JP3313866B2 - Developing device, assembling method of developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a latent image is formed by selectively exposing an image carrier uniformly charged by a charger to a latent image, and the latent image is visualized with toner by a developing device. At the same time, the image by the toner is transferred to a recording medium to perform image recording. In such an apparatus, maintenance of each member is performed by a specialized service person.

Therefore, the image carrier, the charging device, the developing device, the cleaning device, and the like are integrated into a cartridge to form a cartridge, and the user can load the cartridge into the main assembly of the device to reduce the toner supply and the life. An image carrier that has been replaced and that has been replaced has been put into practical use with easy maintenance.

In such an apparatus, the cartridge is mounted on the main body of the apparatus, and is gradually moved from a toner storage section provided in the cartridge to a developing sleeve or an image carrier until the built-in toner is used up. Supply.

In the developing device of the process cartridge, an opening is sealed with a sealing member (or an opening regulating member with an opening sealed with a sealing member is attached and sealed) and the sealing member is interposed. And the developing frame is connected by ultrasonic welding or the like. When the process cartridge is used, the seal member is pulled out and removed, the opening is opened, and the toner flows out of the opened toner storage device to the developing device main body to be replenished.

[0006] As the sealing member, a so-called easy-peel film that seals with a single film, peels off the film at the start of use and is opened, and a cover film and a tear tape are integrated. There is a so-called tear seal that tears open the cover film by pulling.

[0007] Since the easy peel film is a single film, it is easy to manufacture and assemble, but the opening strength is increased to some extent. In this regard, the tear seal has been widely used in recent years because the tear strength can be reduced by selecting the material of the cover film in order to open the tear film by tearing the cover film.

[0008]

However, in the tear seal, if the opening width of the toner container (or the opening regulating member) to be sealed is widened, the tear tape is also widened. The cover film was easily pulled, and the cover film adhered to the opening flange might peel off from the flange and become unopenable.

For this reason, conventionally, when a toner container having a wide opening is sealed, an easy peel film has been used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to seal even a toner storage container having a wide opening with a tear seal member and to reliably open the toner container. An object of the present invention is to provide a developing device capable of assembling the developing device, a process cartridge having the developing device, and an image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge can be attached and detached.

[0011]

A representative configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a developing device for developing a latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member using toner, A toner storage container for storing the toner, having an opening of a predetermined size, a cover member for closing the opening, and provided from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the cover member to tear the cover member. A sealing member having a flexible member folded back at the other end, wherein the flexible member is pulled out at the start of use to open the opening, and the toner storage container. And a developing frame having an end sealing member provided at a position facing the folded side end of the flexible member when the developing device is connected to the toner container. The frame is characterized in that the end seal member presses and connects the folded side end of the seal member with the seal member interposed therebetween.

[0012]

In the above structure, the end of the cover member on the folded side of the flexible member is pressed by the end seal member. Therefore, when the flexible member is pulled out, the cover member is not pulled by the flexible member. Therefore, even if the opening is widened, it can be reliably opened.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, as an explanation of an embodiment of the present invention, first, first, FIG.
An example will be described, then another example will be described, and finally the experimental results will be shown.

In the following embodiments, not only the case where the tear seal member according to the present invention is used as the seal member but also the case where an easy peel film is used for reference.

First Embodiment A first embodiment according to 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 to be mounted on the toner storage container, and The configuration of the sealing member formed of the sealing member and the configuration of the developing frame will be described in this order.

{Overall Description} FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge according to the present invention is mounted, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a process cartridge.

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

As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge B constituting the image forming section rotates the photosensitive drum 7 to uniformly charge the surface thereof by the charging means 8, and the light from the optical system 1 The image is transferred to the photosensitive drum 7 through the exposure unit 9.
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 unit 4 transfers the toner image to the recording medium 2, the cleaning unit 11 removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7. The components such as the photosensitive drum 7 are housed in a 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. Further, an attachment member 15 for supporting and attaching the photosensitive drum 7 to the cleaning container 12c, and a seal for attaching to 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 transferring means, a fixing means, and a cartridge mounting means.

(Optical System) The optical system 1 irradiates a light image on the photosensitive drum 7 by irradiating light based on 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 an optical unit 1a.

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

(Recording Medium Conveying Means) Next, the structure 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 transport two types of recording media 2, and can perform both single-sided printing and double-sided printing.

The structure of the cassette 3a or the cassette 3
When any one of the recording media 2 stored in b is selected, the picked-up roller 3c and the separation roller pair 3d on the selected side separate and feed the sheet one by one from the top and feed 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 an image transfer portion, which is a contact portion between the photosensitive drum 7 and the transfer roller 4.

The recording medium 2 on which the toner has been transferred by the transfer section
The fixing unit 5 fixes the toner image. In the case of single-sided printing, the discharge unit 6 passes through the discharge path 3g by the pair of intermediate transport rollers 3f and the recording surface downward by the discharge rollers 3h.
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 re-sending path 3j by the pair of intermediate conveying rollers 3f, and is stocked in the re-sending section 3m by the re-sending rollers 3k1, 3k2. . At this time, the recording surface faces downward. When resending, the flapper 3n swings, the recording medium 2 stocked in the resending section 3m is conveyed to the registration roller pair 3e by the pickup roller 3o and the conveyance roller pair 3p, and an image is recorded on the other surface. Is to be transported.

(Transfer Unit) The transfer unit 4 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 7 in the image forming unit to the recording medium 2. The transfer unit 4 of this embodiment is, as shown in FIG. , And the transfer roller 4. That is, the recording medium 2 is pressed against the photosensitive drum 7 of the mounted process cartridge B by the transfer roller 4, and a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 7 is applied 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
Is applied to fix the toner image transferred to the recording medium 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the configuration includes a driving roller 5a that is driven and rotated, 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 onto which the toner image has been transferred by the image forming unit passes between the driving roller 5a and the fixing roller 5c, pressure is applied by the pressing of both rollers 5a and 5c, and the heat generated by the fixing roller 5c is generated. As a result, heat is applied, and the toner on the recording medium 2 is fixed to the recording medium 2.

(Process Cartridge Mounting Means) A cartridge mounting means for mounting the process cartridge B is provided in the image forming apparatus A. As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting and dismounting of the process cartridge B with respect to the apparatus main body 13 is performed 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 an upper portion of the apparatus main body 13. When the opening / closing member 14 is opened, a cartridge mounting guide member (not shown) is attached to the left and right inner side surfaces of the opening / closing member 14. The left and right guide members are provided with guides for inserting the process cartridge B. The process cartridge B is inserted along the guide, and the opening / closing member 14 is closed to attach the process cartridge B to the image forming apparatus A. Like that.

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

The process cartridge B has an image carrier and at least one process means. Here, examples of the process means include 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 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 as an image carrier. The toner storage container 12a, the developing frame 12b, and the cleaning container 12c cover and integrate with the housing 12, and are configured to be detachable from 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, charging means, exposure unit, developing means, and cleaning means.

