JPH1039598A - Toner cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and relatively move an outside member with respect to a container by disposing a surface layer made of a cloth on a seal member arranged on the outside surface of the container. SOLUTION: The compressive seal member 32 extended along the circumferential edge of a toner discharge port 16 formed on a circumferential wall 12 is disposed on the surface of the wall 12 of the main body 8 of the container 4. It is suitable that the main layer 38 of the seal member 32 is made of foam, specially, made of polyurethane foam. The surface layer made of a cloth 40 is preferably made of a cloth formed of thermoplastic synthetic fiber and thermally deposited on the surface of the layer 38. The seal member 32 is stuck to the required part of the wall 12 through a both-surface adhesive tape 42. Besides, a toner passing aperture 50 is formed on the circumferential wall 44 of the outside member 6. Thus, the frictional resistance of the seal member 32 with respect to the inside surface of the wall 44 of the outside member 6 is reduced and the outside member 6 can be relatively and easily rotated with respect to the container 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a toner cartridge applied to a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image into a toner image in an image forming machine such as a copying machine, a printing machine, and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in an electrostatic image forming machine, an electrostatic latent image is formed on an electrostatic photosensitive member, and the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by a developing device. The developing device applies toner to an electrostatic latent image and develops it into a toner image, and usually includes a toner cartridge which is detachably mounted to supply consumed toner. As a typical example of the toner cartridge, a toner cartridge in a form including a container and an outer member combined therewith can be mentioned. The toner is accommodated in a container, and the container has a toner discharge opening. The outer member is mounted on the container so as to be relatively movable between a closed position and an open position. Until the toner cartridge is mounted on a required portion of the developing device, the outer member is in the closed position, and the toner discharge opening of the container is closed by the outer member.
When the outer member is moved from the closed position to the open position, the toner discharge opening is released, and the toner contained in the container is discharged to a required portion of the developing device.

It is important that the toner discharge opening of the container be sufficiently tightly closed when the outer member is in the closed position. Otherwise, the fine powder toner leaks from the toner cartridge to the surroundings. Therefore, usually, a seal sheet covering the toner discharge opening is releasably attached to the outer surface of the container to seal the toner discharge opening. Part of the seal sheet is connected to the outer member,
When the outer member is moved from the closed position to the open position, the seal sheet is peeled off from the outer surface of the container with the movement of the outer member, the toner discharge opening is opened, and the opened toner discharge opening is released. However, in the toner cartridge using the seal sheet, especially when both the container and the outer member are substantially cylindrical and the container is inserted concentrically in the outer member, the toner formed on the peripheral surface of the container is used. In order to attach the seal sheet to the outer surface of the container in a form covering the discharge opening and to connect a part of the seal sheet to the outer member, it is necessary to perform a considerably complicated operation, and due to this, There is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the toner cartridge is considerably increased.

[0004] Instead of using the above-mentioned seal sheet, it has been proposed to provide a compressible seal member extending along the periphery of the toner discharge opening on the outer surface of the container. The compressible sealing member can be formed from a synthetic resin foam such as a polyurethane foam. In such a toner cartridge, when the outer member is in the closed position, the toner is compressed by the action of the seal member compressed between the outer surface of the container and the inner surface of the outer member together with the outer member closing the toner discharge opening. The discharge opening is sealed. The sealing element can be relatively easily arranged on the outer surface of the container, for example by using a double-sided adhesive tape, so that the above-mentioned problems in the case of using a sealing sheet are solved.

[0005]

In a toner cartridge in which a compressible seal member is provided on the outer surface of a container, the seal member compressed between the outer surface of the container and the inner surface of the outer member is not provided. Due to its presence, the resistance to movement of the outer member relative to the container is significantly increased, making it relatively difficult, if not impossible, to perform the relative movement of the outer member, which is usually performed manually. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has a main technical problem in that a compressible seal member extending along a toner discharge opening is provided on an outer surface of a container. An improvement is made to the toner cartridge in which such a compressible seal member is compressed between the outer surface of the container and the inner surface of the outer member so that the outer member can be moved relatively easily relative to the container. That is.

[0007]

As a result of intensive studies and experiments, the inventor of the present invention has found that the use of a compressible seal member provided with a cloth surface layer does not adversely affect the sealing properties of the toner cartridge. It has been found that the friction between the surface of the sealing member and the inner surface of the outer member is sufficiently reduced, and that the outer member can be relatively easily moved relative to the container.

