JPH06186845A - Developer container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To restrain the warpage of a developer supply container itself and to surely prevent the erroneous insertion of the developer supply container in a developer hopper by providing ribs at both ends in the longitudinal direction of a flange part provided on the periphery of a container part. CONSTITUTION:The developer supply container is constituted of the container part 01 the flange part 02, and a seal 03. The developer hopper is constituted of a hopper part 06, an upper frame 07 and a hopper cover 08. A male part (rib) 04 is formed on the flange part 02 of the developer supply container and a female part 09 is provided on the upper frame part 07 of the developer hopper. Based on the positional relation between them the erroneous insertion of the developer supply container in the developer hopper is prevented. Furthermore, the ribs 05 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the flange part 02 of the developer supply container, so that the rigidity of the flange part 02 is increased. Thus, the upper and lower warpage of the flange part 02 of the container in the longitudinal direction is restrained, and the erroneous insertion of the developer supply container in the hopper is perfectly prevented.

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 for supplying a powder developer to a dry electrophotographic copying machine, a printer or the like.

[0002]

[Prior art]

<Conventional Example 1> Conventionally, a developer replenishing container is generally put on the market by filling various kinds of developers with a container having the same shape.

Therefore, between the containers filled with different kinds of developers, as one measure for preventing misuse of different kinds of developers, the colors of the containers are changed so that they can be visually identified. As another preventive measure, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the flange portion 02 provided on the peripheral edge of the container portion 01 is
The ribs 04 are provided so as to change positions, and the compatibility prevention mechanism is provided so that whether the container can be inserted or not can be mechanically operated depending on the positional relationship with the female side of the developer hopper. With such a configuration, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the rib 04 and the female portion 09 of the developer hopper are matched or mismatched, so that the user may mistakenly perform replenishment. It prevents replenishment of different kinds of developer to the main body of the copying machine.

<Prior art example 2> Further, as a seal for a developer in a developing container of a process cartridge, a foamed resin is cut into an appropriate size and attached to a seal portion via a double-sided tape.

<Prior Art Example 3> As one of the forms of a conventional toner container, which is a developer container, for example, the actual developing container 59-
7453, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 77150 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 345
64-34570 and the like. For these containers, after sealing the seal film on the container body and attaching the slide shutter, after fixing the film to the end through the outside of the shutter, fill the toner from the bottom surface on the opposite side of the seal and fill it. After that, the mouth of the filling side is fixed with a metal lid and used as a so-called container bottom.

<Prior Art Example 4> Generally, an image recording apparatus using an electrostatic image such as an electrophotographic copying machine or an electrostatic recording apparatus forms an electrostatic image on an image forming body such as a photosensitive drum, and An electric image is visualized with a toner by a developing device, and the toner image is transferred and fixed on a recording paper to obtain a desired recorded matter. After the residual charges are erased by the charge eliminating electrodes on the photosensitive drum after the image transfer, the residual toner is removed by the cleaning device to prepare for the next electrostatic image formation.

In the image recording apparatus as described above, since the developing device and the cleaning device are opposed to each other with the photosensitive drum interposed therebetween, a container for supplying toner to the developing device and a container for collecting the toner scraped by the cleaning device. Naturally, they are installed separately. In addition, about 70% of the toner replenished from the toner replenishing container to the developing device is consumed to obtain a printed matter, and about 30% is collected as waste toner.

Therefore, if the replenishment toner container and the recovery toner container are separately installed, it is only possible to replenish the toner to the developing device and forget to replace the recovery toner container, which may cause the toner to overflow.

[0009] Therefore, a proposal has been made to remember to replace the collected toner container at the same time when the supply toner container is replaced.

A typical example thereof is a toner storage container which can be attached to and detached from a developing device as disclosed in JP-A-2-6978, a replenishment toner container having a replenishment opening for discharging replenishment toner by gravitational drop, and a waste toner recovery opening. It is a toner cartridge in which the collected toner container is formed integrally. This has a simple structure and ensures that the toner recovery container can be replaced every time the toner supply container is replaced, thereby preventing forgetting to replace the recovery container.

[0011]

However, identification of only the color of the developer replenishing container cannot completely prevent mixing of different types of developer, and a rib is provided on the developer replenishing container to make it compatible with the female side of the developer hopper. The rigidity of the container becomes a problem in the mechanism that prevents the erroneous insertion of the container due to the positional relationship of. That is, if the rigidity of the container is weak, the container may warp with the rib as the base point even if the force is small, and the container may be inserted into the hopper even if the position of the male and female is displaced (FIG. 7). There is a possibility that it will be replenished.

A first object of the present invention is to solve the incompleteness of preventing the erroneous insertion of the developer supply container into the developer hopper described above, and to increase the rigidity of the container side. With such a structure, the warp of the container itself can be suppressed and erroneous insertion into the hopper can be completely prevented.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example 2, the sealing material is prepared by adhering the sealing material to the double-sided tape in advance, and the sealing material is attached to the sealing portion in the developer container. It is not suitable for the above, and if it is not adhered along a very simple shape, it takes a long time for the adhesion work, resulting in high cost. In addition, there is a drawback in that uniformity and quality stability are impaired, such as sticking out of the shape of the seal portion and impairing the sealability.