(Photosensitive Drum) The photosensitive drum 7 according to this embodiment is formed by coating an organic photosensitive layer on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical drum base made of aluminum. The photosensitive drum 7 is rotatably mounted on the housing 12, and the driving force of a drive motor provided on the apparatus main body side is transmitted to a flange gear mounted on one longitudinal end of the drum 7. 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, and in this embodiment, a charging roller 8 is rotatably mounted on the cleaning container 12c. A charging method is used. The charging roller 8 is formed by providing a conductive elastic layer on a metal roller shaft 8a, further providing a high-resistance elastic layer thereon, and further providing a protective film on the surface thereof. The conductive elastic layer is made of EPDM or N
It is made of a material in which carbon is dispersed in an elastic rubber layer such as BR, and has an action of guiding a bias voltage supplied to the roller shaft 8a. The high-resistance elastic layer is made of urethane rubber or the like, and contains a small amount of conductive fine powder as an example. Even when a charging roller having high conductivity such as a pinhole of the photosensitive drum 7 faces, It functions to limit the leak current to the photosensitive drum 7 to prevent a sharp drop in the bias voltage. The protective layer is made of N-methylmethoxylated nylon so that the plastic material of the conductive elastic layer and the high-resistance elastic layer does not touch the photoconductor drum 7 and deteriorate the surface of the photoconductor drum 7. Works.

The charging roller 8 is moved to the photosensitive drum 7
During image formation, the charging roller 8 rotates following the rotation of the photosensitive drum 7, and at this time, a DC voltage and an AC voltage are applied to the charging roller 8 in a superimposed manner so that the photosensitive 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 to a light image radiated from the optical system 1 and exposes the surface of the drum 7 to an electrostatic latent image. The exposure section is formed by providing an opening 9 for guiding the optical image on the upper surface of the housing 12.

(Developing Means) As shown in FIG. 2, the developing means 10 has a toner storing portion 10a for storing toner, and the toner reciprocatingly moves in the direction of the arrow in the toner storing portion 10a in order to send out the toner. A feed member 10b is provided. Further, a developing sleeve 10d having a non-rotating magnet 10c inside and forming a thin toner layer on the surface by rotating is provided at a small distance from the photosensitive drum 7.

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

(Cleaning means) Cleaning means 11
As shown in FIG. 2, a cleaning blade 11a for contacting the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 and scraping off the toner remaining on the drum 7, and the blade for scooping the scraped toner Located below 11a,
And a squeeze sheet weakly contacting the surface of the photosensitive drum 7
11b, a feeding member 11c for sending the scooped waste toner to the back of the container, and a waste toner reservoir 11d for storing waste toner.

{Photosensitive Drum Mounting Member} Next, the 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 by forced press-fit or an adhesive. The support member 15 is fitted into 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 includes 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.
15c. Further, an extension 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 mounted on the apparatus main body 13, the first conductive member 15b becomes Contact the ground terminal (not shown) of No. 13.

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

The second conductive member 15c is a flange gear 7
When the fitting hole 7b is fitted into the fitting hole 7b, the tip of the fitting hole 7b comes into contact with a contact 7c (see FIG. 4) provided inside the photosensitive drum 7, and the photosensitive material is exposed through the second conductive member 15c and the first conductive member 15b. The body drum 7 is grounded to the apparatus main body 13. Therefore, the first conductive member 15b and the second conductive member 15c are made of a conductive material,
For example, it is made of iron, stainless steel, brass, aluminum or the like whose surface is nickel-chromium plated. 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 high slidability with the flange gear 7a, for example, polyacetal, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate or the like, and is outsert to the shaft portion 15c2 of the second conductive member 15c. The cylindrical member 15e formed by molding or in a ring shape is attached to the shaft portion 15c2 by press fitting or bonding. 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 to form an image, 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 flange gear 7a made of plastic does not slide on the metal shaft and is scraped, and the generation of noise and the like is prevented.

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

Referring now to FIG. 6, the dimensions of each part of the mounting member 15 in this embodiment are shown. FIG. 6A is a front view of the mounting member 15 viewed from the second conductive member 15c side.
(B) is a sectional plan view thereof.

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

Similarly, the other end of the photosensitive drum 7 in the longitudinal direction is supported by inserting the shaft of the attachment member into the fitting hole of the flange member attached to the end of the drum. At this time, it may be similarly supported by the mounting member 15,
The attachment member supporting the other end does not necessarily need to be provided with the plastic cylindrical member 15e.

{Sealing Member Attached to Toner Container}
Next, the sealing member attached to the toner container 12a will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the toner storage container 12a has an opening 12a1, and supplies the toner stored in the container to the developing sleeve from this opening. However, when the process cartridge B is in an unused state and the opening 12a1 is open, the toner in the container is spilled or wet when the process cartridge B is being transported or stored. For this purpose, 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 includes a tear seal member 17 integrally formed by welding a tear tape 17b as a flexible member to a cover film 17a as a cover member.
The opening restricting member 18 is attached to the opening restricting member 18 by welding or the like.
The opening 12a1 is sealed by attaching to the opening a1.

Next, regarding the sealing member S, the cover film, the tear tape, the integration of the cover film and the tear tape, the opening regulating member, the attachment of the sealing member to the opening regulating member, the size of each part of the sealing member, the toner container The description will be made in the order of the attachment of the sealing member to the base.

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

As the material of the base material 17a1, a uniaxially stretched film material or sheet material having a sufficient airtightness at the opening of the container and having a tearing property in one direction can be used. For example, uniaxially stretched polyethylene, uniaxially stretched polypropylene, uniaxially stretched polypropylene, and the like 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 the tear can be made uniform.

As the base material 17a1 having a stable tearing property and a certain film strength, a film thickness of about 120 μm to 140 μm and an average specific gravity of 0.6 g / cc to
A stretched expanded polypropylene film of about 0.9 g / cc or the like is preferably used.

On the other hand, a polyethylene-based sealant is preferably used for the sealant layer 17a2 so that the sealant layer 17a2 can be welded to a sealant layer of the tear tape 17b described later by heat sealing (heat welding). A heat seal using an ionomer resin may be used, and an impulse seal or a high-frequency welder may be used if an appropriate material is selected. When a polyethylene-based sealant containing ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer of several percent to about several ten percent is used as the sealant layer 17a2, the thickness is preferably about 10 μm to 30 μm in consideration of adhesive strength. More preferably, the thickness is about 15 μm to 25 μm.

(Tare Tape) Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the tear tape 17b is composed of a base material 17b1 and sealant layers 17b2 provided on the front and back surfaces thereof.

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

The material of 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. At the time of welding, it is desirable to use the same material as much as possible so that both are melted and adhered. When a polyethylene-based sealant containing ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer of about several percent to about several ten percent is used as the sealant layer 17b2, about 20 μm to 40 μm is taken into consideration in consideration of adhesive strength.
m, preferably about 25 m.
It is desirable that the film thickness is about μm to 35 μm.

As shown in FIG. 8C, a tear tape 17b provided with a sealant layer 12b2 on only one surface of a 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. The nylon layer N has a thickness of about 10 μm to 20 μm.
The thickness is preferably about 13 μm, more preferably about 13 μm
A film thickness of about 17 μm is desirable.

