JP4706802B2 - Developer container, developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer container, a developing device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus used in, for example, a printer.

  In recent years, as a recording apparatus (printer) applying the principle of electrophotography, there is a model using a cartridge (so-called process cartridge) in which members for performing an electrophotographic process are integrated into one while improving operability. Many are on the market.

  In addition, there is a demand for downsizing the recording apparatus, and each component constituting the process cartridge has been downsized. One of the components is a developing device. In this developing device, a developer accommodating portion filled with a developer is formed in advance, and the developer in the developer accommodating portion is transported to the outside through the outflow side opening. .

  On the other hand, when transporting a process cartridge when not in use, there is a technique in which the outflow side opening is sealed with a sheet member in order to prevent the developer in the developer container from leaking out (Patent Document). 1 to 3). The sheet member is peeled off by the user when used (see Patent Documents 1 and 2 and FIG. 16 of Patent Document 3).

  However, in the case where the sheet member is provided on the developer accommodating portion side as in Patent Document 2, the process cartridge becomes unusable if it is cut in the middle of pulling out the sheet member for some reason. , It has caused much trouble to users.

Therefore, as a result of searching for the cause, the inventor has reached the following conclusion. That is, in the sheet member in the above-described patent document, the folded portion is arranged in the developer accommodating portion. For this reason, when the developer in the developer accommodating portion is agitated during conveyance or the like, the developer may be caught inside the folded portion of the sheet member.
When the user starts pulling out the sheet member in this state before starting to use, the developer caught inside the folded portion cannot be escaped, and the developer is compressed with a force for pulling out the sheet member. It becomes a lump and becomes resistance when the sheet member is pulled out. In this state, when the user forcibly continues to pull the sheet member, the sheet member continues to be forcibly pulled, leading to cutting.
Further, even when the developer is sandwiched in the gap formed between the sheet member and the housing, there is a possibility that the developer caught in the gap becomes a lump and cuts the sheet member.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-168444 JP 2001-125357 A JP 09-26743 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a developing device, a process cartridge, an image forming apparatus, and a developer container that prevent the sheet member from being cut when the sheet member is pulled out to open the opening. .

In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the developer container adopted by the invention of claim 1 is that the developer container containing the developer and the developer contained in the developer container flow in. Alternatively, a housing having an opening that flows out, and the opening is closed by being attached to the housing so as to close the opening, and the opening is removed from the housing by being pulled out in one direction. A sheet member to be opened, and a guide hole formed in the housing to guide the sheet member when the sheet member closing the opening attached to the housing is inserted and the sheet member is pulled out. The sheet member is provided in a folded state in the housing, from one end to the folded portion from the forward path, the folded portion to seal the opening The other end becomes a return path that overlaps with the path and protrudes to the outside through the guide hole of the housing, and the opening is disposed at a part of the return path on the downstream side in the drawing direction of the sheet member from the opening. It means for pushing towards the side and, a protrusion made of a member having flexibility, projecting the draw direction downstream side of the guide hole, wherein the opening is the seat member outside the housing And a protruding portion that contacts the sheet member in a state of being pulled away from the disposed side and pushes the sheet member toward the side where the opening is disposed .

  The configuration of the developer container adopted by the invention of claim 2 is a housing having a developer container that contains the developer, and an opening through which the developer contained in the developer container flows in or out. And a sheet member that closes the opening by being attached to the housing so as to close the opening, and is peeled off from the housing by being pulled out in one direction to open the opening, and the housing The sheet member closing the opening attached to the housing is inserted, the guide member for guiding the sheet member when pulling out the sheet member, the sheet member, Provided in a folded state in the housing, from one end to the folded portion is a forward path for sealing the opening, and the other end is overlapped with the forward path from the folded portion. Means that pushes a part of the return path toward the side where the opening is disposed, on the downstream side of the opening in the direction in which the sheet member is pulled out from the opening. The sheet member protrudes downstream from the guide hole in the pulling direction, and the sheet member is in contact with the sheet member in a state where the sheet member is pulled out of the housing and away from the side where the opening is disposed. It has a protrusion part pushed to the side by which the said opening part is arrange | positioned, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the developer container according to the first or second aspect, wherein the pressing means is formed of a sheet-like member made of a flexible material.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the developer container according to any one of the first to third aspects, the pressing means is formed of a sheet made of a material harder than the hardness of the sheet member. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a developing device adopted by the invention according to claim 5 is configured to be rotatably attached to the developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the housing. And a developer holder that holds the developer contained in the developer container and conveys the developer to a developing area facing the image carrier.

