JP2002214895A - Sealing member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sealing member capable of accomplishing a high toner sealing performance and the smooth slidability of a cover member, and also, having high durability. SOLUTION: For the sealing member 10 for allowing to open/close the cover member 54 in the toner-sealed state, the sealing member 10 is constituted of a sheet-like elastic member 12 and a coating layer 14 imparted to the sliding surface of the elastic member 12, and for the physical properties of the sheet-like elastic member 12, the permanent set of compression <=10% with in the range of the density of 200 to 480 kg/m3 and ASKER-C hardness in the range of 5 to 35, and also, as for the physical properties of the coating layer 14, the sliding strength is set at <=40 N.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seal member, and more particularly, to a seal member used for a lid member for slidably closing an opening of a container for storing a toner used in a copying machine, a facsimile, or the like. It relates to members.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In office equipment such as a laser printer for printing documents at high speed, a copying machine for copying printed matter, and a facsimile machine, an electrostatically recorded electrostatic latent image is developed into a visible image. Is used. This toner is a fine powder having a particle diameter of about 5 to 15 μm, and is stored in a predetermined amount in a toner container provided in the office equipment.

[0003] Since the toner is a consumable material that is sequentially consumed as the office equipment is used, as shown in FIG.
An opening 52 a for receiving toner from the outside is provided in the toner container 52. Further, a cover member 54 is provided at the opening 52a of the toner container 52 so as to freely slide along the opening 52a to open and close it.

In this case, the toner container 5 of the lid member 54
As shown in FIG.
During normal use, the lid member 54 is easily sealed when the toner is supplied from a toner supply source (such as a toner cartridge) while maintaining a sealed state so that the toner does not leak out from the opening 52a. A seal member 10 that is moved to open the opening 52a is provided.

Therefore, the sealing member 10 is generally required to have the following characteristics. Since the toner is a very fine powder, if it leaks to the outside, it will stain hands, clothes, etc., and depending on the amount of suction, adverse effects on the human body may be caused. Therefore, a high sealing property for preventing leakage of the toner to the outside is required. On the other hand, at the time of toner supply, there is a slidability that allows the lid member to be easily opened and closed. Since office equipment such as copying is a durable consumer material, it must be durable enough to maintain the above-mentioned sealing and sliding properties for a long period of time.

The physical properties required for the seal member to achieve the above-mentioned properties include hardness, density, compression set, slip resistance and the like. The slip resistance indicates the degree of sliding with respect to the rubbed body. When the value is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the opening and closing work of the lid member including the seal member becomes easy.
The density has a great influence on both the slip resistance and the adhesion (the sealing property of the toner), and the density has an influence on the hardness. The compression set indicates the degree of aging over a long period of use, and if it is large, it cannot withstand long-term use.

The opening 52a is connected to the sealing member 1
0, the sealing state of the sealing member 10
Is compressed between the opening 52a and the opening 52a. That is, the degree of sliding according to the present invention is under a state where a predetermined force is applied to the seal member 10. In order to express this degree of sliding, it is considered that the force required for actual sliding, that is, the sliding strength at the time of sliding, is appropriate from the evaluation based on the mere "friction coefficient" of the material. Is used.

[0008]

As a material that can be used as the sealing member, an elastic body such as a polyethylene foam can be used. That is, when the opening 52a is closed by the seal member 10, the seal member 10 is elastically compressed to exhibit high hermeticity. In this case, since a predetermined force is applied to the seal member 10 from the opening 52a, the resistance when the sheet member 10 is slid is high, and therefore, when the lid member 54 is opened and closed. The ease of the operation is reduced. On the other hand, if an attempt is made to obtain a low sliding resistance, the sealing property is reduced, and as a result, the sealing property of the toner is deteriorated. That is, in the seal member handled in the present invention, the sealing property and the slidability are in a contradictory relationship, and it has been difficult to balance them.