That is, according to the present invention, as a toner cartridge which achieves the above technical object, a container having a toner discharge opening, toner contained in the container, and a toner discharge opening are closed. An outer member movably associated with the container between a closed position and an open position releasing the toner discharge opening, the outer member being provided along an outer periphery of the toner discharge opening along a periphery of the toner discharge opening. A toner cartridge that is compressed between the outer surface of the container and the inner surface of the outer member, wherein the seal member is provided with a cloth surface layer. , A toner cartridge is provided.

Preferably, the sealing member includes a main layer made of foam, particularly polyurethane foam, and the surface layer is preferably provided on the surface of the main layer. The surface layer is made of a cloth made of thermoplastic synthetic fibers, in particular, a tricot cloth made of nylon fibers, and is preferably heat-sealed to the surface of the main layer. In a preferred embodiment, the container has a substantially cylindrical shape, the toner discharge opening is formed on a peripheral surface thereof, and the outer member has a substantially cylindrical shape into which the container is concentrically inserted. A toner passage opening is formed in the surface, and the outer member is positioned in the closed position and the open position by rotating the outer member relative to the inner member, and the outer member is closed. When positioned at the position, the toner discharge opening and the toner passage opening do not partially overlap,
When the outer member is located at the open position, the toner discharge opening and the toner passage opening overlap each other.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a toner cartridge constructed according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the toner cartridge indicated by reference numeral 2 is provided with a container 4 and an outer member 6. The container 4 includes a main body 8 and a lid 10. The main body 8, which can be formed from a suitable synthetic resin, has a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall 1 that is elongated.
2 and both end walls 13 and 14. 2, both ends of the peripheral wall 12 project beyond the end walls 13 and 14. As can be clearly understood with reference to FIG. The end wall 14 is formed with a toner filling opening 15 and also has a cylindrical projecting wall 1 extending from the periphery of the toner filling opening 15.
7 are formed. A toner discharge opening 16 is formed in the peripheral wall 12 of the main body 8. This toner discharge opening 16
Extends in the axial direction between the end walls 13 and 14 (in other words, from a position substantially aligned with the inner surface of the end wall 13 to a position substantially aligned with the inner surface of the end wall 14), and extends in a circumferential direction from 80 to 80. Advantageously, it extends over an angle range of the order of 110 degrees. In the toner discharge opening 16,
Reinforcing ribs 18 are provided to increase the rigidity of the peripheral wall 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the reinforcing ribs 18 are arranged at intervals in the axial direction and extend in an arc shape in the circumferential direction across the toner discharge opening 16, and each of the two adjacent arc portions 20. A pair of linear portions 22 and a pair of linear portions 22 each extending in the axial direction between the pair.
Has a chord-like portion 24 extending in a chord-like manner between the middle portions of the two. Such a reinforcing rib 18 can be formed separately from the main body 8 of the container 4 and fixed to a required portion by an appropriate method such as mechanical locking or bonding, or formed integrally with the main body 8. be able to. On the outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 of the main body 8, a plurality of arc-shaped ridges 25 extending in the circumferential direction at appropriate intervals in the axial direction are formed. Each of the arc-shaped ridges 25 does not extend to a region where a seal member described later is provided. The lid 10 has a circular end wall 26,
6, a short cylindrical wall 28 protruding outward from the periphery, and an annular flange wall 29 protruding radially outward from the short cylindrical wall 28
Having. A projecting piece 3 protruding outward is provided on the outer surface of the end wall 26.
0 is formed. The outer diameter of the end wall 26 is the peripheral wall 1 of the main body 8.
2 is substantially the same as the inside diameter. Such a lid 10 has a circular end wall 26 and a short cylindrical wall 28 formed on the end wall 14 of the main body 8 after the toner is filled into the main body 8 through the toner filling opening 15 as will be described later. The toner filling opening 15 is closed by being inserted into the cylindrical projecting wall 17 and fixed by an appropriate method such as heat sealing or bonding.

