WO2013044728A1 - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

A toner cartridge comprises: a cartridge body, having a toner accommodation part; a toner outlet, arranged at the bottom of the cartridge body and used for discharging a toner in the toner accommodation part; a gate, arranged on the cartridge body and capable of opening and closing the toner outlet; a handle, arranged at one end part of the cartridge body and rotatable to enable the gate to open and close the toner outlet; a locking device, arranged on the cartridge body and comprising an elastic member (42), a moving member (41) and a limiting member (43). The moving member (41) is movable between a locked position and a released position of the limiting member (43). The elastic member (42) applies a restoring force to the moving member (41). The handle has a part matching with the moving member (41). The handle rotates and drives, through the matching part, the moving member (41) to overcome the restoring force of the elastic member (42) and move between the released position and the locked position. When the gate is at an open position, the locking device is at the locked position; and when the gate is at a closed position, the locking device is at the released position.

Description

 Toner cartridge

The present invention relates to a toner cartridge for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The present invention is based on a Chinese patent application filed on Sep. 28, 2011, filed on Jan. 28, 2011, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus generally has an image processing unit and a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image processing unit by using a developer such as toner supplied from a developing unit to form a visible image on a medium such as paper. Among them, toner as a consumable needs to be continuously replenished into an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Toner is supplied to the developing unit by a toner cartridge having a toner containing a certain amount of toner which is detachably mounted to the developing unit in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional toner cartridge has a casing 10 having a toner accommodating portion for accommodating toner, and a powder outlet for discharging carbon powder in the toner accommodating portion at the bottom, on the casing 10. The utility model has a gate 101 for opening and closing the powder outlet and a handle 102 for operating the gate 101. After the toner cartridge is mounted to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the handle 102 is rotated to open the powder discharge port of the shutter 101, and the toner contained in the toner accommodating portion is supplied to the developing unit. Before taking out the toner cartridge from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the handle 102 needs to be rotated to close the powder gate of the shutter 101, such as taking out the toner cartridge when the powder outlet of the toner cartridge is opened, and the toner of the toner receiving portion. Leakage from the powder outlet at the bottom of the casing 10 causes environmental pollution. In order to prevent the toner cartridge from being taken out when the powder outlet is in an open state, the handle 102 is provided with a protrusion 103 for cooperating with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the toner cartridge is locked when the powder outlet is open, and the toner cartridge cannot be Removed from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the toner cartridge can be taken out only when the powder outlet is closed.

The protrusion 103 of the toner cartridge locking function shown in FIG. 1 is disposed on the handle 102, since the handle 102 needs to be rotated to cause the shutter 101 to open and close the powder outlet, so that the locking position is changed, and the projection portion on the electrophotographic image forming apparatus The locking portion of the 103 mating portion also needs to be disposed along the path through which the projection portion 103 is rotated, and at the same time, the projection portion 103 on the toner cartridge handle 102 and the locking portion of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus cannot interfere with the mounting process of the toner cartridge. That is, the protrusion portion 103 on the toner cartridge handle 102 and the locking portion of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus should be disposed such that when the shutter 101 is in a state in which the powder discharge port is closed, the two do not interfere in the mounting direction of the toner cartridge; When the shutter 101 is in a state of opening or partially opening the powder outlet, the two interfere in the mounting direction of the toner cartridge. This places high demands on the accuracy of toner cartridges and electrophotographic imaging equipment. In addition, since the handle 102 needs to operate the gate 101 to open and close the powder outlet, the protrusion 103 is further disposed on the handle 102, so that the handle structure is complicated, the production precision is high, and the production cost is high.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner cartridge which is simple in structure and low in production cost.

In order to achieve the above object, a toner cartridge provided by the present invention includes a cartridge body having a toner accommodating portion; a powder discharging port disposed at a bottom portion of the cartridge body for discharging the toner contained in the toner accommodating portion; and being disposed on the cartridge body Opening and closing the gate of the powder outlet; a handle disposed at one end of the casing to rotate the gate to open and close the powder outlet; and a locking device disposed on the casing, including an elastic member, a moving member and a limiting member, The moving member is movable between a locked position defined by the limiting member and an unlocked position, the elastic member applies a restoring force to the moving member; the handle has a portion that cooperates with the moving member, and when the handle rotates, the engaging portion drives the moving member to overcome the recovery of the elastic member The force moves between the unlocked position and the locked position; when the shutter is in the open position, the locking device is in the locked position; when the shutter is in the closed position, the locking device is in the unlocked position.

