JP3093022B2 - Toner cartridge with seal - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner cartridge having a toner seal applied to an optical writing image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, low-end electrophotographic copying machines and laser printers are mainly of a maintenance-free, disposable process cartridge type which does not require toner supply. Even in a system that requires toner replenishment, it is required that toner replenishment can be easily performed while keeping the hands and the like of workers as dirty as possible.

In such a process cartridge, if toner accumulates in the developing portion thereof, the toner may spill during transportation or the like. Therefore, the toner should not be erroneously sent from the toner hopper side to the developing device side until the mounting is completed. In many cases, a seal is provided between the toner hopper and the developing device, and the seal is pulled immediately before use, and the idle rotation is performed immediately before outputting an image to supply toner to the developing device. In general, the toner cartridge itself is provided with a seal so that the toner does not leak until the toner cartridge is set in the developing device.

[0004] This will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross section of a laser printer in which a photosensitive unit and a developing unit are interchangeable. In the laser printer, the recording paper fed from the paper feed cassette 3 in the direction of the pair of registration rollers is timed by the pair of registration rollers, and is conveyed onto the photosensitive unit 1. The photoreceptor is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1. At this time, the surface of the photoreceptor is uniformly charged by a charging unit, and is irradiated with laser light from the laser optical system 5 so that the photoreceptor is placed on the photoreceptor. An electrostatic latent image is formed. This latent image is
When passing through the developing unit 2 including the toner cartridge,
The visible image is visualized by the toner, and the visible image is transferred by a transfer unit onto the recording paper conveyed to the photoreceptor unit 1, and the transferred visible image on the recording paper is fixed by the fixing unit 4.
Is established by. The recording paper discharged from the fixing unit 4 is discharged to a paper discharge unit, guided by a paper discharge guide, and stored in a paper discharge tray.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the developing unit 2 alone. The developing unit alone is roughly divided into a developing case section 9, a toner hopper section 10, and a waste toner collecting section 11, and each is welded to each other. The developing case unit 9 is provided with a developing roller 6, a developing blade 7, and a charging charger 8 in this order from the toner hopper unit 10 side.

FIG. 3 shows the developing unit 9 removed from the developing unit alone. Conventionally, when the gripping portion 13 of the folded sealing film 12 is pulled in the peeling direction, the sealing film 12 adhered to the toner hopper 10 is removed.
Are peeled off in order from the folded side, that is, the side opposite to the peeling direction, and finally are completely peeled off from the toner hopper 10.

[0008]

However, in such a conventional system, the length of pulling out the seal tends to be long, the handleability is poor, and a considerable force is required for peeling. Have a problem.

Particularly, in the case of a developing device having a wide developing width, the length of the seal becomes long, and the seal cannot be completely removed by one pulling operation, and it is necessary to hold the seal again. At this time, since the picked-up portion is generally a portion in contact with the toner,
There are drawbacks such as soiling the hands of workers.

Also, the longer the peeling length is, the more easily the seal can fly to the worker at the last moment when the seal is peeled off from the hopper casing due to the elastic restoring force of the seal itself. As a result, there is a possibility that the toner adhered to the seal scatters and stains the clothes and the like of the worker. To prevent such toner scattering, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 64-7084
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, a configuration is disclosed in which both ends of a flexible sheet to be peeled at the end of a peeling operation are supported.

Further, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-71756, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-2063, and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 62-11.
As known from JP 0954, JP-A-2-134552, JP-A-2-281277, etc., there is a type in which a seal is wound up. However, a mechanical part for winding up is required, and cost increases. It was a factor.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a toner cartridge which requires a minimum number of components, requires a small peeling force, and does not scatter toner when the seal is opened. That is the task.

[0013]

According to the present invention, there is provided a toner cartridge having a sealing member having a toner supply opening hermetically sealed and having a grip at its free end. The above problem was solved by attaching another gripping part to the side not facing the toner supply opening in the middle of the above.