As a conventional method, for example, a foam material such as a urethane foam material, which is a sealing member, is punched out in advance in the same shape in accordance with the above-mentioned sealing portion so as to adhere the sealing material to the sealing portion, or to narrow the width. The sealing material was formed in a linear shape, and was gradually attached to the sealing portion.

In the case of the punching method, in advance,
Since double-sided tape is attached to one side, punched out, and used, there are many unnecessary parts and waste of resources,
It is also expensive. Further, it is relatively easy to attach the sheet to a shape close to a plane both manually and mechanically, but in the case of a complicated shape over three dimensions, mechanization is also difficult.

In the case of sealing in a narrow line shape, it is possible to put the product on the production line relatively easily as in the case of punching, if repeated sticking of straight lines is possible. The way is difficult. In the case where the straight line is repeatedly attached, there is a problem in the sealing property because an overlapping portion occurs at a corner portion or the like. It will take a lot of work if you try to stick them together transparently so that they do not overlap, which is a high cost work.

A second object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a developer container in which a sealing portion can be provided even in a portion having a complicated shape and the sealing property is ensured. .

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example 3, it is usual that the used container after toner discharge is discarded as it is,
Even if it was collected, it could not be reused. In the future, waste will be regulated and it will be necessary to reduce waste and save resources, but this is not possible at present, and improvement is expected.

A third object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a developer container which can withstand many uses and can be reused.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional example 4, the collected toner storage portion of the toner storage container is in front, the replenishment opening is directed upward, and the toner is replenished by inserting the tip into the inlet of the main body side toner replenishment portion. Since the flexible seal member covering the opening of the part is peeled off to open the replenishment opening, the toner attached to the seal may spill onto the floor surface of the room when the flexible seal material is peeled off. Along with
If you unintentionally tilt the container with the seal removed, it will spill, and once the seal is peeled off, the remaining toner will spill when you remove the container from the setting position because it cannot be resealed in the opening of the container. It had the drawback of being afraid.

A fourth object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a developer container which does not scatter the toner around when replenishing the toner.

[0022]

In order to achieve the above object, the solution means according to the present invention is as described in each claim of the claims, and the operation thereof is as follows.

According to the means of claim 1, ribs are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the container flange portion.
The vertical warp of the container flange portion in the longitudinal direction as described above is suppressed, and erroneous insertion of a different type developer into the developer hopper is prevented.

As for the shape of the rib, there is a method in which the width is the wall thickness of the container, the height is about twice the width, and the length is the same as the distance in the longitudinal direction of the container as in the embodiment, but not limited thereto. It can be freely changed according to the shape of the container. Further, the number of end ribs may be two at a time, one at each end as in the embodiment, but may be increased or decreased depending on the shape of the container.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the triangular ribs are provided between the side surface of the container and the flange, so that the vertical warp of the container flange portion as shown in FIG. Prevents accidental insertion of the developer into the developer hopper.

As for the shape of the triangular rib, there is a method of setting the angle to 60 ° as in the embodiment, but the invention is not limited to this, and the angle can be freely changed according to the height of the container. The number of triangular ribs may be five as in the embodiment, but may be increased or decreased according to the size of the container.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by providing the ribs along the inner surface of the container, the warp of the container flange portion due to the indentation of the developer accommodating portion as shown in FIG. Prevents accidental insertion of the developer into the developer hopper.

The shape of the inner surface ribs may be set as in the embodiment, but the shape is not limited to this, and may be freely changed according to the shape of the container. The number of inner ribs may be three evenly distributed in the developer accommodating portion as in the embodiment, but may be increased or decreased according to the shape of the container.

Further, according to the means of claims 4 and 5, since the seal member is designed to be injected and foamed in the process cartridge in the immediate vicinity of the photosensitive drum, for example, in the seal member, The amine catalyst is adjusted so that it does not come out of the sealing system in the form of gas or the like to prevent the photosensitive drum from being adversely affected, for example, the surface of the drum being cracked.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a metal material is used for the bottom portion of the developer container opposite to the side where the seal and the slide shutter are provided, and a hole for filling the bottom member with toner is provided. , It has a metal lid that fits in this hole, and this metal lid can be attached and removed multiple times. Therefore, even a toner container that has already been used can be used a plurality of times by collecting it, and this can contribute to resource saving and reduction of dust.

