JP4713207B2 - Shaft seal material - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a shaft sealing material that contacts an outer peripheral surface of a shaft and seals in an axial direction.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, fine color powder called toner is used as a developer in copying machines and printing machines using an electrophotographic system. The toner is replenished by filling a cartridge or the like that is detachable from the apparatus. In order to use toner stored in a cartridge or the like for development, various rollers are provided in the toner supply path. Various rollers rotate around the axis of the rotating shaft. The end of the rotating shaft is rotatably supported. With the rotatable support, it is inevitable that a minute gap is generated, and there is a possibility that toner as fine particles may leak out of the cartridge or the like.

  In shaft seals, seal rings called O-rings are widely used. The O-ring is standardized by JIS B 2401 of Japanese Industrial Standard. The present inventors have disclosed a seal ring having a modified cross-sectional shape in which lip-shaped protrusions are provided on an outer peripheral side and an inner peripheral side as a powder sealing material such as toner (see, for example, Patent Document 1). . In order to seal the rotating shaft, an oil seal for preventing leakage of lubricating oil or the like is typically used. The oil seal is standardized by, for example, Japanese Industrial Standard JIS B 2402. A gland packing is used to seal a rotary shaft such as a vacuum pump or an air compressor. The gland packing is used so as to compress in the axial direction and press the rotating shaft in the radial direction.

JP 2002-213619 A

  In a seal ring or an oil seal, it is necessary to attach a seal material having an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft. Therefore, in an application that requires replacement such as a toner cartridge, the workability of re-installation is poor. Further, the force acting at the time of sealing is based on the elastic deformation of the sealing material. The degree of this elastic deformation depends on the relationship between the inner diameter of the sealing material and the outer diameter of the shaft. Therefore, the force that the sealing material exerts on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft during sealing is determined by the shape and material of the sealing material, and adjustment is difficult.

  Further, for the purpose of sealing toner or the like, the force exerted on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft need not be so large. This is because when this force increases, the load on the rotation of the shaft increases and a large driving force is required. In order to weaken the force exerted on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft, it is necessary to reduce the hardness of the rubber material used as the shaft seal material. However, a soft rubber material with low hardness causes stickiness on the surface and causes toner or the like to adhere.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a shaft sealing material that can be easily mounted on a shaft and can adjust the force exerted on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft.

The present invention uses a rubber elastic material, in the exchange-type shaft seal material for sealing as particulate toner from the axis for processing particulate toner does not leak,
The inner peripheral side facing the outer peripheral surface of the shaft has a bellows shape,
The number of bellows-shaped steps is at least one step,
Rebound resilience when compressed has elasticity of 0.285N to 4.9N,
When the diameter of the bellows tip is larger than the outer diameter of the rotating shaft and the shaft seal is not in contact with the rotating shaft, the cap is assembled and compressed in the axial direction that is the sealing direction in use. An exchangeable shaft sealing material characterized in that the inner peripheral side of the shaft is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the shaft, and the adhesion with the sealing material supporting surface of the shaft is further increased.

  According to the present invention, the shaft sealing material is sealed using a rubber elastic material so that the sealing object does not leak from the shaft for processing the sealing object. The inner peripheral side facing the outer peripheral surface of the shaft of the shaft seal material is bellows-shaped. Since the number of bellows-shaped steps is at least one and the resilience at the time of compression is 0.285 N (30 gf) to 4.9 N (500 gf), when compressed in the axial direction as the sealing direction, The peripheral belly portion shrinks in the radial direction. When compressed in the axial direction in use, the bellows-shaped inner peripheral side comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the shaft and the adhesion is increased, so the inner peripheral side should not be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the shaft before compression. And can be easily mounted on the shaft. When the compression state in the axial direction is adjusted, the contact state of the inner peripheral side shaft with the outer peripheral surface can be adjusted.

In the present invention, the bellows-shaped inner peripheral side has a spiral shape.
According to the present invention, the bellows-shaped inner peripheral side has a spiral shape, so when compressed in the axial direction in use, the spiral-shaped portion contacts the outer peripheral surface of the shaft, and the spiral rotates when the shaft rotates. Depending on the direction, the deposit on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft can be pushed and moved in either one of the axial directions.

  According to the present invention, when the shaft sealing material is compressed in the axial direction, the inner peripheral side of the bellows contacts the outer peripheral surface of the shaft, so that the inner peripheral side does not contact the outer peripheral surface of the shaft before compression. And can be easily mounted on the shaft. When the compression state in the axial direction is adjusted, the contact state of the inner peripheral side shaft with the outer peripheral surface can be adjusted.

Further, according to the present invention, the bellows-shaped inner peripheral side has a spiral shape, so that when the shaft rotates in use, the deposit on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft is removed in the axial direction according to the direction of the spiral. It can be moved by pushing either one of them.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a shaft sealing material 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows a cross-sectional configuration including an axis, and FIG. 1B shows a side configuration viewed from the axial direction. The shaft sealing material 1 has a bellows part 2 in the middle. The bellows portion 2 has a “V” -shaped cross-sectional shape, and the tip 2 a protrudes inward in the radial direction. The shaft sealing material 1 uses a rubber material, and even if the hardness is relatively high, the tip 2a of the bellows portion 2 can be contracted radially inward by a small axial compressive force. The outer diameter D, inner diameter d, and thickness t of the shaft seal material 1 are, for example, about D = 10 mm, d = 6 mm, and t = 6 mm, respectively. The number of bellows-shaped steps is one or more.

