1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a toner cartridge and more specifically, to a switching mechanism for a toner cartridge that is not easy to get permanent deformation and has low manufacturing costs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japan Patent No. 2005107141 discloses a conventional switching mechanism 40, comprising a base 60 mounted on a bottom plate 33 of a toner cartridge 30, and a sliding member 50 disposed between the base 60 and the bottom plate 33. When the toner cartridge 30 is installed in an image forming apparatus 20, the sliding member 50 is forced to move such that an outlet 511 of the toner cartridge 30 is opened. On the contrary, once the toner cartridge 30 is drawn out from the image forming apparatus 20, the sliding member 50 will be moved back to an initial position to close the outlet 511.
Because the base 60 is provided with a mating part to be cooperated with the sliding member 50 including a suspension arm 53 and a flexible arm 55, the switching mechanism 40 has the drawback of complicated structure such that a mold for the switching mechanism 40 is difficult to manufacture, resulting in high manufacturing costs. Further, the suspension arm 53 of the sliding member 50 is easy to get permanent deformed, possibly causing an erroneous operation. Therefore, it is a need to provide an improved switching mechanism for the toner cartridge.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above noted circumstances. It is therefore one objective of the present invention to provide a switching mechanism for a toner cartridge, which is not easy to get permanent deformation for avoiding the occurrence of the erroneous operation.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a switching mechanism for a toner cartridge, which has a simple structure and low manufacturing costs.
To achieve these objectives of the present invention, the switching mechanism comprises a base and a sliding member. The toner cartridge having a housing and an outlet at a bottom side of the housing. The base is mounted to the housing such that a chamber is defined between the base and the housing. The base is provided with a guiding slot. The sliding member has a body received in the chamber, a suspension arm extending from the body, a hook disposed on the suspension arm, and a post extending from the suspension arm and received in the guiding slot.
When the sliding member is moved, the post of the sliding member moves along the guiding slot to cause an elastic deformation of the suspension arm for changing the position of the hook, thereby preventing the occurrence of the erroneous operation of the suspension arm of the sliding member.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
As shown in
The base 20 is mounted to the bottom side of the housing 14 such that a chamber 21, an entrance 22 and an exit 23 is defined between the base 20 and the housing 14. The bottom side of the housing 14 is provided with an opening 24 having a corresponding position with the outlet 16. Two notches 241 are provided at a periphery of the opening 24. The base 20 has a guiding slot 25 extending along a longitudinal direction X thereof, and a retaining wall 26 at the outside of the guiding slot 25. The guiding slot 25 have a high section 251, a low section 253, and an inclined section 252 connecting the high section 251 and the low section 253. Correspondingly, the retaining wall 26 have a high section 261, a low section 263, and an inclined section 262 connecting the high section 261 and the low section 263.
The sliding member 30 is disposed in the chamber 21 and moveable between a first position A, as shown in
As shown in
When installed in the image forming apparatus, the toner cartridge 12 is engaged with a mating member 40 of the image forming apparatus to make the outlet 16 open, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
When drawing the toner cartridge 12 out of the image forming apparatus, as shown in
As shown in
As indicated above, by means of the post 36 of the sliding member 30 that is inserted into the guiding slot 25 of the base 20, and the recess 361 of the post 36 that is abutted against the retaining wall 26 of the base 20, the suspension arm 34 of the sliding member 30 is not easy to cause an erroneous operation and get the permanent deformation generated by exceeding its elastic limit. Moreover, the base 20 and the sliding member 30 both have a simple structure such that a mold for the switching mechanism 10 of the present invention is easy to manufacture, resulting in cost reduction in manufacturing.
The switching mechanism for the toner cartridge can be made with various kinds of design on the basis of the spirit of the present invention. For example, it is unnecessary for the toner cartridge 12 to provide the outlet 16 at the bottom of the housing 14. Further, the base 20 and the sliding member 30 can be respectively provided with one or more notches 241 and lugs 38 as long as the notch 241 and the lug 38 can be matched with each other. Besides, the shapes of the base 20 and the sliding member 30 can be changeable according to the actual need. The base 20 can be mounted to the housing 14 integrally.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
7561821 | Koyama et al. | Jul 2009 | B2 |
7822369 | Koyama | Oct 2010 | B2 |
20080298835 | Takashima | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20100166460 | Maeshima | Jul 2010 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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2005-107141 | Apr 2005 | JP |
2005107141 | Apr 2005 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20100178080 A1 | Jul 2010 | US |