JP3514402B2 - Developer supply container - 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 container used for supplying a developer to a developing device of an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, powder toner is used as a developer in image forming apparatuses such as electrostatic copying machines and printers. When the toner of the image forming apparatus main body is consumed, the toner is supplied to the image forming apparatus main body using a toner supply container.

By the way, the toner replenishing container is generally opened in order to supply toner to the developing device provided in the image forming apparatus, and a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped container main body made of synthetic resin or the like. The opening and the seal that seals the opening. Among them, most of the conventional seals are easy peel type films, and in general, peel off the adhered portion of the film adhered by means such as an adhesive or heat seal around the opening of the container body. Open it. However, in this method, the container cannot be hermetically closed after the toner is discharged, and thus the toner remaining in the container may drop or scatter.

Various toner replenishing containers having a slide type shutter have also been proposed. This toner replenishing container is a reciprocating slide shutter, a cap member attached to the opening of the container body for guiding the shutter, and arranged between the shutter and the cap member to maintain the hermeticity of the container body. And a seal member for contacting the seal member, and the surface of the shutter member that comes into contact with the seal member is a flat plate without a convexly raised portion. In the container body of the toner supply container, the opening of the container body is opened by moving the slide shutter, and the toner in the container body is supplied to the apparatus body. Then, by closing the shutter after replenishing the toner to the image forming apparatus main body, the container's hermeticity is maintained, and even if a small amount of toner remains in the container, the container main body is kept without scattering the toner. Can be removed from. As the sealing member of the slide shutter, elastic members such as polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, various rubbers, and rubber sponges are used.
The seal member is compressed between the shutter and the cap member to maintain the hermeticity inside the container body.

[0005]

In recent years, the particle size of the toner tends to be minimized for the purpose of improving the image quality, and the toner is more likely to scatter than in the past, so that the high sealing property at the shutter portion is obtained. Are becoming more demanding.

Further, in order to cope with the ecological problem of reducing the number of toner replenishing containers called so-called toner bottles required for toner replenishment, to improve the operability by reducing the number of toner replenishment, and to reduce the cost, a toner replenishing container Capacity tends to increase. Along with this, there is a tendency to enlarge the toner replenishing port in order to maintain the toner replenishing performance, but the larger the replenishing port diameter, the easier the toner leakage and toner scattering during physical distribution, especially when falling. Increasingly, a high sealing property in the shutter part is required.

In a conventional toner replenishing container equipped with a slide type shutter, toner is scattered (a small amount of toner may adhere to the shutter when the shutter is opened) due to opening and closing of the shutter member when replenishing the toner, and drops. In order to improve the sealing performance of the seal member in the shutter member as a countermeasure against toner leakage from the shutter seal portion at the time, if the material of the seal member, the compression rate, etc. are changed,
There has been a problem that the force required to pull out or push in the slide shutter, that is, the opening / closing strength of the shutter is abnormally increased and the operability is deteriorated.

Further, a seal member arranged between the shutter member and the cap member is generally attached to the cap member so as to surround the toner supply port.

However, in the above construction, it is necessary to provide the seal member adhering portion and the shutter member guide portion on the flange of the cap member, which tends to increase the size of the cap member. There is no problem if the developing hopper of the image forming apparatus main body has a margin, but in recent years, there is a tendency for the image forming apparatus main body to be compact, and the developing hopper itself is becoming smaller. Therefore, the toner replenishing port installed in the space excluding the sticking portion of the seal member and the cap member having the shutter guide portion becomes small. For this reason, not only the toner discharge performance deteriorates, but also the toner supply port to the developing device often doubles as the toner filling port of the container body itself, so the toner filling performance also deteriorates and the filling amount must be reduced. There is also a problem that the filling duct becomes long and the cost increases.

Further, when the seal member is attached to the flange portion of the cap member, it is necessary to allow the shutter guide portion of the cap member to escape in consideration of assemblability. However, since the shutter member that compresses the seal member is pressed by the guide, it is difficult to reliably compress the seal member or the shutter member bends if the seal member does not exist in the shutter guide portion. There is a problem that the sealing property becomes unstable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the developer from squeezing out to the outside at the time of a drop impact during distribution or when the developer is supplied to the main body of the image forming apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a developer supply container capable of preventing stains and reducing the opening / closing operation force of the shutter and contributing to downsizing of the image forming apparatus.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a developer supply container for supplying a developer to a developing device of an image forming apparatus, wherein the developing device is provided with a developer. A container body for accommodating a developer having an opening for replenishing the opening, a shutter member for closing the opening, a closed position for closing the opening, and a withdrawal from the closed position. A shutter supporting means for supporting the shutter member so as to take an open position for opening the opening, and a seal member attached between the surface of the shutter member on the opening side and the shutter supporting means. A surface of the shutter member that abuts the seal member in a closed position that closes the opening, over a wider range than the surface that abuts the opening. Convexly raised to seal member side, characterized in that the peripheral edge portion of the convex portion of the shutter member is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the opening.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the first aspect, the peripheral end side shape of the convex portion of the shutter member is such that the sectional shape in the thickness direction of the shutter member is higher on the central side of the convex portion. It is characterized in that it has an inclination so that the peripheral end side becomes lower.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the first or second aspect, the height of the convex portion of the shutter member is such that the compression amount of the seal member is a portion other than the convex portion of the shutter member. It is characterized in that it is configured to be 5% to 45% higher than the compression amount and the maximum compression amount of the convex portion is 50% or less.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the invention, the seal member is flexible on a surface that slides with a mating member in association with the opening / closing operation of the shutter member. It is characterized in that a film is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first to third or fourth aspects, a low friction resistance material is arranged on the surface of the shutter member opposite to the surface to which the seal member is attached. And

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the first to fourth or fifth aspects, the shutter support means is movably fitted at both ends of the shutter member in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the shutter member. The sealing member is provided so as to extend over the opening and the recess.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first to fifth or sixth aspects of the invention, the seal member is attached to the shutter member.

The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or 7, wherein the surface provided on the mating side that abuts and slides on the seal member as the shutter member opens and closes. The communicating recessed portion is formed by forming the sliding surface of the opposite side into an uneven shape, and communicates with at least one of the opening side and the outside of the developer supply container.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the seventh or eighth aspect, the surface forming the communicating recesses has an average mountain interval Sm of 50 μm to 500 μm and a center line average roughness Ra of 1 μm to 10 μm, ten-point average roughness Rz
Is 5 μm to 70 μm, and the maximum height Rmax is 20 μm to 15
It is characterized in that it is 0 μm.

The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 8 or 9.
In the invention described above, the surface forming the communicating recesses has an average mountain interval Sm of 100 μm to 300 μm, a center line average roughness Ra of 2 μm to 6 μm, a ten-point average roughness Rz of 20 μm to 50 μm, and a maximum height. Rmax is 30 μm to 10
It is characterized in that it is 0 μm.

The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to claim 9 or 1.
In the invention described in 0, the communicating recess is formed in a linear shape substantially parallel to the shutter opening / closing direction.

The invention described in claim 12 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 7, the seal member is an elastic body.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the twelfth aspect, the material of the elastic body is any one of rubber such as silicon and urethane, low foam polyurethane rubber or sponge. Is characterized by.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the thirteenth aspect, the seal member has a hardness of 20 ° to 70 °.
°, compression set 4% or less, cell size 60 μm to 30
A low-foaming polyurethane having 0 μm and a specific gravity of 0.2 to 0.5, characterized in that the seal member is used after being compressed by 5% to 50%.