According to the seventh to tenth aspects, in the toner cartridge integrally having the replenishment toner storage portion and the recovery toner storage portion, the replenishment toner storage portion and the recovery toner storage portion are connected via the connecting means. Accordingly, the replenishment toner storage section is rotatably installed with the recovery opening of the recovery toner storage section fixed upward, and a shutter that can open and close the recovery opening is installed so as to be connected to the connecting means. Further, the replenishment toner storage portion has a double-cylinder structure including an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder each having an opening along the axial direction and having an opening that allows the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder to communicate with each other. The processing of the flexible seal member covering the replenishment opening is eliminated, and the replenishment opening and the recovery opening are reclosed even after the toner is replenished. At this time, the outer cylinder is connected to the collected toner storage portion, the replenishment opening is sealed by setting the replenishment opening upward and the opening of the outer cylinder downward, and the recovery opening is oriented upward by the shutter. When the toner is supplied, the recovery opening is maintained upward even if the replenishment opening is rotated downward in the outer cylinder so as to communicate with the outer cylinder opening when the toner is replenished. Since the recovery opening is opened in conjunction with the replenishment toner storage portion, the replenishment opening and the recovery opening can be simultaneously opened in one operation, and can be simultaneously closed in one operation even after the toner replenishment.

When both the openings are in the non-communication position, both ends of a flexible seal member for sealing the opening of the inner cylinder are fixed to each other and elastically attached to the outer peripheral surface of the edge of the inner cylinder. It is possible to prevent the toner from entering between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder and leaking the toner between the cylinders when vibration is applied by providing the contact member having the The inner cylinder can always be stably rotated.

Further, by dividing and forming both openings of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder by connecting bones, it is possible to prevent widening and deformation in the width direction due to temperature change around the both openings. . The connecting bone has a great effect even when only the outer cylinder is installed, and the shape thereof is preferably as thin as possible in consideration of the toner replenishing efficiency.

[0034]

【Example】

 <Embodiment 1> FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a developer supply container and a developer hopper in a typical example of the present invention.

The developer replenishing container is composed of a container portion 01, a flange portion 02 and a seal film 03, and is a HIPS injection molded product except for the seal film 03. The developer hopper includes a hopper portion 06, an upper frame 07, and a hopper lid 08.

In the developer replenishing work, first, the lid 08 of the developer hopper is opened, the flange portion 02 of the developer replenishing container is fitted into the upper frame 07 of the developer hopper, and the seal film 03 of the developer replenishing container is pulled. finish.

In order to prevent mixing of different kinds of developers in such a series of operations, the flange portion 0 of the developer supply container is
2, the male portion (rib) 04, the upper frame portion 0 of the developer hopper
A female portion 09 is installed at 7, and the positional relationship between them prevents the erroneous insertion of the developer supply container into the developer hopper. This is as described with reference to FIG.

However, in order to prevent compatibility with this mechanism, the rigidity of the developer supply container becomes a problem. That is, if the rigidity is low, the container may warp even with a slight force with the rib as the base point, and the container may be inserted into the hopper even if the positions of the male and female are displaced. That is, it is as described with reference to FIG. 7.

Therefore, in order to suppress the vertical warp of the flange portion 02 of the developer supply container in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. 2, ribs 05 are provided at both longitudinal end portions of the container flange portion 02.
Is provided to increase or increase the rigidity of the container flange portion 02.

With such a structure, even if a replenishing container filled with a different kind of developer is mistakenly inserted into the developer hopper, the warp in the longitudinal direction of the container flange portion 02 is a rib as shown in FIG. Since it is suppressed by 05, it cannot be inserted with normal force, and compatibility prevention can be completed. Further, if several end ribs 05 are provided on the container flange 02, the effect is increased.

Further, even if the male and female fitting shape of the flange 02 side surface of the developer supply container and the developer hopper upper frame portion 07 is reversed from that of the embodiment, the force applied at the time of supplying different kinds of developer is basically applied. Since it is not different from the example, the ribs at both ends in the longitudinal direction in this case also have the same effect here.

<Second Embodiment> As in the first embodiment, the ribs 05 are not provided at both ends of the container flange portion 02 in the longitudinal direction, but as shown in FIG. Even if the triangular rib 10 is provided between and the flange portion 02, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

As described above, according to the first and second embodiments, by providing the ribs at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the flange portion of the developer replenishing container to give the rigidity of the flange portion,
It is possible to completely prevent accidental replenishment of the different type developer to the hopper in normal use.

<Third Embodiment> FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

As described above, the rigidity of the developer container is insufficient, and the developer container may be erroneously inserted into the developer hopper.

In this embodiment, in order to suppress the warp in the lateral direction of the flange portion 02 of the developer supply container,
As shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, five triangular ribs 25 having an angle of 60 ° were provided between the side surface of the container part 01 and the flange part 02 to increase the rigidity of the container flange part 02. Then, even if a mistake is made to insert a replenishing container filled with a different kind of developer into the developer hopper, the warp of the container flange portion 02 in the lateral direction as shown in FIG. 13 is suppressed as shown in FIG. It cannot be inserted with normal force and the compatibility prevention can be perfected. Further, if the triangular rib 25 is installed above the rib 04 of the container flange portion, the effect is increased.

