TWI644185B - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

A toner cartridge comprises a cylinder, a sliding seat, a pivoting member and a resetting member. The first end of the cylinder is provided with an arcuate track, and the cylinder has an imaginary axis. The sliding seat is arranged on the track, and the sliding seat can slide along the track. The pivoting member comprises a pivoting portion pivoted on the sliding seat, an inner end portion positioned closer to the imaginary axis than the pivoting portion, and an outer end portion positioned closer to the imaginary axis than the pivoting portion, the pivoting member being slidable relative to the sliding seat A swivel between a retracted position and an everted position. The reset member is coupled to the pivot member and applies a pre-stress to the pivoting member to return to the retracted position. Thereby, the toner cartridge can be surely rotated to the position to be successfully combined with the electronic image forming apparatus, and the locking mechanism of the electronic image forming apparatus can be surely released.

Description

Toner cartridge

The present invention relates to an electronic imaging device, and more particularly to a toner cartridge for an electronic imaging device.

It is inevitable that documents need to be printed at work, and electronic imaging devices such as laser printers and inkjet printers become one of the necessary equipments for the office. These electronic imaging devices are composed of a plurality of members, and the toner cartridge is one of important members for achieving a printing function in an electronic image forming apparatus. Existing toner cartridges are usually detachable to allow users to replace or replenish toner. The user needs to assemble the toner cartridge into the electronic imaging device and then rotate it to the positioning to perform the printing operation smoothly. However, some toner cartridges are often unable to be rotated to a proper position, so that the wafer pins on the toner cartridge are not in contact with the corresponding pins on the electronic imaging device, and the drive assembly of the toner cartridge is not connected to the driving device of the electronic imaging device. Or, the toner discharge port of the toner cartridge is not in contact with the position of the powder inlet of the electronic imaging device, and the assembly problem occurs, and the electronic imaging device cannot smoothly drive the toner cartridge. On the other hand, some electronic imaging devices are provided with a locking mechanism which can block the rotation of the toner cartridge in addition to closing the powder inlet. Therefore, the locking mechanism needs to be unlocked during the assembly of the toner cartridge. In fact, the locking mechanism is often not completely removed, resulting in the failure of toner cartridge assembly.

In view of the above-described deficiencies, it is an object of the present invention to provide a toner cartridge which can be surely rotated to a position to be successfully combined with an electronic image forming apparatus and which can surely release the locking mechanism of the electronic image forming apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a toner cartridge comprising a cylinder, a sliding seat, a pivoting member and a resetting member. The first end of the barrel is provided with an arcuate track having an imaginary axis. The slide is mounted on the track, and the slide is slidable along the track. The pivoting member includes a pivoting portion pivotally mounted on the sliding seat, an inner end portion positioned closer to the imaginary axis than the pivoting portion, and an outer end portion positioned closer to the imaginary axis than the pivoting portion. The pivoting member is rotatable relative to the slider between a retracted position and an everted position. The reset member is coupled to the pivoting member and applies a pre-stress to the pivoting member to return to the retracted position.

Thereby, when the pivoting member is swung to the everted position by the external force, the locking mechanism of the electronic imaging device can be released, and after the toner cartridge is rotated, the pivoting member can move along with the sliding seat relative to the track and Continuously acting on the locking mechanism, the user can directly rotate the toner cartridge to the positioning.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a toner cartridge 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a cylinder 10, a carriage 30, a pivot member 40, and a reset member 60.