In this embodiment, the cover film 17a shown in FIG. 8A and the tear tape 17b shown in FIG. 8C are integrally welded by heat sealing as shown in FIG. Unitized to form the seal member 17. At this time, one end in the longitudinal direction of the tear tape 17b is longer than the cover film 17a and is a free end. This free end serves as a handle for 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.
If the heat shrinkage rate of a1 is high, the sealing member 17 curls 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 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. Is preferred.

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

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.
Except for S1, the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b overlap (the mesh portion) the entire surface of S2 was sealed,
At the time of this sealing, cover film 17a and tear tape 17b
Since the heat shrinkage rates of the respective film base materials are different, as shown in FIG. 12, the sealing member 17 after sealing is largely curled in the longitudinal direction and the width direction.

Regarding this curl amount, as shown in FIG.
In particular, if the curl amount k1 in the width direction is about 2 to 3 mm, there is no problem.
However, it is difficult to position the seal in the opening at the time of the sealing operation, and the seal misalignment failure frequently occurs.

According to the study of 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 prevented without impairing the tearing property. It has been clarified that it is possible to produce a seal member 17 having almost no seal.

The seal width W1 of the seal pattern S3 is desirably about 2 mm to 7 mm. In particular, with respect to the two short sides of the seal pattern S3, the tearing property is reduced unless the tear seal member 17 is securely integrated. However, in the worst case, there is a concern that the cover film 17a may have a fluff.
In particular, in the case of a toner container having an opening width of 20 mm or more, the seal width W1 of the two short sides needs to be about 5 mm to 7 mm.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the seal pattern S3
Or only the two long sides are intermittent, or as shown in FIG.
The seal pattern S3 may have a U-shape in which a short portion corresponding to the end of the tear tape 17b at the end of the tear tape 17b is an 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 alleviated to some extent.
Since the short portion at the beginning of the tear is unsealed, the tearing property is poor, and the occurrence of fluff on the cover film 17a is not preferable.

(Opening regulating member) The seal member 17 is attached to the opening of the opening regulating member 18 shown in FIG. The opening regulating member 18 is provided between the toner storage container 12a and 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.
About polyester, polystyrene, nylon,
A plastic plate such as an ABS plate is formed into a sheet, and the opening 18a is later hollowed out, or is formed into a frame by ordinary molding. In addition, this opening regulating member 18
Is a flange 12 provided in the opening 12a1 of the toner container.
Since it is attached to a2 by ultrasonic welding, etc.
The same material as a is easier to weld. Therefore, for example, when the container 12a is made of polystyrene, it is preferable that the opening regulating member 18 is also a polystyrene plate.

The material of the toner container 12a is as follows.
Impact-resistant polystyrene or the like in which butadiene rubber or the like is reduced is desirably used so as not to cause cracking of the container against the logistics conditions of dropping or impact as a product. It is more desirable to add a bromine-based or phosphorus-based flame retardant so that it is unlikely to be ignited by a power supply or a heat fixing device.

The above-described sealing 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 by thermocompression bonding, an easy adhesion treatment such as a corona discharge treatment is performed as necessary.

The sealing conditions were such that the seal bar 19a of the horn 19 was heated to 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 a pressure of 5 kgf / cm ² for about 1 to 3 seconds. In this case, the cover film of the sealing member 17
Short overlapping portion 17c where 17a and tear tape 17b overlap
Is thicker by the thickness of the tear tape 17b.
A concave portion 19a1 corresponding to the above thickness is provided in this portion of 19a.
When thermocompression bonding is performed by the seal bar 19a, the opening regulating member 18 and the seal bar 19a must be pressed in parallel and uniformly. If this is not uniform, extra stress is applied to the sealing surface 17d of the sealing member 17, and when the process cartridge B is impacted or dropped, the film is torn from the inner edge 17d1 of the sealing surface 17d, and the toner is damaged. There is a possibility that the toner in the storage container 12a leaks out of the torn portion.

Here, as shown in FIG.
The area of the portion where the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b overlap (the mesh portion in FIG. 19) is about 50% of the portion (the hatched portion in FIG. 19) of the cover film 17a that seals the opening 18a except for the sealing surface 17d. Preferably, it is from about 70% to 90%, more preferably from about 70% to 90%. The reason is that the inner pressure of the toner stored in the toner storage container 12a at the time of distribution is increased by the cover film 17.
This is because, as the area of the portion where the tape a overlaps with the tear tape 17b is larger, the load on the edge portion covered only by the cover film 17a is reduced, and toner leakage due to peeling of the seal can be prevented more reliably.

In order to effectively prevent the peeling of the seal, the length of the tear tape 17b in the short direction should be about 0.5 mm to 2 mm longer than the length of the opening 18a of the opening regulating member 18 in the short direction.
It is desirable to increase the width by about mm. The reason is that the sealing surface of the cover film 17a is resistant to drop impact and pressure resistance during distribution.
This is because the pressure directly applied to 17d is reduced.

(Attaching of Seal Member to Opening Restriction Member) Here, a configuration for attaching the seal member 17 to the opening restriction member 18 will be described. In this embodiment, the sealing member 17 is used.
Is thermally welded to the opening regulating member 18 to seal the opening 18a.

The seal pattern of the heat welding is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), a portion corresponding to the front end portion and the rear end portion from which the tear tape 17b is pulled out, that is, a portion corresponding to the short direction of the opening 18a (hereinafter, referred to as a "short seal pattern").
P2 is compared with a portion corresponding to the intermediate portion, that is, a portion corresponding to the longitudinal direction (hereinafter referred to as a “longitudinal seal pattern”) P1
Opening the lateral direction length of the toner filling amount and the opening limiting member 18 which encloses considering (opening width) Y _2, toner contained is falling, to narrow maximum to the extent that they do not leak out of the container 12a by an impact or the like . The short seal pattern P2 has a mountain shape with an apex angle θ.

[0080] The longitudinal seal pattern P1 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the width Y ₅ of the flange portion, respectively about 1mm outer margin and an inner margin of the heat welding of the seal member 17 in consideration of the seal displacement
２2 mm. The seal width T1 of the longitudinal seal pattern is preferably about 2 mm to 5 mm.
When the lateral direction length Y ₁ is wide and about 20 mm to 100 mm are of approximately 3mm~5mm is desirable.

On the other hand, the short seal pattern P2
Width Y of the transverse flange of member 18 ₆Without seal
In consideration of this, the outer margin of the heat welding of the seal member 17, that is, the opening
The difference Y in the distance from the longitudinal end of the regulating member 18₇About 1.0mm
~ 3.0mm, the seal width T2 is about 1.5mm ~ 3.5
mm is preferred. In particular, the length Y in the short direction of the opening 18a_TwoIs 20
mm or more, the seal width T2 is 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 seal pattern P2 is smaller than the seal width T1 of the long 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 Usually, it swells more in the longitudinal direction, and as for the pressure resistance, the force applied to the portion of the short seal pattern P2 is smaller than that of the long seal pattern P1. For this reason, the width T2 of the short seal pattern is equal to the width of the long seal pattern.
Even if it is narrower than T1, it has sufficient pressure resistance.

When the developing frame 12b is combined with the toner container 12a to which the opening regulating member 18 is attached by ultrasonic welding or the like, the short seal pattern P2 is provided on the developing frame 12b side. Because 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).
About) Seal width T2 is enough.

