Abstract:
A toner-dispensing container assembly for attachment to a toner compartment cover device on an electrographic printing machine to supply toner composition to the toner receiving compartment while avoiding detachment and spillage. The toner-dispensing container assembly is fastenable over the toner compartment cover device and rotatable to a first position to open the cover to the toner compartment while the toner-dispensing container remains sealed. Further rotation of the toner dispensing container opens it to the toner-receiving compartment to dispense toner thereinto.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to electrophotographic copying machines which employ and consume xerographic toner powders or developers for the development of electrostatic images during the production of copies of imaged originals. 
     More particularly, the present invention relates to improved assemblies for the attachment and periodic replacement of filled toner containers to the housing of a toner cartridge comprising a compartment from which toner is metered to the image-development station of an electrophotographic copying machine. 
     2. State of the Art 
     In known electrophotographic machines having refillable toner cartridges designed to be refilled or replenished by the user pouring toner thereinto from a toner container, there is substantial risk of toner spillage and waste, and of contamination of the machine, the work environment and the user. 
     Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,502 for its disclosure of a toner-supply container having a lid which is automatically opened to dispense toner into a toner-metering compartment of a copying machine when the toner container lid is moved into engagement with an unlatching mechanism, providing clean and automatic toner replenishment. 
     Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,797,073 and 5,852,760 which disclose motor-driven toner containers for metering toner particles to the developer unit of an electrophotographic copying machine. Both of these patents disclose rotatable toner-supply containers which interlock with the toner storage unit of the machine and have an aperture from which toner is metered with each horizontal rotation of the supply containers. 
     The toner-supply containers of U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,073 incorporate a sealing means for the toner-release aperture, which sealing means is normally biased to seal the aperture when the container is separated from the apparatus, to prevent spillage of the toner before and during the connection of the toner supply container to the apparatus. Rotation of the container, during operation of the copy apparatus, causes the sealing means to be opened to permit metering of the toner composition into the toner storage compartment. 
     It is desirable to avoid the need for rotating the toner-supply container and therefore the modern electrostatographic machines incorporate vertically-supported toner-supply containers which feed toner composition into the toner-storage compartment of the apparatus by gravity flow. It is also necessary to preclude the premature release or spillage of the toner composition from such containers during attachment and/or detachment of the containers in vertical orientation from the apparatus. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an assembly of a cover means for a toner-supply container and a mating cover means for a toner-receiving compartment of an electrostatographic copy machine. More particularly the invention relates to an assembly in which the cover means for the toner-supply container cannot be independently opened manually, thereby precluding spillage, and cannot be opened in assembly until fully engaged with the mating cover means of the toner-receiving compartment. The present assemblies preclude tilting of the supply container and spillage of the toner composition during attachment and detachment of the toner-supply container by maintaining the supply container sealed until after the assembly is engaged and rotated to a first tilt-preventing position, to open the cover to the toner-receiving compartment, after which the supply container must be rotated to a final dispensing position to open it to the toner-receiving compartment. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the accompanying drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pre-assembly of a toner-supply container and a toner cartridge comprising the toner-receiving compartment of an electrostatographic apparatus at initial alignment for attachment; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mating 180°-rotatable cover means of the toner-receiving compartment of the pre-assembly of FIG. 1 in closed position prior to attachment of the toner-supply container; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the underside of the toner supply container assembly of the present invention, viewed from the front and with the cover dispensing door in closed position; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper surface of the assembly of FIG. 3, viewed from the rear; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the toner bottle and cover assembly of FIG. 3, and 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-section taken along the line  6 — 6  of FIG.  5 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the toner supply container assembly  10  comprises a bottle section  11  adapted to contain a supply of particulate toner composition to be gravity-fed to the toner-receiving compartment of an electrostatographic copying machine  12 . The supply container is normally-closed or sealed by a closure means comprising an inner sleeve section  14  fastened around the lower portion of the bottle section  11  and an outer retainer ring sleeve section  15  which is rotatable with, but releasably-attached to, the inner cap section  14  to permit the bottle and inner cap section  14  to be rotated into open position, relative to the outer cover ring section  15 , only after the toner supply container  10  is assembled with the toner-receiving compartment of the machine  12  and the outer sleeve section  15  has been rotated to open the cover of the toner-receiving compartment, and after the attachment between the sections  14  and  15  is released to permit relative rotation therebetween to open the cover of the toner-containing bottle  11 . 