The invention of claim 15 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 14, the seal member is used after being compressed by 20% to 40%.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the thirteenth aspect, the compressive stress of the seal member is 0.1 k.
It is characterized in that it is g / cm ^{2 to} 2.0 kg / cm ² .

The invention according to claim 17 is the invention according to claim 13, wherein the compressive stress of the seal member is 0.6 k.
It is characterized in that it is g / cm ^{2 to} 1.5 kg / cm ² .

According to an eighteenth aspect of the invention, in the twelfth aspect of the invention, the seal member is formed by two-color molding with the shutter member.

A nineteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first, second or third aspect of the invention, the shutter member has a rigidity sufficient to compress the seal member.

The invention according to claim 20 is the invention according to claim 19, wherein the material of the shutter member is a plastic resin such as polystyrene, polypropylene, ABS or the like, a composite material of the resin and glass fiber, stainless steel or the like. It is characterized by being a metal.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the invention, in the twenty-first aspect of the invention, the bending elastic modulus of the shutter member is 2
It is characterized in that it is 0000 kg / cm ^{2 to} 100000 kg / cm ² .

According to a twenty-second aspect of the invention, in the invention of the twentieth aspect, the bending elastic modulus of the shutter member is 5
It is characterized in that it is 0000 kg / cm ^{2 to} 80000 kg / cm ² .

The invention of claim 23 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 5, the low friction resistance material is made of silicone oil, silicone resin, fluororesin, paraffin wax or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. To do.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the invention, in the twenty-third aspect of the invention, the low friction resistance material is silicone oil and the viscosity thereof is 100 cSt to 10,000 cSt.
Is characterized in that.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, in the twenty-third aspect of the invention, the low friction resistance material is silicone oil, and the viscosity thereof is 1000 cSt to 5000 cSt.
Is characterized in that.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the invention, in the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth aspect of the invention, the low friction resistance material is silicone oil, and the coating amount is 0.01 mg / cm ^2.
It is characterized in that it is 0.5 mg / cm ² .

A twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention is the method according to the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth aspect, wherein the low friction resistance material is silicone oil and the coating amount is 0.05 mg / cm ^2.
It is characterized in that it is 0.1 mg / cm ² .

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the shutter member has a silicone coating film attached to a surface opposite to the attachment surface of the seal member. To do.

According to a twenty-ninth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the fourth aspect, the flexible film is made of a single layer of polyester, polypropylene, polyamide, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, fluororesin or a composite layer thereof. It is characterized by being formed.

According to a thirtieth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twenty-ninth aspect, the surface of the flexible film that slides on the mating member is subjected to a friction reduction treatment. To do.

According to a thirty-first aspect of the invention, in the thirtieth aspect of the invention, the friction reduction treatment of the flexible film is performed by coating with silicone oil, silicone wax, or silicone-based paint. To do.

According to a thirty-second aspect of the invention, in the twenty-ninth aspect of the invention, the flexible film is characterized in that the substrate has a thickness of 4 μm to 10 μm.

According to a thirty-third aspect of the present invention, in the twenty-ninth aspect of the present invention, the flexible film has a substrate thickness of 10 μm to 50 μm.

According to a thirty-fourth aspect of the invention, in the thirty-first aspect of the invention, the layer thickness of the low friction resistance material coated on the flexible film is 0.05 μm to
It is characterized in that it is 2 μm.

According to a thirty-fifth aspect of the invention, in the thirty-first aspect of the invention, the layer thickness of the low friction resistance material coated on the flexible film is 0.1 μm to
It is characterized by being 0.5 μm.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, by increasing the compression amount of the seal member at the peripheral end of the container opening to improve the biting of the seal member, the developer remains on the shutter when the shutter is opened. It is possible to prevent the leakage of the developer when the container falls.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since there is no sharp step on the shutter surface, the shutter can be opened and closed smoothly and the developer residue on the shutter can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the developer remaining on the shutter from leaking and the developer from leaking when the container is dropped, and it is possible to appropriately maintain the shutter opening / closing strength.

According to the invention described in claim 4 or 5, the shutter opening / closing strength can be further reduced.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the sealing property of the developer becomes good and the recess can be made small, so that the opening for supplying the developer can be made large.

According to the invention described in claim 7, since the seal member is attached to the shutter member, the shutter member and the seal member are firmly fixed, and the shutter member is supported by the shutter support means to move. At that time, the seal member is less likely to be peeled off, and the engaging portion between the shutter member and the shutter support means (for example, the depth of the recessed portion in the invention according to claim 6) is reduced, and the following effects are obtained.

Since the developer replenishing port can be maximized within the limited range, the replenishment performance and the filling performance when the developer is replenished into the developer replenishing container body should be improved. You can

Since the shutter member and the shutter support means can be made compact, the main body of the image forming apparatus can be finally made compact, and the shutter opening / closing force can be suppressed to a small value by reducing the sliding area of the shutter.

Since it is possible to dispose the seal member in the shutter support means and further to dispose the guide of the seal member beside the developer replenishing port, it is possible to stably maintain a high sealability. it can. Since the shape of the seal member is simple, the assembling and assembling ability of the seal member is improved.

Even in a large-diameter, large-volume container configuration,
High seal stability can be obtained.

It is possible to significantly reduce the shutter opening / closing force and improve the operability at a low cost and by a simple method. According to the invention described in claim 8, it is possible to reliably prevent the adsorption phenomenon on the sliding surface, and to suppress the opening / closing force of the shutter to be small.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the developer from leaking and to select the surface roughness of the surface forming the communicating recesses over a wide range.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the developer can be prevented from squeezing out to the sealing surface between the shutter member and the shutter supporting means, the sealing property of the developer can be kept high, and the development can be performed. Manufacturing of the agent supply container is facilitated.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily form the recess communicating with the member forming the communicating recess.

According to the invention of claim 12 or 13,
Since the seal member is made of an elastic body, the seal member digs into the surface of the recess that communicates with the seal member to obtain high sealability, and the shutter support means for supporting the shutter has a boundary between the support portion and the shutter member. Since the seal member bites along the corners of the above, it is possible to reliably prevent the developer in the container body from protruding to the seal surface.

According to the fourteenth to sixteenth and seventeenth aspects of the invention, it is possible to improve the sealing performance and reduce the shutter opening / closing force.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, since the seal member and the shutter member are integrally molded in two colors, there is no need to attach the seal member to the shutter member, and the developer replenishing container can be reduced by positive reduction. The cost can be reduced.

According to the invention of claim 19 or 20,
Since the shutter member has rigidity enough to compress the seal member, the compression of the seal member is ensured, and high sealing performance can be maintained even against the impact of dropping the developer supply container.

According to the invention of claim 21 or 22,
It is possible to prevent the deformation of the shutter member, and to prevent the shutter member from being cracked or the shutter member being broken due to an impact during physical distribution.

According to the twenty-third, twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth aspects of the invention, the shutter opening / closing force can be further reduced by the low friction resistance material.

According to the invention of claim 26 or 27,
An oil film that reduces the sliding resistance between the shutter member and the shutter support means is formed, and it is possible to prevent the oil application surface from becoming sticky, dust, and the like.

