WO2013078942A1 - Toner feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A toner feeding apparatus comprises: a main body (2) and a toner accommodating portion, the main body (2) having a toner feeding channel (3) provided therein, one of end portions of the toner feeding channel (3) being a toner inlet (31), and the other opposite end portion being a toner feeding opening (32); a transferring member, provided in the toner feeding channel (3) and used for transferring toner in the toner accommodating portion to the toner feeding opening from the toner inlet; and a drive mechanism, provided in the main body (2) and used for driving the transferring member.

Description

 Powder adding device

The present invention relates to a powder adding device, and more particularly to a powder adding device for powdering a toner cartridge for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The present invention is based on a Chinese patent application filed on Nov. 29, 2011, filed on Jan. 29, 2011, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes an image processing unit and a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the image processing unit by using a developer such as toner supplied from the 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. Generally, a toner cartridge having a certain amount of toner detachably mounted in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is supplied to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and a toner holder for stirring the toner is generally provided in the toner accommodating portion of the toner cartridge. . After the toner in the toner accommodating section is used up, a new toner cartridge needs to be replaced to continue to supply toner to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the old toner cartridge is discarded because it cannot function, but at this time, the toner cartridge is inside. The lifespan of the various components and the toner cartridge itself is far from being achieved, thus causing great waste.

With the strengthening of environmental awareness, people gradually realized this, so there was a toner cartridge that could be powdered. A circular hole is formed in the side wall of the toner cartridge, and then sealed with a sealing cover. After the toner in the toner cartridge is used up, the sealing cover is opened, toner is added from the circular hole to the toner cartridge, and then sealed. The lid can be used after it has been sealed. For ordinary users, there is no proper powder adding tool. Generally, the toner accommodating container and the funnel are used, and the carbon powder itself has certain fluidity and adhesion, and the toner adheres during the powder adding process. The funnel is placed on the funnel and the funnel is blocked, which makes it difficult to carry out the powder and causes waste of the toner and environmental pollution.

Therefore, there is a need for a powder adding device which is convenient for adding powder and does not cause environmental pollution.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hand-held powdering device that is convenient to add powder without causing environmental pollution.

In order to achieve the above object, the powder adding device provided by the present invention comprises a main body and a toner accommodating portion, wherein the main body is provided with a powder adding passage, one end of the end of the powder feeding passage is a powder inlet port, and the other end portion is a plus powder. a powder mouth; a grip portion disposed on the main body, and a conveying member disposed in the powder adding passage for conveying the carbon powder in the toner of the toner accommodating portion from the powder inlet port to the powder adding port; the driving mechanism, setting Inside the body, it is used to drive the conveying member.

More specifically, the toner accommodating portion is detachably mounted on the main body, and when the toner accommodating portion is mounted on the main body, the powder discharging port of the toner accommodating portion is docked with the powder inlet port of the powder feeding passage. After the toner in the toner accommodating portion is replenished to the toner cartridge that needs to be powdered, the new toner accommodating portion can be replaced to replenish the toner, and the main body of the powder adding device does not need to be replaced, thereby realizing the powder adding device. use efficiently.

More specifically, the conveying member is provided with an elastic piece corresponding to the powder inlet, and the elastic piece can protrude from the powder inlet into the powder outlet. The elastic piece is disposed on the conveying member, so that the stirring action can be achieved when the conveying member rotates to prevent the toner from adhering to the powder inlet and the powder discharging port.

Another more specific solution is that the main body and/or the toner accommodating portion are provided with a guide and a fixing member for guiding the toner accommodating portion to an appropriate position and fixing when the toner accommodating portion is mounted. The toner container is easy to install and remove.

A still more specific solution is that the toner accommodating portion has a powder discharge port cover that seals the powder discharge port, and the powder discharge port cover is driven by the main body to open the powder discharge port during the process of mounting the toner accommodating portion to the main body. The toner accommodating portion does not need to be opened before being mounted to the main body, so that toner can be prevented from leaking from the toner accommodating portion.

Another further and more specific solution is that the main body has a powder inlet cover disposed at the powder inlet, and the powder inlet cover is driven by the toner receiving portion to open the powder inlet during the process of installing the toner receiving portion to the main body; During the process of disassembling the powder receiving portion from the main body, the powder inlet cover is sealed into the powder opening. After the toner accommodating portion is detached from the main body, the powder inlet is closed, so that no toner leaks from the powder inlet.

