JPS6219750B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device in a dry developing device suitable for copying machines, facsimile machines, and the like.

In copying machines, facsimile machines, etc., the amount of toner stored in the developing device constantly decreases with each development process, so in order to obtain high-quality recording paper, when the amount of toner falls below a predetermined amount, the amount of toner stored in the developing device is constantly reduced. It is necessary to newly replenish the amount and maintain it at a predetermined level or higher at all times. Therefore, depending on the frequency of use,
Toner needs to be replenished periodically.

When replenishing the toner, in the case of a wet development method, the toner is in liquid form, so handling is not very troublesome, but in the case of a dry development method, the toner is powder, so handling is difficult. requires close attention.

That is, a replenishment port for replenishing toner to a developing device incorporated in one system device such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine cannot be provided in a large size due to space limitations.

Therefore, if an attempt is made to directly supply a predetermined amount of toner from the toner container to the narrow replenishment port, the toner will spill out into the surrounding area and have an adverse effect on devices disposed around the toner. Furthermore, since toner powder is composed of minute particles, it easily scatters and stains the user's hands and clothes with black eyelashes, making it difficult to clean up.

Therefore, recently, the amount of toner required for replenishing at one time is packed into a container, a seal member is pasted on the toner supply port, and when replenishing toner, the seal member is peeled off and the container is placed in the replenishment port of the developing device. Disposable toner containers that replenish toner by doing so have also been developed.

If this disposable toner container is used, the above-mentioned defects are somewhat improved, but when the sealing member is peeled off from the toner container supply port, toner scatters around the container. Your hands get dirty due to toner adhering to the seal member. When the toner container from which the sealing member has been removed is set in the toner supply hole of the developing device, some toner is scattered around. There are disadvantages such as difficulty in accurately setting the toner container in the replenishment port.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing device for a dry type developing device that is simple and accurate and does not scatter any toner around.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

FIG. 1 shows the schematic structure of the toner storage container, in which a is a perspective view thereof, b is a side view thereof, and 1
2 is a container body, 2 is a sealing member, and 3 is a claw member.

A container body 1 for storing toner is formed of a thin resin plate, and its bottom surface is provided with openings 1a and 1b for supplying toner, as shown in FIG. The number of openings may be one, but as will be described later, when peeling off the sealing member, force is applied to the opening in the lateral direction, so two openings are required to prevent damage.
A rib 1c is provided between the openings 1a and 1b. Therefore, depending on the material of the case, its wall thickness, the shape of the opening, etc., it may be necessary to divide the opening so that more ribs are provided in the opening in order to increase the strength.

Furthermore, the container body 1 has, on its transverse side,
As will be described later, a ridge-shaped guide 1d is provided to ensure accurate and easy fitting of the toner storage container into the toner supply hole of the developing device.

Normally, toner storage containers are stored and carried with the toner still inside, so it is important to keep the toner inside tightly sealed to prevent it from leaking and to prevent moisture from getting in and hardening. It is necessary to keep it. Moreover, it is necessary to set the toner storage container in a toner replenishment hole, which will be described later, and to configure the container so that the bottom openings 1a and 1b can be easily opened when in use.

For this purpose, the starting end of the sealing member 2, which is made by coating the surface of an aluminum film or the like with, for example, a weldable resin, is fixed along the lower part 1A of the longitudinal side of the case 1, as shown in FIGS. 1a and b, and the opening is 1
a, 1b from one end in the transverse direction to the other end, seal the openings 1a, 1b around the openings 1a, 1b by means such as heat welding or adhesion, and seal the sealing member 2 at the other end of the opening. Fold back and fix the end to the claw member 3.

The claw member 3 is formed with a groove along its longitudinal direction that engages with a claw locking portion of a toner replenishment hole, which will be described later. This claw member 3 is temporarily fixed along the longitudinal side surface 1B of the container main body 1, as shown, with enough adhesive force to prevent it from coming off when the toner storage container is stored or transported.

At this time, when sealing the openings 1a and 1b with the sealing member 2, the sealing member 2 meanders around the case bottom openings 1a and 1b, as shown by the dashed-dotted line area 1f in FIG. Seal by welding or gluing to the state.

