Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6259877
-
Patent Number
6,259,877
-
Date Filed
Friday, February 18, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, July 10, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 399 262
- 399 258
- 399 119
- 399 120
- 222 DIG 1
- 222 167
- 222 325
- 141 363
- 141 383
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A toner supply device includes: a toner cartridge having a cylindrical container with a spiral protruding portion therein, and a cap having a toner discharging hole; and a drive unit for supplying a toner from the toner discharging hole while gripping and rotating the cap of the toner cartridge. A positioning portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the base end side of the cylindrical container, and a recessed portion engaging the positioning portion is formed in an inlet holder. The drive unit includes: a holder and a holder cover, which are disassembled vertically; a cup-shaped holder guide, rotatably provided in the holder and holder cover, for gripping the cap at a position, at which the holder guide is communicated with the toner discharging hole; a motor for applying torque to the holder guide; and a drive gear for transmitting torque of the motor to the holder guide. When the toner cartridge is attached on or detached from the drive unit, the toner discharging hole is forced to be open and closed. The toner cartridge is formed with a destination unit for allowing the use of only the same destination in the relationship to a product.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a toner cartridge and a toner supply device for use in an image forming system, such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a printer. More specifically, the invention relates to a toner supply device for supplying a toner while rotating an exchangeable cylindrical toner cartridge and for breaking local accumulation of the toner in the toner cartridge by rotating the toner cartridge in forward and reverse directions by a predetermined angle during exchange of the cartridge or in a desired situation.
In a typical image forming system, the surface of an electrified photosensitive material drum is electrified, and an image information to be copied is exposed to the surface of the drum to form a latent image. Then, a toner is absorbed into the photosensitive material to form a visible image. Us visible image is transferred to the surface of a paper, and the toner is fixed on the surface of the paper by heat and pressure. Then, cleaning and de-electrification are carried out to cause a predetermined image information to be a printed information on the surface of the paper. In a developing process for forming the visible image, the toner, together with a carrier of a magnetic material, is used as a developer.
The carrier serving as a main component included in the developer is used for carrying the toner and producing frictional electrification. Since this carrier is used for electrifying the photosensitive material drum and the surface of the paper to cause the toner to be absorbed thereon, the carrier does not adhere to the surface of the paper and is not consumed, so that the amount of the carrier does not decrease. On the other hand, the toner is gradually consumed to be decreased ken a printed matter is prepared after processes, such as transfer, fixing and cleaning. Therefore, the toner must be supplied as required with the use of the image forming system.
The way for supplying the toner is broadly divided into two methods. One of the methods is a med for providing a toner cartridge dedicated to the copying machine and for supplying a predetermined amount of toner, which is filled in a container, from a supply port of the cartridge when the residual quantity of the toner in the copying machine is short. According to this method, when the toner is supplied to the cartridge from a container, it is difficult for a usual user to skillfully fill the toner in the small-diameter supply port of the cartridge, if not for experts, so that there is the possibility that the toner spills to dirty user's cloths and/or hands. If the spilled toner is raked up to be put in the cartridge, there is also the possibility that impurities are mixed therein.
The other toner supply method is a method using an exchangeable cartridge. This method is an excellent supply method easy to be used, since the exchangeable cartridge is capable of supplying a toner, which is mixed at the best to cause the image forming system to display the best performance to prepare a copied matter, to the developing part of the image forming system without mixing inpurities, and of preventing the user for supplying the toner from spilling the toner or the user's cloths and/or hands from being dirtied.
In order to supply a toner using a conventional toner supply device, an empty cartridge formed so as to have a predetermined shape and standard is detached from a cartridge attaching part of a copying machine, and an exchanged cartridge which has the same shape and standard as those of the empty cartridge and which is filled with a toner, is attached on the cartridge attaching part after being sufficiently shaken. Although there are various shapes and capacities of toner cartridges, there is a cylindrical toner cartridge as one of them. The cylindrical toner cartridge has the merit of being capable of utilizing the inner peripheral wall to efficiently supply a toner to a discharging hole. If the cylindrical cartridge is horizontally arranged, a spiral groove is formed in the inner wall surface of the cylindrical cartridge, or the cylindrical cartridge is rotated about the central axis thereof, so that the toner is guided toward the discharging hole.
However, according to such a conventional toner supply device, it is indicated that the user shall shake the cartridge well before exchange of the cartridge in order to prevent the toner from being locally biased in the cartridge. If the user fails to carry out such a shaking operation, there are some cases where the toner is biased locally in the cartridge. Although the cartridge is exchanged, there is a problem in that the supply of the toner is slow or a desired quantity of supplied toner can not be obtained after exchange of the cartridge.