  FIG. 2 shows a shape change when the shaft sealing material 1 of FIG. 1 is compressed in the axial direction. FIG. 2A shows the shape before compression, and FIG. 2B shows the shape after compression. By the compression in the axial direction that is the sealing direction, the bellows portion 2 is contracted in the axial direction, and the tip 2a of the bellows portion 2 protrudes inward in the radial direction. It is preferable that the rebound resilience of the compressed ground has an elasticity of about 0.285 N (30 gf) to 4.9 N (500 gf).

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the shaft 5 is extended from a rotating body provided in the toner cartridge 6 and is supported by the bearing portion 7 so as to be rotatably supported by the shaft seal material 1. The shaft seal material 1 is attached to the end of the rotating shaft 5 at the bearing portion 7. In order to compress the shaft seal material 1 in the axial direction, a cap 8 is further mounted. The shaft sealing material 1 is before compression, and can be easily attached to the rotating shaft 5 if the diameter of the tip 2a of the bellows portion 2 is larger than the outer diameter of the rotating shaft 5.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the shaft seal member 1 and the cap 8 are assembled to the bearing portion 7 shown in FIG. The cap 8 is screwed to the bearing portion 7. In the state where the cap 8 is assembled, the shaft sealing material 1 is compressed in the axial direction, and the tip 2a of the bellows portion 2 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 5, resulting in a state as shown in FIG.

  In addition, although the shaft sealing material 1 is configured to perform shaft sealing of the rotation shaft 5, the shaft to be sealed is not limited to rotation, but a rotation shaft or an axis line that repeats angular displacement alternately in different directions. Even a sliding shaft that performs displacement in the direction can be similarly sealed. In any case, the shaft sealing material 1 is sealed using a rubber elastic material so that the sealing object does not leak from the shaft for processing the sealing object. The shaft sealing material 1 has a bellows-like bellows portion 2 on the inner peripheral side facing the outer peripheral surface of the shaft, and when compressed in the axial direction in use, the tip 2a on the inner peripheral side of the bellows is the outer peripheral surface of the shaft. Contact with. When compressed in the axial direction in use, the bellows-shaped inner peripheral side comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the shaft. Therefore, before compression, the inner peripheral side can be prevented from contacting the outer peripheral surface of the shaft. Mounting can be performed easily. When the compression state in the axial direction is adjusted, the contact state of the inner peripheral side shaft with the outer peripheral surface can be adjusted.

  FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of a shaft seal material 11 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A shows a cross-sectional configuration including the axis, and FIG. 5B shows a side configuration viewed from the axial direction. The shaft sealing material 11 has a bellows portion 12 in the middle. The bellows portion 12 has a spiral cross-sectional shape, and the spiral convex portion 13 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 15 when compressed in the axial direction. The toner or the like adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 15 is guided by the convex portion 13 to one of the axial directions determined by the rotation direction of the rotary shaft 15 and the spiral direction of the convex portion 13. That is, since the bellows-shaped inner peripheral side of the shaft seal member 11 has a spiral shape, when the shaft seal member 11 is compressed in the axial direction in the use state, the spiral convex portion 13 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotation shaft 15, and the rotation shaft 15. When rotating, the deposit on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 15 can be pushed and moved in either of the axial directions according to the direction of the spiral.

It is the front sectional view and right side view showing the schematic structure of shaft seal material 1 which is one embodiment of the present invention. It is front sectional drawing which shows the shape change at the time of compressing the shaft sealing material 1 of FIG. 1 to an axial direction. It is a disassembled sectional view which shows the combination which seals with the shaft sealing material of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which assembled | attached the shaft sealing material 1 and the cap 8 to the bearing part 7 shown in FIG. It is front sectional drawing which shows the schematic structure of the shaft sealing material 11 which is another form of implementation of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,11 Shaft seal material 2,12 Bellows part 2a Tip 5,15 Rotating shaft 6 Toner cartridge 7 Bearing part 13 Convex part

Claims (2)

In an exchangeable shaft seal material that seals so that fine particle toner does not leak from a shaft that processes fine particle toner using a rubber elastic material,
The inner peripheral side facing the outer peripheral surface of the shaft has a bellows shape,
The number of bellows-shaped steps is at least one step,
Rebound resilience when compressed has elasticity of 0.285N to 4.9N,
When the diameter of the bellows tip is larger than the outer diameter of the rotating shaft and the shaft seal is not in contact with the rotating shaft, the cap is assembled and compressed in the axial direction that is the sealing direction in use. An exchangeable shaft sealing material characterized in that the inner peripheral side of the shaft is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the shaft, and the adhesion with the sealing material supporting surface of the shaft is further increased. 2. The exchangeable shaft seal material according to claim 1, wherein the inner peripheral side of the bellows has a spiral shape.

Images