Another more specific solution is that the conveying member is a screw. Directional transport is achieved by means of a screw. Other mechanisms for directional delivery can also be used.

Yet another more specific solution is that the grip is provided with a switch that controls the drive mechanism. The powder adding device can be operated more conveniently, and the instant control of adding powder can be realized.

Yet another more specific solution is that the drive mechanism includes a vibrating device. The carbon powder is not easily retained in the powder adding device by the vibration device, and the directional conveying of the toner is further realized.

The powder adding device provided by the invention is convenient for hand-held operation for powder feeding, and can also realize directional conveying of carbon powder, so that when powder is added to the toner cartridge, the carbon powder can be directionally moved to the powder adding port of the powder adding device and enters the need to add Powder inside the toner cartridge.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a powder adding device of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the powder adding device of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective exploded view showing the structure of the powder feeding passage in the powder adding device of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the toner accommodating container of the present invention, wherein the powder outlet is in an open state;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the toner accommodating container of the present invention in a direction perpendicular to the powder discharging port, wherein the powder discharging port is in a closed state;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the main body of the powder adding device of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a partial enlarged view of Fig. 6.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, the powder adding device includes a toner accommodating container 1 and a main body 2 as toner accommodating portions. The main body 2 is substantially in the shape of a pistol. The grip portion is disposed at the lower rear portion of the powder adding device in a state in which the gun is held by hand, and the upper portion of the powder adding device is a mounting guide portion of the toner accommodating container 1.

2 is an exploded perspective view showing the internal structure of the powder adding device. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body casing is composed of a substantially symmetrical left side casing 21 and a right side casing 22, and the left side casing 21 has a plurality of screw holes 23 and a right side casing. 22 has a hole 24 corresponding thereto, and then the two parts are fixed together by screws. The main body 2 has a powder feeding passage 3 and a driving mechanism, wherein the driving mechanism includes a driving gear 6, a motor 7, an eccentric 8 as a vibration device, and the like. A battery (not shown) is placed in the battery compartment in the right side casing 22, and the battery cover 25 covers the opening of the battery compartment. The power switch 26 is disposed on the right side casing 22 for connecting or disconnecting the motor 7 to the battery, and the powder adding control switch 27 is disposed between the left and right outer casings in a trigger shape for controlling the powder adding process.

The toner accommodating container 1 has a guide rib 11 as a guide and a circular projection 12 as a fixing member for attaching and detaching to the main body 2. The powder outlet is disposed at the bottom of the toner accommodating container 1, and the powder outlet port is provided with a powder outlet cover 13 for opening and closing the powder outlet, and a sealing member 14 is attached to a side of the powder outlet cover 13 facing the powder outlet.

The powder adding passage 3 has a powder inlet port 31 and a powder adding port 32, wherein the powder inlet port 31 is located substantially at an intermediate position of the upper portion of the main body 2, and the powder adding port 32 is provided at the front end of the body 2. The cover plate 41 is disposed above the powder inlet 31 and has an opening corresponding to the powder inlet 31. The cover 41 is provided with a sealing member 42, a powder inlet cover 43 which can be opened and closed into the powder opening 31, and forced into the powder. The cover 43 is in a closed state, and the seal 42 also has an opening corresponding to the powder inlet 31 and is attached to the cover 41.

The structure of the powder adding passage 3 is as shown in Fig. 3. The near powder inlet 31 is composed of the left and right portions 33, 34, and is integrated at the near powder opening 32 on the left side portion 33. For clarity of expression, the right portion 34 takes the form of decomposition that is decomposed with the left portion 33. The powder feeding passage 3 has a conveying member. In the present embodiment, it is a screw 35. It can be understood that the conveying member can be any mechanism that can realize the powder feeding from the powder inlet port 31 to the powder feeding port 32. The screw 35 extends from below the powder inlet port 31 to the powder adding port 32. At a position close to the powder inlet port 31, an elastic piece 36 is attached. The length of the elastic piece 36 is long, and when the free end thereof is corresponding to the powder inlet port 31, It can be extended upward from the powder inlet 31 and protrude into the powder outlet of the toner accommodating container. The left and right portions of the powder feeding passage 3 are fixed by the plurality of elastic fixing pieces 37 provided on the left side portion 33 in cooperation with the wedge-shaped projections 38 provided at corresponding positions on the right side portion 34, and are sealingly connected.

