JP2003015391A - Developer housing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the separation of a lid body from the main body of a developer housing structure provided with the main body and the lid body even when the main body consists of a plastic molding, and to comparatively facilitate the manufacturing of the lid body and the reuse (or recycling) of the main body and the lid body. SOLUTION: An elastic projecting part 5 elastically deformed and interposed when inserted in the opening part 2b of the main body 2 is provided at the insertion part 3a of the lid body 3 of the developer housing structure 1 provided with the main body 2 and the lid body 3. An elastic sealing part 6 which elastically deforms in a shaft insertion direction X when a rotary shaft 4 is inserted and adheres to the shaft 4 is provided at the bearing hole 3a of the lid body 3. The elastic projecting part 5 and the elastic sealing part 6 are injection- molded to integrate with the insertion part 3a and the bearing hole 3b of the lid body 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developer accommodating structure for accommodating a powdery developer, and mainly relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like for forming an image of the developer. And a developer accommodating structure used as one component in the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus utilizing an image forming system such as electrophotography and electrostatic recording, an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member such as a photoconductor is developed by a developer supplied from a developing device. Then, the image formed by the developer is transferred to a recording medium such as a recording sheet directly or via an intermediate transfer member to form an image. In such an image forming apparatus, for example, a developer accommodating structure that accommodates the developer is used as one component.

As such a developer accommodating structure, for example, a developer accommodating container for accommodating and reusing the developer to be supplied to the developing device, an image carrier, a developing device and the like are unitized and exchanged. Examples include a process cartridge, a developer recovery container that removes the developer remaining on the image carrier and the intermediate transfer member by a cleaning device, and collects and stores the removed developer.

In addition, such a developer accommodating structure is provided with a main body for accommodating the developer and a lid fitted in an opening formed in the main body, and the lid has a main body. There is one in which a bearing hole for supporting the rotating shaft of a rotating member that stirs or conveys the developer accommodated in the side is formed.

Here, the developer accommodating structure of this type will be specifically described by taking the above-mentioned developer accommodating container as an example.

As shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, a developer accommodating container 100 as the developer accommodating structure has a cylindrical container body 120 for accommodating the developer 110, and both ends of the container body 120. A disk-shaped lid 130 that fits into and closes the opening 125 at one end is provided. In addition, with respect to the lid 130, the developer 11 in the container body 120
A bearing hole 135 is formed to rotatably support 0 through a rotary shaft 141 of an agitator (rotating member obtained by bending a wire rod into a spiral shape or a crank shape) 140 that rotates so as to stir and send 0 toward the discharge port 127. There is. Then, the rotary shaft 141 that has passed through the bearing hole 135 is
Connected to a predetermined drive source or drive transmission mechanism via
Thereby, the rotational power for rotating the agitator 140 is transmitted. Reference numeral 150 in the drawing denotes a bearing seal member attached to the bearing hole 135.

[0007]

The developer accommodating structure having such a main body and lid has the following problems.

First, in such a developer accommodating container 100, since the container body 120 is formed by plastic molding, the opening 1 in the container body is particularly preferable.
25 has a relatively simple end surface shape (specifically, a smooth curved surface or a flat surface) restricted by the structure of the molding die, and the lid 130 attached to the opening 125 also has the opening 1.
It is as simple as forming a fitting portion 132 having an outer diameter dimension that fits inside 25. As a result, the lid 130 can be attached to the opening 120 without being caught by merely fitting the fitting portion 132 into the inside of the opening 125. It is easy to come off from the opening and closing part 125 of the. In order to prevent the lid 120 from coming off easily in this way, an adhesive tape 160 may be attached so as to extend between the lid 130 and the opening 125, or the lid 130 and the opening may be removed. Between 125 and 125 had to be glued or welded.

