Toner cartridge having counting structure

Abstract

The present invention provides a toner cartridge having a counting structure, comprising a toner cartridge body. A gear end cover is provided at one end of the toner cartridge body, a printing gear assembly and a counting device are provided on the gear end cover, and the counting device is engaged with the printing gear assembly. The counting device comprises: a counting gear engaged with the printing gear assembly, wherein a plurality of pulling pieces which are evenly arranged and a torsion spring pressing piece are provided in the middle of the counting gear; a torsion spring having one end fixed to the gear end cover and the other end in contact with the torsion spring pressing piece; a pulling rod assembly located above the torsion spring and having two ends bridged on two sides of the counting gear, wherein when the counting gear rotates, the plurality of pulling pieces pull and trigger a sensing element in a printer by means of the pulling rod assembly; and a gear reset assembly provided on one side of the counting gear and provided on a travel path of a counting stopper on the surface of the counting gear for blocking. The present invention relates to the technical field of toner cartridges.

Description

A carbon powder cartridge with a counting structure Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of carbon powder cartridges, in particular to a carbon powder cartridge with a counting structure. Background Art

[0002] In the field of modern office and commercial printing, toner cartridges, as the core consumables of laser printers, play a vital role in achieving efficient and high-quality printing. With the popularization of environmental protection concepts and the development trend of a resource-saving society, the importance of toner cartridges being able to be repeatedly refilled and reused after the initial toner is used up is becoming increasingly prominent. This refillable design not only significantly reduces users' printing costs and waste emissions, but also complies with the principles of a circular economy and is conducive to sustainable development.

[0003] Traditional toner cartridge designs often include a counting structure that tracks the toner level and prompts users when toner needs to be replaced or refilled. In previous technical solutions, this type of counting structure usually uses a gear design. When the toner cartridge is installed in the printer and turned on, the gear lever will mechanically trigger the sensor element inside the printer, thereby informing the printer how many times the toner cartridge can be printed. However, once the gear lever passes the sensor, due to the lack of an effective reset mechanism, the user must open the toner cartridge and remove the gear end cover to manually reset the operation. This process is not only cumbersome and complicated, but also prone to user errors, affecting the printer's work efficiency and stability.

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, some toner cartridge products have begun to introduce an improved counting structure design, that is, installing a transmission part on the gear end cover of the toner cartridge, allowing the user to drive the internal counting gear to reset by twisting the end cover or rotating a specific part with the help of tools such as a screwdriver. Although this improvement scheme avoids the operation of completely disassembling the toner cartridge, there are still some shortcomings. First, since the reset process is hidden inside the end cover, the user cannot directly observe the actual status of the counting gear, which increases the uncertainty of the operation; second, the linkage structure between the transmission part and the counting gear is relatively complex, which may increase manufacturing costs and may cause additional failure points, thereby reducing product reliability and user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In response to the shortcomings of the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention provides a toner cartridge with a counting structure, which saves users from excessive operations. When the toner in the toner cartridge is used up, there is no need to remove the gear end cover and other components of the toner cartridge. The user can directly pull the pull rod on the side of the gear end cover, and the internal counting structure will automatically reset. After refilling the toner, the toner cartridge can be put into the machine for normal use.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a toner cartridge with a counting structure, comprising a toner cartridge body, a gear end cover is provided at one end of the toner cartridge body, a printing gear assembly and a counting device are provided on the gear end cover, the counting device is meshed and connected to the printing gear assembly, the counting device comprises: a counting gear, meshed with the printing gear assembly, a plurality of toggle members and a torsion spring pressure member are evenly provided on the middle part of the counting gear; a torsion spring, one end of which is fixed on the gear end cover, and the other end is in contact with the torsion spring pressure member; a torsion rod assembly, located above the torsion spring, with both ends mounted on both sides of the counting gear, when the counting gear rotates, a plurality of the toggle members trigger the sensing element in the printer through the toggle rod assembly; a gear reset assembly, arranged on one side of the counting gear, and blocking the running path of the counting block on the surface of the counting gear.