     The objectives of the present invention are to provide a toner-supply bottle assembly having (a) a sealing cover means which cannot be manually opened apart from an unlatching means present on the mating cover means on the toner-receiving compartment, and having (b) a locking means which is integrated with the mating cover means of the toner-receiving compartment to prevent tilting of the bottle assembly before it is fully in place, and (c) having a means for first rotating to open the inlet door of the toner-receiving compartment or cartridge and subsequently rotating to open the outlet door of the toner supply bottle into alignment with the open toner-receiving compartment to permit gravity flow of the toner composition. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 1, the toner supply container assembly  10  is provided with indicia means, such as arrow  16 , and the housing of the toner-receiving compartment  12  is provided with a similar indicia means  17 , adjacent the cover means  18  of the toner-receiving compartment  12  to facilitate alignment of the toner bottle assembly  10  and the toner-receiving compartment  12  for attachment and detachment therebetween. Attachment involves a first step of pushing down on bottle assembly  10  to position the outer lower ring wall projections  19  of assembly  10 , shown in FIG. 3, within the recess  20  of the latch-release wall  21  to compress the foam sealing section  34  of the toner-compartment cover means  18 , shown in FIG. 2, and simultaneously pressing the undersurface of the upper anti-tilt ring wall projection  19   a  down against the upper wall surface  19   b  of the toner compartment housing, shown in FIG.  2 . Also, the anti-tilt projection  22  of the outer ring  15  is depressed down into the opening  23  and the projections  19  are depressed down into openings  19 C of the annular floor  24  surrounding the rotatable cover/sealing disk  25  of the cover means  18 . In such depressed position, the undersurface  26  of the outer ring member  15  and its projection  26   a  mates with the upper surface  27  and its slot  27   a  of the cover means  18 , and clockwise rotation of the bottle assembly  10  180° locks the anti-tilt projection  19   a  against the upper surface  19   b  of the housing and also locks the anti-tilt projection  22  and alignment projections  19  for rotation beneath annular floor  24  and causes a tapered surface of the flexible latch mechanism  28  to be moved into engagement with the outwardly-tapered latch deflection surface  29  of the latch release wall  21 , thereby deflecting the latch mechanism radially-outwardly. The cover means  25  is provided with a stop means which limits its rotation to 180°. 
     As illustrated by FIG. 4, the latch mechanism  28 , mounted on the outer ring member  15  of the bottle assembly  10 , serves as a stop member which normally prevents rotation of the bottle assembly relative to the outer ring member  15  by engaging a vertical stop rib  30  which projects from the surface of the inner ring member  14  on the bottle  11 . This prevents relative rotation between the ring members  14  and  15  and inadvertent opening of the bottle  11  until the latch mechanism is released, and inadvertent release of the latch mechanism  28  is further precluded by the location of the latch mechanism beneath or inside the wall of the peripheral collar  31 . 
     The outward deflection of the flexible latch mechanism  28 , caused by 180° rotation of the bottle assembly  10 , with ring members  14  and  15 , into engagement with deflection surface  29 , frees the bottle  11  and inner ring  14  to rotate within the outer ring  15  which is locked in position. The first 180° rotation of the assembly  10  opens the toner-receiving compartment of the cartridge  12  by rotating the cover/sealing disk  25  until opening  34   a  in section  34  is in the position formerly occupied by floor section  27 . In this 180° rotation position the cover opening  34   a  is moved from a sealed position, in which it overlies a closed portion  34   b  of the compartment  12 , to an open position in which it overlies an opening in the compartment  12 , formerly sealed by floor section  27  of the cover/sealing disk  25 . A stop member on the housing  12  limits rotation of disk  25  to 180° in each direction. The second 180° rotation, of the unlocked toner bottle  11  and inner ring  14 , opens the mouth of the bottle  11  by positioning compartment  33  in the inner ring member  14  over opening  26   b  in ring member  15 , aligned with opening  34   a  in the 180°-rotated cover/sealing disk  25 , to permit gravity flow of the toner composition to fill the cartridge compartment within housing  12 . This procedure assures that the bottle assembly  10  is locked onto the mating cover means of the toner-receiving compartment on housing  12  in a tilt-resistant engagement before the toner-receiving compartment cover/sealing disk  25  is rotated to open position, with the first 180° rotation of the assembly  10 , and that the toner bottle remains closed until the bottle is unlatched from the outer ring  15  and rotated another 180°. 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 further illustrate the assembly  10  comprising the bottle  11 , inner ring member  14  and outer ring member  15  in initial closed position. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, the inner ring member  14  is illustrated to have a partition wall  32  which forms a funnel compartment  33  which communicates with the mouth of the toner-supply bottle  11  and with the opening  34   a  in the foam section  34  of the cover/sealing disk  25  when it is open to the toner-receiving compartment  12  but otherwise is sealed by floor section  26  of the outer ring section  15 . 
     The rotation procedure is reversed to close the bottle compartment  33  by rotating the bottle  11  and its ring section  14  by 180° until the mouth of compartment  33  overlies and is sealed by the floor portion  26  of the outer ring  15 . A further 180° rotation causes the rib  30  to pass over the tapered deflection surface  29  and deflect the latch mechanism  28  and become locked therebeyond so as to re-lock the bottle  11  and its ring section  14  to the outer ring section  15 . The relocked unit can then be disengaged from the cover/sealing disk  25  of the toner compartment and refilled for reuse. 
     It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.