Electrophotography – Image formation – Development
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-18
2001-07-10
Chen, Sophia S. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Image formation
Development
C222SDIG001, C399S120000, C399S258000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259877
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a toner cartridge and a toner supply device for use in an image forming system, such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a printer. More specifically, the invention relates to a toner supply device for supplying a toner while rotating an exchangeable cylindrical toner cartridge and for breaking local accumulation of the toner in the toner cartridge by rotating the toner cartridge in forward and reverse directions by a predetermined angle during exchange of the cartridge or in a desired situation.
In a typical image forming system, the surface of an electrified photosensitive material drum is electrified, and an image information to be copied is exposed to the surface of the drum to form a latent image. Then, a toner is absorbed into the photosensitive material to form a visible image. Us visible image is transferred to the surface of a paper, and the toner is fixed on the surface of the paper by heat and pressure. Then, cleaning and de-electrification are carried out to cause a predetermined image information to be a printed information on the surface of the paper. In a developing process for forming the visible image, the toner, together with a carrier of a magnetic material, is used as a developer.
The carrier serving as a main component included in the developer is used for carrying the toner and producing frictional electrification. Since this carrier is used for electrifying the photosensitive material drum and the surface of the paper to cause the toner to be absorbed thereon, the carrier does not adhere to the surface of the paper and is not consumed, so that the amount of the carrier does not decrease. On the other hand, the toner is gradually consumed to be decreased ken a printed matter is prepared after processes, such as transfer, fixing and cleaning. Therefore, the toner must be supplied as required with the use of the image forming system.
The way for supplying the toner is broadly divided into two methods. One of the methods is a med for providing a toner cartridge dedicated to the copying machine and for supplying a predetermined amount of toner, which is filled in a container, from a supply port of the cartridge when the residual quantity of the toner in the copying machine is short. According to this method, when the toner is supplied to the cartridge from a container, it is difficult for a usual user to skillfully fill the toner in the small-diameter supply port of the cartridge, if not for experts, so that there is the possibility that the toner spills to dirty user's cloths and/or hands. If the spilled toner is raked up to be put in the cartridge, there is also the possibility that impurities are mixed therein.
The other toner supply method is a method using an exchangeable cartridge. This method is an excellent supply method easy to be used, since the exchangeable cartridge is capable of supplying a toner, which is mixed at the best to cause the image forming system to display the best performance to prepare a copied matter, to the developing part of the image forming system without mixing inpurities, and of preventing the user for supplying the toner from spilling the toner or the user's cloths and/or hands from being dirtied.
In order to supply a toner using a conventional toner supply device, an empty cartridge formed so as to have a predetermined shape and standard is detached from a cartridge attaching part of a copying machine, and an exchanged cartridge which has the same shape and standard as those of the empty cartridge and which is filled with a toner, is attached on the cartridge attaching part after being sufficiently shaken. Although there are various shapes and capacities of toner cartridges, there is a cylindrical toner cartridge as one of them. The cylindrical toner cartridge has the merit of being capable of utilizing the inner peripheral wall to efficiently supply a toner to a discharging hole. If the cylindrical cartridge is horizontally arranged, a spiral groove is formed in the inner wall surface of the cylindrical cartridge, or the cylindrical cartridge is rotated about the central axis thereof, so that the toner is guided toward the discharging hole.
However, according to such a conventional toner supply device, it is indicated that the user shall shake the cartridge well before exchange of the cartridge in order to prevent the toner from being locally biased in the cartridge. If the user fails to carry out such a shaking operation, there are some cases where the toner is biased locally in the cartridge. Although the cartridge is exchanged, there is a problem in that the supply of the toner is slow or a desired quantity of supplied toner can not be obtained after exchange of the cartridge.
In addition, according to the above described toner supply device of a type wherein the cylindrical cartridge is rotated, if the power supply of the copying machine is turned off when the cartridge is rotated, the toner discharging hole can not be stopped while facing upwards. Therefore, it is required to provide a mechanism for always detecting the position of the discharging hole when the power supply of the copying machine is turned off regardless of the stop of the copying machine for exchange of the toner cartridge, and for adjusting the stopped position so that the detected discharging hole always faces upwards. Such detecting means or position adjusting mechanism increase the producing costs of the copying machine, so that the user has useless economical loads.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the aforementioned problems in the above described conventional system and to prevent a toner from spilling from a toner cartridge during exchange of the toner cartridge, to introduce an idea of destination into a product itself and the toner cartridge to automatically ensure the right use of the cartridge to maintain the performance of the product.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge for use in a toner supply device for supplying a toner to an image forming system for forming an optional image including characters and pictures with the toner, the toner cartridge comprising: a toner container having a cylindrical shape having an opening at a tip end thereof, the toner container being filled with a toner therein, the toner container having a spiral protruding portion formed in an inner peripheral surface thereof, and the toner container causing the toner, which is housed therein, toward the opening in an axial direction thereof when being rotated about an axis thereof; a substantially cup-shaped cap engaging the opening and having a toner discharging hole for discharging the toner carried in the toner container, the cap being fixed to the toner container at a predetermined positional relationship when the cap is mounted on the toner container, so that the discharging hole always faces in a predetermined direction when the toner container is turned in a certain rotational direction with respect to the axis thereof; and a cylindrical cover engaging the cap so as to reciprocate in axial directions with respect to the cap between a first position on a tip end side and a second position on a base end side, the cylindrical cover closing the discharging hole to prevent the toner from being discharged at the first position, and opening the discharging hole to allow the toner to be discharged at the second position.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner supply device for supplying a toner to an image forming system for forming an optional image including characters and pictures with the toner, the toner supply device comprising a toner cartridge and a drive unit for rotating the toner cartridge, the toner cartridge comprising: a toner container having a cylindrical shape having an opening at a tip end thereof, the toner container being filled with a toner therein, the toner container having a spiral protruding portion formed in an inn
Itoh Shin-ichi
Taniyama Yoshiharu
Chen Sophia S.
Foley & Lardner
Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
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