JPH03220577A - Method and device for replenishing toner for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate operavility at the time of replenishing toner by providing an operation lever for opening/closing a cap at the time of replenishing the toner so that it is slidable on the almost center part of the upper wall of a toner box. CONSTITUTION:When the operation lever 66 is moved by the approximate length of an opening part 2, a movable member 60 moves by approximately twice as long as the length of the opening part 2. Then, the sealing film 3 is completely peeled off from a temporary fixing part and followed by a cap member 4, which moves to an opening position in a container recessed part 72. On the other hand, a box side cap member 50 also moves into the container recessed part 72, and a toner receipting port 6 is completely opened. During this period, toner in a toner cartridge is gradually supplied into the toner box 5 through a part communicating the opening part 2 on this toner cartridge side with this toner reception port 6. Toner replenishment can be thus facilitated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for replenishing toner for image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers.

2. Description of the Related Art A common method for replenishing toner in an image forming apparatus is to store toner in a toner cartridge, and replenish the toner by detachably mounting the toner in a toner box of the image forming apparatus. In a conventional toner cartridge, for example, a slit-shaped opening is provided in the peripheral wall of a cylindrical cartridge container, a sealing film is attached to this opening in a removable manner, and after the sealing film is peeled off, it is inserted into the toner box. In some cases, a cartridge container is set, or an opening for toner supply is provided at the top of the cartridge container, and this opening is closed so that it can be opened and closed with a lid member, and after removing the lid member, the cartridge is inserted into the toner box. It is known to supply toner by setting a container and rotating the set cartridge container by 180 degrees.

However, with these conventional toner cartridges,
Since it is necessary to open the opening in advance when installing the toner cartridge in the toner box, there is a problem that the toner scatters when the toner cartridge is installed and pollutes the surrounding environment.

As a conventional toner cartridge that solves this problem, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-224364 is known. However, in the toner cartridge described in this publication, it is necessary to slide the lid member when opening the opening of the cartridge container, but when the lid member is slid, the sealing film is instantly exposed to high Tension is applied, and this high tension increases the frictional resistance at the contact portion between the end of the lid member and the sealing film. Then, the movement resistance of the lid member increases by this frictional resistance, which causes a problem that the force required to move the lid member increases accordingly.

As a toner cartridge that solves this problem, the present applicant previously proposed a toner cartridge described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-243978. This toner cartridge satisfies the demand for cost reduction while also making it easy to open and close the opening of the cartridge container, and it has been adopted in actual image forming devices and has been a commercial success. It is.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63-243 using a rectangular toner cartridge
The conventional toner replenishing device described in No. 978 has achieved commercial success because the operating force required to open the lid member is somewhat reduced as described above, but the operating lever for opening the lid member is located on the side. As a result, the width dimension becomes large and the load when the operating lever slides becomes non-uniformly distributed, resulting in the problem that bending stress is generated when parts such as the operating lever are twisted. Also, JP-A-63-24397
In the toner replenishment device described in No. 8, due to reasons such as the operator ignoring instructions on how to replenish toner, it is not possible to replenish the toner box evenly in the longitudinal direction, and the toner is removed from the toner box during toner replenishment. There was a problem in that it overflowed and polluted the surrounding area.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and its purpose is to provide toner replenishment for an image forming apparatus that can easily replenish toner without polluting the surrounding environment while satisfying the demand for cost reduction. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems According to a first aspect of the present invention, a first lid member for opening and closing the toner receiving opening of a toner box is provided, and a film is wound around the first lid member in a loop shape. a second lid member that fixes a predetermined portion of the film to the toner box, provides an engaging means on the film, and opens and closes an opening of a toner cartridge that is detachably attached to a toner receiving opening of the toner box; is attached to the toner cartridge, and the opening is releasably sealed with a sealing film whose one end is fixed to the opening edge of the toner cartridge, and the sealing film is U-turned at the end of the second lid member. and a toner cartridge is installed in the toner box so that the engaging means is engaged with the engaging means; In the toner replenishing device of an image forming apparatus, the toner is replenished into the toner box by peeling off the sealing film by sliding the first lid member, and the upper wall of the toner box adjacent to the toner receiving opening. Provided is a toner replenishing device for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that a vertically elongated slit is provided approximately in the center of the first lid member, an operating lever is provided upright on the first lid member, and the operating lever is protruded through the slit. .

Preferably, a leveling plate for leveling the toner accumulated in the toner box is attached to the first lid member.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a multi-stage nested toner receiving member is rotatably attached to the toner receiving port, and when replenishing toner, the multi-stage nested toner receiving member is pulled out and the toner replenishing port is tilted; A toner replenishing method for an image forming apparatus is provided, in which toner is replenished by applying a toner cartridge to the toner replenishing port.

