JP2006133291A - Toner replenishing container and process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner replenishing container capable of preventing volatile organic compounds from giving out a foul smell at the time of replenishing toner into an image forming apparatus and at the time of replacing a process cartridge, and to provide a process cartridge. <P>SOLUTION: The toner replenishing container which contains toner and replenishes the toner into an image forming apparatus comprises a toner container having a toner replenishing opening and a seal member capable of sealing and opening the toner replenishing opening, wherein the seal member has adsorption to adsorb volatile organic compounds generated from the toner, etc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner replenishing container that is sealed using a sealing member such as a heat-welded film and is used by opening the sealing member when replenishing the stored toner to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a printer. And a process cartridge.

  In recent years, sick house syndrome has become a problem in newly built houses, and chemical substances such as formaldehyde have been cited as the causative substance. Since these chemical substances are volatile organic compounds generated from building materials, paints, etc., the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare provides guidelines for indoor concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) for each compound such as formaldehyde, toluene, styrene, etc. Guidelines for the indoor concentration of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) totaling VOCs have been submitted as guidelines.

  Therefore, in the housing-related field, building materials and paints that do not generate volatile organic compounds are used, and interiors that absorb volatile organic compounds even if they are generated are used to increase the indoor concentration of VOC and TVOC. We are reducing.

  On the other hand, in image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic printers and copiers used in offices, ozone is generated due to air discharge in the charging process of the surface of the photosensitive drum and the transfer process to the recording material. Since chemical substances such as styrene are generated by heating the toner in the fixing process, the model that actively removes the gas with an air filter or the like so that these gases are not discharged out of the image forming apparatus as they are, Some models reduce the amount of gas generated by improving the charging process and transfer process.

For example, see Patent Document 1.
JP 2000-132066 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus, in addition to the gas generated by the image forming process as described above, a volatile organic compound is volatile even in a steady state from toner supplied to the image forming apparatus, a photosensitive drum as a replacement part, a charging roller, or the like. A gas consisting of In particular, the toner is stored in a sealed state in a toner replenishing container, stored and transported in various environments for a long time, and then delivered to the user. Since the volatile organic compound is filled at a high concentration, an unpleasant odor may be felt when the sealed sealing member is opened and toner is supplied.

  In addition to the toner described above, the process cartridge configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus also has a functional organic material such as a photosensitive drum and a charging roller, and a mold material for forming the cartridge. It is packed in a sealed state, stored and transported in various environments for a long time, and then delivered to the user. The sealed light-shielding bag is filled with various volatile organic compounds at high concentrations. Therefore, when the light-shielding bag is unpacked and when the process cartridge is mounted by opening the sealing member that has sealed the toner in the same manner as described above, a strange odor may be felt.

  The abnormal odor when the toner is replenished and when the process cartridge is unpacked is generated outside the main body of the image forming apparatus and when the user is working, so the effectiveness of the air filter in the image forming apparatus described above. Could not be expected and had to wait for the natural decrease due to diffusion.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the generation of off-flavors due to volatile organic compounds at the time of replenishing toner in the image forming apparatus and replacing the process cartridge. To provide a toner supply container and a process cartridge.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a toner supply container for storing toner and supplying toner to an image forming apparatus, and a toner container having a toner supply opening and the toner supply opening are sealed and opened. And a sealing member capable of adsorbing a volatile organic compound generated from toner or the like.

  The present invention also provides a toner container for storing toner, a developing container for supplying toner to the developing roller, the toner container, and the developing container in a process cartridge that is detachable from the image forming apparatus and has at least a developing device. And a sealing member that seals and opens the toner in the toner container, and the sealing member has an adsorptivity for adsorbing a volatile organic compound generated from the process cartridge. It is characterized by being.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the volatile organic compound generated from the toner supply container and the process cartridge during the distribution process can be adsorbed by the seal member that seals the toner. Odor generation due to volatile organic compounds during process cartridge replacement can be prevented.

