Toner cartridge and electrophotographic apparatus adopting the same

• US 6,804,484 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2002
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: S-Printing Solution Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Ando, Takashi, Hashimoto, Toshifumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Hoang
• Application Number:
  US10/244,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20030068174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 756 Days
• Field of Search: 222/DIG.1, 399/119, 399/120, 399/123, 399/262, 399/263, 399/343, 399/358, 399/359, 399/360
• US Class Current: 399/120
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0844 Arrangements for purging used developer from the developing unit
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0855 the concentration being measured by optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0865 Arrangements for supplying new developer
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0875 cartridges having a box like shape
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0877 Arrangements for metering and dispensing developer from a developer cartridge into the development unit
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0827 Augers
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/1647 Cleaning of transfer member
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/1657 of transfer drum
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 222/01 Xerography

Abstract

A toner cartridge is detachably loaded in a predetermined loading portion of an electrophotographic apparatus and has a new toner containing space where new toner is contained, and a waste toner containing space where waste toner is contained. The toner cartridge includes a main body, a supply hole supplying the new toner and a receiving hole for receiving waste toner, which are installed at a predetermined position of the main body of the toner cartridge, and an open and shut mechanism having a single shutter opening and shutting the supply hole and the receiving hole. The electrophotographic apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium includes the loading portion where the toner cartridge is detachably installed, and the toner cartridge.

Claims

1. A toner cartridge which is detachably loaded in a predetermined loading portion of an image forming apparatus and has a main body including a new toner containing space where new toner is contained, and a waste toner containing space where waste toner is contained, the toner cartridge comprising:

a supply hole through which the new toner is supplied from the new toner containing space to an outside of the main body;

a receiving hole through which the waste toner is received from the outside of the main body into the waste toner containing space, the supply hole and the receiving hole formed at a predetermined position of the main body; and

an open and shut mechanism having a single shutter opening and shutting the supply hole and the receiving hole when the toner cartridge is loaded in and detached from the loading portion.

2. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

one of a first transfer unit transferring the new toner from the new toner containing space to the supply hole and a second transfer unit transferring the waste toner from the receiving hole to the waste toner containing space.

3. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shutter of the open and shut mechanism opens and shuts the supply hole and the receiving hole when the shutter is engaged with and disengaged from the loading portion during installation and detaching operations of the main body with respect to the loading portion.

4. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 3, wherein the open and shut mechanism comprises:

a driven portion installed on the shutter; and

a guide groove formed in the loading portion so that the driven portion moves along the guide groove when the toner cartridge is installed in or detached from the loading portion, to guide a movement of the shutter.

5. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

one of a first transfer unit transferring the new toner from the new toner containing space to the supply hole and a second transfer unit transferring the waste toner from the receiving hole to the waste toner containing space.

6. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the open and shut mechanism is formed of resin.

7. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium by attaching toner to a photoreceptive body where an electrostatic latent image is formed, and transferring the toner to the recording medium from the photoreceptive body, the electrophotographic apparatus comprising:

a loading portion; and

a toner cartridge detachably installed in the loading portion, wherein the toner cartridge comprises;

a main body,

a new toner containing space formed in the main body to contain new toner,

a waste toner containing space formed in the main body to contain waste toner,

a supply hole supplying the new toner to an outside of the main body from the new toner containing space, and formed in a predetermined position of the main body,

a receiving hole receiving the waste toner from the outside of the main body into the waste toner containing space, and formed in the predetermined position of the main body, and

an open and shut mechanism having a single shutter opening and shutting the supply hole and the receiving hole.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the toner cartridge comprises:

one of a first transfer unit transferring the new toner from the new toner containing space to the supply hole and a second transfer unit transferring the waste toner from the receiving hole to the waste toner containing space.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the shutter of the open and shut mechanism opens and shuts the supply hole and the receiving hole when the shutter is engaged with and disengaged from the loading portion during installation and detaching operations with respect to the loading portion, and the open and shut mechanism comprises:

a driven portion installed on the shutter; and

a guide groove formed in the loading portion so that the driven portion moves along the guide groove when the toner cartridge is installed in or detached from the loading portion, to guide a movement of the shutter.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, where the toner cartridge further comprises:

one of a first transfer unit transferring the new toner from the new toner containing space to the supply hole and a second-transfer unit transferring the waste toner from the receiving hole to the waste toner containing space.

11. A toner cartridge which is detachably loaded in a loading portion of an image forming apparatus and has a main body including a new toner containing space portion where new toner is contained, and a waste toner containing space portion where waste toner is contained, the toner cartridge comprising:

a supply hole formed on the main body, and through which the new toner is supplied from the new toner containing space portion to an outside of the main body;

a receiving hole formed on the main body, and through which the waste toner is received from the outside of the main body into the waste toner containing space portion; and

an open and shut mechanism having a single shutter automatically opening and shutting the supply hole and the receiving hole when the toner cartridge is loaded in and detached from the loading portion.

12. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 11, wherein the main body comprises an input/output portion formed on a portion of the main body and having a supply path portion disposed between the supply hole and the new toner containing space portion and a receiving path portion disposed between the receiving hole and the waste toner containing space portion, and the supply hole and the receiving hole are formed on the input/output portion.

13. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 12, wherein the input/output portion protrudes from a surface of the main body.

14. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 12, wherein the input/output portion comprises an inside space divided into the supply path portion and the receiving path portion in an axial direction of the input/output portion.

15. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 12, wherein the input/output portion comprises two opposite surfaces defining the supply path portion and the receiving path portion, respectively, and the supply hole and the receiving hole are formed on corresponding ones of the two opposite surfaces of the input/output portion.

16. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 12, wherein the new toner containing space portion and the supply path portion are disposed along an axial direction of the input/output portion, and the waste toner containing space portion and the receiving path portion are disposed along the axial direction of the input/output portion.

17. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 12, wherein the open/shut mechanism comprises:

an open/shut portion including the shutter having openings corresponding to the supply hole and the receiving hole.

18. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein the openings are disposed in a first position in an axial direction of the input/output portion, and the supply hole and the receiving hole are disposed in a second position in the axial direction of the input/output portion.

19. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 18, wherein the openings move from the first position to the second position to open the supply hole and the receiving hole when the main body is loaded in the loading portion.

20. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 18, wherein the openings move from the second position to the first position to shut the supply hole and the receiving hole when the main body is detached from the loading portion.

21. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein the open/shut portion comprises a corresponding shape to the input/output portion and is slidably inserted around the input/output portion.

22. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein the shutter of the open/shut portion moves in an axial direction of the input/output portion when the toner cartridge is loaded in and detached from the loading portion.

23. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein the shutter of the open/shut portion moves in an axial direction of the input/output portion when the toner cartridge is loaded in and detached from the loading portion in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction.

24. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein the open/shut portion comprises:

a driven portion formed on the shutter; and

a guide groove formed on the loading portion to guide the driven portion of the shutter when the toner cartridge is loaded in and detached from the loading portion.

25. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 24, wherein the driven portion is disposed between the supply hole and the receiving hole.

26. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 24, wherein the guide groove is obliquely formed with respect to an axial direction in which the shutter moves.

27. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 24, wherein the guide groove guides the driven portion in an axial direction of the shutter of the open/shut portion so that the openings communicate with the supply hole and the receiving hole, respectively.

28. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein the shutter of the open/shut portion comprises a hollow cylindrical shape, and the openings are formed on opposite positions of a circumferential surface of the shutter.

29. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 17, wherein the open/shut mechanism comprises:

a locking mechanism controlling the shutter not to move and to move with respect to the input/output portion.

30. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 29, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:

a locking arm having a pivot shaft to be coupled to one of the main body and the input/output portion.

31. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 30, wherein the pivot shaft is fixedly coupled to the shutter of the open/shut portion.

32. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 30, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:

a hooking step formed one of the main body and the input/output portion to be coupled to the locking arm.

33. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 32, wherein the locking arm comprises:

a hook formed on an end of the locking arm to be caught by the hooking step and released from the hooking step.

34. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 32, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:

a driven portion formed on the locking arm; and

a guide groove formed on the loading portion to guide the driven portion so that the locking arm is locked on and unlocked from the hooking step.

35. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 34, wherein the guide groove is obliquely formed with respect to an axial direction in which the shutter moves.

36. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 34, wherein the guide groove guides the driven portion to rotate the locking arm about the pivot shaft.

37. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 30, wherein the locking arm is made of resin.

38. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

a transfer unit transferring the new toner from the new toner containing space portion to the supply hole and the waste toner from the receiving hole to the waste toner containing space portion.

39. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 38, wherein the transfer unit comprises:

a first screw rotatably disposed in the new toner containing space portion; and

a second screw rotatably disposed in the waste toner containing space portion.

40. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 39, wherein the first screw and the second screw are parallel to each other.

41. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 38, wherein the transfer unit comprises:

a driving portion mounted on the loading portion to rotate the first screw and the second screw.

42. The toner cartridge as claimed in claim 41, wherein the first screw and the second screw are connected to the driving portion when the toner cartridge is loaded in the loading portion, and disconnected from the driving portion when the toner cartridge is detached from the loading portion.

43. A toner cartridge which is detachably loaded in a loading portion of an image forming apparatus and has a main body including a new toner containing space portion where new toner is contained, and a waste toner containing space portion where waste toner is contained, the toner cartridge comprising:

a supply hole formed on the main body, and through which the new toner is supplied from the new toner containing space portion to an outside of the main body;

a receiving hole formed on the main body, and through which the waste toner is received from the outside of the main body into the waste toner containing space portion; and

an open/shut mechanism having a single shutter automatically opening and shutting the supply hole and the receiving hole in response to a movement of the main body with respect to the loading portion.