JP2001147587A - Developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developing device whose assembly is facilitated and the leakage of developing material is better prevented by improving a tape type sealing member of a multiple layer structure that is stuck to an concave curved surface that is to be a slide contact surface of a device casing so that no wrinkles are generated even when the sealing member is stuck to the concave curved surface to which the sealing member is made easy to stick in order to prevent the leakage of the developing material from the slide contact surface between a developing roll and the device casing. SOLUTION: In the device, the sealing material 8 has a multiple layer structure that is provided with the sliding contact layer 9 that is brought into a sliding contact with the developing roll 3, an adhesive layer 10 that is stuck to the casing 5 and a cushioning layer 11 provided between the sliding contact layer 9 and the adhesive layer 10. The adhesive layer 10 and the cushioning layer 8 are provided with slits 12 that are extended in the width direction of the sealing member 8 and that are provided at several places in a longitudinal direction of the sealing member 8. The slits 12 are extended from one side surface of the sealing material to the vicinity of another end surface and thus parts where slits are not formed 13 on the other side surface side are formed alternately. At the end part of the sealing material 8, an edge part 8 that is inclined to the direction of thickness is formed to match the shape of the end part where the sealing material is stuck.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device incorporated in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a developing device having an improved structure of a seal member for preventing toner leakage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 3, a developing device incorporated in an electrophotographic copying machine or a printer includes a developing roller 3 arranged in contact with or close to a photosensitive member 2, and a developing roller 3. There is a housing 5 that holds the toner 4 in a manner that the shaft 4 is rotatably held, and the toner 4 in the housing 5 is attached to the outer peripheral surface 3a of the rotating developing roller 3 and supplied to the photoconductor 2. In this type of developing device, a blade 7 is provided at the toner outlet 6 of the housing 5 to supply the toner 4 to the outer peripheral surface 3a of the developing roller 3 while leveling the toner 4 in a thin layer.
By attaching a tape-shaped (strip-shaped) sealing material 13 to the sliding contact surface 5a of the housing 5 with both ends of the developing roller 3,
The toner 4 is prevented from leaking outside except for the toner outlet 6 between the blade 7 and the developing roller 3.

[0003]

However, the sealing material 13
As shown in FIG. 4, a sliding contact layer 14 made of a material having a high lubricating property to be in sliding contact with the developing roller 3, an adhesive layer 15 stuck to the housing 5, and a gap between the sliding contact layer 14 and the adhesive layer 15 When a multi-layer structure having a cushioning layer 16 made of a resilient material such as a foam material provided in the above is used, the sliding contact surface 5a serving as a sealing material attaching surface is an arc-shaped concave curved surface. For this reason, when the sealing material 13 is bent along the sliding contact surface 5a and adhered, uneven wrinkles (wrinkles) 17 are formed on the surface of the sealing material 13 or an adhesion failure portion 18 occurs as shown in FIG. As a result, the adhesion between the seal member 13 and the developing roller 3 is deteriorated, causing toner leakage. Also, after the seal member 13 is stuck on the sliding contact surface 5a, the surface of the seal member 13 is shaped like a finger or a round bar. There is a problem that workability is poor because it is necessary to perform leveling work with tools and the like. Further, since the end of the sealing material 13 is cut at a right angle, if the end 5b of the sealing material sticking portion of the housing 5 is slanted or has a step, as shown in FIG. A gap d is formed in the portion, which causes toner leakage.
For this reason, it is necessary to strongly press and compress the end of the sealing material 13 and affix it, and there is a problem that workability is poor and a problem that the adhesion state of the sealing material 13 tends to vary. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent the developing material from leaking out of the sliding contact portion between the developing roller and the device housing, so that the developer is stuck on a concave curved surface serving as the sliding contact portion of the device housing. By improving the tape-shaped sealing material having a multi-layered structure so that wrinkles do not occur even when stuck to a concave curved surface, the workability during assembly is improved and leakage of the developer can be more effectively prevented. An object of the present invention is to provide a developing device.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developing roller disposed in contact with or in close proximity to an object to be developed, wherein the developing roller is rotatable about an axis. A housing that holds and accommodates the developer, wherein the developer is attached to an outer circumferential surface of the rotating developing roller and supplies the developing material in the housing to a developing object, wherein the developing roller and the developing roller are provided. In order to prevent the developing material from leaking from the sliding contact portion with the housing to the outside, a developing device in which a tape-shaped sealing material is attached to a concave curved surface serving as the sliding contact portion of the housing, The sealing material has a multi-layered structure including a sliding contact layer that is in sliding contact with the developing roller, an adhesive layer attached to the housing, and a buffer layer provided between the sliding contact layer and the adhesive layer. Material, the adhesive layer and the buffer layer, the sealing material It characterized by having a plurality of locations along a slit extending in a direction in the longitudinal direction of the sealing member. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the developing device according to the first aspect, the slit extends from one side surface of the sealing material to the vicinity of the other end surface, thereby being formed on the other side surface side. The slit-free portions are formed so as to be alternately arranged. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the developing device according to the first or second aspect, the end of the sealing material is formed in accordance with an end shape of a sealing material attaching portion of the housing. It is characterized in that an end face that is inclined with respect to the thickness direction of the sealing material is formed.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1A is a schematic sectional view showing an example of an embodiment of a developing device according to the present invention. This developing device 1
Is provided with a developing roller 3 arranged in contact with or in proximity to the photosensitive member 2 as a developing object, and a housing 5 holding the developing roller 3 rotatably and containing a toner 4 as a developing material. The toner 4 in the housing 5 is attached to the outer peripheral surface 3a of the rotating developing roller 3 and supplied to the photosensitive member 2. Photoconductor 2
An electrostatic latent image corresponding to an output image is formed on the surface of the toner image by a known electrophotographic process, and the electrostatic latent image is developed (visible) by transferring toner 4 from developing roller 3 to photoconductor 2. Imaging). After the development, the toner image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 is transferred to a recording paper (not shown), and is output to the recording paper by being subjected to a fixing process. This developing device 1
In the above, a blade 7 is provided at the toner outlet 6 of the casing 5 to supply the toner 4 to the outer peripheral surface 3a of the developing roller 3 in a thin and layered manner, and to make contact with both ends of the developing roller 3 of the casing 5. By applying a tape-shaped sealing material 8 to the sliding contact surface 5a (the upper surface of the housing wall; however, the housing wall on the near side is not shown), the toner 4 is transferred to the blade 6 and the developing roller 3 Is prevented from leaking to the outside except for the toner outlet 6.