The tubular body 10 includes a tube portion 11 , a first end 13 is located at one end of the tube portion 11 , a second end 15 is located at the other end of the tube portion 11 , and an arcuate track 17 is disposed at the first end 13 . 19 is disposed at the second end 15, a powder outlet 21 is disposed on the tube portion 11 (shown in FIG. 16), and a powder cover member 23 is movably disposed on the tube portion 11. The tube portion 11 is for accommodating carbon powder and has an imaginary axis L which extends in the direction of the imaginary axis L. The design of the track 17 is various. In this embodiment, please refer to FIG. 3. The track 17 includes an axial rib 12 extending from the first end 13 and a limiting ring 14 disposed on the track. One end 13. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the axial rib 12 includes a second convex arc segment 12a, a second concave segment 12b is located at one end of the second convex arc segment 12a, and a second guiding oblique segment 12c is located at the first Between the two convex arc segments 12a and the second recess segments 12b. The limiting ring 14 includes a connecting portion 16 , a bridge portion 18 is disposed at two ends of the connecting portion 16 , and a radial flange 20 is disposed on the bridge portion 18 . The bridge portion 18 has two connecting plates 18a and an arc-shaped extending plate 18b extending axially from the top side of the two connecting plates 18a and extending and extending circumferentially. The extension plate 18b is positioned substantially corresponding to the axial ribs 12. 4 to 5, the distance from the first end 13 to the bottom side of the extension plate 18b is greater than the distance from the first end 13 to the top side of the axial rib 12, so that the bridge portion 18 A gap 22 is left between the axial ribs 12. The radial flange 20 includes a first convex arc segment 20a, a first recessed segment 20b at one end of the first convex arc segment 20a, and a first conductive oblique segment 20c at the first convex arc segment 20a and the first Between a recessed section 20b. Referring to FIG. 1 , the handle 19 has two pivoting portions 24 pivotally disposed on the second end 15 of the tubular body 10 , a handhold portion 26 connecting the two pivoting portions 24 , and a positioning block 28 protruding from the handheld portion 26 outside the perimeter. The distance between the positioning block 28 and the two pivoting portions 24 is not equal. Referring to FIG. 1 , the powder discharging cover 23 can close the powder discharging port 21 to block the carbon powder in the pipe portion 11 from being discharged through the powder discharging port 21 .

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the carriage 30 is attached to the rail 17 and slidable along the rail 17. The slider 30 has a plurality of designs. In this embodiment, the slider 30 includes a first wall portion 31, an upper portion 33 is connected to the top of the first wall portion 31, and a lower portion 35 is connected to the first portion. A bottom portion of the wall portion 31 and a second wall portion 37 connect the upper and lower connecting portions 33, 35. The bottom of the first and second wall portions 31, 37 is provided with a sliding slot 32 for the axial rib 12 to extend into (as shown in FIG. 10), so that the sliding bracket 30 is radially limited by the axial rib. 12, and the carriage 30 is maintained at a fixed distance F from the imaginary axis L during sliding (as shown in Figures 9 and 14). In addition, the first and second wall portions 31, 37 and the upper and lower connecting portions 33, 35 together define a pivoting groove 34 (shown in FIG. 3).

