JPH07209976A - Toner storing device, developing device process cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a toner storing device excellent in unsealing operability when the toner storing device having wide aperture width is sealed, and a developing device and a process cartridge using the toner storing device, and an image forming device to which the process cartridge is attached. CONSTITUTION:The toner storing device in which toner is stored is provided with a toner storing container having the aperture 18a of specified size and a sealing member 17 sealing the aperture 18a and pulled out to unseal the aperture when the device is started to be used; and the seal pattern at the leading edge and the trailing edge of the member 17 in a pulling-out direction is chevron-shaped, and the seal width of the leading edge and the trailing edge is made narrower than that of a middle part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner accommodating apparatus used in an apparatus for forming an image using toner such as an electrostatic copying machine or a printer, a developing apparatus using the toner accommodating apparatus, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a printer forms a latent image by selectively exposing an image carrier uniformly charged by a charger to form a latent image by a developing device. At the same time, the image formed by the toner is transferred to a recording medium to record an image. In such an apparatus, maintenance of each member is performed by a professional service person, which may be inconvenient for the user.

Therefore, the image carrier, the charging device, the developing device, the cleaning device and the like are integrated into a cartridge so that the user can load the cartridge into the main body of the device to replenish the toner and extend the life. It has been put into practical use that the parts of the reached image carrier can be replaced and the maintenance is easy.

In such an apparatus, the cartridge is mounted in the apparatus main body, and a toner storage portion provided in the cartridge gradually changes the developing sleeve and the image bearing member until the toner contained therein is used up. To supply.

By the way, in the developing device of the process cartridge, the opening is sealed by a seal member (or an opening regulating member in which the opening is sealed by a seal member is attached and sealed) and the seal member are provided. And the developing frame is joined by ultrasonic welding or the like. Then, when the process cartridge is used, the seal member is pulled out and removed to open the opening, and the toner is allowed to flow from the opened toner storage device to the developing device main body to be replenished.

The sealing member seals the opening of the toner container (or the opening regulating member) by heat sealing or the like, and the sealing pattern is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-14.
As shown in No. 865, a seal is used in which the front end portion and the rear end portion in the pull-out direction have a mountain shape.

As described above, the advantage of forming the front end portion and the rear end portion in the extraction direction in the shape of a mountain is that in the case of a constant opening width,
Reduces the strength when pulling out and opening the seal member,
The operability of opening can be improved.

[0008]

However, when the opening width of the toner container (or the opening regulating member) is wide, the leading end portion and the rear end portion of the sealing member in the pull-out direction are formed in a mountain shape as described above. However, the opening strength will increase.

At this time, if the apex angle of the chevron shape is an acute angle smaller than 90 degrees, the unsealing strength can be reduced, but the chevron shape becomes large and the space for sealing the sealing member is large. It becomes necessary, and the toner storage device becomes large. Further, there is a problem that the toner enters between the seal member of the enlarged mountain-shaped portion and the flange portion of the toner storage container, and the toner is scattered when opening.

Further, if the chevron shape of the seal pattern is made to have an acute angle, the seal of the chevron portion is liable to be loosened due to dropping during distribution, and if the pressure load is further applied, the seal of the portion is broken and the toner is damaged. There is a risk of leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner accommodating device having good opening operability when a toner accommodating device having a wide opening width is sealed, and a toner accommodating device using the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide a developing device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge can be attached.

Further, a toner accommodating device in which toner is not scattered when the seal is opened and the pressure resistance of the seal member is sufficient, a developing device using the same, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge can be mounted. To provide.

[0013]

A typical configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is, in a toner storage device for storing toner, a toner storage container having an opening of a predetermined size and the opening. And a seal member for withdrawing the opening at the start of use to open the opening, and forming a seal pattern of the leading end portion and the rear end portion of the sealing member in a mountain shape, and the leading end portion and the rear end portion. The seal width of is narrower than the seal width of the middle part.

[0014]

In the above construction, when the seal member is pulled out, the unsealing strength of the portion is lowered because the leading end portion and the rear end portion in the pulling direction have a mountain shape. Further, since the seal width of the chevron-shaped portion is narrower than the seal width of the intermediate portion, the maximum seal width in the chevron-shaped portion is reduced. As a result, the unsealing strength is greatly reduced and the unsealing operability is improved.

[0015]

EXAMPLES As a description of preferred examples of the present invention, the first example will be described first, then other examples will be described, and finally the experimental results will be shown.

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Here, as the order of the description, the overall configuration of the apparatus in which the process cartridge is mounted, the configuration of each part of the image forming apparatus, the configuration of each part of the process cartridge, the configuration of the photosensitive drum mounting member, the opening regulating member that is mounted in the toner storage container, and The configuration of the sealing member including the sealing member and the configuration of the developing frame will be described in this order.

{General Description} FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of an image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of the process cartridge.

This image forming apparatus A is, as shown in FIG.
An optical image based on image information is emitted from the optical system 1 to form a toner image on a photosensitive drum, which is an example of an image carrier. Then, the recording medium 2 is conveyed by the conveying means 3 in synchronism with the formation of the toner image, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum in the image forming portion formed as a process cartridge B is transferred by the transfer means 4 to the recording medium. Then, the recording medium 2 is transferred to the fixing unit 5, and the transferred toner image is fixed and discharged to the discharging unit 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the process cartridge B constituting the image forming section, the photosensitive drum 7 is rotated and the surface thereof is uniformly charged by the charging means 8. The image is transferred to the photosensitive drum 7 via the exposure unit 9.
Is exposed to form a latent image, and a developing unit 10, which is a developing device, forms a toner image corresponding to the latent image to visualize the latent image. After the transfer means 4 transfers the toner image onto the recording medium 2, the cleaning means 11 removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7. Each component such as the photosensitive drum 7 is housed in the housing 12 to form a cartridge.

Next, the structure of each part of the image forming apparatus A and the process cartridge B will be described, and further, a mounting member 15 for supporting and mounting the photosensitive drum 7 on the cleaning container 12c, and a sealing for mounting on the opening of the toner storage container 12a. The members will be described.

[Image Forming Apparatus] The configuration of each part of the image forming apparatus A will be described in the order of an optical system, a conveying means, a transfer means, a fixing means, and a cartridge mounting means.

(Optical System) The optical system 1 irradiates a light image on the photoconductor drum 7 by irradiating light on the basis of image information read from an external device or the like. As shown in FIG. A laser diode 1b, a polygon mirror 1c, a scanner motor 1d, and an imaging lens 1e are housed in the optical unit 1a of FIG.

When an image signal is given from an external device such as a computer or a word processor, the laser diode 1b emits light according to the image signal and illuminates the polygon mirror 1c as image light. The polygon mirror 1c is rotated at a high speed by a scanner motor 1d, and the image light reflected by the polygon mirror 1c is radiated to the rotating photosensitive drum 7 via the imaging lens 1e and the reflection mirror 1f, and the surface of the drum 7 is covered. It is selectively exposed to form a latent image according to image information.

(Recording Medium Conveying Means) Next, the constitution of the conveying means 3 for conveying the recording medium 2 (for example, recording paper, OHP sheet, cloth or thin plate) will be described. The apparatus of this embodiment can set two cassettes 3a and 3b, can select and convey two types of recording media 2, and can perform both single-sided printing and double-sided printing.

The structure is as follows: cassette 3a or cassette 3
When any one of the recording media 2 accommodated in b is selected, the pickup roller 3c and the separation roller pair 3d on the selected side separate and feed the sheets one by one from the top, and the registration roller pair 3e. The registration roller pair 3e is driven in synchronization with the image forming operation, and conveys the recording medium 2 to the image transfer portion, which is the contact portion between the photosensitive drum 7 and the transfer roller 4.

Recording medium 2 to which toner is transferred at the transfer section
The toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 5, and in the case of single-sided printing, the intermediate conveyance roller pair 3f passes through the discharge path 3g, and the discharge roller 3h faces down the recording surface to discharge the discharge section 6
Is discharged to.

On the other hand, in the case of double-sided printing, the flapper 3i swings, the recording medium 2 after single-sided printing is sent to the resending path 3j by the intermediate conveying roller pair 3f, and is stocked in the resending section 3m by the resending rollers 3k1 and 3k2. . At this time, the recording surface faces downward. When retransmitting, the flapper 3n swings, the recording medium 2 stocked in the retransmitting section 3m is conveyed to the registration roller pair 3e by the pickup roller 3o and the conveying roller pair 3p, and an image is recorded on the other surface. Is to be transported.

(Transfer Means) The transfer means 4 is for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 7 in the image forming section onto the recording medium 2. The transfer means 4 of this embodiment is as shown in FIG. , The transfer roller 4. That is, by pressing the recording medium 2 by the transfer roller 4 against the photosensitive drum 7 of the mounted process cartridge B, and applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 7 to the transfer roller 4, The toner on the photosensitive drum 7 is transferred to the recording medium 2.

(Fixing Means) Fixing Means 5 The Transfer Roller 4
The toner image transferred to the recording medium 2 is fixed by the voltage application. As shown in FIG. 1, the structure is composed of a driving roller 5a that is driven to rotate, and a fixing roller 5c that has a heater 5b inside and is driven to rotate by being pressed against the driving roller 5a. That is, when the recording medium 2 to which the toner image has been transferred in the image forming section passes between the driving roller 5a and the fixing roller 5c, pressure is applied by the pressing of both rollers 5a and 5c, and heat generation of the fixing roller 5c occurs. Heat is applied by the toner, and the toner on the recording medium 2 is fixed on the recording medium 2.

(Process Cartridge Mounting Unit) Inside the image forming apparatus A, a cartridge mounting unit for mounting the process cartridge B is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the process cartridge B is attached to and detached from the apparatus body 13 by opening the opening / closing member 14. That is,
An opening / closing member 14 that can be opened and closed by a hinge 14a is attached to the upper portion of the apparatus main body 13. When the opening / closing member 14 is opened, cartridge mounting guide members (not shown) are attached to the left and right inner side surfaces of the opening / closing member 14. A guide for inserting the process cartridge B is provided on the left and right guide members, and the process cartridge B is inserted into the image forming apparatus A by inserting the process cartridge B along the guide and closing the opening / closing member 14. I am trying.

