JPH09114216A - Developer container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce soil caused by the splash of developer or the like when a seal is peeled by simple constitution. SOLUTION: An opening 10 for supplying toner is formed at the circumferential wall part of a cylindrical container body 5a housing the toner inside. Then, the tape-like seal 16 is made to attachably and detachably adhere to the outside surface of the circumferential wall part of the body 5a so as to cover the opening 10. The seal 16 is provided with an end part 17 having a first hold piece 17a which can be peeled by being taken with the fingers of a user and an end part 18 having a second hold piece 18a. A notch 19 is formed on the seal 16 adjacently to the end part 18. Therefore, the peeling resistance of the end part 18 is set to be larger than that of the position of the notch 19 and the notch 19 can be visually confirmed. Thus, the peeling action of the seal 16 is stopped at the end part 18 in the midst of the peeling action and the end parts 17 and 18 are stuck together and can be peeled by the user.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developer container for supplying a developer to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or a laser beam printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system, the surface of an image bearing member such as a photosensitive drum is uniformly charged by a charger and an image to be formed is formed by utilizing a photoelectric effect of laser light. The latent image corresponding to is written on the charged surface, and toner is transferred from the developing device to the latent image to make it visible. Then, the toner image is directly or indirectly printed on paper or OHP.
It is transferred to an image forming object such as a sheet.

Generally, a developing device for supplying toner can be equipped with a toner cartridge containing a toner container (developer container) or a toner container can be directly installed. When the remaining toner is reduced, the toner is replenished. The container body of each of these toner containers has a cylindrical shape or a hollow box shape and contains toner therein. In addition, an opening is formed in the wall portion, from which the toner inside can be supplied. This opening is closed with an adhesive tape-like seal before use, and the user peels off this seal from the container body after mounting the toner cartridge on the developing device or directly mounting the toner container on the developing device. I'm trying to take it.

[0004]

Conventionally, when peeling off the seal, the user picks one end of the seal and gradually peels off the seal from the container body. However, in this case, when the other end of the seal remaining in the container body is finally peeled off from the container body, the force of the user who picks one end of the seal becomes a large moment, which causes other There is a problem that the reaction when the toner is added to the end portion and the moment is removed is given as a shock to the container main body, so that the toner particles inside the container main body are scattered through the openings. In this case, the inside of the image forming apparatus may be contaminated with toner particles, which may become an obstacle when forming an image next time. Not only that, but it may also stain the user's hands and clothes. Further, the toner may adhere to the user's finger through the opening of the container body even during the peeling of the seal.