Materials practically used as the seal member include a laminate of polyethylene foam, elastomer solid or foam, and a laminate of elastomer solid or foam + resin film, each of which is described below. The shortcomings were inherent. In the case of a polyethylene foam, it is a material that can be elastically compressed and has a low hardness, so that the sealing property of the toner is good.
However, on the other hand, it is pointed out that there is a problem that a residual strain (compression set) is generated due to long-term compression or use / storage under high temperature. That is, the sealing property is deteriorated due to aging, and the toner leaks. Elastomeric solids or foams can be elastically compressed and have a small compression set, similar to the polyethylene foams described above, so there is no problem in terms of toner sealing properties and durability. However, since the friction coefficient of the surface is high, resistance when sliding the lid member for opening and closing is large. In the case of a laminate of a laminate of an elastomer solid or a foam and a resin film, the laminate has the advantages of the two materials described above, but has the disadvantage of increasing the manufacturing cost and the wrinkles associated with high hardness and low elasticity of the resin film. There are drawbacks such as breakage, other deformation, and poor followability to complicated shapes. As described above, no matter which material is used, a seal member having both high sealing property and slidability of the toner and further having high durability has not been obtained.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the prior art seal member, and has been proposed to solve the problem in a favorable manner. It is an object of the present invention to provide a seal member that realizes smooth slidability and also has high durability.

[0011]

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended object, a sealing member according to the present invention comprises:
A seal member that is provided at a sliding portion of a lid member that slidably closes an opening of the toner container and that allows the lid member to be opened and closed in a state where the toner is sealed.
The sheet-shaped elastic member is constituted by a sheet-shaped elastic member and a coating layer provided on the sliding surface side of the elastic member, and has a physical property of a density of 200 to 480 kg / m ³ and an Asker C
The hardness is set in the range of 5 to 35, the compression set is 10% or less, and the physical properties of the coating layer are adjusted to a sliding strength of 4%.
0 N or less.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a preferred embodiment of a seal member according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 6 and 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The inventor of the present application has stated that the physical properties required for the sealing member are: density: 200 to 480 kg / m ³ , hardness:
Asker C hardness 5 to 35 °, sliding strength (friction coefficient):
It has been found that the object of the present invention is achieved by setting the pressure to 40 N or less. It was also found that a compression set of 10% or less is more preferable.

FIG. 1 shows a toner container 52 having a lid member 54 employing a seal member 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and an opening 52a hermetically closed by the lid member 54 so as to be openable and closable. FIG. In the upper portion of the opening 52a of the toner container 52, conventionally known guide members 56, 56 are provided on both sides along the sliding direction, whereby the lid member 54 is brought into close contact with the opening 52a. It is attached so that it can open and close freely and slidably. The opening 52a of the lid member 54
On the side, the sealing member 10 is fixed by an adhesive or the like so as to cover the entire opening 52a when the sealing member 10 is closed.

[0015] As shown in FIG.
It comprises a sheet-like elastic member 12 and a coating layer 14 of a predetermined thickness provided on the sliding side of the sheet-like elastic member 12. As described above, each physical property value required for the seal member 10 is, as described above, a density of 200 to 480 kg /
m ³ , hardness is 5 to 35 ° in Asker C hardness, sliding strength is 40 N or less, and compression set is 10% or less. By achieving these physical property values, it is possible to obtain the seal member 10 that achieves high adhesion and easy opening and closing.
The density, hardness and compression set are mainly achieved by the sheet-like elastic member 12, and the sliding strength is achieved by the coating layer 14.

The sheet-like elastic member 12 is preferably a polyurethane foam produced by mixing a predetermined polyol component and an isocyanate component as a main raw material and mixing it with auxiliary raw materials such as various additives. Mechanical floss (mec
The hanical frothing (mechanical whipping) method is optimal. In addition, a solid body or a foamed body using various elastomers as raw materials may be employed as long as the physical properties described above are satisfied. In the case of a foam using the elastomer as a raw material, a foam having a surface film called a skin layer (a non-foamed layer having a thickness of 1 μm or less) on its surface is preferable.
Coating material for forming a coating layer 14 described later
Since the effect of preventing permeation into the inside of the sheet-like elastic member 12 (described later) is exerted, the application of the coating layer 14 can be facilitated.

The main raw material of the polyurethane foam suitably used for producing the sheet-like elastic member 12 is as follows:
These are a polyol component and an isocyanate component, and if necessary, required amounts of auxiliary materials such as a foaming agent, a foam stabilizer, a crosslinking agent, a plasticizer, a catalyst, a hygroscopic material and / or a filler are added. In the mechanical floss method cited as a preferred example in the present embodiment, the mixing ratio of the foaming gas such as an inert gas for determining the foaming ratio is 50 to 500 volumes with respect to the total volume 100 of each raw material. %.