In addition, according to the above described toner supply device of a type wherein the cylindrical cartridge is rotated, if the power supply of the copying machine is turned off when the cartridge is rotated, the toner discharging hole can not be stopped while facing upwards. Therefore, it is required to provide a mechanism for always detecting the position of the discharging hole when the power supply of the copying machine is turned off regardless of the stop of the copying machine for exchange of the toner cartridge, and for adjusting the stopped position so that the detected discharging hole always faces upwards. Such detecting means or position adjusting mechanism increase the producing costs of the copying machine, so that the user has useless economical loads.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the aforementioned problems in the above described conventional system and to prevent a toner from spilling from a toner cartridge during exchange of the toner cartridge, to introduce an idea of destination into a product itself and the toner cartridge to automatically ensure the right use of the cartridge to maintain the performance of the product.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge for use in a toner supply device for supplying a toner to an image forming system for forming an optional image including characters and pictures with the toner, the toner cartridge comprising: a toner container having a cylindrical shape having an opening at a tip end thereof, the toner container being filled with a toner therein, the toner container having a spiral protruding portion formed in an inner peripheral surface thereof, and the toner container causing the toner, which is housed therein, toward the opening in an axial direction thereof when being rotated about an axis thereof; a substantially cup-shaped cap engaging the opening and having a toner discharging hole for discharging the toner carried in the toner container, the cap being fixed to the toner container at a predetermined positional relationship when the cap is mounted on the toner container, so that the discharging hole always faces in a predetermined direction when the toner container is turned in a certain rotational direction with respect to the axis thereof; and a cylindrical cover engaging the cap so as to reciprocate in axial directions with respect to the cap between a first position on a tip end side and a second position on a base end side, the cylindrical cover closing the discharging hole to prevent the toner from being discharged at the first position, and opening the discharging hole to allow the toner to be discharged at the second position.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner supply device for supplying a toner to an image forming system for forming an optional image including characters and pictures with the toner, the toner supply device comprising a toner cartridge and a drive unit for rotating the toner cartridge, the toner cartridge comprising: a toner container having a cylindrical shape having an opening at a tip end thereof, the toner container being filled with a toner therein, the toner container having a spiral protruding portion formed in an inner peripheral surface thereof, and the toner container causing the toner, which is housed therein, toward the opening in an axial direction thereof when being rotated about an axis thereof; a substantially cup-shaped cap engaging the opening and having a toner discharging hole for discharging the toner carried in the toner container, the cap being fixed to the toner container at a predetermined positional relationship when the cap is mounted on the toner container, so that the discharging hole always faces in a predetermined direction when the toner container is turned in a certain rotational direction with respect to the axis thereof; and a cylindrical cover engaging the cap so as to reciprocate in axial directions with respect to the cap between a first position on a tip end side and a second position on a base end side, the cylindrical cover closing the discharging hole to prevent the toner from being discharged at the first position, and opening the discharging hole to allow the toner to be discharged at the second position, the drive unit comprising a holder guide for receiving the toner cartridge, and a drive body for rotating the toner cartridge about the axis thereof in the inserted state, and the holder guide having cover forced closing means for contacting the cover to move the cover in the axial direction thereof toward the base end to open the discharging hole when the toner cartridge is inserted, and for contacting the cover to move the cover in the axial direction thereof toward the tip end to close the discharging hole when the toner cartridge is extracted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1
is a sectional view showing the whole construction of a copying machine as an image forming system, to which a toner supply device according to the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2
is a schematic diagram showing a principal part of a toner supply device;
FIG. 3A
is an exploded perspective view showing the details of a cylindrical container and cap constituting a toner cartridge;
FIG. 3B
is a side view showing a principal part of a tongue piece;
FIG. 4
is an exploded perspective view showing a driving unit of a toner supply device;
FIG. 5
is a perspective view showing a toner cartridge while being inserted into an inlet holder;
FIG. 6
is a sectional view showing a toner cartridge immediately before being attached;
FIGS. 7A through 7C
are sectional views showing the operation of detaching a toner cartridge;
FIGS. 8 through 10
are perspective views showing the attachment or detachment of a toner cartridge;
FIG. 11A
is a perspective view showing a holder guide, a cap and a toner container;
FIGS. 11B and 11C
are sectional views showing the relationship between the positions of a protrusion of a cap and a drive hole of a drive plate in accordance with destination; and
FIGS. 12A and 12B
are perspective views showing the relationship between a cap, a toner container and an inlet guide in accordance with destination.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiments of a toner supply device for use in an image forming system, according to the present invention, will be described in detail below. In the preferred embodiments described below, a copying machine is used as an example of an image forming system, and wile the detailed structure thereof will be described, a toner supply device for use in the copying machine will be described as an example.
FIG. 1
is a sectional view showing the whole construction of a copying machine, in which a toner supply device according to the present invention is provided. In
FIG. 1
, a copying machine
1
has a paper feeding cassette device
2
(a paper feeding unit) for housing therein a large number of papers, in the lower portion of the body thereof. The copying machine
1
also has an LCF paper feeding device
3
for feeding a large number of papers having the same size, and a manual paper feeding device
4
, having a manual paper feeding tray
4
a
, capable of manually feeding various kinds of papers having various sizes.
The copying machine
1
crises: an image reading part
5
, provided in the upper portion, for reading a manuscript; an automatic manuscript feeding device
6
for feeding the manuscript to the image reading part
5
; an image storing part
7
for storing image data read by the image reading part
5
; and an optical laser system
9
, having a polygon mirror
9
a
, for deriving the stored image data to write an image to be printed, in an image forming part
8
.
Also as shown in
FIG. 2
in addition to
FIG. 1
, the image forming part
8
comprises a photosensitive material drum
10
, a developing device
11
, a cleaner (a cleaner unit)
12
, an electrification charger
13
, a de-electrifying lamp
14
, a transfer charger
15
A and a peeling charger
15
B. On the developing device
11
, a toner cartridge (a toner bottle)
16
for supplying a toner, and a driving part
17
(not shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
) for rotating the toner cartridge
16
are attached.
Moreover, in the figures, a peeling pawl
15
C is provided slightly above the peeling charger
15
B, and a fixing device
15
D is provided above the peeling pawl
15
C. On the right side in these figures, a double face unit
15
E is provided.
Referring to
FIG. 3
, the detailed construction of the toner cartridge
16
will be described. In
FIG. 3A
, the toner cartridge
16
comprises a cylindrical container
60
serving as a body, a cap
160
serving as a toner discharging part, and a cover
165
for shielding the discharging hole.