A more specific solution is that the resilient member forces the moving member to the unlocked position and the rotation of the handle moves the moving member toward the locked position.

In an initial state in which the toner cartridge is mounted to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the moving member is in an unlocked position, and in a process of rotating the handle to cause the shutter to open the powder outlet, the handle cooperates with the moving member and moves the moving member to the locked position and remains in the position. Therefore, when the toner cartridge is taken out at this time, the moving member interferes with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the toner cartridge cannot be taken out. Only when the handle is turned back to the state in which the gate completely closes the powder outlet, the handle side is disengaged from the moving member, and the moving member is moved to the unlocked position by the restoring force of the elastic member, and the toner cartridge can be taken from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Take out inside.

Another more specific solution is that the resilient member forces the moving member to the locked position and the rotation of the handle moves the moving member toward the unlocked position.

In the initial state in which the toner cartridge is mounted to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the handle cooperates with the moving member to be in the unlocked position, and when the handle is rotated to open the powder outlet, the handle is disengaged from the moving member, and the elastic member makes the moving member Move to the locked position and stay in that position. Therefore, when the toner cartridge is taken out at this time, the moving member interferes with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the toner cartridge cannot be taken out. Only when the handle is turned back to the state in which the shutter closes the powder outlet, the handle side cooperates with the moving member and moves the moving member against the restoring force of the elastic member to the unlocked position, at which time the toner cartridge can be taken out from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus .

More specifically, the moving member includes a locking portion having a rounded corner facing the side of the casing. The setting of the rounded corners of the casing makes the toner cartridge installation easier to install, even when the toner cartridge is mounted, the moving member is not in the initial position but moved to the locked position, and the rounded portion is in line contact with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The moving member moves toward the unlocking position against the restoring force of the elastic member, and after the toner cartridge is mounted in position, the moving member moves to the locking position under the restoring force of the elastic member.

Another more specific solution is that the moving member includes a locking portion having a chamfered side facing the side of the casing. Similar to the rounded settings, making the toner cartridge easier to install.

Yet another more specific solution is that the elastic member is a spring. The elastic member may also be a member such as a spring piece, as long as the elastic force can be applied and the moving member is forced to the locked position or the unlocked position, and can be moved to the unlocked position or the locked position by an external force.

More specifically, the limiting member has a receiving cavity in which the moving member is located, and the spring is pressed between the limiting member and the moving member. The receiving chamber is for protecting the spring and the moving member.

The locking device of the present invention is disposed on the casing and does not rotate with the rotation of the handle, so that the locking position with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is fixed. When the shutter of the toner cartridge is in the closed position in which the powder outlet is completely closed, the handle or the elastic member causes the moving member to be in the unlocked position defined by the limiting member; when the shutter is in the open position, the elastic member or the handle limits the moving member The locked position defined by the member. The toner cartridge only needs to interfere with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in the mounting direction of the toner cartridge when its moving member is in the locked position. The manufacturing precision requirements of the toner cartridge and the electrophotographic image forming apparatus are lower than those of the prior art, and the structure of the handle is also simple, so that the production cost is low.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the prior art;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a structural view of a locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the handle of the embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the handle and locking device of the embodiment of the present invention, wherein the locking device is in the unlocked position;

Figure 6 is a view of the handle and locking device of the embodiment of the invention with the locking device in the locked position.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the toner cartridge includes a casing 1. The top of the casing 1 has an arrow indicating the installation direction of the toner cartridge, and the bottom of the casing 1 is provided with a powder outlet (not visible), and the gate 2 can open and close the powder. The port 1 is provided with a rail 11 for restricting the movement of the shutter 2. The handle 3 is located at the end of the casing 1 and is moved by the gear 31 (see FIG. 4) and the transition gear 5 to the tooth portion 21 on the gate 2 to move the gate 2 on the rail 11. The locking device 4 is disposed between the handle 3 and the casing 1 and is fixed to the casing 1.

