JP2005258136A - Powder storage container, powder storage product and toner storage product - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a powder storage container capable of using the container having a complicated shape such as a bottle in any number of times. <P>SOLUTION: The powder storage container is constituted by laminating a resin film on the inner surface of a container main body having air-permeability. Further, the container has a bottle shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder container in which a resin film is laminated on the inner surface of a container body made of a breathable material, and more particularly to a powder container that can repeatedly use a breathable material.

  A container having a laminate structure in which a resin film is laminated on the inside of a paper container body is a thing that can be assembled into a container by laminating a resin film such as a polyethylene film on paperboard and then folding it into a container, or paper After making into a shape, it is manufactured by laminating a resin film inside. Paper containers having such a laminate structure are widely used in various applications, as represented by packaging containers for milk packs, from the viewpoint of lightness and economy.

  In such a paper packaging container, the paper from the paper container main body is made by using the air permeability of the paper and bringing the resin film into close contact with the inside of the container made into a predetermined shape by vacuum suction. A container that does not cause the occurrence of powder is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Moreover, these packaging containers have the advantage that raw materials such as pulp paper and laminate film can be collected from used containers and recycled. A tray-shaped recycling container having an inner layer containing a polyvinyl alcohol copolymer has been disclosed as a technique for facilitating peeling between layers in order to easily recover these raw materials (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In addition, a laminate is disclosed in which a specific ethylene copolymer layer is bonded to the surface of a base material layer and can be peeled between layers in an alkaline aqueous solution (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  As described above, there is a container technology that considers effective utilization of container resources by laminating a resin film on a paper container body and peeling the resin film after use.

On the other hand, as a container for storing toner, a resin toner that has a cylindrical shape and is provided with a spiral projection on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and is rotated when loaded in the image forming apparatus to discharge and discharge the internal toner. There are storage containers (see, for example, Patent Document 4), and reuse of used containers is actively performed.
JP-A-8-309857 (see paragraph 0015, etc.) Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-19139 (see paragraph 0004, etc.) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-24973 (see paragraphs 0007 to 10) JP-A-10-260574 (see paragraph 0026, etc.)

  By the way, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of quality that the previous toner remains when the container is reused.

  Therefore, it is necessary to clean the inside of the container in order to remove the residual toner from the container collected before filling the toner.

  Washing by air blow is effective as a means for removing residual toner without taking time and effort as in washing with water.

  The toner storage container described in Patent Document 4 is reused by filling with new toner after removing the residual toner inside the container by air blow or the like, but the residual toner adheres with static electricity, There are some cases where air blow cannot be used, and it is difficult to completely discharge the residual toner out of the container only by increasing the air blow force.

  On the other hand, in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3, there is no description of a bottle-shaped container having a complicated shape in which the cross-sectional area of the opening is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the container, and the tray-shaped simple shape Regarding the container, these documents did not suggest laminating a resin film on a container having a complicated shape typified by a bottle.

  In addition, Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 describe that paper used as a base material is made and reused, but it is described that the collected container body is reused as many times as it is. It did not suggest that the paper container be reused as it is.

  Furthermore, Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 are not specialized for storing powder, but eliminate the problem peculiar to powder that the powder is difficult to remove from the container, and reuse the container. There was no suggestion to do.

  Therefore, it can be said that a laminate-structured container that repeatedly uses a container body having a complicated shape such as a bottle has hardly been studied so far.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a powder container that can use a container having a complicated shape such as a bottle as many times as it is.

  The object of the present invention can be achieved by the following constitution.

  (1) A powder container comprising a container body having air permeability and a resin film laminated on the inner surface of the container body, wherein the container has a bottle shape. Containment container.

  (2) A container body having air permeability and a powder container in which a resin film is laminated on the inner surface of the container body, the opening of the container being smaller than the maximum diameter of the container body A powder container characterized by.

  (3) A container main body made of a material having air permeability, and a powder container including a resin film laminated on the inner surface of the container main body, wherein the container has a bottle shape. Powder storage container.

  (4) A container main body made of a breathable material, and a powder container in which a resin film is laminated on the inner surface of the container main body, the opening of the container being larger than the maximum diameter of the container main body A powder container characterized by being small.

  (5) The powder container according to (3) or (4), wherein the container body is made of cellulose fiber and a resin material.