Continuing the description with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2,
The surface of the peripheral wall 12 in the main body 8 of the container 4
Is provided with a compressible seal member 32 extending along the peripheral edge of the toner discharge opening 16 formed at the bottom. The seal member 32 has an arc-shaped portion 34 extending along both axial edges of the toner discharge opening 16 and a linear portion 36 extending along both circumferential edges of the toner discharge opening 16. It is important that the sealing member 32 has a cloth surface layer. As can be clearly understood with reference to FIG. 3, the sealing member 32 in the illustrated embodiment includes a compressible main layer 38 and a surface layer 40 disposed on the surface of the main layer 38. The main layer 38 is preferably made of foam, especially of polyurethane foam. Examples of polyurethane foams that can be suitably used include those sold by Bridgestone Corporation under the trade name “Everlight VA”. The thickness of the main layer 38 is 2.5 to 3.
It may be about 5 mm. It is important that the surface layer 40 is made of an appropriate cloth. Preferably, the surface layer 40 is made of a cloth made of thermoplastic synthetic fibers, particularly a tricot cloth made of nylon fibers, and is heat-sealed to the surface of the main layer 38. The sealing member 32 including the main layer 38 and the surface layer 40 is attached to the peripheral wall 1 via a double-sided adhesive tape 42.
2 can be attached to required parts.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the outer member 6, which can be formed of a suitable synthetic resin, comprises an elongated cylindrical peripheral wall 44 and an end wall 46 closing one end surface thereof. Have. The other end surface of the outer member 6 is open. The inner diameter of the peripheral wall 44 is set to a value that is larger by about 2 to 3 mm than the outer diameter of the peripheral wall 12 in the main body 8 of the container 4 described above. On the surface of the peripheral wall 44, a pair of locking pieces 48 arranged at an interval of 180 degrees are formed. The locking piece 48 is a plate-like piece protruding from the peripheral wall 44 in the radial direction, and extends in the axial direction over substantially the entire length of the axial outer member 6. In the peripheral wall 44 of the outer member 6, a toner passage opening 50 is further formed. The length of the toner passage opening 50 extending in the axial direction is the same as that of the container 4.
The length in the axial direction of the toner discharge opening 16 formed in the main body 8 of the container 4 may be substantially the same, and the angle in the circumferential direction of the toner passage opening 50 may be formed in the main body 8 of the container 4. The circumferential extension angle of the toner discharge opening 16 may be substantially the same. The toner passage opening 50 is provided with a reinforcing rib 52 for making the rigidity of the peripheral wall 44 sufficient. The reinforcing rib 52 has a pair of arc-shaped portions extending in the circumferential direction at intervals in the axial direction. Reinforcing rib 5
2 can be formed integrally with the peripheral wall 44, or can be formed separately from the peripheral wall 44 and fixed to the required part by an appropriate manner such as mechanical locking or bonding.

The container 4 and the outer member 6 as described above are combined by inserting the container 4 concentrically into the outer member 6 through the open end face of the outer member 6. At this time, for example, the container 4 is set at an angular position in which the toner discharge opening 16 formed in the peripheral wall 12 is directed upward, while the toner passing opening 50 formed in the peripheral wall 44 is positioned downward. It is set to the pointing angular position. Therefore, as can be understood by referring to FIG. 2, the toner discharge opening 16 of the container 4 and the toner passage opening 50 of the outer member 6 do not partially overlap each other, and the toner discharge opening 16 of the container 4 does not overlap. Is closed by the outer member 6. In other words, the outer member 6 is located in the closed position with respect to the container 4. In such a state, the sealing member 32 disposed on the surface of the peripheral wall 12 of the main body 8 of the container 4 is connected to the outer surface of the container 4, more specifically, the outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 and the inner surface of the outer member 6 of the main body 8, more specifically, the peripheral wall 44, the toner discharge opening 16 is sealed. Container 4
In a region other than the toner discharge opening 16 and the seal member 32 of the peripheral wall 12 of the main body 8, a plurality of arc-shaped ridges 25 are brought into contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall 44 of the outer member 6. By making only the arc-shaped ridges 25 contact the inner surface of the peripheral wall 44 instead of contacting the entire outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 with the inner surface of the peripheral wall 44, the frictional resistance against the relative movement between the peripheral wall 12 and the peripheral wall 44 is sufficiently increased. Limited to small values. After combining the container 4 and the outer member 6 as described above, the end wall 14 of the main body 8 of the container 4 is used.
The container 4 is filled with toner (not shown to avoid obscuring the drawing) through the toner filling opening 15 formed in the container 4. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid 10 is fixed to the protruding wall 17 formed on the end wall 14 of the main body 8 of the container 4, and the toner filling opening 15 is closed.
Thus, the toner cartridge 2 is completed.

