JPS6067976A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a cartridge and a hopper from being mounted in a wrong color state through simple constitution by providing one flange with plural breakable projections and the other flange with square holes which can be closed in correspondence relation. CONSTITUTION:Plural square holes 18 are bored in the side edge 17 of the flange 12 of a toner cartridge 10 which is open at the bottom. The flange 19 of a toner hopper 5 which is open at the top faces the flange 12 in contact, and plural projections 21 implanted in the flange 19 corresponding to the square holes 18 pierce the square holes 18. When the toner cartridge 10 and hopper 5 are combined together after being selected by color, the projections 21 are broken off except one projection 21, and the holes 18 which do not correspond to the projection are closed to engage the specific projection 21 and square hole 18 with each other. Therefore, the cartridge 10 and hopper 5 are attached without wrong color relation by using the simple constitution which eliminates the need for extra space.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a developing device that can be detached from any type of image forming apparatus such as Ichiyuki Kouki Jk, First Five Machine V Juice Suzuyuki Printing Kaoru, and more specifically, a multicolor image forming device. The present invention relates to a developing device which is suitable for use in a forming device and which is capable of holding together only a toner cartridge and a toner hopper that handle toner of the same color.

(Prior Art) Generally, when a multicolor electrophotographic copying machine has a developing device for each color, it becomes difficult for an operator to replenish toner without making a mistake as the number of colors increases.
It is common to install toner cartridges of different colors (eg, red) in toner hoppers of different colors (eg, black). This kind of operational error occurs because the toner hopper and toner cartridge are formed in the same shape even if the toner colors are different. This mistake will not occur. However, the toner hopper and toner cartridge are different for each color.
Forming it in such a shape is problematic in terms of cost and also requires extra space within the main body of the electrophotographic camera.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and drawbacks of the prior art, and to prevent mounting of different colors with a simple configuration and without requiring extra space. is intended to provide.

(Structure of the Invention) The above object is to provide a plurality of protrusions on one side and a plurality of holes corresponding to the protrusions on the other side, on each flange of the toner hole/container and the toner cartridge that are in contact with each other.
The protrusions are formed so that they can be broken off and the holes closed, and only the protrusions specified by color are left and the others are broken off, leaving only the hole corresponding to this specific protrusion open and the others closed. This is achieved by a developing device that is installed by fitting the specific protrusion and the specific hole.

Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given using an example shown in the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a main body of an electrophotographic copying machine, which is an image forming device, and a side cover 2 is removably attached to the main body 1. A developing device 3 is disposed within the main body 1, and a photoreceptor unit 4 is disposed above the developing device 3 so as to be swingable in the direction of the arrow. And the developing device 3
The 111j lid 2 is removed, the photoreceptor unit 4 is rotated upward, and the photoreceptor unit 4 can be removed from the main body. The appearance device 3 includes a toner having an abbreviated cross section;
l; ノ'ζ5゜Agitator 6, developing sleeve 8. It consists of a cartridge 9, a toner cartridge 10, and the like. The toner hopper 5 has openings at the top and bottom tips, and a toner cartridge cartridge 10i at the top opening.
It is in contact with KJ, and the opening at the bottom end faces eight developing snowflakes, and the toner is stored inside and sealed. The agitator 6 is arranged at the center of the J bottom of the toner hopper 5 and rotates in one direction to agitate and move the toner. The developing sleeve 8 contains 11 magnets and carries the toner carried by the agitator 6. If:! l L,
The photoreceptor belt 7 is transferred to the photoreceptor belt 7 in alignment with the hot height of the phrase "-". As shown in the figure, the cup 9 is raised when the developing device 3 is attached to the main body, and when removed from the main body, connects the developing snout 1 snuff '8 and the bottom tip opening. It has become.

The present invention is characterized by the structure of the contact portion between the upper opening of the toner hopper 5 and the toner cartridge 10. This structure will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. That is, in these figures, the toner cartridge 10 is
When in use, it is in a downwardly open state and has a truncated pyramidal shape in which the horizontal cross-sectional area becomes smaller as it goes upward, and a flange 12 extending horizontally is formed at the lower periphery. Widthwise end portion 13a of one longitudinal end edge 13 of flange 12.