The cylindrical container
60
has a cylindrical shape with a bottom. At least on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical container
60
, there is formed a spiral protrusion (not shown) for gradually feeding a toner, which is previously filled, toward an opening portion
61
as the cylindrical container
60
rotates. In the first preferred embodiment shown in
FIG. 3
, the cylindrical container
60
is formed of a synthetic resin by the blow molding, so that a spiral groove
62
is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical container
60
so as to correspond to the spiral protrusion for guide.
At a predetermined position spaced from the bottom of the cylindrical container
60
, there are provided positioning portions
63
for positioning the outer periphery of the cylindrical container
60
. In the first preferred embodiment shown in
FIG. 3
, two positioning portions
63
are formed by removing a part of a peripheral flange.
The opening portion
61
of the cartridge
16
is formed at the center of a stepped portion
64
and projects therefrom so as to have a predetermined diameter. A part of the stepped portion
64
is formed with a positioning cut-out stepped portion
65
for integrating the cylindrical container
60
with the cap
160
so as to establish a predetermined relationship between the positions of a discharging hole
161
, which will be describe later, and the positioning portions
63
when the cap
160
is mounted on the cylindrical container
60
.
The cap
160
has a shape having a stepped portion, which corresponds to the shape of the periphery of the opening portion
61
of the cylindrical container
60
, as a whole. The cap
160
has the discharging hole
161
at an optional position on the peripheral wall thereof. The cap
160
is provided for supplying one dose of the toner when the cap
160
is rotated by a half rotation from the initial position to face downwards during the rotation of the toner cartridge
16
after the cap
160
is mounted on the cylindrical container
60
. At positions shifted from the discharging hole
161
by 90 degrees in the peripheral wall surface, two engaging portions (protrusions)
162
a
and
162
b
for engaging the discharging-hole shielding cover
165
, which will be described later, are provided on each of both sides. Although only the engaging portions
162
a
and
162
b
on one side are shown in
FIG. 3
, other two engaging portions
162
a
and
162
b
are provided at positions shifted from the engaging portions
162
a
and
162
b
on the shown side by 180 degrees. As will be described in detail later, a groove
162
c
is formed between the two engaging portions
162
a
and
162
b
, and the cover
165
is designed to move in the groove
162
c
in axial directions to contact the engaging portions
162
a
and
162
b.
On the tip flat surface of the cap
160
, there are provided protruding portions
163
serving as positioning portions for engaging positioning recessed portions (not shown) formed in the flat surface of the inner wall of a holder guide of a drive unit
20
, which will be described later, to inhibit the rotational shift between the holder guide and the toner cartridge
16
. In this first preferred embodiment, the protruding portions
163
are formed by two bosses arranged in radial directions corresponding to the position of the discharging hole
161
. In addition, the protruding portions
163
serve to rotate the cylindrical container
60
while receiving the torque of a motor
26
(
FIG. 4
) which will be described later. On the opposite side of the discharging hole
161
in the radial direction in the peripheral wall of the cap
160
, a guide groove
164
for guiding the axial movement of the cover
165
is formed so as to extend in axial directions.
The cover
165
for shielding and opening the discharging hole
161
has a ring shape having a predetermined diameter and a predetermined width which is greater than the diameter of the discharging hole
161
. The cover
165
facing the engaging portions
162
a
and
162
b
and grooves
162
c
has protrusions for engaging the engaging portions
162
a
and
162
b
, and elastic spring portions (elastic tongue pieces)
166
formed by forming U-shaped cut-outs in the periphery thereof. That is, the U-shaped cut-outs are formed in the cover
165
in circumferential directions thereof to form elastic tongue pieces
166
serving as cantilevers, and inner and outer stoppers
166
a
and
166
b
are formed on the internal and external surfaces of the tongue pieces
166
(see FIG.
3
B). The inner stoppers
166
a
move in the grooves
162
of the cap
160
in axial directions to abut on the protrusions
162
a
and
162
b
. Moreover, as described above, a protruding portion
167
protruding from the inner peripheral surface of the cover
165
in axial directions thereof is provided so as to correspond to the guide groove
164
of the cap
160
. The protruding portion
167
is positioned by the guide groove of the parallel protruding portion
164
so that the cover
165
is slidable along the peripheral surface of the cap
160
.
Although the discharging hole
161
is open and closed by the sliding of the cover
165
, there is a slight gap between the outer peripheral surface of the cap
160
and the inner peripheral surface of the cover
165
. In order to prevent the toner from leaking from the gap while shielding the discharging hole
161
, a seal
168
of an elastic material, such as felt or sponge, is applied on a portion surrounding the discharging hole
161
. The seal
168
has a through hole
169
formed so as to face the discharging hole
161
. The construction of the toner cartridge has been described above.
Referring to
FIG. 4
, the construction of the drive unit
20
for rotating the above described toner cartridge
16
will be described below. Briefly, the torque of the motor
26
is transmitted to a disk (driving plate)
36
to rotate the toner cartridge
16
since the protruding portions
163
,
163
of the toner cartridge
16
are inserted into recessed grooves (driving holes)
36
b
,
36
b
formed in the disk
36
. In addition, a carrier auger
33
is rotated by the motor
26
to move the toner from a chamber
23
to a hopper
24
.
The detailed construction of the drive unit
20
will be described below.
In
FIG. 4
, a cartridge receiving portion (a base body)
17
is secured to the body of the copying machine
1
, and is a substantially U-shaped receiving of a metal or synthetic resin. The drive unit
20
is mounted on an end portion
17
a
of the U-shaped receiving portion
17
on the front side in the figure. A rectangular inlet guide
18
is seed to the other end portion
17
b
of the receiving portion
17
by means of a screw or the like. The inlet guide
18
has a guide hole
18
A having a diameter capable of receiving the toner cartridge
16
, and two rollers
18
B along the periphery of the inserting hole
18
A for rotatably supporting the toner cartridge
16
.