Here, the seal member 17 thermally welded by the seal pattern is opened by pulling the tear tape 17b. At the time of the opening, the seal peeling portion that the operator feels the heaviest is the maximum seal width T shown in FIG. Is proportional to That is, if the maximum seal width T is long, the opening strength increases, and if the maximum sealing width T is short, the opening strength decreases. And the apex angle θ
The maximum seal width T in the case of the above-mentioned chevron shape is: T = 2 × {T2 / Cos (θ / 2)} (1)

Therefore, the opening strength is the short seal pattern P2.
Is proportional to the seal width T2. For this reason, when the short seal pattern P2 is not a mountain shape as in the present embodiment, but is 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 lateral direction length Y ₂ than can be designed seal width G is constant, most opening strength is increased.

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

That is, the opening strength of the seal member 17 is minimized by forming the short seal pattern P2 into a mountain shape and making the seal width T2 smaller than the long seal pattern width T1 as in the present embodiment. In addition, a significant reduction in opening strength can be realized.

It should be noted that, if the vertex angle θ of the chevron shape is made smaller from the above equation (1), the opening strength becomes smaller.
With an acute angle 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 chevron portion, and when the seal member 17 is opened, the entered toner scatters. Sometimes.
If the angle θ is smaller than 90 degrees, the toner container 12a or the process cartridge
When the sheet is dropped or subjected to an impact, the seal near the tip of the chevron portion (the hatched portion in FIG. 20B) is apt to be loosened, and a pressure resistance load is applied to cause toner leakage. There is a possibility that.

Accordingly, although the short seal pattern P2 is formed in a mountain shape, the apex angle of the short seal pattern P2 is set to 90 degrees or more to prevent the toner from scattering at the time of opening as described above and to prevent the seal member 17 from withstanding pressure. The strength can be prevented from lowering, and the opening strength can be further reduced. In this case, the peak angle θ of the mountain shape is preferably 90 to 170 degrees, and more preferably 130 to 170 degrees. The breadth Y ₆ of the opening limiting member 18 is preferably 3Mm～12mm,
More preferably, it is 5 mm to 12 mm.

(Size of Each Part of Sealing Member) Here, 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 about 237 mm, the lateral length of the cover film 17a is about 51.5 mm, the longitudinal length of the tear tape 17b is about 574 mm, and the lateral length of the tear tape 17b is about 38.5 mm , opening limiting member 18 longitudinal length Y ₁ of about 220 mm of the opening 18a of the opening limiting the lateral direction of the opening 18a of the member 18 the length Y ₂ to about 36.5 mm, longitudinal length Y ₃ about the opening limiting member 18 278.5 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 about 3.5 mm, shorter seal pattern width T2 of about 2 mm, apex angle θ of about 160 ° chevron shape, the longitudinal length of the opening 12a1 of the toner container 12a X ₁ to about 221.5 mm, the opening of the toner container 12a 12a1 (Length of the transverse direction X _{2) of} about 63.5 mm, (attachment of the sealing member) The toner storage container 12a is attached to the flange 12a2 of the toner storage container 12a to seal the toner storage container 12a. First, the toner feeding member 10b is placed in the toner container 12a.
As shown in FIG. 7, a tool (not shown) is inserted into a positioning hole 18b provided at a short-side end of the opening regulating member 18 and a positioning hole 12a3 of the toner storage container 12a. The opening restricting member 18 is positioned on the container flange 12a2 by aligning 18b and 12a3, and the two are completely welded by ultrasonic welding or the like in the positioning state. Thus, the toner storage device is assembled.

{Developing Frame} Next, the developing frame 12b shown in FIG. 23 is combined with the toner storage container 12a. The developing frame 12b is provided with developing means such as a developing sleeve 10d and a developing blade 10e. Also the developing blade 10
An antenna line 12b4 serving as an electrode for detecting a change in the remaining amount of toner as a change in capacitance is fixed to the toner feed port e. This antenna line 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. Further, a toner stirring rod 12b7 is attached near the antenna line. The toner stirring rod 12b7 rotatably supports both ends of a wire bent in a U-shape, and rotates the stirring rod 12b7 by transmitting a driving force to a gear (not shown) fixed to one end. The developing sleeve 10
This is to stir the toner sent to d.

The developing frame 12b is provided at predetermined positions with end sealing members 21 and members 22a and 22b for regulating the pull-out direction of the tear tape 17b.

Next, the developing frame 12b will be described in the order of the combination of the toner container and the developing frame, the end seal member, the tear tape pull-out direction regulating member, and the structure for preventing the end seal member from being turned up.

(Incorporation of Toner Storage Container and Developing Frame) In order to integrate the developing frame 12b with the toner storage container 12a, first, the sealing member S is attached, and the positioning hole of the toner storage container 12a in which the tear tape 17b is folded back. 12
a3 and a not-shown tool are inserted into the positioning holes 12b1 provided in 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. Opening restricting member 18 with frame 12b
Then, the developing frame 12b, the sealing member S, and the toner storage container 12a are integrated.

As shown in FIG. 23, positioning bosses 12b2 are provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the developing frame 12b to position the toner container 12a and the developing frame 12b when they are joined. 12a is the boss 12b2
There is provided a hole 12a5 in which is fitted. In FIG. 23, 12
Reference numeral b3 denotes a wall provided on one side in the longitudinal direction of the developing frame 12b for mounting a drive unit for driving the toner feeding member and the like. Reference numeral 18d denotes a positioning hole when the opening regulating member 18 is mounted on the toner container 12a. It is. Further, the ear portions provided with the positioning holes 12a3, 12b1, 18b used for positioning the developing frame 12b and the like are cut off after the three members are integrated because they become unnecessary.

The toner is inserted into the toner container 12a, to which the developing frame 12b is attached as described above, through a toner inlet (not shown), the inlet is closed, and the photosensitive drum 7 and the like are further incorporated to mount the process cartridge B. assemble. When 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. As the sealing surface 17
There is a possibility that the inner edge 17d1 of d may be broken and 20 or the like may occur. This is because the cover film 17a is uniaxially stretched,
As described above, since the stress direction at the time of thermocompression bonding by the seal bar 19a and the vertical tearing direction coincide with each other, it is easy to tear in the non-stretching direction.

Therefore, the breaking strength of the base material 17a1 of the cover film 17a is important for eliminating the occurrence of the tear. This breaking strength is about 1.0kgf / mm ~
It is preferable to use one having a weight of 3.0 kgf / mm, more preferably one having a weight of about 1.3 kgf / mm to 3.0 kgf / mm. The thickness of the base material 17a1 of the cover film 17a is about
It is preferable to use those having a size of 130 μm to 150 μm.

(End Sealing Member) In the process cartridge B, the tear tape 17b is pulled out to open the sealing member S, and the toner is used between the toner storage container 12a and the developing frame 12b. To prevent leakage, as shown in FIG. 23 and FIG.
An end seal member 21 made of foamed polyurethane, foamed polyethylene, foamed polypropylene, or the like is attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the back surface of b.