As shown in FIG. 12B, the bearing seal member 150 attached to the bearing hole 135 of the lid 130 is formed with a shaft through hole 151 through which the rotary shaft 141 is inserted in a slightly raised central portion. It is made of a ring-shaped rubber member, felt, or the like, and is directly attached to the lid 130 by using a double-sided tape, an adhesive, or the like, or a state in which the lid 130 is sandwiched by a gear or another member after passing through the rotary shaft 141. It is attached by holding it. However, it is difficult for the bearing seal member 150 to position the center position at the time of mounting by a special positioning jig, and in some cases, the mounting itself may be forgotten. Further, when the bearing seal member 150 is held in a state of being sandwiched by a gear or another member, an assembly work up to the sandwiching is required, which is troublesome. The bearing seal member 150 is
The shaft through hole 151 is a hole having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the rotary shaft 141, and the rotary shaft 141 is passed through the shaft through hole 151, so that the peripheral portion of the shaft through hole 151 is plastically deformed and adheres to the shaft. Therefore, the adhesiveness to the rotary shaft 141 may be deteriorated with time, and the sealing effect may be deteriorated. Furthermore, when the bearing seal member 150 is attached to the lid 130 with a double-sided tape, floating (peeling) occurs due to a temperature change during storage of the developer accommodating container, and developer leakage from that portion occurs. Sometimes.

Further, such a developer accommodating container 100
When reusing the lid 130, if the lid 130 is fixed to the container body 120 by adhesion or welding, it becomes difficult to remove the lid 130, and in the worst case, the lid 130 is damaged. This can be a big obstacle because it can happen. In addition, the lid 130 is attached to the adhesive tape 1.
When it is fixed to the container body 120 by 60, dust is generated on the adhesive tape 160 when the lid 130 is removed, which also becomes an obstacle. Further, the bearing seal member 150 cannot be reused because the plastically deformed portion of the shaft through hole 151 does not restore due to wear or deterioration.

The present invention has been made to solve these various problems, and its main purpose is to provide a developer accommodating structure having a main body and a lid as described above. Even if the main body is made of a plastic molded product, it is possible to prevent the lid body from coming off from the main body, and it is relatively easy to manufacture the lid body, and It is to provide a developer accommodating structure that can be easily reused (or reused).

[0012]

In a developer accommodating structure of the present invention, as conceptually illustrated in FIG. 1, an accommodating portion 2a for accommodating a developer and an opening 2b communicating with the accommodating portion 2a are provided. A main body 2 made of a plastic molded product, a fitting portion 3a fitted into the opening 2b of the main body 2, and a rotary shaft 4.
In the developer accommodating structure 1 including a lid 3 having a bearing hole 3b supported therethrough, the fitting portion 3 of the lid 3
An elastic protrusion 5 is provided in a, which is elastically deformed when the main body 2 is fitted into the opening 2b, and is interposed in the bearing hole 3a of the lid 3 in the axial direction X when the rotary shaft 4 is inserted. An elastic seal portion 6 that elastically deforms and comes into close contact with the shaft 4 is provided, and the elastic protrusion portion 5 and the elastic seal portion 6 are provided.
Is injection-molded into the fitting portion 3a of the lid 3 and the bearing hole 3
It is characterized in that it is formed integrally with b. Reference numeral 7 in the drawing is a rotary member connected to the rotary shaft 4, 7a is a connecting shaft of the rotary member 7, and 4a is a connecting hole into which the connecting shaft 7a of the rotary member 7 is inserted and connected and fixed.

According to this developer accommodating structure, when the lid 3 is attached to the opening 2b of the main body 2, the elastic protrusion 5 provided in the fitting portion 3a of the lid 3 is elastically deformed. It is interposed between the portion 3a and the opening 2b of the main body (see FIG. 1).
b). This makes it difficult for the lid 3 to come off from the opening 2b of the main body 2 and, on the contrary, allows the lid 3 to be relatively easily removed from the main body 2. Moreover, it is not necessary to attach, adhere or weld an adhesive tape in order to prevent the lid body 3 from coming off. Further, when the rotary shaft 4 is passed through the bearing hole 3b of the lid body 3, the elastic seal portion 6 provided in the bearing hole 3a comes into close contact with the shaft 4 in an elastically deformed state. This allows
When the rotary shaft 4 is pulled out, the elastic seal portion 6 is elastically deformed and is restored, so that it can be reused. The elastic protrusion 5 and the elastic seal 6 are
Since it is injection-molded to be integrally formed with the fitting portion 3a and the bearing hole 3b of the lid body 3, it can be easily formed and firmly fixed.

Here, the main body 2 is not particularly limited to the entire shape thereof, the shape of the housing portion 2a and the opening portion 2b, etc. as long as it can be formed by a plastic molding method. On the other hand, the lid 3 is not limited in terms of its overall shape, material, etc. as long as it has at least the fitting portion 3a and the bearing hole 3b. The lid 3 can be formed of, for example, polypropylene, ABS resin or the like. Of these, the fitting portion 3a is usually of a form to be fitted inside the opening 2b (inside 2c), but outside the opening 2b (outside 2d).
It may be in the form of fitting (fitting so as to cover). The lid 3 is preferably formed by injection molding.