  (6) The powder container according to (5), wherein the cellulose fiber is a pulp material.

  (7) The powder container according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the container body of the powder container is manufactured by a blow molding method.

  (8) A powder-containing product, wherein the powder is stored in the powder container according to any one of (1) to (7).

  (9) A toner-containing product, wherein toner is stored in the powder container according to any one of (1) to (7).

  According to the present invention, by using a powder container that is formed by laminating a resin film on the inner surface of a container body having air permeability, a powder such as toner can be stored (filled) in an image forming apparatus or the like. After use, by removing the resin film and laminating the resin film again, the container body can be used repeatedly, and resources can be used effectively. Further, by removing the resin film contaminated with the toner or the like, the container body can be reused without a troublesome cleaning operation, and quality problems can be avoided.

  An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, the assertive description in the following embodiment shows the best mode, and does not limit the meaning or technical scope of the term of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the target powder is toner, but it can also be applied to powder other than toner, such as cement, gypsum, powdered soap, or wheat flour.

  First, the schematic structure and schematic operation of the powder container will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of the toner storage container 1 that is a powder storage container, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the toner storage container 1 with the cap 37 removed.

  By storing (filling) toner in the toner storage container 1, a toner storage product is obtained.

  A cylindrical toner container 1 is engaged with a toner container 2 that contains toner, and one end of the toner container 2, and the toner is used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine using an electrophotographic system. The toner supply port portion 3 has a toner supply port for supplying toner.

  The toner storage portion 2 has a spiral groove 17 that is convex on the inner peripheral surface and concave on the outer peripheral surface, and the spiral groove 17 has a large number of strips per circumference toward the toner supply port portion 3. It is formed to become.

  The toner container 1 is set in a substantially horizontal state at a predetermined position of an image apparatus such as a copying machine, and is rotated by a driving unit from the image forming apparatus. Along with this rotation, the toner stored in the toner storage unit 2 is moved to the toner supply port 3 side by the action of the spiral groove 17 described above, and drops from the toner supply port to the toner receiving unit of the image forming apparatus. To do.

  Here, as is apparent from the drawings, most of the toner is stored in the toner storage portion 2, and the toner storage portion 2 and the toner storage container 1 are equivalent in terms of the function of storing the toner. Can be considered. Therefore, in the following description, the toner container and the toner container according to the present invention are treated as synonyms.

  The detailed configuration and function of the toner container 1 will be described later. First, the material of the toner container 2 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3A is an overall view including a partial cross section of the toner containing portion 2.

  FIG.3 (b) is an enlarged view of the A section of Fig.3 (a).

  2A is a container body of the toner storage unit 2, which is formed by blow molding a composite material obtained by mixing a polyethylene resin (PE), which is a resin material, with a pulp material, which is a cellulose fiber, and mixing the pulp material. By this, air permeability is imparted to the container.

  In the present embodiment, the mass ratio of PE resin and pulp material is 49:51, but the mass ratio is preferably in the range of 30:70 to 70:30, more preferably 45:55. ~ 55: 45 is more preferred.

  The blow molding method is an effective method for manufacturing a container having a complicated bottle shape having a spiral groove as in the present embodiment. In particular, as shown in the figure, the maximum diameter of the container body 2A (this embodiment) This configuration is effective for a bottle-shaped container in which the diameter D2 of the opening is smaller than the diameter D1) of the cylindrical portion.

  The bottle shape as used in the present invention has a powder container for containing powder, and has an opening in a part thereof, and is the opening covered with a cap or the like? , Which has a shape engaged with other powder supply means.

  2B is an inner film (resin film) made of a polypropylene (PP) film, and is laminated in close contact with the inner surface of the container body by the laminating method described in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the procedure for laminating the inner film 2B in close contact with the container body 2A.

  In the present embodiment, the thickness of the PP film is 110 μm, but the thickness is preferably in the range of 50 to 150 μm, more preferably 90 to 125 μm.

  The inner film 2B is an envelope-shaped resin film manufactured by a laminating method, and has an opening 2C in which a part on the short side is opened.

  The gripping means 4 holds the opening 2C of the inner film 2B in a sealed state from the inside, and further holds a pipe 5 for blowing hot air into the inner film 2B so as to be slidable in the vertical direction of the drawing.