Fig. 3 is a structural view of the locking device 4, and the members take the form of decomposition for the sake of clarity of expression. As shown in FIG. 3, the locking device 4 has a moving member 41, a spring 42, and a stopper member 43. A finite plane 411 is disposed on the moving member 41 for limiting the moving member 41 in the limiting member 43. The moving member 41 has two planes of different heights facing the handle side, wherein the portion of the higher surface is the positioning portion 412. The portion of the lower face is the locking portion 413, wherein the positioning portion 412 is engageable with the handle, and between the positioning portion 412 and the locking portion 413, there is a track surface 414 and a recess 415 that cooperate with the handle. The spring 42 is fixed in the accommodating chamber 433 of the limiting member 43, one end of which abuts on the protrusion 431 of the limiting member 43, and the other end abuts on the protrusion on the back side of the moving member 41, and the spring 42 applies to the moving member 41. Resilience to the locked position. The limiting member 43 is fixed to the casing, and the limiting surface 432 cooperates with the limiting surface 411 of the moving member 41 to restrain the moving member 41 in the accommodating chamber 433. In the present embodiment, the limiting member 43 is provided as a separate member, and it can be understood that the limiting member can also be integrally formed with the casing.

As shown in FIG. 4, the handle 3 has a gear 31 for engaging with the transition gear 5 to transmit a driving force, and a grip portion 32 away from the side of the casing for rotating the handle 3 at the gear 31 and the grip portion 32. There is a circular plate having a projecting surface 33 projecting to the outside of the casing, and a projection 34 is provided on the projecting surface 33 for engaging with the moving member 41 of the locking device. The two limiting faces 331 and 332 can be in contact with the stop member 43 of the locking device to define the angle at which the handle 3 is rotated.

Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the handle and locking device with the locking device 4 in the unlocked position. As shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 34 of the handle 3 is fitted into the recess 415 of the moving member 41, so that the moving member 41 is in the unlocked position against the restoring force of the spring 42, and one end of the spring abuts on the protrusion 431 of the limiting member 43, The other end abuts on the protrusion 416 of the moving member 41 to apply a restoring force to the moving member 41.

Figure 6 is a view of the handle and locking device with the locking device 4 in the locked position. As shown in Fig. 6, the projection 34 of the handle 3 is disengaged from the moving member 41, and the moving member 41 holds the moving member 41 in the locked position by the restoring force of the spring 42. The limiting surface 411 of the moving member 41 is in contact with the limiting surface 431 of the limiting member 43 to restrict further movement of the moving member 41.

When the toner cartridge of the embodiment is mounted to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the handle 3 and the locking device 4 are located at the initial position shown in FIG. After the toner cartridge is in place, the handle 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 2, and the rotation of the handle 3 is transmitted to the shutter 2 through the gear 31 and the transition gear 5, causing the shutter 2 to move from the closed position to the open position. The protrusion 34 on the handle 3 is disengaged from the recess 415 of the moving member 41, and the moving member 41 is moved toward the locking position by the restoring force of the spring 42. The upper surface 412 of the moving member 41 is kept in contact with the protruding surface 33 of the handle 3 and is relatively slid. The track surface 414 is in contact with and moves relative to the protrusion 34 of the handle 3. As the handle 3 is further rotated, the track surface 414 is out of contact with the protrusion 34 of the handle 3, and the moving member 41 is moved to the locked position, and the limiting surface 411 is limited. The stopper surface 431 of the position member 43 is in contact with each other and cannot be moved further. When the toner cartridge is taken from the inside of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow on the casing 1, the locking portion 413 of the moving member 41 and the electron are used. The photographic imaging device is in contact and cannot remove the toner cartridge. The handle 3 continues to rotate so that the shutter 2 fully opens the powder outlet, the protruding surface 33 of the handle 3 is kept in contact with and sliding relative to the positioning portion 412 of the moving member 41, and the moving member 41 of the locking device 4 remains in the locked position and no longer moves. . When the gate 2 is fully opened to the state of the powder outlet, the position of the handle 3 and the locking device 4 is as shown in FIG. At this time, the stopper surface 332 of the handle 3 comes into contact with the stopper member 43 and cannot be further rotated.

The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention includes but is not limited thereto, and any technical solution adopting an equivalent conversion or the like falls within the protection scope of the present invention.