On the inlet guide
18
, there is mounted a substantially C-shaped biasing lever
19
for biasing the bottom of the cylindrical container
60
toward the drive unit
20
after the toner cartridge
16
is attached. The biasing lever
19
biases the cylindrical container
60
, which is inserted by a spring
19
A in a horizontal direction, toward the drive unit
20
from the guide
18
.
FIG. 5
is a perspective view schematically showing the inlet holder
18
, the biasing lever
19
and the toner cartridge
16
when the toner cartridge
16
is inserted into the inlet holder
18
. As shown in this figure, on the upper side of the inner peripheral surface of the inserting hole
18
A of the inlet holder
18
, there is formed a recessed portion
18
C engaging the protruding positioning portion
63
of the cylindrical container
60
, i.e., allowing the insertion and extraction of the toner cartridge
16
.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, the drive unit
20
comprises: a substantially semicylindrical holder
21
; a holder cover
22
integrated with the holder
21
for forming a cylinder which is open toward the inlet guide
18
; a chamber
23
defined by the holder
21
and the holder cover
22
; a hopper
24
for supplying a toner, which is filled in the chamber
23
, to the developing device
11
; and a drive mechanism
25
arranged in the vicinity of the chamber
23
. The holder
21
and the holder cover
22
have a shape formed by dividing a cylinder. The holder
21
has a partition wall
21
a
defining the chamber
23
, and an engaging partition wall
21
b
engaging a flange portion
35
c
of a holder guide
35
which will be described later. The partition wall
21
a
has a cut-out
21
c
which is associated with a facing partition wall (not shown) of the holder cover
22
for forming a hole.
The drive mechanism
25
comprises a motor
26
serving as a driving source, a belt
27
, a pulley
28
, drive gear sets
30
,
31
, a spring
32
, a carrier auger
33
for promoting the movement of the toner from the chamber
23
to the hopper
24
, a bush
34
, a holder guide
35
and a disk
36
. Furthermore, reference number
29
denotes a spring mounted on a pin of a cover of the hopper
24
. The drive gear set
30
comprises: a large diameter first gear
30
a
; a second gear
30
b
which meshes with the first gear
30
a
and which is mounted on the carrier auger
33
via the bush
34
; a third gear
30
c
which meshes with a gear
28
a
integrated with the pulley
28
outside of the chamber
23
; and a fourth gear
30
d
mounted on one end of a shaft, on the other end of which the third gear
30
c
is mounted. The fourth gear
30
d
is arranged in the chamber
23
, and is designed to mesh with the gear set
31
fixed to the holder guide
35
.
The holder guide
35
is a cup-shaped member having a diameter which is a size larger than the cylindrical portion at the tip of the cap
160
of the toner cartridge
16
shown in FIG.
3
. The holder guide
35
has a supply hole
35
a
which is formed so as to correspond to the discharging hole
161
of the cap
160
. The central portion of the bottom of the holder guide
35
protrudes in the form of a boss, in which an elliptic or D-shaped hole
35
b
is formed. The disk
36
has a shaft
36
a
having a D-shaped cross section so as to pass through the D-shaped hole
35
b
of the holder guide
35
, and holes or recessed portions
36
b
formed in the disk
36
on a line defining a diameter thereof at positions which are symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal central axis of the flat surface of the shaft
36
a
. Furthermore, reference number
35
c
denotes a flange portion for causing the holder guide
35
to engage the holder
21
, and reference number
35
d
shown in
FIG. 6
denotes an engaging protrusion engaging the cover
165
of the cap
160
to open the discharging hole
161
.
The recessed portion
36
b
has a shape and size so as to engage the protruding portion
163
protruding from the tip end surface of the cap
160
of the toner cartridge
16
. When the protruding portion
163
and the shaft
36
a
engage the recessed portion
36
b
and the D-shaped hole
35
b
, respectively, the toner cartridge
16
and the holder guide
35
are integrally rotated while at least the rotational shift therebetween is inhibited. In addition, the gear set
31
has a protrusion
31
a
engaging a hole which is formed by the cut-out
21
c
formed in the partition wall
21
a
of the holder
21
, and the cut-out (not shown) of the holder guide
22
facing the cut-out
21
c
, and a D-shaped hole
31
b
having a shape corresponding to the D-shaped hole
35
b
of the holder guide
35
. The tip portion of the shaft
36
a
of the disk
36
passes through the D-shaped holes
35
b
and
31
b
to engage the spring
32
while playing therewith, so that the shaft
36
a
rotatably engages a shaft receiving portion
23
a
formed in the inner wall of the chamber
23
. The shaft receiving portion
23
a
is shown in the sectional view of
FIG. 6
although it is not shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG.
4
.
The respective parts with the above described constructions are previously assembled except for the toner cartridge
16
. The drive unit
20
is assembled to be mounted on the one end side
17
a
of the cartridge receiving portion
17
, and the inlet holder
18
having the biasing lever
19
is mounted on the other end portion
17
b
. The drive mechanism
25
of the drive unit
20
is mounted on the inside and outside of the chamber
23
separated by the partition wall
21
a
of the holder
21
, to constitute the gear systems
30
and
31
. The holder guide
35
is provided between the partition wall
21
a
of the holder
21
and the engaging partition wall
21
b
engaging the flange portion
35
c
of the holder guide
35
while the disk
36
of the holder guide
35
is mounted. While all of the parts are combined with the holder
21
, the holder
21
is covered with the holder cover
22
to be fixed by the shown screw to be assembled, and thereafter, the assembly is fixed to the one end side
17
a
of the cartridge receiving portion
17
.