Further, the elastic protrusion 5 of the lid 3
Is a form in which when the fitting portion 3a is fitted into the opening portion 2b of the main body, it projects toward the opening portion 2b, and may be any that can be brought into close contact with the opening portion 2b when elastically deformed.
The cross-sectional shape of the protrusion of the elastic protrusion 5 is the same as that of the opening 2
It is preferable that the shape is symmetrical with respect to the direction of fitting in b. On the other hand, the elastic seal portion 6 of the lid 3
Has a hole 4a through which the rotary shaft 4 passes, and may be of a form that is elastically deformed in the shaft passing direction X and easily comes into close contact with the shaft 4.

The elastic projections 5 and the elastic seals 6 in the developer accommodating structure 1 may be elastically deformable at room temperature, and the material thereof is not particularly limited, but is usually rubber elastic. It is preferably formed of the material shown. An elastomer or the like is suitable as the material exhibiting the rubber elasticity.

In the developer accommodating structure 1, the lid 3 is made of the same material as the plastic material of the main body 2, and the elastic protrusion 5 and the elastic seal 6 are provided.
Is preferably made of the same elastomer as the plastic material of the main body 2. The same series refers to a series that does not require separation work with the plastic material when it is crushed and reused together with the plastic material of the main body. For example, when the main body 2 and the lid 3 are made of ABS resin, the elastic protrusions 5 and the elastic seals 6 are made of ABS resin elastomer (specifically, urethane elastomer (TP
U)). In this case, the main body 2 and the lid 3
In addition to the above, the elastic projection portion 5 and the elastic seal portion 6 can be crushed and reused without individually separating them.

The developing accommodating structure 1 as described above is not particularly limited in its type as long as it has the main body 2 and the lid 3 as described above. Specifically, as described above, a developer storage container (for example, a toner bottle), a process cartridge, and a developer recovery container (the one integrated with the cleaning device and the one separately provided) Etc.

By the way, when the developing accommodating structure 1 is the developer accommodating container, the main body 2 serves as a container main body for accommodating the developer, and the lid 3 serves as a lid which is fitted and attached to the opening of the container main body. The rotating shaft 4 serves as a rotating shaft of a rotating member (such as an agitator) for stirring and conveying the developer. When the developing accommodating structure 1 is the process cartridge, the main body 2 is a housing main body having an accommodating portion for accommodating the developer, and the lid body 3 is a lid body fitted and attached to the opening of the cartridge body. The rotating shaft 4 serves as a rotating shaft in the rotating member for stirring and conveying the developer. Further, when the developer accommodating structure 1 is the developer recovery container, the main body 2 serves as a container body for collecting and accommodating the developer, and the lid body 3 serves as a lid body fitted and attached to the opening of the container body. The rotary shaft 4 serves as a rotary shaft in the rotary member for leveling the developer accommodated therein.

The lid 3 in the developer accommodating structure 1 may be manufactured by the following method.
That is, the lid 3 having the fitting portion 3a and the bearing hole 3b
And the elastic protrusion 5 and the elastic seal portion on the fitting portion 3a and the bearing hole 3b of the lid 3 in the mold (fixed side) formed in the step (first molding step). 6 is integrally formed by injection molding (second molding step). The materials described above are used as the material for forming the lid body 3, the elastic protrusion portion 5, and the elastic seal portion 6 by injection molding.

The first molding step and the second molding step may be carried out separately at different times when the molding work is carried out, but preferably they are carried out continuously. In this case, a first (moving and replacing) injection mold used in the first molding process and a second (moving and replacing) injection mold used in the second molding process are prepared, and the first molding process After injection molding, open the first injection mold, replace the second injection mold with the injection mold on the fixed side, and clamp the mold to perform injection molding in the second molding process, so-called double mold (two-color molding ) Is preferably performed.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [First Embodiment] FIGS. 2 to 4 show a toner bottle as a developer accommodating structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the toner bottle. Partial sectional view, FIG. 3 is an exploded partial sectional view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a front view and a sectional view showing a part thereof (cap).