Example 1
(1) Image forming apparatus I
As an example of an image forming apparatus, a schematic configuration of a laser beam printer (hereinafter, image forming apparatus) is shown in FIG.

  The image forming apparatus I includes a drum-type electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter referred to as a photosensitive drum) 1 as an image carrier. The photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body I, and is driven to rotate at a predetermined process speed in the direction of the arrow R1 by a driving unit (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller (charging device) 2, an exposure unit 3, a developing device 4, a transfer roller (transfer device) 5, and a cleaning device 6 are disposed almost in order along the rotation direction. . A sheet feeding cassette 7 that stores a sheet-like recording material M such as paper is disposed at the lower part of the apparatus main body I, and a sheet feeding roller 15 is sequentially arranged from the upstream side along the conveyance path of the recording material M. A transport roller 8, a top sensor 9, a transport guide 10, a fixing device 11, a paper discharge sensor 16, a transport roller 12, a paper discharge roller 13, and a paper discharge tray 14 are arranged.

  Further, toner that is a consumable is replenished to the hopper 17 using a toner replenishing container B, which will be described later, and is appropriately replenished from the hopper 17 to the developing device 4.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus I having the above configuration will be described.

  (1) The photosensitive drum 1 that is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow R1 by a driving means (not shown) is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and a predetermined potential by the charging roller 2.

  (2) The charged photosensitive drum 1 is subjected to image exposure L based on image information by the exposure means 3 such as a laser optical system on the surface, and the charge of the exposed portion is removed to form an electrostatic latent image. The

  (3) The electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 4. The developing device 4 includes a developing roller 4a. A developing bias is applied to the developing roller 4a to attach toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 and develop (develop) it as a toner image.

  (4) The toner image is transferred to the recording material M such as paper by the transfer roller 5. The recording material M is stored in the paper feed cassette 7, fed by the paper feed roller 15, transported by the transport roller 8, and transferred between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 5 via the top sensor 9. It is conveyed to the nip part. At this time, the leading edge of the recording material P is detected by the top sensor 9 and is synchronized with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 5, whereby the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to a predetermined position on the recording material M.

  (5) The recording material M carrying the unfixed toner image on the surface by the transfer is transported to the fixing device 11 along the transport guide 10, where the unfixed toner image is heated and pressurized to the surface of the recording material M. It is fixed.

  (6) The recording material M after the toner image is fixed is conveyed by the conveying roller 12 and discharged by the discharge roller 13 onto the paper discharge tray 14 on the upper surface of the apparatus main body I.

  (7) On the other hand, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer of the toner image is removed by the cleaning blade 6a of the cleaning device 6 without being transferred to the recording material M, and used for the next image formation.

  By repeating the operations (1) to (7), image formation can be performed one after another.

  The image forming apparatus I uses a charging roller and a transfer roller, respectively, for a charging device that charges the photosensitive drum 1 to a predetermined polarity and a transfer device that transfers a toner image to a predetermined position on the recording material M. This method is used to reduce the amount of ozone generated by air discharge. For this reason, the image forming apparatus I is not provided with means for positively removing gas such as an air filter.

(2) Toner supply container B
A schematic configuration of the toner supply container B according to the present invention is shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the toner replenishing container B of this embodiment covers the toner replenishing opening 23 of the toner container 21 with a heat welding film 22 as a sealing member, and seals the toner container 21 by heat welding, and then fills the filling port. (Not shown) is filled with toner. As shown in FIG. 3, as a toner replenishing method, the toner replenishing container B is fitted into the hopper 17 pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus I with the toner replenishing opening 23 facing downward, and the heat welding film 22 is handed in the direction of the arrow. By pulling with the same means or the like, the toner replenishment opening 23 is opened and the hopper is replenished with toner while peeling off the welded portion between the heat welding film 22 and the toner container 21.

(3) Thermal welding film 22
As shown in FIG. 4, the heat welding film 22 which is a sealing member has a synthetic resin layered as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer 22a / nylon layer 22b as a base material, and is welded by heating to have a welding force. A laminate of a welding layer 22d mainly composed of an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and the like, which is laminated via a polyethylene (PE) layer 22c as a cushioning material, and adsorbability of volatile organic compounds Also have. As a method for imparting the adsorptivity of the volatile organic compound to the heat-welded film 22, there is a method in which an adsorbent is dispersed in the material constituting each layer and laminating, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. This is achieved by providing an adsorption layer 22e made of an adsorbent material on the surface of the welding film 22. The adsorption layer 22e may be provided at least on the surface on the side of the welding layer 22d that contacts the toner stored in the toner supply container B and on the portion facing the toner supply opening 23.

  In this embodiment, the heat welding film has been described as an example of the seal member. However, if the toner can be supplied to the image forming apparatus by sealing and opening the toner supply opening of the toner supply container, a slide shutter or a rotating shutter is used. There are no restrictions on the sealing method and constituent materials such as shutters and caps.

(4) Adsorbent of volatile organic compound In this example, activated carbon, which is a porous material, is used as an adsorbent for the volatile organic compound.

  In addition to activated carbon, granular or fibrous materials having adsorbability such as silica gel, alumina, sepiolite, zeolite, etc. may be used as the porous material. As this porous material, one kind of material suitable for volatile organic compounds generated from activated carbon, silica gel, alumina, sepiolite, zeolite, etc. may be selected and used. Yes, multiple types may be used in combination according to the suitability of each substance.

  In addition, as a formation method of the adsorption layer 22e which has activated carbon to the sealing member 22 mentioned above, the method of hold | maintaining on the surface using a fibrous activated carbon, the method of disperse | distributing granular activated carbon to a coating material, the coating film on the surface, etc. However, there is no particular limitation as long as the adsorption performance as activated carbon is not significantly reduced.

(5) Comparative Experiment As in this embodiment, the toner replenishment container sealed with a sealing member capable of adsorbing volatile organic compounds, and the toner replenishment sealed with a sealing member having no adsorptive property as in the conventional example. As a physical distribution test, as shown in FIG. 5, the container was left to stand in an environment of 23 ° C./50% RH and 40 ° C./90% RH for 10 days as shown in FIG. . Then, a comparative evaluation of a sensory test was performed to determine whether or not a strange odor occurs when toner is supplied to the hopper of the image forming apparatus using the toner supply container after the leaving test.

  These results are shown in Table 1. In the table, “◯” indicates a level at which no strange odor is felt, “Δ” indicates a level at which a slight odor is felt but no concern, and “×” indicates a level at which unpleasant odor is felt.

この比較評価より、本実施例のように、シール部材に揮発性有機化合物の吸着性を付与させることで、物流時の密封状態で、高温環境に長期間放置されたトナー補給容器内に発生する、主にトナーからの揮発性有機化合物を吸着し、消臭できることが確認できた。

From this comparative evaluation, as shown in this example, the sealing member is provided with adsorptivity of volatile organic compounds, and is generated in a toner replenishing container that is left in a high temperature environment for a long time in a sealed state during distribution. It was confirmed that volatile organic compounds mainly from the toner were adsorbed and deodorized.

  As a method for adsorbing the volatile organic compound generated in the toner replenishing container B, a method for imparting adsorptivity to the inner surface of the toner container in addition to imparting adsorbability to the seal member as in this embodiment. There is also. However, the adsorbent used for imparting adsorptive properties does not only reduce the adsorption performance when adsorbing a certain amount of volatile organic compounds, but also once the ambient temperature increases or the concentration of volatile organic compounds increases. There is also a problem that the adsorbed volatile organic compound is easily detached. In this embodiment, a one-time replenishment type toner replenishing container that replenishes toner to the hopper of the image forming apparatus at one time is adopted. However, depending on the configuration of the image forming apparatus, there may be no hopper. A stationary toner replenishing container is used that is placed in the image forming apparatus and gradually supplies toner to the developing device. For this reason, a method of imparting adsorptivity to the seal member that can be discarded after toner replenishment and can prevent adverse effects such as detachment of the adsorbed material is preferable to imparting adsorbability to the inner surface of the toner container of the toner replenishing container.

(Example 2)
Next, as Example 2, gas handling in the process cartridge C will be described. In addition, the part which has the same function as Example 1 mentioned above shows the same code | symbol, and description is used.

(1) Process cartridge C
A schematic configuration of the process cartridge C according to the present invention is shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the process cartridge C has a photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller 2, a developing device 4, a cleaning device 6, and a toner container 21, as shown in FIG. Etc., and is detachable from the image forming apparatus I. The toner container 21 is obtained by covering the toner supply opening 23 with a heat welding film 22 as a seal member, sealing the toner container 21 by heat welding, and then filling the toner from a filling port (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the process cartridge C is attached by first pulling the heat-welding film 22 of the process cartridge C in the direction of the arrow with a hand or the like to thereby weld the heat-welding film 22 and the toner container 21. The toner supply opening 23 is opened while the toner is being peeled off, and the developing device 4 is supplied with toner. Then, the upper cover 18 of the image forming apparatus I is opened, and the process cartridge C from which the heat-sealing film as the sealing member has been peeled off as described above is attached to the image forming apparatus I.

(2) Packing state of the process cartridge C As shown in FIG. 8, the process cartridge C is sealed with a light shielding bag 32 so that dust and moisture are not mixed in the process cartridge C during distribution, and the process cartridge C is dropped when dropped. In order to prevent damage, the packaging material 35 is packed in a decorative box 35 in a state where the left and right sides of the process cartridge C are protected by cushioning materials 33 and 34 such as polystyrene foam, cardboard, and pulp mold.

  Further, since the toner may scatter or leak in the process cartridge C due to a drop or vibration during distribution, and a long-term standing in a bad environment, as described above, the heat of the seal member may be deteriorated. The toner is sealed in the toner container 21 using the welding film 22.

(3) Thermal welding film 22
The heat-sealing film 22 as a sealing member is a laminate product composed of multiple layers such as PET layer 22a / nylon layer 22b / PE layer 22c / welding layer 22d, as in Example 1, and has a surface adsorbing material. By providing the adsorbing layer 22e made of the material, adsorbability of volatile organic compounds is imparted. Further, as in the first embodiment, the adsorption layer 22e is also provided at least on the surface on the side of the welding layer 22d that contacts the toner stored in the toner supply container B and on the portion facing the toner supply opening 23. It ’s fine.

  However, since the present embodiment is the process cartridge C, a volatile organic compound may be generated from a functional organic material such as a photosensitive drum and a charging roller and a mold material forming the cartridge C in addition to the toner. There is. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the adsorption layer 22e on the surface of the PET layer 22a on the opposite side in addition to the surface of the welding layer 22d on the side in contact with the toner because volatile organic compounds generated from parts other than the toner can be adsorbed. . Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, the heat-welded film 22 of this embodiment is disposed so that one end of the film is folded back and exposed from the cartridge C so as to be easily peeled off after being welded to the toner container 21. Therefore, in addition to the portion facing the toner supply opening 23 on the surface of the welding layer 22d on the side in contact with the toner, if the adsorption layer 22e is also provided on the surface of the welding layer 22d after the film edge is folded back, The same effects as those obtained when the adsorption layers 22e are provided on both surfaces of the above-described heat welding film 22 can be obtained.

  The adsorbent for the volatile organic compound uses a porous material as in Example 1. A porous material may be selected and used for a volatile organic compound generated from activated carbon, silica gel, alumina, sepiolite, zeolite, etc., but there are multiple volatile organic compounds generated. Depending on the suitability of each substance, a plurality of types may be used in combination. Further, as described above, when the adsorption layers 22e are provided on both surfaces of the heat welding film 22, different porous materials may be used.

  In this embodiment, an example in which a heat-welded film is used as an example of the seal member has been described. However, if toner can be supplied to the developing device by sealing and opening the toner supply opening of the process cartridge, the seal is provided. There is no limitation on the method and the constituent material, and for example, a slide shutter or the like may be adopted.

(4) Comparative Experiment As Example A, a process cartridge in which an adsorption layer that adsorbs a volatile organic compound is sealed with a seal member provided only on one side in contact with the stored toner, and Example B As a physical distribution test, a process cartridge sealed with a seal member provided with adsorption layers on both sides and a process cartridge sealed with a seal member having no adsorptive property as a conventional example are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, a standing test was performed in which the product was left in a packaged state in a 23 ° C./50% RH and 40 ° C./90% RH environment for 10 days. Then, the process cartridge after the leaving test was unpacked, the seal member was opened, and the sensor was subjected to a comparative evaluation of a sensory test to determine whether or not a strange odor occurs when the seal cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

  These results are shown in Table 2. In the table, “◯” indicates a level at which no strange odor is felt, “Δ” indicates a level at which a slight odor is felt but no concern, and “×” indicates a level at which unpleasant odor is felt.

この比較評価より、物流時のような密封状態で、高温環境に長期間放置された遮光袋内のプロセスカートリッジからは、トナー以外にも感光ドラム、帯電ローラ等から揮発性有機化合物が発生しており、本実施例Ｂのようにシール部材の両面に吸着層を設け、シール部材の両側から揮発性有機化合物を吸着させた方が、片面のみでトナーから発生した揮発性有機化合物のみを吸着させるよりも、遮光袋内全体に充満した揮発性有機化合物を吸着することができ、消臭力が向上することが確認できた。

From this comparative evaluation, a volatile organic compound is generated from the photosensitive drum, charging roller, etc. in addition to the toner from the process cartridge in the light-shielding bag that has been left in a high temperature environment for a long time in a sealed state as in distribution. Thus, when the adsorbing layers are provided on both sides of the sealing member as in Example B and the volatile organic compound is adsorbed from both sides of the sealing member, only the volatile organic compound generated from the toner is adsorbed only on one side. It was confirmed that the volatile organic compound filled in the entire light shielding bag could be adsorbed and the deodorizing power was improved.

  In this embodiment, as an example of a process cartridge, a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, a developing device, a cleaning device, a toner container and the like are integrated. However, as a process cartridge, at least a toner container, a developing device, If it has the sealing member provided in the meantime, there will be no restriction | limiting in particular of a structure.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner supply container according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a toner replenishing container attached to the hopper in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the sealing member in 1st Example of this invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a packing material for a toner supply container according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the process cartridge in 2nd Example of this invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a process cartridge mounted in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the packaging material of the process cartridge in 2nd Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photosensitive drum 2 Charging roller 3 Exposure means 4 Developing device 5 Transfer roller 6 Cleaning device 7 Cassette 11 Fixing device 17 Hopper 18 Upper cover 21 Toner container 22 Sealing member 23 Toner supply opening 31, 35 Cosmetic box 32 Shielding bag 33, 34 Buffer Material I Image forming apparatus B Toner supply container M Recording material C Cartridge

Claims (4)

  In a toner supply container that stores toner and supplies toner to the image forming apparatus, the toner supply container includes a toner container having a toner supply opening, and a seal member that can seal and open the toner supply opening. A toner replenishing container, wherein the seal member has adsorbability to adsorb a volatile organic compound generated from toner or the like.   In a process cartridge that is detachable from the image forming apparatus and has at least a developing device, a toner container that stores toner, a developing container that supplies toner to a developing roller, and a toner container that is provided between the toner container and the developing container, And a sealing member capable of sealing and opening the toner in the toner container, wherein the sealing member has an adsorptivity for adsorbing a volatile organic compound generated from the process cartridge. To process cartridge.   The adsorbing property is imparted by providing an adsorbing layer made of an adsorbent on at least a surface of the seal member that comes into contact with toner stored in a toner container. 3. A toner supply container and a process cartridge according to 2.   The packing material for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adsorbent is made of a porous material such as activated carbon, silica gel, alumina, zepiolite, or zeolite.

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