FIG. 1B is a side view showing an example of the embodiment of the sealing material, and FIG. 1C is a side view showing an example of the embodiment of the sealing material. The sealing material 8 includes a sliding contact layer 9 that is in sliding contact with the developing roller 3 and an adhesive layer 10 that is attached to the housing 5.
, A buffer layer 11 provided between the sliding contact layer 9 and the adhesive layer 9
It has a three-layer structure consisting of A material having high lubricity such as Teflon pile is used for the sliding contact layer 9. A double-sided tape or the like is used for the adhesive layer 10. An elastic material such as a foam material is used for the buffer layer 11. In the adhesive layer 10 and the buffer layer 11 of the sealing material 8, slits (cuts) 12, 12, extending in the width direction of the sealing material 8, are provided.
Are formed at equal intervals along the length direction of the sealing material 8. The slits 12, 12,...
, Which extend from one side surface to the vicinity of the other end surface, so that the slit-free portions 13 formed on the other side surface are alternately arranged. In addition, the end of the seal member 8 is formed in the thickness direction of the seal member 8 in accordance with the shape of the end surface (the side surface of the step portion) 5b of the sliding contact surface 5a, which is the place where the seal member is attached to the housing 5. An end surface 8a that is obliquely inclined is formed. The sealing material 8 configured as described above abuts the end surface 8a of the sealing material 8 against the end surface 5b of the sliding contact surface 5a of the housing 5 and sequentially adheres the adhesive layer 10 while following the sliding contact surface 5a. The housing 5
Can be attached to the sliding surface 5a. At this time, the slits 12, 1 formed in the adhesive layer 10 and the buffer layer 11 are formed.
2,... Are adhered while being opened, so that problems such as wrinkling on the surface of the sliding contact layer 9 and the occurrence of poor adhesion portions are unlikely to occur. Therefore, the operation of attaching the sealing material 8 to the sliding contact surface 5a can be performed more efficiently than in the past. Since the slit-unformed portions 13 are alternately arranged, the sealing performance of the sealing material 8 is not impaired by the presence of the slits 12, 12,.... In addition, since the end surface 8a of the sealing material 8 is formed obliquely so as to match the end surface 5b of the sliding contact surface 5a, it is difficult to form a gap between the end of the sealing material 8 and the end of the sliding contact surface 5a. Therefore, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to strongly press and compress the end portion of the sealing material 8 to attach the sealing material 8, so that the workability is improved, and the adhesion state of the sealing material 8 is less likely to vary.