The toner bottle 10 includes a bottle main body 20 in which the developer G is stored, and a first cap 30 and a second cap 31 fitted and attached to openings 21 and 22 at both ends of the bottle main body 20, respectively. The agitator 40 that rotates in the space of the bottle body 20 constitutes the main part.

The bottle main body 20 has a cylindrical hollow structure made of plastic in which a storage space 20a for storing the developer G is formed and a toner discharge port 23 is formed in a portion near the opening 21. This bottle body 2
The opening portions 21 and 22 of 0 each have a circular opening shape, and the inner surface thereof is a smooth cylindrical curved surface. And
A predetermined amount of the developer G is previously filled and contained in the hollow inside of the bottle body 20.

The first cap 30 and the second cap 31 each have a disk shape as a whole, and each opening 2 of the bottle body 10 is provided at the outer peripheral portion of one surface thereof.
Fitting portion 32 that is projected so as to be fitted into the first and the second parts.
Are formed. The fitting portion 32 has an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the accommodation space 20 a of the bottle body 20, and the accommodation space 20 of the bottle body 20.
A predetermined gap S is secured between the inner surface of a and a.

The agitator 40 is a rotating member having a structure in which a metal wire is spirally wound at a predetermined pitch so as to have a winding outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the accommodation space 20a of the bottle body 20. Further, the agitator 40 has one end 40a thereof inserted into the insertion portion 41a of the rotary shaft 41 rotatably supported by the first cap 30 and connected and fixed, and the other end 40b becomes a free end. This allows the shaft 4 to be supported in a cantilevered manner on the rotary shaft 41.
It rotates in a predetermined direction around 1. A gear 42 is attached to one end of the rotary shaft 41. When the toner bottle 10 is used, the gear 42 is, as shown in FIG. 2, a drive motor (not shown) or a drive gear 4 in a gear type drive transmission mechanism.
It engages with 5 to obtain rotational power.

The first cap 30 has a circular bearing hole 33 formed in the center thereof for supporting the rotary shaft 41 of the agitator 40. Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 32 of the first cap 30, an elastic protrusion 50 having a raised central portion is continuously provided along the outer peripheral surface. Further, a shaft through hole 61 of the rotary shaft 41 is formed in the central portion at a portion on the inner surface side (the surface side where the fitting portion 32 is formed to project) of the first cap 30 and around the bearing hole 33. A ring-shaped elastic seal portion 60 is provided.

Of the elastic projections 50, as shown in FIG. 5, the raised portions 51 are symmetrical with respect to the fitting direction Z of the cap 30 (the alternate long and short dash line O in the drawing is the center line or plane of symmetry). It is formed in a cross-sectional shape (rounded triangular shape) such that Also, this raised portion 51
The upper portion 51a is formed at a height that exceeds the gap S between the outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 32 and the inner peripheral surface 21a of the opening 21 of the bottle body 20 by a certain amount (E). This allows
When the fitting portion 32 of the cap 30 is fitted into the opening portion 21 of the bottle body 20, the elastic protrusion 50 is easily elastically deformed with the upper portion 51a of the raised portion facing away from the fitting direction Z. At the same time, the cap 30 has physical properties that are easily elastically deformed toward the center of the cap 30.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the elastic seal portion 60 is formed so that the central portion where the shaft through hole 61 is formed has a ring shape slightly raised to the inner surface side of the cap 30. . Further, the shaft through hole 61 is formed to be a through hole having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter D of the rotating shaft 41 of the agitator. As a result, the elastic seal portion 60
When the rotating shaft 41 is passed through the shaft passing hole 61, the physical properties of the rotating shaft 41 tend to be elastically deformed in the shaft passing direction X of the rotating shaft 41.

The second cap 31 has an elastic projection 50 on the fitting portion 32, as in the case of the first cap 30. Incidentally, this second cap 31
For the fitting portion 32 in, a fitting structure other than the provision of the elastic protrusion 50 or a completely different mounting structure may be applied.

In the toner bottle 10, the bottle body 20 is formed by injection molding using ABS resin or polystyrene (PS), and the caps 30 and 31 are formed.
Is formed by injection molding using polypropylene. In addition, in the first cap 30, the elastic protrusions 50 and the elastic seals 60 are formed by injection molding using a styrene-based elastomer (RIKEN Vinyl Co., Ltd .: Rheostomer).

FIG. 7 is a process drawing showing the method of manufacturing the first cap 30.