Further, even if the concave-convex relationship between the side surface of the flange of the developer supply container and the upper frame of the developer hopper is reversed from that of the embodiment, the force applied when replenishing different types of developer is basically different from that of the embodiment. Since it does not exist, the triangular rib here also has the same effect.

<Embodiment 4> In Embodiment 3, the container portion 0
Even if a large R portion 10 is provided between the side surface of No. 1 and the flange portion 02 instead of the triangular rib 25 as shown in FIG. 12, the same effect as that of the third embodiment can be obtained.

According to the third and fourth embodiments, the triangular rib is provided between the side surface of the container portion of the developer supply container and the flange portion so that the flange portion has rigidity, so that a different kind of developer is erroneously used in normal use. It is possible to completely prevent the hopper from being replenished.

<Embodiment 5> In this embodiment, in order to suppress the warp of the container flange portion 02 due to the indentation of the developer accommodating portion 01 of the developer supply container, as shown in FIGS.
The ribs 35 are provided on the inner surface of the container as shown in FIGS.
The rigidity of the container flange 02 was increased. Then, even if the developer container erroneously inserted into the developer hopper is filled with the different type of developer, the inward dent of the developer accommodating portion 01 as shown in FIG. 16 is suppressed as shown in FIG. It cannot be inserted with normal force and the compatibility prevention can be perfected. Further, if a large number of inner ribs are installed on the inner surface of the container, the effect is increased.

Even if the relationship between the side surface of the flange of the developer replenishing container and the upper frame of the developer hopper is uneven, the force applied when replenishing different types of developer is basically the same as that of the embodiment. Since it does not exist, the inner rib referred to in this case also has the same effect here.

<Embodiment 6> In Embodiment 5, instead of providing the rib 35 along the inner surface of the container, as shown in FIG. 17, the rib 40 may be provided along the outer surface (side surface) of the container.
The same effect as that of the fifth embodiment can be obtained.

As described above, according to the fifth and sixth embodiments, ribs are provided along the inner surface of the developer replenishing container so that the flange portion has rigidity, so that different types of developers can be erroneously used in normal use. It is possible to completely prevent the hopper from being replenished.

Next, a seventh embodiment of the invention according to claim 4 will be described.
19 to 21 will be described.

<Embodiment 7> A developer container as a cartridge having process cartridge frames 58 and 59 illustrated in FIG. 19 is provided with a groove 51 for injecting a foamed resin. To stand up about 2 mm,
Further, the foamed resin 52 is injected and applied in a shape protruding to both sides from the groove width by about 1 to 2 mm. The foamed resin 52 is, for example, a urethane resin that is synthesized by mixing two liquids, and foaming is achieved by a gas (CO ₂ or the like) at the time of reaction.

The second liquid is once mixed in the chamber 53.
Then, it is agitated and discharged from the nozzle 54. The foaming reaction is arranged to start within the mixing chamber. The discharge speed is 4 g / min and the nozzle moving speed is 5 m / min. There is no hindrance to the movement of the process cartridge almost immediately after the application is completed. However, since it is still wet, it is not possible to touch the applied part, so it is necessary to set the aging time.

That is, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, in the seal portion of the process cartridge, which is composed of a combination of two or more parts and in which the seal portion of the developer container portion is formed, the seal portion is injected. It is composed of a coated foaming member, the catalyst amine is adjusted so as not to go out of the system in the foaming member, and the foaming member starts foaming immediately before being discharged to the seal portion. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the foam sealing member is adjusted to have a permanent compression strain of 10% to 20%.

Concretely speaking, it is composed of two parts, and when combined, it forms an integral process cartridge.
Mixing two liquids into a sealing part with a width of m and a height of 1 to 2 mm and applying and injecting a resin material to be foamed by controlling little by little from a nozzle to obtain a sealing width and height required for design. .

After completion of aging, a drum, sleeve, blade and the like were assembled as a process cartridge and a confirmation test was conducted. The purpose of the confirmation test is the sealability with respect to the toner and the presence / absence of adverse effects on the drum, which are the objects of the present invention.

From the conclusion, there is no problem with the toner sealing property during normal use, and after opening the opening, the process cartridge is taken out of the main machine and shaken violently, toner leakage is observed. However, this is an abnormal case and deviates from the usual usage.

Further, it was judged that there is no influence on the surface material of the photosensitive drum even under the most severe conditions. In addition, the permanent compression strain% of the above foam material
Is confirmed to be 10 to 20%.

In order to achieve the same purpose, for example, foamed silicone is also possible. As a method of foaming, the purpose can be achieved by blowing gas into the urethane resin and mixing them. However, it is important that the photosensitive drum is not adversely affected either by silicone or by gas injection.

Comparative Example 1 The material is almost the same as in Example 7, but the material is adjusted so that foaming starts after the foamed resin is discharged.

