JPS5934566A - Toner receiving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To supply toner in a toner container unit to a hopper securely without contaminating the circumference, by equipping the opening part of a receiving device with the toner container unit which has a sliding frame and a sealing member peeled off associatively with it at the opening part, and opening and closing the sliding frame and sealing member together with an opening and closing lid. CONSTITUTION:When a knob 25 provided outside of the opening part of the toner receiving device 2 is drawn to right, the sliding frame 15 moves to right while separating a filmy sheet 14 adhered to the lower end surface of the opening part 132 together with the opening and closing lid 23 since the step part 2304 of the opening and closing lid 23 is locked at the tip of the sliding frame 15, so that the toner container unit 1 and toner receiving device 2 are both opened. As the opening lid 23 is closed, the sliding frame 15 of the toner container unit 1 is also closed to cover the opening part of the toner container unit 2 with the filmy sheet 14 separated before, thus the original state is recovered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a toner receiving device for receiving toner in a separately prepared toner container unit in an electrostatic recording device using a dry type developer.

In a dry type electrostatic recording device that uses a two-component (image agent) or an electrostatic recording device that uses a -component toner, the toner is consumed as copies are made, and after a large number of copies have been made, It is necessary to replenish toner.

Toner is generally replenished by replenishing a toner receiving device (hopper) of an electrostatic recording device from a toner trough unit containing all the toner. Toner is a powder with an average particle diameter of more than 10 microns and is easily scattered. When a toner container unit is installed in the toner receiving opening of the hopper and toner is replenished, the toner may leak out or scatter. They often contaminated the surrounding area and were thrown away. Furthermore, toner contamination often occurs due to incorrect operation during installation of the toner container unit or during other operations.

The present invention is intended to prevent toner contamination in the vicinity of a hopper due to careless operation, and to ensure that toner in each toner unit is supplied to the hopper without contaminating the surrounding area. In a toner receiving device having an opening/closing lid that opens and closes at an opening, a toner container unit having a sliding frame at the container opening and a sealing member that is peeled off in conjunction with the sliding frame is attached to the opening of the receiving device. This is achieved by a toner receiving device which is attached to the toner receiving device and is configured to open and close the sliding frame and the sealing member together with the opening/closing lid.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.

The structure and operation of the toner container unit will now be explained.The structure and operation of the toner receiving device (hopper) of the present invention to which the toner trough unit is mounted and which receives toner replenishment will now be explained.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the toner container unit 1, showing the case where the opening is sealed with a film-like sheet, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view in this state (AA cross-sectional view in FIG. 1). show.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a container body, which has a cylindrical shape with at least one end open, and is made of plastic, paper, or the like. Although 12 is a fixed lid, the fixed part 12 may be integrally molded with the container body 11 as a plastic molded product.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a spout, which is attached to the open end of the container body 1. Note that the container body 11 may be made of plastic and integrally molded together with the 1'' metal part 13. The cap portion 13 has protrusions 131 (FIG. 3) on the left and right sides with respect to the sliding direction, which engage with the slide portions of the slide frame 15, which will be described later.

] 4 is a film-like sheet that seals the open part 132 of the mouthpiece 13, and is peelably adhered to the peripheral surface of the opening 132 and the lower end surface 133 of the mouthpiece 3, for example, with an adhesive. Ru. The tip 141 of this film-like sheet 14 is attached to a tip fixing portion 1321 near one end of the opening 132.
After being adhesively fixed to the bottom end face 133 and removably adhered to the lower end surface 133, the extension part is folded back from the seam end near the curved end of the opening 32, passes through the outside of the slide frame 15, and is attached to the tip of the base part 13. The rear end 142 is adhesively fixed to a rear end fixing part 1322 on the upper surface near the fixing part 1321 .

As the material for the film-like sheet 14, a material that is flexible and strong against breakage, such as polyester film, is used.

