JP2015129798A - Developer storage unit, cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developer storage unit that can reduce a force to peel off a sealing member.SOLUTION: A developer storage unit C includes a bag member 12 that has an opening 12a, has flexibility, and can accommodate a developer, and a sealing member 13 that seals the opening 12a, where the bag member 12 has a folded part 12X that is provided around the opening 12a and folded toward the inside of the bag member 12 to form the opening 12a, and the folded part 12X and the sealing member 13 are joined to each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer storage unit that stores a developer, a cartridge having the developer storage unit, and an image forming apparatus to which the cartridge can be attached and detached.

  Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic forming process. Examples of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus include an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, etc.), a facsimile machine, and a word processor.

  Here, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which the electrophotographic photosensitive member and the process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed. Examples of process means include charging means, developing means, and cleaning means.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a conventional cartridge. As shown in FIG. 9, the cartridge conventionally includes a frame 18 having an opening 19 and a sealing member 17 that seals the opening 19, and the opening 19 is removed by peeling the sealing member 17 during use. A configuration in which is opened is known. When the sealing member 17 is thermally welded to the opening 19, the free end of the sheet-like sealing member is folded back to reduce the user's load when the welded portion is peeled off. By pulling in the direction, the opening is opened.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a user can replenish toner by pulling an end of a bag-like sheet film that contains toner to open the bag. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which the supply of developer is automatically started when a rotating member winds up a sheet that closes an opening. For the purpose of preventing toner condensation, Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration in which a stirring sheet closes an opening of a hopper portion containing toner, and the stirring sheet plays a role of stirring after opening.

JP 04-166963 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 01-128351 JP 2008-134483 A

  However, in the configuration disclosed in FIG. 9 and Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above, opening with a small force is difficult.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a developer storage unit that can realize a reduction in force required for peeling off a sealing member.

  In order to achieve the above object, a developer storage unit of the present invention has an opening, is flexible, can store a developer, and a sealing member that seals the opening. The flexible container has a folded portion that forms the opening by folding the periphery of the opening toward the inside of the flexible container, and the folded portion and the sealing member And are joined.

  Another developer storage unit of the present invention includes an opening, a flexible container that can store the developer, and a sealing member that seals the opening. The sealing member has a folded portion that seals the opening by being folded toward the outside of the flexible container at a position inside the opening, and the folded portion and the flexible container are joined to each other. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, a reduction in force required when the sealing member is peeled off is realized.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing of a cartridge. It is sectional drawing of a developing agent storage unit. It is sectional drawing of a cartridge. It is sectional drawing of a cartridge. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a developer storage unit. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a developer storage unit according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a developer storage unit according to Embodiment 3 and Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a perspective view of the conventional cartridge. It is a perspective view of a developer storage unit.

  The developer storage unit, cartridge, and image forming apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 (laser beam printer) includes an apparatus main body A of the image forming apparatus and a cartridge B that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body A. Inside the apparatus main body A, a photosensitive drum 5 is disposed as an “image carrier” that carries a developer image.

  The surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is charged by a charging device, an electrostatic image is formed by the optical system 1, and developed by a developer by a developing device to form a developer image. The developing device includes a developing roller 9 as a “developer carrying member” that carries the developer. In synchronization with this, the recording material 2 is conveyed from the supply unit 3, conveyed to the nip portion between the photosensitive drum 5 and the transfer unit 6, the developer image is fixed on the recording material 2 by the fixing device 7, and the discharge unit 4 is discharged.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge B. As shown in FIG. 2, the cartridge B includes at least one process means on the photosensitive drum 5. The process means includes a charging device 8 for charging the photosensitive drum 5, a developing roller 9 for developing an electrostatic image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5, and a cleaning for cleaning the developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5. The member 10 is listed. The cartridge B here includes a photosensitive drum 5 and a frame 11 that supports at least one process means and a container 11 a that stores toner, and is detachable from the apparatus main body A.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the developer storage unit C. FIG. The developer storage unit C includes a bag member 12, a sealing member 13, and a shaft 14. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the developer storage unit C in detail. The bag member 12 as a “flexible container” is a member that has an opening 12a that extends long in the longitudinal direction M of the cartridge B, has flexibility, and can store a developer. The bag member 12 is affixed to the sealing member 13 so that the sealing member 13 closes the portion of the opening 12a in a state in which the toner is included. Examples of the affixing means include thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion, and pseudo-adhesion.

  As described above, the sealing member 13 is a member that seals the opening 12a. One end (upper end) in the short direction N is attached to the opening 12 a, and the other end (lower end) in the short direction N is fixed to the shaft 14. As fixing means, in addition to thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion, and pseudo-adhesion, pinching by a clip shape, hooking by holes and projections, and the like can be given.