According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, since the silicone coating film is attached to the shutter member on the side opposite to the seal member attaching surface, the shutter opening / closing force can be further reduced. You can

According to the invention described in claims 29, 30 or 31, the shutter opening / closing force can be suppressed to a small value.

According to the invention of claim 32 or 33,
It is possible to prevent the elastic force of the seal member from being impaired.

According to the invention of claim 34 or 35,
A stable coating layer can be obtained, and peeling due to sliding of the coating layer can be prevented.

[0072]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a developer supply container according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the developer supply container, and FIG. 3 is the developer supply container. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the developer replenishing state, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged side sectional view of the essential parts of the developer replenishing container.

The developer supply container C according to the present invention comprises an opening 1a for supplying the developer to the developing hopper 6 provided in the main body P of the copying machine, and a container main body 1 capable of accommodating the developer 5.
A shutter member 3 for closing the opening 1a, and a cap member 2 for supporting the shutter member 3 so as to take a closed position for closing the opening 1a and an open position for retracting from the closed position and opening the opening 1a. The seal member 4 is attached to the surface 3a of the shutter member 3 on the side of the opening 1a. The cap member 2 has shutter guide portions 2c for guiding the moving direction of the shutter member 3 on both sides in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the shutter member 3 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 2). The seal member 4 is provided across the opening 1a and the shutter guide member 2c.

At the closed position where the shutter member 3 and the seal member 4 close the opening 1a, the shutter member 3 is attached to the surface on the side to which the seal member 4 is attached from the container opening peripheral end (edge portion) 1b. Also has the convex portion 3e having the peripheral end portion 3g on the outer peripheral side, the compression amount of the seal member 4 at the contact portion with the seal member 4 in contact with the edge portion 1b of the opening 1a is different. It is configured to be larger than the compression part of the. As a result, when the shutter member 3 is unsealed when the developer 5 is replenished, a small amount of the developer 5 attached to the surface of the seal member 4 on the opening 1a side can be peeled off at the edge portion 1b. Furthermore, since the compression amount of the seal member 4 is locally increased at the edge portion 1b, the sealability is further improved, and the developer supply container C containing the developer 5 is accidentally dropped. But developer 5
Can be prevented from leaking.

The convex portion 3e of the shutter member 3 is the convex portion 3e to which the seal member 4 of the shutter member 3 is attached.
The compression amount of the seal member 4 is 5% to 45% compared to other surfaces.
The increased amount (that is, if the compression amount of the seal member 4 on the surface other than the convex portion 3e is 5%, the compression amount of the convex portion 3e is (5 + 5)% to (45 + 5)%). It is preferable that the maximum compression amount of the convex portion 3e is 50% or less.

When the amount of increase in the amount of compression of the convex portion 3e with respect to the seal member 4 is 5% or less, the scraping effect of the developer 5 on the shutter member 3 and the sealing property against the leakage of the developer 5 at the time of dropping are exhibited. When the effect is small and the maximum compression amount exceeds 50%, although the scraping effect and the sealing property are improved,
The opening and closing strength of the shutter member 3 becomes high, which is not preferable.

FIGS. 5A to 5D are plan views of the flange surface 2b of the cap member 2 sliding on the seal member 4.
The cap member 2 is in contact with the seal member 4, and the sliding flange surface 2b is provided with a communicating concave portion 2d which is an air flow passage formed of an uneven portion as shown in FIG. The contact phenomenon caused by the suction cup effect generated between the sealing member 4 and the abutting seal member 4 is reduced, and the shutter member 3 is reduced by the sliding area of the seal member 4.
It has become possible to reduce the operating force required for the opening / closing operation of the shutter, that is, the shutter opening / closing force (hereinafter referred to as the shutter opening / closing strength).

A communicating concave portion 2d composed of the uneven portion.
Is preferably communicated with at least one of the opening 1a portion side of the container body 1 and the outer side of the cap member 2 in order to reduce the suction cup phenomenon with the seal member 4, and as the communicating recessed portion 2d, FIG. A vertical groove shape in the same direction as the shutter opening / closing direction shown in (a), a radial groove shape centered on the developer replenishment opening 2a of the cap member 2 shown in (b), and a curve shown in (c) in the same figure. There is a groove-shaped or flat plate-shaped surface shown in FIG. 3D in which a large number of protrusions 2d-1 are provided and recesses communicating with the protrusions 2d-1 are provided (called island-shaped). As for the operating force when opening and closing the shutter, the one shown in FIG. 5A (a vertical groove shape in the same direction as the opening and closing direction of the shutter) is the smallest, and the structure of the mold for the cap member 2 can be made relatively easy. Most preferred.

Further, the surface roughness of the groove-shaped and island-shaped recessed portions 2d shown in FIGS.
The average mountain interval Sm is 50 μm to 500 μm, the center line average roughness Ra is 1 μm to 10 μm, and the ten-point average roughness Rz is 5 μm.
.About.70 .mu.m and maximum height Rmax of 20 .mu.m to 50 .mu.m are effective in reducing the sucking phenomenon with the seal member 4, and the communication is made against the drop impact of the developer-containing developer supply container C under certain conditions. The developer 5 does not leak between the recess 2d and the seal member 4, which is preferable.

The sucker phenomenon with the seal member 4 is reduced,
In order to reduce the operating force when opening and closing the shutter member 3,
Further, in order to surely prevent the developer 5 from leaking at the time of drop impact, the average mountain interval Sm is 100 μm to 300 μm, the center line average roughness Ra is 2 μm to 6 μm, and the ten-point average roughness Rz is 2.
0 μm to 50 μm, maximum height Rmax is 30 μm to 100
More preferably, it is μm. Also, the communicating recess 2d
The shape of is not limited to those shown in FIGS.

The sealing member 4 is made of a soft elastic material, and the sealing member 4 maintains the sealing property between the cap member 2 and the shutter member 3 so that the sealing member 4 is placed inside the container body 1 by a drop impact test or the like. The developer 5 contained therein is prevented from leaking out between the cap member 2 and the shutter member 3, and the opening 2 for replenishing the developer of the cap member 2 is prevented.
It is required that the opening and closing strength of the shutter member 3 be reduced by sliding with low resistance on the flange surface 2b of the flange having a.

Therefore, specifically, as the material of the seal member 4, rubber or sponge such as silicon or urethane, preferably strength 20 ° to 70 °, compression set 4% or less, friction coefficient μ = 0.8 or less. , Cell size 60μm-300μ
m, low specific gravity polyurethane having a specific gravity of 0.2 to 0.5 is 5
% To 50% (more preferably 10% to 30%) is preferably used after compression.

Further, it is desirable that the surface of the seal member 4 is smooth and the frictional resistance is as small as possible. Shutter member 3
The adhesive strength between the seal member 4 and the seal member 4 must be such that the shutter member 3 does not peel off or shift when the shutter member 3 is opened / closed.

The shutter member 3 is required not to be broken or twisted in an impact test such as a drop test and to have a rigidity enough to uniformly compress the seal member 4. It is also necessary that the sliding resistance with the cap member 2 is small. Specifically, the material of the shutter member 3 is selected from plastic resins such as polystyrene, polypropylene, ABS and the like, composite materials of these plastic resins and glass fibers, or metals such as stainless steel.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the cap member 2 is attached to the container body 1 for supplying the developer 5 from the container body 1 to the developing hopper 6 provided in the copying machine body P. It has an opening 2a and a U-shaped shutter guide portion 2c for guiding the opening / closing movement of the shutter member 3. Then, it is necessary to have a structure for maintaining the hermeticity at the connecting portion with the container body 1. The material of the cap member 2 may be the same as that of the shutter member 3.