For this reason, when the inclined surface of the portion which rises from the main application plane in the groove portion to be ejected is applied, the coating solution may flow down the inclined surface. By the way, the slope angle at this time was 45 degrees, but an example of changing the angle, 3
Similar results were obtained at 0 degrees and 54 degrees, although there were some differences. Particularly, in the case of 54 degrees, the coating liquid was hardly wet at the corners.

<Comparative Example 2> The same material as in Example 7 is used. However, the foaming conditions were adjusted so that the isocyanate content was slightly excessive and the molding environment was adjusted so that the degree of foaming varied.

In this example, a material having a permanent compression strain% of 45% was used.

When the seal thus formed was put together into the final shape and the sealability was evaluated, there was a portion where the toner leaked.

This is because the application of the coating liquid is not good at the corners of the slope, and the part that is used as a seal by crushing is poorly returned.
It was considered that this was because the foam material could not follow the floating of the seal portion that occurred.

<Comparative Example 3> As the sealing material, a material that had already been foamed was sliced, a double-sided tape was attached to one surface, and the material was cut to an appropriate width.

The above seal material was manually applied along the groove to the seal portion of the same process cartridge as in Example 7 to complete the seal. The process cartridge was assembled in the same manner as in Example 7, and the same confirmation test was performed.

The results are similar to those of Example 7, but due to the hand tension, the corners are distorted, and the sealing material has a thickness difference at that portion. Among them, a problem was caused in the sealing property particularly in a severe portion. But,
When a large number of items are created, it means that some products have problems, not all.

Next, an embodiment according to claim 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.
6 will be described.

<Embodiment 8> FIG. 22 shows an example of a typical embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 71 is a toner container body, and 72
Is a metal bottom portion of the present invention, and this bottom portion 7
2 has a filling port for filling the toner, and after filling the toner from the filling port, a metallic lid 73 is fitted to seal the toner.

Toner discharge port 74 is provided on the side opposite to the bottom portion.
Is provided, and the seal film 7 is on the discharge port.
Sealed by 5 and slide shutter 76
Is slidably provided. When the toner is discharged, the shutter 76 slides and the seal film 75 is peeled off to open.

FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the bottom filling port of the toner container.

The bottom portion 72 of the toner container is fixed at the body portions 71 and 77.

FIG. 24 shows a state in which the container of the present invention is filled with toner. After the toner is filled by the filling device 78, it is sealed by the fitting lid 73.

FIG. 25 shows a typical example of the discharge port portion of the toner container of the present invention and a state in which the slide shutter 76 is actually slid, the seal film is peeled off, and the toner is discharged. Further, FIG. 26 shows an embodiment of another discharge port portion.

In the toner container according to the embodiment of the present invention, the discharge port is sealed, the filling port is filled with toner, the toner is discharged, and the discharge port is re-sealed. For each of the toner containers having No., no problems occurred.

In the conventional example, after the toner container is filled with the toner, the bottom lid is attached and fixed to the container body by the seamer working attachment method. In this method, when attaching the bottom pig, a part of the bottom pig is put into the attachment portion of the container body, and therefore it is very difficult to remove the bottom pig once it is attached.

Even if the container body is made of any material such as metal, plastic, or paper, when the bottom lid is attached again, it may be difficult to reattach the bottom lid. There is a risk that this will occur and virtually no reuse is possible.

According to the present invention, the so-called bottom portion of the main body is attached in the same manner as the conventional example, but once attached, it is not necessary to remove the bottom portion even when the container is used a plurality of times, and the bottom portion is provided. A fitting lid portion that can be easily removed may be used.

As a material used for the bottom portion and the fitting lid, a metal is considered to be suitable in consideration of repeated use a plurality of times and recyclability after sufficiently repeated use. Usable metals include commonly used metals such as iron, brass, aluminum, stainless steel, etc. Among them, iron is most suitable.

The shape of the toner filling port having a fitting lid which can be used a plurality of times provided on the bottom portion is not particularly limited as long as it has a shape that does not affect the toner filling and the attachment and detachment of the lid. The shape used is preferably round, rectangular, square, oval or the like. The size of the filling port is not particularly limited as long as it does not hinder filling.

Normally, the seal portion of the discharge port is used once and is not used any more. However, in order to reuse it a plurality of times, the seal portion should be formed in a convex shape in accordance with the seal pattern shape. It should be higher than the other parts. With this shape, it is possible to seal once, peel off the film, and then seal the film a plurality of times again. In this case, a heat seal film or the like is suitable as the seal film. In addition to this method, a method of using a seal film coated with an adhesive can be adopted.

In the present invention, it has been considered that the bottom portion provided with the filling port and the fitting lid are made of plastic, but when plastic is used, the fitting lid is easily deformed when the fitting lid is removed and attached. Also, it is not suitable for repeated use because it is easily scratched.

Next, the embodiment according to claims 7 to 10 is shown in FIG.
7 to 32 will be described.

Reference numeral 81 is a toner cartridge of the present invention. The toner cartridge 81 is formed by integrally connecting a supply toner storage portion 82 and a collected toner storage portion 83 through a connecting means 84 as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28.

As shown in FIG. 29, the connecting means 84 has a cylindrical body portion 84a whose one end surface is closed, and a shaft portion which projects from the center of the inner surface of the closed surface 84b and extends outward from the open surface of the cylindrical body portion 84a. 84c and a knob member 84e integrally fixed to the tip of the shaft portion 84c with a tightening screw 84d. The grip member 84e is provided with a shutter 84f that opens and closes the recovery opening 83d of the recovered toner storage portion 83.

The replenishment toner storage portion 82 is formed of a suitable material such as paper in a cylindrical shape, and one end (the right end in the drawing) of the connecting means 84 is the outer circumference on the closed end side of the cylindrical body portion 84a. Has a small diameter portion 84a 'that is tightly fitted to the small diameter portion 84a', and the other end (the left end in the figure) is sealed by a cap member 82a. Further, the supply opening 82b provided on the peripheral wall is divided into two by the connecting bone 82c at the center, and one end thereof (the left end in the figure)
Is closed, and the other end (the right end in the figure) covers the replenishment toner storage portion 82 and the connecting means 84, and the recovered toner storage portion 83.
It is closed by a cylindrical outer cylinder 85 which is connected to the replenishment toner storage portion 82 and the connection means 84 so as to be rotatable relative thereto. Further, the outer cylinder 85 has an opening 85a on the peripheral wall, which is slightly larger than the replenishment opening 82b of the replenishment toner accommodating portion 82, and the opening 85a is divided while leaving a necessary number of connecting bones 85b so as not to expand in the width direction. Has been formed. Further, both end edges of the flexible seal member 86 are provided on the outer surface of the replenishment toner storage portion 82 near the replenishment opening portion 82b and the inner surface of the outer cylinder 85 near the opening portion 85a of the outer cylinder 85. The seal member 86 made of polypropylene or the like, which is fixed by a double-sided tape or the like, is longer than the supply opening 82b, and the supply opening 82b.
Wider than that of the opening 85a of the outer cylinder 85
It has almost the same length as. And the opening 85a
The replenishment opening 82b that is not in communication with the whole is covered and sealed. In addition, the replenishment opening 82
An elastic sealing member 87 (for example, moltoprene, urethane foam) is fixed to the outer surface of the replenishment toner storage portion 82 around b, and the sealing member 87 is provided between the seal member 86 and the replenishment toner storage portion 82. With the interposition of the seal member 86, the sealing of the replenishment opening portion 82b is made stronger,
And surely.

The collected toner storage portion 83 is provided with a large diameter portion 83a having a non-circular outer periphery, and an inner cylinder portion 83b and an outer cylinder portion 83c which are opposed to each other with the large diameter portion 83a interposed therebetween. The connecting means 8 is provided at the center of the outer wall of the inner tubular portion 83b and the outer tubular portion 83c.
Through holes 83b 'and 83c' that can be fitted to the shaft portion 84c of No. 4 are provided. Then, the shaft portion 84c of the connecting means 84 is inserted into the through hole 83b 'of the inner tubular portion 83b and the through hole 83c' of the outer tubular portion 83c in a skewered manner to loosely fit the inner tubular portion 83b into the cylindrical barrel portion 84a. A knob member 84e is screwed to the tip of the shaft portion 84c protruding from the through hole 83c 'of the outer cylinder portion 83c as shown in FIG. As a result, the collected toner storage unit 83
Is integrated with the replenishment toner storage portion 82 via the connecting means 84. The collected toner storage portion 83 is also connected to the outer cylinder 85 of the replenishment toner storage portion 82. Therefore, if the pick-up member 84e is turned to the right or left with the recovery opening 83d of the recovery toner storage section 83 fixed upward, the supply toner storage section 82 rotates in the outer cylinder 85 in the circumferential direction.

In this case, the shutter 84f integrated with the knob member 84e and the replenishment opening 82b of the replenishment toner accommodating portion 82 are oriented in the same direction, and the opening 85a of the outer cylinder 85 is reversed so that the replenishment opening 82b is formed. Is rotated downward to communicate with the opening 85a of the outer cylinder 85 to replenish the toner, the shutter 84f opens the recovery opening 83d, and conversely, the replenishment opening 82e is rotated upward to rotate the outer cylinder 85.
Replenishing opening portion 82e, which is in a position not communicating with the opening portion 85a of
Is sealed, the shutter 84f comes to close the recovery opening 83d.

In the above embodiment, in order to set the toner cartridge 81 of the present invention in the upper part of the toner storage chamber (not shown) of the developing unit (not shown) on the main body side, first, the replenishment toner storage portion 82 is replenished. The opening 82b faces upward and the outer cylinder 85
In the state where it is in the non-communication position with the opening portion 85a of the above, it is directly loaded into a predetermined place. At this time, the recovery opening portion 83d of the recovery toner storage portion 83 is also directed upward, and is closed by the shutter 84f integrated with the picking member 84e.