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

When the end sealing member 21 is provided, the tear sealing tape 21 required at the time of opening by the end sealing member 21 is provided.
In addition to requiring a large force to pull out the cover film 17b, the tearing end portion of the cover film 17a is rubbed with the end seal member 21 and easily fluffed. The cause of the fluffing is that if the sealant layer 17a2 of the cover film 17a is not completely melt-bonded, the cover film 17a is torn about 2 to 3 mm wider than the tear width of the tear tape 17b. Therefore, the cover film
It is desirable that the seal tape 17a and the tear tape 17b be completely welded by the sealant layer 17a2.

When the tape 17b is provided with a sealant layer 17b2 on both sides of a substrate 17b1 as shown in FIG. 8B, the sealant layer 17 of the cover film 17a is used.
In order to completely melt-weld the sealant layer 17a 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.

The toner container 12a and the developing frame 12
b, when the end sealing member 21 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a folded side end of the sealing member, as shown in FIG. The folded end of the flexible member 17b and the longitudinal end of the cover film (cover member) 17a are 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 off from the folded side end (hereinafter referred to as "tear end") and opened. At this time, tear tape 17b
If the width is small, there is no problem.
When the width of “a” increases and the tear tape 17b also increases in width, the overlapping width of the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b in the short seal pattern P2 (see FIG. 20) increases. Therefore, when the tear tape 17b is pulled out, the force for peeling off the cover film 17a from the opening regulating member 18 by being pulled by the tear tape 17b is higher than the force for bonding the cover film 17a to the opening regulating member 18 (adhesive force by the short seal pattern P2). Also increases. In this case, the tear end of the cover film 17a is turned up by pulling out the tear tape 17b before the cover film 17a is torn, and peels 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 down by the end sealing member 21 as in this embodiment, the tear end is not turned up when the tear tape 17b is pulled out. 17
a will surely be torn.

Here, if the pressing force of the end sealing member 21 at the tearing end of the cover film 17a is too small, the effect of preventing the cover film 17a from turning up is not obtained, and if it is too large, the tearing strength of the tear tape 17a increases. 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 good to set to about.

For this purpose, for example, when an end sealing 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 storage container 12a and the developing frame 12b is increased. When the thickness is 1 mm to 2 mm, the end sealing 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 container 12a and the developing frame 12b is 1 mm.
And 2mm thick foam polyurethane end seal
The cover film 17a is pressed with a force of about 1.5 kgf by attaching the cover 21 and compressing the cover film 17a to a thickness of about 1/2.

(Tare Tape Pulling Direction Restricting Member) When the tear tape 17b is pulled out, if the pulling direction of the tape 17b is not good, not only the opening strength is greatly increased, but in the worst case, the tear tape 17b is caught on the way. There is a possibility that a trouble that pulling out cannot be performed.

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

By providing the bosses 22a and 22b on both sides in the drawing direction of the tear tape 17b in the short direction as described above, as shown in FIG. , 22b is tear tape
Since the short end of the tape 17b is guided, the tear tape 17b can be smoothly pulled out in an appropriate opening direction. When the tear tape 17b is pulled obliquely, the tape 17b has a resistance to rub against 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 boss is attached to the developing frame 12b.
Although the holes 12a4 are provided in the toner container 12a and the holes 12a4 are provided in the toner container 12a, the same effect can be obtained by providing a boss in the toner container 12a and a hole in which the boss fits in the developing frame 12b. .

(Structure for Preventing Turn-Up of Seal Member) As described above, the pull-out direction of the tear tape 17b is regulated. However, when the tear tape 17b is pulled out, the end seal member 21 may be turned up. When the end sealing member 21 is turned up, it takes 5 times to pull out the tear tape 17b.
What is about kg is greatly increased to about 7kg to 8kg. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, a convex portion 23 is provided at a portion of the end seal member 21 on the side where the tear tape 17b is pulled out, to prevent the end seal 21 from being turned up.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 26, the projection 23 is configured to abut on the end of the end seal member 21 on the upstream side in the tear tape pulling-out direction. In this embodiment, the height H is about 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm as shown in FIG.
The width W is about 3 mm to 5 mm and is formed integrally with the developing frame 12b (or a member made of, for example, polystyrene having the above shape may be attached to the developing frame 12b). The end seal 21 is adhered to the end of the projection 23 so that the end of the end seal member 21 on the upstream side in the tear tape pull-out direction comes into contact. The length of the convex portion 23 in the width direction of the tear tape 17b (the direction of the front and back of FIG. 26) is the same as that of the tear tape.
Although it is desirable that the width is longer than the width of the tear tape 17b, it is not always necessary to be longer than the width of the tear tape 17b, and it may be intermittent.

It is desirable to form the corners of the convex portion 23 in a curved shape, so-called R portion, in order to reduce the pull-out resistance of the tear tape 17b.

By providing the projection 23 as described above,
As shown in FIG. 26, when the tear tape 17b is pulled out in the direction of the arrow, the protrusion 23 is in contact with the end of the seal member 21, so that the seal member 21 is not turned up by being dragged by the tear tape 17b. . Therefore, the tear tape 17b
The stable pull-out operability can be maintained without increasing the pull-out strength.

As described above, the projection 23 may be formed integrally with the developing frame 12b.
You may make it comprise with 12b and another member.

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the opening regulating member 18 for regulating the opening area of the toner container 12a is attached, and the sealing member 17 is attached to the opening regulating member 18. However, the sealing member in 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 section.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the sealing member 17 is also formed integrally with the cover film 17a as the cover member and the tear tape 17b as the flexible member.
Although the example in which the cover film 17a is torn is shown, the seal member may be formed of a so-called easy peel film which is a peeling seal member.

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

Conventionally, a stretched polypropylene film or the like has been used as the first substrate, but a biaxially stretched polyester film having a higher 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 impart elongation strength (high toughness) to the film. However, since the nylon is very easily absorbed by moisture, it is easily curled. Similarly, a biaxially stretched polyester film is desirably used.

Further, the second base material may be printed with an arrow or the like so as to instruct the operator appropriately in a direction in which the toner container is opened.

Further, when the printing does not need to be performed as described above, the first base material and the second base material may be used as a one-layer base material. When the substrate has one layer, the seal adhesion is better and the printing is clearer.

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

After printing on the second base material, the first base material and the second base material are subjected to lamination processing to form one base material.

Incidentally, unless the adhesive strength between the first base material and the second base material adhered by the laminating treatment is stronger than the adhesive strength between the sealant layer and the toner container, the first base material and the second base material at the time of opening the first base material. Since the substrate and the second substrate are delaminated, a very strong bonding method (for example, using a polyester-based adhesive using a binder similar to the film substrate) is used.

Further, in this laminating process, wrinkles do not enter the first base material and the second base material, and air bubbles and the like do not enter the laminated portion.

As the cushion layer, a polyethylene layer is used, but a material 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, enylene-
A vinyl acetate copolymer-based sealant is used, and preferably a mixture of about 1% to 20% by weight of a vinyl acetate copolymer is used.

In the sealant layer, a tackifier, a slip agent and the like are added in addition 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, the thickness is about 1 kg / 15 mm to 3 kg / 15 mm. Sealed sealing film 1
This is the value when peeling in the direction of 80 degrees.