First, as shown in FIG. 7A, the first cap 30 is formed by injection molding the main body portion (35) excluding the elastic projection portion 50 and the elastic seal portion 60 (first molding step). Reference numeral 70 in the drawing is a fixed mold for molding a part of the main body of the first cap 30, and the fixed mold 70 is molded with a portion other than the fitting portion 32 of the first cap 30. A molding portion 70a is formed. Further, reference numeral 71 is a movable first movable replacement mold for molding a part of the main body of the first cap 30 when used in combination with the fixed mold 70. 1 A molding portion 71a for molding the part of the fitting portion 32 of the cap 30 is formed, and the molding material (M1) for forming the cap main body portion is formed with the molding portions 70a, 71a of the respective molds.
A flow channel 71b for injecting into is formed. This channel 71
A supply nozzle portion 72 of the injection molding machine that supplies the molding material (M1) is connected to b.

As shown in FIG. 7b, the first cap 30 is formed by molding the main body (35), and then the elastic projection 50 and the elastic seal 60 are formed on the molded product of the main body.
Is integrally formed by injection molding (second molding step). Reference numeral 75 in the drawing denotes a movable second movable replacement mold for forming the elastic protrusion 50 and elastic seal 60 of the first cap 30 when used in combination with the fixed mold 70. Yes, this mold 75 has elastic protrusions 5
A molding portion 75a for molding the portion of 0 and a molding portion 75b for molding the portion of the elastic seal portion 60 are respectively formed, and the molding portion 71a for the fitting portion 32, which is the same as the first moving / exchange mold 71, is formed. Are formed. In addition, in the second moving / exchange die 75, a flow path for injecting the molding material (M2) for forming the elastic protrusion 50 and the elastic seal portion 60 into the respective molding portions 75a and 75b of the die 75. 75c,
75d is formed. A supply nozzle portion 76 of the injection molding machine that supplies the molding material (M2) is connected to the flow paths 75c and 75d, respectively.

In the first molding step as described above, the fixed mold 7 is used.
After clamping the first moving replacement mold 71 to 0, the molding material (M
1) is injected to mold the main body portion 35 of the first cap 30. Subsequently, in the second molding step, the fixed mold 70 is removed from the first mold.
Of the moving cap 71 of the first cap 30 which is the molded product is left in the fixed mold 70, and the second moving replacement mold 75 is replaced to replace the mold. After the tightening, the molding material (M2) is injected into the molding portions 75a and 75b of the mold 75 to mold the elastic protrusion portion 50 and the elastic seal portion 60 of the first cap 30. As a result, the elastic projection 50 is integrally formed in the fitting portion 32 of the main body 35 of the cap 30, and the elastic seal portion 60 is integrally formed in the bearing hole 33 of the elastic cap 50. (Fig. 4).

In this injection molding, the molding material (M1)
For the above-mentioned plastic material, the molding material (M
As 2), the above-mentioned elastomer materials are respectively supplied. Also, the molding conditions during this injection molding are appropriately selected according to the molding material and the like. Also, each mold 7
The locations and the number of inlets (gates) connected to the respective molding parts of the flow passages 1 and 75 are appropriately set.

The toner bottle 10 is assembled as follows.

First, the rotary shaft 4 to which the gear 42 is attached
1 is supported through the bearing hole 33 of the first cap 30, and then the rotary shaft 41 protruding through the bearing hole 33.
The one end portion 40a of the agitator 40 is inserted into the insertion portion 41a of FIG. Next, the agitator 40 is inserted into the opening 21 of the bottle body 20 first, and the fitting portion 32 of the first cap 30 is fitted and attached.
Further, the fitting portion 32 of the second cap 31 is fitted into the opening portion 22 of the bottle body 20 and attached.

As a result, the toner bottle 10 as shown in FIG. 2 is assembled. Finally, a predetermined amount of developer (toner) G is filled from the toner discharge port 23 of the bottle body 20, and then the discharge port 23 is closed by a sealing member (not shown) to complete the process.