4 shows a state in which the powder discharge port cover 13 of the toner accommodating container 1 is opened to open the powder discharge port 15. As shown in FIG. 4, the powder discharging port 15 of the toner accommodating container 1 is disposed at the front end portion and protrudes downward, and the lowermost end of the protruding portion protrudes to the left and right sides to form an edge 16, and the edge 16 has a slit 17 on which the sealing member 14 is pasted. On the powder outlet cover 13, the powder outlet cover 13 is symmetrically provided with a cover lug 18 which cooperates with a corresponding portion of the main body to open the powder outlet cover 13 to open the powder outlet 15.

Fig. 5 shows a state in which the powder discharge port cover 13 of the toner accommodating container 1 is closed to the powder discharge port 15. It can be seen that the guide ribs 11 and the circular protrusions 12 of the toner accommodating container are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the toner accommodating container 1, and the cover lugs 18 are also symmetrically disposed on the powder discharge port cover 13, and the powder discharge port The rib 19 provided on the cover is located in the slit 17.

Fig. 6 is a structural view of the main body 2 when its powder inlet 31 is in an open state, and Fig. 7 is a partial enlarged view of Fig. 6. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the mounting guide portion above the main body 2 is provided with a guide rail 51 as a guide member and a fixing protrusion 52 as a fixing member. The front end of the guide rail 51 has a limiting portion 53, and the lower portion of the lower side of the guide rail 51 is located. A lug 54 is provided for opening the toner cap when the toner accommodating container is installed. A guide groove 45 is provided in the cover plate 41, and both side edges of the powder inlet cover 43 are disposed in the guide groove 45 so as to be slidable in the guide groove 45 to open and close the powder inlet port 31. The stabilizing column 46 is disposed at the front end portion of the cover plate 41, and a spring (not shown) for holding the powder inlet cover 43 in the state of closing the powder inlet port 31 is fitted over the stabilizing column 46, and the other end is placed against the powder inlet cover. On the end wall of 43.

Before the powder adding device of the present invention performs powdering, it is necessary to first mount the toner accommodating container 1 on the main body 2. At the time of installation, the front end portion of the toner accommodating container 1 is first placed at the rear position of the main body mounting guide portion, and then the toner accommodating container 1 is pushed forward so that the guide ribs 11 of the toner accommodating container 1 are on the guide rail 51 of the main body 2. Lower and guided by the forward movement, when the cover lug 18 moved to the powder outlet cover 13 of the toner accommodating container 1 comes into contact with the lug 54 on the mounting guide, the movement of the powder outlet cover 13 is affected by It is hindered, but the bonding force between the rib 19 of the powder outlet cover 13 and the slit 17 of the edge 16 of the powder outlet 15 protruding outward is greater than the resistance of the lug 54 on the mounting guide to the cover lug 18, and the powder is discharged. The flap 13 moves forward as the toner accommodating container 1 moves over the lug 54 and moves to the edge of the lid 41 of the toner accommodating container 1, and the powder escaping cap 13 stops moving, the toner The accommodating container 1 is further moved forward, and the rib 19 on the powder discharging port cover 13 is disengaged from the slit 17 on the outwardly projecting edge 16 of the powder discharging opening 15, the powder discharging opening 15 is gradually opened, and the powder discharging opening 15 is outwardly protruded. The edge 16 enters the guiding groove 45 of the mounting guide, is guided by the guiding groove 45 to move forward, and pushes into the powder opening The cover 42 is moved forward against the restoring force of the spring 45 to open the powder inlet 31, and the circular projection 12 of the toner accommodating container 1 comes into contact with the fixing protrusion 52 on the mounting guide portion, and the rear end of the mounting guide portion is elastically deformed. The toner accommodating container 1 continues to move until the circular projection 12 passes over the fixing projection 52, and the leading end of the toner accommodating container 1 comes into contact with the stopper portion 53 at the front end portion of the guide rail 51, the toner accommodating container 1 is no longer moved, and the guide portion is mounted. The end elastic recovery, the fixing protrusion 52 comes into contact with the circular protrusion 12 of the toner accommodating container 1 to restrict the rearward movement of the toner accommodating container, thereby realizing the fixing of the toner accommodating container 1, at which the powder accommodating container 1 is powdered. The mouth 15 is in contact with the powder inlet 31 of the main body 2 to form a powder supply passage, and the sealing member 42 seals between the periphery of the powder supply passage and the outside.