When set in this manner, the non-circular large-diameter portion 83a of the collected toner storage portion 83 is set and fixed on the projection of the main body developing device (not shown), and further connected to the collected toner storage portion 83. Since the outer cylinder 85 is also fixed, when the knob member 84e is turned to the right or left, the recovery opening 83d closed by the shutter 84f opens and tightly fits into the cylindrical body portion 84a integral with the knob member 84e. The supplied toner storage portion 82 also rotates in the outer cylinder 85 in the circumferential direction. In this way, when the replenishment opening 82b is directed right below and communicated with the opening 85a of the outer cylinder 85, the toner in the replenishment toner storage section 82 is dropped and replenished to the storage chamber (not shown) by gravity.

On the other hand, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum (not shown) after the image transfer is the cleaning blade (not shown).
The toner scraped off by the toner and transmitted through the toner guide plate (not shown) and collected in the toner receiving portion (not shown) is carried out by the carry-out screw (not shown), and is then fed into the hollow body (not shown). And a recovery opening 83 that opens upward from a discharge port (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the front end of the recovery opening 83.
The toner is collected from d into the collected toner storage portion 83.

When the toner cartridge 81 of the present invention is replaced, the knob member 84e is turned to make the replenishment opening 82b of the replenishment toner storage portion 82 face upward, and the opening 85a of the outer cylinder 85.
Even if the replenishment opening 82b is reclosed by setting it to the non-communication position, the recovery opening 83d of the recovery toner storage portion 83 is kept facing upward. Moreover, the recovery opening 83d
Since it is completely closed by the shutter 84f integrated with the picking member 84e, when it is pulled out in this state, the toner will not be scattered from either the supply opening 82b or the recovery opening 83d.

Comparative Example On the other hand, when the replenishment opening of the replenishment toner storage portion is sealed by the flexible seal 88 as shown in FIG. 32, first, before setting the toner cartridge in the main body developing machine, Since the flexible seal 88 must be peeled off to fully open the replenishment opening, the toner adhering to the seal 88 may be scattered and the seal 8
If you move the container from which you peeled off 8 unintentionally, it may spill. In addition, the seal 8 which is peeled off and toner is attached
The processing of 8 is also a problem. Further, when the toner cartridge is replaced, it is necessary to perform processing with the replenishment opening being open, and there is a drawback that the processing is difficult if there is residual toner in the container.

[0100]

As described above, according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the rigidity of the developer container is increased and the warp is prevented, so that the developer container and the hopper are fitted accurately. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the developer from being mistakenly replenished to the hopper.

According to the inventions of claims 4 and 5, 1. It is possible to provide a seal part even for complicated shapes. 2. You can apply for sealing where and where you need it. 3. The seal part does not float against impact. 4. No problems such as cracks on the photosensitive drum. 5. It is possible to form the seal portion by an automatic machine. The effect that the cost can be reduced, and so on can be obtained.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since one developer container can withstand a large number of times of use, it promotes the reuse of the developer container which has been disposable until now, and saves resources and dust. Can contribute to the reduction of

According to the invention of claims 7 to 10, in a developer container, that is, a toner cartridge in which a replenishment toner storage portion and a recovery toner storage portion are integrally formed, the replenishment toner storage portion and the recovery toner storage portion are connected. And a replenishment toner storage portion is rotatably provided with the collection opening of the recovery toner storage portion being fixed upward, and an opening portion through which the replenishment toner storage portion is open along the axial direction and can communicate with each other. Since each of them has a double cylinder structure, if the recovery opening of the recovery toner storage section is set upward from the beginning, the recovery opening will always remain upward even if the supply opening is downward during toner supply. It is maintained and the replenishment opening of the replenishment toner storage section is closed by the outer cylinder before and after replenishment. No longer it is possible to be splashing the toner.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a developer supply container and a developer hopper according to a representative example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows details of a representative developer supply container of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the effect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a developer supply container according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows rib standing on a flange portion of a developer supply container, which is one of typical methods for preventing compatibility.

FIG. 6 shows a positional relationship between a rib of a flange portion of a developer supply container and a female portion of a developer hopper, FIG. 6A showing a normal supply, and FIG. 6B showing a supply of a heterogeneous developer.

FIG. 7 shows the incompleteness of the conventional compatibility prevention mechanism.

FIG. 8 shows the warp of the developer supply container, which is the cause of incomplete compatibility prevention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a developer supply container and a developer hopper according to another example of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows details of a developer supply container according to another example of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows the effect of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a developer supply container according to another embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows the warp of the developer supply container, which is the cause of incomplete compatibility prevention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a developer supply container and a developer hopper according to another example of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows details of a developer supply container according to another example of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows the effect of the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a developer supply container according to another embodiment.

FIG. 18 shows the warp of the developer supply container, which is the cause of incomplete compatibility prevention.