[0007] Based on the above, a toner cartridge with a counting structure has the following beneficial effects: when the toner in the toner cartridge is used up, there is no need to remove the gear end cover and other components of the toner cartridge. The pull rod can be directly pulled on the side of the gear end cover, and the internal counting structure can be automatically reset. After refilling the toner, the toner cartridge can be put into the machine for normal use. It is mainly reflected in that the counting device of the present invention is composed of a counting gear, a torsion spring, a lever assembly and a gear reset assembly, and the counting gear is driven to run by the printing gear assembly. During the rotation of the counting gear, several lever members thereof move the lever assembly, so that the lever assembly moves and triggers the sensing element in the printer, and the printer thereby identifies the model and toner capacity of the toner cartridge and starts printing. When the gear rotates, the torsion spring pressure piece continuously squeezes the torsion spring located under the lever assembly, causing it to accumulate reset energy. When the counting gear rotates to the empty tooth part facing the printing gear assembly, the torsion spring deformation is maximized and the reset energy also reaches a peak value. At this time, the gear reset assembly just blocks the counting block on the surface of the counting gear, preventing the counting gear from resetting due to the torsion spring reset energy. Until the printer reaches the predetermined value of toner cartridge depletion according to the toner capacity count of this model, it will automatically alarm and stop working. At this time, take out the toner cartridge and gently pull the gear reset assembly to avoid the working path of the counting block. The torsion spring releases the accumulated energy by its own elasticity, pushing the counting gear to rotate and reset to the position where it is initially engaged with the printing gear assembly.

[0008] Furthermore, the counting gear is provided with an empty tooth portion. When the counting block is rotated to the gear reset assembly and is blocked, the empty tooth portion is located at the meshing position of the counting gear and the printing gear assembly, preventing the counting gear from being further driven to rotate.

[0009] Based on the above, the beneficial effect of the empty tooth portion is to prevent the counting gear from being driven by the printing gear assembly to work after the counting gear is triggered by the lever assembly toggling the sensing element in the printer.

[0010] Furthermore, the gear end cover is provided with a counting boss, a torsion spring fixing column, a torsion spring positioning platform and a shift rod support column, the counting gear is sleeved on the counting boss, the tail of the torsion spring is clamped on the inner side of the torsion spring positioning platform, one side of the shift rod assembly is provided on the torsion spring fixing column, and the torsion spring is limited in the torsion spring fixing column, and the other side of the shift rod assembly is provided on the shift rod support column.

[0011] Based on the above, the beneficial effect of the counting boss is to support and position the counting gear, ensuring that the counting gear is precisely engaged with other transmission components, thereby improving the stability of the counting process; the beneficial effect of the torsion spring fixing column is to limit the torsion spring and fix one end of the lever assembly; the beneficial effect of the torsion spring positioning platform is to position the tail of the torsion spring, so that one end of the torsion spring is completely fixed, and the other end can be squeezed by the torsion spring pressure piece to accumulate reset energy; the beneficial effect of the lever support column is to fix the other end of the lever assembly.

[0012] Furthermore, the detent rod assembly consists of a detent rod frame, a detent rod return spring and a detent rod, a detent rod slide rail is provided in the middle of the detent rod frame, a first detent rod spring positioning block is provided at one end of the detent rod frame close to the torsion spring fixing column, and the first detent rod spring positioning block is located on the edge of one side of the detent rod slide rail, the detent rod is slidably connected in the detent rod slide rail, a second detent rod spring positioning block is provided on the detent rod, and the detent rod return spring is connected between the first detent rod spring positioning block and the second detent rod spring positioning block.

[0013] Based on the above, the beneficial effect of the lever frame is to install the lever; the beneficial effect of the lever return spring is to ensure that the lever can quickly return to its initial position after disengaging from the counting gear toggle member so as to trigger the next signal, thereby improving the response speed and reliability of the system; the beneficial effect of the lever is to directly contact the sensing element in the printer, and through its own motion state changes, the printer can realize the capacity recognition and feedback of the toner cartridge; the beneficial effect of the lever slide rail is to guide the displacement direction of the lever; the beneficial effect of the first lever spring positioning block and the second lever spring positioning block is to install the lever return spring.

[0014] Furthermore, a gear protection cover is provided on the outer side of the gear end cover, and a raised limiting portion is provided on the gear protection cover at the counting gear. A visual window is provided on one side of the raised limiting portion, and a reset rod slide is provided on the side of the visual window close to the torsion spring fixing column. The gear reset assembly consists of a gear reset rod and a gear reset spring, and the gear reset rod is slidably connected in the reset rod slide, and a reset spring positioning column is provided between the reset rod slide and the visual window, and the gear reset spring is connected between the reset spring positioning column and the gear reset rod, and one end of the gear reset rod blocks the running path of the counting block.