If the opening is sealed in this state with the seal member 2, even if the area 1f is sealed quite strongly, the seal member 2 will not peel off when the toner storage container is set in the toner supply hole, as will be described later. becomes easier. Furthermore, during storage or transportation, the container body 1 is reliably sealed in the same manner as when it is sealed linearly.

When loading toner into the toner storage container configured as described above, the toner is inserted through a hole bored in one side of the container main body 1 in the lateral direction as shown in FIG.
After loading, the hole cover 1e is fixed and closed to create a sealed state.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the toner supply hole.
The wall surface 4 of the housing part that accommodates the toner storage container has a guide groove 4a that fits with the protrusion-shaped guide 1d of the toner storage container, and a groove that stops when the toner storage container is pushed down a predetermined distance when the toner storage container is fitted into the toner supply hole and pushed down. A locking portion 4b for holding and a pawl locking portion 4c for locking the pawl member 3 are provided. Furthermore, as shown in the cross-sectional view of the toner supply hole in the lateral direction in FIG. 4B, a cleaner 5 such as a sponge is attached to the lower longitudinal side wall surface of the toner supply hole wall surface 4.

Next, when the user supplies toner to the developing device, the guide 1d of the toner storage container configured as described above is fitted and inserted along the guide groove 4a of the toner supply hole.

As the toner storage container is inserted into the toner replenishment hole, as shown in the cross-sectional view in the transverse direction of FIG. It engages with a claw locking portion 4c provided on the wall surface and is removed from the container body 1.

When the case 1 is further pushed down, the seal member 2 starts to peel off from the container body 1.

At this time, the sealing member 2 and the bottom of the container body are strongly sealed in the area 1f, so if the toner storage container is simply fitted into the toner supply hole, the bottom of the container is pulled by the sealing member, and the container body However, by fitting along the guide portion and pressing down as in this embodiment, it can be set accurately and easily.

Further, at this time, as explained in FIG. 3, the sealing member 2
Since the periphery of the container 1b is sealed in a meandering manner, the container can be easily and smoothly peeled off from the container main body 1 without requiring a strong force to push down the container main body 1.

That is, as shown in the partial configuration diagram of the bottom of the container main body in FIG. The bottom of main body 1 is c1,
As a result of joining in the point state shown by c2, c3...
The sealing member 2 can be peeled off from the container body 1 without requiring strong pressing force. As the peeling progresses further, the distance between the joined parts gradually increases, but at this time, the container body 1 has inertia and is pushed down, so that the peeling is performed smoothly.
Even if the distance between the joints reaches the maximum value, the joint distance is not continuous in the longitudinal direction of the container body 1 as shown at point D, so the container body 1
The increase in the push-down force is considerably reduced.

In this way, when the container main body 1 is fitted into the toner replenishment hole and pushed down further, both ends 1f of the bottom surface of the container main body 1 are attached to the locking portions of the toner replenishment hole wall surface 4, as shown in FIGS. 5c and 5d. 4b, stops the descent of the toner storage container at that position, and holds the toner storage container in the toner supply hole as shown in FIG. 5d.
Toner can be uniformly supplied to the developing device in the longitudinal direction.

Further, the toner storage container set in the toner supply hole in this manner serves as a lid for the toner supply hole, eliminating the possibility that the toner will be blown up from the toner supply hole and scattered around.

Further, when the toner storage container is pushed down from the state shown in FIG. 5a and set in the toner replenishment hole to the states shown in FIGS.
The parts a and 1b that come into contact with the toner and have adhered toner are wiped off by a cleaner attached to the lower longitudinal direction of the wall surface 4. As a result, the empty toner storage container after replenishing the toner to the developing device is used as a toner container. When the toner is removed from the supply hole, there is no risk of the toner scattering around.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, the bottom opening of the container body 1 has openings 1a' and 1b' opened in a meandering manner along the longitudinal direction in advance, and a seal is applied along the meandering opening end. The toner storage container may be constructed by sealing the members by welding or gluing them.

Further, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7a, an opening is formed on the bottom of the container body by using the side walls of the container body as is, and a case that reaches a predetermined position inside the container body is formed between the longitudinal side walls. 1g of reinforcing ribs,
1h may be provided to constitute the container body 1.

