JP3105064B2 - Developer supply mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developer supply mechanism for supplying a developer to a developing device used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine and an electrostatic information recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a powdery toner is used as a developer in a developing device of an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine. The powder toner is consumed as the image forming process proceeds, and it is necessary to replenish the developer in a timely manner. For supplying the developer, a developer supply container is used.

[0003] As one of the developer supply containers, a body portion in which an internal space for accommodating a developer to be supplied to a developer receiving container is formed, and the developer in the internal space of the body portion is discharged to the outside. A container body integrally formed with a mouth for carrying out, and a film member which is peelably fixed to a periphery of the mouth of the container body and covers the mouth, and wherein the container body is made of a plastic material. There is something. For example, the container body is manufactured by molding an engineering plastic such as an ABS resin, an impact-resistant polystyrene resin (HIPS), a polyurethane resin, and a polycarbonate resin. Therefore, the container main body has high rigidity that can withstand the impact at the time of transportation, the impact at the time of replacement due to toner exhaustion, and the like.

[0004]

However, in the developer supply container, since the container main body is integrally formed, a mold is required for molding the container main body. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the container main body is required. Will be higher.

In general, incineration is performed on discarded plastic products, but the incineration is also performed on the container body of the developer supply container that has been discarded. Since the incineration capacity for the container body is limited, the container body is crushed before the container body is incinerated, and the crushed container body is temporarily moved to a predetermined place depending on the operation of the incinerator. Stored in However, since the container main body is a plastic molded product, the volume of the container main body after being crushed does not become so small, and it is very difficult to secure a vast land as a storage place for the container main body.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a developer supply container capable of reducing the volume of space required for storage before incineration and reducing manufacturing costs. A second object of the present invention is to provide a developer replenishing mechanism that can reduce the manufacturing cost and can easily supply the developer.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the object is to supply a developer to a container body for storing the developer and a developer receiving container.
A sheet-shaped sealing portion having a supply port,
And a chuck member provided to open and close the supply port.
A developer supply container; and
In a developer replenishing mechanism for replenishing the developer to the imaging material receiving container, the developer is supplied in conjunction with the opening of the chuck member.
This is achieved by having a rake mechanism inserted into the supply port to push out the supply port .

[0009]

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

[0014]

In the developer replenishing mechanism of the present invention, the body is made of a sheet material having moisture resistance and flexibility, the mouth is made of a plastic material, and the body and the mouth are hot melt bonded. A chuck, which is bonded with an agent and closes the outlet of the mouth so as to be openable, is provided. Developer supply
Since the sealing part with the mouth is sheet-shaped, its volume is small.
Crushed to save space in storage and disposal areas.
Make it smaller. When supplying developer, open the chuck member.
The rake mechanism is inserted into the supply port in conjunction with the operation
The supply port even if the sealing part is sheet-shaped.
It is actually opened, and the developer is supplied stably from the supply port.

[0015]

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

[0020]

[0021]

[0022]

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a developer supply container of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side view showing the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a view showing a joined state of an end of a body portion of the developer supply container of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an end portion of a body portion of the developer supply container of FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing a state before bonding of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which a discharge port is opened by a chuck provided at an opening of the developer supply container of FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a main part of a rake mechanism used to open the opening of the developer supply container of FIG. FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the discharge port of the developer supply container of FIG. 1 is pushed out by a rake mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 1, a developer supply container 1 for supplying a developer to a developing device used in an image forming apparatus has a container body 2. The container main body 2 has a body portion 3 in which an internal accommodation space for toner is formed, and a mouth portion 4 in which a discharge port for discharging the toner in the body portion 3 to the outside is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the body 3 is composed of two sheets of moisture-proof and flexible sheets, and the sheets cooperate with each other to form a bag. A hot-melt layer 3a made of a hot-melt adhesive is formed on each of the edge of one sheet material and the edge of the other sheet material opposed thereto, and the hot-melt adhesive is used to connect one and the other of the sheet members. Are bonded to each other so as to open to one side. The body 3 is provided with a toner filling port 3b. The filling port 3b has a label-like sealing member 14.
Is sealed.