[0015] Based on the above, the beneficial effect of the gear protection cover is to protect internal precision parts such as counting gears from the influence of the external environment; the beneficial effect of the raised limit part is to limit the counting gear together with the counting boss; the beneficial effect of the visual window is to allow the user to directly see the working status of the counting gear, and to better maintain the counting device, thereby improving the user experience; the beneficial effect of the reset rod slide rail is to guide the displacement direction of the reset rod; the beneficial effect of the reset rod is to reset the counting gear; the beneficial effect of the gear reset spring is to ensure that the counting gear can quickly return to its initial position after being reset, so that the counting device can block the working path of the counting block after toggling the printer sensing element again to prevent the counting gear from resetting prematurely; the beneficial effect of the reset spring positioning column is to install the gear reset spring together with the reset rod.

[0016] Furthermore, a shift lever limiting platform is provided on a side of the visual window away from the raised limiting portion, and the shift lever's shifting end is limited on one side of the shift lever limiting platform; through the visual window, the working state of the counting gear can be clearly observed.

[0017] Based on the above, the beneficial effect of the lever limiter is to prevent the lever from being separated from the original track during operation and thus being unable to dial the printer sensing element.

[0018] Furthermore, the printing gear assembly is provided with a developing roller gear, a powder feeding roller gear, a driving gear, an intermediate gear and a stirring frame gear. The developing roller gear, the powder feeding roller gear and the intermediate gear are all engaged with the four sides of the driving gear, the stirring frame gear is engaged with one side of the intermediate gear, and the counting gear is engaged with one side of the stirring frame gear.

[0019] Based on the above, the beneficial effect of the developing roller gear is to drive the toner cartridge developing roller to work; the beneficial effect of the powder feeding roller gear is to drive the toner cartridge powder feeding roller to work; the beneficial effect of the driving gear is to drive the developing roller gear, the powder feeding roller gear and the intermediate gear; the beneficial effect of the intermediate gear is to engage and drive the stirring frame gear to work; the beneficial effect of the stirring frame gear is to drive the toner cartridge stirring frame and the counting gear to work.

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the above features of the present invention and the objects to be achieved, the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the gear end cover of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a counting device according to the present invention;

[0024] FIG4 is a schematic diagram showing the cooperation between the torsion spring and the torsion spring compression member of the present invention;

[0025] FIG5 is a perspective view of the gear protection cover of the present invention.

[0026] Description of the accompanying figures: 1-toner cartridge body, 2-gear end cover, 21-counting boss, 22-torsion spring fixing column, 23-torsion spring positioning platform, 24-paddle support column, 3-printing gear assembly, 31-developing roller gear, 32-powder feeding roller gear, 33-driving gear, 34-intermediate gear, 35-stirring frame gear, 4-counting device, 41-counting gear, 411-sliding member, 412-torsion spring pressure member, 413-counting block, 414-empty tooth portion, 42-torsion spring Spring, 43-shift lever assembly, 431-shift lever frame, 4311-shift lever slide rail, 4312-first shift lever spring positioning block, 432-shift lever return spring, 433-shift lever, 4331-second shift lever spring positioning block, 44-gear return assembly, 441-gear return rod, 442-gear return spring, 5-gear protection cover, 51-reset rod slide rail, 52-raised limit portion, 53-visual window, 54-reset spring positioning column, 55-shift lever limit platform. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] As shown in Figures 1 to 5, a toner cartridge with a counting structure includes a toner cartridge body 1, a gear end cover 2 is provided at one end of the toner cartridge body 1, a printing gear assembly 3 and a counting device 4 are provided on the gear end cover 2, and the counting device 4 is meshed and connected to the printing gear assembly 3. The counting device 4 includes:

[0028] The counting gear 41 is engaged with the printing gear assembly 3. A plurality of toggle members 411 and a torsion spring pressing member 412 are evenly arranged in the middle of the counting gear 41.

[0029] A torsion spring 42, one end of which is fixed to the gear end cover 2, and the other end of which is in contact with the torsion spring pressing piece 412;

[0030] The lever assembly 43 is located above the torsion spring 42, with its two ends mounted on both sides of the counting gear 41. When the counting gear 41 rotates, the plurality of the toggle members 411 toggle and trigger the sensing element in the printer through the lever assembly 43.

[0031] The gear reset assembly 44 is disposed on one side of the counting gear 41 and blocks the running path of the counting block 413 on the surface of the counting gear 41 .

[0032] The counting gear 41 is provided with an empty tooth portion 414. When the counting block 413 is rotated to the gear reset assembly 44 and blocked, the empty tooth portion 414 is located at the meshing position of the counting gear 41 and the printing gear assembly 3, preventing the counting gear 41 from being further driven to rotate.