As the polyol component, a polyether polyol and / or a polyester polyol or a commonly used general polyol component is used. In particular, the OH value (the amount of KOH corresponding to the OH group in 1 g of polyol ( (mg)) in the range of 80 to 150 is preferred. The OH value is determined by the formula: polyol molecular weight / polyol functional group number (OH value = 56.1 × 100
(0 × number of functional groups / molecular weight), when a plurality of polyols are mixed, or the like, the OH value as a whole is calculated by adding the values obtained by multiplying the respective OH values by the respective mixing ratios.

Examples of the isocyanate component include toluene diphenyl isocyanate (TDI) prepolymer, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), crude MDI, polymeric MDI, and uretdione-modified MDI.
Alternatively, carbodiimide-modified MDI or the like is preferably used, but an isocyanate component can also be employed. Further, as the foaming gas, an inert gas such as dry air or nitrogen which does not adversely affect the reaction between the polyol component and the isocyanate component described above is preferable.

The mixing ratio of each of the above-mentioned raw materials required to achieve the above-mentioned respective physical property values is 100 w
25% to 37% by weight of isocyanate component to t%
% Of the auxiliary material, 2 to 5% by weight of the foam stabilizer, and 1% of the catalyst.
It is set in the range of ５5 wt%. It should be noted that the mixing ratio of other auxiliary raw materials for which the mixing ratio is not specified is as follows.
Since it does not significantly affect the manifestation of the above-mentioned physical properties, it is appropriately determined according to other physical properties of the manufactured seal member 10, the convenience in the manufacturing process, and the like. It should be noted that the total amount of the above-mentioned foam stabilizer and catalyst and other additives such as a cross-linking agent, a hygroscopic material and a filler is set to 50 wt% or less as a guide.

The density, which is one of the above physical properties, depends on the total amount of the foaming gas mixed with the total volume of the raw materials. The total amount of the gas for foaming is 50 to 50 as described above.
When the amount is less than the range of 500% by volume, the density of the obtained sheet-like elastic member 12 increases, and when the amount is large, the density decreases.

The hardness mainly depends on the mixing ratio of the polyol component and the isocyanate component and the above-mentioned density. Further, it depends on the OH value of the polyol component described above, that is, the number of functional groups and the molecular weight. When the OH value is less than 80, the hardness becomes low, and when it exceeds 150, the hardness becomes high. .

With respect to the type of the foam stabilizer, a nonionic surfactant such as polydimethylsiloxane or polyoxyalkylene is particularly preferable. By using these, the foaming gas is converted into the sheet-like elastic member 12. It becomes a suitable bubble structure within. The change in the cell structure caused by this foam stabilizer
Care must be taken because compression set also affects the compression set.

If the mixing ratio of the above-mentioned polyol component and isocyanate component is out of the range, it is difficult to set each physical property value of the sheet-like elastic member 12 to a preferable range. Care must be taken. As other factors, the physical properties can also be changed by changing the number average molecular weight of the polyol component or using an isocyanate having molecular softness.

The coating layer 14 is formed by applying and drying a coating material which can reduce sliding strength, that is, has low sliding resistance, such as acrylic resin, urethane resin or silicone resin.

The coating layer 14 is provided on the toner container 52 side of the seal member 10, that is, on the sliding contact surface of the lid member 54, and has a role of reducing sliding strength. Therefore, the physical properties required for the coating layer 14 are that the coating layer 14 has a slip resistance of 40 N or less, which is achieved by using the above-described material and having a predetermined thickness as the coating layer 14. Is done.

The thickness of the coating layer 14 is preferably about 0.5 to 30 μm when the application of the coating layer 14 is completed, that is, when the drying is completed. If the thickness of the coating layer is less than 0.5 μm, the sliding strength cannot be sufficiently reduced. If the thickness exceeds 30 μm, the sliding strength may increase due to deformation of the coating layer 14 or damage may occur. You need to be careful.