J5 is a slide frame that serves both as an IMM of the film-like sheet 14 for sealing during storage and during transportation, and for opening, and metal parts, plastic, etc. are used. The slide frame 15 is provided with a slide #1151 that engages with the protrusion 131 of the base portion 13. As is clear from the cross-sectional view of Figure 2, the toner in the container body 11 is supported by both the film-like sheet 14 and the slide frame 15 through the V during storage or transportation. Note that the slide frame 15 may be provided with reinforcing bars in the sliding direction, in a direction perpendicular thereto, or in a lattice shape, if necessary.

Fig. 3 is an external view of the toner container unit 1 when toner is replenished, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view in this state (BB cross-sectional view in Fig. 3), and Fig. 5 is an external view of the toner container unit 1 in the same state as seen diagonally from below. Show the diagram.

When the slide frame 15 is pulled out in the direction of the fixed part 1321 (1322) (rightward in the figure), the film-like sheet 14 is also pulled as the slide frame 15 moves, and the opening 132
The lower end surface 1330 is gradually peeled off from the pond end side. When the slide frame J5 is fully pulled out to the right, most of the film-like sheet 14 is peeled off, the opening 32 is opened, and the toner T in the container body 11 is replenished with missing pages. Ru.

When the toner supply is completed, the slide frame 15 is slid to the left. The film-like sheet 14 that was peeled off earlier also returns to its original position, returning to the state shown in FIG. Then,
From the copier hopper to the toner container unit 1, which will be explained next.
is removed.

Next, the toner receiving device (hopper) 2 of the present invention will be explained. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toner receiving device, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the opening/closing lid. Further, FIGS. 9-10 and 11 both show cross-sections of the toner receiving device 2, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the toner container unit 1 is not attached. Figure @10 is a sectional view showing a state in which the toner container unit 1 is only installed. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the toner container unit 1 is installed and then a knob 25, which will be described later, is moved to the right in the figure to open the lid.

Further, FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing the attached state of the structural parts 1y of the toner receiving device 6-2 of the present invention.

The structure of the toner receiving device 2 of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. 13. J: Lid 21 on the top surface of the toner receiving device f2
and the inner lid 22 are fixed together. The upper lid 21 is made of molded synthetic resin and has an upper lid opening 211, and the inner lid 2
2 is also made of molded synthetic resin, and has an inner lid opening 221 at the position corresponding to the upper lid opening 211. Opening 211.22111-
J: An opening for attaching the toner container unit 1. Further, the upper lid 21 has a long hole 212 provided for moving the knob 6.

It is held between the upper lid 2] and the inner lid 22, and slides to open the opening 2.
1], there is an opening/closing lid O which opens and closes 221. A knob mounting plate 231 is fixed to one end of the molded synthetic resin, the tip of which passes through the elongated hole 212 of the upper lid 21 to the upper surface of the upper lid 21, and is a knob portion for opening and closing the opening/closing lid n. is installed. The other end of the opening/closing lid B has an inclined surface projecting upward, and a blade 232 made of an elastic thin plate is attached to this.

Further, a compression spring 233 is provided at the right end of the opening/closing lid B, and the compression spring 233 comes into contact with a rising portion 241 provided on the end face of the sliding plate U that slides on the opening/closing lid n, and causes the sliding plate 24 to It is pushed to the left in the diagram. The end surface of the sliding base is bent to form a U-shaped part 242, and the opening/closing lid is sandwiched between the U-shaped parts 242, and the tip of the opening/closing lid is connected to the U-shaped part of the sliding plate U. 242.

A push-up spring A222 and a push-up spring B223 are provided on the top surface of the inner lid 22.
is attached, and when the opening/closing lid n is pushed up, the upper surface of the opening/closing lid is in contact with the back surface of the upper lid 21. The blade 232 is in sliding contact with the sliding surface on the back surface of the upper lid 21, and is used to remove toner adhering to the sliding surface when the opening/closing lid B is closed to the left. A packing 224 made of a sponge material is attached to the upper surface of the inner lid 22 to prevent toner from entering between the inner lid 22 and the opening/closing lid B.

Steps 2301 are provided on the upper surfaces of both sides of the opening/closing lid B, and steps 2101 are also provided on the lower surface of the upper lid 21, and when the lid is in the closed state (Fig. 9), the opening/closing lid n is pushed up by a push-up spring. A 222 is pushed up by the push-up spring B223, and the stepped portion 2301 and the stepped portion 2101 are engaged.