{Process Cartridge} Next, the structure of each part of the process cartridge B mounted in the image forming apparatus A will be described.

The process cartridge B is provided with an image carrier and at least one process means. Here, the process means includes, for example, a charging means for charging the surface of the image carrier, a developing means for forming a toner image on the image carrier, and a cleaning means for cleaning the toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier. As shown in FIG. 2, in the process cartridge B of this embodiment, a charging unit 8, an exposing unit 9, a developing unit 10, and a cleaning unit 11 are arranged around an electrophotographic photosensitive drum 7 which is an image carrier. The toner container 12a, the developing frame 12b, and the cleaning container 12c are covered with a housing 12 to be integrated with each other, and are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 13.

Next, the structure of each part of the process cartridge B will be described in the order of the photosensitive drum, the charging means, the exposing part, the developing means, and the cleaning means.

(Photosensitive Drum) The photosensitive drum 7 according to this embodiment is constructed by coating an organic photosensitive layer on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical drum base made of aluminum. The photoconductor drum 7 is rotatably attached to the housing 12, and the driving force of a drive motor provided on the apparatus main body side is transmitted to a flange gear attached to one end of the drum 7 in the longitudinal direction. Is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 according to the image forming operation.

(Charging Means) The charging means is for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 7. In this embodiment, the charging roller 8 is rotatably attached to the cleaning container 12c, so-called contact. The charging method is used. The charging roller 8 has a metal roller shaft 8a provided with a conductive elastic layer, a high resistance elastic layer further provided thereon, and a protective film provided on the surface thereof. The conductive elastic layer is EPDM or N
An elastic rubber layer such as BR is formed by dispersing carbon, and has a function of guiding a bias voltage supplied to the roller shaft 8a. The elastic layer having a high resistance is made of urethane rubber or the like and contains a minute amount of conductive fine powder, and even when a charging roller having a high conductivity such as a pinhole of the photoconductor drum 7 faces each other, The leak current to the photosensitive drum 7 is limited to prevent the bias voltage from rapidly dropping. The protective layer is made of N-methylmethoxylated nylon so that the plastic material of the conductive elastic layer or the elastic layer of high resistance does not touch the photosensitive drum 7 and deteriorate the surface of the photosensitive drum 7. To work.

The charging roller 8 is connected to the photosensitive drum 7
When the image is formed, the charging roller 8 rotates following the rotation of the photoconductor drum 7. At this time, the DC voltage and the AC voltage are superimposed and applied to the charging roller 8 to apply the DC voltage to the photoconductor drum 7. Charge the surface uniformly.

(Exposure Unit) The exposure unit 9 exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 uniformly charged by the charging roller 8 with an optical image emitted from the optical system 1 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the drum 7. And an opening 9 for guiding the optical image is provided on the upper surface of the housing 12 to form an exposure section.

(Developing Means) As shown in FIG. 2, the developing means 10 has a toner accommodating portion 10a for accommodating toner, and the toner is reciprocally moved in the arrow direction to send the toner into the toner accommodating portion 10a. A feed member 10b is provided. Further, a developing sleeve 10d, which has a non-rotating magnet 10c inside and forms a thin toner layer on the surface by rotating, is provided at a minute distance from the photosensitive drum 7.

When a toner layer is formed on the surface of the developing sleeve 10d, friction between the toner and the developing sleeve 10d provides sufficient triboelectric charge to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 7. A developing blade 10e is provided to regulate the layer thickness of the toner.

(Cleaning Means) Cleaning Means 11
As shown in FIG. 2, the configuration of the cleaning blade 11a contacts the surface of the photoconductor drum 7 to scrape off the toner remaining on the drum 7 and the cleaning blade 11a for scooping off the scraped toner. Located below 11a,
And a squishy sheet that is in weak contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 7.
11b, a feeding member 11c for sending the scooped waste toner to the interior of the container, and a waste toner reservoir 11d for storing the waste toner.

{Photosensitive Drum Mounting Member} Next, a mounting member for rotatably supporting the photosensitive drum on the housing 12 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, a flange gear 7a is attached to one end of the cylindrical aluminum base of the photosensitive drum 7. The flange gear 7a is formed by injection-molding an insulating plastic resin such as a polycarbonate resin or a polyacetal resin, and is fixed to the end of the drum base body by forced press fitting or by an adhesive. The support member 15 is fitted in a fitting hole 7b provided in the flange gear 7a to rotatably support the photosensitive drum 7.

As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting member 15 has a first conductive member 15b protruding from one side surface of the base 15a.
And a second conductive member protruding from the other side surface of the base 15a
With 15c. Further, an extending portion 15d extending from the base 15a is integrally formed of a conductive material, and a plastic cylindrical member 15e is attached to the second conductive member 15c.

The first conductive member 15b serves as a contact terminal for grounding the photosensitive drum 7, and when the process cartridge B is attached to the apparatus main body 13, the first conductive member 15b is attached to the apparatus main body. Touch the grounding terminal 13 (not shown).

On the other hand, the second conductive member 15c is fitted in the fitting hole 7b of the flange gear 7a, and the photosensitive drum 7
Is rotatably supported, and as shown in FIG.
A base portion 15c1 fitted into the fitting hole 12c1 of the cleaning container 12c
And a shaft portion 15c2 fitted in the fitting hole 7b of the flange gear 7a.
Is integrally formed via the step portion 15c3, and the tip of the shaft portion 15c2 is formed in a tapered shape so that it can be easily fitted into the fitting hole 7b.

The second conductive member 15c is the flange gear 7
When it is inserted into the insertion hole 7b of a, the tip thereof comes into contact with the contact 7c (see FIG. 4) provided inside the photosensitive drum 7, and the photosensitive member is exposed through the second conductive member 15c and the first conductive member 15b. The body drum 7 is grounded to the apparatus body 13. Therefore, the first conductive member 15b and the second conductive member 15c are made of a conductive material,
For example, the surface is made of nickel chrome plated iron, stainless steel, brass, aluminum or the like. In this embodiment, the base 15a and the extension 15d are also integrally formed with the first and second conductive members 15b and 15c.

Next, the plastic cylindrical member 15e is made of a material having a high slidability with the flange gear 7a, for example, polyacetal, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate or the like, and the shaft portion 15c2 of the second conductive member 15c is outsert. The cylindrical member 15e, which is molded or formed in a ring shape, is press-fitted or adhered to the shaft portion 15c2. When the shaft portion 15c2 is fitted into the fitting hole 7b of the flange gear 7a, the cylindrical member 15e contacts the inner peripheral surface of the fitting hole 7b to support the photosensitive drum 7. Therefore, when the process cartridge B is mounted and an image is formed, the flange gear 7a slides on the plastic cylindrical member 15e of the mounting member 15, so that the slidability is improved. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, the plastic flange gear 7a does not slide and scrape with the metal shaft, and the occurrence of noise is prevented.

Further, since the cylindrical member 15e is an insulator, it also has an effect of preventing the ground current from flowing into another path such as the flange gear 7a.

The dimensions of each part of the mounting member 15 in this embodiment will be shown with reference to FIG. 6A is a front view of the mounting member 15 viewed from the second conductive member 15c side,
(B) is a cross-sectional plan view thereof.

The diameter D _{1 of} the first conductive member 15b is about 8 mm, the protruding length L _{1 of} the first conductive member 15b from the base body 15a is about 12 mm, and the diameter D ₂ of the base of the second conductive member 15c is about 12 mm. Shaft portion diameter D ₃ of the second conductive member 15c is about 10 mm, protruding length L _{2 of} the second conductive member 15c from the base body 15a is about 25 mm, base body screw hole 15a1 has a diameter D _{4 of} about 4 mm, and extension portion screw hole 15d1 has a diameter D _{5 of} about 4 mm, and long hole 15d2 has a hole diameter D _{6 of} about 4 mm. To mount the photosensitive drum 7 on the cleaning frame 12c by the mounting member 15, as shown in FIG. 15c2 is fitted into the fitting hole 7b of the flange gear 7a attached to the photosensitive drum 7 through the shaft hole 12c1 of the cleaning container 12c. At this time, the tip of the shaft portion 15c2 comes into contact with the ground contact 7c in the photosensitive drum 7. And extension
The elongated hole 15d2 provided in 15d is fitted to the positioning boss 12c2 of the cleaning container 12c, and the screw 16 is screwed to the cleaning container 12c through the screw holes 15a1 and 15d1 provided in the base 15a and the extending portion 15d, respectively. To attach the mounting member 15 to the cleaning container 12c.

Similarly, on the other end side of the photosensitive drum 7 in the longitudinal direction, the shaft portion of the mounting member is inserted and supported in the fitting hole of the flange member mounted on the drum end portion. At this time, the mounting member 15 may be similarly supported,
The plastic cylindrical member 15e does not necessarily have to be provided on the mounting member that supports the other end side.

{Sealing member attached to toner container}
Next, the sealing member attached to the toner storage container 12a will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the toner storage container 12a has an opening 12a1 through which the toner stored in the container is supplied to the developing sleeve. However, when the process cartridge B is in the unused state, if the opening 12a1 is opened, the toner in the container may be spilled or become damp when the process cartridge B is transported or stored. Therefore, the opening 12a1 is sealed in an unused state, and a sealing member S for opening at the start of use is attached to the opening.

The sealing member S comprises a tear seal member 17 formed integrally with a cover film 17a which is a cover member by welding a tear tape 17b which is a flexible member.
It is attached to the opening regulating member 18 by welding or the like, and the opening regulating member 18 is attached to the opening 12 of the toner storage container 12a.
The opening 12a1 is sealed by attaching it to a1.

Next, with respect to the sealing member S, a cover film, a tear tape, an integration of the cover film and the tear tape, an opening regulating member, attachment of a sealing member to the opening regulating member, size of each portion of the sealing member, toner container. The description will be made in the order of attaching the sealing member to the.

(Cover Film) The cover film 17
As shown in FIG. 8A, a includes a base material 17a1 and a sealant layer 17a2.