In this assembly process, as shown in FIG. 8, the first cap 30 is attached to the opening 2 of the bottle body 20.
1 and the elastic protrusion 50 in the fitting portion 32 of the cap 30 is elastically deformed, the fitting portion 32 and the opening 2 are closed.
1, so that it is sandwiched between the inner surface and the inner surface of 1. At this time,
As shown in FIG. 9, the elastic protrusion 50 is mainly elastically deformed at its raised portion 51 (further, its upper portion 51a; see FIG. 5). Further, the elastic deformation at that time is in a state of being displaced in a direction opposite to the fitting direction Z of the cap (fitting portion 32), in other words, the fitting direction D about the central symmetry line O of the raised portion 51. It will be biased to the other side. As a result, the first cap 30 is held in a state where it is elastically fixed to the opening 21 of the bottle body 20 by the elastic protrusion 50, and thus is attached in a state where it cannot be easily removed from the opening 21. Therefore, even if a shock is applied to the bottle body 20 or the like,
The first cap 30 does not come off.

In this assembly process, as shown in FIG. 8, the rotary shaft 41 of the agitator 40 is attached to the first cap 3
When it is passed through the bearing hole 33 of No. 0, the elastic seal portion 60 in the bearing hole 33 of the cap 30 is elastically deformed so as to be warped in the shaft passing direction X and comes into close contact with the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 41.
At this time, the elastic seal portion 60, as shown in FIG.
The shaft passing hole 61 is elastically deformed mainly in the shaft passing direction X. As a result, the gap between the rotary shaft 41 and the bearing hole 33 is reliably sealed, so that the developer G in the bottle body 20 is reliably prevented from entering the bearing hole 33.

Toner bottle 10 having such a structure
When used, the toner is discharged from the bottle body 20 with the toner discharge port 23 facing downward, and is attached to a portion to which the image forming apparatus is attached (for example, a bottle attaching portion of a developer replenishing device in the image forming apparatus). Further, before or after the mounting, the sealing member that closes the toner discharge port 23 is removed. Further, by this mounting, the gear 42 exposed to the outside of the first cap 30 meshes with the gear train 45 of the rotation transmission mechanism in the developing supply device.

In the toner bottle 10 thus mounted, when the rotary shaft 41 receives the rotational power, the agitator 40 rotates in the bottle body 20 in a predetermined direction via the rotary shaft 41. As a result, the developer G contained in the bottle body 20 is gradually conveyed to the toner discharge port 23 side while being stirred by the agitator 40, and is gradually discharged from the discharge port 23. Also, the bottle body 2
When the developer G in 0 is almost discharged and consumed, the toner bottle 10 is removed and replaced with a new toner bottle.

Next, the used toner bottle 10
After being disassembled and washed, it is refilled with a new developer G and reused.

At this time, the first cap 30 is the bottle body 2
The agitator 40 and its rotating shaft 41 are removed from the removed first cap 30.
To remove the first cap 30 from the opening 21,
This can be performed by pulling the cap 30 with a certain amount of force or more. That is, by pulling the cap 30 against the frictional resistance of the elastic protrusion 50 that is elastically deformed and interposed between the fitting portion 32 of the cap 30 and the opening 21, the elastic protrusion 50 is inserted into the cap. The elastic member is elastically deformed so as to warp in the same direction as the direction Z, so that the fitting portion 32 is pulled out from the opening portion 21.

When removing the first cap 30 as described above, the cap and the opening are not damaged due to an excessive force applied during the removing work.
Moreover, no dust such as adhesive tape is generated. Having such a point is extremely advantageous for reuse.

Although the rotary shaft 41 is removed from the bearing hole 33 of the first cap 30, the rotary shaft 41 can be removed by pulling the rotary shaft 41 by applying a certain amount of force. That is, by pulling the rotary shaft 41 against the frictional resistance of the elastic seal portion 60 that is elastically deformed and interposed between the bearing hole 33 of the cap and the rotary shaft 41, the elastic seal portion 60 is rotated.
The elastic shaft is elastically deformed so as to bend back in the same direction as the shaft passing direction X, and the rotary shaft 41 is pulled out from the bearing hole 33.

When removing the rotary shaft 41,
Since the elastically deformed elastic seal part 60 is restored, the elastic seal part 60 itself can be reused as it is. Further, even if the shaft through hole 61 of the elastic seal portion 60 is slightly worn, the sealing effect is less likely to deteriorate as long as it can be elastically deformed, and thus it can be reused. Having such a point is advantageous for reuse.