When the toner cartridge is taken out from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the handle 3 is rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of the arrow A, and the shutter 2 is moved from the open position to the closed position by the gear 31 and the transition gear 5. The protruding surface 33 of the handle 3 is kept in contact with and slidably with the positioning portion 412 of the moving member 41, and the moving member 41 of the locking device 4 is held in the locked position. When the handle 3 is rotated to come into contact with the track surface 414 of the moving member 41, as the handle 3 rotates, the protrusion 34 of the handle 3 pushes the moving member 41 to move toward the unlocked position against the restoring force of the spring 42, the track surface 414 is opposite to the handle 3. The projection 34 slides, and when sliding to the recess 415 comes into contact with the projection 24 of the handle 3, the moving member 41 moves to the unlocked position, and the shutter 2 is in a state of completely closing the powder outlet. At this time, the stopper surface 331 of the handle 3 comes into contact with the stopper member 41 and cannot be further rotated. When the toner cartridge is taken out at this time, the locking portion 413 of the moving member 41 is retracted into the accommodating chamber 433 of the stopper member 43 without coming into contact with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, so that the toner cartridge can be taken out smoothly.

For ease of installation, the locking portion 413 of the moving member 41 is provided with a chamfered angle with respect to the side of the casing 1, so that the handle 3 is slightly displaced from the initial position, and the moving member 41 of the locking device 4 is in the locked position or the locked position and the unlocked position. The toner cartridge can also be smoothly mounted into the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. When the toner cartridge is mounted at this time, the chamfering angle of the locking portion 413 of the moving member 41 comes into line contact with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the moving member 41 can be pushed by the electrophotographic image forming apparatus to move toward the unlocking position against the restoring force of the spring 42, when the toner After the cartridge is mounted in position, the chamfer of the locking portion 413 of the moving member 41 is released from contact with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the moving member 41 is moved to the locked position by the restoring force of the spring 42. When the moving member 41 is in the locked position and the toner cartridge is taken out from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the locking portion 413 of the moving member 41 is in surface contact with the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, so that the moving member 41 is not pushed to the unlocked position, the toner The box cannot be removed. Only when the handle 3 is rotated until its projection 34 cooperates with the track surface 414 of the moving member 41, the moving member 41 moves to the unlocked position, and when the recess 415 is engaged with the protrusion 34 of the handle 3, the moving member 41 moves to the unlocked position, That is, when the shutter 2 completely closes the state of the powder outlet, the toner cartridge can be taken out from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. That is, the toner cartridge can be attached to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus when the shutter 2 does not completely close the powder discharge port, but must be taken out from the electrophotographic image forming apparatus when the shutter 2 is completely closed. This makes the toner cartridge easier to install.

The locking portion 413 of the moving member 41 is provided with rounded corners on the side of the casing 1 to have the same effect as the chamfering angle.

Claims (7)

Toner cartridge, including a casing having a toner receiving portion; a powder outlet, disposed at the bottom of the box for discharging the toner contained in the toner receiving portion; a gate disposed on the casing to open and close the powder outlet; a handle disposed at one end of the case, the handle being rotatable to position the shutter in an open position and a closed position; It is characterized by: a locking device disposed on the casing, comprising an elastic member, a moving member and a limiting member, the moving member being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position defined by the limiting member, the elastic member applying restoration Force to the moving member; The handle has a portion that cooperates with the moving member, and the fitting portion drives the moving member to move between the unlocked position and the locked position against a restoring force of the elastic member when the handle is rotated ; When the gate is in the open position, the locking device is in the locked position; The locking device is in the unlocked position when the gate is in the closed position. A toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein The resilient member forces the moving member to the unlocked position, and rotation of the handle moves the moving member toward the locked position. A toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: The resilient member forces the moving member to the locked position, and rotation of the handle moves the moving member toward the unlocked position. A toner cartridge according to claim 3, wherein: The moving member includes a locking portion having a rounded corner facing the side of the case. A toner cartridge according to claim 3, wherein: The moving member includes a locking portion having a chamfered surface facing the side of the casing. A toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The elastic member is a spring. A toner cartridge according to claim 6, wherein: The limiting member has a receiving cavity, the moving member is located in the receiving cavity, and the spring is pressed between the limiting member and the moving member.

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