[0033] The gear end cover 2 is provided with a counting boss 21, a torsion spring fixing column 22, a torsion spring positioning platform 23 and a shift rod support column 24. The counting gear 41 is sleeved on the counting boss 21. The tail of the torsion spring 42 is clamped on the inner side of the torsion spring positioning platform 23. One side of the shift rod assembly 43 is provided on the torsion spring fixing column 22, and the torsion spring 42 is limited in the torsion spring fixing column 22. The other side of the shift rod assembly 43 is provided on the shift rod support column 24.

[0034] The detent rod assembly 43 consists of a detent rod frame 431, a detent rod return spring 432 and a detent rod 433. A detent rod slide rail 4311 is provided in the middle of the detent rod frame 431. A first detent rod spring positioning block 4312 is provided at one end of the detent rod frame 431 close to the torsion spring fixing column 22, and the first detent rod spring positioning block 4312 is located on the edge of one side of the detent rod slide rail 4311. The detent rod 433 is slidably connected to the detent rod slide rail 4311. A second detent rod spring positioning block 4331 is provided on the detent rod 433. The detent rod return spring 432 is connected between the first detent rod spring positioning block 4312 and the second detent rod spring positioning block 4331.

[0035] The outer snap-fit ​​of the gear end cover 2 is provided with a gear protection cover 5, and the gear protection cover 5 is provided with a raised limiting portion 52 at the counting gear 41, and a visual window 53 is provided on one side of the raised limiting portion 52, and a reset rod slide 51 is provided on the side of the visual window 53 close to the torsion spring fixing column 22. The gear reset assembly 44 consists of a gear reset rod 441 and a gear reset spring 442, and the gear reset rod 441 is slidably connected in the reset rod slide 51. A reset spring positioning column 54 is provided between the reset rod slide 51 and the visual window 53, and the gear reset spring 442 is connected between the reset spring positioning column 54 and the gear reset rod 441, and one end of the gear reset rod 441 blocks the running path of the counting block 413.

[0036] A lever limiting platform 55 is provided on one side of the visual window 53 away from the raised limiting portion 52 , and the shifting end of the lever 433 is limited on one side of the lever limiting platform 55 ; through the visual window 53 , the working status of the counting gear 41 can be clearly observed.

[0037] The printing gear assembly 3 is provided with a developing roller gear 31, a powder feeding roller gear 32, a driving gear 33, an intermediate gear 34 and a stirring frame gear 35. The developing roller gear 31, the powder feeding roller gear 32 and the intermediate gear 34 are all engaged with the four sides of the driving gear 33, the stirring frame gear 35 is engaged with one side of the intermediate gear 34, and the counting gear 41 is engaged with one side of the stirring frame gear 35.

[0038] In summary, the specific embodiment of the present invention is as follows: the counting gear 41 is positioned by the counting boss 21 and meshes with the stirring frame gear 35 in the printing gear assembly 3; one end of the torsion spring 42 is fixed to the torsion spring fixing column 22, and the other end contacts the counting gear 41 through the torsion spring pressing member 412; when the counting gear 41 rotates with the stirring frame gear 35, the torsion spring 42 is continuously squeezed, accumulating reset energy, and the toggle members 411 evenly distributed in the middle of the counting gear 41 rotate with the counting gear 41. The toggle members 411 move along the toggle lever 433 along the toggle lever slide rail 4311 by the rotation of the counting gear 41, so that the other end of the toggle lever 433 toggle and trigger the sensing element inside the printer, so that the printer can identify the toner capacity of the toner cartridge;

[0039] When the toner capacity count of the printer reaches the predetermined value of toner cartridge depletion according to the toner capacity count of the model, the printer will automatically issue an alarm signal and stop working. At this time, the user only needs to remove the toner cartridge from the printer and directly pull the gear reset lever 441 on the side of the gear end cover 2. The gear reset lever 441 in the gear reset assembly 44 will slide within the reset lever slide rail 51, avoiding the working path of the counting block 413, releasing the previously accumulated torsion spring energy, and causing the counting gear 41 to rotate back to the initial position to complete the reset.

[0040] After the user refills the toner cartridge with toner, he or she reinstalls the reset toner cartridge into the printer. Since the counting gear 41 has been reset, the toner capacity can be recognized normally after the printer is put down and a new printing task can be started.

[0041] Finally, it should be noted that after the torsion spring 42 is added to the counting gear 41 in the traditional toner cartridge, it is reset by squeezing the torsion spring 42 to obtain sufficient reset potential energy. However, the empty tooth portion 414 is designed to be too large, resulting in the inability to always reset to the starting point where the counting gear 41 and the printing gear assembly 3 are engaged. After repeated verification by engineers, adding fifteen teeth to the empty tooth portion 414 of the counting gear 41 in the traditional toner cartridge is the optimal solution for reset.