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 9 , the pivoting member 40 is received in the pivoting slot 34 of the sliding seat 30 . The pivoting member 40 includes a pivoting portion 41 pivotally connected to the first wall portion 31 of the sliding seat 30 . The position of the second wall portion 37 and the inner end portion 43 is closer to the imaginary axis L than the pivot portion 41, and the position of the outer end portion 45 is closer to the imaginary axis L than the pivot portion 41. An abutting portion 47 is located between the pivoting portion 41 and the outer end portion 45, and a second abutting portion 49 is located between the pivoting portion 41 and the first abutting portion 47 and partially extends into the sliding portion A sliding groove 32 of the seat 30 (shown in FIG. 10) and a protruding post 51 are disposed beside the pivoting portion 41. Referring to FIG. 4, a portion of the pivoting member 40 passes through the slit 22, so that the pivoting member 40 is restricted by the axial rib 12 and the restricting ring 14 and can be retracted relative to the sliding seat 30. I (shown in Figures 4 and 10) and a valgus position O (shown in Figures 12 and 13). Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, when the pivoting member 40 is located at the retracted position I, the distance between the outer end portion 45 and the imaginary axis L is D1, and the first abutting portion 47 abuts against the first recessed portion. 20b, and the second abutting portion 49 abuts against the second recessed portion 12b (as shown in FIG. 10). On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 12 and 14, when the pivoting member 40 is located at the everted position O, the distance between the outer end portion 45 and the imaginary axis L is D2, and D1 is smaller than D2, assuming that the pivot member 40 is along the When the track 17 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 14 , the first abutting portion 47 abuts against the first convex arc segment 20 a , and the second abutting portion 49 abuts against the second convex arc segment 12 a .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the reset member 60 is connected at its two ends to the stud 51 of the pivot member 40 and the second wall portion 37 of the slide 30 . The resetting member 60 applies a pre-stress of the pivoting member 40 to the retracted position I. When the pivoting member 40 is not subjected to other external force, the pivoting member 40 is located at the retracted position I. When an external force is applied to the pivoting member 40, the external force overcomes the pre-stress of the restoring member 60 to pivot the pivoting member 40 toward the everted position O. It should be noted that the restoring member 60 is a tension spring. In other embodiments, the restoring member 60 can also be a spring element of a type such as a torsion spring or a compression spring, but the reset member 60 and the pivot member 40 are The connection manner of the sliding seat 30 needs to be adjusted accordingly, as long as the pivoting member 40 can be returned to the retracted position I.

Referring to Figures 6, 8, and 10, the toner cartridge 1 can be mounted in an electronic imaging device 80 (e.g., a printer, a photocopier, etc.). Hereinafter, the upper right side of FIG. 6 is defined as the inner side of the electronic imaging device 80, and the lower left side of FIG. 6 is defined as the outer side of the electronic imaging device 80. The electronic imaging device 80 includes a housing 81 for receiving the toner cartridge 1 and a side cover 83 disposed on one side of the housing 81 and located at the inner end 82a of the receiving space 82. A connecting rod 85 is movably disposed on the side of the accommodating space 82, and a spring 87 abuts against the side cover 83 and the door connecting rod 85 (shown in FIG. 10) at both ends thereof, and a powder slippery The cover 89 is movably disposed on the side of the accommodating space 82. The housing 81 is provided with a plurality of inlets 84 communicating with the accommodating space 82, and the opening edge of the set of inlets 84 is provided with a positioning notch 86 for the positioning block 28 to extend. Referring to FIG. 7, the side cover 83 includes a cover 91, a protrusion 93 is disposed on the cover 91 for abutting against the inner end portion 43 of the pivot member 40, and an end chamber 95 is disposed on the cover 91. Located inwardly of the door link 85. The side cover 83 has a central axis A, and the distance from the central axis A to the outer edge of the protrusion 93 is D3, and the inner end portion 43 and the imaginary axis L when the pivoting member 40 is located at the retracted position I The distance is D4, and D3 is greater than D4 (as shown in Figure 10). Referring to FIG. 10, the door link 85 includes a rod body 88, and an abutting portion 90 is disposed on the rod body 88 for the outer end portion 45 of the pivot member 40 to abut. Referring to FIG. 10, when the door link 85 is in a locked position B, the door link 85 can restrict the movement of the powder sliding cover 89; referring to FIG. 12, when the door link 85 is in a release position C , the powder slide cover 89 can be moved. The spring 87 is received in the end chamber 95 and applies a force to the door link 85 toward the lower side of the drawing. When the door link 85 is subjected to other external forces above the drawing, the spring 87 can be compressed. (As shown in Figure 12).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 10, before the toner cartridge 1 has been assembled into the electronic imaging device 80, the pivoting member 40 is located in the retracted position I only by the action of the reset member 60. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8, when the toner cartridge 1 is incorporated into the electronic imaging device 80, the pivot member 40 is oriented substantially toward the door link 85 to connect the toner cartridge 1 along the door. A rod 85 is incorporated into the electronic imaging device 80.

