner is poor, the filling efficiency of the toner is deteriorated, and the predetermined amount of the toner is reliably filled. It is difficult. On the other hand, if the inwardly protruding length of the ribs formed on both side walls is reduced in order to improve the deterioration of the filling efficiency at the time of filling the toner, the effect of preventing deformation of the both side walls is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main technical problem thereof is that a toner cartridge capable of preventing deformation of both side walls constituting a container without deteriorating toner filling efficiency. It is to provide.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned main technical problems, an upper wall, and both side walls formed to hang parallel to each other from both side edges of the upper wall, It has both end walls that hang down from both end edges of the upper wall and are connected to the both side walls, and a flange formed at the lower end of each of the both side walls and both end walls so as to protrude outward. A toner cartridge having a discharge opening and a toner filling opening on one end wall thereof; and a seal member detachably mounted on a lower surface of the flange and closing the toner discharge opening. A plurality of ribs projecting inward, extending in the vertical direction, and having upper ends connected to the inner surface of the upper wall are formed at intervals in the width direction, and are formed on one of the side walls. The rib and the rib formed on the other side wall alternately It is disposed, the toner cartridge is provided, characterized in that.

Preferably, the plurality of ribs are formed such that the amount of protrusion at the upper end is longer than the amount of protrusion at the lower end, and the inner side connecting the upper end and the lower end is inclined.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a toner cartridge constituted according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a toner cartridge constructed according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container constituting the toner cartridge shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from below. The toner cartridge 2 configured according to the present invention includes a container 4 and a seal member 6.

The container 4 includes a rectangular upper wall 41 and the upper wall 4.
1 and side walls 42 and 43 hanging down from both side edges in parallel with each other, and end walls 44 hanging down from both side edges of the upper wall 41 and being connected to the side walls 42 and 43 and 45, a flange 46 formed at the lower end of each of the side walls 42 and 43, and both end walls 44 and 45, respectively, and protruding outwardly. A toner discharge opening 47 is formed at the lower end. A toner filling port 441 is formed at the center of one end wall 44 of the container 4 thus configured, and a plug 5 that closes after filling the container 4 with toner is formed in the toner filling port 441. It fits. Note that a seal mounting concave surface 461 having a predetermined width is formed along the periphery of the toner discharge opening 47 on the lower surface of the flange 46.

A plurality of ribs 48 projecting inward and extending in the vertical direction on the inner surface of each of the side walls 42 and 43 of the container 4 configured as described above are spaced apart in the width direction (the horizontal direction in FIG. 1). Is provided. The plurality of ribs 48 formed on one side wall 42 and the plurality of ribs 48 formed on the other side wall 43 are provided alternately. The upper ends of these ribs 48 are connected to the inner surface of the upper wall 41, and the amount of protrusion is longer at the upper end than at the lower end.
An inner side 481 connecting the upper edge and the lower edge is configured to be inclined. The container 4 configured as described above is integrally formed by injection molding from an appropriate synthetic resin.

A seal winding means 7 is provided above the flange 46 on the other end wall 45 side of the container 4. The seal winding means 7 includes a cover case 71 attached on the flange 46 by a fixing means such as an adhesive.
And a winding shaft 72 rotatably arranged in the cover case 71. At one end of the winding shaft 72, a handle fitting hole (not shown) having a cross-sectional shape corresponding to a non-circular tip of a winding handle (not shown) is provided.

The seal member 6 is detachably mounted on the seal mounting concave surface 461 of the flange 46 and closes the toner discharge opening 47. The seal member 6 is made of, for example, a resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and is thermally welded or bonded from one side where the seal winding means 7 is provided to the other side as shown in FIG. After being adhered by an agent or the like, it is folded back so that its tip is provided in the insertion opening 4 provided in the flange 46 on the end wall 45 side.
62 and the take-up shaft 72 of the seal take-up means 7
To be fixed. Accordingly, after the toner cartridge 2 filled with the toner in the container 4 is mounted at a predetermined position of the developing device as described later, a winding handle (not shown) is inserted into a handle fitting hole formed at one end of the winding shaft 72. When the take-up shaft 72 is rotated by fitting the tip of the seal member 6, the seal member 6 is taken up by the take-up shaft 72. Thus, the sealing member 6
Is wound on the winding shaft 71, the welded portion of the seal member 6 is sequentially peeled off from the side opposite to the side where the seal winding means 7 is provided, and the toner discharge opening 47 is opened.
As a result, the toner filled in the container 4 is dropped into the developing device through the toner discharge opening 47.