The degree to which the cushion layer and the sealant layer are actually crushed depending on the heat sealing conditions 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 seal adhesive force and the opening force change.

The thickness of each layer of the above-mentioned four-layered easy peel film is 10 μm to 30 μm for the first base material and 10 μm for the second base material in consideration of the balance between the sealing adhesive force and the opening force.
m to 30 μm, the cushion layer is preferably 10 μm to 30 μm, and the sealant layer is preferably 30 μm to 50 μm. More preferably, the first base material is 10 μm to 20 μm, and the second base material is 20 μm.
.About.30 .mu.m, a cushion layer of 20 .mu.m-30 .mu.m and a sealant layer of 40 .mu.m-50 .mu.m.

As a method of forming the above-mentioned easy peel film, for example, after laminating the first base material and the second base material, both the base material layer and the sealant layer are adhered to each other by the melted cushion layer, and then cooled. And then rolled up.

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

The process cartridge B according to the present invention
Is not only for forming a monochrome image as described above,
A plurality of developing means are provided, and a plurality of color images (for example, a two-color image,
The present invention can be suitably applied to a cartridge for forming a three-color image or a full-color image.

In the first embodiment described above, an example was described in which an organic semiconductor (OPC) was used as the photosensitive layer of the image carrier. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, amorphous silicon (A-Si ), Selenium (Se), zinc oxide (ZnO), or cadmium sulfide (CdS). The shape of the image carrier is not limited to the drum shape, but may be, for example, a belt shape.

As a developing method, it is possible to use various developing methods such as a known two-component magnetic brush developing method, a cascade developing method, a touch-down developing method, and a cloud developing method.

As for the structure of the charging means, the so-called contact charging method is used in the first embodiment, but as another structure, a metal shield such as aluminum is provided around three sides of a conventionally used tungsten wire. It is a matter of course 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, and the surface of the drum is uniformly charged.

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, in addition to the roller type.

As a method of 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.

The process cartridge described above is
It is provided with, for example, an electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image carrier, and at least a developing unit. Therefore, as an aspect of the process cartridge, in addition to the above-described embodiment, for example, the image carrier, the developing unit, and the charging unit are integrally formed as a cartridge, and are detachably mountable to the apparatus main body. A cartridge in which the image carrier and the developing means are integrated into a cartridge, and which is detachable from the apparatus main body. The image carrier, the developing unit, and the cleaning unit are integrally formed into a cartridge,
Some devices are detachable from the apparatus main body.

The above-described photosensitive drum mounting member 15 can be used not only for supporting the photosensitive drum as a process cartridge but also for an apparatus for directly supporting the photosensitive drum to the apparatus main body.

In the above-described embodiment, a laser beam printer is described as an example of an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another apparatus such as an LED printer, an electrophotographic copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a word processor may be used. Naturally, it can be used for an image forming apparatus.

[Experiment Results] Next, the results of experiments using the sealing member 17 will be described. First, as a first experiment, various cover films 17a and a tear tape 17b were prepared, and the curl amount and tear stability of the seal member 17 in each seal pattern were examined. Next, as a second experiment, a seal member 17 was prepared. Shows the experimental results of measuring the unsealing strength and the pressure resistance when each was welded to the opening regulating member in each seal pattern.

[Experiment 1-1] A 20 μm ethylene-vinyl acetate (hereinafter referred to as “EV”) was used as a cover film 17a on a substrate 17a1 made of 140 μm uniaxially stretched expanded polypropylene.
A) is used. A cover film 17a is prepared by dry laminating a sealant layer 17a2 of a system. Further, a sealing member 17 was formed by heat sealing with a tear tape 17b having a layer structure as shown in FIG. 9 and comprising a stretched nylon layer N as a cushion layer having a thickness of 15 μm.

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

[0148] The diagram of the seal member 17 created as described above is shown in FIG.
Fig. 13 shows the result of measuring the curl amount k1 in the width direction as shown in Fig. 13.
See Figure 28. As is clear from the results, even when the width of the tear tape 17b is as wide as about 40 mm, the curl amount is 2 mm.
And it was possible to keep it very low.

Next, the sealing member 17 is set to a thickness of 0.5
mm, the sealing surface of the opening regulating member 18 made of a polystyrene plate having a size of 36.5 mm × 220 mm of the opening 18a was subjected to heat sealing after corona discharge treatment.
Since the curl amount was almost no problem, there was no displacement of the seal on the sealing surface of the opening restricting member 18, and the automation of the sealing process was sufficiently supported.

The heat sealing conditions were 140 ° C. and 3.0 kg / c.
m ² , 5.5 seconds. After confirming that the sealing surfaces of the seal bar 19a and the opening regulating member 18 were kept exactly parallel, 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 container 12a by ultrasonic welding to form the toner container 12a. Further, a process cartridge B was prepared using the toner storage container 12a.

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

The process cartridge B is set to about 3000 mm /
Then, the cover film 17a was opened, and the opening width of the cover film 17a after opening and the presence or absence of fluff from the end face of the cover film 17a at the time of opening (tearing stability) were confirmed. FIG. 28 shows the result. As is apparent from the results, 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 could be sufficiently controlled, and the tearing stability was good.

{Experiment 1-2} Similarly to Experiment 1-1,
The seal member 17 was prepared by setting the seal pattern for integrating the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b to a dotted line shape as shown in FIG. 15 and setting the seal width W1 to 5 mm.

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

{Experiment 1-3} As in Experiment 1-1, the seal pattern for integrating the cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b was formed into a U-shape as shown in FIG.
The seal member 17 was prepared as mm.

The curl amount k1 of the seal member 17 was very small as shown in FIG. 28, and the sealing process could be automated without any displacement of the seal 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. As a result, as shown in FIG. 28, it was very good.

{Experiment 1-4} As shown in FIG. 8C, the tear tape 17b in the experiment 1-1 was replaced with a sealant layer 17b2.
Was used as a single-sided type, and the others were made in the same manner as in Experiment 1-1.

As shown in FIG. 28, the curl amount k1 of the seal member 17 was very small, there was no displacement of the seal to the opening regulating member 18, and the sealing process could 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.
As shown in FIG.

{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.
Cover film 17a excluding the sealing portion to the opening of
The sealing member 17 was formed by sealing the entire surface of the portion S4 where the seal tape 17b overlaps, that is, the entire surface including the unsealed portion in the seal pattern S3 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 28, the amount of curl of the seal member 17 is extremely large at 15.5 mm, and the positioning of the seal to the opening regulating member 18 does not work well. Met.

{Experiment 1-b} The cover film 17a and the tear tape 17b were made of the same material and under the same sealing conditions as in Experiment 1-1.
However, the seal pattern has a shape as shown in FIG. 17, that is, FIG.
The 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 seal member 17 is very large at 10.3 mm, and the positioning of the seal to the opening regulating member 18 does not work well. It was impossible.

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.
As shown in the figure, the tear spread width was 4.5 mm and did not tear stably, and further, the cover film 17a had fluff.

The reason for this is that the uniting of the beginning of the tearing is not reliable, and the cover film 17a is rubbed against the end seal member 21 of the drawer, so that the tear film is
This was due to the fact that the film was peeled off from 17b, and that fluff and the like were generated and the tearing width was greatly increased.