FIG. 15 shows a situation in which the push-up spring B223 pushes up the opening/closing lid B, and FIG. 14 shows this engagement relationship.

Further, there is a compression spring 234 at the left end of the inner lid 22, which pushes to the right the lock member 26 which is slidable from side to side, and the lock pawl member 261 and the lower lock plate 262 are integrally connected. The locking member 26 is a member that attaches and holds the toner container unit 1, and when the opening/closing lid B is closed, the tip portion 2302 of the opening/closing lid B prevents the locking member 26 from moving to the right.

The opening/closing lid B has a protrusion 2303 that protrudes laterally. This protrusion 2303 has a slide member 271 engaged therewith, which slides within the inner lid 22 as the opening/closing lid moves. The slide member 271 has a shaft 27 at a position perpendicular to its sliding direction and to the left of the opening 221.
2, and a stopper member 273 that supports them. The shaft 272 is provided with a leveling ramp that can rotate around the shaft 272. However, the clockwise rotation of the leveling plate is stopped at the vertical position by the stopper member 273. It can also be rotated counterclockwise using the 9-horizontal position switch. (FIG. 11) When the smoothing plate 2J and the smoothing plate 25 are moved to the right and the opening/closing lid 23 is opened, the leveling plate 2J is moved to the right along with this. Therefore, the leveling slope moves to the right within the toner receiving device 2 while maintaining a vertical posture by the stopper member 273.

In the final step of moving the leveling board to the right, the inner lid 2
A protruding portion 2201 provided on the lower surface of 2 contacts a protruding piece 281 that is a part of the leveling plate 28 and protrudes upward from the shaft 272,
The leveling slope, which was in a vertical position, is rotated counterclockwise around the center with a near-horizontal wheel, and an operation similar to distributing toner is performed.

Next, the operation of the toner receiving device 2 described above will be explained in relation to the loading operation of the toner container unit 1.

FIG. 9 shows a cross section of the toner receiving device 2 in a state before the toner container unit 1 is loaded, and the openings 211 and 221 of the toner receiving device 2 are closed by an opening/closing lid O. Opening/closing lid % is push-up spring A222, push-up spring B
223, the back surface of the upper lid 21 and the upper surface of the opening/closing lid are in tight contact with each other at the peripheral edges, so that the toner inside the toner receiving device 2 does not leak to the outside.

In addition, there is a step 21o1 provided on the eaves of the jacket 21 and an opening/closing lid 2.
Since the knob 25 is engaged with the stepped portion 2301 provided on the top surface of the knob 25, even if you try to move the knob 25 to the right, it will be locked and will not move. That is, the openings 211 and 221 are locked in a closed state by the opening/closing lid, and are protected from being opened by erroneous operation and contaminating the vicinity of the apparatus with toner.

Toner is stored in the opening 211 of the toner receiving device 2.

Insert the container unit 1 from its fixing portion 1321 (1322) side in the direction of arrow S (FIG. 9). The rear end of the slide frame 15 (the right end in the figure) of the toner container unit 1 comes into contact with the rising part 241 of the sliding base, and the toner container unit 1 is loaded by falling into the opening 221 while compressing the compression spring 233.

(Figure 10) Here, the sliding root rotation is! , move to the right and move the opening/closing lid tip (sliding plate tip 24) from the tip of the slide frame I5.
2) is located on the right. Because of this, toner will not adhere to the opening/closing lid device when the lid is opened.

When the container unit 1 is loaded, the opening/closing lid 23, which had been pushed up by the push-up spring A 222 and push-up spring B 223, sinks downward by 12 (Fig. 14).
, the lock caused by the engagement with the stepped portions 2101 and 2301 is released, and the knob 5 can be moved to the right (in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 10).

Next, when the knob 5 provided outside the opening of the toner receiving device 2 is pulled to the right, the stepped portion 2304 of the opening/closing lid is engaged with the tip of the slide frame 15 of the toner container unit 1, so that the lid can be opened and closed. The slide frame 15 also has an opening 13
The toner receiving device 2 is opened at the same time as the toner container unit 1 is opened by peeling off the film-like sheet 14 adhered to the lower end surface of the toner container unit 2.