For example, the container body 1 shown in FIGS.
The cap member 2 and the shutter member 3 are made of polypropylene, and the seal member 4 is made of urethane foam having a thickness of 2.5 mm (trade name: PORON, manufactured by INOAC CORPORATION). As shown in Table 1, the containers are attached to the shutter member 3, and the compression amount of the convex portion 3e of the shutter member 3 and the compression amount of the seal member 4 other than the convex portion 3e are changed to 5 in each of the combinations shown in Table 1. As a result of making a set and confirming the state of developer remaining on the shutter member 3 when the shutter member 3 is opened, the shutter opening / closing strength, and the state of developer leakage when the container is dropped, the convex portion 3e of the shutter member 3 is confirmed. When the compression amount exceeds 50%, the opening / closing strength of the shutter member 3 becomes abnormally high, which causes a problem in the opening / closing strength, but the increase in the compression amount of the convex portion 3e is +5 as compared with the compression amounts of other portions. %of Developer remainder in addition, there are some advantages to the developer leakage, the developer remaining on the shutter member 3, that there is enough effective to enhance the sealing property of the time of drop has been found if the + 10% or more.

If the compression amount of the other portion is 10%, 3
The same tendency was confirmed even in the case of 0%.

[0089]

[Table 1] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Polypropylene is used as the material of the container body 1, the cap member 2 and the shutter member 3 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and the sealing member 4 has a thickness of 2.5 mm urethane foam (trade name: PORON, This seal member 4 is attached to the shutter member 3 as described above by using Inoac Co., Ltd., and the convex portion 3e of the shutter member 3 is compressed by about 30% and the other portions are compressed by about 20%. The cap member 2 that is incorporated in the cap member 2 and is in contact with the seal member 4
An experiment was carried out by providing a communicating recess 2d having an uneven shape having a surface roughness similar to that shown in FIGS. At this time, the surface roughness of the flange surface 2b shown in FIGS.
80 μm to 190 μm, center line average roughness Ra = 3.5 μ
m-4 μm, ten-point average roughness Rz = 34 μm-40 μm,
The maximum height Rmax was about the same as 50 μm to 60 μm.

Five sets of the developer replenishing container C having the above structure were produced, and the shutter opening / closing strength was measured. As a result, the shutter of the developer replenishing container having no recessed portion 2d communicating with the flange surface 2b of the cap member 2 was provided. The average value of the opening and closing strength was 5.5 kgf, while the average value was 3.8 kgf in the case shown in FIG. 5 (a), and the average value was 4.2 kgf in the case shown in FIG. 5 (b). ), The average value is 4.6 kgf, and in the case shown in FIG. 5D, the average value is 4.8 k.
It was gf.

Further, a developer replenishing container C having the same structure as that described above, in which the communicating recesses 2d had the shape shown in FIG. 5 (a) and different surface roughness, was prepared, and the shutter opening / closing strength was measured. As a result, the average mountain interval Sm is 50 μm or more, the center line average roughness Ra is 1 μm or more, and the ten-point average roughness Rz is 5 μm.
As described above, if the maximum height Rmax is 20 μm or more, the shutter opening / closing strength is reduced by reducing the suction cup phenomenon, the average mountain interval Sm is 100 μm or more, the center line average roughness Ra is 2 μm or more, and the ten-point average roughness is Rz is 20 μm or more,
It was found that when the maximum height Rmax is 30 μm or more, the shutter opening / closing strength can be further reduced.

Further, each of the developer replenishing containers C is set to -5.
As a result of confirming leakage of the developer 5 from the communicating recess 2d to the outside of the developer replenishing container C by dropping it from a height of 60 cm in an environment of ℃, the average mountain interval Sm is 500 μm or less, the center line average roughness Ra. Is 10 μm or less, and the ten-point average roughness Rz is 7
It was confirmed that when the maximum height Rmax is 0 μm or less and the maximum height Rmax is 150 μm or less, the developer 5 squeezes out to the sealing surface, but no leakage to the outside is observed. Further, the average mountain interval Sm is 300 μm or less, the center line average roughness Ra is 6 μm or less, and the ten-point average roughness Rz is 50 μm or less,
It was confirmed that the developer 5 did not squeeze out to the seal surface if the maximum height Rmax was 100 μm or less.

In this experiment, the shutter member 3 was provided with the seal member 4, and the recessed portion 2d communicating with the flange surface 2b of the cap member 2 sliding with the seal member 4 was provided. As shown in FIG. 6, the sealing member 4 is installed on the side of the cap member 2 and even if the recessed portion 2d communicating with the sealing member 4 is provided on the surface of the shutter member 3, the suction cup phenomenon occurs. The reduction effect was obtained.

However, the recess 2d communicating with the flange surface 2b of the cap member 2 is provided, and the seal member 4 is attached to the surface of the shutter member 3 that slides with the flange surface 2b and the surface of the container body 1 with respect to the opening 1a. When attached,
The fixing of the shutter member 3 of the seal member 4 becomes strong,
Since the sealing member 4 bites into the corner between the opening 2a of the cap member 2 and the flange surface 2b, the sealing performance is improved even if the width of the flange surface 2b is narrow.

Further, since the shutter member 3 is provided with the convex portion 3e, the seal member 4 bites more and the effect is great. Therefore, as compared with the case where the seal member 4 is attached to the cap member 2 as shown in FIG. 6, by adhering the seal member 4 to the shutter member 3, the developer replenishment aperture can be increased by about 10 mm. It was
As a result, the time required to transfer the developer 5 from the developer supply container C to the developing hopper 6 becomes about 15 seconds, and the supply of the developer 5 to the copying machine main body P can be completed in about half the time of the conventional case. It became possible. When assembling the developer supply container C according to the present embodiment, the developer 5 is attached to the container body 1.
It has become possible to improve the takt time when filling.

The shape of the communicating recess 2d is shown in FIG. 5 (a).
In the same direction as the shutter opening / closing direction, the average crest interval Sm is 170 μm, and the center line average roughness Ra is 2.7 μ.
m, ten-point average roughness Rz 27 μm, maximum height Rmax 16
When a cap member 2 having a thickness of about 5 μm was formed by an injection molding method at the same time, 100 developer supply containers C were made and an opening test was conducted, the result showed that the shutter opening strength was about 3.6 kgf to 4.0 kgf. Therefore, almost all the developer 5 in the developer supply container C could be supplied to the developing hopper 6.

Further, as an environmental physical distribution test, a vibration test, a decompression test, a drop test and a high temperature and high humidity test were conducted using 10 developer supply containers C for each condition.
No abnormality such as leakage of the developer 5 was found in any of the tests, and when an image output test was performed, the image quality was good and no problem occurred.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the developer hopper 6 provided in the copying machine main body P is replenished with the developer 5 by using the developer replenishing container C according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operator grips the handle 3c of the shutter member 3 and moves the shutter member 3 in the direction of arrow A.
When is pulled, the opening 1a is opened, the developer 5 in the container body 1 drops through the opening 1a, and is supplied to the developing hopper 6.