The toner cartridge 2 in the illustrated embodiment is configured as described above, and the charging of the toner into the container 4 will be described. Flange 46 as described above
In a state where the seal member 6 is attached to the lower surface of the first end wall 44, as shown in FIG.
With the other end wall 45 facing down, the toner filling nozzle 10 inserted into the toner filling port 441, and
Is filled with toner. At this time, both side walls 42 and 4
Since the plurality of ribs 48 provided on the inner surface of each of the third side walls 3 are alternately arranged, the interval between the plurality of ribs 48 formed on one side wall 42 and the plurality of ribs 48 formed on the other side wall 43 is different. Is increased, so that the flow of the filled toner becomes good. Therefore, the filling efficiency of the toner is improved, and the predetermined amount of the toner can be filled reliably. For this reason, the rib 48
It is possible to increase the projecting length of the side walls 42.
And 43 can be reliably prevented from being deformed. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper end of the rib 48 is connected to the inner surface of the upper wall 41, the upper end is longer than the lower end, and an inner side 481 connecting the upper end edge and the lower end edge is formed. Is inclined, so that the mold can be easily removed at the time of molding the container.

As described above, when the filling of the toner into the container 4 is completed, the toner filling nozzle 10 is pulled out from the toner filling port 441, and the plug 5 is fitted into the toner filling port 441 and closed.

[0016]

As described above, the toner cartridge according to the present invention has the following functions and effects.

That is, according to the present invention, since the plurality of ribs provided on the inner surfaces of both side walls constituting the container of the toner cartridge are alternately arranged, the plurality of ribs formed on one side wall are provided. The gap between the rib and the plurality of ribs formed on the other side wall is increased, so that the flow of the filled toner is improved, the filling efficiency of the toner is improved, and the predetermined amount of the toner can be reliably filled. For this reason, it is possible to increase the protruding length of the rib, and it is possible to reliably prevent deformation of both side walls.

According to the present invention, the upper end of the rib is connected to the inner surface of the upper wall, the upper end has a longer protrusion than the lower end, and an inner side connecting the upper end edge and the lower end edge. Is inclined, so that the mold can be easily removed at the time of molding the container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a toner cartridge configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container constituting the toner cartridge shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from below.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the toner of the toner cartridge shown in FIG. 1 is filled with toner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Toner cartridge 4: Container 41: Upper wall 42: Side wall 43: Side wall 44: End wall 441: Toner filling port 45: End wall 46: Flange 47: Toner discharge opening 48: Rib 6: Seal member 7: Seal take-up Means 71: Cover case 72: Winding shaft 10: Toner filling nozzle

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An upper wall, both side walls hanging down from both side edges of the upper wall in parallel with each other, and both end walls hanging down from both side edges of the upper wall and being connected to the both side walls. A container having a flange formed to protrude outwardly at the lower end of each of the side walls and both end walls, having a toner discharge opening at the lower end, and having a toner filling port at the one end wall; in the toner cartridge having a seal member for closing the lower surface releasably attached to the toner discharge opening of the flange, on extending the projecting vertically each inwardly on the inner surface of the both side walls
A plurality of ribs whose ends are connected to the inner surface of the upper wall are formed at intervals in the width direction, and the ribs formed on one side wall and the ribs formed on the other side wall are alternately arranged. A toner cartridge characterized in that: 2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ribs are formed such that an upper end protruding amount is longer than a lower end protruding amount, and an inner side connecting an upper end edge and a lower end edge is inclined. .