As the material of the base material 17a1, it is possible to use a uniaxially stretched film material or sheet material capable of sufficiently maintaining the airtightness of the container opening portion and having tearability in one direction, For example, uniaxially stretched polyethylene, uniaxially stretched polypropylene, uniaxially stretched polypropylene, etc. are used.

By using such a film, not only the force required for tearing the cover film 17a can be reduced, but also the width of the toner opening formed by tearing can be made uniform.

As the base material 17a1 which has vertical tear stability and a certain degree of film strength, a film thickness of about 120 μm to 140 μm and an average specific gravity of 0.6 g / cc
A stretched expanded polypropylene film of about 0.9 g / cc is preferably used.

On the other hand, for the sealant layer 17a2, a polyethylene sealant is preferably used so that the sealant layer 17a2 can be welded to the sealant layer of the tear tape 17b described later by heat sealing (heat welding). Heat sealing with an ionomer resin may be used, or impulse sealing or high frequency welding may be used if an appropriate material is selected. When a polyethylene-based sealant containing an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer of several% to several tens% is used as the sealant layer 17a2, it is preferable to set the film thickness to about 10 μm to 30 μm in consideration of adhesive strength. It is more preferable that the film thickness is about 15 μm to 25 μm.

(Tear Tape) Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the tear tape 17b comprises a base material 17b1 and a sealant layer 17b2 provided on the front and back sides thereof.

The material of the base material 17b1 is the cover film 17 described above.
It is necessary to have sufficient strength to tear a, and it is desirable to have a tensile strength about three times that of the cover film 17a. As the material, for example, various film materials such as biaxially oriented polyester, biaxially oriented polypropylene, polystyrene, biaxially oriented nylon, etc., or sheet materials are preferably used, and in particular, biaxially oriented polyester having a film thickness of about 20 μm to 40 μm. A film is preferably used.

The sealant layer 17b2 is made of the same material as the sealant layer 17a2 of the cover film 17a. However, when the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b are unitized, the sealant layer 17a2 and the sealant layer 17b2 are heated. When welding, it is desirable to use the same material as possible so that both are melted and adhered. When a polyethylene-based sealant containing an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer of several percent to several tens of percent is used as the sealant layer 17b2, the adhesive strength is taken into consideration in the range of about 20 μm to 40 μm.
The film thickness is preferably about m, and more preferably about 25.
It is desirable to set the film thickness to about μm to 35 μm.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, a tear tape 17b in which a sealant layer 12b2 is provided only on one surface of the base material 17b1 may be used.

As the tear tape 17b, as shown in FIG. 9, a nylon layer N effective as a cushion layer at the time of heat sealing may be provided between the base material 17b1 and the sealant layer 17b2. This nylon layer N has a thickness of approximately 10 μm to 20
A film thickness of about μm is preferable, and more preferably about 13 μm
A film thickness of about 17 μm is desirable.

In this embodiment, the cover film 17a shown in FIG. 8 (a) and the tear tape 17b shown in FIG. 8 (c) are integrally welded by heat sealing as shown in FIG. The seal member 17 is formed by unitizing. At this time, one end of the tear tape 17b in the longitudinal direction is longer than the cover film 17a and is a free end. This free end portion serves as a handle when tearing the cover film 17a.

(Integration of cover film and tear tape)
Here, when the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b are integrated by thermocompression bonding, the base material 17 of the cover film 17a is used.
When the heat shrinkage rate of a1 is high, the seal member 17 is curled by thermocompression bonding as shown in FIG.
Cannot be accurately attached to a predetermined portion of the opening regulating member 18. Therefore, in order to suppress the curl amount, the heat shrinkage ratio of the base material 17a1 of the cover film 17a is about 1% to 10% in the stretching direction and about 0.1% to 3% in the non-stretching direction. It is preferable.

The heat shrinkage is a result obtained by putting the seal member 17 in a gear type hot air oven at 120 ° C. for 15 minutes and then measuring the heat shrinkage.

By the way, when the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b are integrated, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 11, a sealing portion (shaded portion) to the opening of the sealing member 17 is formed.
The entire surface of the portion (mesh portion) S2 where the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b overlap, excluding S1, was sealed,
At the time of this seal, the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b
Since the heat shrinkage rates of the respective film bases are different, the seal member 17 after sealing is greatly curled in the longitudinal direction and the width direction as shown in FIG.

Regarding this curl amount, as shown in FIG.
In particular, there is no problem if the curl amount k1 in the width direction is about 2 to 3 mm.
It is difficult to position the opening in the seal during the sealing work, and the seal misalignment often occurs.

Regarding the above problem, according to the research by the present inventor, as shown in FIG. 14, if only the seal pattern S3, which is the outer peripheral portion of the conventional seal portion S2, is sealed, the curl can be obtained without impairing the tearability. It has been revealed that it is possible to create a seal member 17 that has few.

The seal width W1 of the seal pattern S3 is preferably about 2 mm to 7 mm, and particularly with respect to the two short sides of the seal pattern S3, the tearability is deteriorated unless the tear seal member 17 is securely integrated. In the worst case, there is a concern that the cover film 17a may be fluffed, so
Particularly, in the case of a toner storage container having an opening width of 20 mm or more, the seal width W1 on the two short sides needs to be about 5 mm to 7 mm.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the seal pattern S3
You can make only the two long sides of the intermittent, or as shown in Fig. 16,
Of the seal pattern S3, the short portion corresponding to the pulling end portion of the tear tape 17b may be U-shaped with the unsealed portion.

However, as shown in FIG. 17, when only the inner peripheral portion (mesh portion) S4 of the conventional sealing portion (S2 in FIG. 11) is sealed, curling can be relaxed to some extent,
Since the short portion at the beginning of tearing is not sealed, the tearability is poor and the occurrence of fluffing of the cover film 17a becomes a problem, which is not preferable.

(Opening Restricting Member) The sealing member 17 is attached to the opening of the opening restricting member 18 shown in FIG. The opening restricting member 18 is provided from the toner container 12a to the developing sleeve.
The opening width is regulated when the toner is supplied to 10d. The opening regulating member 18 has a thickness of about 0.3 mm to 2 mm.
Polyester plate, polystyrene plate, nylon plate,
A plastic plate such as an ABS plate is formed into a sheet and then the opening 18a is hollowed out, or is formed into a frame shape by a normal molding. The opening regulating member 18
Is the flange 12 provided at the opening 12a1 of the toner container.
Since it is attached to a2 by ultrasonic welding, etc.
It is easier to weld the same material as a. Therefore, for example, when the container 12a is made of polystyrene, it is desirable that the opening regulating member 18 is also a polystyrene plate.

As the material of the toner container 12a,
It is desirable to use impact-resistant polystyrene with reduced butadiene rubber, etc. so that the product will not crack or break under the physical conditions of drop or impact as a product. It is more desirable to add a bromine-based or phosphorus-based flame retardant so that it is difficult to ignite by a power source or a heat fixing device.

The above-mentioned seal member 17 is attached to the opening 18a of the opening regulating member 18 by welding or the like to seal the opening 18a. As shown in FIG. 18, when sealing is performed by thermocompression bonding, an easy-adhesion treatment such as a corona discharge treatment is performed if necessary.

As the sealing conditions, the seal bar 19a of the horn 19 has a temperature of about 110 ° C to 130 ° C and a pressure of about 1.5 kgf / cm ² ~.
Sealing is performed by thermocompression bonding at 5 kgf / cm ² for about 1 to 3 seconds. In this case, the cover film of the seal member 17
Short overlapped part 17c where 17a and tear tape 17b overlap
Is thicker than the tear tape 17b, so the seal bar
A concave portion 19a1 having the above thickness is provided in the portion of 19a.
In the case of thermocompression bonding with the seal bar 19a, the opening regulating member 18 and the seal bar 19a must be pressed in parallel and evenly. If it is not uniform, extra stress is applied to the seal surface 17d of the seal member 17, and when the process cartridge B is impacted or dropped, a film tear is caused from the inner edge 17d1 portion of the seal surface 17d, and The toner in the storage container 12a may leak from the broken portion.

Here, as shown in FIG. 19, the aperture regulating member
About 50% of the area where the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b overlap (the mesh portion in FIG. 19) with respect to the portion (shaded portion in FIG. 19) excluding the sealing surface 17d of the cover film 17a that seals the opening 18a of 18 is It is preferably about 99%, more preferably about 70% to 90%. The reason is that the cover film 17 does not respond to the internal pressure during the distribution of the toner stored in the toner storage container 12a.
This is because the larger the area of the portion where a and the tear tape 17b overlap with each other, the lighter the load on the edge portion covered only by the cover film 17a and the more reliably toner leakage due to peeling of the seal can be prevented.

In order to effectively prevent the peeling of the seal, the length of the tear tape 17b in the widthwise direction is about 0.5 mm to 2 mm less than the length of the opening 18a of the opening regulating member 18 in the widthwise direction.
It is desirable to make it wider by about mm. The reason is that the seal surface of the cover film 17a is protected against drop impact and pressure resistance during distribution.
This is because the pressure directly applied to 17d is relaxed.

(Attachment of Seal Member to Opening Limiting Member) Here, the construction of attaching the seal member 17 to the opening limiting member 18 will be described. In this embodiment, the seal member 17
By heat-sealing with the opening regulating member 18, the opening 18a is sealed.

The seal pattern for heat welding is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the portions corresponding to the front end portion and the rear end portion from which the tear tape 17b is pulled out, that is, the portion corresponding to the short side direction of the opening 18a (hereinafter referred to as "short side seal pattern").
P2 to the part corresponding to the middle part, that is, the part corresponding to the longitudinal direction (hereinafter referred to as "longitudinal seal pattern") P1,
Considering the filling amount of the toner to be contained and the length (opening width) Y ₂ of the opening regulating member 18 in the lateral direction of the opening, the toner is made as narrow as possible to the extent that it does not leak out of the container 12a due to a drop, impact, or the like. . The short side seal pattern P2 has a mountain shape with an apex angle θ.

In the longitudinal seal pattern P1, the outer margin and the inner margin of the heat welding of the seal member 17 are about 1 mm with respect to the width Y ₅ of the longitudinal flange portion in consideration of the seal deviation.
~ 2mm. The seal width T1 of the longitudinal seal pattern is preferably about 2 mm to 5 mm, especially the opening 18a.
When the length Y ₁ in the short-side direction is as wide as about 20 mm to 100 mm, about 3 mm to 5 mm is desirable.