By the way, when the hopper 6 becomes full with the developer 5 remaining in the container body 1, the operator grasps the handle 3c of the shutter member 3 and moves the shutter member 3 in the direction opposite to the arrow A. It may be moved to close the opening 1a. Even if the replenishment is stopped midway in this way, the opening 1a is sealed between the seal member 4 attached to the shutter member 3 and the cap member 2, and the developer 5 does not leak and scatter. After replenishing the developer 5 to the hopper 6 in this way, the shutter member 3 is closed to replenish the developer replenishing container C.
When the toner was removed from the developing hopper 6, no scattering of the developer 5 was observed.

[Comparative Example 1] FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the durability of a developer supply container having the structure of this comparative example.

In this comparative example, the seal member 4 was attached to the lower peripheral portion of the opening 2a for replenishing the developer of the cap member 2. Therefore, a sticking allowance for the seal member 4 must be taken, and the developer supply port is about 10 mm larger than that of the first embodiment.
Has also become smaller. As a result, the discharging performance was deteriorated, the discharging time was lengthened, and the filling time was also lengthened, so that the filling amount had to be reduced by about 10%.

<Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In this embodiment, when the seal member 4 is attached to the shutter member 3, urethane rubber is used as the material of the seal member 4, and the seal member 4 is integrally molded with the shutter member 3 by the two-color molding method. The other points are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Thus, in this embodiment, the seal member 4
Since it is not necessary to attach the to the shutter member 3, it is possible to reduce the cost by reducing the steps.

Incidentally, the opening test and the environmental physical distribution test were also performed on this embodiment, but no problem occurred.

<Fourth Embodiment> Next, preferable performances of the shutter member 3 and the seal member 4 will be described.

According to the above embodiment, in the developer supply container C of the slide shutter system, the seal member 4 disposed between the shutter member 3 and the cap member 2 has the opening for supplying the developer of the shutter member 3. It is attached to the surface for 1a (see FIGS. 1 to 4).

The shutter member 3 has a container opening peripheral end portion (edge portion) 1b on the surface on which the seal member 4 is attached.
By having the convex portion 3e having the peripheral end portion 3g on the outer peripheral side than the peripheral end portion (edge portion) of the opening 1a.
By increasing the biting of the seal member 4 at the contact portion with the seal member 4 that is in contact with 1b, it is possible to stabilize the seal as compared with the case where the convex portion 3e is not provided on the shutter member 3. it can.

The seal member 4 is made of a soft elastic material, maintains the seal between the cap member 2 and the shutter member 3, and prevents the developer 5 in the developer supply container C from leaking out in a drop impact test or the like. At the same time to prevent the cap member 2
It is required that the opening / closing strength of the shutter member 3 be reduced by sliding with low resistance on the flange surface 2b of the flange having the opening 2a for replenishing the developer.

Therefore, specifically, as the material of the sealing member 4, rubber or sponge such as silicon or urethane, preferably hardness 20 ° to 70 °, compression set 4% or less,
Friction coefficient μ = 0.8 or less, cell size 60 μm to 300
It is preferable to compress and use a low-foaming polyurethane having a μm and a specific gravity of 0.2 to 0.5.

Regarding the compression of the sealing member 4, it is preferable to increase the compressibility and the compressive stress in order to maintain a high sealing property in response to the recent tendency of the capacity increase of the developer supply container. That is, when the compressibility is small, the compressive stress of the seal member is also small, and sufficient sealability cannot be obtained,
Leakage of the developer 5 occurs in a drop impact test or the like.
In particular, when the diameter of the developer supply port of a large-capacity developer supply container or the like is large, the shutter member 3 is likely to bend due to a drop impact. Therefore, if the set value of the compressibility of the seal member 4 is small, it is instantaneous. The sealability may be lost. However, on the contrary, if the compression rate becomes too large, the compressive stress of the seal member 4 also becomes large and the sealing property is improved, but at the same time, the shutter opening / closing strength also becomes large, so that adjustment with the shutter opening / closing strength is necessary. Become. That is, it is desirable that the compressibility and the compressive stress of the seal member 4 be controlled within appropriate ranges.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the compressibility of the seal member 4 is preferably in the range of 5% to 50% (more preferably 20% to 40%).
Also, regarding the compressive stress of the seal member 4, 0.1 kg /
cm ^{2 to} 2.0 kg / cm ² (more preferably 0.6
It is preferably used in kg / cm ² ~1.5kg / range cm ²⁾ (see JIS-K7220).

Further, it is desirable that the surface of the seal member 4, that is, the surface on the side which slides with the mating member in association with the opening / closing operation of the seal member 4 is smooth and has a friction resistance as small as possible. In particular, polyester, polypropylene, polyamide ( Product name: Nylon), polyethylene, a single layer of fluororesin, or a film composed of at least a composite layer using these materials is attached to the surface of the seal member 4, and the smoothness of the sliding surface is increased. , Was effective in reducing the shutter opening / closing strength. Further, the sliding surface of the film was coated with silicone oil, silicone wax, silicone paint or the like and subjected to a low friction resistance treatment, whereby the shutter opening / closing strength could be further reduced.

The thickness of the base material of the film used here is preferably 4 μm to 100 μm. Incidentally, if the thickness of the film exceeds 100 μm, the elastic force of the seal member 4 may be suppressed by the rigidity of the film, and sufficient sealing may not be obtained. From the standpoint that the elasticity of the seal member 4 can be fully utilized, the thickness of the film is more preferably 50 μm or less. Further, if the thickness of the base material is less than 4 μm, it is difficult to obtain a stable product in manufacturing, and it is particularly 1 when the adhesiveness to the seal member 4 and the strength of the film such as sliding are taken into consideration.
It is preferably 0 μm or more.

Further, the coating layer of silicone oil or silicone wax formed on the surface of the film for the treatment of reducing frictional resistance is preferably in the range of 0.05 μm to 2 μm. If the coating layer thickness is 0.05 μm or less, it is difficult to obtain a stable coating layer,
When the effect is unstable and the coating layer thickness exceeds 2 μm, a part of the coating layer tends to peel off due to sliding, which is not desirable, and the effect of stable and low friction resistance treatment is obtained, and The layer thickness that does not cause peeling of the coating layer due to sliding is 0.1 μm to 0.5 μm.
Is more preferable.

The adhesion between the shutter member 3 and the seal member 4 needs to have such an adhesive strength that the seal member 4 will not be peeled off from the shutter member 3 when the shutter member 3 is opened or closed, and if possible, a two-color adhesive will be used. It is desirable to perform integral molding by molding.

The cap member 2 has an opening 2a for replenishing the developer 5 from the container body 1 to the developing hopper 6 and a substantially U-shaped shutter guide portion 2c for guiding the shutter member 3. It is necessary to have a structure that maintains hermeticity at the joint with. The cap member 2
The material of polystyrene is polypropylene, polypropylene, AB
Examples include plastic resins such as S, glass fiber reinforced materials of those resins, and metals such as stainless steel.

The shutter member 3 is required not to be bent or twisted in an impact test such as a drop test and to have a rigidity enough to uniformly compress the seal member 4. As described above, as the capacity of the developer supply container C increases, the diameter of the toner supply port (opening 2a) increases, and when the compressibility and compressive stress of the seal member 4 increase, the seal member 4 is supported. The shutter member 3 which is deformed easily leaks the developer 5, and in order to prevent the trouble such as the increase of the opening / closing strength due to the bending of the shutter member 3 at the time of opening / closing and the leakage of the developer 5, Three
It is desirable to secure the rigidity of.

That is, when the bending elastic modulus of the shutter member 3 is small, the shutter member 3 is deformed to cause the above problem. On the contrary, when the bending elastic modulus is too large, it may cause an impact during physical distribution. It may crack or break. Further, there are few kinds of materials having extremely high flexural modulus, and the cost tends to increase.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is desirable that the bending elastic modulus of the shutter member 3 also has a structure in an appropriate range, specifically, 20000 kg /
cm ^{2 to} 100000 kg / cm ² (more preferably,
It is preferable to use one having a thickness of 50,000 kg / cm ^{2 to} 80000 kg / cm ² (see JIS-K7203).

The material of the shutter member 3 is preferably selected from the same materials as those of the cap member 2 based on the above-mentioned contents.

Furthermore, in order to improve the operability by lowering the shutter opening / closing strength while maintaining the high sealing property by the above-mentioned method, a low friction resistance material is provided on the surface of the shutter member 3 opposite to the sticking surface of the sealing member 4. It is desirable to arrange. In particular, when the diameter of the developer supply port of a large capacity developer supply container or the like is large, both the shutter member 3 and the cap member 2 are large, and the sliding area when the shutter is opened and closed is also large. Is one of the most effective ways to reduce

Here, in the structure of the developer supply container C according to the present embodiment, when the frictional resistance on the surface of the seal member 4 is reduced, the developer 5 is actually in contact with the surface before the developer is supplied. Therefore, there are restrictions on the coating material, and
There are problems such as peeling and cracking of the coating material. Further, even when a film or the like of a low friction resistance material is attached, there is a problem that the deformation of the seal member 4 is reduced and the sealing property is deteriorated. Therefore, the sealing member 4 attaching surface 3 of the shutter member 3
It is more desirable to reduce the frictional resistance of the shutter surface 3d opposite to a.

Therefore, specifically, according to the present embodiment, a material such as silicone oil, silicone resin, fluororesin, paraffin wax, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is applied and adhered to the shutter surface 3d. Place it by means such as spraying. Among them, as low cost and easy to process,
It is preferable to apply silicone oil or attach a silicone coating film.

When silicone oil is applied to the shutter surface 3d, it is necessary to control the viscosity and the application amount. If the viscosity is too low, the shutter member 3
On the sliding surface between the cap member 2 and the cap member 2, the shutter member 3 pulsates when the shutter is opened and closed, which deteriorates the operability. On the contrary, if the viscosity is too high, the application to the shutter member 3 becomes difficult. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the viscosity is 100 cSt to 10000 cSt (centistokes) (more preferably 1000 cSt to 5000 cSt).
St) is preferably used.

If the coating amount is too small, a sufficient oil film is not formed and the shutter opening / closing strength is not reduced. On the contrary, if the amount is too large, the coated surface becomes sticky, dust, and the developer 5 adhere to the surface.

Therefore, the coating amount is 0.01 mg / c
m ^{2 to} 0.5 mg / cm ² (more preferably 0.05
it is preferable mg / cm is a ^{2 ~0.1mg} / cm ^2).

In this embodiment, the developer 5 is added to the container body 1.
Was filled with 1.5 kg, and the diameter of the opening 2a for replenishing the developer provided in the cap member 2 was set to 60 mm. For this reason,
As the material of the shutter member 3, glass fiber reinforced polypropylene was used. This material has a flexural modulus of about 52.
It is 000 kg / cm ² . Further, the same projection as in Embodiment 1 is provided on the sticking surface side of the seal member 4 of the shutter member 3.

Further, the surface of the cap member 2 that abuts the seal member 4 is provided with the communicating recess 2d used in the first embodiment, and the uneven shape thereof is the shutter member 3.
5 (a) having a groove shape in the same opening / closing direction as that of FIG. 5 has an average mountain interval Sm of 170 μm and a center line average roughness Ra.
Is 2.7 μm, the ten-point average roughness Rz is 27 μm, and the maximum height Rmax is about 165 μm.

The seal member 4 is made of the same material as that of the first embodiment, and further, on the surface side (contact surface with the cap member 2) side, a 0.2 μm layer is formed on the surface of stretched polypropylene having a film thickness of 40 μm. A film coated with a thick silicon-based paint was attached to the seal member 4, and silicone oil was applied to the shutter surface 3d of the shutter member 3 opposite to the seal member 4 attachment surface 3a. The viscosity of this silicone oil is 3000 cSt, and the coating amount is about 0.
It was set to 1 mg / cm ² .

The shutter member 3 is incorporated in the cap member 2, and the seal member 4 at the contact portion with the seal member 4 in contact with the peripheral end portion (edge portion) 1b of the opening 1a is about 33.
%, The seal member 4 on the outer peripheral side of the peripheral end portion 3g of the convex portion 3e is compressed by about 23%, and the compressive stress is about 0.7 kg / c.
A developer supply container C having a structure of m ^{2 to} 0.9 kg / cm ² was produced.

Developer replenishing container C having the above structure
When the shutter opening and closing strength was measured using 20 pieces,
The shutter opening / closing strength was about 2.5 kgf to 3.0 kgf.

Instead of applying silicone oil to the shutter surface 3d, an OPP having a thickness of 40 μm is formed on the shutter surface 3d of the shutter member 3 opposite to the sticking surface 3a of the seal member 4.
Twenty developer replenishing containers having the same structure as the above except that a film coated with a silicone-based paint was attached to the surface of the film layer, and the shutter opening / closing strength was confirmed. Shutter opening / closing strength of about 2.6 kgf to 3.2 kgf, which is almost the same as the result of the replenishing container C, was obtained.

Further, the surface 3d on the opposite side of the shutter member 3
The shutter opening / closing strength was measured using 20 developer supply containers C according to the present embodiment, except that no processing was performed on the surface of the sheet. As a result, the shutter opening / closing strength of about 3.0 kgf to 3.6 kgf was obtained. was gotten.

Further, the developer supply container C according to the present embodiment.
As a result of performing a developer replenishment test using 20 of them, almost none of the developer 5 in the container body 1 can be replenished, and almost all of the developer 5 can be replenished to the main body developing hopper 6. The developer 5 did not remain on the upper surface of the seal member 3 in the opening operation state, and the opening / closing strength of the shutter was reduced. Then, also in the present embodiment, the first embodiment
An environmental logistics test and an image drawing test were conducted in the same manner as in, but no particular abnormality occurred.

<Embodiment 5> A method of assembling the developer supply container C according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The developer supply container C is a cartridge.

The cap member 2 is provided when the cap member 2 is injection-molded with a concave-convex shape, for example, a groove-shaped portion which becomes the concave portion 2d communicating with the flange surface 2b which is in contact with the seal member 4.

The seal member 4 is a sheet-shaped raw material, and a double-sided tape is attached to the surface of the seal member 4 which is in contact with the shutter member 3 with release paper on one side.
If necessary, a flexible film may be attached to the surface that comes into contact with. The sheet-shaped seal member 4 in this state is cut into a predetermined size by using a press or the like.

Next, the shutter member 3 and the seal member 4
Then, the release paper attached to the double-sided tape of the seal member 4 is peeled off, and the seal member 4 is attached to a predetermined position of the shutter member 3. In this step, it is preferable to use a setting jig to keep the accuracy of the sticking position within ± 0.1 m / m.

