JP2003175986A - Container for powder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container for powder with which the powder in the container can be supplied to other container without staining a worker himself, people around him, and the environment, particularly to surely and easily prevent dispersion of toner or dropping of toner when a toner bottle is to be attached to a supplementing port of a toner hopper for supplementing the toner. <P>SOLUTION: There is provided a contain for powder comprising a container 1 to store a powder, a lid member 2 having a hole 21 and mounted removably to an opening 11 of the container, and a tubular shutter member mounted retractably in a way communicating the opening of the container with the hole of the lid member. Thus, a dispersion of toner or dropping of toner can be positively and easily prevented when the toner bottle is fixed to the supplemental port, and the toner is supplied. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder container for storing powder. More specifically, the present invention relates to a toner bottle for storing a toner or a developer used in an image forming apparatus that uses an electrophotographic method such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer.

Hereinafter, the powder container of the present invention will be described as an example.
A case will be described in which the toner bottle is a toner bottle for storing toner or developer used in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer. The following description is an example in which the powder container of the present invention is embodied as a toner bottle, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in the image forming apparatus described above, a toner bottle is attached to a supply port of a toner hopper for supplying toner to a developing device, and the toner in the toner bottle is supplied to the toner hopper. After replenishing the toner, the toner bottle is removed and the replenishing port is covered.

[0004]

However, in the image forming apparatus of the above example, toner scattering and toner spillage occur when the toner bottle is attached to the toner hopper and when the toner bottle is removed after replenishing the toner,
Not only does the area around the image forming device get dirty and the clothes and hands of the worker get dirty, but there is concern that toner may float or diffuse in the air, and inhaling it may adversely affect the health of the worker and the people around him. To be done.

Therefore, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-5269, as shown in FIG. 4, a toner bottle 5 for replenishing toner to a toner hopper 7 is provided, and the toner discharge port 51 extends from the outer peripheral portion thereof. A toner bottle 5 is characterized in that it has a tray portion 53 that is provided so as to project in the radial direction of 51, and an enclosure portion 52 that is provided so as to project from the outer periphery of the tray portion 53 in the radial direction of the toner discharge port 51. Has been done.

The toner bottle 5 mounting portion of the toner feeding device 6 provided in the toner hopper 7 is designed to rotate 180 °, and the toner bottle 5 is attached to the toner feeding device 6.
When the toner is replenished with the toner, the mounting portion faces downward (A in FIG. 4).
Rotate by turning it up (B in Fig. 4).

The toner bottle 5 is attached to the feeding device 6.
When the toner is attached, the toner 8 attached near the attaching portion
It is described that even if the toner spills, it is received in the space formed by the tray portion 53 and the enclosure portion 52 of the toner bottle.

However, according to the study by the present inventors,
It was found that it was very difficult to catch the spilled toner when the toner bottle was attached, and it was found that the falling toner is scattered around the toner bottle or there are many toners scattered in the air.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a toner bottle capable of reliably and easily preventing toner scattering and spillage when the toner bottle is attached to or detached from the toner supply port.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage part for storing powder and a lid provided with a hole which is detachably attached to a mouth part of the storage part. A powder container, for example, the toner bottle shown in FIG. 1, characterized in that the powder container is composed of a member and an expandable and contractible tubular member that is attached by communicating the mouth of the accommodating portion and the hole of the lid member. Is achieved by providing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a male screw is formed on the outer periphery of the mouth portion of the accommodating portion, and the inner periphery of the lid member is
FIG. 2 shows a case where a female screw that fits with the male screw is formed, the lid member is fitted into the housing portion, and the tubular member is in communication.
According to the first state described in (A), the tubular member is squeezed by fitting the lid member into the housing portion and twisting the housing portion and the lid member, and thereby the housing portion and the housing portion. It is characterized by having a second state shown in FIG. 2 (B) in which the holes of the lid member do not communicate with each other.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the lid member is not fitted to the accommodating portion, and the tubular member is in communication with each other.
(C) is in the third state.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 (C) or FIG. 3, the toner supply port of the image forming apparatus is provided on the side of the lid member opposite to the side fitted with the accommodating portion. It is characterized in that it has a mounting portion for fitting with.

[0014]