Referring to FIG. 11, the toner cartridge 1 is assembled into the electronic imaging device 80 toward the upper side of the drawing, the central axis A is overlapped with the imaginary axis L, and the pivoting member 40 at the retracted position I is at its inner end. 43 is pivoted toward the eversion position O by the protrusion 93, and the outer end portion 45 is pushed against the abutting portion 90 of the door link 85, so that the door link 85 extends together with the outer end portion 45. Into the end chamber 95. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 11, the toner cartridge 1 is rotated counterclockwise according to FIG. 6. The outer end portion 45 is limited to the side wall of the end chamber 95 so that the slider 30 and the pivot member 40 do not follow the The tube portion 11 rotates, i.e., the carriage 30 slides relative to the pivot member 40 with respect to the track 17. When the first guiding section 20c abuts the first abutting portion 47 and the second guiding section 12c abuts the second abutting portion 49, the pivoting member 40 further swings toward the everted position O. When the toner cartridge 1 accommodated in the accommodating space 82 is rotated by more than a predetermined angle (for example, 5 to 10 degrees), the pivoting member 40 is moved to the first and second convex arc segments 20a, 12a. Moved to the everted position O by the action of the track 17, the door link 85 is further abutted by the outer end portion 45 and extends into the end chamber 95 and is located at the release position C (as shown in FIG. 12). Show). In addition, since the powder cover member 23 is limited to the electronic imaging device 80 and does not rotate with the tube portion 11, the powder cover member 23 is removed after the tube portion 11 is rotated without shielding the powder discharge member. The port 21 (shown in FIG. 16), and the powder-sliding cover 89 not limited by the door link 85 is pushed by the rotating toner cartridge 1 to leave the powder inlet of the electronic imaging device 80 (not shown) Show). The toner cartridge 1 can be further rotated until the slider 30 is blocked by the restriction ring 14 and cannot move (as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14), at which time the positioning block 28 of the handle 19 is moved to the positioning notch 86 and Extending into the positioning notch 86 (as shown in FIG. 15), the powder outlet 21 is opposite to the position of the powder inlet port, that is, the positioning is completed.

Thereby, the user swings the toner cartridge 1 into the electronic imaging device 80 and rotates the toner cartridge 1. The pivot member 40 is rotated by the rail 17 and the bump 93 to the outside. Turning the position O, the pivoting member 40 extends into the end chamber 95 without rotating with the tube portion 11, so that the pivoting member 40 can continue to act on the door connecting rod 85 to release the restriction of the movement of the powder sliding cover 89. The user can easily rotate the toner cartridge 1 to the position shown in FIG. 15 at a time.

On the other hand, when the user wants to take out the toner cartridge from the electronic imaging device, please refer to FIG. 15 to rotate the toner cartridge 1 clockwise according to the drawing, and when the pivoting member 40 moves to the first and the first When the two guiding segments 20c, 12c, the restoring member 60 acts on the pivoting member 40 (the spring 87 also acts on the door connecting rod 85 to push against the pivoting member 40), and the pivoting member 40 faces the retracted position. I swings until the pivoting member 40 moves to the first and second recessed segments 20b, 12b (as shown in Figures 9 and 11). Referring to FIG. 6, the toner cartridge 1 can be separated from the accommodating space 82 along the lower left side of the drawing. Referring to FIG. 10, when the pivoting member 40 leaves the protruding block 93, the resetting member 60 can drive the pivot The pendulum 40 is moved to the retracted position I. In addition, when the pivoting member 40 leaves the door connecting rod 85, the door connecting rod 85 is moved by the spring 87 to the locking position B, so that the movement of the powder sliding cover 89 rotated to the position is restricted to be surely closed. The powder inlet. Thereby, the user can directly pull the toner cartridge 1 from the position shown in FIG. 15 to the position shown in FIG. 6, and the toner cartridge 1 can be pulled out. The operation is very simple, and the electronic imaging device 80 can be surely restored to the The state in which the toner 匣1 is not incorporated.

It should be noted that the structure of the toner cartridge 1 can be changed based on the spirit of the present invention. For example, the first abutting portion 47 and the radial flange 20, the second abutting portion 49 and the axial flange 12 are respectively configured to enable the pivoting member 40 to be located at the retracted position I or The eversion position O can be alternatively set in other embodiments (only the first abutment portion 47 and the radial flange 20 can be provided, or only the second abutment portion 49 and the axial flange can be provided 12); the pivoting member 40 can also be changed in shape so that it can be directly swung by the projection 93 to the everted position O, and the first abutting portion 47 and the radial flange can be omitted. The second abutting portion 49 and the axial flange 12; the first and second guiding segments 20c, 12c are respectively configured to enable the pivoting member 40 to be in the first convex arc, the recess 20a, 20b Smoothly moving between the second convex arc and the recesses 12a, 12b, but the first and second guiding inclined sections 20c, 12c may be disposed alternatively or not; the sliding seat 30 may slide along the rail 17 The structure is not limited to the sliding groove 32 and the axial rib 12, and any type of sliding rail design can be applied; the bridge portion 18 is used for the radial flange 20, but there may be other fixing of the radial direction. The structure of the flange 20; The hand 19 may have other shape changes as long as the structure is convenient for the user to operate; the distance between the slider 30 and the imaginary axis L in this embodiment is fixed because the axial rib 12 is curved, but other implementations For example, the shape of the axial rib 12 can be appropriately adjusted, and the distance between the sliding seat 30 and the imaginary axis L can be changed as long as the pivoting member 40 can be swung to the everted position O (the top door is connected to the door) Rod 85).

The above is only the description of the embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any simple structural retouching or variation that does not depart from the spirit of the present invention is still within the scope of the patent application scope of the present invention.

1 toner crucible 10 cylinder 11 tube portion 12 axial rib 12a second convex arc segment 12b second recess portion 12c second guiding segment 13 first end 14 confinement ring 15 second end 16 connecting portion 17 rail 18 bridge Port 18a connecting plate 18b extension plate 19 handle 20 radial flange 20a first convex arc segment 20b first recessed segment 20c first guiding oblique segment 21 powder outlet 22 slit 23 powder cover member 24 pivoting portion 26 hand portion 28 positioning block 30 slider 31 first wall portion 32 chute 33 upper portion 34 pivoting groove 35 lower portion 37 second wall portion 40 pivot member 41 pivot Joint portion 43 inner end portion 45 outer end portion 47 first abutting portion 49 second abutting portion 51 boss 60 reset member 80 electronic imaging device 81 housing 82 housing space 82a inner end 83 side cover 84 group entrance 85 door link 86 positioning notch 87 spring 88 rod body 89 into powder sliding cover 90 receiving portion 91 cover body 93 bump 95 end chamber A center axis B locking position C release position D1, D2, D3 , D4, F distance I retraction position L imaginary axis O eversion position

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is another perspective view of a toner cartridge in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a partially exploded view of a toner cartridge in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a partial side elevational view of a toner cartridge in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a partial side elevational view of a toner cartridge according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, omitting the slider and the pivoting member. Figure 6 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge and a partial electronic imaging device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a perspective view of the side cover of the electronic imaging device. Figure 8 is another perspective view of a toner cartridge and a partial electronic imaging device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 9 to 14 are views showing the operation of the toner cartridge of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 15 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge and a partial electronic imaging device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 16 is another perspective view of a toner cartridge and a partial electronic imaging device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (17)