It is preferable that the another gripping portion is provided in a region other than the folded portion on the folded seal piece, and very close to an edge near the peeling direction.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 3 showing a conventional example.
FIG. 4 shows a state in which a developing case portion is removed from a developing unit of a toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The gripping parts 20, 21 for peeling are
It is provided in the outer region of the folded seal 22.
When the toner cartridge is mounted, the developing case portion is also integrally welded, and the second grip portion 21 is normally hidden and cannot be seen. However, when the first gripper 20 is pulled to remove the seal, the second gripper 21 appears on the way as understood in FIG. 5. Thereafter, the second gripper 21 is pulled. , Peel off the seal.

FIG. 6 shows a second grip 2 for peeling.
1 shows a state where a developing case portion is removed from a single developing unit in an embodiment having a different mounting position 1 ′.

The second holding portion 21 'is not on the folded side of the seal 22 bonded to the toner hopper 10, that is, on the outer surface of the bonding area and very near the edge near the peeling direction. Installed. First gripper 20
As shown in FIG. 7, the second grip 21 'appears immediately before the peeling is completed, and the seal is finally peeled off by pulling the second grip 21'. Since the distance L between the seal edge and the second grip portion 21 'is short, the situation where the seal flies vigorously toward the front side due to the elastic restoring force is eliminated.

Further, instead of attaching the plurality of gripping portions as described above, an illustration for instructing to hold the seal when peeling off the seal may be printed on the seal surface.
The object of the present invention can be solved.

When the grip portion 20 of the seal 22 is pulled, an illustration 23 on the seal surface appears on the way in FIG.
Shown in FIG. 9 shows two examples of illustrations that teach holding. When the illustration appears, the user changes the sticker at that position and then continues the sticker peeling operation. By such an illustration, the user does not peel off the seal in a single pulling operation, but once holds the seal and then peels off, so that the seal does not inadvertently elongate and the handleability is improved. . Further, since there is no grip portion in the middle of the seal, the shape of the seal member is extremely simple, and the cost of the seal member itself is reduced. Furthermore, because of the simple shape, the sticker does not get caught in the developing device at the time of peeling.

[0022]

In the toner cartridge according to the first aspect, in addition to the free end gripping portion, another gripping portion is attached to the middle of the seal piece and not facing the toner replenishment opening, so that the toner is When peeling off the seal from the hopper, you can pull with the grips that appear sequentially,
As a result, the part of the seal being pulled does not become long,
The handling of the operator becomes remarkably easy. In addition, there is also an advantage that the seal can be easily peeled because the force required for pulling is small.

In the toner cartridge according to the second aspect, the another gripping portion is formed on a folded seal piece.
Since the seal is provided in a region other than the folded portion and very close to the edge near the peeling direction, the seal has a high elastic restoring force at the moment when the peeling of the seal is completed. This eliminates the possibility that the toner will shrink violently and jump out, so that it is possible to prevent the sheet to which the toner has adhered from hitting the worker, thereby soiling the clothes and scattering the toner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a laser printer in which a photoconductor unit and a developing unit are interchangeable.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a developing unit alone.

3A and 3B are views showing a state where a developing case portion is removed from a developing unit alone, FIG. 3A is a perspective view, and FIG.
Is a plan view.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views showing a state in which a developing case portion is removed from a single developing unit of the toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a perspective view, and FIG. 4B is a plan view. .

5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a state in which the seal is being peeled off. FIG. 5 (a) is a perspective view, and FIG.
(B) shows a plan view.

6A and 6B are diagrams showing a state where a developing case unit is removed from a developing unit alone in an embodiment in which a mounting position of a second gripping unit for peeling is different, and FIG. 6A is a perspective view,
FIG. 6B is a plan view.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6B, showing a state immediately before the peeling of the seal is completed.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which an illustration on the seal surface appears on the way when the grip portion of the seal is pulled.

9 (a) and 9 (b) are diagrams showing examples of illustrations for teaching holding.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Toner hopper part 11 Waste toner storage part 20 First grip part 21 Second grip part 22 Seal

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A toner cartridge having a sealing portion having a toner supply opening portion sealed and having a grip portion at a free end thereof, wherein the toner supply portion is provided in the middle of the seal piece in addition to the free end grip portion. A toner cartridge, wherein another grip portion is attached to a side not facing the opening. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the another grip portion is provided in a region other than the folded portion on the folded seal piece, and very close to an edge near the peeling direction. The toner cartridge according to claim 1.