[0015] Toner cartridge 2 as described above
Is detachably mounted on a required portion of a developing device (not shown) which may itself be a known form for applying toner 54 to the electrostatic latent image and developing the toner image. When the toner cartridge 2 is mounted on a required portion of the developing device,
A pair of locking pieces 48 formed on the outer member 6 are provided with appropriate restraining means (not shown) provided in the developing device.
, The outer member 6 is restrained from rotating. Next, the projecting piece 30 provided on the lid 10 of the container 4 is gripped and the container 4 is rotated by approximately 180 degrees. Thus, the toner discharge opening 16 formed in the container 4 is changed from the upwardly directed state to the downwardly directed state, and is aligned with the toner passage opening 50 of the outer member 6. In other words, the outer member 6 is
Are rotated by approximately 180 degrees to the open position, and the toner passage opening 50 of the outer member 6 and the toner discharge opening 16 of the container 4 overlap each other, so that the toner discharge opening 16 is Released through.
Therefore, the toner contained in the container 4 is discharged through the toner discharge opening 16 and the toner passage opening 50,
It is supplied to a required portion of the developing device. When substantially all of the toner contained in the container 4 has been consumed, the container 4 is rotated substantially 180 degrees to return the toner discharge opening 16 to a state in which the toner discharge opening 16 is directed upward. , And return to the closed position by rotating the toner discharge opening 16 by the outer member 6 and the seal member 32.
Seal again. Thereafter, it is detached from the developing device.

Thus, in the toner cartridge 2 constructed according to the present invention, the compressible seal member 32 has the cloth surface layer 40, and therefore the friction of the seal member 32 against the inner surface of the peripheral wall 42 of the outer member 6. The resistance has been greatly reduced. Therefore, when assembling the container 4 and the outer member 6, the container 4 can be inserted into the outer member 6 easily enough without damaging the seal member 32. Further, the outer member 6 can be relatively easily rotated with respect to the container 4 so as to be positioned at the open position and the closed position.

[0017]

According to the toner cartridge of the present invention, the outer member is provided to the container despite the provision of the compressible seal member which is compressed between the outer surface of the container and the inner surface of the outer member. It can be relatively easily moved relatively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a toner cartridge constituted according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the toner cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the toner cartridge shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Toner cartridge 4: Container 6: Outer member 8: Container main body 10: Container lid 12: Peripheral wall of main body 16: Toner discharge opening 32: Seal member 38: Main layer of seal member 40: Surface layer of seal member 42: double-sided adhesive tape 44: peripheral wall of outer member 50: toner passage opening