Referring to
FIGS. 5 through 7C
, the operations for attaching and detaching the toner cartridge
16
on and from the toner supply device with the above described construction will be described. First, in order to attach the toner cartridge
16
on the drive unit
20
, after the toner cartridge
16
is horizontally arranged to be sufficiently shaken, the toner cartridge
16
is inserted into the guide hole
18
A of the inlet holder
60
from the side of the cap
160
as shown in FIG.
5
. At this time, if the toner cartridge is inserted so that the protruding positioning portion
63
of the cylindrical container
60
is coincident with the recessed portion
18
C of the inlet holder
18
, the discharging hole
161
of the cap
160
is inserted while remaining facing upwards. However, since the discharging hole
161
of the cap
160
is closed by the ring-shaped cover
165
at this time, the cover
165
can also prevent the toner from leaking.
FIG. 6
is a plan view showing the state that the tip portion of the toner cartridge
16
engages the drive unit
20
, which is viewed from the top of
FIG. 5
to show the holder
21
and the toner cartridge
16
while the holder cover
22
is removed. This figure shows a cross section of only the holder guide
35
and the cover
165
of the cap
160
. If the cartridge
16
is further inserted from the position shown in
FIG. 6
, the protruding portion
163
serving as the positioning portion engages the recessed portion
36
b
of the disk
36
to cause the tip end surface of the cap
160
to push the disk
36
.
Slightly before this, the engaging protrusion
35
d
formed on the inner peripheral surface of the holder guide
35
engages the outer stopper
166
b
of the elastic tongue piece of the cover
165
. Thus, the cover
165
slides while the protrusion
167
is guided by the groove
164
shown in
FIG. 3
, so that the discharging hole
161
is open. Thus, the discharging hole
161
is open in the holder guide
35
, and the discharging hole
161
is coincident with the supply hole
35
a
of the holder guide immediately after the discharging hole
161
is open. In this state, the protrusion
31
a
of the gear set
31
engages the hole formed by the cut-out
21
c
of the holder
21
and the cut-out of the holder cover
22
facing the cut-out
21
c
. In
FIG. 6
, the cover
165
moves to the right with respect to the cap
160
, so that the inner stopper
166
a
abuts on the engaging portion
162
b
. If the cartridge
16
is further thrust, the upper stopper
166
b
moves to the left in the figure to pass over the engaging protrusion
35
d
to a position shown in, e.g., FIG.
7
A.
Referring to
FIG. 6
again, when the toner cartridge
16
is further thrust as described above, while the tip end surface of the cap
160
presses the disk
36
while the protruding portion
163
engages the recessed portion
36
b
, the shaft portion
36
a
contacts the shaft receiving portion
23
a
against the spring force of the spring
32
to be positioned. In this state, the gear set
31
need on the shaft portion
36
a
meshes with the fourth gear
30
d
of the gear set
30
. This state is shown in FIG.
7
A. By driving the motor
26
in this state, the torque of the motor is transmitted by the drive mechanism
26
comprising the gear sets
30
and
31
to rotate the cap
160
and the cylindrical container
60
.
Referring to
FIGS. 7A through 7C
, the operation of detaching the toner cartridge by the drive unit
20
will be described below. In the conventional toner supply device, it is required to stop the rotation of the toner cartridge at a position, at which the discharging hole and the supply hole face upwards, so as to prevent the toner from leaking from the discharging hole of the cap and the supply hole of the holder guide. However, in the first preferred embodiment of a toner supply device according to the present invention, the rotation of the toner cartridge
16
can be stopped even if the discharging hole
161
is arranged at any rotational positions.
That is, although the toner cartridge
16
can be stopped even if the supply hole
35
a
of the holder guide
35
and the discharging hole
161
of the cap
160
are arranged at any positions, if the toner cartridge
16
is intended to be detached in this state, the toner cartridge
16
can not be detached since the recessed portion
18
C of the inlet holder provided at the other end portion of the toner cartridge
16
is not coincident with the protruding positioning portion
63
of the container
60
.
When the toner cartridge
16
is detached, the biasing lever
19
mounted on the inlet guide
18
is first open. At this time, the toner cartridge
16
, the holder guide
35
, the disk
36
and the gear set
31
are moved by the spring
32
by 4.5 mm in the direction shown by the arrow. By this movement by 4.5 mm, the gear
30
D is disengaged from the gear set
31
, so that the toner cartridge
16
can freely rotate.
Then, by freely rotating the toner cartridge
16
to cause the recessed portion
18
C of the inlet guide
18
to be coincident with the protruding positioning portion
63
of the container
60
, the toner cartridge
16
can be detached. At this time, since the toner cartridge
16
meshing with the disk
36
is rotated so that the protrusion
31
a
of the gear set
31
is coincident with the position of the engaging hole which is formed by the cut-out
21
c
of the partition wall
21
a
of the holder
21
and the cutout of the holder cover
22
facing the cut-out
21
c
, the toner cartridge
16
, the holder guide
35
and the gear set
31
are further moved by the spring
32
by 2.5 mm in the direction shown by the arrow (therefore, the total quantity of movement is 7 mm).
Thus, even if the toner cartridge
16
is detached, the holder guide
35
is fixed at the lower position so that the supply hole
35
a
faces upwards. Therefore, when a new toner cartridge
16
is inserted, the discharging hole
161
is always coincident with the supply hole
35
a
since the holder guide
35
is positioned.