In forming the coating layer 14, for example, a kneaded material obtained by kneading a powder 16 of a low friction material having a low critical surface tension such as a fluorine resin or a silicone resin with a coating material is used. Immediately after the layer 14 is applied, the layer 14 may be uniformly spread and fixed on the surface of the coating layer 14. In this case, the weight of the coating material: the weight of the powder of the low friction material is preferably about 1: 0.5 to 1: 2, and a sufficient effect is obtained when the amount of the powder of the low friction material is small. If it is not obtained, and if the amount is too large, kneading becomes difficult, or the sliding of the product during use causes the powder 16 of the low friction material to fall off.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the powder 16 is kneaded in the coating layer 14, the particle diameter of the powder 16 of the low friction material is one time of the thickness of the coating layer 14. About 2 times is preferable, and below this, the proportion of the powder 16 exposed on the surface of the coating layer 14 decreases (see FIG. 3 (a)). If it exceeds this, the ratio of exposure to the surface of the coating layer 14 increases, and the powder 16 of the low friction material may fall off due to sliding during use of the product (see FIG. 3B). ). When the powder 16 of a low friction material is sprayed and fixed on the coating layer 14, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the thickness of the coating layer 14 and the powder 16
Since there is no correlation between the particle size and the sliding strength, the particle size is small and the sliding strength can be reduced.
Depending on the degree of fixation of No. 6, it may fall off during use as in the case of the above-mentioned kneading.

[0030]

[Example of the manufacturing method] Next, the polyurethane foam manufactured by the mechanical floss method is applied to a sheet-like elastic member 1.
A method of manufacturing the seal member 10 adopted as No. 2 will be described. The production of the polyurethane foam by the mechanical floss method is suitably performed by a conventionally known method described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-8735, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

After the sheet-like elastic member 12 is manufactured by a conventionally known method as described above, a coating material is applied to the sliding surface side of the sheet-like elastic member 12 and then dried and cured to form a coating layer. 14 is formed. As the type of the coating material used here, any of a solvent dilution type, an emulsion type or a non-solvent type coating material can be adopted, and as a method for applying the coating material, spray coating, roll coating, knife coating, or the like is used. Although it can be suitably adopted,
In addition, any method may be used as long as it can control the layer thickness of 0.5 to 30 μm described above. As the curing means, an appropriate method such as thermal curing or ultraviolet curing suitable for the coating material is appropriately employed.
In addition, it is preferable that the application is performed by a so-called pre-measuring method in which the application is performed after the measurement is performed in advance to obtain a desired application weight before the application.

The sealing member 10 obtained through a series of operations
Is manufactured through final finishing and inspection, etc., and is finally fixed to a predetermined position of the lid member 54 by using an adhesive or the like, and is provided for actual use.

[0033]

[Experimental Examples] The change in sliding strength depending on the type of sheet-like elastic member, the type of coating layer, the coating thickness and the presence or absence of powder of a low-friction material, which constitutes the sealing member according to the embodiment, and An experimental example is shown for evaluation.

(Members Used) The following products were used as members constituting the seal member. In addition, in order to provide a simple notation when describing the experimental results, an alphabet is added to each of them, and each member is hereinafter described with the alphabet. As the sheet-like elastic member, a polyurethane foam product manufactured by performing a mechanical floss method capable of achieving various physical properties was employed. Table 1 shows each raw material used in manufacturing the sheet-like elastic member and each physical property value of the obtained sheet-like elastic member. Sheet-like elastic member: A- General purpose polyurethane elastomer of density 200 kg / m ³ B- density 480 kg / m ³ of a general-purpose polyurethane elastomer coating material: C-Product Name SRX357: Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co. (silicone resin D-Product name MT-2: Nippon Paint (acrylic resin)-Powder of low friction material: E-Product name Tospearl 145: GE Toshiba Silicone
(Particle size 4.5 μm) F-trade name Tospearl 3120: 〃 (particle size 12 μm
m)

[0035]

[Table 1]

(Manufacturing method) The coating material C was applied to the sheet-like elastic member A or B according to Table 2 below.
Or apply and cure D by roll coating,
A specimen having a coating layer of a predetermined thickness was obtained. In addition, the powder E or F of the low friction material was also kneaded in advance or a coating layer was formed on the coating material according to Table 1, and then uniformly dispersed on the surface before drying and curing.
At this time, the weight ratio between the coating material and the powder of the low friction material was set to 1: 1.