As described in claim 1, the powder container of the present invention has a container for storing powder (for example, toner or developer) and a detachable member at the mouth of the container. The lid includes a lid member provided with a hole portion, and a retractable tubular member attached by communicating the mouth portion of the accommodating portion with the hole portion of the lid member. By securely attaching the member to the toner replenishing port or the like, when the toner or the developer moves from the bottle-shaped storage portion through the lid member toward the toner replenishing port, the cylindrical member prevents the toner or the developer from developing. Since it exists in a closed system, it does not leak out and scatter.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a male screw is formed on the outer periphery of the mouth portion of the accommodating portion, and the inner periphery of the lid member is
FIG. 2 shows a case where a female screw that fits with the male screw is formed, the lid member is fitted into the housing portion, and the tubular member is in communication.
According to the first state described in (A), the tubular member is squeezed by fitting the lid member into the housing portion and twisting the housing portion and the lid member, and thereby the housing portion and the housing portion. It is characterized by having a second state shown in FIG. 2 (B) in which the holes of the lid member do not communicate with each other. Therefore, for example, after the toner or the developer is filled, only by completely fitting the lid member and the opening of the accommodating portion (twisting the lid member), the tubular member is automatically squeezed and the toner or the developer is developed. The agent does not squirt out of the container and scatter.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the lid member is not fitted to the accommodating portion, and the tubular member is in communication with each other.
(C) is characterized by taking the third state,
Only by rotating the accommodating portion or the lid member to release the fitting between them, the cylindrical member can communicate with each other, and the toner or the developer in the accommodating portion can be moved toward the lid member. Become.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2C or 3, a toner supply port of an image forming apparatus is provided on a side surface of the lid member opposite to a surface to be fitted with the accommodating portion. Since it has a mounting portion that fits with, for example,
With the second state (FIG. 2B) filled with toner,
With the mounting portion of the lid member inserted in the toner replenishing port of the toner hopper, the mounting portion is twisted to be fixed to the toner replenishing port, and then the accommodating portion is rotated so that the accommodating portion and the lid member are By setting the third state (FIG. 2C) in which the toner is not fitted, the toner in the bottle-shaped container is replenished to the toner hopper through the tubular member, and the toner and the toner are scattered by the tubular member. Spills can be reliably prevented.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A toner bottle which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a schematic sectional view of the toner bottle of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic external view of the toner bottle of the present invention corresponding to (A).

As described in claim 1, the toner bottle of the present invention comprises a bottle-shaped container 1 for storing toner or developer, a lid member 2, and a tubular member 3. As in the conventional case, the bottle-shaped housing portion 1 is preferably a molded product of various plastic materials having a bottomed cylindrical body. Then, a hole 21 is provided at or near the center of the lid member 2 that is detachably attached to the mouth 11 of the bottle-shaped accommodation portion 1. As in the conventional case, the lid member 2 is also preferably a molded product made of various plastic materials.

The greatest feature of the present invention is that the expandable and contractible tubular member 3 is provided so that the mouth 11 of the bottle-shaped container 1 and the hole 21 of the lid member 2 are connected to each other. is there. Any material can be used for the tubular member 3 as long as it can be expanded and contracted. For example, various rubbers, various resin films such as polyethylene terephthalate, nylon, polyfluoroethylene and the like are preferable, and the strength is such that it does not break. It is necessary to have

The tubular member 3 is preferably adhered along the inner wall of the mouth 21 of the bottle-shaped container 1 or the lid member 2 by sealing with heat or an adhesive, and the sealing is incomplete. In that case, the toner leaks from the portion, which may cause the toner to scatter.

That is, by securely attaching the lid member 2 to the toner supply port or the like, the toner or the developer is
When moving from the bottle-shaped storage portion 1 through the lid member 2 toward the toner supply port, the cylindrical member 3 prevents the toner or the developer from leaking to the outside and scattering. .

Further, as described in claim 2, at least the mouth portion 11 of the bottle-shaped accommodating portion 1 and the lid member 2 may be detachable, but more preferably, a male screw is provided on the outer periphery of the mouth portion 11. 12 is formed, and a female screw 22 that fits with the male screw 12 is formed on the inner periphery of the lid member 2.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view specifically showing various states of the toner bottle of the present invention. As described in claim 2, FIG. 2 (A) shows a first state in which the male screw 12 and a part of the female screw 22 are fitted and the tubular member 3 is in communication. 2B, the male screw 12 and the female screw 22 are fitted more than in the first state, the tubular member 3 is squeezed, and the bottle-shaped housing portion 1 and the lid member are shown. Hole 2
1 shows a second state in which 1 does not communicate.

Since the toner bottle of the present invention can be in the above-described state, for example, after the toner or the developer is filled, the lid member 2 and the mouth portion 11 of the bottle-shaped accommodating portion 1 are completely removed. Just by fitting (twisting the lid member 2),
The cylindrical member 3 is not automatically squeezed, and the toner or the developer does not spout from the bottle-shaped container 1.

Furthermore, as described above, when the toner or the developer moves from the bottle-shaped container 1 to the lid member 2, the cylindrical member 3 prevents the toner or the developer from being scattered around.

However, from the bottle-shaped container 1 to the lid member 2
After a part of the toner or the developer is transferred to the cover member 2, the toner or the developer remaining from the narrowed portion of the cylindrical member 3 to the lid member 2 is in an open system. In order to prevent scattering, for example, a cap (not shown) or the like may be provided in the hole 21 of the lid member 2. By providing the cap or the like, even when the toner or the developer is stored without being used up at once, the residual toner or the developer does not scatter during storage, and foreign matter is not mixed in the toner bottle. Since it can be prevented, it can be used again.