On the other hand, the short side seal pattern P2 has an opening regulation.
Width Y of the short side flange of member 18 ₆In contrast, without seal
Taking this into consideration, the outer margin of heat welding of the seal member 17, that is, the opening
Distance difference Y with the end of the regulation member 18 in the longitudinal direction₇About 1.0 mm
~ 3.0mm, the seal width T2 is about 1.5mm ~ 3.5
mm is preferred. In particular, the length Y in the widthwise direction of the opening 18a₂Is 20
If the width is longer than mm, the seal width T2 should be about 2.0.
It is desirable to set it to about mm to 3.5 mm.

As described above, even if the seal width T2 of the short side seal pattern P2 is narrower than the seal width T1 of the long side seal pattern P1, sufficient pressure resistance is obtained. In other words, drop, if the same force against an impact is applied uniformly in the longitudinal and transverse seal pattern P1, P2, for the lateral direction length Y ₂ of the opening 18a is shorter than the longitudinal length Y ₁ Normally, the bulge is larger in the longitudinal direction, and as the pressure resistance, the force applied to the short seal pattern P2 is smaller than that to the longitudinal seal pattern P1. Therefore, the short side seal pattern width T2 is the long side seal pattern width.
It has sufficient pressure resistance even if it is narrower than T1.

When the developing frame body 12b is combined with the toner storage container 12a to which the opening regulating member 18 is attached by ultrasonic welding or the like, the portion of the short side seal pattern P2 is provided on the developing frame body 12b side. Since it is pressed by the end seal member 21 (see FIG. 23) made of foamed polyurethane or the like, it is narrower than the longitudinal seal pattern width T1 (about 1 mm to 2 mm).
Approximately) Seal width T2 is sufficient.

The seal member 17 heat-sealed by the seal pattern is opened by pulling the tear tape 17b. The seal peeling point which the operator feels to be the heaviest at the time of opening is the maximum seal width T shown in FIG. 20 (b). Proportional to. That is, if the maximum seal width T is long, the unsealing strength becomes large, and if it is short, the unsealing strength becomes small. And the apex angle θ
The maximum seal width T in the case of the chevron shape is: T = 2 × {T2 / Cos (θ / 2)} (1)

Therefore, the unsealing strength is the short side seal pattern P2.
Will be proportional to the seal width T2 of. From this fact, when the short-side seal pattern P2 is not in the shape of a mountain as in the present embodiment but in the shape of a straight frame as shown in FIG. 21, the seal width G and the maximum seal width T are the same length. And the opening 18a
If the seal width G that can be designed is constant from the length Y ₂ in the short side direction, the unsealing strength becomes maximum.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 22 (a) and 22 (b), even if the short side seal pattern P2 has a chevron shape, when the short side seal pattern width T2 is the same as the long side seal pattern width T1. Is (T1 = T2), as is clear from the equation (1),
Maximum seal width T compared to the case of T1> T2 as in this embodiment
Grows larger.

That is, the unsealing strength of the seal member 17 is minimized by forming the short-sided seal pattern P2 into a chevron shape and making the seal width T2 smaller than the long-side seal pattern width T1 as in this embodiment. It is possible to realize a large reduction in opening strength.

From the above equation (1), if the apex angle θ of the chevron shape is reduced, the unsealing strength is reduced.
When the acute angle is smaller than 90 degrees, the toner in the toner storage container 12a enters between the seal member 17 and the opening regulating member 18 in the mountain portion, and the entered toner is scattered when the seal member 17 is opened. It may happen.
Further, when the angle θ is smaller than 90 degrees, the toner container 12a or the process cartridge B in which the toner container 12a is assembled is formed.
When the product is dropped or given a shock, the seal near the tip of the chevron (the shaded area in Fig. 20 (b)) is liable to loosen, and a pressure resistance load is applied to cause toner leakage. May occur.

Therefore, although the short side seal pattern P2 is formed in a mountain shape, by making the apex angle of 90 degrees or more, it is possible to prevent the toner scattering at the time of opening as described above and to withstand the pressure of the seal member 17. The strength can be prevented from lowering, and the opening strength can be further lowered. In this case, the apex angle θ of the preferred chevron shape is 90 ° to 170 °, and more preferably 130 ° to 170 °. And the width Y ₆ in the lateral direction of the opening regulating member 18 is preferably 3 mm to 12 mm,
More preferably, it is 5 mm to 12 mm.

(Size of Each Part of Sealing Member) The dimensions of each member of the sealing member S according to this embodiment are as follows (see FIG. 7).

The longitudinal length of the cover film 17a is approximately 237 mm, the lateral length of the cover film 17a is approximately 51.5 mm, the longitudinal length of the tear tape 17b is approximately 574 mm, and the lateral length of the tear tape 17b is approximately 38.5 mm. The length Y ₁ of the opening 18a of the opening restricting member 18 is about 220 mm, the length Y ₂ of the opening 18a of the opening restricting member 18 is about 36.5 mm, and the length Y _{3 of the} opening restricting member 18 is about 3 mm. 278.5 mm, the lateral direction length Y ₄ about 77.5mm of the opening limiting member 18, the longitudinal width Y ₅ to about 15 mm, the breadth Y ₆ about 11mm of the opening limiting the width 18 of the opening limiting member 18, the longitudinal seal pattern width T1 approx. 3.5 mm, short side seal pattern width T2 approx. 2 mm, chevron-shaped apex angle θ approx. 160 degrees, opening 12a1 of toner container 12a in longitudinal direction X ₁ approx. 221.5 mm, opening 12a1 of toner container 12a Short side length X _{2 of} about 63.5 mm, (attachment of sealing member) It is attached to the flange 12a2 of the toner container 12a to seal the toner container 12a. For this attachment, first, in the toner container 12a, the toner feeding member 10b
As shown in FIG. 7, a tool (not shown) is inserted into the positioning hole 18b provided at the end of the opening regulating member 18 and the positioning hole 12a3 of the toner storage container 12a to insert both holes. The opening regulating member 18 is positioned on the container flange 12a2 by aligning 18b and 12a3, and ultrasonic welding or the like is performed in the positioned state to completely weld the two. As a result, the toner storage device is assembled.

{Developing Frame} Next, the developing frame 12b shown in FIG. 23 is combined with the toner container 12a. The developing frame 12b is provided with developing means such as a developing sleeve 10d and a developing blade 10e. Development blade 10
An antenna wire 12b4, which serves as an electrode for detecting a change in the remaining toner amount as a change in electrostatic capacity, is fixed to the toner feed port of e. This antenna wire 12b4 is the developing frame 12b
The fixing member 12b5 is fixed to the groove by fixing the fixing member 12b5 with an adhesive and the end 12b6 is exposed to the outside as an electrode portion. Further, a toner stirring rod 12b7 is attached near the antenna wire. The toner stirring rod 12b7 rotatably supports both ends of a wire bent in a U shape, and transmits the driving force to a gear (not shown) fixed to one end of the stirring rod 12b7 to rotate the stirring rod 12b7. From the toner feed opening to the developing sleeve 10
The toner sent to d is agitated.

The developing frame 12b is provided with members 22a, 22b for regulating the pulling direction of the end seal member 21 and the tear tape 17b at predetermined positions.

Next, the developing frame 12b will be described in the order of the combination of the toner storage container and the developing frame, the end seal member, the tear tape pull-out direction regulating member, and the end seal member curl prevention structure.

(Incorporation of Toner Storage Container and Developing Frame, etc.) In order to integrate the development frame 12b with the toner storage container 12a, first, the sealing member S is attached and the tear tape 17b is folded back to form a positioning hole for the toner storage container 12a. 12
A tool (not shown) is inserted into the positioning hole 12b1 provided in the a3 and the developing frame 12b so that the holes 12a3 and 12b1 are aligned with each other to position the developing frame 12b in the container 12a. Open the frame 12b with the aperture control member 18
And the developing frame 12b, the sealing member S, and the toner storage container 12a are integrated.

In order to position the toner container 12a and the developing frame 12b when they are combined, as shown in FIG. 23, positioning bosses 12b2 are provided on both sides of the developing frame 12b in the longitudinal direction. 12a has the boss 12b2
Is provided with a hole 12a5. Also in FIG. 23, 12
Reference numeral b3 is a wall provided on one side in the longitudinal direction of the developing frame 12b for attaching a drive unit for driving the toner feeding member and the like, and 18d is a positioning hole for attaching the opening regulating member 18 to the toner container 12a. Is. Further, the ear portion provided with the positioning holes 12a3, 12b1, 18b used for positioning the developing frame 12b and the like is cut off because it is unnecessary after the three members are integrated.

As described above, toner is put into the toner storage container 12a to which the developing frame 12b is attached from an unillustrated toner input port, the input port is closed, and the photosensitive drum 7 and the like are further incorporated to form the process cartridge B. assemble. The process cartridge B is shipped as a product. When the product is shipped, a load is applied to the seal member 17 as shown in FIG. 24 due to the drop or impact of the cartridge during distribution, pressure resistance, etc., and as shown in FIG. So that the sealing surface 17
A tear 20 or the like may occur at the inner edge 17d1 portion of d. This is because the cover film 17a is uniaxially stretched,
This is because, as described above, the stress direction at the time of thermocompression bonding by the seal bar 19a and the warp direction are in agreement with each other, and thus the breakage easily occurs in the non-stretching direction.

Therefore, the breaking strength of the base material 17a1 of the cover film 17a is important in order to prevent the occurrence of the breakage. This breaking strength is approximately 1.0 kgf / mm in the non-stretching direction.
It is preferable to use the one having 3.0 kgf / mm, more preferably about 1.3 kgf / mm to 3.0 kgf / mm. Further, the film thickness of the base material 17a1 of the cover film 17a is about
It is preferable to use those having a thickness of 130 μm to 150 μm.

(End Sealing Member) In the process cartridge B, the tear tape 17b is pulled out and the sealing member S is unsealed for use. However, the toner is not discharged from between the toner container 12a and the developing frame 12b. In order to prevent leakage, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 26, the developing frame 12
End seal members 21 made of foamed polyurethane, foamed polyethylene, foamed polypropylene or the like are attached to both ends of the back surface of b in the longitudinal direction.