The lamination procedure will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the container body 2A and the inner film 2B gripped by the gripping means 4 are set, and then the gripping as shown in FIG. 4 (b). The means 4 is lowered until the tip of the inner film 2B comes close to the bottom surface position of the container body 2A.
After completion of the lowering of the gripping means 4, the pipe 5 is lowered until the lower end portion thereof reaches the bottom surface position of the container main body 2A as shown in FIG. 4 (c). Subsequently, hot air is sent from the pipe 5 into the inner film 2B. As a result, the inner film 2B expands and starts to adhere to the inner surface of the container body 2A.

  The air between the container main body 2A and the inner film 2B is exhausted to the outside from the container main body 2A having air permeability, and is exhausted from an opening formed in the upper part of the container main body 2A.

  The pipe 5 is configured to be gradually pulled upward at the same time as the hot air starts to be sent, and the inner film 2B is brought into close contact with the container body 2A from the bottom surface toward the opening on the upper surface.

  You may comprise so that air may be efficiently exhausted from 2 A of container main bodies, and a container periphery may be pressure-reduced in order to raise an adhesiveness.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 4 (d), after the inner film 2B is completely adhered to the entire inner surface of the container body 2A and cooled for a predetermined time, the cutting knife 6 is operated to move the inner film 2A in the vicinity of the opening of the container body 2A. Cut the film 2B.

  Here, the close contact state of the inner film 2B to the container main body 2A means that the inner film 2B is in close contact with the container main body 2A without being peeled from the container main body 2A in a normal state in which toner is accommodated. Therefore, when the inner film 2B is to be removed, the inner film 2B can be peeled from the inner surface of the container body 2A.

  As described above, when the container body is reused by laminating an inner film made of PP film in close contact with a breathable container body manufactured from a pulp material and a PE resin material, The film can be removed and used again and again by laminating the inner film in the manner described above.

  In recent years, the toner container has been reused from the viewpoint of the environment, but when viewed by product type, the amount of toner container collected from the market varies.

  As in the past, when a container body is directly filled with toner, and the toner is consumed, the empty container body is cleaned and reused by air blow or the like. For this reason, there is a problem in that it cannot be used for charging toners with high sensitivity and different varieties, the use range is limited to the same varieties, and the reuse efficiency of the container body is poor.

  However, according to the present invention, by removing the inner film from the container body collected from the market and stacking a new inner film, it can be reused even if the varieties are different, thereby improving the reuse efficiency of the container body. Can be improved.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, a toner containing container having air permeability is manufactured by a blow molding method using a pulp material and PE resin, and the toner is stored in the toner containing product. As will be described, the present invention is not limited to this.

  In other words, the material constituting the container body may be a mixed material of other cellulose fiber instead of pulp material and other resin material such as PP resin instead of PE resin. The material is not limited to the above as long as it exhibits properties, and may be a metal material such as iron or aluminum subjected to air permeability treatment in addition to an organic material such as resin or paper.

  Further, as the inner film, a resin film other than PP, for example, PE or the like can be used.

  Regarding the powder, in addition to the toner, for example, other powders such as cement, gypsum, powdered soap, or wheat flour can be accommodated.

  As a product form, in addition to the toner containing product in which the toner is contained in the toner containing container, it is also possible to obtain a powder containing product by containing the powder described above.

  Regarding the shape of the container main body, the toner storage container having a shape in which the opening is smaller than the maximum diameter of the container main body has been described, but the powder storage container is not limited to this as long as it is a bottle-shaped container. .

  Regarding the manufacturing method of the container body, in addition to the blow molding method, it may be manufactured by other methods such as injection molding and vacuum molding.

  Next, the configuration of the toner supply port 3 of the toner container 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of the toner supply port portion 3 of the toner container 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the toner replenishing port portion 3 is disposed at the tip of the toner accommodating portion 2 of the toner accommodating container 1, and has a fitting lid 36 that directly engages the toner accommodating portion 2, a cap 37, and a bellows inner lid. 38, a toner discharge member 39, and the like.

  5A is a side view of the toner replenishing port 3, FIG. 5B is a side view showing a state where the cap 37 of the toner replenishing port 3 is removed, and FIG. 5C is a view of the toner replenishing port 3 viewed from below. (D) is a side view showing a state where the bellows inner lid 38 is removed from (b).