FIG. 19 shows a seal portion of a process cartridge that best represents another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a cross section when assembled as a process cartridge.

FIG. 21 is a schematic view of a foam sealing resin application device.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of a portion including a toner filling port provided at the bottom of the container and a lid that fits with the lid, which is a feature of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a state when toner is filled through the filling port on the bottom of the container of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a general example of an outlet portion of a developer container, that is, a toner container of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a general example of a discharge port portion in the toner container of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the toner cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is an enlarged sectional view in which a part of the toner cartridge of the present invention is omitted.

FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective view of the toner cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a sectional view showing a closed state of a replenishment opening of the toner cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a sectional view showing an open state of a replenishment opening of the toner cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 32 shows a conventional toner cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

01 ... Container part of developer supply container 02 ... Flange part of developer supply container 03 ... Seal film part of developer supply container 04 ... Rib on side surface of developer supply container flange 05 ... Developer supply container flange longitudinal direction Ribs on both ends 06 ... Hopper part of developer hopper 07 ... Upper frame part of developer hopper 08 ... Lid of developer hopper 09 ... Female part of developer hopper 25 ... Triangular rib of developer container 35 ... Inner surface of developer container Ribs 51 ... Grooves 52 ... (foaming)
Resin (after coating) 53 ... Mixing chamber 54 ... Nozzle 55 ... Mixing liquid 56 ... A liquid 57 ... B liquid 58 ... Process cartridge (A) frame 59 ... Process cartridge (B) frame 60 ... Stirring device 61 ... Nozzle robot 62 ... Toner container portion 71 ... Container body 72 ... Container bottom portion 73 ... Container bottom portion filling port portion and fitting lid 74 ... Toner discharge port 75 ... Discharge port seal film 76 ... Slide shutter 77 ... Container bottom portion A case where a seamer mounting process for mounting on a toner cartridge is performed. 81 ... Toner cartridge 82 ... Replenishment of toner cartridge Toner storage portion 83 ... Toner cartridge recovery toner storage portion 84 ... Toner cartridge connecting means 85 ... Toner cartridge outer cylinder 86. Seal member 87 ... Sealing member 88 ... Flexible seal

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mitsuru Honda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tomohiro Kimura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Within the corporation

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A developer container portion, a flange portion provided on a peripheral edge of the container portion, and a fitting portion provided on the flange portion and fitted in a male-female relationship with a part of the developer hopper. A developer container having the above-mentioned developer container, wherein ribs are provided at both ends of the flange portion in the longitudinal direction. 2. A developer container portion, a flange portion provided on a peripheral edge of the container portion, and a fitting portion provided on the flange portion and fitted in a male and female relationship with a part of the developer hopper. A developer container having a triangular rib provided between the side surface of the container portion and the flange portion. 3. A container portion for the developer, a flange portion provided on a peripheral edge of the container portion, and a fitting portion provided on the flange portion and fitted in a male and female relationship with a part of the developer hopper. A developer container having a rib provided along the inner surface of the container portion. 4. A developer container comprising at least two members capable of moving relative to each other, wherein a seal portion is formed at an engaging portion of these members, wherein the seal portion is made of a foamed member applied by injection coating. The catalytic amine in the foaming member is adjusted so as not to go out of the system, and the foaming member is adjusted so as to start foaming immediately before being discharged to the seal portion. Developer container. 5. The permanent compression set of the foam member is 10%.
5. The developer container according to claim 4, wherein the developer container is 20% to 20%. 6. An opening is provided, the opening is sealed by a sealing film, and a slide shutter is mounted on the sealing film to protect the opening and the sealing film. In the developer container with the structure that opens the part and the slide shutter slides at the same time, the bottom part on the side opposite to the toner discharge port with the seal and slide shutter is made of metal, and this bottom is filled with toner. A developer container, which is provided with a filling port for charging and a metallic lid that fits with the filling port, and which can be attached and detached a plurality of times. 7. A toner cartridge in which a detachable supply toner storage portion and a recovery toner storage portion are integrally formed, the supply toner storage portion and the recovery toner storage portion are connected via a connecting means, and the supply toner storage portion is connected. The developer container is characterized in that the portion is constituted by an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder each of which is provided in the longitudinal direction and has an opening portion which is opened so that the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder can communicate with each other. 8. The structure according to claim 7, wherein the connecting means is capable of opening / closing the recovery opening of the recovery toner storage section in conjunction with opening / closing of the supply opening by rotation of the inner cylinder or outer cylinder of the supply toner storage section. Developer container. 9. Both ends of a flexible sealing member for sealing the opening of the inner cylinder are fixed to the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, respectively, when the both openings are in a non-communication position. 9. The developer container according to claim 8, further comprising an elastic contact member provided on an outer peripheral surface of an edge portion of the opening formed in the inner cylinder. 10. The developer container according to claim 8, wherein in the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, at least an opening of the outer cylinder is divided and formed so that the connecting bone remains.