In FIG. 2C, as described in claim 3, the male screw 12 and the female screw 22 are not fitted to each other, and the tubular member 3
Shows a third state in which the two communicate with each other. That is, in the third state, for example, as described in claim 4, the mounting portion 23 that fits with the supply port 41 of the toner hopper 4 of the image forming apparatus is provided near the opening 21 of the lid member 2.

The mounting portion 23 has, for example, four claws as shown in FIG.
Has four notches that fit with the claws of the mounting portion 23 as shown in FIG.

That is, while keeping the second state (FIG. 2 (B)) in which the toner is filled, the claw of the mounting portion 23 and the notch of the toner replenishing port 41 are aligned, and the mounting portion 23 is replenished with the toner replenishing port 4.
In the state that it is put in 1, twist the mounting portion 23,
Is fixed to the toner supply port 41. Next, the bottle-shaped accommodating portion 1 is rotated, and the male screw 12 and the female screw 22 are not fitted to each other after the first state (FIG. 2A) in which the male screw 12 and the female screw 22 are loosely fitted. By changing to the third state (FIG. 2 (C)), the toner in the bottle-shaped accommodation portion 1 is transferred to the cylindrical member 3
After that, the toner is supplied to the toner hopper 4. Further, at the time of toner replenishment, similarly to the above, the cylindrical member 3 can reliably prevent toner scattering and toner spillage.

After replenishing the toner, the procedure is reversed to the second state (FIG. 2 (B)), and the mounting portion 23 is removed from the toner replenishing port 41. At this time, the toner from the mouth portion 21 of the lid member 2 to the narrowed portion of the tubular member 3 is completely dropped into the toner hopper by vibration or the like, and then the attachment portion 23 is removed to prevent toner scattering. be able to.

Further, when the toner is replenished, since the cylindrical member 3 is expandable and contractible, the bottle-shaped container 1 is inclined to replenish the toner even if the space near the toner replenishing port 41 in the image forming apparatus is small. It is also possible to improve the design flexibility of the image forming apparatus.

When the space near the toner supply port 41 is small, for example, the male screw 12 and the female screw 22 do not fit,
From the squeezed state of the tubular member 3 to the third state (FIG. 2).
(C)) and replenish toner. In this case, instead of squeezing the tubular member 3, the tubular member 3 may be closed with, for example, a clip, and the clip may be removed and the tubular member 3 may be opened when replenishing the toner. When removing the mounting portion 23 from the toner supply port 41, the procedure may be reversed.

The case where the powder container of the present invention is used as a toner bottle has been described above as an example. By using the powder container of the present invention, not only toner but also various powders (for example, chemicals) in the powder container can be easily changed to other ones without polluting the worker's confidence, surrounding people, and the environment. It is possible to replenish or move the container.

[0035]

According to the present invention, for example, a toner bottle is provided at the replenishing port of the toner hopper, and when the toner is replenished, it is possible to reliably and easily prevent toner scattering and toner spillage. You can

[0036]

[Brief description of drawings]

1A is a schematic sectional view of a toner bottle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic external view of a toner bottle corresponding to FIG. 1A.

2A and 2B are schematic cross-sectional views showing various states of a toner bottle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
2 (B) shows the second state, and FIG. 3 (C) shows the third state. FIG. 3C shows a state in which a toner bottle according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to the toner supply port of the toner hopper to supply toner.

FIG. 3 is a schematic external view showing a shape of a toner replenishing port corresponding to a toner bottle mounting portion which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state when a conventional toner bottle is attached.

[0037]

[Explanation of symbols]

<Invention> 1: Bottle-shaped storage part, 11: Mouth part, 12: Male screw 2: Lid member, 21: Hole part, 22: Female screw 3: Cylindrical member 4: Toner hopper, 41: Toner supply port < Prior Art> 5: Toner bottle, 51: Toner discharge port, 52: Enclosure part, 53: Plate part 6: Toner feeding device 7: Toner hopper 8: Falling toner

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An accommodating portion for storing powder, a lid member which is detachably attached to a mouth portion of the accommodating portion and has a hole portion, a mouth portion of the accommodating portion and a hole portion of the lid member. And a telescopic cylindrical member attached in communication with the powder container. 2. A male screw is formed on the outer periphery of the mouth portion of the accommodating portion, a female screw that fits the male screw is formed on the inner periphery of the lid member, and the lid member is formed on the accommodating portion. Is fitted and the tubular member is in communication with the first state, and the lid member is fitted into the accommodation portion, and the accommodation portion and the lid member are twisted, whereby the tubular member is squeezed. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the powder container is brought into a second state in which the housing portion and the hole portion of the lid member do not communicate with each other. 3. The powder container according to claim 2, wherein the lid member is not fitted in the accommodating portion, and a third state is established in which the tubular member is in communication. 4. A toner bottle for accommodating a toner or a developer in the accommodating portion, wherein a side of the lid member opposite to a surface for fitting with the accommodating portion is fitted with a toner supply port of an image forming apparatus. The powder container according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the powder container has a fitting part that fits.