Then, holding the grip portion of the powder adding device, opening the power switch 26, inserting the powder adding port 32 of the powder adding device into the opening provided for adding the powder toner box, and pushing the control switch 27 by the finger. The motor 7 drives the screw 35 to rotate, the toner of the toner accommodating container 1 enters the toner cartridge along the powder feeding passage 3, and the elastic piece 36 continuously scrapes the powder discharging port 15 of the toner accommodating container 1 and the powder inlet port 31 of the main body 2. To prevent the toner from accumulating here, and smoothly enter the powder feeding passage 3. The eccentric wheel 8 causes the powder adding device to continuously vibrate, further promoting the movement of the toner into the toner cartridge. After the powdering is completed, the control switch 27 is released, the screw 35 is no longer rotated, and the toner supply is stopped.

After the toner in the toner accommodating container 1 is used up, the toner accommodating container 1 is pulled rearward with a slight force to elastically deform the rear end of the main body 2 mounting guide portion, and the circular projection 12 of the toner accommodating container 2 is fixed. The protrusion 52 moves backwards under the guidance of the guide rail 51, and the edge 16 of the powder discharge port 15 moves backward along the guide groove 45. After the powder inlet cover 43 loses restraint, it moves backward under the force of the spring 45 restoring force. As the edge 16 of the powder outlet 15 comes out of contact with the guiding groove 45, the powder inlet cover 43 closes the powder inlet 31, and at the same time, the powder outlet cover 13 of the toner receiving container 1 covers the powder discharging port 15, Then, together with the toner accommodating container 1 , the lug 54 of the mounting guide portion is moved backward, the toner accommodating container 1 is smoothly removed from the main body 2 mounting guide portion, and the powder discharging port cover 13 is kept in the state of closing the powder discharging port 15 . At the same time, the powder inlet cover 43 is in a state of closing the powder inlet 31, so that the toner does not overflow from the toner accommodating container 1 and the main body 2.

In this embodiment, the screw 35 is driven by the motor 7. It can be understood that the screw 35 can also be set to be manually driven, such as extending the rotary handle from the rear of the powder adding device, and manually rotating it. Achieve directional supply of toner. Further, the means for vibrating the powder adding means employs the eccentric wheel 8, and it is understood that any means for vibrating the powder adding means can be taken. Furthermore, the motor 7 is driven by a battery mounted in the powder adding device, and it is understood that an external power source can also be used. The mounting and fixing manner of the toner accommodating container 1 and the main body 2 may be other than the one described in the embodiment, as long as the convenient mounting and fixing of the toner accommodating container 1 can be achieved.

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.

By providing the grip portion and providing the conveying member and its driving mechanism, the hand-held operation can be facilitated and the directional conveyance of the toner can be realized.

Claims (9)

The powder adding device comprises a main body and a toner accommodating portion, wherein the main body is provided with a powder adding passage, one end of the powder adding passage is a powder inlet, and the other end is a powder adding port, wherein : a grip portion disposed on the main body; a conveying member disposed in the powder feeding passage for conveying the carbon powder in the toner accommodating portion from the powder inlet port to the powder adding port; A drive mechanism is disposed in the body for driving the conveying member. A powder adding device according to claim 1, wherein: The toner accommodating portion is detachably mounted on the main body, and when the toner accommodating portion is mounted on the main body, a powder discharging port of the toner accommodating portion is butted against the powder inlet port. A powder adding device according to claim 2, wherein: The conveying member is provided with an elastic piece corresponding to the powder inlet, and the elastic piece can protrude from the powder inlet into the powder outlet. A powder adding device according to claim 2, wherein: The main body is provided with a guide member and a fixing member for guiding the toner accommodating portion to an appropriate position and fixing when the toner accommodating portion is mounted. A powder adding device according to claim 4, wherein: The toner receiving portion has a powder outlet cover that seals the powder outlet; The powder outlet cover is driven by the main body to open the powder discharge port during the process of mounting the toner accommodation portion to the main body. A powder adding device according to claim 4, wherein: The main body has a powder inlet cover disposed at the powder inlet; In the process of mounting the toner receiving portion to the main body, the powder inlet cover is driven by the toner receiving portion to open the powder inlet; The powder inlet cover seals the powder inlet during the process of detaching the toner receiving portion from the main body. A powder adding device according to claim 1, wherein: The conveying member is a screw. A powder adding device according to claim 1, wherein: The grip portion is provided with a switch that controls the drive mechanism. A powder adding device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The drive mechanism includes a vibration device.

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