{Experiment 2-1} Using the same tear seal member 17 and opening regulating member 18 as in Experiment 1-1,
The sealing conditions for the 17 opening control members 18 are 140 ° C and 5.0 kg
/ Cm ² and 5.5 seconds. At this time, after confirming that the sealing surfaces of the seal bar 19a and the opening regulating member 18 were kept exactly parallel, heat sealing was performed. Thereafter, the sealing member 17 as described above is attached to the flange surface of the toner storage container 12a.
Then, the opening regulating member 18 sealed by ultrasonic welding was fixed by ultrasonic welding to form a toner container.

As the seal pattern for sealing the seal member 17 to the opening regulating member 18, two kinds of seal patterns having the pattern shown in FIG. 20 are prepared, and materials 1 and 2 each having the pattern dimensions shown in FIG. 29 are prepared. did.

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

The above-described 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 produce four types of process cartridges.

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

The process cartridge B is set to about 3000 mm /
FIG. 29 shows the opening strength when opened in minutes. As is clear from these results, no toner scattered when the seal member 17 was opened in all four types, but the materials 1 and 2 had very low opening strength and very good opening operability. .

On the other hand, the materials a and b according to the comparative example had extremely high opening strength and poor opening operability, and were at a level that the operator could not open.

Using the four types of toner storage containers 12a and the process cartridges B, a puncture strength test and a drop test were conducted after filling 550 g of toner.

The puncture strength was measured at 0.05 kgf / cm
Boosted every ² to measure the withstand voltage of up to punctured by internal pressure peeling the seal member 17 at 5 seconds hold. The drop test conditions were as follows: from 90 cm above the ground, three sets were dropped, one corner, three ridges and six sides, and six sides and four corners. Checked and went.

The results are shown in FIG. As is clear from the results, the width T2 of the short seal pattern is changed to the width T1 of the long seal pattern.
Even when the width was narrower by 1 mm to 1.5 mm, it was found that sufficient pressure resistance was maintained in the puncture strength and drop test.

From the above results, it can be seen that a toner storage container having a low opening strength, excellent opening operability, and sufficient pressure resistance can be obtained by the seal pattern as in the above-described embodiment.

{Experiment 2-2} Opening 18 of opening regulating member 18
An easy-peel film was used as a sealing member for sealing. Thickness 16 for easy peel film
a first base material made of a biaxially oriented polyester film having a thickness of 25 μm, a second base material made of a biaxially oriented polyester film having a thickness of 25 μm, a cushion layer made of a low molecular weight polyethylene film having a thickness of 20 μm, and an EVA-based sealant having a thickness of 30 μm And a sealant layer having a four-layer structure. The size of the easy peel film is 46 mm x
574 mm.

Next, the sealing member was heat-sealed to the opening 18a of the opening regulating member 18 in the same manner as 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 sealing surfaces of the seal bar 19a and the opening regulating member 18 were kept exactly parallel, heat sealing was performed. Thereafter, the opening regulating member 18 sealed with the above-mentioned sealing member was fixed to the flange surface of the toner container 12a by ultrasonic welding to form a toner container.

As the seal pattern for sealing the seal member to the opening regulating member 18, two types of patterns having the pattern shown in FIG. 20 were prepared, and material 3 and material 4 each having the pattern dimensions shown in FIG. 31 were prepared. .

Further, as a comparative example, a material c and a material d were prepared with a seal pattern as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 and sealed with a pattern size as shown in FIG.

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

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

The process cartridge B is set to about 3000 mm /
FIG. 31 shows the opening strength in the case of opening in minutes. As is clear from these results, no toner scattering occurred when the seal member 17 was opened in all four types, but the materials 3 and 4 had very low opening strength and very good opening operability. .

On the other hand, the materials c and d according to the comparative examples had very high opening strength, poor opening operability, and a level that the operator could not open.

FIG. 32 shows the results of a puncture strength test and a drop test performed 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 if T2 is narrower by 1 mm to 1.5 mm than the width T1 of the longitudinal seal pattern, it was found that sufficient puncture strength was maintained in the puncture strength and drop test.

From the above results, even when the easy peel film is used as the seal member, the toner storage container having a low opening strength and excellent opening operability due to the seal pattern as in the above-described embodiment, and having a sufficient pressure resistance is provided. Is obtained.

{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 a four-layer easy-peel film to obtain three types of different sizes. The tear seal member 17 was prepared, and was referred to as Reference 5, Reference 6, and Reference e.

The tear tape 17b has a biaxially stretched polyester layer of 16 μm, a biaxially stretched nylon layer of 25 μm,
m low molecular weight polyethylene layer and 40 μm EVA-based sealant layer. 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 of the 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
× 320mm, the size of the tear tape 17b is 32.0mm × 700mm,
The size of the cover film 17a of document e is 44.0mm x 348m
m, the size of 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 container 12a having the opening 12a1 having a size of 30.0 mm × 301 mm, and then heat-sealed with the seal pattern shown in FIG. 20 and the pattern dimensions shown in FIG. did. Also seal bar 19
After confirming that the sealing surface between the a and the flange surface of the toner container 12a was kept exactly parallel, heat sealing was performed. Then, the above-described three types of toner storage containers 12a were combined with the developing frame 12b provided with a boss for supporting the opening direction by ultrasonic welding to produce three types of process cartridges.

The toner storage container 12a and the developing frame 12
In contrast to the distance between the end sealing member 21 and b, the end sealing member 21 made of foamed polyurethane was 2 mm thick.

The process cartridge B is set to about 3000 mm /
FIG. 33 shows the opening strength when opening in minutes. As is clear from these results, the opening strength of the seal member 17 is very low for all three types, and therefore the operability is very good.
In particular, the material having the peak angle θ of 90 ° or less in the mountain-shaped seal pattern of the material e had the lowest opening strength.

[0194] However, although article 5 and article 6 toner scattering was not at the sealing member opening, article e for flange destination rear width Y ₆ is 24mm and wide, partial of the sealing member 17 and the toner container 12a flange The toner penetrated into the area, and when the seal member was opened, the toner scattered violently, and the surrounding area was soiled.

FIG. 34 shows the results of a puncture strength test and a drop test performed 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 evident from the results, it was found that the materials 5 and 6 maintained sufficient pressure resistance in the puncture strength and drop test.

However, in the material e, the width Y ₆ of the front end of the flange is
Since the width was as large as 24 mm, the seal was loosened in the vicinity of the tip of the seal pattern, the seal peeled off from the tip of the seal pattern in both the puncture strength test and the drop test, and toner leakage also occurred from the same location.

From the above results, it was proved that the angle θ of the chevron-shaped seal pattern and the width Y ₆ of the front and rear ends of the flange had to be within predetermined ranges.

{Experiment 2-4} Using an easy peel film as the seal member 17, the opening 12 of the toner container 12a was used.
a1 was sealed. As an easy peel film, the first film made of a biaxially stretched polyester film having a thickness of 16 μm is used.
A four-layer structure consisting of a base material, a second base material made of a biaxially oriented 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 × 700 mm.

