JPH02186374A - Developer container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit a user to form an opening without touching a seal directly when he/she uses a container and to prevent soiling by sealing the opening with a self-flexible thin layer. CONSTITUTION:A seal 6 made of the self-flexible thin layer such as rubber is attached to the edge of the opening 4 of the container 2 by means of ultrasonic weld, etc., with tension applied to the seal 6. In a developing device 7, a hopper 7a is provided with a stripe-like guide groove 11; a pulling rod 13 is slidably fitted to a guide member 12 fixed to the hopper 7a so as to be pulled and pushed from outside the developing device 7. Since a user can open the opening 4 without touching the seal 6 directly, his hands and clothes are not soiled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application J The present invention relates to a developer container for an image forming apparatus using electrophotography, such as a copying machine or a printer.

"Prior Art" An example of a conventional developer container is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. A developer container 1, which is indicated by reference numeral 1 as a whole, has a container 2, a seal 3, and a developer 5. Container 2 has a hollow cylindrical shape with both ends closed, an opening 4 is provided in the generatrix direction, and a developer 5 is stored inside.
It is designed to accommodate. The seal 6 is made of a resin wedge, which is ultrasonically welded to the edge of the opening 4 of the container 2 made of paper from one end 6a to the folded part 6b, folded back, and then overlapped with the welded seal 3 from the folded part 3b to the one end 5a. The other end 3c extends outward from the container 2 end. When in use, the user pulls the other end 6c in the direction of arrow A and peels off the seal 3 with the opening 4 facing down to open the opening 4, and the developer 5 passes through the opening 4 and is exposed to the action of gravity. The image is then sent to a developing device (not shown).

"Problem to be Solved by the Invention" However, in the conventional example described above, when the seal 6 is peeled off, the developer 5 adheres to the seal 3, and the length of the normal size seal S ranges from 5acR to 100CII. for,
During the process of peeling off the sticker 6, the developer 5 may come into contact with the user's hands or clothing.
There was an inconvenience that some of the particles adhered to the surface and caused contamination.

The present invention seals at least the opening 4 with a self-stretching thin film so that the user can form the opening without directly touching the seal 3 with his or her child during use. It is an object of the present invention to provide a developer container that does not cause this.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a developer container that holds a developer therein, and when in use, opens an opening to supply the developer to a developing device.
The developer container is characterized in that an opening is sealed with a self-stretching thin film.

``Embodiment'' An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The same symbols as in the conventional example indicate the same members. A seal 6 made of a self-stretching thin film such as rubber is adhered to the edge of the opening 4 of the container 2 under tension by ultrasonic welding or the like. Figure 1 (a
le(b!, (The arrow shown in cl indicates the tension acting on the rubber membrane 6.

The developing device 7 includes a hopper 7a and a developing sleeve 7b.

A guide member 12 is provided with a guide groove 11 in the form of a groove, and a pull rod 13 is slidably engaged with a guide member 12 fixed to the hopper 7a, so that the developing device 7 can be pulled and pushed from outside. The tip of the pull rod 13 is bent in the lateral direction of the developing device 7, and the cutter 8 is slidably fitted thereto. A slider 8a provided at the base of the cutter 8 is slidably fitted into a cam groove 16 of a cam member 15.

As shown in FIG. 1 (el), the cam groove 16 consists of a straight part 16a parallel to the longitudinal direction of the developing device 7 and an oblique part 16b on the back side thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1 (bl), when the developer container 1 is inserted from the direction perpendicular to the page and the pull rod 16 is pulled.

The slider 8a is engaged near the end of the diagonal portion 16b of the cam groove, and the cutter 8, which was near the developer container 1, is moved to the diagonal portion 1.
6b, the slider 8a enters the seal 6, and with further movement of the pull rod 13, the slider 8a enters the straight part 16a of the cam groove, and the cutter 8 moves from the left side to the right end in Figure 1 (C1). The seal 6 is shrunk as shown in FIG. 1 ((1)), the opening 4 is opened wide, and the developer 5 falls into the hopper 7a.

Although the above operation is performed manually, it goes without saying that the cutter 8 may be moved by power.

In this way, in the two embodiments, the user can open the opening 4 without directly touching the seal 6, so there is no risk of getting his hands or clothes dirty.

“Second Example” FIG. 6 (al~(C1) shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

The same symbols as in the previous embodiment indicate the same members. In this embodiment, the seal 6 is adhered to the inner wall of the container 2 by ultrasonic welding or the like, and after the developer 5 is filled, it is pressurized so that the pressure inside the container 2 is higher than the outside air. It is. Therefore, the seal 6 made of a rubber membrane is inflated like a balloon.
A developer 6 is held within the container 2.