In addition, when the drive mechanism is operated while the toner cartridge
16
is detached, the gear set
31
is disengaged from the gear
30
d
, so that the holder guide
35
does not rotate. Therefore, the supply hole
35
a
is not shifted, and the gears are not damaged.
Thus, when the toner cartridge
16
is attached and detached without providing the holder guide
35
with any detection mechanisms, the holder guide
35
can be always fixed at a predetermined position. Thus, even if the toner cartridge
16
is detached at any positions, when the toner cartridge
16
is attached again, if the toner cartridge
16
is attached while the protruding positioning portion
63
of the toner cartridge
16
is coincident with the recessed portion
18
C of the inlet holder
18
, the toner cartridge can be driven while the discharging hole
161
is coincident with the supply hole
35
a.
In this state, the discharging hole
161
of the toner cartridge
16
is gradually being closed by the cover
165
shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
7
B. If this is further extracted, the discharging hole
161
is completely closed as shown in
FIG. 7C
, so that the discharging hole
161
can remain being closed when the toner cartridge
161
is extracted. In this state, if the disk
36
is further moved by 2.5 mm by the biasing force of the spring
32
, the toner cartridge
16
is moved by “4.5+2.5=7 mm” toward the inlet holder
18
as shown in FIG.
7
C. In this state, since the bottom portion of the toner cartridge
16
is protruded by at least 7 mm from the inlet holder
18
, if the user holds and extracts the bottom portion of the cylindrical container
60
of the toner cartridge
16
, the used toner cartridge
16
can be extracted.
The closing of the discharging hole
161
of the cap
160
by the cover
165
during extraction of the toner cartridge
16
is described as follows.
Since the outer stopper
160
of the cover
165
contacts the engaging protrusion
35
d
when the cartridge
16
is extracted in
FIG. 7A
, the cover
165
holds its position, and only the cartridge
16
moves to the right so as to be extracted as can be seen from FIG.
7
B. Then, the inner stopper
166
a
contacts the engaging portion
162
a
of the cap
160
as can be seen from FIG.
7
C. When the cartridge
16
is further extracted, the outer stopper
166
b
passes over the engaging protrusion
35
d
in the right direction in the figure. Thus, the state shown in
FIG. 6
is obtained.
As described above, the toner cartridge
16
is inserted into or detached from the drive unit
20
, i.e., the copying machine. An example thereof can be seen from, e.g.,
FIGS. 8 through 10
. That is,
FIG. 8
shows the mounting state of the toner cartridge
16
, which is extracted as shown in
FIG. 9
, and the extraction is completed as shown in FIG.
10
. The insertion can be understood by viewing
FIGS. 10
,
9
and
8
in that order.
FIGS. 11B and 11C
are views taken along lines B—B and C—C of
FIG. 11A
, respectively. On the basis of these figures, the circumferential direction phase relationship (positional relationship) between the drive holds
36
b
,
36
b
of the drive plate
36
and the protrusions
163
,
163
of the cap
160
, and the phase relationship (positional relationship) between the supply hole
35
a
of the holder guide
35
and the discharging hole
161
of the cap
160
will be described below.
FIG. 11A
schematically shows the holder guide
35
, the cap
160
and the cylindrical container
60
. As can be seen from
FIG. 11B
, in the holder guide
35
, the drive plate
36
is stopped so that the drive holes
36
b
,
36
b
are arranged vertically.
On the other hand, as shown in
FIG. 11A
, in the toner cartridge
16
positioned during attachment or detachment, the discharging hole
161
faces upwards, and the protrusions
163
,
163
are arranged vertically. Therefore, when the toner cartridge
16
is mounted on the drive unit
20
, the protrusions
163
,
163
of the cap
160
engage the drive holes
36
b
,
36
b
of the drive plate
36
, and the supply hole
35
a
of the holder guide
35
is coincident with the discharging hole
161
of the cap
160
.
On the other hand, as shown in
FIG. 11A
, if protrusions are provided on the cap
160
at the positions of
163
a
,
163
a
in place of the protrusions
163
,
163
, the protrusions thus provided do not engage the vertically arranged drive holes
36
b
,
36
b
of the drive plate shown in FIG.
11
. At this time, the drive holes must be formed in the drive plate
36
at the positions of
36
b
(
2
),
36
b
(
2
) as shown in FIG.
11
B.
This is the same with respect to the protrusions
163
b
,
163
b
and the drive holes
36
b
(
2
),
26
b
(
2
).
That is, the foregoing can be applied to, e.g., destination.
For example, a first set of drive holes
36
b
,
36
b
and protrusions
163
,
163
are provided in a product for a first region, and a second set of drive holes
36
b
(
1
),
36
b
(
1
) and protrusions
163
a
,
163
a
, and a third set of drive holes
36
b
(
2
),
36
b
(
2
) and protrusions
163
b
,
163
b
are provided in products for second and third regions. Thus, for example, if a toner cartridge
16
for the second region is intended to be used for a product for the first region, if the toner cartridge
16
is slightly twisted with respect to the derive unit
20
, the protrusions
163
a
,
163
a
can not be inserted into the drive holes
36
,
36
. However, in this state, although the cartridge
16
can be driven, the supply hole
35
a
is shifted from the discharging hole
161
, so that the toner can not be supplied. Finally, the toner cartridge
16
can not be used.
FIG. 12A
shows another method using the inlet guide
160
and the cylindrical container
60
as a way of destination.