[0042] The above description is only the optimal solution embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Various modifications or substitutions made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essence and protection scope of the present invention should also be within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A toner cartridge with a counting structure, comprising a toner cartridge body (1), characterized in that: A gear end cover (2) is provided at one end of the toner cartridge body (1), a printing gear assembly (3) and a counting device (4) are provided on the gear end cover (2), the counting device (4) is meshedly connected to the printing gear assembly (3), and the counting device (4) comprises: A counting gear (41) is meshed with the printing gear assembly (3), and a plurality of toggle members (411) and a torsion spring pressing member (412) are evenly arranged in the middle of the counting gear (41); a torsion spring (42), one end of which is fixed to the gear end cover (2) and the other end of which is in contact with the torsion spring pressure piece (412); A lever assembly (43) is located above the torsion spring (42), with both ends mounted on both sides of the counting gear (41). When the counting gear (41) rotates, the plurality of the shifting members (411) trigger the sensing element in the printer through the lever assembly (43); The gear reset assembly (44) is arranged on one side of the counting gear (41) and blocks the running path of the counting block (413) on the surface of the counting gear (41).

2. The toner cartridge with a counting structure according to claim 1, wherein: The counting gear (41) is provided with an empty tooth portion (414). When the counting block (413) is rotated to the position where the gear reset assembly (44) is blocked, the empty tooth portion (414) is located at the meshing position between the counting gear (41) and the printing gear assembly (3), preventing the counting gear (41) from being driven to rotate further.

3. The toner cartridge with a counting structure according to claim 1, wherein: The gear end cover (2) is provided with a counting boss (21), a torsion spring fixing column (22), a torsion spring positioning platform (23) and a shift lever support column (24); the counting gear (41) is sleeved on the counting boss (21); the tail of the torsion spring (42) is clamped on the inner side of the torsion spring positioning platform (23); one side of the shift lever assembly (43) is provided on the torsion spring fixing column (22) and limits the torsion spring (42) in the torsion spring fixing column (22); the other side of the shift lever assembly (43) is provided on the shift lever support column (24).

4. The toner cartridge with a counting structure according to claim 1, wherein: The deflector rod assembly (43) consists of a deflector rod frame (431), a deflector rod return spring (432) and a deflector rod (433). A deflector rod slide rail (4311) is provided in the middle of the deflector rod frame (431). A first deflector rod spring positioning block (4312) is provided at one end of the deflector rod frame (431) close to the torsion spring fixing column (22). The first deflector rod spring positioning block (4312) is located on the edge of one side of the deflector rod slide rail (4311). The deflector rod (433) is slidably connected to the deflector rod slide rail (4311). A second deflector rod spring positioning block (4331) is provided on the deflector rod (433). The deflector rod return spring (432) is connected between the first deflector rod spring positioning block (4312) and the second deflector rod spring positioning block (4331).

5. The toner cartridge with a counting structure according to claim 2, wherein: The outer snap-fit of the gear end cover (2) is provided with a gear protection cover (5), and the gear protection cover (5) is provided with a raised limiting portion (52) at the counting gear (41), and a visual window (53) is provided on one side of the raised limiting portion (52), and a reset rod slide rail (51) is provided on the side of the visual window (53) close to the torsion spring fixing column (22). The gear reset assembly (44) consists of a gear reset rod (441) and a gear reset spring (442), and the gear reset rod (441) is slidably connected in the reset rod slide rail (51), and a reset spring positioning column (54) is provided between the reset rod slide rail (51) and the visual window (53), and the gear reset spring (442) is connected between the reset spring positioning column (54) and the gear reset rod (441), and one end of the gear reset rod (441) blocks the running path of the counting block (413).

6. The toner cartridge with a counting structure according to claim 5, characterized in that: A shift lever limiting platform (55) is provided on one side of the visual window (53) away from the raised limiting portion (52), and the shifting end of the shift lever (433) is limited on one side of the shift lever limiting platform (55); the working state of the counting gear (41) can be clearly observed through the visual window (53).

7. The toner cartridge with a counting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The printing gear assembly (3) is provided with a developing roller gear (31), a powder feeding roller gear (32), a driving gear (33), an intermediate gear (34) and a stirring frame gear (35). The developing roller gear (31), the powder feeding roller gear (32) and the intermediate gear (34) are all engaged with the four sides of the driving gear (33), the stirring frame gear (35) is engaged with one side of the intermediate gear (34), and the counting gear (41) is engaged with one side of the stirring frame gear (35).

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