A toner cartridge comprises: a cylinder having a first end provided with an arcuate track, the cylinder having an imaginary axis; a carriage mounted on the track, the carriage being along the track a pivoting member includes a pivoting portion pivotally mounted on the sliding seat, an inner end portion positioned closer to the imaginary axis than the pivoting portion, and an outer end portion positioned away from the imaginary portion from the pivoting portion An axis, the pivoting member is rotatable relative to the sliding seat between an retracted position and an everted position; and a reset member coupled to the pivoting member and biasing the pivoting member to return to the retracted position Pre-force. The toner cartridge of claim 1, wherein the pivoting member further comprises a first abutting portion between the pivoting portion and the outer end portion, the rail of the cylinder having a radial flange for the a first abutting portion of the pivoting member, the radial flange includes a first convex arc segment, and a first concave segment is located at one end of the first convex arc segment, when the first abutting portion is adhered to In the first recessed section, the pivoting member is located in the retracted position, and when the first abutting portion abuts the first convex arcing portion, the pivoting member is located in the everted position. The toner cartridge of claim 2, wherein the radial flange of the rail further comprises a first guiding section between the first recessed section and the first convex arc section. The toner cartridge of claim 2, wherein the carriage comprises a chute, and the rail of the cylinder includes an axial rib extending into the chute. The toner cartridge of claim 4, wherein the pivoting member includes a second abutting portion between the pivoting portion and the first abutting portion and extending into the sliding slot, the axial rib for The second abutting portion is in contact with the second convex portion, and the second concave portion is located at one end of the second convex portion, when the second abutting portion is attached to the first portion In the second recessed section, the pivoting member is located at the retracted position, and when the second abutting portion abuts the second convex arcing portion, the pivoting member is located at the everted position. The toner cartridge of claim 5, wherein the axial rib further comprises a second guiding segment between the second concave segment and the second convex arc segment. The toner cartridge of claim 4, wherein the rail further comprises a bridge portion corresponding to the axial rib, and the radial flange is disposed on the bridge portion, the bridge portion and the axial rib There is a gap between them for the pivoting member to pass through. The toner cartridge of claim 7, wherein the rail of the cylinder comprises the axial rib extending from the first end, and a limiting ring is disposed at the first end, the limiting ring having the bridge And the radial flange. The toner cartridge of claim 1, wherein the reset member is a tension spring. The toner cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a handle, the handle has two pivoting portions pivoted on a second end of the tubular body, and a positioning block protruding from the outer periphery of the handle, the positioning The distance between the block and the two pivoting portions is not equal. The toner cartridge of claim 1 is disposed in an electronic imaging device, the electronic imaging device includes a receiving space for receiving the toner cartridge, and a bump is disposed in the receiving space. The inner end is configured to abut the inner end of the pivoting member, a door link is disposed beside the receiving space, and an end chamber is located inwardly of the door link, the door link has an abutting portion, When the carbon powder is placed in the accommodating space, the pivoting member located at the retracted position is swung by the convex portion and is swung toward the everted position, so that the outer end portion is pushed against the door connecting rod. Abutting portion, the door connecting rod and the outer end portion projecting into the end chamber, and when the toner cartridge accommodated in the accommodating space rotates more than a predetermined angle, the pivoting member is moved by the rail To the everted position, the door link is further extended into the end chamber. The toner cartridge of claim 1, wherein the carriage comprises a chute, and the rail of the cylinder includes an axial rib extending into the chute. The toner cartridge of claim 12, wherein the pivoting member includes a second abutting portion between the pivoting portion and the outer end portion and extending into the sliding slot, the axial rib for the first The axial rib includes a second convex arc segment, and a second concave segment is located at one end of the second convex arc segment, and the second abutting portion abuts against the second recessed portion In the segment, the pivoting member is located in the retracted position, and when the second abutting portion abuts the second convex arcing portion, the pivoting member is located in the everted position. The toner cartridge of claim 13, wherein the axial rib further comprises a second guiding segment between the second concave segment and the second convex arc segment. The toner cartridge of claim 1, wherein the carriage maintains a fixed distance from the imaginary axis during sliding along the track. The toner cartridge of claim 1, wherein when the pivoting member is in the retracted position, the distance between the outer end portion and the imaginary axis is D1, and when the pivoting member is in the everted position, the outer end is The distance between the portion and the imaginary axis is D2, and D1 < D2. The toner cartridge of claim 1, wherein the reset member is further connected to the slider.