In the above embodiment, the sealing material 8
Has been described by taking the case of a three-layer structure as an example, but may have a multi-layer structure composed of four or more layers. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the present invention can be effectively applied to a sealing material 8 having a four-layer structure in which the buffer layer 11 has a two-layer structure. In this case, the first layer 1 of the adhesive layer 10 and the buffer layer 11
Forming slits 12, 12,... In the buffer layer 1
No slit is formed in one second layer 11b. Thus, the buffer layer 11 has a two-layer structure, and only the first layer 11a, which is the layer on the side of the adhesive layer 10, is slit, and the second layer 11b, which is the layer on the side of the sliding contact layer 9, is not slit. By doing so, the opening amount of the slit 12 in a state where the sealing material 8 is stuck to the sliding contact surface 5a can be appropriately suppressed, and the generation of wrinkles in the sliding contact layer 9 can be suppressed. This structure is particularly effective when the thickness of the sliding contact layer 9 is 2 mm or more. That is, when the buffer layer 11 has a single-layer structure and a thickness of 2 mm or more, the buffer layer 11
When the slits 12, 12,... Are inserted in all the thickness directions of the slits, the opening amounts of the slits 12, 12,.
Since the entire length of the sealing material 8 is affected, the sliding contact layer 9 is bent, and wrinkles due to the bending and compression of the buffer layer 11 cause poor adhesion to the sliding contact surface 5a, resulting in poor adhesion. Although the performance is easily impaired, the buffer layer 1
1 has a two-layer structure, and the slit 1 is formed only in the layer on the adhesive layer 10 side.
By providing 2, 12,..., Such a problem can be prevented.

[0008]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the developing device, in order to prevent the developing material from leaking from the sliding contact portion between the developing roller and the device housing, the device housing is prevented. A tape-shaped sealing material having a multi-layered structure attached to a concave curved surface serving as a sliding contact portion of a body is provided with a sliding contact layer that is in sliding contact with a developing roller, an adhesive layer that is attached to a housing, and a sliding contact layer and an adhesive layer. With a sealing material of a multilayer structure having a buffer layer provided between,
In addition, by forming slits extending in the width direction of the seal material in the adhesive layer and the buffer layer at a plurality of locations in the length direction of the seal material, the structure has been improved so that wrinkles do not occur even when the seal material is stuck on a concave curved surface. In addition, it is possible to provide a developing device that can improve workability in assembling and can prevent leakage of a developing material more favorably than before. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the slits of the sealing material are formed so as to be alternately cut from the left and right end faces (both end faces in the width direction) so as not to completely separate the sealing material, and the slit-unformed portions are alternately formed. Therefore, the sealing performance of the sealing material is not impaired by the presence of the slit, and the strength required for the sealing material can be maintained. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the end face of the sealing material is formed with an end surface that is obliquely inclined with respect to the thickness direction of the sealing material in accordance with the shape of the end of the sealing material attaching portion of the housing. This makes it difficult to form a gap between the end of the sealing material and the end of the sealing material sticking point, and facilitates the alignment of the sealing material with respect to the sticking point. And workability are improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of an embodiment of a developing device according to the present invention, FIG. 1B is a side view showing an example of an embodiment of a sealing material shown in FIG. (c) is a side view of the sealing material.

FIG. 2A is a side view showing another embodiment of the sealing material, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the sealing material.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conventional developing device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a sealing material used in a conventional developing device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem of a conventional developing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Development device 2: Photoconductor (development target) 3: Developing roller 3a: Outer peripheral surface 4: Toner (developing material) 5: Housing 5a: Sliding contact surface 5
b: end surface 6: toner outlet 7: blade 8: sealing material 8a:
End face 9: sliding contact layer 10: adhesive layer 11: buffer layer 11a: first layer 11
b: Second layer 12: Slit 13: Non-slit portion

Claims (3)

[Claims] A developing roller disposed in contact with or in close proximity to a developing object; and a housing that holds the developing roller so as to be rotatable about an axis and that stores a developing material. A developing device that is attached to an outer peripheral surface of the rotating developing roller and supplies the developing material to a developing object, wherein the developing device prevents leakage of the developing material from a sliding contact portion between the developing roller and the housing. A developing device in which a tape-shaped sealing material is attached to a concave curved surface serving as the sliding contact portion of the housing, wherein the sealing material is in sliding contact with the developing roller;
A sealing material having a multilayer structure including an adhesive layer to be attached to the housing and a buffer layer provided between the sliding contact layer and the adhesive layer, wherein the adhesive layer and the buffer layer are the sealing material. A developing device having slits extending in the width direction of the material at a plurality of locations along the length direction of the sealing material. 2. The slit extends from one side surface of the sealing material to the vicinity of the other end surface, and is formed such that slit-unformed portions formed on the other side surface are alternately arranged. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein 3. An end surface of the sealing material, which is inclined with respect to a thickness direction of the sealing material, is formed at an end of the sealing material in accordance with an end shape of a sealing material attaching portion of the housing. 3. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein