JP2006259488A - Process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a process cartridge which copes with recycle from a product design stage in order to suppress costs for the recycle, surely transmit product design information to a recycle process and improve the quality of a recycled article. <P>SOLUTION: By noting the operation descriptions and recycle information of process cartridge together on a label stuck to the process cartridge 30, the need of newly preparing a label and displaying the recycle information at the time of the recycle is eliminated, the product design information is surely transmitted to the recycle process, and the information of the number of times of the recycle at the point of time of use is disclosed to a user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a process cartridge for recycling that is used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimiles.

In recent years, with the increasing social awareness of environmental protection and the strengthening of various regulations, it is important to conserve resources and reduce the amount of products used (reduce), reuse (reuse), and recycle (recycle). It has become one of the challenges. In image forming apparatuses, the enforcement of laws and regulations accelerates the collection, reuse, recycling, and material recycling (material recycling) of image forming apparatus bodies, units, and parts of used products. For this reason, the process cartridge is also required to be designed in consideration of collection, reuse, and recycling after use.
However, conventionally, when a used process cartridge is collected and recycled, a new label is created and recycling information is displayed. For this reason, there is a problem in that recycling is costly, and replacement part information at the time of recycling that is considered at the time of product design is not easily transmitted to the recycling process.
As a conventional technique in consideration of such a recycling problem, information on a process cartridge such as a manufacturer name is displayed on the developer seal of the process cartridge, and the name of the image forming apparatus capable of mounting the process cartridge on this information, and a process cartridge handling method And the like, and there is an example in which the developer seal is pulled out by hand (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Further, in a sealing material that removably closes the opening of the cartridge in order to seal the toner stored in the cartridge, the cartridge includes a number display shape portion that indicates the number of times the toner is stored in the cartridge, There is an example in which when the sealing material is peeled off when the cartridge is used, it is cut at the perforation and the usage number display piece remains attached (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-39597 JP 2000-147888 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and further improves the prior art, suppresses the cost for recycling, ensures that product design information is transmitted to the reproduction process, and improves the quality of the recycled product. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process cartridge that can be recycled from the product design stage.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following features.
According to the present invention, a process cartridge is a process cartridge that integrally supports at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit and an image carrier, and is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and is attached to the process cartridge. The operation label of the process cartridge and recycling information are written together on the label.
Since the label attached to the process cartridge contains the process cartridge operation description and recycling information, create a new label when the used process cartridge is collected, recycled, and reused. It becomes unnecessary to display the recycling information, and the cost for recycling can be suppressed.

The present invention is characterized in that the recycling information written together on the label is information indicating the number of times the process cartridge can be reused or the number of times it can be reused.
When the number of reuses of the process cartridge is written on the label, the service person or the user can recognize the number of reuses at the time of use and can disclose information to the user. In addition, if the reusable number of process cartridges is written on the label, the product design information is reliably transmitted to the recycling process, and the number of reusable times based on the design information can be provided to the recycling process. Can be improved.

The present invention is characterized in that the recycling information written together with the label is part information exchanged when the process cartridge is reused.
Since the part information to be replaced at the time of process cartridge regeneration is also written on the label, the product design information is reliably transmitted to the regeneration process, the parts can be replaced based on the design information, and the quality of the recycled product can be improved. .

The present invention is characterized in that the process cartridge is covered by sticking a seal on the recycling information written together on the label.
Covering by putting a sticker on the recycling information written on the label affixed to the process cartridge, so that the recycling information is not displayed the first time, so that it can be used for the first time as a new product , It can be recognized that the process cartridge is not a recycled product but a new one.

According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes the above-described process cartridge.
Since the image forming apparatus has a process cartridge that is detachable from the apparatus main body, it is possible to improve convenience such as maintenance.

  By means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention makes it unnecessary to create a new label and display recycling information when it is used for recycling, thereby reducing the cost for recycling and product design information. Can be reliably communicated to the recycling process, improving the quality of the recycled product, and disclosing the number of reuses at the point of use to the user, and providing a process cartridge that supports recycling from the product design stage. Could be provided.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. However, these are merely embodiments, and do not limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a process cartridge 30, a laser unit 18 that is an optical unit, a fixing roller 22, a pressure roller 23, and the like. Since the image forming apparatus has the process cartridge 30 that is detachable from the apparatus main body, it is possible to improve convenience such as maintenance.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the process cartridge. The image carrier 1, the charging roller 3, the developing device 20, and the cleaning blade 7 are integrally supported.

FIG. 3 shows a label attached to the process cartridge. The label attached to the process cartridge 30 includes the description of the operation of the process cartridge 30 and the recycling information. Therefore, when the used process cartridge 30 is collected, reprocessed and reused, a new label is added. It is not necessary to create and display the recycling information, and the cost for recycling can be reduced.
FIG. 4 is a sticker affixed on the recycling information written on the label of FIG.
The recycling information written on the label is covered by sticking a sticker, and the recycling information is not displayed at the first time, so that the process cartridge 30 can be recycled to the service person and user who uses it as the first new one. Recognize that it is not a product but a new product.
FIG. 5 shows a state where the sticker of FIG. 4 is affixed on the label of FIG. When a new process cartridge 30 is shipped, only the operation description of the process cartridge 30 is displayed as shown in FIG. 5, and the recycling information is not displayed. After that, the used process cartridge 30 is collected, and the seal shown in FIG. 4 is removed in the recycling process. The parts are exchanged by referring to the parts information exchanged at the time of reuse shown in the label of FIG. The parts are subjected to a predetermined reproduction process. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the number of reuses is marked before shipping as a recycled product. When the number of reuses is printed up to 3 times on the label, it can be confirmed that the label can be reused up to 3 times. As described above, since the part information to be replaced when the process cartridge 30 is regenerated is written on the label, the product design information is surely transmitted to the regenerating process, the parts can be replaced based on the design information, and the quality of the regenerated product can be improved. Can be improved.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a process cartridge. This is a label attached to the process cartridge. It is a sticker affixed on the recycling information written together with the label of FIG. The state where the seal of FIG. 4 is stuck on the label of FIG. 3 is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image carrier 2 Separation nail 3 Charging roller 4 Developing roller 5 Transfer roller 7 Cleaning blade 8 Toner hopper 9 Agitator 10 Developer storage case 11 Sealing member 12 Conveying roller 13 Separating roller 14 Conveying belt 15 Pickup roller 16 Pressure plate 18 Laser unit 19 Paper feeding roller 20 Developing device 21 Registration roller 22 Fixing roller 23 Pressure roller 24 Paper discharge roller 30 Process cartridge

Claims (5)

  The process cartridge is a process cartridge that integrally supports at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit and an image carrier, and is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge is a label attached to the process cartridge. A process cartridge characterized by a cartridge operation description and recycling information.   2. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the recycling information written on the label is information indicating the number of times the process cartridge can be reused or the number of times it can be reused.   The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the recycling information written on the label of the process cartridge is part information that is replaced when the process cartridge is reused.   The process cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the process cartridge is configured to be covered by sticking a seal on the recycling information written together with the label. An image forming apparatus comprising the process cartridge according to claim 1.

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