The end seal member 21 is usually about 2 mm to 5 mm.
It has a thickness of about mm and is compressed to a thickness of about 1/2 to 1/3 after the developing frame 12b is combined with the toner storage container 12a, thereby preventing toner leakage after opening. .

When the end seal member 21 is provided, the end tape seal member 21 is used to open the tear tape.
Not only a great force is required to pull out 17b, but also the tear end of the cover film 17a is rubbed against the end seal member 21 and becomes liable to stand up. The cause of this fluffing is that if the sealant layer 17a2 of the cover film 17a is not completely melt-bonded, the cover film 17a will be torn about 2 mm to 3 mm wider than the tear width of the tear tape 17b. Therefore, the cover film
It is desirable that the sealant layer 17a2 completely welds 17a and the tear tape 17b.

When a tear tape 17b having a sealant layer 17b2 on both sides of a base material 17b1 as shown in FIG. 8B is used, the sealant layer 17a of the cover film 17a is used.
In order to completely melt and weld a and the sealant layer 17b2 of the tear tape 17b, it is desirable that both sealant layers 17a2 and 17b2 are made of the same material as much as possible.

When the toner container 12a and the developing device frame 12b are united, the end seal member 21 has the folded end of the tear tape 17b and the end of the cover film 17a in the longitudinal direction as shown by the diagonal lines in FIG. Is pressed. The reason is as follows.

By folding back the tear tape 17b, when the tape 17b is pulled out, the cover film 17a is torn and opened from the folding side end (hereinafter referred to as "tear end") side. At this time, tear tape 17b
If the width is narrow, there is no problem, but the opening 18
When the width a becomes wider and the tear tape 17b becomes wider accordingly, the overlapping width of the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b in the short side seal pattern P2 (see FIG. 20) becomes wider. Therefore, when the tear tape 17b is pulled out, the force of being dragged by the tear tape 17b and peeling the cover film 17a from the opening regulating member 18 is greater than the force of adhering the cover film 17a to the opening regulating member 18 (adhesive force by the short side seal pattern P2) Also grows. In this case, the tear tape 17b is pulled out before the cover film 17a is torn, and the tear end of the cover film 17a is flipped up and peeled off from the opening regulating member 18, so that an extremely large force is required to pull out the tear tape 17b. .

At this time, if the tear end of the cover film 17a is held by the end seal member 21 as in the present embodiment, the tear end does not turn up when the tear tape 17b is pulled out, and the cover film is not pulled up. 17
a will surely be torn.

Here, if the pressing force of the end seal member 21 at the tear end of the cover film 17a is too small, the cover film 17a is not prevented from being turned over, and if too large, the tear strength of the tear tape 17a is increased. Therefore, the pressing force is preferably set to about 1.0 kgf to 3.0 kgf, more preferably 1.2 kgf to 2.0 kgf.
It is better to set it to a level.

Therefore, for example, when the end seal member 21 made of foamed polyurethane, foamed polyethylene, foamed polypropylene or the like is used, the distance between the opening regulating member 18 attached to the toner container 12a and the developing frame 12b is small. In the case of 1 mm to 2 mm, the end seal member 21 having a thickness of 2 mm to 5 mm may be compressed to a thickness of about 1/2 to 1/3.

In this embodiment, the distance between the opening regulating member 18 attached to the toner storage container 12a and the developing device frame 12b is 1 mm.
2mm thick polyurethane foam end seals
By attaching 21 and compressing it to a thickness of about 1/2, the tear end of the cover film 17a is pressed with a force of about 1.5 kgf.

(Tear tape pull-out direction regulating member) When pulling out the tear tape 17b, if the pull-out direction of the tape 17b is not good, not only the unsealing strength is greatly increased, but in the worst case, the tear tape 17b is caught and is in the middle. There is a risk that troubles will occur where you cannot pull out.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 27, at the longitudinal end of the developing frame 12b,
On the pull-out side of the tear tape 17b, bosses 22a and 22b as pull-out restricting members are provided at intervals slightly wider than the width of the tear tape 17b. The bosses 22a and 22b are holes provided in the opening regulating member 18 and the toner storage container 12a when the developing frame 12b is combined with the toner storage container 12a.
It is fitted in 18c and 12a4. In this embodiment, the boss 22 is inserted.
The distance between a and 22b is set to about 41.5 mm so that each boss is located about 1 mm to 3 mm away from the end of the tear tape 17b in the short side direction.

By providing the bosses 22a and 22b on both sides of the tear tape 17b in the pull-out direction, as shown in FIG. 27, when the tear tape 17b is pulled out obliquely, the boss 22a is pulled out. , 22b is tear tape
Since the end portion of the short side 17b is guided, the tear tape 17b can be smoothly pulled out in an appropriate opening direction. Further, when the tear tape 17b is pulled obliquely, there is a resistance that the tape 17b rubs the bosses 22a and 22b, and the user can know that the tear tape 17b is not pulled in an appropriate direction.

In this embodiment, the developing frame 12b is provided with a boss.
22a and 22b are provided and the hole 12a4 is provided in the toner storage container 12a. Conversely, the same effect can be obtained by providing a boss in the toner storage container 12a and providing a hole into which the boss fits in the developing frame 12b. .

(Seal member flip-up prevention structure) Although the pull-out direction of the tear tape 17b is regulated as described above, the end seal member 21 may be turned up when the tear tape 17b is pulled out. When this end seal member 21 is turned up, it is usually 5 to pull out the tear tape 17b.
What is about kg will rise significantly to about 7 to 8 kg. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, a convex portion 23 is provided on the end seal member 21 on the pull-out side of the tear tape 17b to prevent the end seal 21 from being turned up.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 26, the convex portion 23 is constructed so as to contact the end portion of the end seal member 21 on the upstream side in the tear tape pull-out direction. In this embodiment, as the convex portion 23, the height H shown in FIG. 26 is about 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm,
The width W is approximately 3 mm to 5 mm and is integrally formed with the developing frame 12b (or a polystyrene member having the above shape may be attached to the developing frame 12b). The end seal 21 is attached to the end of the convex portion 23 so that the end of the end seal member 21 on the upstream side in the tear tape withdrawing direction abuts. Incidentally, the length of the convex portion 23 in the width direction of the tear tape 17b (the front-back direction of the paper surface in FIG. 26) is the tear tape 17b.
It is desirable that the width is longer than the width of the tear tape 17b, but the width is not necessarily larger than the width of the tear tape 17b, and may be intermittent.

Incidentally, it is desirable that the corner portions of the convex portion 23 are formed in a so-called R portion in a curved shape in order to reduce the pull-out resistance of the tear tape 17b.

By providing the convex portion 23 as described above,
As shown in FIG. 26, when the tear tape 17b is pulled out in the direction of the arrow, the convex portion 23 is in contact with the end portion of the seal member 21, so that the seal member 21 is prevented from being pulled up by the tear tape 17b. . Therefore, the tear tape 17b
It is possible to maintain stable drawing operability without increasing the drawing strength.

Although the convex portion 23 may be formed integrally with the developing frame 12b as described above,
You may make it comprised with 12b and another member.

Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiments, an example in which the opening regulating member 18 for regulating the opening area of the toner storage container 12a is attached, and the sealing member 17 is attached to the opening regulating member 18 is shown. However, the sealing member according to the present invention does not necessarily need to be provided with the opening regulating member 18, and the sealing member 17 may be directly attached to the opening of the toner storage portion.

Further, in the seal member 17 as well, in the above-described embodiment, the cover film 17a, which is a cover member, and the tear tape 17b, which is a flexible member, are integrally configured to form the tear tape 17b.
Although the cover film 17a is torn by the above example, the seal member may be formed by a so-called easy peel film which is a peel seal member.

Here, a case where an easy peel film is used as the seal member 17 will be described. The easy peel film is preferably composed of, for example, a first base material, a second base material, a cushion layer, and a sealant layer, but is not particularly limited thereto.

A stretched polypropylene film or the like has been conventionally used as the first substrate, but a biaxially stretched polyester film having a stronger film strength is used because defects such as film breakage occur.

As the second base material, a nylon layer was conventionally used so as to give the film elongation strength (high toughness). However, since nylon is very likely to absorb moisture, the first base material is likely to curl. A biaxially stretched polyester film is preferably used similarly to the above.

Further, the second base material may be printed with an arrow or the like so as to accurately instruct the operator of the opening direction of the toner storage container and the like.

Further, when it is not necessary to perform printing as described above, the first base material and the second base material may be used as a single-layer base material. When the base material is a single layer, the seal adhesion is better and the printing is clearer.

In this case, a biaxially stretched polyester film having a total thickness of the first base material and the second base material is used.

After printing the second base material, the first base material and the second base material are laminated to form a single base material.

If the interlaminar adhesive force between the first base material and the second base material adhered by this laminating treatment is not stronger than the adhesive strength between the sealant layer and the toner storage container, the first base material will be opened. Since the base material and the second base material are separated from each other, a very strong adhesion method (for example, a polyester adhesive using a binder similar to that of the film base material is used) is used.

Further, in this laminating process, wrinkles are prevented from entering the first base material and the second base material, and bubbles and the like are prevented from entering the laminating portion.

As the cushion layer, a polyethylene layer is used, but one having a low molecular weight of about 10,000 is preferably used in order to increase the cushion effect at the time of heat sealing.

As the sealant layer, for example, enlen-
A vinyl acetate copolymer-based sealant is used, but it is preferable to use a mixture of about 1% by weight to 20% by weight of a vinyl acetate copolymer.

To the sealant layer, a tackifier, a slip agent and the like are added to adjust the easy peel property in a well-balanced manner. The function of this easy peel is JI
As specified in S, when peeled off at a pulling speed of 15 mm width and 30 mm, it will be about 1 kg / 15 mm to 3 kg / 15 mm, but this is mainly for reducing the sealing pressure on a flat plate such as polystyrene as much as possible. Sealed seal film 1
It is the value when peeling in the direction of 80 degrees.

