Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Filling means with receiver or receiver coacting means – Funnel type
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-15
2003-12-23
Mancene, Gene (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Filling means with receiver or receiver coacting means
Funnel type
C141S018000, C141S114000, C222S541100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06666240
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toner feeding container and powder feeding container that refill toner in a toner cartridge installed for apparatuses such as copiers and multi-functional printers.
2. Description of Related Art
Hereafter, a toner feeding container is used as an example to illustrate this type of powder feeding container. For apparatuses such as copiers and multi-functional printers that install toner cartridges with toner refill functions, a service person needs to refill toner in a toner cartridge when the toner in the toner cartridge runs out.
Conventionally, a toner feeding container that is used for refilling toner is made from plastic material. For example, as shown in
FIG. 8
, the container is configured with container
801
that has a function to contain toner, and funnel
802
that has a function to pour toner into a toner cartridge. Container
801
has a cylindrical form to which funnel
802
is fully attached, narrowly stretching into small opening
803
formed at the extremity.
When refilling toner, the above-described toner is used as follows. First, a service person brings a toner feeding container to a user who has a copier or the like, having no remaining toner. Then, the service person takes out a toner cartridge with no toner from the copier. He/she releases opening
803
by removing a cap fitted to funnel
802
of the toner feeding container. Then, he/she turns over the toner feeder container upside down, fits opening
803
of the toner feeding container to an opening (
805
of
FIG. 8
) for toner refill, and drops the toner into toner cartridge
804
. After finishing the toner refill into toner cartridge
804
, he/she takes back the empty toner feeding container.
However, the conventional toner feeding container had the following problem.
The conventional toner feeding container has only one opening
803
at the extremity of funnel
802
, and the toner feeding container is turned upside down so that opening
803
is faced down and the toner flows from opening
803
. Therefore, during the toner flow, the toner is compressed at the bottom of the toner feeding container. Furthermore, funnel
802
is narrowed toward opening
803
. Thus, the toner becomes compressed around opening
803
, thereby increasing the internal pressure. This clogs the toner, preventing the toner from easily flowing outward.
Therefore, the service person is required to perform a very bothersome task such as either squeezing the toner feeding container to drop the toner, or removing the toner feeding container from toner cartridge
804
to hit the container on a nearby desk, or the like, facing the opening
803
upward, so that the toner clogged around opening
803
is broken down. Then, the service person has to turn the container upside down again, to fit the container back into toner cartridge
804
.
The toner feeding cartridge is not fixed inside of the apparatus but is collected after the toner is transferred into the toner cartridge as it is no longer needed. However, since the toner feeding container is made from plastic, it is impossible to fold the container into a small size even if it is empty. Thus, only the same number of toner feeding containers as full containers can be fit in a delivery case. Therefore, it is impossible to cut the delivery cost after the containers are emptied, creating unnecessary costs.
Furthermore, as described above, a toner feeding container is no longer of use after the toner is refilled into the toner cartridge. Nevertheless, the plastic toner feeding container becomes a waste of resources since it is disposed after a refill.
Moreover, when toner is refilled with the above toner feeding container for the entire copiers and multifunctional printers across the country, an enormous amount of trash will be generated every year thus creating a severe adverse impact to the environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is provided to address the above-described problems. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a toner feeding container and powder feeding container that can simplify the powder (e.g., toner) refill process, decreasing the delivery cost after the toner feeding container is used for refill, and is environmentally friendly.
The powder feeding container according to the present invention is made from paper, resin film, or a synthetic film made with paper and resin film, the container containing powder within, and having a peak at one end, which is formed from an incline that starts from a middle of one edge of the container. The peak end is cut to form a first opening that releases the inside powder, whereas a change proximity area that starts forming an inclined edge is cut, and the rear area from the incision is folded inward, so that air is sent into the first opening along the inner wall of the inclined edge, forming a second opening.
According to the present invention, air is sent into the first opening from the second opening along the inner wall of the inclined edge, while controlling the amount of powder that flows into the first opening by an inner wall of an incline formed by the folded-in portion in to the inner body, preventing a sudden influx of powder flowing into the first opening. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the powder from becoming compressed around the first opening by restricting the powder outflow, and prevent the increasing inner pressure of the powder by allowing the airflow. Since the powder flow is maintained, it is possible to securely prevent the powder from becoming solid around the first opening and clogging the first opening, and smoothly eject the powder.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2082878 (1937-06-01), Elliott
patent: 3324906 (1967-06-01), Chu
Fujita Eiji
Nakatsugawa Tatsuo
Yamamoto Satoshi
deVore Peter
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Mancene Gene
Panasonic Communications Co. Ltd.
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