Function: In the toner replenishing device according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the operation lever for opening and closing the first lid member is provided approximately at the center of the upper wall of the toner box, the load when the operation lever slides is uniformly distributed. This makes it possible to prevent twisting and bending stress from occurring on parts such as the operating lever, and to reduce the operating force required when the operating lever slides.

In addition, by attaching the leveling plate to the first lid member, it is possible to evenly level the toner that has fallen into the toner box at the same time as sliding the first lid member using the operation lever, so that the toner that has fallen into the toner box can be evenly leveled. can prevent toner overflow.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. The basic structure of the toner cartridge is basically the same as that described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-243978'. A sealing film 3 that releasably seals an opening 2 formed on the side, and a sealing film 3 that is slidably attached to the cartridge container 1 under the sealing film 3 along the peeling direction of the sealing film 3. A lid member 4 is provided.

The cartridge container 1 is made of a suitable material such as paper, and has an upper opening of a rectangular cylinder 11 closed with a top plate 12 and a lower opening of the rectangular cylinder 11 with a bottom plate 13. A slit-shaped opening 2 for toner supply is provided in the toner. The edges of the opening 2 of the bottom plate 13 are filled with a sealing material 14, and this sealing material 14 has a wide planar adhesive portion 14a at a portion adjacent to one end in the longitudinal direction of the opening 2; A linear adhesive portion 11b is provided at the location.

Further, the sealing film 3 is adhered to the periphery of the opening 2 via the sealant 14, but in this case, the planar adhesive part 14
a functions as a fixing part on one end side of the sealing film 3 in order to strongly adhere the sealing film 3 according to the size of the adhesive area, while the linear adhesive part 14b allows the sealing film 3 to be peeled off freely. It is designed to function as a temporary fixing part for adhesion. Further, at the other end of the sealing film 3 in the peeling direction, a U-shaped bent extension 1 m20 that covers the end of the lid member 4 and slightly protrudes toward the surface side of the lid member 4 is integrally formed. A locking protrusion 21 is fixed along the edge of the bent extension 20, and guide protrusions 22 protrude outward at both ends of the locking protrusion 21.
is formed.

Further, a pair of guide rails 31 are fixed to both widthwise sides of the opening 2 of the bottom plate 13, and each guide rail 31
Two grooves 32 and 33 are formed in the bottom plate 13, and one groove 32 is formed facing the bottom plate 13. The lid member 4 is slidably attached to the groove 32 facing the bottom plate 13, and the guide protrusion 22 of the locking protrusion 21 is slidably engaged with the other groove 33. There is. In addition, a guide rail 31 is protruded from the side of the lid member 4 where the sealing film 3 is fixed at the closing position of the opening 2, and a pair of locking protrusions 41 are provided on the surface side of both widthwise ends of this protruding portion. A groove 4 is formed in each locking protrusion 41 corresponding to an extension of one groove ll33 of the guide rail 31.
2 is formed.

On the other hand, on the toner box 5 side, as shown in FIG. 5, a toner receiving opening 6 corresponding to the opening 2 of the cartridge container l is provided, and this toner receiving opening 6 is opened and closed by a box side lid member 50. It has become so. A recess 51 that opens in the width direction of the box side lid member 50 is formed on the front side of the box side lid member 50, and a movable member 60 is disposed in this recess 51 along the length direction of the recess 51. It is arranged so that it can be moved. This movable member 6
0 is provided with a locking groove 62 in which the locking protrusion 22 of the toner cartridge engages. In addition, locking grooves 52 are formed at both longitudinal ends of the recess 51 of the box-side lid member 50 to engage with locking protrusions 41 formed on the cartridge-side lid member 4. Further, both ends of the box-side lid member 50 are formed in an arc shape, and the movable member 60
One end of a pair of films 63 (specifically, 63a, 63b) is fixed with a locking groove 62 in between, and each film 63 is attached to the box side lid member 50 via the edge of the box side lid member 50. It is folded back to the back side of the
The other end of each film 63 is fixed near one edge 6a in the length direction of the toner receiving port 6, and each film 6
3 are arranged as if in a loop.

As best shown in FIG. 3, a slit 65 in an elongated direction is provided approximately at the center of the film 63, and an end portion 65a of the slit 65 is formed into an arc shape 65a to prevent the film 63 from tearing. has been done. Box side lid member 5
An operating lever 66 is provided upright approximately at the center of one end of the film 63.
It protrudes upward through the. Furthermore, Figures 4 and 5
As shown in the figure, a vertically long slit 68 is provided approximately at the center of the upper wall of the toner box 5 adjacent to the toner receiving port 6, and the operating lever 66 projects upward through this slit 68. There is.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a leveling plate 67 for uniformly leveling the toner supplied into the toner box is formed in a cantilevered manner on one side of the box-side lid member 50. Fixed. Further, a container setting shelf portion 71 on which the cartridge container 1 is fixedly placed is formed near the toner receiving slot 6 of the toner box 5, and when moving the lid member 4 and the box-side lid member 50 to the open position. An accommodating recess 72 is formed in which each lid member 4.50 is accommodated.

