JPH09319196A - Toner replenishing container, electrostatic charge image developing method and developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container excellent in durability which can be recovered and easily reused by using the same kind of polyolefin resin to form all of the main body, a structural unit having a toner replenishing port, and a cap to close a toner feeding port. SOLUTION: A polyolefin resin is used as the material to constitute the toner replenishing container. In this method, the main body, the structural unit having a toner replenishing port 11, and the cap 13 to close a toner feeding port 12 are made of the same kind of polyolefin resin. As for the resin, polyopropylene, polyethylene, etc., can be used, and especially, a polypropylene having 0.1 to 30g/10min melt index and/or a high-density polyethylene having 0.94 to 0.97g/cm<3> density are preferably used. The Izod impact value of the material is preferably 0.1 to 30 in order to avoid breakage when impact force is added. Thereby, good replenishing property is obtd. and the amt. of the toner remaining is decreased.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrostatic charge image developing method used in copying machines, printers and the like, and a toner replenishing container developed for the developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, toner development is mostly carried out in electrostatic image development which is widely used in copying machines, printers and the like. In this method, it is necessary to replenish the toner consumed as the development progresses so that the toner is not easily scattered or the like. For this purpose, a toner replenishing container has been actively developed. For example, one of the representative examples is described in JP-A-1-280781.

In the method of manufacturing a toner replenishing container, it is already known to separately manufacture the toner replenishing container.

In order to bond the respective divided parts of the toner supply container to each other, a hot melt adhesive or the like is used for bonding. However, the existence of the material used for this bonding is a problem in practical use. May be. That is, when the toner is replenished, the toner is different from the material forming the main body, so that toner adheres to the portions having different triboelectrification properties, and the toner replenishment property deteriorates.

On the other hand, in the case of adhesion by ultrasonic fusing, if the materials of the respective elements are different, the adhesion is likely to be insufficient, and powder separated by ultrasonic waves remains in the container and toner is replenished. There is a possibility that the foreign matter will be mixed in and that problems such as streaking during development will occur as a result.

Although various kinds of manufacturing methods are known for manufacturing the main body, the injection molding has a problem that the toner adheres to and remains on the inner surface due to generation of protrusions on the matching surface of the mold. In addition to the problem of the protrusions, blow molding has a problem that the wall thickness is likely to be uneven during molding, resulting in the formation of a portion susceptible to impact.

Further, the toner supply container is often made of laminated paper or various plastics,
In recent years, attempts have been made to collect and reuse these containers in order to reduce industrial waste. However, it is difficult to recycle the laminated paper, and when a plastic material is used and the material composition is different, it is difficult to separate it, and it is difficult to collect and reuse it. From this aspect as well, it is expected that the materials forming the container are made of the same material.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is a toner having excellent durability, good replenishment property, little residual toner, and easy recovery and reuse. (EN) A replenishing cartridge, an electrostatic charge image developing method and a developing device using the replenishing cartridge.

[0009]

The object of the present invention is attained by adopting one of the following constitutions.

(1) In a toner supply container composed of at least a main body having a toner filling port and a structural unit having a toner supply port, the main body, the structural unit having the toner supply port, and the toner filling port are closed. The toner replenishing container is characterized in that both of the lids and the lid are made of the same type of polyolefin resin.

(2) In a toner supply container composed of at least a main body having a toner filling port and a constituent unit having a toner supply port, the height of the main body (H ₂ cm) and the height of the structural unit having the toner supply port. (H ₁ cm), the height of the filled toner in the container (H ₃ cm), the angle between the side surface of the constituent unit having the toner supply port and the supply port (θ
And the toner replenishing port area (Rcm ² ) have the following relationship.

2 × H ₁ ≦ H ₂ ≦ 5 × H ₁ 0.7 × (H ₁ + H ₂ ) ≦ H ₃ <(H ₁ + H ₂ ) 75 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 ° 6 × R ≦ H ₃ ≦ 15 XR (3) The toner supply container according to (1) or (2), wherein the main body is manufactured by extrusion molding.

(4) In a toner replenishing container composed of at least a main body having a toner filling port and a constituent unit having a toner replenishing port, the outer peripheral diameter (r ₁ cm) of a lid for closing the toner filling port ) Is the outer diameter of the main body (r ₂ c
m) and the thickness (dcm) of the main body have the following relationship: (1), (2) or (3).

R ₂ −d ≦ r ₁ ≦ 1.02 × r ₂ (5) In the electrostatic image developing method of forming an electrostatic latent image on an electrophotographic photosensitive member and developing the toner, toner replenishment to the developing device ( 1), (2), (3) or (4) described in the toner replenishing container is carried out from the electrostatic charge image developing method.

(6) In an electrostatic charge image developing device for developing a toner on an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member, toner is supplied to the developing device in (1), (2) and (3). )
Alternatively, an electrostatic charge image developing device is carried out from the toner supply container described in (4).

(7) In a toner replenishing container comprising at least a main body made of a polyolefin resin and a constitutional unit having an openable / closable replenishing port made of a polyolefin resin, the main body and the constitutional unit having the replenishing port are modified polyolefin-based. A toner replenishing container characterized by being bonded with an adhesive.

That is, according to the present invention, a toner replenishing cartridge having an effective replenishment property can be obtained by having the above structure.

In particular, in the present invention, by constituting each constituent unit with the same polyolefin resin,
It is possible to improve the adhesiveness of each structural unit, and it is particularly preferable that so-called ultrasonic fusion is not used to cause peeling and no foreign matter remains inside.

Further, by setting the configuration as described above, it is possible to regulate the flow of toner, suppress the formation of toner bridges at the replenishment port, and ensure stable replenishment. it can. Therefore, no toner remains.

Further, by manufacturing the portion constituting the main body by extrusion molding, it becomes possible to make the wall thickness uniform. Therefore, it is strong against impact and will not be damaged even if dropped.

By making the diameter of the lid that closes the filling portion approximately the same as the diameter of the main body, even if an impact such as a drop is applied, the force is not strongly applied to the lid portion, and the lid is disengaged by the impact. The effect of preventing

A main body of the toner supply container according to the present invention;
All structural units having a toner supply port to the machine body that can be opened and closed are made of polyolefin resin, and it is necessary to bond or fit both. When the adhesive is used for bonding, it is difficult to bond the polyolefins together with a so-called acrylic adhesive and there is a problem that it is weak against impact.

The so-called fitting method has a simple structure and can be easily manufactured. However, in this method, the toner itself has a small particle size in recent years, and there are many toners having a small particle size, and there is a problem that the toner leaks from a minute gap.

On the other hand, when a method such as ultrasonic welding is used, minute particles separated from the main body or a structural unit having an opening / closing port inside the container are mixed in the toner, resulting in an image defect. Have

As described above, the toner replenishing container in which both the main body and the opening / closing port are made of polyolefin has various problems in bonding the both.

In the present invention, since a plurality of members made of polyolefin are bonded together by using the modified polyolefin, the bonding between them becomes easy, and dense bonding becomes possible. As a result, spilling of toner does not occur, and it is strong against impact, and no problems occur during use.

The configuration of the present invention will be further described.

Material Constituting Toner Replenishing Container A polyolefin resin is used as a material constituting the toner replenishing container of the present invention. Examples of this resin include polypropylene and polyethylene.
Among these, the melt index is 0.1 to 30 g.
Polypropylene having a density of / 10 min and / or high-density polyethylene having a density of 0.94 to 0.97 g / cm ³ is preferably used. If the melt index is smaller than this range, the flow characteristics will be poor, and the thickness tends to fluctuate even when adjusted by extrusion molding, resulting in insufficient strength and reduced impact resistance. On the other hand, when the melt index is large, the flowability is high, so that the uniformity is high, but the thermal stability is lowered and the storage characteristics are lowered.

It should be noted that a specific Izod impact value is required in order to prevent damage when an impact is applied. Specifically, the Izod impact value is preferably 0.1 to 30. If the Izod impact value is small, it is easily damaged by impact. If the Izod impact value is above a certain range, it can withstand a practical impact, so it may be below this range.

As described above, the high-density polyethylene has a density of 0.94 to 0.97 g / cm ³ . The density is measured based on JIS K7112. In particular, a measuring method using a pycnometer is a simple method. Specifically, a washed and dried pycnometer is prepared, and its weight is precisely measured. This is defined as b (g). Then, at a temperature of 23 ± 0.1 ° C., the immersion liquid is filled exactly up to the marked line, the weight is precisely measured, and this is designated as e (g). Then, the pycnometer is emptied, and after drying, about 1 to 5 g of the sample is added. The pycnometer is weighed again with the sample added, and the weight of the dried pycnometer is subtracted to obtain the sample weight. This is defined as a (g). Then, the immersion liquid is added to the pycnometer containing the sample, and the sample is once covered in a vacuum desiccator, and the pressure is reduced to remove air in the immersion liquid. Further, the immersion liquid is added to the pycnometer from which air in the immersion liquid has been removed at 23 ± 0.1 ° C. up to the marked line, and its weight is measured. This is designated as c (g). From this result, the density is calculated according to the following calculation formula.

Density (g / cm ³ ) = {(a) / ((e-
b)-(ce))｝ × ρ Here, ρ is the specific gravity of the immersion liquid at 23 ° C.

Regarding the physical properties of polypropylene,
Polypropylene has a density of 0.90 to 0.91 (g / cm
Those of ³ ) are preferred.

The definition and measurement method of Izod impact value are described in JIS K 7110, and the definition and measurement method of melt index are JIS K 72.
In the method of No. 10, the polypropylene is 230 ° C./2.16 k
g and polyethylene were measured at 190 ° C./2.16 kg.

Further, these polyolefin resins may be modified polyolefin resins that have been subjected to an oxidation treatment or the like.

Modified Polypropylene The modified polypropylene that can be used in the present invention is obtained by introducing a polar group into the terminal or side chain of polypropylene. The polar group includes a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydroxyl group, an ester group and the like.

Regarding the physical properties, melt viscosity: 10
~ 50 poise (type B viscometer / measured at 160 ° C),
Hardness: 35 to 60 (measured by JIS A) is preferable.

Constitution of Toner Replenishing Container The constitution of the toner replenishing container is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies the requirements of the present invention. For the sake of explanation, an example of a typical one is shown in FIG.

Height of main body (H ₂ cm), height of structural unit having toner supply port (H ₁ cm), height of filled toner in container (H ₃ cm), toner supply port It is necessary that the angle (θ °) formed by the side surface of the structural unit and the supply port and the area (Rcm ² ) of the toner supply port have the following relationship.

2 × H ₁ ≦ H ₂ ≦ 5 × H ₁ 0.7 × (H ₁ + H ₂ ) ≦ H ₃ <(H ₁ + H ₂ ) 75 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 ° 6 × R ≦ H ₃ ≦ 15 × R This relationship is related to the toner replenishment property, and when H ₂ is less than twice H ₁ , the toner itself excessively flows out, and the toner easily bridges at the replenishment port. . Further, if it is 5 times or more, the compression becomes large, and even in this case, the problem of toner bridging easily occurs.

The toner filling rate itself is preferably such that the toner height (H ₃ ) immediately after filling is within this range.

If the angle of the replenishing port is less than this range, the angle becomes gradual and, as a result, the flow of toner is excessively accumulated, so that bridging is likely to occur.
Further, when the angle is tight, the toner flows out all at once, and a bridge phenomenon occurs.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention is a toner replenishing container comprising at least a main body, a structural unit having a toner replenishing port 11 and a lid 13 for closing the toner replenishing port 12, and the toner replenishing port The toner replenishing container is characterized in that the outer peripheral diameter (r ₁ cm) of the lid for closing the container has the following relationship with the outer peripheral diameter (r ₂ cm) of the main body and the wall thickness (dcm) of the main body.

R ₂ −d ≦ r ₁ ≦ 1.02 × r ₂ That is, by controlling the diameter of the filling port within this range,
There is no problem with shock. If it is out of this range, the problem of the lid coming off when an impact is applied tends to occur, and as a result, the impact resistance decreases.

In the present invention, the thickness of the outer wall of the portion constituting the cartridge body is not particularly limited, but it is required to be 1.0 mm or more from the viewpoint of maintaining durability. The upper limit of the thickness is not particularly limited, but practically it is 5.
0 mm or less is preferable.

Further, if the outer wall is nonuniform in thickness when an impact is applied, it becomes brittle, so that the thickness fluctuation range is 1.0 mm or less, preferably 0.5 mm or less. The width of this thickness indicates the difference between the average thickness and the minimum thickness. The average thickness is an average value obtained by randomly measuring 10 portions of the thickness excluding the bent portion. Further, the minimum thickness indicates a value of a location showing the minimum value among the 10 locations.

Example of Toner Used in the Present Invention The toner used in the present invention comprises the inorganic fine particles of the present invention added to the colored particles containing a binder resin, a colorant, and other additives optionally used. It is a mixed toner. The average particle diameter is a volume average particle diameter of usually 1 to 30 μm, preferably 3 to 10 μm. The binder resin that constitutes the colored particles is not particularly limited, and various conventionally known resins can be used. For example, styrene resin, acrylic resin,
Examples thereof include styrene / acrylic resin and polyester resin. The colorant is not particularly limited, and is conventionally known for color toners, such as carbon black, nigrosine dye, aniline blue, calcoil blue, chrome yellow, ultramarine blue, Dupont oil red, quinoline yellow, methylene blue chloride, phthalocyanine blue, Malachite green oxalate, Rose Bengal and the like.

For example, carbon black, nigrosine dye or the like is used as the black toner, and C.I. is used as the pigment required for the yellow, magenta and cyan toners. I. Pigment Blue 15: 3, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 1
5, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 15: 6, C.I. I. Pigment Blue 68, C.I. I. Pigment Red 48-
3, C.I. I. Pigment Red 122, C.I. I. Pigment Red 212, C.I. I. Pigment Red 57-
1, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 17, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 81, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 154
And the like can be suitably used.

Other additives include, for example, charge control agents such as salicylic acid derivatives and azo metal complexes, low molecular weight polyolefins, and fixability improving agents such as carnauba wax.

[0049]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

Example 1 Manufacturing Example of Container A resin having the following constitution was used, and the main body was prepared by extrusion molding. The main body was cylindrical and had a diameter of 5 cm.

[Structure of main body container]

[0052]

[Table 1]

The slide lid was made of the same resin as the above resin.

The same applies to the cap.

Toner was filled in the toner supply container formed by molding as described above. The toner is a styrene acrylic resin containing 6% by weight of carbon black and 3% by weight of low molecular weight polypropylene, and has a volume average particle size of 8. 8% by weight of hydrophobic silica added externally. 6 μm
belongs to. The toner was filled in a cartridge. In addition, in the above-mentioned cartridge, the supply port of the injection molded product was closed by heat sealing. Furthermore, the cap of the filling port was fitted, and the slide lid and the main body container were bonded by ultrasonic fusion. The thickness of the main body is 0.2 cm.

The constitution of the container will be described below. In addition,
The length is described in cm. Incidentally, all the containers of the present invention used the same material as the container body, but the comparative container uses styrene resin as a constituent unit having a supply port,
Others were produced in the same manner as the container of the present invention.

[0057]

[Table 2]

10 cartridges filled with this toner
The cartridge was dropped from a height of 0 cm onto a concrete floor to examine the damage state of the cartridge. Further, the toner was replenished as it was after being left standing, and the amount of residual toner was investigated. The ratio of the remaining toner was evaluated by the ratio with the filled toner.

[0059]

[Table 3]

It can be seen that the containers 1 and 2 in the present invention are not damaged, whereas the comparative containers 1 and 2 are both damaged and the toner residual ratio is large.

Example 2 Toner leakage was evaluated in an impact test and a drop test using a toner replenishing container in which a constitutional unit having a main body and a supply port was adhered with a modified polypropylene and fitted.

Cartridge configuration

[0063]

[Table 4]

The slide lid has the construction shown in FIG. 1, and the resin constituting the slide lid is polypropylene.

Adhesives such as those listed in Table 5 below were used.

[0066]

[Table 5]

The physical properties of the modified polypropylenes 1 and 2 are shown below.

[0068]

[Table 6]

Toner was filled in the toner cartridge formed by molding as described above. The toner contains styrene-acrylic resin, contains 6% by weight of carbon black, and 0.8% by weight of hydrophobic silica is externally added to give a volume average particle size of 8.
It is 6 μm. 4 this toner in the cartridge
70 g was filled. In the above cartridge, in the injection molded product, the toner supply port was closed by heat sealing, and a cap made of polypropylene was fused as a cap of the toner filling port. In the hollow molded product, a cap made of polyethylene was used for the cap of the filling port, and the cap was fitted and the supply port was closed by heat sealing.

15 cartridges filled with this toner
The cartridge was dropped from a height of 0 cm onto a concrete floor, and the damage state of the cartridge was examined.

The results are shown below.

[0072]

[Table 7]

All of the containers 1 to 4 in the present invention were not damaged, whereas the comparative containers 1 and 2 had insufficient strength and had their adhesive surfaces peeled off.

[0074]

According to the present invention, a toner replenishing cartridge having excellent durability, good replenishment property, little toner remaining and easy to collect and reuse, and electrostatic charge image developing method and developing device using the same. Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and a sectional view of a toner supply container of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Toner Replenishing Port 12 Toner Filling Port 13 Lid (Cap) for Closing the Toner Filling Port H ₁ Height of Structural Unit Having Toner Replenishing Port H ₂ Height of Toner Replenishing Container Main Body H ₃ Filled Toner Container Inner height

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A toner replenishing container comprising at least a main body having a toner filling port and a constitutional unit having a toner replenishing port, the main body, the constitutional unit having a toner replenishing port, and the toner filling port are closed. The toner replenishing container is characterized in that both of the lids are made of the same type of polyolefin resin. 2. A toner replenishing container comprising at least a main body having a toner filling port and a constitutional unit having a toner replenishing port, the height of the main body (H ₂ cm), the height of a constitutional unit having a toner replenishing port. (H ₁ cm), the height of the filled toner in the container (H ₃ cm), the angle (θ °) formed by the side surface of the constituent unit having the toner supply port and the supply port, and the area of the toner supply port (Rcm) ^2. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein ² ) has the following relationship. 2 × H ₁ ≦ H ₂ ≦ 5 × H ₁ 0.7 × (H ₁ + H ₂ ) ≦ H ₃ <(H ₁ + H ₂ ) 75 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 ° 6 × R ≦ H ₃ ≦ 15 × R 3. The toner replenishing container according to claim 1, wherein the main body is manufactured by extrusion molding. 4. A toner replenishing container comprising at least a main body having a toner filling port and a constituent unit having a toner replenishing port, and an outer peripheral diameter (r ₁ cm) of a lid for closing the toner filling port. 4. The toner replenishing container according to claim 1, wherein the toner has a following relationship with the outer peripheral diameter (r ₂ cm) of the main body and the wall thickness (dcm) of the main body. r ₂ −d ≦ r ₁ ≦ 1.02 × r ₂ 5. In an electrostatic charge image developing method for forming an electrostatic latent image on an electrophotographic photosensitive member to develop a toner, toner is supplied to a developing device from a toner supply container according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4. An electrostatic charge image developing method characterized by the above. 6. An electrostatic charge image developing device for toner-developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member, wherein toner is supplied to the developing device. An electrostatic charge image developing device characterized by being carried out from a toner supply container. 7. A toner replenishing container comprising a main body made of at least a polyolefin resin and a constitutional unit having an openable / closable replenishing port made of a polyolefin resin,
A toner replenishing container, characterized in that the main body and a constituent unit having the replenishing port are adhered to each other with a modified polyolefin adhesive.