  In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the process cartridge adopted by the invention of claim 6 includes an image holding body on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and an electrostatic latent image formed on the image holding body. And a developing device according to claim 5, wherein the image is visualized with a developer.

  In order to achieve the above object, the configuration of the image forming apparatus employed by the invention according to claim 7 includes an image holding body on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and an electrostatic formed on the image holding body. The developing device according to claim 5, wherein the latent image is visualized with a developer, latent image forming means for forming an electrostatic latent image on the image holding member, and the electrostatic latent image to the developing device. Transfer means for transferring the toner image visualized by the method to a recording medium.

  According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a part of the return path is provided on the downstream side in the direction in which the sheet member is pulled out from the opening, as compared with the case where there is no projecting portion that protrudes in the downstream direction in the pulling direction from the guide hole. When the means for pushing toward the side where the opening is disposed is provided, the possibility that the sheet member breaks can be reduced.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the developing device by embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the principal part of the developing device by embodiment. It is the fragmentary sectional view seen from the arrow IV-IV direction in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the frame for a partition, and a sheet | seat member. It is the fragmentary sectional view seen from the arrow VI-VI direction in FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from the position similar to FIG. 6 by the modification 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from the position similar to FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the same position as Drawing 5 by modification 3.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Embodiment]
<Overall configuration of image forming apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus in which the developing device according to the present embodiment is mounted.
The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a so-called tandem color image forming apparatus, and an image forming unit 11 having four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in the present embodiment) in the apparatus housing 2. (Specifically, 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11B) are arranged in the vertical direction, and a paper feed cassette 61 that accommodates the paper P for supply is disposed below the image forming units 11. In the corresponding portion, a sheet conveyance path 62 that is a conveyance path of the sheet P from the sheet feeding cassette 61 is arranged in the vertical direction.

  The image forming unit 11 forms toner images for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in order from the upstream side of the paper conveyance path 62, and includes a process cartridge 12 incorporating various process units, and this process. And an exposure device 21 that irradiates the cartridge 12 with scanning light for image formation.

  Here, the process cartridge 12 includes a photosensitive drum 13, a charging roll 14 for charging the photosensitive drum 13 in advance, and an electrostatic latent image formed by exposure on the charged photosensitive drum 13 by the exposure device 21. A developing device 30 that visualizes an image with a corresponding color toner (for example, negative polarity in this embodiment) and a cleaning device 15 that removes waste toner on the photosensitive drum 13 are integrally formed into a cartridge. is there.

  On the other hand, in the exposure device 21, a semiconductor laser, a polygon mirror, an imaging lens and a mirror (not shown) are housed in a case, and light from the semiconductor laser is deflected and scanned by the polygon mirror, and the photosensitive member is passed through the imaging lens and the mirror. A light image is guided to an exposure point on the drum 13.

  Further, a conveyance belt 63 that circulates along the sheet conveyance path 62 is disposed at a position corresponding to the photosensitive drum 13 of each image forming unit 11. The transport belt 63 is made of a belt material (rubber or resin) capable of electrostatically adsorbing the paper P, and is installed on a pair of stretching rolls 64 and 65.

  A paper suction roll 66 is disposed at the entrance portion of the transport belt 63 (the portion facing the stretch roll 64). By applying a high suction voltage to the paper suction roll 66, the paper P is applied to the transport belt 63. Is adsorbed. Further, a transfer roll 67 is provided on the back side of the conveyance belt 63 corresponding to the photosensitive drum 13 of each image forming unit 11, and the sheet on the photosensitive drum 13 and the conveyance belt 63 is arranged by the transfer roll 67. P is in close contact. A predetermined transfer bias is applied between the transfer roll 67 and the photosensitive drum 13 by a transfer bias power source.

The paper feed cassette 61 is provided with a pick-up roll 71 that feeds the paper P at a predetermined timing, and feeds the paper P to the transfer position via the transport roll 72 and the registration roll 73.
A fixing device 74 is provided in the paper conveyance path 62 located on the downstream side of the image forming unit 11B on the most downstream side, and a plurality of discharge rolls 76 for discharging paper are provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 74. The discharge sheet is stored in a storage portion 77 formed in the upper part of the apparatus housing 2.

In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, image formation is performed by the following process.
In each of the image forming units 11 (11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11B), the photosensitive drum 13 is charged by the charging roll 14, a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 13 by the exposure device 21, and then the developing device 30 performs. A visible image (toner image) is formed.