Depending on how much the cushion layer and the sealant layer are actually crushed by the heat sealing condition with the toner storage container, or how much the sealing surface of the toner storage container is deformed (pushed) by the heat and pressure of the heat seal. , The adhesive force of the seal and the opening force change.

The thickness of each layer of the above-described easy peel film having a four-layer structure is 10 μm to 30 μm for the first base material and 10 μm for the second base material in view of the balance between the seal adhesive force and the unsealing force.
m-30 μm, cushion layer 10 μm-30 μm, and sealant layer 30 μm-50 μm are preferably used, more preferably the first substrate is 10 μm-20 μm, and the second substrate is 20 μm.
˜30 μm, cushion layer 20 μm to 30 μm, and sealant layer 40 μm to 50 μm.

As a method for producing the above-mentioned easy peel film, for example, after laminating the first base material and the second base material, the base material layer and the sealant layer are adhered to each other by the melted cushion layer, and then cooled. Then, it is wound and created.

The opening may be closed by the easy peel film as described above.

The process cartridge B according to the present invention
Not only when forming a single color image as described above,
By providing a plurality of developing means, a multi-color image (for example, a two-color image,
It can also be suitably applied to a cartridge that forms a three-color image or full-color image.

In the first embodiment described above, an example in which an organic semiconductor (OPC) is used as the photosensitive layer of the image carrier is shown, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, amorphous silicon (A-Si) is used. ), Selenium (Se), zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium sulfide (CdS), or the like. Further, the shape of the image carrier is not limited to the drum shape, and it goes without saying that it may be, for example, a belt shape.

As the developing method, various known developing methods such as a two-component magnetic brush developing method, a cascade developing method, a touchdown developing method and a cloud developing method can be used.

As for the constitution of the charging means, the so-called contact charging method was used in the above-mentioned first embodiment, but a tungsten wire which has been conventionally used as another constitution is provided with a metal shield such as aluminum around three sides. It goes without saying that a configuration may be used in which positive or negative ions generated by applying a high voltage to the tungsten wire are moved to the surface of the photosensitive drum to uniformly charge the surface of the drum.

The charging means may be of a blade type (charging blade), a pad type, a block type, a rod type, a wire type or the like, other than the roller type.

Further, as a method for cleaning the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum, the cleaning means may be constituted by using a blade, a fur brush, a magnetic brush or the like.

Further, the above-mentioned process cartridge is
For example, an electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image carrier and at least a developing unit are provided. Therefore, as the mode of the process cartridge, in addition to the embodiment described above, for example, the image carrier, the developing means, and the charging means are integrally made into a cartridge, which can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. The image carrier and the developing means are integrally formed into a cartridge, which can be attached to and detached from the main body of the apparatus. The image carrier, the developing means and the cleaning means are integrally formed into a cartridge,
There is a device that can be attached to and detached from the device body.

The above-mentioned photosensitive drum mounting member 15 can be used not only for supporting the photosensitive drum as a process cartridge, but also for a device for directly supporting the photosensitive drum on the apparatus main body.

Although the laser beam printer has been illustrated as the image forming apparatus in the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this, and other examples such as an LED printer, an electrophotographic copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a word processor can be used. Of course, it can be used in an image forming apparatus.

[Experimental Results] Next, experimental results using the seal member 17 will be shown. First, as a first experiment, various cover films 17a and tear tapes 17b were prepared to examine the curl amount and tear stability of the seal member 17 in each seal pattern. Next, as a second experiment, the seal member 17 is shown. The experimental result which measured the opening strength and pressure resistance strength at the time of welding with each seal pattern to an opening control member is shown.

{Experiment 1-1} As a cover film 17a, a base material 17a1 made of 140 μm uniaxially stretched expanded polypropylene and 20 μm ethylene-vinyl acetate (hereinafter referred to as “EV
A)), a cover film 17a prepared by dry-laminating a sealant layer 17a2 of a system), a base tape 17b1 of a biaxially stretched polyester film of 38 μm as a tear tape 17b, and a sealant layer 17b2 of an EVA system of 30 μm. Further, a sealing member 17 was prepared by heat-sealing with a tear tape 17b having a layer structure as shown in FIG. 9, which was composed of a stretched nylon layer N as a cushion layer of 15 μm.

The size of the cover film 17a is 53.5 mm.
X 237 mm, the size of the tear tape 17b is 38.5 mm x 575 mm, and the heat sealing conditions are 120 ° C, 5.0 kg / cm ² ,
It was set to 3 seconds. And cover film 17a and tear tape 17
The seal pattern for integrating b and b had a shape as shown in FIG. 14, and the seal width W1 was 5 mm.

A view of the seal member 17 created as described above
Figure 13 shows the results of measuring the curl amount k1 in the width direction as shown in Fig. 13.
Shown in 28. As is clear from the result, even when the tear tape 17b has a very wide width of about 40 mm, the curl amount is 2 mm.
It was possible to keep it very low.

Next, the sealing member 17 is made to have a thickness of 0.5.
mm, and the sealing surface of the opening regulating member 18 made of a polystyrene plate having a size of the opening 18a of 36.5 mm × 220 mm was heat-sealed after corona discharge treatment.
Since the amount of curl was almost no problem, there was no deviation of the seal from the sealing surface of the opening regulating member 18, and automation of the sealing process was sufficiently possible.

The heat sealing conditions are 140 ° C. and 3.0 kg / c.
After m ^{2 was set} to 5.5 seconds, it was confirmed that the seal surfaces of the seal bar 19 a and the opening regulating member 18 were accurately kept in parallel, and then heat sealing was performed.

After that, the opening regulating member 18 with the sealing member 17 sealed as described above was fixed to the flange surface of the toner storage container 12a by ultrasonic welding to form the toner storage container 12a. Further, a process cartridge B was prepared using the toner container 12a.

As the end seal member 21 made of foamed polyurethane, the process cartridge B is set in the main body after opening, and when the cartridge B is taken out when trouble such as paper jam occurs, the opened cartridge B is pulled out. In order to prevent the toner from leaking from the part and to balance the opening strength, a 2 mm one was used.

The process cartridge B is approximately 3000 mm /
The cover film 17a was opened in minutes, and the tear spread width of the cover film 17a after opening and the presence or absence of fluff from the end surface of the cover film 17a at the time of opening (tearing stability) were confirmed.

The results are shown in FIG. As is clear from this result, the tear spread width of the cover film 17a at the time of opening was 1 mm or less, the opening width of the developing means was sufficiently regulated, and the tear stability was good.

{Experiment 1-2} Similar to Experiment 1-1,
A seal pattern for integrating the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b was formed into a dotted line shape as shown in FIG. 15, and the seal width W1 was 5 mm to prepare the seal member 17.

The curl amount k1 of the seal member 17 is very small as shown in FIG. 28, and there is no deviation of the seal to the opening regulating member 18, and the sealing process can be automated. Further, as in Experiment 1-1, a process cartridge B is prepared,
As a result of confirming the tear spread width and tear stability of the cover film 17a after opening, it was very good as shown in FIG.

{Experiment 1-3} As in Experiment 1-1, the seal pattern for integrating the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b has a U shape shown in FIG. 16, and the seal width W1 is 7
A sealing member 17 having a size of mm was prepared.

The curl amount k1 of the seal member 17 is very small as shown in FIG. 28, and further, the sealing process can be automated without causing the seal deviation to the opening regulating member 18. Further, a process cartridge B was prepared in the same manner as in Experiment 1-1, and the tear spread width and tear stability of the cover film 17a after opening were confirmed, and as a result, it was very good as shown in FIG.

{Experiment 1-4} As shown in FIG. 8C, the tear tape 17b in Experiment 1-1 was used as a sealant layer 17b2.
Was used as the one-sided type, and the others were the same as in Experiment 1-1 to prepare the seal member 17.

The curl amount k1 of the sealing member 17 is very small as shown in FIG. 28, and further, there is no deviation of the seal to the opening regulating member 18, and the sealing process can be automated.

Further, in the same manner as in Experiment 1-1, a process cartridge B was prepared, and the tear spread width and tear stability of the cover film 17a after opening were confirmed.
It was very good as shown in.

{Experiment 1-a} The cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b were made of the same material and the same sealing conditions as in Experiment 1-1.
However, as shown in FIG. 11 for the seal pattern, the seal member 17
Cover film 17a excluding the sealing part to the opening of
Then, the entire surface of the overlapping portion S4 of the tear tape 17b, that is, the entire surface including the unsealed portion in the sealing pattern S3 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 28, the curl amount of the seal member 17 is very large at 15.5 mm, the positioning of the seal on the opening regulating member 18 is not successful, and the seal misalignment frequently occurs, so that the sealing process cannot be automated. Met.

{Experiment 1-b} The cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b were made of the same material and the same sealing conditions as in Experiment 1-1.
However, the seal pattern has a shape as shown in FIG.
A seal member 17 was prepared by sealing the unsealed portion S4 in the seal pattern S3 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 28, the curl amount k1 of the sealing member 17 is as large as 10.3 mm, the positioning of the seal on the opening restricting member 18 is not successful, and the seal misalignment frequently occurs. It was impossible.

Further, in the same manner as in Experiment 1-1, the process cartridge B was prepared, and the tear spread width and tear stability of the cover film 17a after opening were confirmed.
As shown in (1), the tear spread width was 4.5 mm, which was stable and did not tear, and the cover film 17a was fluffed.

The reason for this is that since the tearing start portion is not surely made into a unit, the cover film 17a is rubbed against the end seal member 21 of the drawer portion and the cover film 17a is removed.
It was caused by peeling from 17b, fluffing, etc., and the width of tearing was also widened.

{Experiment 2-1} Using the same tear seal member 17 and opening regulating member 18 as in Experiment 1-1, the seal member
Sealing conditions for the opening regulation member 18 of 17 are 140 ℃, 5.0kg
/ Cm ² , 5.5 seconds. At this time, heat sealing was performed after confirming that the seal surfaces of the seal bar 19a and the opening regulating member 18 were kept in parallel accurately. Then, on the flange surface of the toner container 12a, the seal member 17 as described above is attached.
The opening regulating member 18 sealed with was ultrasonically welded and fixed to prepare a toner container.