Next, FIGS. 6 to 8 show the toner supply method of this embodiment.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

First, as shown in FIG. 6, the cartridge container 1 is fixedly placed on the container setting shelf 71 on the toner box 5 side.
After that, the operating lever 66 may be moved in the direction of arrow C.

At this time, when the cartridge container 1 is set in a predetermined position, the locking protrusion 21 provided on the edge of the bent extension 20 engages with the locking groove 62 of the movable member 60, and the lid member 4 is locked. The protrusion 41 engages with the locking groove 52 of the box-side lid member 50.

In this state, when the operating lever 66 is moved in the direction of arrow C, the box side lid member 50 moves by the movement stroke of the operating lever 66, and this box side lid member 50 moves by the movement stroke of the operating lever 66.
Following the movement, the movable member 60 moves in the C direction by twice the movement stroke of the operating lever 66, and the locking protrusion 21 is pulled in the C direction, as shown in FIG. Then, the sealing film 3 is inserted through the folded extension part 20.
The temporarily fixed portions are peeled off sequentially in the direction of arrow C, and at the same time, the bent extension portion 20 comes into contact with the end of the lid member 4, and the lid member is removed by 1/2 of the movement stroke of the movable member 60. 4 in the C direction. In this case, the bending extension 20 and the end of the lid member 4 come into contact, but since the lid member 4 does not act as a member to prevent the bending extension 20 from moving, the bending extension 2o
High tension is not applied to the sealing film 3, and the frictional resistance itself at the contact portion between the two is kept extremely small.
A situation where the size becomes extremely large at the start of peeling is avoided.

Based on such an operating principle, when the operating lever 66 is moved by approximately the length of the opening 2, the movable member 60 is moved by approximately twice the length of the opening 2. As shown in the figure, the sealing film 3 is completely peeled off from the temporarily fixed part, and the lid member 4 follows the sealing film 3 and moves to the open position in the storage recess 72, while the box side lid member 50 also moves into the storage recess 72, and the toner receiving port 6 is completely opened. During this time,
Opening 2 and toner receiving port 6 on the toner cartridge side
The toner in the toner cartridge is sequentially supplied into the toner box 5 through the communication location with the toner cartridge.

Conversely, when removing a toner cartridge for which toner supply has been completed, the operating lever 66 is moved in the direction of the arrow from the open position shown in FIG. 8, and then returned to the closed position shown in FIG. Also, the toner cartridge may be removed from the toner box 5.

At this time, when the operating lever 66 is moved from the open position in the direction indicated by the arrow, the movable member 6o also moves in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Then, the film 63 moves following the movable member 6o, and the box-side lid member 5o begins to move in the direction of closing the toner receiving port 6. Then, the box side lid member 5
Since the locking groove 52 of the toner cartridge o is engaged with the locking protrusion 41 of the lid member 4 on the toner car side, the lid member 4 on the toner cartridge side opens following the box side lid member 5o. Move in the direction of closing part 2. On the other hand, the end of the sealing film 3 will move toward the opening 2 side as the movable member 60 moves, but the sealing film 3 will follow the movement of the lid member 4 in the return direction. When the movable member 60 reaches the closing position, in other words, when the lid member 4 completely closes the opening 2, the sealing film 3 closes the opening 2. Return to the state where 2 is completely covered. Needless to say, the box side lid member 50 is also in the closed position of the toner receiving port 6 (
The position shown in FIG. 6 will be returned to. Even if the toner cartridge is removed from the toner box 5 in this state, the opening 2 of the toner cartridge is covered with the sealing film 3 and the lid member 4, so the residual toner inside the toner cartridge will be released into the surrounding environment. There is no possibility that the product will be dispersed.

Further, in this embodiment, since the leveling plate 67 is fixed to the box-side lid member 50, the box-side lid member 50
When the toner box 5 is closed, the leveling plate 67 can uniformly level the toner piled up in the toner box 5, thereby avoiding a situation in which the toner overflows from the toner receiving port 6 and contaminates the surrounding environment. .

In the embodiment described above, the slit 6 is formed in the film 63.
5 is provided, and the operation lever 66 is made to protrude through this slit 65. However, stays are extended in the longitudinal direction from both sides of the box side lid member 50, and these stays are connected by a connecting member in the width direction. If the operating lever is provided upright on this connecting member, there is no need to provide a longitudinal slit in the film 63.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

The toner box 75 has a toner receiving lower 5 on its upper surface.
It defines a. This toner receiving lower 5a includes
In this embodiment, the first toner receiving member 7 of the two-stage container
6 and a second toner receiving member 84 are rotatably mounted on a shaft 77.