13a protrudes along the longitudinal direction and is inserted into a hole 15 bored in a rising edge 14 of the toner hopper 5, which will be described later. This is a passageway for pulling out the tab on the cartridge cover. A concave groove 28 that opens outward is vertically provided in the center of the other longitudinal edge 17 of the flange 12 in the width direction. Upper end 2 of concave groove 28
8a is highly inclined toward the outside. In addition, square holes 18 and 18 are bored at both ends of the flange side edge 17 in the width direction.

A flange 19 extending horizontally around the flange and a rising edge 14 rising vertically from the flange outer edge 1 are integrally formed. Then, the flange 19 of the toner hopper ζ5 comes into contact with the flange 12 of the toner cartridge 1O, and the flange 19 of the toner cartridge 10 on the concave groove 28 side
At 9a, a locking piece 20 is provided extending above the force ball. The locking piece 20 is formed integrally with a strip 2'Oa and a locking portion 20b, and the strip 20a has a width narrower than that of the concave groove 18.
0b is large enough to be caught on the upper end 28a of the recessed groove, and has approximately the same slope as the upper end 28a of the recessed groove. Further, the flange 19a of the toner hopper 5 has a front C.
A protrusion 21 is implanted corresponding to the square hole 18. When the toner cartridge 10 is assembled, the protrusion 21 penetrates the square hole 18, and the locking portion 2
0b is engaged with the upper end 28a of the concave groove.

In more detail, the engagement between the hole 18 and the protrusion 21 will be described. In this example, the two-color topooka k I+ −
, , -Multi-Site Naho, , shows the structure of Pay, and is an example of one of the two colors. Hole 18a for each of the two holes
, 18b, and the two corresponding protrusions are protrusions 21a and 21b, respectively.The combination of one protrusion for folding and one hole for sealing is a double series as shown in the table below. become. That is, from the above table, the second color (red) toner cartridge cannot be used in the first color (black) toner hopper. This is because the toner hopper for the first color has a protrusion 18a, and the corresponding toner cartridge screwdriver has a sealed hole 21a, making it impossible to set the cartridge. The protrusion is formed integrally with the toner hopper, and by breaking it off with pliers and leaving only one protrusion, it becomes a toner hopper dedicated to the color. Toner cartridges are usually made of resin, so
It is possible to make notches on three sides in advance and press only the required holes with the tip of a stick to form the necessary holes, but it is also possible to drill two holes in advance and seal off the unneeded holes. It would probably be easier to do the work in succession. In this embodiment, the toner hopper is molded from ABS resin, and the protrusion has a length of 1
5 rran, tip diameter 1 mm, root diameter 2 tnm,
The toner cartridge was molded from styrofoam, and the holes were sealed with vinyl tape.

Although this embodiment shows an example of a two-color electrophotographic copying machine, the present invention is not limited to only two colors, and of course, any number of colors may be used. Toner cartridge total length approximately 300
In the case of mm, if protrusions or holes are provided on each periphery of each flange, combinations of about 30 or more colors are possible.

In this embodiment, an electrophotographic copying machine is exemplified as an image forming apparatus, but an electrostatic printing apparatus or an electrostatic recording apparatus may also be used.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, since the toner cartridge and toner hopper are matched only for the same color, it is possible to prevent the wrong color set, and the configuration is Since it is simple, it can be provided at extremely low cost and in a small space.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a developing device installed in an electrophotographic copying machine, FIGS. The figure is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the toner cartridge. 3...Developing device, 5...Toner hopper, 10...
Toner cartridge, 12, 13.17... Toner cartridge flange, 18... Hole, 19.19a.
...Flange of toner hopper, 21...Protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The toner hopper has a flange formed around an opening facing upward, an opening approximately the same size as the toner hopper, and a θ flange, and is mounted on the toner hopper in such a manner that the flanges are in contact with each other. In a developing device equipped with a toner cartridge, one flange has a plurality of protrusions formed so that only specific ones can be left and others can be broken off, and the other flange has a plurality of protrusions corresponding to the plurality of protrusions. A specific toner cartridge is provided with a hole formed so that only a specific one engages with the specific protrusion and the others are closed, and when the specific protrusion engages with the specific hole, a specific toner cartridge is identified. A developing device characterized in that it is attached to a toner hopper.