When the opening/closing lid moves to the right, the tip 230 of the opening/closing lid moves to the right.
The locking member 26, which has been prevented from moving by 2, is moved to the right by the biased compression spring 234, and the toner container unit 1 is locked.

While the toner container unit 1 and opening/closing lid n are being opened, they are locked by a lock part 26, and the toner waste unit 1 is locked.
cannot be removed.

Toner container unit by moving the opening/closing lid to the right]
The toner inside falls into the toner receiving device 2. Delayed by this falling page, the leveling plate 28, which maintains a vertical posture, sweeps to the right inside the toner receiving device 2, smoothing out the piled up toner and carrying it to the right.
Evenly distribute the toner inside. Further, in the final stroke, the leveling plate 28Fi operates counterclockwise to kick the toner to the right.

In the process of opening the opening/closing lid 23 and the sliding frame 15, in order to ensure that the toner inside the toner container unit 1 falls into the toner receiving device 2, the opening/closing lid device and/or the back side of the sliding frame 21 should be The sliding part is provided with unevenness so that it can move along the unevenness. Therefore, when the opening/closing lid device is moved to the right, vibrations occur, and the toner that is solidified in the toner container unit 1 due to humidity or the like also falls due to the vibrations.

After the toner is replenished, move the knob 5 to the left 13- (in the direction of arrow T in Fig. 11) to return to the state shown in Fig. 0. Since the blade 232 is in sliding contact with the sliding portion on the back surface of the upper lid 21 during movement, the toner adhering to the sliding surface is removed when the toner falls, and the opening/closing lid device is always moved smoothly.

When the opening/closing lid device is moved to the left, the leveling plate, which was in a vertical position, rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 272, and the toner is moved to the left as shown by the chain line in FIG. It returns by sliding on the toner surface without being carried.

When the opening/closing lid is closed, the sliding frame 15 of the toner container unit 1 is also closed, and the film-like sheet 1 that was peeled off earlier is removed.
4 also opens the opening of the toner container unit 1 and returns to its original state.

Further, when the opening/closing lid n is closed, the locking member portion that has been engaged and locked with the cap portion 13 of the toner container unit 1 is pushed and retracted to the left, and the lock is released. When the toner container unit 1 is removed from the opening 211, the opening/closing lid is moved upward by the push-up springs A 222 and B 223! ,
The stepped portion 23o1 and the stepped portion 2101 that are pushed up a certain amount engage and are locked, making it impossible to open the lid by moving the knob 5.

In the toner receiving device according to the present invention described above, when the toner container unit is attached, toner can be reliably replenished without contaminating the surrounding area with toner.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1, 3, and 5 are external appearances of the toner container unit. + A congratulatory map is shown, and its sectional views are shown in Figures 2 and 4. 6 and subsequent figures show the toner receiving device of the present invention,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the main part thereof, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the opening/closing lid. 1, 9th, 10th
, FIG. 11 shows cross sections of the three embodiments, FIG. 12 is a 2-2 sectional view of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view. Further, FIG. 14 shows the engagement of the stepped portion, and FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the main part showing the relationship between the push panel and the opening/closing lid. 1-... Toner container unit 2... Toner receiving device 13--In 14-... Film-like sheet 15--◆Sliding frame 21... Upper lid 22... Inner lid n... Opening/closing lid 24・・・
・Sliding plate 5...Knob 26...Lock member row...Leveling plate 211.221...Opening part
222.223... push-up spring 2JO], 2301
...Danbe's agent Yoshimi Kuwahara 481

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a toner receiving device having an opening/closing lid that opens and closes at the opening, a toner container unit having a sliding frame at the container opening and a sealing member that is peeled off in conjunction with the sliding frame is attached to the opening of the receiving device. A toner receiving device, wherein the toner receiving device is mounted so that the sliding frame and the sealing member can be opened and closed together with the opening/closing lid. (2) The toner receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the opening/closing lid is opened and closed as a knob provided outside the opening is moved.