Two kinds of seal patterns for sealing the seal member 17 to the opening regulating member 18 are prepared as shown in FIG. 20, and the material 1 and the material 2 which are respectively sealed with the pattern dimensions shown in FIG. 29 are prepared. did.

As a comparative example, the seal patterns as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 were prepared, and the materials a and b were prepared by sealing with the pattern dimensions as shown in FIG.

The above-mentioned four types of toner storage containers 12a were combined with the developing frame 12b having a boss for supporting the opening direction by ultrasonic welding to prepare four types of process cartridges.

While the distance between the opening regulating member 18 and the developing frame 12b is 1 mm, the end seal member 21 made of polyurethane foam has a thickness of 2 mm.

The process cartridge B is approximately 3000 mm /
Fig. 29 shows the opening strength when opened in minutes. As is clear from this result, in all four types, the toner did not scatter when the sealing member 17 was opened, but the materials 1 and 2 had very low unsealing strength and very good unsealing operability. .

On the other hand, the materials a and b according to the comparative examples had very heavy unsealing strength, not only had poor operability in unsealing, but also had a level at which the operator could not unseal.

Using the four types of toner storage containers 12a and the process cartridge B, the puncture strength, and further, after dropping 550 g of toner, a drop test was conducted.

The puncture strength measurement condition is 0.05 kgf / cm.
^The pressure resistance was measured every ² times until the seal member 17 was peeled off by keeping the pressure for 5 seconds and puncturing at the internal pressure. In addition, the drop test conditions are 90 cm from the ground, 3 pieces in a group, 1 corner 3 to 6 sides and 6 sides to 4 sides in 2 modes. I checked and went.

The results are shown in FIG. As is clear from the result, the short side seal pattern width T2 is changed to the long side seal pattern width T1.
Even if the width is narrower than 1 mm to 1.5 mm, it has been clarified that the puncture strength and the drop test maintain sufficient pressure resistance.

From the above results, it can be seen that the seal pattern as in the above-mentioned embodiment makes it possible to obtain a toner container having a low unsealing strength, excellent operability in unsealing, and sufficient pressure resistance.

{Experiment 2-2} Opening 18 of opening regulating member 18
An easy peel film was used as a seal member for sealing the. As an easy peel film, thickness 16
First base material made of biaxially stretched polyester film of μm, second base material made of biaxially stretched polyester film of 25 μm thickness, cushion layer made of low molecular weight polyethylene film of 20 μm thickness, EVA-based sealant of 30 μm thickness A sealant layer consisting of 4 layers was used. The size of the easy peel film is 46mm x
It was 574 mm.

Next, the sealing member was heat-sealed to the opening 18a of the opening regulating member 18 similar to that in Experiment 2-1. The sealing conditions at this time were 150 ° C., 5.0 kg / cm ² , and 2.5 seconds. After confirming that the seal surfaces of the seal bar 19a and the opening regulating member 18 are kept in parallel, heat sealing was performed. After that, the opening regulating member 18 sealed with the above-mentioned sealing member was ultrasonically welded and fixed to the flange surface of the toner container 12a to prepare a toner container.

Two types of seal patterns for sealing the sealing member to the opening regulating member 18 are prepared as shown in FIG. 20, and the materials 3 and 4 are prepared by sealing with the pattern dimensions shown in FIG. 31, respectively. .

As a comparative example, a seal pattern as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 was prepared, and a material c and a material d were prepared by sealing with a pattern size as shown in FIG.

The above-mentioned four kinds of toner storage containers 12a were combined with the developing frame 12b having a boss for supporting the opening direction by ultrasonic welding to prepare four kinds of process cartridges.

While the distance between the opening regulating member 18 and the developing frame 12b is 1 mm, the end seal member 21 made of foamed polyurethane has a thickness of 2 mm.

The process cartridge B is approximately 3000 mm /
Fig. 31 shows the unsealing strength when unsealed in minutes. As is clear from this result, toner was not scattered when the seal member 17 was opened in all four types, but the materials 3 and 4 had very low unsealing strength and very good unsealing operability. .

On the other hand, the materials c and d according to the comparative examples had very high unsealing strength, not only had poor operability for unsealing, but also had a level at which the operator could not unseal.

FIG. 32 shows the results of the puncture strength and drop tests conducted under the same conditions as in Experiment 2-1 using the four types of toner storage containers 12a and the process cartridge B. As is clear from the results, the width of the short seal pattern
Even when T2 was narrower than the longitudinal seal pattern width T1 by 1 mm to 1.5 mm, it was revealed that sufficient puncture strength and sufficient pressure resistance were maintained in the drop test.

From the above results, even when the easy peel film is used as the seal member, the seal pattern as in the above-mentioned embodiment has a low unsealing strength and an excellent operability in unsealing, and the toner container having sufficient pressure resistance is also provided. It turns out that

{Experiment 2-3} A cover film 17a similar to the cover film 17a used in Experiment 2-1 was heat-sealed with a tear tape 17b made of four layers of easy peel film, and three types of different sizes were used. A tear seal member 17 was created and used as Material 5, Material 6 and Material e.

The tear tape 17b is composed of a 16 μm biaxially stretched polyester layer, a 25 μm biaxially stretched nylon layer, and a 30 μm biaxially stretched nylon layer.
It consists of a m 2 low molecular weight polyethylene layer and a 40 μm EVA based sealant layer. The heat sealing conditions for the tear tape 17b were 120 ° C., 5 kg / cm ² , and 3 seconds.

The size of the cover film 17a in Material 5 is 44.0 mm × 310 mm, and the size of the tear tape 17b is 32.0 mm ×
700mm, size of cover film 17a of document 6 is 44.0mm
X 320mm, Tare Tape 17b size is 32.0mm x 700mm,
The size of the cover film 17a of the document e is 44.0 mm x 348 m
The size of m and the tear tape 17b was 32.0 mm × 700 mm.

Next, the sealing member 17 is subjected to corona discharge treatment on the sealing surface of the toner storage container 12a having the size of the opening 12a1 of 30.0 mm × 301 mm, and then heat-sealed with the sealing pattern of FIG. 20 and the pattern dimension shown in FIG. 33. did. See also seal bar 19
After confirming that the sealing surface between the toner storage container 12a and the flange surface of the toner storage container 12a was kept in parallel, heat sealing was performed. Then, the above-mentioned three kinds of toner storage containers 12a were combined with the developing frame 12b having a boss for supporting the opening direction by ultrasonic welding to prepare three kinds of process cartridges.

Incidentally, the toner storage container 12a and the developing frame 12
While the distance from b is 1 mm, the end seal member 21 made of foamed polyurethane has a thickness of 2 mm.

The process cartridge B is approximately 3000 mm /
Fig. 33 shows the unsealing strength when unsealed in minutes. As is clear from this result, the unsealing strength of the seal member 17 is very low for all three types, and therefore the operability is very good,
In particular, the peak strength θ of the chevron-shaped seal pattern of Material e was 90 degrees or less, and the unsealing strength was the lowest.

However, in Material 5 and Material 6, the toner did not scatter when the seal member was opened, but in Material e, since the flange tip rear end width Y ₆ was as wide as 24 mm, the seal member 17 and the flange of the toner storage container 12a in that portion were large. Toner entered between the parts and when the seal member was opened, the toner was severely scattered and the surroundings were soiled.

FIG. 34 shows the results of a puncture strength and drop test conducted under the same conditions as in Experiment 2-1 using the three types of toner storage containers 12a and the process cartridge B. As is clear from the results, it was revealed that the materials 5 and 6 maintained sufficient puncture strength and sufficient pressure resistance in the drop test.

However, the material e shows that the flange tip rear end width Y ₆ is
Since it was as wide as 24 mm, seal slack occurred near the tip of the seal pattern mountain tip, and puncture strength and drop tests caused peeling of the seal from the tip of the seal pattern mountain tip, and toner leakage also occurred from the same location.

From the above results, it was proved that the angle θ of the mountain-shaped seal pattern and the flange front / rear end width Y ₆ must be within the predetermined ranges.

{Experiment 2-4} Using the easy peel film as the sealing member 17, the opening 12 of the toner container 12a is formed.
Sealed a1. The first easy peel film consists of a biaxially stretched polyester film with a thickness of 16 μm
A four-layer structure consisting of a base material, a second base material made of a biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 25 μm, a cushion layer made of low molecular weight polyethylene having a thickness of 20 μm, and a sealant layer made of an EVA-based sealant having a thickness of 50 μm. Using. still,
The size of the easy peel film was 39.0 mm x 700 mm.

Next, the above-mentioned easy peel film is opened 12
The seal surface of the toner container 12a having a1 of 30.0 mm × 301 mm was heat-sealed in a seal pattern as shown in FIG. The heat sealing conditions at this time are 180 ° C and 5.0
It was set to kg / cm ² and 2.5 seconds.

The heat seal pattern dimensions were as shown in FIG. 35, and three types of toner storage containers 12a of data 7, data 8 and data f were prepared. After confirming that the sealing surfaces of the seal bar 19a and the flange surface of the toner storage container 12a are kept in parallel, heat sealing was performed.
Then, the above-mentioned three kinds of toner storage containers 12a were combined with the developing frame 12b having a boss for supporting the opening direction by ultrasonic welding to prepare three kinds of process cartridges.

The toner storage container 12a and the developing frame 12
While the distance from b is 1 mm, the end seal member 21 made of foamed polyurethane has a thickness of 2 mm.

The process cartridge B is approximately 3000 mm /
Fig. 35 shows the opening strength when opened in minutes. As is clear from these results, the unsealing strength of the sealing members of all three types is very low, and therefore the operability is very good, and in particular, the apex angle θ of the chevron-shaped seal pattern of Material f is 90 degrees or less. Had the lowest opening strength.

However, in Material 7 and Material 8, toner did not scatter when the seal member was opened, but in Material f, toner entered between the seal member in the mountain-shaped seal portion and the flange portion of the toner container 12a. However, the toner was severely scattered when the seal member was opened, and the surrounding area was soiled.

FIG. 36 shows the results of the puncture strength and drop tests conducted under the same conditions as in Experiment 2-1 using the three types of toner storage containers 12a and process cartridge B. As is clear from the results, it is clear that the materials 7 and 8 maintain sufficient puncture strength and sufficient pressure resistance in the drop test.

However, the material f shows that the flange tip rear end width Y ₆ is
Since it was as wide as 24 mm, seal slack occurred near the tip of the seal pattern mountain tip, and puncture strength and drop tests caused peeling of the seal from the tip of the seal pattern mountain tip, and toner leakage also occurred from the same location.

From the above results, it was verified that the angle θ of the mountain-shaped seal pattern and the flange front / rear end width Y ₆ must be within the predetermined ranges even when the easy peel film is used as the seal member.

[0209]

As described above, according to the present invention, in sealing the sealing member, not only the seal pattern at the leading end and the trailing end in the drawing direction is formed into a mountain shape, but also the sealing width of the portion is set to the middle portion. Because it is narrower than the seal width,
The maximum seal width at the time of unsealing becomes small, the unsealing strength can be significantly reduced, and the unsealing operability of the sealing member is improved. This is particularly effective for a toner storage device having a wide opening.

By setting the apex angle of the mountain shape to 90 degrees to 170, a gentle and flat mountain shape is formed, and the toner is prevented from entering the portion and scattering of the toner at the time of opening is prevented. In addition to being obtained, sufficient pressure resistance can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a process cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of a state in which an opening / closing member of the image forming apparatus is opened.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a photosensitive drum mounting member.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a second conductive member of the mounting member.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of dimensions of a mounting member.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a toner storage container, an opening regulating member, and a sealing member.

8A is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a cover film, FIG.
(C) is sectional explanatory drawing of a tear tape.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the tear tape.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a seal member in which a cover film and a tear tape are integrated.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional sealing member in which the entire cover film and the tear tape are heat-sealed.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a curled state of the seal member.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a curled state of a seal member.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a sealing member in which the periphery where the cover film and the tear tape overlap is heat-sealed.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a seal member in which the longitudinal direction around the overlap of the cover film and the tear tape is heat-sealed in a dotted line.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a sealing member in which heat sealing is omitted on one side in the lateral direction around the overlap of the cover film and the tear tape.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a sealing member in which only the inner peripheral portion where the cover film and the tear tape overlap each other is heat-sealed.

FIG. 18 is a structural explanatory view of welding the seal member to the opening regulating member.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a ratio of a cover film and a tear tape.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a seal pattern according to the first embodiment that seals the seal member with the opening regulating member in a mountain shape.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional seal pattern that seals the seal member to the opening regulating member in a frame shape.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional seal pattern in which a seal member is sealed in an opening regulation member in a mountain shape and the seal width is uniform.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of attaching a developing frame to a toner storage container to which a sealing member is attached.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a pressure state of the cover film due to the internal pressure of the toner storage container.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory view of a state in which the cover film is torn.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional explanatory view in which an end seal member is provided.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a tear tape withdrawal control boss.

FIG. 28 is a table showing experimental results of curl amount, tear spread width, and tear stability according to the heat seal pattern of the cover film and the tear tape.

FIG. 29 is a table showing seal pattern dimensions for heat sealing the seal member in Experiment 2-1.

FIG. 30 is a table showing the results of puncture strength and drop tests in Experiment 2-1.

FIG. 31 is a table showing seal pattern dimensions for heat-sealing the seal member in Experiment 2-2.

FIG. 32 is a table showing the results of puncture strength and drop tests in Experiment 2-2.

FIG. 33 is a table showing the seal pattern dimensions for heat sealing the seal member in Experiment 2-3.

FIG. 34 is a table showing the results of puncture strength and drop tests in Experiment 2-3.

FIG. 35 is a table showing seal pattern dimensions for heat-sealing the seal member in Experiment 2-4.

FIG. 36 is a table showing the results of puncture strength and drop tests in Experiment 2-4.

[Description of Reference Signs] A ... Image forming apparatus, B ... Process cartridge, S ... Sealing member, 1 ... Optical system, 1a ... Optical unit, 1b ... Laser diode, 1c ... Polygon mirror, 1d ... Scanner motor, 1e ... Connection Image lens, 1f ... Reflective mirror, 2
... Recording medium, 3 ... Conveying means, 3a, 3b ... Cassette, 3
c ... Pickup roller, 3d ... Separation roller pair, 3e ...
Registration roller pair, 3f ... Intermediate transport roller, 3g ... Ejection path, 3h ... Ejection roller, 3i ... Flapper, 3j ... Retransmission path, 3k1, 3k2 ... Retransmission roller, 3m ... Retransmission section, 3o ...
Pickup roller, 3p ... Conveying roller pair, 4 ... Transfer means, 5 ... Fixing means, 5a ... Drive roller, 5b ... Heater,
5c ... Fixing roller, 6 ... Ejecting section, 7 ... Photosensitive drum, 7
a ... Flange gear, 7b ... Fitting hole, 7c ... Contact point, 8 ... Charging roller, 8a ... Roller shaft, 9 ... Exposure section, 10 ... Developing means, 10a ... Toner storage section, 10b ... Toner feeding member, 10c
… Magnet, 10d… Development sleeve, 10e… Development blade, 11
... Cleaning means, 11a ... Cleaning blade, 11
b ... Squeeze sheet, 11c ... Sending member, 11d ... Waste toner reservoir, 12 ... Frame, 12a ... Toner storage container, 12a1 ... Opening, 12
a2 ... flange, 12a3 ... positioning hole, 12a4 ... hole, 12a5 ...
Hole, 12b ... Developing frame, 12b1 ... Positioning hole, 12b2 ... Boss, 12b3 ... Wall, 12b4 ... Antenna wire, 12b5 ... Fixing member, 12
b6 ... end, 12b7 ... stirring bar, 12c ... cleaning container, 12
c1 ... Shaft hole, 12c2 ... Boss, 13 ... Device body, 14 ... Opening / closing member,
14a ... Hinge, 15 ... Mounting member, 15a ... Base, 15a1 ... Screw hole, 15b ... First conductive member, 15c ... Second conductive member, 15
c1 ... Base part, 15c2 ... Shaft part, 15c3 ... Step part, 15d ... Extension part, 15
d1 ... screw hole, 15d2 ... long hole, 15e ... circular member, 16 ... screw,
17 ... Sealing member, 17a ... Cover film, 17a1 ... Base material,
17a2 ... Sealant layer, 17b ... Tare tape, 17b1 ... Base material,
17b2 ... Sealant layer, 17c ... Short overlap portion, 17d ... Sealing surface, 17d1 ... Inner edge, S1 ... Opening seal portion, S2 ... Tape seal portion, S3 ... Seal pattern, S4 ... Inner peripheral portion, 18
... Opening regulating member, 18a ... Opening portion, 18b ... Positioning hole, 18
c ... hole, 18d ... hole, 19 ... horn, 19a ... seal bar, 19
a1 ... recess, 20 ... tear, 21 ... end seal member, 22a, 22b
… Boss, 23… projection

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A toner storage device for storing toner, comprising: a toner storage container having an opening of a predetermined size; and a sealing member that seals and closes the opening and pulls it out at the start of use to open the opening. A toner storage characterized in that the seal pattern of the leading end and the rear end of the seal member in the pull-out direction is formed in a mountain shape, and the seal width of the front end and the rear end is made narrower than the seal width of the middle part. apparatus. 2. The toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is a peelable peelable seal. 3. The cover member and the cover member are provided from one end to the other end of the cover member,
The toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the tear storage device is a tear seal made of a flexible member that can be folded back at the other end. 4. The toner storage device according to claim 3, wherein the material of the cover member is a uniaxially stretched polypropylene film, a uniaxially stretched polyethylene film, a uniaxially stretched polypropylene film, or the like. 5. The material of the flexible member is a biaxially stretched polyester film, a biaxially stretched polypropylene film,
The toner storage device according to claim 3, which is a polystyrene film, a biaxially stretched nylon film, or the like. 6. The cover member includes a uniaxially stretched base material and a sealant layer.
The toner storage device described. 7. The sealing member seals an opening of an opening restricting member having an opening of a predetermined size, and the opening restricting member is attached to the opening of the toner storage container. 4. The toner storage device according to claim 3. 8. The toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the mountain shape of the seal pattern has an apex angle of 90 degrees to 170 degrees. 9. The seal width between the front end and the rear end is 1.5 mm.
2. The toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the seal width in the middle portion is 2 mm to 5 mm. 10. The toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the opening in which the seal member is attached has a lateral length of 20 mm to 100 mm. 11. The toner storage device according to claim 1, wherein the toner storage container is made of impact-resistant polystyrene. 12. A developing device for developing, comprising: (a) a toner storage container having an opening of a predetermined size, and a sealing member for sealing and closing the opening and pulling it out at the start of use to open the opening. A toner storage device in which the seal pattern at the front end and the rear end of the seal member in the pull-out direction has a mountain shape, and the seal width at the front end and the rear end is narrower than the seal width at the intermediate part. And (b) a developing frame having a developing member, and a developing device. 13. The developing device according to claim 12, wherein the toner storage device and the developing frame are coupled by ultrasonic welding. 14. A process cartridge mountable to the main body of an image forming apparatus, comprising: (a) an image carrier, (b) a toner container having an opening of a predetermined size, and sealing and closing the opening to start use. A seal member for pulling out and opening the opening, and forming a seal pattern of a leading end portion and a rear end portion of the sealing member in a mountain shape, and a sealing width of the leading end portion and the rear end portion of an intermediate portion. A process cartridge comprising: a toner accommodating device having a width narrower than a seal width; and a developing device including a developing frame having a developing member. 15. An image forming apparatus capable of mounting a process cartridge and forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: (a) an image carrier, a toner container having an opening of a predetermined size, and the opening sealed. And a seal member that is pulled out at the start of use to open the opening, and the sealing pattern of the leading end portion and the rear end portion of the sealing member in the pulling direction is formed in a mountain shape, and the leading end portion and the rear end portion are formed. A toner accommodating device having a seal width narrower than that of the middle portion, and a developing device including a developing frame having a developing member, and a mounting unit for mounting a process cartridge having: (b) recording An image forming apparatus comprising: a conveying unit configured to convey a medium. 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic copying machine. 17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the image forming apparatus is a laser beam printer. 18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the image forming apparatus is a facsimile apparatus.