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] July 25, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Preferably, the sealing member includes a main layer made of foam, particularly polyurethane foam, and the surface layer is preferably provided on the surface of the main layer. The surface layer is made of a cloth made of thermoplastic synthetic fibers, in particular, a tricot cloth made of nylon fibers, and is preferably heat-sealed to the surface of the main layer. In a preferred embodiment, the container has a substantially cylindrical shape, the toner discharge opening is formed on a peripheral surface thereof, and the outer member has a substantially cylindrical shape into which the container is concentrically inserted. face toner passage opening is formed in, the outer member by allowed to rotate relative to the outer member relative to the container is caused to position the said closed position and the open position, the outer member the closed position When the outer member is located at the open position, the toner discharge opening and the toner passage opening do not overlap with each other. Overlap each other.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the toner cartridge indicated by reference numeral 2 is provided with a container 4 and an outer member 6. The container 4 includes a main body 8 and a lid 10. The main body 8, which can be formed from a suitable synthetic resin, has a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall 1 that is elongated.
2 and both end walls 13 and 14. 2, both ends of the peripheral wall 12 project beyond the end walls 13 and 14. As can be clearly understood with reference to FIG. The end wall 14 is formed with a toner filling opening 15 and also has a cylindrical projecting wall 1 extending from the periphery of the toner filling opening 15.
7 are formed. A toner discharge opening 16 is formed in the peripheral wall 12 of the main body 8. This toner discharge opening 16
Extends in the axial direction between the end walls 13 and 14 (in other words, from a position substantially aligned with the inner surface of the end wall 13 to a position substantially aligned with the inner surface of the end wall 14), and extends in a circumferential direction from 80 to 80. Advantageously, it extends over an angle range of the order of 110 degrees. In the toner discharge opening 16,
Reinforcing ribs 18 are provided to increase the rigidity of the peripheral wall 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the reinforcing ribs 18 are arranged at intervals in the axial direction and extend in an arc shape in the circumferential direction across the toner discharge opening 16, and each of the two adjacent arc portions 20. A pair of linear portions 22 and a pair of linear portions 22 each extending in the axial direction between the pair.
Has a chord-like portion 24 extending in a chord-like manner between the middle portions of the two. Such a reinforcing rib 18 can be formed separately from the main body 8 of the container 4 and fixed to a required portion by an appropriate method such as mechanical locking or bonding, or formed integrally with the main body 8. be able to. On the outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 of the main body 8, a plurality of arc-shaped ridges 25 extending in the circumferential direction at appropriate intervals in the axial direction are formed. Each of the arc-shaped ridges 25 does not extend to a region where a seal member described later is provided. The lid 10 has a circular end wall 26,
6, a short cylindrical wall 28 protruding outward from the periphery, and an annular flange wall 29 protruding radially outward from the short cylindrical wall 28
Having. A projecting piece 3 protruding outward is provided on the outer surface of the end wall 26.
0 is formed. The outer diameter of the end wall 26 is the end wall 1 of the main body 8.
4 is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the cylindrical projecting wall 17 . Such a lid 10 has a circular end wall 26 and a short cylindrical wall 28 formed on the end wall 14 of the main body 8 after the toner is filled into the main body 8 through the toner filling opening 15 as will be described later. The toner filling opening 15 is closed by being inserted into the cylindrical projecting wall 17 and fixed by an appropriate method such as heat sealing or bonding.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the outer member 6, which can be formed of a suitable synthetic resin, comprises an elongated cylindrical peripheral wall 44 and an end wall 46 closing one end surface thereof. Have. The other end surface of the outer member 6 is open. The inner diameter of the peripheral wall 44 is set to a value that is larger by about 2 to 3 mm than the outer diameter of the peripheral wall 12 in the main body 8 of the container 4 described above. On the surface of the peripheral wall 44, a pair of locking pieces 48 arranged at an interval of 180 degrees are formed. Such locking piece 48 is a plate-like piece which is brought into radially projecting from the peripheral wall 44, and extends in the axial direction over substantially the entire length of the outer side member 6. In the peripheral wall 44 of the outer member 6, a toner passage opening 50 is further formed. The length of the toner passage opening 50 in the axial direction may be substantially the same as the length of the toner discharge opening 16 formed in the main body 8 of the container 4 in the axial direction.
The circumferential extension angle of 0 may be substantially the same as the circumferential extension angle of the toner discharge opening 16 formed in the main body 8 of the container 4. The toner passage opening 50 is provided with a reinforcing rib 52 for making the rigidity of the peripheral wall 44 sufficient. The reinforcing rib 52 has a pair of arc-shaped portions extending in the circumferential direction at intervals in the axial direction. The reinforcing ribs 52 can be formed integrally with the peripheral wall 44, or can be formed separately from the peripheral wall 44 and fixed to a required portion by an appropriate method such as mechanical locking or bonding.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A container having a toner discharge opening formed therein, a toner accommodated in the container, and a closed position for closing the toner discharge opening and an open position for releasing the toner discharge opening. An outer member movably combined with the container, and a compressible seal member extending along a periphery of the toner discharge opening is disposed on an outer surface of the container, wherein the seal member is A toner cartridge compressed between an outer surface of the container and an inner surface of the outer member, wherein the sealing member is provided with a cloth surface layer. 2. The sealing member includes a foam main layer,
2. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said surface layer is provided on a surface of said main layer. 3. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein said main layer is made of polyurethane foam. 4. The toner cartridge according to claim 2, wherein said surface layer is made of a cloth formed of thermoplastic synthetic fibers, and is thermally fused to a surface of said main layer. 5. The toner cartridge according to claim 4, wherein said surface layer is made of tricot cloth formed of nylon fibers. 6. The container has a substantially cylindrical shape, the toner discharge opening is formed on a peripheral surface thereof, and the outer member has a substantially cylindrical shape into which the container is inserted concentrically. A toner passage opening formed therein, the outer member being rotated relative to the inner member to position the outer member between the closed position and the open position, and the outer member being moved to the closed position. When the outer member is located at the open position, the toner discharge opening and the toner passage opening do not overlap with each other. The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridges overlap each other.