In the case of a product for the first region, the cap
160
is attached on or detached from the cylindrical container
60
by the engagement of a groove
160
a
formed in the cap
160
with a protrusion
60
a
formed on the container
60
. In the mounting state, the cap
160
and cylindrical container
60
as a cartridge are inserted into or removed from the inlet guide
18
. At this time, the positioning portion
63
and the expanded portion
18
A(
1
) of the bole
18
A of the inlet guide
18
are formed to face upwards in the figure. Thus, in the toner cartridge
16
passing through the inlet guide
18
, the discharging hole
161
faces upwards to overlap with the supply hole
35
a
of the holder guide
35
. On the other hand, in the case of another product for the second region, as shown in
FIG. 12B
, the groove of the cap
160
is provided at the position of
160
b
in place of the groove
160
a
. At this time, the positioning portion of the cylindrical container
60
is provided at the position of
63
a
in place of the positioning portion
63
, and the expanded portion of the hole
18
A of the inlet guide is provided at the position of
18
A(
2
) in place of the expanded portion
18
A(
1
). Thus, if the toner cartridge
16
is intended to pass through the inlet guide
18
for the first or second region, the discharging hole
161
faces upwards, so that the position of the holder guide
35
is coincident with the position of the supply hole
35
a
. However, for example, if the cartridge
16
for the first region is intended to be mounted on a copying machine for the second region, the cartridge
16
must be twisted when passing through the inlet guide
18
. Although the cartridge
16
can pass through the inlet guide
18
, the discharging hole
161
is shifted from the supply hole
35
a
, so that the toner can not be supplied. Thus, destination can be rightly carried out.
Furthermore, when the positioning portion
63
is provided on the cylindrical container
63
of the toner cartridge, it is required to cause the positioning portion
63
to protrude outwards from a cylindrical container having a conventional diameter, in order to ensure the quantity of the toner. In accordance therewith, for example, as can be seen from
FIG. 10
, a hole expanded portion (relief)
18
A(
1
) for increasing the inner diameter is provided on the inlet guide
18
in order to position the protruding portion of the positioning portion
63
.
Claims
- 1. A toner cartridge for use in a toner supply device for supplying a toner to an image forming system for forming an optional image including characters and pictures with said toner, said toner cartridge comprising:a toner container having a cylindrical shape having an opening at a tip end thereof, said toner container being filled with a toner therein, said toner container having a spiral protruding portion formed in an inner peripheral surface thereof, and said toner container causing said toner, which is housed therein, toward said opening in an axial direction thereof when being rotated about an axis thereof; a substantially cup-shaped cap engaging said opening and having a toner discharging hole for discharging said toner carried in said toner container, said cap being fixed to said toner container at a predetermined positional relationship when said cap is mounted on said toner container, so that said discharging hole always faces in a predetermined direction when said toner container is turned in a certain rotational direction with respect to said axis thereof; and a cylindrical cover engaging said cap so as to reciprocate in axial directions with respect to said cap between a first position on a tip end side and a second position on a base end side, said cylindrical cover closing said discharging hole to prevent said toner from being discharged at said first position, and opening said discharging hole to allow said toner to be discharged at said second position.
- 2. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cap having an engaging portion for receiving a force for rotating said toner cartridge about an axis thereof, from said image forming system when said toner cartridge is mounted on said image forming system.
- 3. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 2, wherein said engaging portion comprises at least two protruding portions protruding from the top surface of said cap.
- 4. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 3, wherein said discharging hole is formed in the outer peripheral surface of said cap at a position on a line which is drawn between said two protruding portions and which is substantially perpendicular to said axis.
- 5. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cap has protrusions on tip and base end sides along a bus line on an outer peripheral surface, and said cylindrical cover is movable in axial directions between said two protrusions to abut on said protrusions.
- 6. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 5, wherein said two protrusions of said cap are formed at positions shifted from said discharging hole of said cap by substantially 90 degrees.
- 7. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 5, wherein said cover has at least two substantially U-shaped cut-outs formed in a peripheral portion thereof to form tongue pieces serving as elastic cantilevers, each of said tongue pieces having external and internal stoppers formed on the outer surface and reverse surface thereof in the vicinity of an end thereof, said internal stopper being slidable between said two protrusions of said cap to abut on said protrusions.
- 8. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 1, wherein a groove and a protrusion, which extend in axial directions and which engage with each other, are formed in an outer peripheral surface of said cap and an inner peripheral surface of said cylindrical cover, respectively, said cylindrical cover being attached to and detached from said cap by sliding said groove and said protrusion while said groove engages said protrusion, so that the relationship between the relative rotations of said cap and said cylindrical cover about an axes thereof is regulated to be a predetermined relationship.
- 9. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 1, wherein a seal for decreasing a gap between said cover and said cap is provided between said cover and said cap, said seal having a cut-out which overlaps said discharging hole to inhibit leakage of said toner when said discharging hole is closed by said cover.
- 10. A toner cartridge as set forth in claim 1, wherein a protruding positioning portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of said toner container at a predetermined position, said discharging hole being turned in a predetermined direction by turning said toner cartridge about the axis thereof on the basis of said positioning portion, said toner cartridge being attachable and detachable in this state.