The first toner receiving member 76 is provided with stoppers 78 and 79 for restricting its rotation, and engaging protrusions 80 and 82 are provided on its outer and inner peripheral surfaces, respectively. The second toner receiving member 84 is mounted in the first toner receiving member 76 so as to be freely put in and taken out about a shaft 77, and has a stopper/grip portion 8 at its upper end.
5 is provided. Further, a second toner receiving member 8
An engaging protrusion 86 is provided at the lower end of the outer circumferential surface of 4.

The state shown by the solid line in FIG. 9 is the state in which the first and second toner receiving members 76, 84 are inserted and folded up. When replenishing toner, the first and pull out the second toner receiving member 76,84. In this pulled out state, the stopper 79 comes into contact with the edge of the toner receiving lower 5'a of the toner box 75, and the engaging protrusion 80 forcibly passes through the protruding part 81 provided on the toner receiving lower 5a and moves upward. By riding on the first toner receiving member 76, the first toner receiving member 76 is fixed in the pulled out state. Additionally, the second toner receiving member 84
The engaging protrusion 86 rides on the engaging protrusion 82 of the first toner receiving member 76 and engages with it from above, thereby being fixed in the pulled out state as shown by the two-dot chain line. In this state, for example, by inserting a toner bottle as shown in No. 10 TIIJ into the toner replenishment port defined by the second toner receiving member 84, toner can be easily replenished into the toner box, and toner spillage can be prevented during replenishment. can. When the toner supply is completed, by pushing the second toner receiving member 84 from above with a strong force, each toner receiving member is disengaged and can be folded into the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 9.

As described above, in this embodiment, the toner replenishment port can be tilted 70 to 90 degrees from the horizontal position when replenishing toner, making it easier to operate when replenishing toner and effectively preventing toner spillage. can.

Effects of the Invention In the toner replenishing device of the present invention, since the operating lever for opening and closing the lid when replenishing toner is slidably provided approximately in the center of the upper wall of the toner box, the width dimension can be reduced and the operating lever can be slid easily. The force required can sometimes be reduced. Furthermore, since the load when the operating lever slides can be uniformly distributed, it is possible to prevent twisting or bending stress from occurring in parts such as the operating lever, thereby improving the reliability of the device.

Further, by providing the leveling plate, toner can be uniformly supplied into the toner box in the longitudinal direction, and overflow and the like can be prevented from occurring. This can prevent dirt around the toner supply port.

According to the toner replenishing method of the present invention, since the toner replenishing port can be tilted 70 to 90 degrees from the horizontal position when replenishing toner, operability during toner replenishment is facilitated and toner spillage can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention and its opening/closing operation mechanism; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing details of the toner cartridge according to the embodiment; Fig. 3 is a detail of the opening/closing operation mechanism according to the embodiment. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the toner box with the opening/closing film removed; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V in Fig. 1; Figs. 6 to 8 show the toner supply process. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 5, FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a toner replenishment port used in the toner replenishment method of the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of a toner bottle suitable for Fuji container, 1... Cartridge 2... Opening, 3... Seal film, 4... Lid member, 5... Toner box,... Toner receiving port, 0... Box side Lid member, 0... Movable member, 6... Operation lever 7... Leveling plate, 8... Slit, 6... First toner receiving member, 4... Second toner receiving member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A first lid member for opening and closing the toner receiving port of the toner box is provided, and a film is wound around the first lid member in a loop shape so that a predetermined portion of the film is covered with the toner. A second lid member is attached to the toner cartridge, which is fixed to the box and has an engaging means on the film, and which opens and closes the opening of the toner cartridge which is detachably attached to the toner receiving port of the toner box. releasably sealing the opening with a sealing film fixed to the opening edge of the toner cartridge;
The sealing film is made to make a U-turn at the end of the second lid member to extend below the second lid member, and an engaged means is provided at the other end, and the engaging means is connected to the engaged means. In the image forming apparatus, the toner cartridge is attached to the toner box so as to be engaged with the toner cartridge, and the sealing film is peeled off by sliding the first lid member to replenish the toner into the toner box. In the toner replenishing device, a vertically elongated slit is provided approximately at the center of the upper wall of the toner box adjacent to the toner receiving port, and an operating lever is provided upright on the first lid member, and the operating lever is protruded through the slit. A toner replenishing device for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that: 2. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, further comprising a leveling plate attached to the first lid member for leveling the toner accumulated in the toner box. 3. In the method of replenishing toner into the toner box through the toner receiving port, a multi-stage nested toner receiving member is rotatably attached to the toner receiving port, and when replenishing toner, the multi-stage nested toner receiving member is pulled out. A toner replenishing method for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that the toner replenishing port is inclined, and toner is replenished by placing a toner cartridge against the toner replenishing port.