  In the figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a spiral-shaped scooping member formed integrally with the toner replenishing port portion 3, and a toner discharge port, which will be described later, is supplied to the toner delivered from the toner storage portion 2 through a spiral groove 17 (see FIG. 1). It has a function of discharging to the outside.

  The end 38 a of the bellows inner lid 38 is in contact with the upper end 39 a of the toner discharge member 39.

  The other end 38 b of the bellows inner lid 38 is engaged with the lower end 39 b of the toner discharge member 39.

  After a predetermined amount of toner is filled by a known filling machine or the like from the opening of the toner container 2 in which the inner film 2B is laminated on the container body 2A by the above-described method, the fitting lid 36 of the toner replenishing port 3 is opened. By detachably engaging the opening of the toner container 2, a toner-containing product is completed.

  Next, a toner replenishing device for supplying toner to the developing device for forming a toner image on the photoreceptor in the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the toner replenishing device.

  The toner replenishing device 50 is configured as a part of the developing device, and includes a cylindrical toner container 1, a container holding unit 52 that holds the toner container 1, and a rotation transmission unit that rotates the toner container 1. 60 or the like.

  The rotation transmission means 60 includes a motor 61, a gear group 62 that is rotationally driven by the motor 61, a final gear 63 of the gear group 62, a junction holder 65 having a rotating shaft 64 engaged with the final gear 63, and the like. .

  When the toner container 1 is loaded in the container holder 52, the toner supply port 3 is connected to the junction holder 65, and the toner container 1 is rotated by the rotation of the junction holder 65.

  When the toner container 1 is loaded in the container holding part 52, the bellows inner lid opening / closing claw 66 formed at the tip of the junction holder 65 slides the bellows inner lid 38 toward the toner container 1 to store the toner. A toner discharge port 70 communicating with the portion 2 is formed.

  As a result, with the rotation of the toner container 1 described above, the toner is sent out from the toner container 1 and communicated with the developing device from the toner discharge port 70 by the above-described scooping member 40 (see FIG. 5C). The toner is discharged to the toner receiving portion 67.

  After the toner has been completely discharged, the toner container 1 is removed from the container holder 52, and the inner film 2B that is in close contact with the inside of the toner container 1 is removed.

  Since the container main body 2A from which the inner film 2B has been removed is not contaminated with toner, the inner film 2B is again laminated by the method shown in FIG. 4 and used as a new toner container.

  In this way, the container body can be used repeatedly and is not contaminated with toner, so that no troublesome cleaning work is required, and powder such as toner can be filled as it is.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the toner container 1. FIG. 3 is an external view of the toner container 1 with a cap 37 removed. FIG. 3 is an overall view including a partial cross section of the toner storage unit 2. The schematic sectional drawing which shows the procedure which laminates | stacks the inner film 2B on the container main body 2A in the contact | adherence state. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a toner supply port portion 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a toner supply device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner storage container 2 Toner storage part 2A Container main body 2B Inner film 2C Opening part 3 Toner replenishment opening part 4 Grasp means 5 Pipe 6 Cutting knife 17 Spiral groove 36 Fitting lid 37 Cap 38 Bellows inner lid 39 Toner discharge member 40 Raising member 50 Toner replenishing device 52 Container holding portion 60 Rotating transmission means 65 Junction holder 66 Bellows inner lid opening / closing claw 67 Toner receiving portion 70 Toner discharge port

Claims (9)

A powder container comprising a container body having air permeability and a resin film laminated on an inner surface of the container body, wherein the container has a bottle shape. A container body having air permeability, and a powder container formed by laminating a resin film on the inner surface of the container body, wherein the opening of the container is smaller than the maximum diameter of the container body. Powder storage container. A powder body comprising a container body made of a material having air permeability and a resin film laminated on the inner surface of the container body, wherein the container has a bottle shape Containment container. A container body made of a breathable material and a powder container made by laminating a resin film on the inner surface of the container body, the opening of the container being smaller than the maximum diameter of the container body A powder container characterized by. The said container main body consists of a cellulose fiber and a resin material, The powder storage container of Claim 3 or Claim 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The powder container according to claim 5, wherein the cellulose fiber is a pulp material. The powder container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the container body of the powder container is manufactured by a blow molding method. A powder-containing product comprising powder in the powder-containing container according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A toner-containing product comprising toner contained in the powder container according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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