- 11. A toner supply device for supplying a toner to an image forming system for forming an optional image including characters and pictures with said toner, said toner supply device comprising a toner cartridge and a drive unit for rotating said toner cartridge, said toner cartridge comprising:a toner container having a cylindrical shape having an opening at a tip end thereof, said toner container being filled with a toner therein, said toner container having a spiral protruding portion formed in an inner peripheral surface thereof, and said toner container causing said toner, which is housed therein, toward said opening in an axial direction thereof when being rotated about an axis thereof; a substantially cup-shaped cap engaging said opening and having a toner discharging hole for discharging said toner carried in said toner container, said cap being fixed to said toner container at a predetermined positional relationship when said cap is mounted on said toner container, so that said discharging hole always faces in a predetermined direction when said toner container is turned in a certain rotational direction with respect to said axis thereof; and a cylindrical cover engaging said cap so as to reciprocate in axial directions with respect to said cap between a first position on a tip end side and a second position on a base end side, said cylindrical cover closing said discharging hole to prevent said toner from being discharged at said first position, and opening said discharging hole to allow said toner to be discharged at said second position, said drive unit comprising a holder guide for receiving said toner cartridge, and a drive body for rotating said toner cartridge about the axis thereof in the inserted state, and said holder guide having cover forced closing means for contacting said cover to hove said cover in the axial direction thereof toward the base end side to open said discharging hole when said toner cartridge is inserted, and for contacting said cover to move said cover in the axial direction thereof toward the tip end to close said discharging hole when said toner cartridge is extracted.
- 12. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 11, wherein said cap of said toner cartridge and said drive body of said drive unit having engaging means, which engage with each other, for transmitting a driving force from said drive unit to said toner cartridge when said toner cartridge is mounted on said drive unit.
- 13. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 12, wherein said engaging means comprises at least two protruding portions protruding from the top surface of said cap, and at least two drive grooves for receiving said protruding portions formed in said drive body.
- 14. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 13, wherein said discharging hole is formed in the outer peripheral surface of said cap at a position on a line which is drawn between said two protruding portions and which is substantially perpendicular to said axis.
- 15. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 13, wherein said drive unit and said toner cartridge are formed as a pair according to destination, said drive body of said drive unit of said pair of said drive unit and said toner cartridge being stopped at a predetermined rotational position during said drive body is stopped,said two protruding portions of said toner cartridge being formed at positions, at which said two protruding- portions engage said drive grooves of said drive body when said discharging hole faces upwards, said engagement being not carried out in said cartridge for different destination.
- 16. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 11, wherein said cap has protrusions on tip and base end sides along a bus line on an outer peripheral surface, and said cover is associated with said forced closing means of said drive unit to be movable in axial directions between said two protrusions to abut on said protrusions.
- 17. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 16, wherein said two protrusions of said cap are formed at positions shifted from said discharging hole of said cap by substantially 90 degrees.
- 18. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 15, wherein said cover has at least two substantially U-shaped cut-outs formed in a peripheral portion thereof to form tongue pieces serving as elastic cantilevers, each of said tongue pieces having external and internal stoppers formed in the vicinity of a tip end thereof, said internal stopper being associated with said forced closing means of said drive unit to be slidable between said protrusions of said cap to abut on said protrusions.
- 19. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 16, wherein said forced closing means of said drive unit having at least two engaging protrusions protruding from the inner surface of said holder guide at substantially facing positions, said two engaging protrusions contacting an outer stopper of a tongue piece of said cover to stop the movement of said cover to move only said cap from said first position to said second position to open said discharging hole when said cap and cover of said toner cartridge are inserted into said holder guide, said outer stopper passing over said engaging protrusions to allow said cover and said cap to be integrally inserted into said holder guide after said cap is moved to said second position, said outer stopper engaging said engaging protrusions to stop the movement of said cover to move only said cap in an extracted direction from said second position to said first position to close said discharging hole when said toner cartridge is extracted, said outer stopper passing over said engaging protrusions in the extracted direction to allow said cover and said cap to be integrally extracted to the outside after said cap is moved to said first position.
- 20. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 11, wherein a groove and a protrusion, which extend in axial directions and which engage with each other, are formed in an outer peripheral surface of said cap and an inner peripheral surface of said cylindrical cover, respectively, said cylindrical cover being attached to and detached from said cap by sliding said groove and said protrusion while said groove engages said protrusion, so that the relationship between the relative rotations of said cap and said cylindrical cover about an axes thereof is regulated to be a predetermined relationship.
- 21. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 11, wherein a seal for decreasing a gap between said cover and said cap is provided between said cover and said cap, said seal having a cut-out which overlaps said discharging hole to inhibit leakage of said toner when said discharging hole is closed by said cover.
- 22. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 11, wherein a protruding positioning portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of said toner container at a predetermined position, said discharging hole being turned in a predetermined direction by turning said toner cartridge about the axis thereof on the basis of said positioning portion, said toner cartridge being attachable on and detachable from said toner supply device in this state.
- 23. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 11, which further comprises an inlet guide having a guide hole for receiving said toner cartridge when said toner cartridge is attached on said drive unit, said inlet guide being associated with said toner cartridge for forming rotational position regulating means for allowing said toner cartridge to pass through said inlet guide when only said toner cartridge faces in a predetermined rotational direction.
- 24. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 23, wherein said rotational position regulating means comprises a positioning portion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of said toner container, and an expanded portion formed by expanding said guide hole of said inlet guide by cutting out a part of said guide hole.
- 25. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 24, wherein said toner container and said cap are attached and detached in a rotational positioned state.
- 26. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 25, wherein a groove and a protrusion, which extend in axial directions and which engage with each other, are formed in an outer peripheral surface of said toner container and an inner peripheral surface of said cap, respectively.
- 27. A toner supply device as set forth in claim 26, wherein when said toner container is attached on or detached from said toner supply device, if said toner supply device and said toner container have the same destination, when said toner cartridge is inserted into or removed from said inlet guide while being regulated by said rotational position regulating means in the state that said cap is mounted on said toner container, said discharging hole facing upwards, and protrusions of said cap being capable of being inserted into or removed from drive holes of said drive body.
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|
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Number |
Date |
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JP |
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JP |