Examples of the sheet material include paper laminated with polyethylene or the like, polyester film, polyethylene film and the like. In addition, a sheet material provided with an aluminum vapor-deposited layer can be used in order to increase moisture resistance.

The mouth 4 is made of engineering plastics such as ABS resin, high impact polystyrene resin (HIPS), polyurethane resin, polycarbonate resin and the like. The opening 4 is a hole 5 serving as a toner discharge port in the body 3.
a having a flange 5 provided thereon. One surface of the flange 5 is provided with a cylindrical rib 6a extending coaxially with the hole 5a, and the other surface is provided with a cylindrical rib 6b extending coaxially with the hole 5a. The mouth of the body 3 is inserted into the rib 6a, and the body 3 and the rib 6a are bonded to each other with a hot melt adhesive.

One end of a cylindrical sealing portion 7 made of a sheet material of the same material as that of the body portion 3 is inserted into the rib 6b, and the sealing portion 7 and the rib 6b are hot melt bonded to each other. Adhesive.

The sealing portion 7 is provided with a chuck 8 for closing the other opening so as to be openable. The chuck 8 includes a pair of engagement members 9 meshed with each other, and the engagement members 9.
And a moving body 10 for meshing each other. The moving body 10 is moved by a handle 11 provided in a developer supply container (not shown), as shown in FIG.

When the handle 11 is operated with the opening of the chuck 8, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rake mechanism 12 is interlocked with the operation of the handle 11, and the rake mechanism 12 rotates. The mouth of the sealing part 7 is pushed open by the rotation operation of the rake mechanism 12.

In order to quickly discharge the toner,
Preferably, the material of the sealing portion 7 is a soft plastic material. By making the material of the sealing portion 7 soft, it is possible to prevent the toner from being caught in the sealing portion 7.

In this embodiment, the chuck 8 and the rib 6
Although the interval from b is set to the dimension L, it is preferable to make the interval dimension L as small as possible in order to easily open the toner discharge port and shorten the toner discharge time.

Next, a procedure for replenishing the developer into the developer receiving container with the developer supply container will be described.

First, the developer supply container 1 is prepared, and the flange 5 of the developer supply container 1 is mounted on a developer receiving container (not shown). Next, the handle 11 of the developer receiving container
As a result, the moving body 10 of the chuck 8 is moved, and the engagement of the engaging members 9 is released. With the release of the engagement of the engagement members 9, the opening of the sealing portion 7 is opened, and the toner is supplied into the developer receiving container. The rake mechanism 12 rotates with the operation of the handle 11, and pushes the mouth of the sealing portion 7 open.

When the toner is supplied, the toner flows into the developer receiving container smoothly without being caught by the sealing portion 7 and the chuck 8.

After the completion of the replenishment of the developer, the opening of the sealing portion 7 is closed by the chuck 8 to prevent the developer remaining in the body 3 from scattering to the outside.

Next, the developer supply container 1 is removed from the developer receiving container and transported to a predetermined disposal place. At the disposal place, the body 3 of the container body 2 is crushed, and the volume of the container body 2 is reduced.

When the container body 2 is crushed, the body 3 of the container body 2 is made of a flexible sheet material, and the body 3 is crushed so as to reduce its volume. The space volume defined by the mouth 4 is reduced, and the disposal space at the disposal place can be reduced.

Further, since there is only the opening 4 in the mold molded product, the number of molds for the molded product is reduced, and the production cost can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the body 3 and the rib 6a
Although a hot melt adhesive is used for adhesion to the body, the body 3 and the rib 6a can be joined by heat sealing instead.

Further, in this embodiment, the opening of the sealing portion 7 is closed by the chuck 8, but in order to further improve the sealing property of the container, as shown in FIG. Can also be provided. The sealing layer 12 is formed by joining the portions of the sealing portion 7 facing each other by heat sealing. In order to enhance operability, the sealing layer 12 is provided with a cut 13 for separating the sealing layer 12 from the sealing portion 7. The cutting means of the cut 13 is
It is preferably provided in a developer receiving container.

Further, when using the body portion 15 having a relatively small amount of stored toner, as shown in FIG. 8, the end portion of the sheet material is folded, and the end portion is adhered with a hot melt adhesive. The part 15 can also be formed.

Next, a second embodiment of the developer supply container of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Figure 9 is a front view showing an embodiment, FIG. 10 is attached to the present embodiment
It is a front view which shows all the modification examples .

The developer supply container 21 has a container body 22 as shown in FIG. The container body 22 has a body portion 23 in which an internal storage space for the toner is formed, and a mouth portion 24 in which a discharge port for discharging the toner in the body portion 23 to the outside is formed.

The body 23 is formed of two sheets of paper, such as polyethylene-laminated paper, a polyester film, and a polyethylene film, and the sheets cooperate with each other to form a bag. The body portion 23 is provided with a toner filling port 3b. The filling port 3b is sealed with a label-shaped sealing member 14.

The mouth 24 is made of engineering plastic. The mouth 24 has a flange 5 provided with a hole (not shown) serving as a toner discharge port in the body 23. One surface of the flange 5 has an end portion 23 of the body portion 23.
c is joined by heat sealing. As a heat sealant used for this heat seal, there are EVA (ethylene = vinyl acetate) type, acrylic type, polyolefin type, ethylene = acrylate copolymer type, polyimide type, ionomer type, polyester type and the like.

The end 7a of the sealing portion 7 is joined to the other surface of the flange 25 by heat sealing. The sealing portion 7 is provided with a chuck 8 for opening and closing the opening.

As described above, when the container body 22 is crushed, the body portion 23 is made of a flexible sheet material, and the body portion 23 is crushed so as to reduce its volume. The space volume defined by the part 24 is reduced, and the disposal space at the disposal site can be reduced. In addition, since the mold molding is only the mouth 24,
The number of dies for the die molding is reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The other developer supply container 31 has a container body 32 as shown in FIG. The container main body 32 has a body portion 23 in which an internal storage space for the toner is formed, and a mouth portion 34 in which a discharge port for discharging the toner in the body portion 23 to the outside is formed.

The body 23 is made of two sheets, such as a polyethylene film, which cooperate with each other to form a bag.

The mouth 34 is made of engineering plastic. The mouth 34 has a flange 35 provided with a hole (not shown) that is a toner discharge port in the body 23. An end 23c of the body 23 is joined to one surface of the flange 35 by heat sealing.

The other surface of the flange 25 is provided with a cylindrical rib 36b extending coaxially with the hole. Rib 3
One end of a cylindrical sealing portion 7 made of a sheet material of the same material as that of the body portion 23 is inserted into 6b, and the sealing portion 7 and the rib 36b are joined to each other by heat sealing. .

The sealing portion 7 is provided with a chuck 8 for opening and closing the opening.

As described above, when the container body 32 is crushed, the body portion 23 is made of a flexible sheet material, so that the body portion 23 is crushed so as to reduce its volume. The space volume defined by the portion 34 is reduced, and the disposal space at the disposal site can be reduced. In addition, since the molded product is only the mouth 34,
The number of dies for the die molding is reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Next, a third embodiment of the developer supply container of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a front view showing a developer supply container of the present embodiment ,
FIG. 12 is a side view showing the developer supply container of FIG.

FIG. 11 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, there is provided a container main body 42 which accommodates the toner and has an opening 44 integrally formed with a flange 45. The container body 42 is formed by pneumatic molding in which a sheet material cut to a predetermined size is molded by air pressure acting thereon.

As the sheet material forming the container body 42, rigid PVC (polyvinyl chloride), polystyrene, polypropylene, filled polyolefin, C-PET
(Crystalline polyethylene terephthalate) or other single-layer molded product, or laminated PSP, GPPS / HIPS,
PP / EVOH (Ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer)
/ PP, PP / PVDC (polyvinylidene chloride) / PP
For example, a multi-layer molded product such as is used. In this embodiment,
Although the pressure molding is used for molding the container body 42, a vacuum molding method can be used instead.

The container body 42 is provided with a toner filling port 3b, and the filling port 3b is sealed with a label-shaped seal member 14.

The opening 44 is sealed by the sealing portion 7 so as to be openable. The sealing portion 7 is made of a polyester film,
It is made of a moisture-proof and flexible sheet material such as a polyethylene film. The end 7a of the sealing portion 7 is bonded to the flange 45 of the opening 44 with a hot melt adhesive. The toner in the container main body 42 is
A port for discharging to the outside through 5 is formed, and the port is opened and closed by a chuck 8 made of a plastic material.

The mouth of the sealing portion 7 is pushed out by a rake mechanism (not shown) which is linked to the opening operation of the chuck 8 for opening the mouth.

As described above, the cost required for molding the container main body 42 is smaller than the cost required for molding by the injection method in which the conventional die cost is very high, and the production cost can be reduced. Also, a chuck 8 is used instead of the conventional heat seal film method and plastic shutter method.
By using, the production cost can be further reduced.

In this embodiment, the sealing portion 7 and the opening 44
The flange 45 is bonded with a hot melt adhesive, but the sealing portion 7 and the flange 45 can be joined by heat sealing.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows this implementation
FIG. 14 is a vertical sectional view showing a developer supply container of the example , and FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a mouth portion used in the developer supply container of FIG.

The developer supply container 51 has a container main body 52 as shown in FIG. The container main body 52 has a body 53 in which an internal storage space for the toner is formed, and an opening 54 in which an outlet for discharging the toner in the body 53 to the outside is formed.

The body 53 is made of two sheets, such as a polyethylene film, which cooperate with each other to form a bag. The body portion 53 is provided with a toner filling port 3b. The filling port 3b is sealed with a label-shaped sealing member 14.

The mouth 54 is made of engineering plastic. The mouth portion 54 has a flange 55 provided with a hole 55a serving as a toner discharge port in the body portion 53.

On one surface of the flange 55, a rib 56 which rises coaxially with the hole 55a is provided. Rib 56
The mouth of the body 53 is inserted into the
The end 3 is bonded with a hot melt adhesive.

At the edge of the flange 55, a bent portion 57 for forming a guide groove is provided. Flange 5
The edge of the shutter 58 along the longitudinal direction is inserted into the guide groove 5, and the shutter 58 moves between a closed position for covering the mouth 54 and an open position for opening the mouth 54 while being guided by the guide groove. Is done.

The flange 55 is provided with a film member 59 for covering the hole 55a. Film member 59
Is fixed to the flange 55 by heat sealing so as to be peelable. When the film member 59 is peeled from the flange 55, the shutter 58 is moved from the closed position to the open position with the peeling operation of the film member 59.

Next, a procedure for supplying the developer to the developer receiving container by the developer supply container 51 will be described.

First, a developer supply container is mounted on a developer receiving container (not shown). Next, the operator peels off the film member 59. With the peeling of the film member 59, the shutter 58 is moved toward the open position, and the hole 55a of the opening 54 is opened. The toner in the container main body 52 is supplied to the developer receiving container via the opening 54.

After the completion of the replenishment of the developer, the container main body 52 is removed from the developer receiving container and transported to a predetermined disposal place. At the disposal place, the body 53 of the container body 52
Is crushed, and the volume of the container body 52 is reduced.

When the container body 52 is crushed, the container body 5
Since the body 53 of the second body 53 is made of a flexible sheet material, the body 53 is crushed so that its volume is reduced, so that the space volume defined by the body 53 and the mouth 54 is reduced, The disposal space at the disposal site can be reduced.

Further, since only the opening 54 and the shutter 59 are used as the molded products, the number of the molded products is reduced, and the production cost can be reduced.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the present embodiment.

The developer supply container 61 has a container body 62 as shown in FIG. The container body 62 has a body 63 in which an internal storage space for toner is formed, and an opening 64 in which a discharge port for discharging the toner in the body 63 to the outside is formed.