Next, a predetermined amount of silicone oil having a predetermined viscosity is placed on the shutter surface 3d of the shutter member 3 opposite to the side where the seal member 4 is adhered, and is uniformly coated with cloth or paper. In this case, it is important that the end portion of the shutter member 3, the corners having irregularities, and the like are uniformly applied so that oil is not collected. In this embodiment, the silicone oil coating is performed after the seal member 4 is attached to the shutter member 3, but the shutter member 3
There is no problem even if the seal member 4 is attached after the silicone oil coating has been performed on the.

The next step is a step of incorporating the shutter member 3 into the shutter guide portion 2c of the cap member 2, and the surface of the seal member 4 or the seal member 4 is incorporated at the time of incorporation.
Using a holding jig from the opening 2a provided on the joint side of the cap member 2 with the container body 1 so as to scratch or peel off the surface and the end of the film attached to the surface of the container. Is preferred. The shutter member 3 is replaced with the cap member 2
The cap unit is completed by setting it until it is completely pushed in.

The next step is a step of filling the container body 1 with the developer 5, which is generally performed by using the auger type filling machine 30 as shown in FIG. The developer 5 in the hopper 30a charged from the charging port 30b is stored in the auger 30.
As d rotates, it is sent out from the discharge funnel 30c and filled in the developer supply container C. Incidentally, there is no problem even if the developer replenishing container C is filled with the developer 5 by another system such as a vibration feeder system.

After filling a predetermined amount of the developer 5, the cap unit is joined to the opening 1a of the container body 1.
In the present embodiment, a male screw provided on the outer periphery of the opening 1a of the container body 1 is screwed into a female screw provided on a cylinder integrally formed on the shutter guide portion 2c of the cap member 2.

To seal the joint between the container body 1 and the cap unit, an elastic member 2e such as an elastomer is attached to the opening-side sealing surface of the cap member 2 by a method such as two-color molding, and a tool such as a torque wrench is used. Then, the developer replenishing container C is obtained by tightening it to a predetermined torque.

When the used developer supply container C is reused, the shutter member 3 is opened, the developer 5 is refilled in the container body 1, the shutter member 3 is closed, and the developer supply container C is closed. However, preferably, the shutter member 3, the cap member 2, and the container body 1 are disassembled into three points, and after cleaning, it is confirmed that there is no problem such as scratches, cracks, and peeling of each member, and then the shutter member 3 From the step of applying silicone oil to the shutter surface 3d on the side opposite to the side where the seal member 4 is adhered, assembly is performed based on the above-mentioned assembly order to obtain the developer supply container C.

The surface roughness in the embodiment of the present invention is measured by the following apparatus and conditions.

Measuring instrument: Surfcoder SE-3300
(Manufactured by Kosaka Laboratory) Speed: 0.5 mm / s, cutoff wavelength: 0.8 mm Measurement length: 25.0 mm The hardness of the seal member 4 according to the present invention is JIS-K6.
The spring type A hardness according to 401 (urethane foam hardness test).

[0150]

Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 1,
By increasing the amount of compression of the seal member at the peripheral edge of the container opening to improve the penetration of the seal member, it is possible to prevent developer residue on the shutter when the shutter is opened and prevent developer leakage when the container is dropped. The effect of being able to be obtained is obtained.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since there is no abrupt step on the shutter surface, the shutter can be opened and closed smoothly, and the developer residue on the shutter can be prevented. To be

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the residual developer on the shutter and the leakage of the developer when the container is dropped, and it is possible to maintain the shutter opening / closing strength at an appropriate level.

According to the invention as set forth in claim 4 or 5, the effect that the shutter opening / closing strength can be further reduced can be obtained.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the hermeticity of the developer is improved and the recess can be made small, the opening for supplying the developer can be made large.

According to the invention described in claim 7, since the seal member is attached to the shutter member, the shutter member and the seal member are firmly fixed, and the shutter member is supported by the shutter supporting means to move. At that time, the seal member is less likely to be peeled off, and the engaging portion between the shutter member and the shutter support means (for example, the depth of the recessed portion in the invention according to claim 6) is reduced, and the following effects are obtained.

Since the developer replenishing port can be maximized within the limited range, the replenishment performance and the filling performance when the developer is replenished into the developer replenishing container body should be improved at the same time. You can

Since the shutter member and the shutter supporting means can be made compact, the main body of the image forming apparatus can be finally made compact, and the shutter opening / closing force can be suppressed to be small by reducing the sliding area of the shutter.

Since it is possible to dispose the seal member in the shutter support means and further dispose the guide of the seal member beside the developer replenishing port, it is possible to stably maintain a high sealability. it can. Since the shape of the seal member is simple, the assembling and assembling ability of the seal member is improved.

Even in a large-diameter, large-volume container configuration,
High seal stability can be obtained.

It is possible to improve the operability by greatly reducing the opening / closing force of the shutter at a low cost and by a simple method. According to the invention described in claim 8, it is possible to reliably prevent the adsorption phenomenon on the sliding surface and to suppress the shutter opening / closing force to be small.

According to the invention described in claim 9, it is possible to prevent the leakage of the developer and to select the surface roughness of the surface forming the communicating recesses in a wide range. Is obtained.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the developer can be prevented from squeezing out to the sealing surface between the shutter member and the shutter supporting means, the sealing property of the developer can be kept high, and the development can be performed. The effect of facilitating the production of the agent supply container is obtained.

According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, it is possible to easily form the recess communicating with the member forming the recess communicating with each other.

According to the invention of claim 12 or 13,
Since the seal member is made of an elastic body, the seal member digs into the surface of the recess that communicates with the seal member to obtain high sealability, and the shutter support means for supporting the shutter has a boundary between the support portion and the shutter member. Since the seal member bites along the corners of the above, it is possible to obtain an effect that the developer in the container body is reliably prevented from protruding to the seal surface.

According to the fourteenth to sixteenth and seventeenth aspects of the invention, it is possible to obtain the effect of improving the sealing performance and reducing the shutter opening / closing force.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the invention, since the seal member is integrally molded with the shutter member by two-color molding, it is not necessary to attach the seal member to the shutter member, and the developer replenishing container can be reduced by positive reduction. The effect that the cost can be reduced can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 19 or 20,
Since the shutter member has rigidity enough to compress the seal member, the compression of the seal member is ensured, and the high sealing performance can be maintained even against the impact of the drop of the developer supply container.

According to the invention of claim 21 or 22,
The effect that the deformation of the shutter member can be prevented and the shutter member can be prevented from being cracked or the shutter member being cracked due to impact during distribution.

According to the twenty-third, twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth aspects of the invention, there is an effect that the shutter opening / closing force can be further reduced by the low friction resistance material.

According to the invention of claim 26 or 27,
An oil film that reduces the sliding resistance between the shutter member and the shutter support means is formed, and it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing stickiness of the oil-coated surface and adhesion of dust, developer, and the like.

According to the twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, since the silicone coating film is attached to the shutter member on the side opposite to the seal member attaching surface, the shutter opening / closing force can be further reduced. The effect of being able to do is obtained.

According to the invention described in claims 29, 30 or 31, it is possible to obtain an effect that the shutter opening / closing force can be suppressed small.

According to the invention of claim 32 or 33,
The effect that it is possible to prevent the elastic force of the seal member from being impaired is obtained.

According to the invention of claim 34 or 35,
The effect that a stable coating layer can be obtained and peeling due to sliding of the coating layer can be prevented is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a developer supply container according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a developer supply container according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a developer supply state of the developer supply container according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part of a developer supply container according to the present invention.

5 (a) to (d) are plan views showing communicating recesses;
(E) is A-A line, BB line, C-C of (a)-(d).
It is a line and DD sectional view taken on the line.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a conventional developer supply container.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a structure of an auger type filling machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

C developer supply container 1 container body 1a opening 2 Cap member 2c Shutter guide section 2d communicating recess 3 Shutter member 3e convex part 3g Convex edge part 4 Seal member 4a flexible film 5 developer 6 Development hopper

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-56430 (JP, A) JP-A-4-184377 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08 B65D 83/06

Claims (35)

(57) [Claims] 1. A developer supply container for supplying a developer to a developing device of an image forming apparatus, the container body having an opening for supplying the developer to the developing device. A shutter member for closing the opening, a shutter for supporting the shutter member so as to take a closed position for closing the opening and an open position for retracting from the closed position and opening the opening. The shutter member includes a support member and a seal member attached between the shutter member-side surface of the shutter member and the shutter support member, and the seal member of the shutter member is in a closed position to close the opening member. A surface on the side that abuts with a convex shape to the seal member side over a wider range than the surface that abuts on the opening,
A developer supply container, wherein a peripheral end portion of a convex portion of the shutter member is arranged on an outer peripheral side of the opening portion. 2. The shape of the convex portion of the shutter member on the side of the peripheral edge is inclined so that the sectional shape in the thickness direction of the shutter member is higher on the central side of the convex portion and lower on the peripheral edge side. The developer supply container according to claim 1, wherein 3. The height of the convex portion of the shutter member is
The compression amount of the sealing member is 5% to 45% higher than the compression amount of the portion other than the convex portion of the shutter member, and the maximum compression amount of the convex portion is 50% or less. The developer supply container according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The flexible film is disposed on the surface of the seal member, which is on the side that slides with the mating member in association with the opening / closing operation of the shutter member. Developer supply container. 5. The developer supply container according to claim 1, wherein a low friction resistance material is arranged on a surface of the shutter member opposite to the sticking surface of the seal member. 6. The shutter supporting means has a recess into which both ends of the shutter member in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the shutter member are movably fitted, and the seal member has the opening and the recess. 6. The developer supply container according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply container is provided over the developer supply container. 7. The seal member is attached to the shutter member.
The developer supply container described. 8. The communicating recess provided in the mating surface that abuts and slides on the seal member when the shutter member is opened and closed forms the mating surface of the mating surface in an uneven shape. 8. The developer supply container according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply container communicates with at least one of the opening side and the outside of the developer supply container. 9. The surface forming the communicating recess is
The average mountain interval Sm is 50 μm to 500 μm, the center line average roughness Ra is 1 μm to 10 μm, and the ten-point average roughness Rz is 5 μm.
9. The developer supply container according to claim 7, wherein the developer supply container has a maximum height Rmax of 20 μm to 150 μm. 10. The surface forming the communicating recesses has an average crest interval Sm of 100 μm to 300 μm, a center line average roughness Ra of 2 μm to 6 μm, and a ten-point average roughness Rz of 2.
0 μm to 50 μm, maximum height Rmax is 30 μm to 100
10. The developer supply container according to claim 8, wherein the developer supply container has a thickness of .mu.m. 11. The developer supply container according to claim 9, wherein the communicating recess is formed in a linear shape substantially parallel to the shutter opening / closing direction. 12. The developer supply container according to claim 7, wherein the seal member is an elastic body. 13. The developer supply container according to claim 12, wherein the material of the elastic body is any one of silicone, rubber such as urethane, low-foam polyurethane rubber, and sponge. 14. The seal member has a hardness of 20 ° to 70 °.
°, compression set 4% or less, cell size 60 μm to 30
The developer replenishing container according to claim 13, which is a low-foam polyurethane having a specific gravity of 0.2 to 0.5 and a sealing member of 5% to 50% compressed. 15. The developer supply container according to claim 14, wherein the seal member is used after being compressed by 20% to 40%. 16. The compressive stress of the seal member is 0.1 k.
The developer replenishing container according to claim 13, wherein the developer replenishing container is g / cm ^{2 to} 2.0 kg / cm ² . 17. The compressive stress of the seal member is 0.6 k.
14. The developer supply container according to claim 13, wherein the container is g / cm ^{2 to} 1.5 kg / cm ² . 18. The developer supply container according to claim 12, wherein the seal member is formed by two-color molding with the shutter member. 19. The developer supply container according to claim 1, wherein the shutter member has rigidity enough to compress the seal member. 20. The material of the shutter member is a plastic resin such as polystyrene, polypropylene or ABS, a composite material comprising the resin and glass fiber, or a metal such as stainless steel. Developer supply container. 21. The flexural modulus of the shutter member is 2
21. The developer supply container according to claim 20, wherein the developer supply container has a weight of 0000 kg / cm ^{2 to} 100000 kg / cm ² . 22. The flexural modulus of the shutter member is 5
21. The developer supply container according to claim 20, wherein the container is 0000 kg / cm ^{2 to} 80,000 kg / cm ² . 23. The developer supply container according to claim 5, wherein the low friction resistance material is made of silicone oil, silicone resin, fluororesin, paraffin wax or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. 24. The low friction resistance material is silicone oil having a viscosity of 100 cSt to 10000 cSt.
24. The developer supply container according to claim 23, wherein 25. The low friction resistance material is silicone oil, the viscosity of which is 1000 cSt to 5000 cSt.
24. The developer supply container according to claim 23, wherein 26. The low friction resistance material is silicone oil, and the coating amount thereof is 0.01 mg / cm ^{2 to} 0.5.
claim, characterized in that a mg / cm ² 24 or 2
5. The developer supply container according to item 5. 27. The low friction resistance material is silicone oil, and the coating amount thereof is 0.05 mg / cm ^{2 to} 0.1.
claim, characterized in that a mg / cm ² 24 or 2
5. The developer supply container according to item 5. 28. The developer supply container according to claim 5, wherein the shutter member has a silicone coating film adhered to a surface opposite to an adhesion surface of the seal member. 29. The developer supply according to claim 4, wherein the flexible film is made of a single layer of polyester, polypropylene, polyamide, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, fluororesin or a composite layer thereof. container. 30. The developer supply container according to claim 29, wherein the flexible film has a surface on a side that slides with the mating member, which has been subjected to a friction reduction treatment. 31. The treatment for reducing frictional resistance of the flexible film is performed by coating with silicone oil, silicone wax, or silicone-based paint.
No. 0 developer supply container. 32. The developer supply container according to claim 29, wherein the flexible film has a substrate thickness of 4 μm to 10 μm. 33. The flexible film according to claim 29, wherein the substrate has a thickness of 10 μm to 50 μm.
The developer supply container described. 34. The layer thickness of the low friction resistance material coated on the flexible film is 0.05 μm or more.
32. The developer supply container according to claim 31, wherein the developer supply container has a thickness of 2 [mu] m. 35. The layer thickness of the low friction resistance material coated on the flexible film is 0.1 μm or more.
The developer supply container according to claim 31, wherein the developer supply container has a thickness of 0.5 μm.