On the other hand, the paper P in the paper feed cassette 61 is fed out at a predetermined timing by the pickup roll 71, sent to the suction position of the transport belt 63 through the transport roll 72 and the registration roll 73, and sucked by the transport belt 63. In this state, it is sent to the transfer position.
The toner images on the photosensitive drums 13 in the respective image forming units 11 are sequentially transferred onto the paper P by the transfer roll 67, and are fixed after the respective color component unfixed toner images on the paper P are fixed by the fixing device 74. Sheet P is discharged to the storage tray 77.

<Outline of process cartridge>
The process cartridge 12 includes a photosensitive drum 13, a charging roll 14, a developing device 30, a cleaning device 15, and the like.

<Overview of development device>
2 to 4 are views showing the developing device 30 according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the developing device 30, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main part, and FIG. 4 is an arrow in FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from vision IV-IV direction. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the lateral direction of the developing device 30 is defined as the X axis and the longitudinal direction is defined as the Y axis.
As shown in FIG. 4, the developing device 30 includes a housing 31 having a chamber divided into a developer accommodating portion 35 and a developing portion 36 and an opening 31 </ b> A, a stirring spiral 41 disposed in the developer accommodating portion 35, A supply spiral body 42, a mag roll 43, a trimmer member 44, and a paddle 45 disposed in the developing unit 36 are provided.

  A part of the mag roll 43 is exposed from the opening 31 </ b> A of the housing 31 and is disposed close to the photosensitive drum 13. The trimmer member 44 regulates the amount of developer held on the surface of the mag roll 43. The paddle 45 returns the developer released from the mag roll 43 after the development is completed to the supply spiral body 42 side. Then, the rotation of the same drive source is transmitted to the stirring spiral body 41, the supply spiral body 42, the mag roll 43, and the paddle 45 via gears (all not shown), and each part is rotationally driven.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 31 includes a lower housing 32, an upper housing 33, and left and right side covers 34 and 34. The inside of the housing 31 formed by assembling the portions 32 to 34 is divided into a developer accommodating portion 35 and a developing portion 36 by a partition frame 46. The developer container 35 is filled with the developer G.
As shown in FIG. 4, a groove is formed in the housing 31 at a portion that becomes a boundary between the developer accommodating portion 35 and the developing portion 36. This groove becomes a lower groove 37 formed in the lower housing 32 and an upper groove 38 formed in the upper housing 33, and the grooves formed in the side cover 34 are not shown. In this groove, a partition frame 46 to which a sheet member 48 is attached is fitted in the unused state.
On the other hand, a developer receiving portion 50 described later is formed on one side in the longitudinal direction of the upper housing 33.

Here, the partition frame 46 and the sheet member 48 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a view showing the relationship between the partition frame 46 and the sheet member 48. The partition frame 46 has an outflow side opening 47 that connects the developer accommodating portion 35 and the developing portion 36. Since the outflow side opening 47 is connected to the opening 31A of the housing 31 via the developing unit 36, the outflow side opening 47 allows the developer storage unit 35 and the opening 31A to be continuously / blocked.

  The sheet member 48 is formed by superposing a base layer and a heat welding layer (both not shown), and the base layer is made of polyester, polypropylene, polystyrene, nylon, etc., and has a thickness of 20 μm or more and 50 μm. The heat seal layer is formed into a film shape having a thickness of 20 μm or more and 40 μm or less with a polyethylene sealant containing ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer of several% to several tens%. .

  Further, the periphery of the sheet member 48 is attached to one side surface of the partition frame 46 with an adhesive so as to seal the outflow side opening 47. Since the length of the sheet member 48 is reciprocated in the longitudinal (Y-axis) direction of the partition frame 46, the length of the sheet member 48 is at least twice the longitudinal length of the developing device 30. The sheet member 48 has a folded portion 48A on the front side in FIG. 5, is attached to the partition frame 46 as a forward path 48B from the base point to the folded portion 48A, and a return path 48C from the folded portion 48A to the free end. The free end is drawn out through a guide hole (not shown) formed between the upper housing 33 and the lower housing 32 and a seal passage (not shown) of the side cover 34.

  When the sheet member 48 is peeled from the partition frame 46, the return end 48C is pulled to the back side by pulling the free end pulled out from the side cover 34 in the direction of arrow A, so that the folded portion 48A is The rear side of the forward path 48B is sequentially peeled off from the partition frame 46. Then, when the sheet member 48 is peeled off from the partition frame body 46, the outflow side opening 47 is opened, and the developer accommodating portion 35 and the developing portion 36 are connected.

Next, the structure of the developer receiving unit 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view seen from the direction of arrows VI-VI in FIG.
The developer receiving portion 50 is formed in a bowl shape on the upper housing 33, and has an outer portion 50A having a long restriction hole 50B formed in the length direction (X-axis direction), and the outer portion 50A. The lid 50C has a projection 50D that slides inside and a spring 50E that presses the lid 50C in the closing direction. An inflow side opening 51 is formed at a position of the upper housing 33 where the developer receiving unit 50 is formed.

  Next, the relationship between the developer receiving unit 50 and the sheet member 52 will be described. The periphery of the sheet member 52 is adhered to the inner surface of the upper housing 33 with an adhesive so as to seal the inflow side opening 51. The sheet member 52 has a folded portion 52A on the left side in FIG. 6, a forward path 52B from the base point to the folded portion 52A, and is attached to the peripheral portion of the inflow side opening 51, and a return path from the folded portion 52A to the free end 52D. 52C. A free end 52D of the seat member 52 is provided between a guide hole 53 formed in the upper housing 33 and a sealing seal material 54 attached to the lower housing 32, and a seal passage (not shown) formed in the side cover 34. ) Through the outside.

<Features of the embodiment>
The developing device 30 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that, as shown in FIG. 6, the sheet member 52 that seals the inflow side opening 51 is provided with a pressing plate material 81 that serves as a slack regulating means, and the return path 52 </ b> C of the sheet member 52 and the lower side It is provided between the housing 32. In addition, although the sheet | seat member 48 which seals the outflow side opening part 47 is provided with a slack regulation means, since it becomes the same structure and operation | movement, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

The pressing plate member 81 is sandwiched between the return path 52C of the sheet member 52 and the sealing material 54 (lower housing 32), and the base end side 81A is removed from the casing 31 in the same manner as the free end 52D of the sheet member 52. It protrudes to the outside, and the distal end side 81 </ b> B extends to the center of the inflow side opening 51.
Further, the width dimension of the pressing plate 81 may be 25% or more and 100% or less of the width dimension of the sheet member 52, but may be longer than the dimension of the inflow side opening 51 in the X-axis direction. Furthermore, the material of the pressing plate material 81 is formed of a material harder than the material of the sheet member 52. For example, a metal, plastic, wood, or the like formed with a thickness of 0.05 mm or more and 2 mm or less may be used. In this embodiment, 0.1 mm thick PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is used.

  As a result, the pressing plate 81 is configured to press the return path 52C of the sheet member 52 toward the forward path 52B, preventing the return path 52C from floating from the forward path 52B, and eliminating the occurrence of bending. The sheet member 52 restricts the movement of the sheet member 52 by pressing the return path 52C toward the forward path 52B (inflow side opening 51).

In the developing device 30 according to the present embodiment, the pressing plate member 81 provided on the sheet member 52 prevents the return path 52C of the sheet member 52 from floating and loosening from the forward path 52B, and restricts the return path 52C from moving. As a result, even when the developing device 30 vibrates due to conveyance or the like, the sheet member 52 is restricted from loosening, so that a gap is formed between the sheet member 52 itself or the sheet member 52 and the upper housing 33. Is prevented, and a gap in which the developer G is deposited is prevented from being formed.
When the sheet member 52 is pulled out by pulling the free end 52D of the sheet member 52 outward, the pressing plate material 81 sandwiched between the sheet member 52 and the lower housing 32 is also extracted together. Problems such as remaining in the agent container 35 and blocking the inflow side opening 51 or contacting other parts are prevented.

[Modification]
As mentioned above, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can implement with another various form. For example, the present invention may be implemented with the following modifications.

<Modification 1>
In the first modification, a pressing plate member 82 as shown in FIG. The pressing plate member 82 is formed of a plate body bent in an “L” shape, and its proximal end side 82A is fixed to the hermetic seal member 54 side in the lower housing 32, and the distal end side 82B is inflow side. It extends to one edge of the opening 51. The material of the pressing plate member 82 is formed of a material harder than the material of the sheet member 52.
Even with such a pressing plate member 82, the return path 52C of the sheet member 52 is prevented from floating and slackening from the forward path 52B and the movement of the return path 52C is restricted by the same action as the embodiment.

<Modification 2>
In the second modification, a pressing plate member 83 as shown in FIG. The pressing plate 83 is formed of a plate body bent in a “h” shape, and its base end side 83A is fixed to the back side of the inflow side opening 51 in the inner side of the upper housing 33, and the distal end side 83B is fixed. The sheet member 52 extends to the folded portion 52A (the other edge of the inflow side opening 51). The material of the pressing plate 83 is formed of a material harder than the material of the sheet member 52.
In such a pressing plate material 83, the return path 52C is prevented from being lifted and slackened from the forward path 52B in order to restrict the movement of the folded portion 52A of the sheet member 52.

<Modification 3>
In the third modification, a pressing plate member 84 as shown in FIG. 9 is attached to the return path 48 </ b> C of the sheet member 48. The material of the pressing plate member 84 is formed of a material harder than that of the sheet member 48.
The pressing plate member 84 prevents the return path 52C of the sheet member 48 from floating and slackening from the forward path 52B.

<Modification 4>
About the said embodiment and the modification 1, 2, the case where the sheet | seat member 52 is prevented from loosening by a press plate material as a slack regulation means is illustrated, and in the modification 3, the sheet member 48 is prevented from being slack by the press plate material. Although the case is illustrated, a pressing plate material may be used for both the sheet members 48 and 52.
Furthermore, the slack restricting means is not limited to the pressing plate material, and any member that restricts the slack of the sheet member may be used.

<Modification 5>
In the embodiment and the modification, the case where the slack restricting means is used in the developing device 30 is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a developer accommodating portion such as a toner cartridge is provided. Of course, the present invention may be applied to a developer container in which a sheet member for sealing the opening is employed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 11 (11Y, 11M, 11C, 11B) ... Image forming unit, 12 ... Process cartridge, 13 ... Photosensitive drum (image holding body), 14 ... Charging roll, 21 ... Exposure device, 30 ... Development Apparatus 31 ... Case 31A ... Opening part 32 ... Lower housing 33 ... Upper housing 34 ... Side cover 35 ... Developer storage part 36 ... Developing part 43 ... Mag roll (developer holding body) 44 ... Trimmer member, 45 ... Paddle, 46 ... Partition frame, 47 ... Outlet opening, 48, 52 ... Sheet member, 48A, 52A ... Folded portion, 48B, 52B ... Outward, 48C, 52C ... Return path, 50 ... Developer receiving portion, 51 ... Inflow side opening, 52D ... Free end, 53 ... Guide hole, 53A, 53B ... Hole end surface, 54 ... Sealing seal material, 55 ... Leakage prevention seal material , 81, 82, 83, 84 ... pressing plate (slack regulating means), G ... developer

Claims (7)

A housing containing a developer containing a developer, and an opening through which the developer contained in the developer containing portion flows in or out;
A sheet member that closes the opening by being attached to the housing so as to close the opening, and is peeled off from the housing by being pulled out in one direction to open the opening,
A guide hole that is formed in the housing and that closes the opening attached to the housing and that guides the sheet member when the sheet member is pulled out.
The sheet member is provided in a folded state in the housing, and the forward path from one end to the folded portion seals the opening, and the other end overlaps the forward path from the folded portion through the guide hole of the housing. It becomes a return path protruding outside,
Means for pushing a part of the return path toward the side where the opening is disposed, on the downstream side in the drawing direction of the sheet member from the opening;
A projecting portion made of a flexible member, projecting to the downstream side in the pulling direction from the guide hole, and pulling the sheet member in a direction away from the side where the opening is disposed outside the housing; A developer container, wherein the developer container has a protruding portion that contacts the sheet member in a state of being pushed and pushes the sheet member toward a side where the opening is disposed . A housing containing a developer containing a developer, and an opening through which the developer contained in the developer containing portion flows in or out;
A sheet member that closes the opening by being attached to the housing so as to close the opening, and is peeled off from the housing by being pulled out in one direction to open the opening,
A guide hole that is formed in the housing and that closes the opening attached to the housing and that guides the sheet member when the sheet member is pulled out.
The sheet member is provided in a folded state in the housing, and the forward path from one end to the folded portion seals the opening, and the other end overlaps the forward path from the folded portion through the guide hole of the housing. It becomes a return path protruding outside,
A means for pushing a part of the return path toward the side where the opening is disposed, on the downstream side in the pulling-out direction of the sheet member from the opening; The sheet member has a protrusion that contacts the sheet member in a state where the sheet member is pulled out of the housing and away from the side where the opening is disposed, and pushes the sheet member toward the side where the opening is disposed. A developer container. The developer container according to claim 1 or 2,
The developer container is characterized in that the pressing means is formed of a sheet-like member made of a flexible material. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The developer container, wherein the pressing means is formed of a sheet made of a material harder than the hardness of the sheet member. A developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A developing device, comprising: a developer holder that is rotatably attached to the housing, holds the developer contained in the developer containing portion, and conveys the developer to a developing region facing the image carrier. . An image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface;
A process cartridge comprising: the developing device according to claim 5, wherein the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier is visualized with a developer. An image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface;
The developing device according to claim 5, wherein the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier is visualized with a developer;
Latent image forming means for forming an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer unit configured to transfer a toner image obtained by visualizing the electrostatic latent image with the developing device to a recording medium.

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