Next, the above-mentioned easy peel film was
As shown in FIG. 20, heat sealing was performed on the sealing surface of the toner container 12a having a1 of 30.0 mm × 301 mm. The heat sealing conditions at this time were 180 ° C and 5.0
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 material 7, material 8, and material f were prepared. The heat seal was performed after confirming that the seal surface between the seal bar 19a and the flange surface of the toner container 12a was kept exactly parallel.
Then, the above-described three types of toner storage containers 12a were combined with the developing frame 12b provided with a boss for supporting the opening direction by ultrasonic welding to produce three types of process cartridges.

The toner storage container 12a and the developing frame 12
In contrast to the distance between the end sealing member 21 and b, the end sealing member 21 made of foamed polyurethane was 2 mm thick.

The process cartridge B is set to about 3000 mm /
FIG. 35 shows the opening strength in the case of opening in minutes. As is clear from these results, the opening strength of the seal member is very low for all three types, and therefore, the operability is very good. In particular, the vertex angle θ of the mountain-shaped seal pattern of the material f is 90 degrees or less. Had the lowest opening strength.

However, in the materials 7 and 8, no toner was scattered when the seal member was opened, but in the material f, the toner entered between the seal member in the mountain-shaped seal portion and the flange portion of the toner container 12a. As a result, the toner scattered violently when the seal member was opened, and the surrounding area was soiled.

FIG. 36 shows the results of a puncture strength test and a drop test performed 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 found that the materials 7 and 8 maintained a sufficient pressure resistance in the puncture strength and the drop test.

However, in the material f, the width Y _{6 of the} flange front end is
Since the width was as large as 24 mm, the seal was loosened in the vicinity of the tip of the seal pattern, the seal peeled off from the tip of the seal pattern in both the puncture strength test and the drop test, and toner leakage also occurred from the same location.

From the above results, it was proved that the angle θ of the chevron seal pattern and the width Y ₆ of the front and rear ends of the flange had to be within predetermined ranges even when the easy peel film was used as the seal member.

[0207]

According to the present invention, as described above, the end seal member is pressed against the end of the cover member on the folded side of the flexible member. For this reason, when the flexible member is pulled out, the cover member is pressed by the end seal member and does not peel off from the toner storage container. Therefore,
Even if the opening becomes wider, the developing device and the assembling method of the developing device can be reliably opened by pulling out the flexible member, the process cartridge having the developing device, and the mounting and dismounting of the process cartridge. A possible image forming apparatus can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

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

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view illustrating a state where 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 an explanatory sectional view of a second conductive member of the mounting member.

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

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

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

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

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

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view 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 state where the seal member is curled.

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 a periphery where a cover film and a tear tape overlap is heat-sealed.

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

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view of a sealing member in which heat sealing on one side in a short direction around a cover film and a tear tape overlaps is omitted.

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 is heat-sealed.

FIG. 18 is a configuration explanatory view of welding a seal member to an opening regulating member.

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

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

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional seal pattern for sealing a seal member to an opening regulating member in a frame shape.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory view of a conventional seal pattern in which a seal member is sealed in a mountain shape with an opening regulating member and the seal width is made 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 on the cover film due to the internal pressure of the toner storage container.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the cover film is broken.

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

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a tear tape pull-out regulating boss.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Explanation of symbols]

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: imaging lens, 1f ... Reflection mirror, 2
... Recording medium, 3 ... Conveying means, 3a, 3b ... Cassette, 3
c: pickup roller, 3d: separation roller pair, 3e ...
Registration roller pair, 3f intermediate transfer roller, 3g discharge path, 3h discharge roller, 3i flapper, 3j retransmission path, 3k1, 3k2 retransmission roller, 3m retransmission section, 3o ...
Pickup roller, 3p: transport roller pair, 4: transfer means, 5: fixing means, 5a: drive roller, 5b: heater,
5c: fixing roller, 6: discharge unit, 7: photosensitive drum, 7
a: Flange gear, 7b: Insertion hole, 7c: Contact point, 8: Charging roller, 8a: Roller shaft, 9: Exposure section, 10: Developing means, 10a: Toner storage section, 10b: Toner feed member, 10c
... magnet, 10d ... developing sleeve, 10e ... developing blade, 11
... cleaning means, 11a ... cleaning blade, 11
b: Squeeze sheet, 11c: Feeding 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 rod, 12c: cleaning container, 12
c1 ... shaft hole, 12c2 ... boss, 13 ... device body, 14 ... open / close 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 ... seal member, 17a ... cover film, 17a1 ... base material,
17a2 ... sealant layer, 17b ... tear tape, 17b1 ... base material,
17b2: sealant layer, 17c: short overlapping portion, 17d: sealing surface, 17d1: inner edge, S1: opening sealing portion, S2: tape sealing portion, S3: sealing pattern, S4: inner peripheral portion, 18
... Opening restricting member, 18a ... Opening, 18b ... Positioning hole, 18
c: hole, 18d: hole, 19: horn, 19a: seal bar, 19
a1 recess, 20 tear, 21 seal member, 22a, 22b
... boss, 23 ... convex

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A developing device for developing a latent image formed on an electrophotographic photoreceptor using toner, a toner storage container having an opening of a predetermined size for storing the toner, and the opening. A cover member for closing the cover member, a flexible member provided from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the cover member to tear the cover member, and a flexible member folded back at the other end. And a sealing member for opening the opening by pulling out the flexible member at the start of use, and a position facing the folded side end of the flexible member when the flexible member is coupled to the toner storage container. A developing frame having an end sealing member provided, wherein the toner storage container and the developing frame sandwich the sealing member, and the end sealing member is provided with the sealing member. A developing device characterized in that the folded side ends of the roller members are joined by pressing. 2. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein said flexible member has a width of 15 mm to 55 mm. 3. The distance between the opening of the toner container and the developing frame is 1 mm to 2 mm, the thickness of an end sealing member provided on the developing frame is 2 mm to 5 mm, and the end sealing member is 3. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein the end seal member is pressed against the seal member such that the pressure is reduced to ２〜 to ３. 4. The sealing member is for closing the opening of an opening regulating member having an opening of a predetermined size.
4. The developing device according to claim 1, wherein an opening regulating member whose opening is closed by the seal member is attached to the opening of the toner storage container. 5. 5. A method for assembling a developing device for developing a latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member, comprising: a cover member for closing the opening of a toner container having an opening of a predetermined size; And a flexible member provided from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the cover member in order to tear the cover member, and a step of closing the flexible member in the longitudinal direction. A step of folding back at the other end, a developing frame having an end seal member at a position facing the folded end of the seal member, such that the end seal member is pressed against the folded end of the seal member, A coupling step of coupling the toner storage container with the seal member interposed therebetween. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said toner container and said developing frame are joined by ultrasonic welding.
An assembling method of the developing device according to the above. 7. A process cartridge detachable from an image forming apparatus main body, comprising: (a) an electrophotographic photosensitive member; and (b) a developing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Characteristic process cartridge. 8. An image forming apparatus for detachably attaching a process cartridge and forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: a mounting unit for mounting the process cartridge according to claim 7; and a conveying unit for conveying the recording medium. An image forming apparatus, comprising: