Toner cartridge and image forming apparatus for mounting the same

• US 20070048029A1
• Filed: 08/08/2006
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Tec Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Takuwa, Noriyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,483,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/262
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0872 the developer cartridges being generally horizontally mounted parallel to its longitudinal rotational axis
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0886 by mechanical means, e.g. shutter, plug
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0668 Toner discharging opening at one axial end

Abstract

A toner cartridge in a bottle shape for storing toner is composed of a first cylindrical portion having a blocked bottom wall at one end and an opening at the other end and a second cylindrical portion in which one end thereof is connected to the opening, and an opening for ejecting toner is formed at the other end, and the outside diameter thereof is smaller than the first cylindrical portion.

Claims

1. A toner cartridge in a bottle shape for storing toner, comprising:

a cylindrical developer storage portion having a blocked bottom wall at one end and an opening for ejecting toner at the other end;

a circular groove portion formed on the opening side from a center of the developer storage portion in a longitudinal direction, and

a bottle cap to close the opening.

2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the bottle cap includes a bowl-shaped flange portion having an external dimension almost equal to an external dimension of the developer storage portion on the opening side from the circular groove portion.

3. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the bottle cap comprises a second developer storage portion having an external dimension equal to an external dimension of the developer storage portion on the opening side from the circular groove portion.

4. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the developer storage portion inside thereof, a spiral projection is formed.

5. The toner cartridge according to claim 2 further comprising:

a projection portion formed on an outer peripheral surface of the flange portion, the projection portion is different formation according to a kind of the toner cartridge.

6. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein between an outer peripheral surface of the second cylindrical portion and an inner peripheral surface of the flange portion, a gap is formed.

7. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein on the outer surface of the developer storage portion, a spiral groove is formed.

10. The toner cartridge according to claim 5, wherein a shape of the projection portion is decided according to at least either of a kind and a destination of the image forming apparatus.

11. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein on an outer peripheral surface of the bottle cap, a vent for leading toner ejected from an opening of the second cylindrical portion to a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus.

12. The toner cartridge according to claim 11, wherein on the outer peripheral surface of the bottle cap, a shutter for sliding in a direction of a shaft center and opening or closing the vent is provided.

13. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a main body having an opening and an image forming stage internally provided;

a cover provided on the main body so as to open or close the opening; and

a toner cartridge to be mounted in the main body when the cover is opened,

wherein the toner cartridge includes;

a cylindrical developer storage portion having a blocked bottom wall at one end and an opening for ejecting toner at the other end;

a circular groove portion formed on the opening side from a center of the developer storage portion in a longitudinal direction;

a bottle cap joined to a driver provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus and is connected to the other end so as to rotate the developer storage portion; and

a projection portion formed on at least either of the main body and the cover for getting into the circular groove portion formed on the toner cartridge.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the projection portion is provided on the cover and when the toner cartridge is mounted in the main body and then the cover is closed, the projection portion gets into the groove portion.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the projection portion is provided in the main body and when mounting the toner cartridge in the main body, the projection portion gets into the groove portion.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a position and a depth of the groove portion and a position and a length of the projection portion are decided according to at least either of a kind and a destination of the image forming apparatus.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the bottle cap includes a bowl-shaped flange portion having an external dimension almost equal to an external dimension of the developer storage portion on the opening side from the circular groove portion.

18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13 further comprising:

a cartridge driver for rotating the toner cartridge mounted in the main body via a coupling.

19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, wherein in the bottle cap, a first concavity and convexity is provided and at the part of the coupling opposite to the first concavity and convexity, a second concavity and convexity in a shape corresponding to the first concavity and convexity is provided.

20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13 further comprising:

a projection portion provided on an outer peripheral surface of the bottle cap;

a detector for detecting the projection portion; and

a generator for generating information on the cartridge on the basis of a detection result of the detector.

21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the information on the toner cartridge is at least either of a kind of the toner cartridge and a residual amount of the toner of the toner cartridge.

22. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the developer storage portion inside thereof, a spiral projection is formed.