Further, in the toner bottle 10, the first cap 30 (including the second cap 31) of the toner bottle 10 is formed of the same plastic material as that of the bottle body 20, and the elastic protrusion 50 and the elastic seal portion 60 are provided. Since the bottle body 20, the first cap 30 (including the elastic protrusion portion 50 and the elastic seal portion 60) and the second cap 31 are crushed and re-formed because they are made of the same elastomer material as the plastic material of 20, When used, it is not necessary to separate the component parts made of the plastic material and the component parts made of the elastomer material. This point is advantageous for reuse.

[0050]

As described above, in the developer accommodating structure of the present invention, even if the main body is made of a plastic molded product, the lid is hard to come off from the main body, and
Manufacturing of the lid body (particularly, manufacturing of the elastic protrusion portion and the elastic seal portion) becomes relatively easy, and further, the main body and the lid body can be easily reused (or reused).

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B conceptually show a developer accommodating structure of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is an exploded sectional view of a main part thereof, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the main part (in an assembled state).

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a toner bottle as a developer accommodating structure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a disassembled state of the toner bottle of FIG.

4A and 4B show a first cap, FIG. 4A is a front view thereof, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing the structure of an elastic protrusion provided on the fitting portion of the first cap.

FIG. 6 shows a structure of an elastic seal portion provided in a bearing hole of the first cap, FIG.
(B) is the front view.

FIG. 7 shows a method of manufacturing the first cap,
(A) is explanatory drawing which shows the 1st shaping | molding process, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd shaping | molding process.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a state in which the first cap is fitted into and attached to the opening of the bottle body.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state change of the elastic protrusion portion due to attachment to the opening portion of the first cap, in which (a) shows a state in which the elastic protrusion portion is not elastically deformed before attachment or after detachment; FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state of being elastically deformed at the time of attachment.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a state change of the elastic seal portion due to attachment of the rotary shaft to the bearing hole of the first cap,
(A) is sectional explanatory drawing which shows the state which has not been elastically deformed before the attachment or after removal, (b) is sectional explanatory drawing which shows the state which elastically deformed at the time of its attachment.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a configuration example of a lid of a conventional developer accommodating container.

12A is an exploded sectional view of the developer accommodating container in FIG. 11, and FIG. 12B is a front view and a side view showing a bearing seal member thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Developer accommodating structure, 2 ... Main body, 2a ... Accommodating part, 2b
... Opening part, 3 ... Lid, 3a, 32 ... Fitting part, 3b, 33
... Bearing holes, 5,50 ... Elastic protrusions, 6,60 ... Elastic seals, 10 ... Toner bottle (developer containing structure), 2
0 ... Bottle body, 21, 22 ... Opening portion, 30 ... First cap, 70 ... Fixed mold, G ... Developer, X ... Shaft passing direction.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) // B29K 21:00 B29K 21:00 B29L 31:00 B29L 31:00 F term (reference) 2H077 AA03 AB05 AB07 AB12 BA02 CA12 GA04 3E084 AA02 AA12 AA24 AB07 BA02 CA01 CC03 CC05 EA04 EC03 EC05 GA08 GB12 HA03 HB03 HC03 HD04 4F206 AA45 AH56 JA07 JQ81

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A main body made of a plastic molded product having an accommodating portion for accommodating a developer and an opening communicating with the accommodating portion, a fitting portion fitted into the opening of the main body, and a bearing hole for supporting through a rotary shaft. In a developer accommodating structure including a lid having a lid, the fitting portion of the lid is provided with an elastic protrusion that is elastically deformed and intervenes when the lid is fitted into the opening of the main body, and the bearing of the lid is provided. The hole is provided with an elastic seal portion that is elastically deformed in the axial direction when the rotary shaft is passed through and closely adheres to the shaft, and the elastic protrusion and the elastic seal portion are injection-molded to insert the lid and A developer accommodating structure characterized by being formed integrally with a bearing hole. 2. The developer accommodating structure according to claim 1, wherein the elastic protrusion and the elastic seal are made of an elastomer. 3. The lid according to claim 1, wherein the lid is made of the same material as the plastic material of the main body, and the elastic protrusion and the elastic seal portion are made of an elastomer of the same series as the plastic material of the main body. Developer accommodating structure. 4. A first molding step of forming a lid body having the fitting portion and the bearing hole by injection molding, and the fitting portion and the bearing hole of the lid body in the mold formed in the first molding step. 2. The method for manufacturing a developer accommodating structure according to claim 1, further comprising a second molding step of integrally forming the elastic protrusion and the elastic seal by injection molding.