[0037]

[Table 2]

(Measurement Method and Results) The density, hardness, and compression set are almost the same as those of a product sold as a sheet-like elastic member, and the desired physical property values are achieved. I do. Sliding strength: 30 mm x 30 mm from the obtained test specimen
5 is prepared and set in a compressed form of 40% (adjustable by a spacer and a tightening member) between an ABS resin plate as a slidable body of the measuring device shown in FIG. 5 and a bridge portion (see FIG. 5). 5 (a)). After 3 minutes, AB
Pull the S resin plate down along with the guide, pulling speed 200mm / mi
n (see FIG. 5B), the tensile strength was determined from the force required to start pulling at this time, and this tensile strength was defined as the sliding strength. The results are shown in Table 2 together with the members used. Note that an ABS resin plate widely used as a material of the toner container was selected as the sliding object.

Based on each measurement result obtained in the above measurement, when each sealing member was attached to the lid member,
From the sealing properties and the ease of opening and closing, ◎: very good feeling of use, ：: good feeling of use, or ×: problematic in feeling of use. . This evaluation is summarized as follows. Regarding the sealing property of the toner, the desired high sealing property could be secured by achieving the respective physical property values required for the sheet-like elastic member. By forming the 0.5 to 30 μm coating layer, the sliding strength was significantly reduced as compared with the unformed product. As a result, high ease of opening and closing could be secured. Even lower sliding strength could be achieved by kneading or surface-spraying a powder of a low-friction material on the coating layer.

[0040]

As described above, according to the seal member of the present invention, the sealing property of the toner required for the seal member provided on the lid member of the toner container for storing the toner, and the opening and closing of the lid member Ease and the like can be achieved inexpensively and sufficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a toner container having a lid member using a seal member according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a seal member attached to a lid member.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of powder of a low friction material kneaded in a coating layer.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of powder of a low friction material sprayed on a coating layer.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a sliding strength measuring device according to an example.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a toner container according to the related art.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a lid member used for a toner container according to the related art, as viewed from a seal member side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Seal member 12 Sheet-like elastic member 14 Coating layer 16 Powder of low friction material 52 Toner container 52a Opening 54 Cover member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) C09K 3/10 C09K 3/10 E MG // (C08G 18/00 (C08G 18/00 H 101: 00 ) 101: 00) F term (reference) 2H077 AA05 CA12 FA12 FA22 GA03 4H017 AA03 AA04 AA39 AB01 AB03 AB12 AB15 AD06 AE04 4J034 DB03 DG02 DH02 DH04 HA07 HC12 HC64 HC67 HC71 JA41 NA01 QC01 RA08 RA14 RA16

Claims (8)

[Claims] An opening (52a) of a toner container (52) is provided at a sliding portion of a lid member (54) that slidably closes the opening (52a). A seal member (10), a sheet-like elastic member (12), and a coating layer (14) provided on a sliding surface side of the elastic member (12).
The physical properties of the sheet-like elastic member (12) are set to a density of 200 to 48.
A seal wherein the compression set is set to 10% or less within a range of 0 kg / m ³ and Asker C hardness of 5 to 35, and the physical properties of the coating layer (14) are set to a sliding strength of 40 N or less. Element. 2. The sheet-like elastic member (12) is obtained by subjecting a mixture obtained by mixing a polyol component and an isocyanate component, which are main raw materials, various auxiliary raw materials, and a gas for foaming, to a mechanical floss method. The sealing member according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is a polyurethane foam. 3. The sheet-like elastic member (12) is obtained by mixing an isocyanate component in a range of 25 to 37% by weight and an auxiliary material of 50% by weight or less based on 100% by weight of the polyol component. The seal member according to claim 2, which is a polyurethane foam. 4. The seal member according to claim 3, wherein the total OH value of the polyol component is set in a range of 80 to 150. 5. The thickness of the coating layer (14) is 0.5.
The sealing member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sealing member is in a range of 5 to 30 µm. 6. The seal member according to claim 1, wherein the coating layer (14) is selected from a silicone resin, an acrylic resin, a urethane resin, a fluorine resin, and the like. 7. The coating layer (14) is coated with a powder (16) of a low friction material such as a fluororesin.
The seal member according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is kneaded or surface-sprayed within a weight ratio of 0.5 to 2 with respect to 4). 8. The seal member according to claim 7, wherein the particle diameter of the powder of the low friction material is set to about twice the thickness of the coating layer.