If the container main body 1 is constructed in this way and the longitudinal side surface of the container main body 1 is sealed in a meandering manner along the opening with a sealing member in the same manner as described above, the toner storage container is constructed as shown in FIG. 7b. As shown, when the toner is set in the toner replenishment hole and toner is replenished, the flow of toner from the container main body 1 becomes uniform in the longitudinal direction of the container main body.

That is, if there is only one opening, there is a risk that the flow of toner will be concentrated in the center in the longitudinal direction of the opening, and the amount of toner supplied from both ends of the opening will be reduced. As shown, the lower part of the container body 1 is divided into three by ribs 1g and 1h to form the container body 1.
If the toner is discharged from the toner replenishing hole, the flow of toner in each of the three divided openings becomes almost uniform, and toner can be replenished uniformly in the longitudinal direction of the toner replenishing hole.

The sealing member for sealing the bottom opening of the container body 1 can be attached in such a way that the peeling occurs in the longitudinal direction of the container body, in addition to the method in which the seal member is attached in such a way that the peeling occurs in the longitudinal direction of the container body as in the above embodiment. However, if the seal member is attached so that it can be peeled off in the longitudinal direction of the case, the distance to peel off the seal member will be longer, and as a result, the seal member will have to be pulled out by hand. There is a risk that the toner will scatter to the outside, and as a result of sequential peeling in the longitudinal direction, the toner will concentrate at the first peeled opening, making it impossible to replenish the toner uniformly. It is better to configure it like this.

As described above, according to the present invention, the toner storage container is constructed by sealing the bottom opening of the container main body with the sealing member, and by fitting the toner storage container into the toner replenishment hole and pushing down, the sealing member closes the opening. Since the toner is peeled off from the toner and toner is replenished, toner can be replenished extremely easily and reliably without scattering the toner to the surroundings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner storage container showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a is a perspective view thereof, b is a side view in the lateral direction, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the container body upside down. The perspective view of the container body shown in FIG.
The bottom view of the container main body and FIG. 4 are schematic configuration diagrams of a toner supply hole showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a is a partially cutaway perspective view thereof, b is a cross-sectional view in the short direction,
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a toner storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention is set in a toner replenishment hole, where a is a cross-sectional view in the width direction during the setting, and b
is a partial configuration diagram of the bottom of the toner storage container at that time, c is a cross-sectional view in the width direction when the toner storage container is set, d is a cross-sectional view in the longitudinal direction at that time, and FIG. 6 is another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7a is a bottom view of the main body of the toner storage container showing still another embodiment of the present invention;
b is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the toner storage container set in the toner replenishment hole. 1... Container body of toner storage container, 1a, 1b;
1a', 1b'...opening, 1c, 1g, 1h...rib,
1d...Guide, 1e...Lid member, 1f...Joint part, 2
Seal member, 3 Claw member, 4 Wall surface of toner supply hole, 4a Guide groove, 4b Locking portion, 4c Claw locking portion, 5 Cleaner.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container body having an opening on the bottom surface, a ridge-shaped guide provided vertically on the lateral side surface of the container body, and a toner replenishing hole of a toner replenishing device that connects the container body to the longitudinal side surface of the container body. a claw member temporarily fixed at a position where it fits into the end of the toner replenishment hole when the toner replenishment hole is fitted into the toner replenishment hole; a sealing member that seals from the end of the seal member to the end where the longitudinal side surface opposite to the longitudinal side surface intersects with the bottom surface, and then folds back to the position of the claw member and is fixed to the claw member. In a toner replenishment device in a dry developing device that stores a toner storage container, the toner replenishment device includes:
a toner replenishment hole having a wall surface for accommodating the toner storage container; a claw locking portion provided at an end of a longitudinal side wall surface of the wall surface; a guide groove provided on a lateral side wall surface of the wall surface; and the bottom surface. a locking portion that locks and holds a part of the toner storage container, and when the toner storage container is fitted and inserted into the toner replenishment hole, the guide and the guide groove engage with each other, and the fitting and insertion engage the guide and the guide groove. The sealing member is automatically peeled off from the opening by engagement between the member and the pawl locking portion, and the locking portion locks and holds a part of the bottom surface. A toner replenishing device in a dry developing device.