  4A is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge B. FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, a developer storage unit C is disposed inside the cartridge B. At this time, the bag portion of the developer storage unit C is fixed to the cartridge B by a fixing member 15 (for example, double-sided tape, wedge-shaped member, hook-shaped member, etc.) or a fixing means (for example, thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion). It is fixed to the frame 11. Therefore, the frame 11 is a member that can fix the bag member 12 inside.

  Further, the shaft 14 is installed on the frame 11 so as to be operable (for example, rotational movement, sliding movement by a cam or the like). Specifically, the shaft 14 is attached to the sealing member 13 and is rotatably supported inside the bag member 12.

  When the shaft 14 rotates in the direction of arrow a, the sealing member 13 is pulled in the peeling direction b, and tension is applied to the opening 12 a and the pasting portion of the sealing member 13. If the tension is greater than or equal to the force necessary for peeling off the opening 12a (see FIG. 5B) and the sticking portion of the sealing member 13 (hereinafter referred to as peeling force), FIG. 4B and FIG. As shown in FIG. 5B, it can be opened sequentially, and the developer can be supplied.

  Next, details and mutual relations of each member in the developer storage unit C will be described. The bag member 12 has the opening 12 a as described above, and the opening 12 a is closed by the sealing member 13. The other side is a folded portion of the bag material, or the bag members are firmly bonded to each other by heat welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion or the like to form a bag shape. In this bag member 12, the toner is filled before any side or at least one side of the opening 12 a is pasted, and then the part is pasted to form a developer storage unit C in which the toner is sealed. Can take form.

  In order to realize the opening with the above-described configuration, the opening 12a must be first peeled off. Therefore, the strength of the sealing member 13 and the attaching portion of the opening 12a in all the attaching portions of the bag member 12, that is, It is essential that the peel strength is the weakest. The same can be said for other parts, and it is essential that the peeling force is the weakest with respect to the fixing force between the sealing member 13 and the shaft 14, the fixing force between the bag member 12 and the frame 11, and the like. .

  On the other hand, since the developer storage unit C contains toner in terms of its function, it is advantageous that the peeling force is as large as possible from the viewpoint of sealing performance. If the peeling force is large, the unsealed state may occur when an unexpected force (for example, an impact force at the time of dropping) is applied, except for an intended state (a state set in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100). This is because there is a high possibility that it can be avoided. From the above, it is necessary to set the peeling force to a desired value.

  Next, a method for setting the peeling force to a desired value will be described. In the present embodiment, two methods are mainly used in order to set the peeling force to a desired value (here, a force as small as possible within a range in which the toner sealing property can be maintained).

  First, a laminate material having a special sealant layer that exhibits an easy peel property (peeling strength is about 3 N / 15 mm in a test of a sealed soft packaging bag of JIS-Z0238) is applied to the sealing member 13. The bag member 12 is made of a material (for example, polyethylene or polypropylene) that can be welded to the special sealant layer. By doing so, it is a method of exhibiting easy peel properties at the peeled portion. It is possible to reduce the peeling force by changing the combination of the special sealant layer formulation and the material to be bonded.

  6A is a cross-sectional view of the developer storage unit C. FIG. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of a developer storage unit C according to a modification. The second method will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). Here, for example, a direction in which the sealing member 13 is peeled is defined as a peeling direction b, and the opposite is defined as a reverse direction d. The peeling direction b and the reverse direction d are parallel to each other. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the sealing member 13 is attached to the opening 12a, the opening 12a is folded back in the reverse direction d, and the protrusion 12b is peeled off in the peeling direction b. Protrusively.

  That is, the bag member 12 has a folded portion 12X that forms the opening 12a by being folded around the opening 12a toward the inside of the bag member 12. The folded portion 12X is substantially parallel to the peeling direction b in which the sealing member 13 moves when the sealing member 13 is peeled from the bag member 12.

  The folded portion 12X and the sealing member 13 are joined. Joining of the folded portion 12X is any one of thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion, and pseudo-adhesion. At the joining position of the folded portion 12X, one end of the sealing member 13 and the edge of the opening 12a face the same direction.

  The sealing member 13 assumes a case where the extending direction of the shaft 14 is the longitudinal direction M and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction M is the short direction N (see FIG. 3). In this case, the shaft 14 is disposed at a position overlapping the virtual plane H along the surface of the folded portion 12X, and when the shaft 14 rotates, the sealing member 13 is rotated in the short direction N (arrow a direction). The bag member 12 is peeled off. The sealing member 13 is fixed to the shaft 14 even after being peeled from the bag member 12, and rotates together with the rotation of the shaft 14.