When the developer container 1 of this embodiment is attached to a developing device 7 similar to that shown in the first embodiment and the seal 6 is cut open with a cutter 8, the seal 6 rips in the same way as a balloon bursts. , the opening 4 is opened, and since the inside of the container 2 is pressurized higher than the outside air, the developer 5 flows down through the opening 4 into the developing device 7 with great force.

“Third Example” A fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4(a) to 4(C).

The same symbols as in the previous embodiment indicate the same members. In the previous two embodiments, only one opening 4 was formed, so
When the fluidity of the developer 5 deteriorates in a high humidity environment, the developer 5 sometimes remains inside the container 2. In this embodiment, a developer container 1 is provided which is suitable for a developing device 7 equipped with a drive mechanism that rotates the developer container 1 in the circumferential direction by means not shown. As shown in c), a plurality of them are provided along the circumferential wall of the container 2. The seal 6 is a self-stretching member made of a thin rubber film, and as shown in FIG. A shoulder portion 9 is fixed by ultrasonic welding inside the opening wall. After the developer 5 is filled, the inside of the container 2 is pressurized and the seal 6 is expanded into a balloon shape. 1 is carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, but in the case of this example, 1
A feature is that when the seal 6 is cut open at one opening 4, the other openings 4 are also opened at the same time. FIG. 4 (C1) shows the opening 4 thus formed and the cut seal 6. When the container 2 is rotated in the circumferential direction by a rotating means (not shown), the developer 5 is rotated. The toner is stirred by the roller, falls through the lower opening in the direction of gravity, and is supplied to the developing device 7. Note that the developer container 1 may be rotated manually.

FIG. 5(a)Jb) shows another modification of the third embodiment.

The opening 4 of the container 2 is formed in a spiral shape that makes one rotation around the circumference. In this modification as well, the seal 6 is made up of a single seal with the number ζ as described above, is pressurized from the inside, and is inflated into a balloon shape. When the container 2 is rotated circumferentially, a part of the opening 4 is always open at the lower side in the direction of gravity, which is suitable for uniformly supplying the developer agent in the longitudinal direction of the developer container 1. There is. In addition, even when implementing this modification, the cutter 6 and the opening 4 are replaced with the seal 6.
It is necessary to perform alignment.

To do this, a protrusion 2a is provided at the end of the container 2 as shown in FIG.
7 lang 2b of the container 2, which is placed on the end wall of the developing device 7.
and the protrusion 23 are spaced apart enough to accommodate the end wall of the developing device 7. When the protrusion 2a and the notch 7C are engaged, the opening 4 faces the cutter 8. Particularly in the case of this modification, when moving the cutter 8 in the longitudinal direction of the developer container 1, the developer container 1 is rotated synchronously in the circumferential direction, and the opening 4 or the seal 6 and the cutter 8 are held together. We must be able to maintain the condition.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5(b), a cutter guide 8b equipped with a cutter 8 is fitted into the edge of the spiral opening 4, and the cutter guide 8b is inserted into the guide bar 1.
Slips onto 2a. The guide bar 12a is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the developer container 1, and is supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction (vertical elevating means is not shown). The developing device 7 is rotatably supported at both ends so that it does not move in the axial direction when the developer container 1 rotates a little more than in FIG. 5(a).

After inserting the developer container 1, when the guide bar 12a is raised, the cutter 8 hits the seal 6.

When the cutter guide 8b is pulled by a pull bar (not shown), the cutter guide 6b slides on the guide bar 12a.
The developer container 1 rotates and the cutter 8 cuts the seal 6. As a result, the seal 6 that is stretched and fixed to the periphery of the opening 4 contracts, and the downwardly facing portion of the opening 4 is sequentially opened, and the toner 5 inside the container 2 is transferred to the developer hopper 7.
Fall into a.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, by sealing the opening with a self-stretching thin film in an expanded state, the opening can be opened without the user touching the seal directly with his or her child during use, and there is no dirt on hands or clothing. It is possible to provide a developer container that does not cause this.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

gi figure fa1. (b), (cljdl jet is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a vertical cross-sectional view with developing device 1ζ installed, (e) is a side view, (d ) is a sectional view with the opening opened, (e) is a plan view showing the seal breaking device, and FIGS. 2(al) and (b) are views showing the conventional example,
(a) is a perspective view, (bl is a sectional view, Fig. 3 (at, (b)
1 and (c) are diagrams showing a second embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a cross-sectional view, (c) is a cross-sectional view showing a pattern of opening the opening, and FIG. al, (blJc) are views showing the fifth embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a perspective view, rb3 is a cross-sectional view, (C) is a cross-sectional view with the opening opened, Fig. 5 1am, f
b) shows a modification of the third embodiment of the present invention, (al is a perspective view, and (b) is a sectional view. 1. Developer container 2. Container No. 6 C Patent Applicant Canon Co., Ltd. company

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A developer container that holds a developer inside and supplies the developer to a developing device with an opening opened during use, characterized in that the opening is sealed with a self-stretching thin film. developer container.