The body portion 63 is formed of two sheet materials, such as paper, polyester film, polyethylene film, etc., formed in a bag shape and laminated with polyethylene or the like. The body portion 63 is provided with a toner filling port 3b. The filling port 3b has a label-like sealing member 14.
Is sealed.

The mouth 64 is made of engineering plastic. The mouth portion 64 has a flange 65 provided with a hole 65a serving as a toner discharge port in the body portion 63.

One surface of the flange 65 is joined to the end 63a of the body 63 by heat sealing.

At the edge of the flange 65, a bent portion 67 for forming a guide groove is provided. Flange 6
The edge of the shutter 58 along the longitudinal direction is inserted into the guide groove 5, and the shutter 58 moves between a closed position covering the mouth 54 and an open position opening the mouth 64 while being guided by the guide groove. Is done.

A film member 59 for covering the hole 65a is attached to the flange 65. Film member 59
Is fixed to the flange 65 by heat sealing so as to be peelable.

As described above, when the container main body 62 is crushed, the body 63 of the container main body 62 is made of a flexible sheet material, so that the body 63 is crushed so as to reduce its volume. The space volume defined by the portion 63 and the mouth 64 is reduced, and the disposal space at the disposal site can be reduced.

Further, since only the opening 64 and the shutter 59 are used for the molded product, the number of the molded products is reduced and the production cost can be reduced.

[0084]

As described above, the developer of the present invention
According to the replenishment mechanism , the sealing portion having the developer supply port is sealed.
Crushed so that its volume is small.
To reduce storage and disposal space.
Can be. Furthermore, in conjunction with the opening operation of the chuck member,
Has a rake mechanism that is inserted into the supply port and pushes out the supply port
In this way, even if the sealing portion is sheet-shaped,
The developer can be reliably opened and the developer can be
Can be supplied .

[0085]

[0086]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of a developer supply container of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a joined state of an end of a body of the developer supply container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state before joining of an end of a body of the developer supply container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a discharge port is opened by a chuck provided at an opening of the developer supply container in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a main part of a rake mechanism provided at a mouth of the developer supply container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a discharge port at the mouth of the developer supply container in FIG. 1 is spread by a rake mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a view showing another example of the sealing portion used in the developer supply container of the first embodiment .

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another example of the developer supply container of the first embodiment .

FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating an example of a developer supply container according to a second embodiment .

FIG. 10 is a front view showing another example of the developer supply container of the second embodiment .

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a developer supply container according to a third embodiment .

FIG. 12 is a side view showing the developer supply container of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of a developer supply container according to a fourth embodiment .

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an opening used in the developer supply container of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of a developer supply container according to a fifth embodiment .

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 Developer supply container 2, 22, 32, 42, 52, 62 Container main body 3, 23, 53, 63 Body 3b Filling port 4, 24, 34, 44, 54, 64 Portion 5, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 Flange 6a, 6b, 36b, 56 Rib 7 Sealing portion 8 Chuck 12 Rake mechanism 14 Sealing member 58 Shutter 59 Heat seal film

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-163879 (JP, A) JP-A-60-1884813 (JP, U) JP-A-3-38746 (JP, U) JP-A 64-64 35849 (JP, U) Hira 4-6071 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08 B65D 1/00-1/48

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A container body for storing the developer;
Sheet with supply port for supplying developer to the container
Sealing part, and the supply port provided in the supply port to open and close the supply port
And a developer supply container having a chuck member.
Transfer the developer from the developer supply container to the developer receiving container
In the replenishing developer supply mechanism , the chuck member
In conjunction with the opening operation, it is inserted into the supply port and the supply
A developer replenishing mechanism having a rake mechanism for expanding a mouth . 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein said container body includes a body portion and said container body.
The body portion and a mouth portion for discharging the developer from the body Sea
2. The developer supply mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said opening is made of a plastic material . 3. The container body includes a body portion and the container
An opening for discharging the developer from the body , the body and
The opening portion according to claim 1, characterized in that ing from the sheet material
Of the developer supply mechanism.