  For example, when the shaft 14 rotates in the direction of arrow a in the state of FIG. 6A and the sealing member 13 is pulled in the peeling direction b toward the outside of the bag member 12, the bag member 12 and the sealing member 13 are It becomes the positional relationship of inclined peeling (90 ° to 180 ° peeling) as shown in FIG. Conventionally, it is known that the peeling force required for the peeling of both can be reduced by the inclined peeling. Therefore, the peeling force can be reduced by setting the opening of the bag member 12 so that the convex portion 12b is formed in parallel to the peeling direction b.

  FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B differ in the positional relationship between the end of the opening 12a of the bag member 12 and the end of the sealing member 13, but the peel force is similarly reduced. In FIG. 6A, the upper end portion of the sealing member 13 is positioned above the upper end portion of the opening 12a. In FIG.6 (b), the upper end part of the sealing member 13 is located below rather than the upper end part of the opening 12a.

  FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the developer storage unit C according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of a developer storage unit C according to a modification. Of the configurations of the second embodiment, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 7A or 7B, when the sealing member 13 is attached to the opening 12a, the sealing member 13 is folded back in the peeling direction b, and the convex portion 13a is reversed. Project in direction d.

  That is, the sealing member 13 has a folded portion 13X that seals the opening 12a by being folded toward the outside of the bag member 12 at a position inside the opening 12a. The folded portion 13X is substantially parallel to the peeling direction b in which the sealing member 13 moves when the sealing member 13 is peeled from the bag member 12.

  The folded portion 13X and the sealing member 13 are joined. The joining of the folded portion 13X is any one of thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion, and pseudo-adhesion. At the joining position of the folded portion 13X, one end of the sealing member 13 and the edge of the opening 12a face the same direction.

  The sealing member 13 assumes a case where the extending direction of the shaft 14 is the longitudinal direction M and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction M is the short direction N. In this case, the shaft 14 is disposed at a position overlapping the virtual plane H along the surface of the folded portion 13X, and when the shaft 14 rotates, the sealing member 13 is rotated in the short direction N and peeled from the bag member 12. Is done. The sealing member 13 is fixed to the shaft 14 even after being peeled from the bag member 12, and rotates together with the rotation of the shaft 14.

  At the same time, the sealing member 13 of Example 2 has a protruding portion 13k that protrudes while the fixed portion fixed to the shaft 14 is folded back in the peeling direction b.

  Even with such a configuration, it is possible to realize inclined peeling (90 ° to 180 ° peeling). Thereby, since the shape of the bag member 12 becomes simple, simplification of the bag making process can be aimed at. 7A and 7B are different in the positional relationship between the end of the sealing member 13 and the end of the bag member 12 in the vicinity of the welded portion, but the effect of reducing the peeling force can be obtained similarly. . That is, in FIG. 7A, the lower end portion of the folded portion 13 </ b> X of the sealing member 13 is positioned in the peeling direction b more than the lower end portion of the opening 12 a of the bag member 12. In FIG. 7B, the lower end portion of the folded portion 13 </ b> X of the sealing member 13 is positioned in the opposite direction d from the lower end portion of the opening 12 a of the bag member 12.

  FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the developer storage unit C according to the third embodiment. Of the configurations of the third embodiment, the same configurations as those of the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. 8A, for example, when the peeling direction b and the reverse direction d that are parallel to each other are defined, and the sealing member 13 is attached to the opening 12a, the sealing member 13 is in the peeling direction b. It is folded and the convex part 13a protrudes in the reverse direction d.

  At the same time, the sealing member 13 of Example 3 has an extending portion 13m in which the fixed portion fixed to the shaft 14 extends in the peeling direction b. In addition, the shape of this Example 3 also looks Y-shaped. Even in such a configuration, the rotational movement of the shaft 14 is efficiently transmitted to the sealing member 13, and more stable peeling can be expected.

  FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the developer storage unit C according to the fourth embodiment. In the configuration of the fourth embodiment, the same components as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 8B, unlike the first to third embodiments, the developer storage unit includes three members. 8B, the container member 16 is attached to the bag member 12 on the opposite direction d side. If a part of the bag member (corresponding to the bag member 12 + the container member 16 as an example) has rigidity (like the container member 16), such as the container member 16, the rigidity is used. It is also possible to fix (fit, weld, etc.) to the developer storage unit C.

  Further, the fixed container member 16 can be used as it is as the outer frame of the developer storage unit C, and for example, the degree of freedom for dividing the frame 11 in FIG.

  Regarding the configuration similar to that of the first to fourth embodiments among the configurations of the fifth embodiment, the description thereof is incorporated by using the same reference numerals. In Example 5, the bag member 12 is formed of a laminate material having a special sealant layer, and the sealing member 13 is formed of a material that can be welded to the laminate material.

  In this respect, in Examples 1 to 4, the sealing member 13 is formed of a laminate material having a special sealant layer, and the bag member 12 is formed of a material that can be welded to the laminate material. Thus, if there is room for selection of the configuration, such as the configuration of the fifth embodiment or the configuration of the first to fourth embodiments, the bag member 12 and the sealing member are sealed in consideration of the manufacture and opening of the bag. The material of the stop member 13 can be selected. Thus, at the joining position of the folded portions 12X and 13X, any one of the bag member 12 and the sealing member 13 may be configured to have a special sealant layer.

  Regarding the configuration similar to that of the first to fifth embodiments among the configurations of the sixth embodiment, the description thereof is incorporated by using the same reference numerals. In Example 6, for example, the welding surface is roughened, the welding area is reduced, and the welding force is reduced. This idea is the same for adhesion and pseudo-adhesion, and the bonded surface is roughened, the adhesion area (pseudo-adhesion area) is reduced, and the adhesive force is reduced. In thermal welding or ultrasonic welding, the welding force can be reduced simply by suppressing the output during welding. Thus, the developer storage unit C can be opened without using a laminate material having a special sealant layer that exhibits easy peel properties.

  According to the configurations of Examples 1 to 6, a laminate material having a special sealant layer that imparts characteristics to the shapes of the pasting portions of the bag member 12 and the sealing member 13 and exhibits easy peel properties at the pasting portions is used. Thus, the developer storage unit C can be opened with a small force (the peeling force at the opening portion is about 3 N / 15 mm).

  Since the sealing member 13 can be opened by pulling in the short direction N of the cartridge, the pulling distance, which was about twice as long in the longitudinal direction M of the conventional cartridge, can be greatly reduced.

  Since the sealing member 13 after being opened is fixed to the shaft 14, it can be opened without taking out the waste material from the cartridge B. Furthermore, since the sealing member 13 is movable with the shaft 14, a toner stirring effect can be expected inside the cartridge B.

  Since the developer storage unit C takes the form of a bag, the developer filling process can be separated from the cartridge assembly process in order to handle the developer as a unit. Here, the developer filling step is a filling step of filling the bag member 12 of the developer storage unit with the developer. The cartridge assembling process is an assembling process in which the bag member 12 filled with the developer in the filling process is assembled into the frame 11. The cartridge manufacturing method here includes such a developer filling step and a cartridge assembling step.

  According to any of the configurations of the first to sixth embodiments, the filling process can be separated from the assembling process of the cartridge by treating the developer filling symmetry as a developer storage unit and handling the developer as a unit. Become.

12 Bag member (flexible container)
12X folded portion 12a opening 13 sealing member 13X folded portion C developer storage unit

Claims (14)

A flexible container having an opening, having flexibility and accommodating a developer;
A sealing member for sealing the opening;
With
The flexible container has a folded portion that forms the opening by being folded around the opening toward the inside of the flexible container;
The developer storage unit, wherein the folded portion and the sealing member are joined. A flexible container having an opening, having flexibility and accommodating a developer;
A sealing member for sealing the opening;
With
The sealing member has a folded portion that seals the opening by being folded toward the outside of the flexible container at a position inside the opening,
The developer storage unit, wherein the folded portion and the flexible container are joined.   The developer storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the flexible container is formed of a bag member.   4. The developer storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the folded portion is substantially parallel to a peeling direction in which the sealing member is peeled from the flexible container. 5. . A frame capable of fixing the flexible container therein;
A shaft to which the sealing member is attached and rotatably supported inside the flexible container;
The developer storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the developer storage unit is provided. When the sealing member has a direction in which the shaft extends is a longitudinal direction and a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a short direction,
The axis is disposed at a position overlapping with a virtual plane along the surface of the folded portion,
The developer storage unit according to claim 5, wherein when the shaft rotates, the sealing member is rotated in a short direction and peeled from the flexible container.   The developer container according to claim 5, wherein the sealing member is fixed to the shaft even after being peeled from the flexible container, and rotates together with the rotation of the shaft. unit.   The developer storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the folded portion is joined by any one of thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion, and pseudo-adhesion.   9. The development according to claim 1, wherein one end portion of the sealing member and an edge portion of the opening face the same direction at a joining position of the folded portion. Agent storage unit.   10. The developer storage according to claim 1, wherein either the flexible container or the sealing member has a special sealant layer at a joining position of the folded portion. unit. A developer carrying member carrying the developer;
The developer storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A cartridge comprising: An image carrier for carrying a developer image;
A developer carrying member carrying the developer;
The developer storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A cartridge comprising: An image forming apparatus main body;
The developer storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or the cartridge according to claim 11 or 12, which can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body.
An image forming apparatus comprising: A filling step of filling a developer into the flexible container of the developer storage unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
An assembling step of assembling the flexible container filled with the developer in the filling step into a frame;
A cartridge manufacturing method comprising:

Images