Various proposals have been made to solve such problems. For example, the actual exploitation 62-76
Japanese Patent No. 353 discloses that a seal passage for passing a seal is provided inside the toner container, and a member for scraping off the toner is provided in the seal passage. When the seal is peeled off, the seal passage to which the toner adheres is prevented from being exposed by passing through the seal passage, and the toner is scraped off. Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-118247 discloses that a seal is taken up while being taken up by a take-up shaft. In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-108255,
It is disclosed that a shutter that can be opened and closed is provided instead of the seal. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-22850 discloses a technique in which a sticker is formed of a thin paper, a string is arranged on the sticker, and the seal is broken when the string is pulled after the toner container is attached to the apparatus. Has been done. However, in any of the techniques, a special component is attached to the toner container, which is not a simple structure and raises the manufacturing cost. Further, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-118247, the seal is inevitably wound with the adhesive surface of the seal, that is, the surface on which the toner is adhered, facing outward, and the user is inadvertent It can be said that there is no risk that your fingers will get dirty.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a developer container having a simple structure and capable of reducing stains due to scattering of the developer when peeling off a seal. To do.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, a developer container according to the present invention is a developer container for supplying a developer to an image forming apparatus, and has a cylindrical or hollow box shape. It is made possible to store the developer inside,
A developer container body having an opening for supplying the developer on the wall portion;
A tape-shaped seal having one end portion which is detachably attached to the outer surface of the wall of the developer container main body so as to cover the opening and which the user can pick and start to peel off, and the other end portion. The seal is provided with a stop portion for stopping the peeling operation of the seal, and the one end portion and the other end portion are overlapped and peeled off during the peeling of the seal. . According to this developer container, the peeling operation of the seal can be stopped midway at the stop portion provided in the seal itself. And after this,
The user puts one end and the other end of the seal on top of each other, picks them up and peels them off from the developer container body. Therefore, when the seal is finally peeled off from the developer container main body, the user always picks the other end. That is, the gap between the position where the seal is finally pulled by the user and the position where the seal is adhered to the developer container main body to the end is almost or very short, if any. Therefore, at the time of final stripping, the moment applied to the developer container main body through the seal becomes very small, the impact due to the removal of the moment is hardly given to the developer container main body, and the developer container opening It is possible to prevent the developer from scattering. Further, as described above, when the user overlaps the one end portion and the other end portion of the seal, the surface of the seal, that is, the surface to which the developer is attached because the opening is closed, is set to the inside, When the seal is curved or bent, the developer hardly adheres to the user's finger or clothes. That is, the surface of the seal on which the developer is not adhered is the outer side, and the developer does not adhere even when touched. It is natural for the user to take such a way of peeling off the seal in order to avoid the stain by the toner. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the stain caused by the developer even during the peeling of the seal. Moreover, it is not necessary to provide expensive special parts for the seal and the toner container body, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the developer container, the adhesive strength of the stop portion of the seal to the developer container is greater than the adhesive strength of the portion of the seal adjacent to the stop portion to the developer container. preferable. In this case, the resistance when peeling off the stop part of the seal is made larger than the resistance when peeling off the part adjacent to the stop part. Feel and make sure to stop the peeling of the seal at the stop. Therefore, it is possible to allow the user to perform the above-described stripping operation more reliably.

Further, in the above developer container, a mark for bending the seal when the one end and the other end are overlapped is provided in the middle of the one end and the other end of the seal. Is preferred. In this case, the user can easily bend the seal at the position of the mark so that one end and the other end of the seal can be overlapped. That is, since the ends of the seal can be reliably overlapped with each other, it is possible to more reliably prevent the finger from touching the surface of the seal on which the developer is attached.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (1) Developing Device Using Developer Container First, FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a developing device using the developer container according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the developing device A is disposed adjacent to the photosensitive drum 2,
The developing housing 1 and various parts inside thereof are provided. The surface of the photoconductor drum 2 is uniformly charged by the electric field of a charger (not shown), and a latent image corresponding to the image to be formed by the laser beam emitted from the exposure device is formed on the charged surface. Then, the toner is transferred from the developing device A to the latent image and visualized. Then, this toner image is directly transferred to an image forming object such as paper or an OHP sheet, or indirectly transferred to the image forming object via an intermediate transfer belt or the like.

The development housing 1 has an insertion portion 6 into which a substantially cylindrical developer container 5 is detachably inserted, and a developer chamber 7 on the side of the photosensitive drum 2 for accumulating the developer.
The developer chamber 7 is provided with an opening that opens toward the photoconductor drum 2, and the developing roll 3 mainly including a magnet roll is arranged in this opening. A crank-shaped stirring member 12 is arranged in the developer chamber 7. In the developing device A, for example, a one-component developer made of a polyester resin as a base and a toner containing a dye or a pigment is used. The toner 4 is replenished from the developer container 5 into the developer chamber 7. The stirring member 12 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure, and the toner 4
Is moved toward the developing roll 3 while being stirred.

The developing roll 3 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow in the figure, and toner 4 as a developer is attached to the surface thereof,
The photosensitive drum 2 is also supported. Then, the photosensitive drum 2
The charged toner 4 is attracted and adheres to the upper latent image. In the developer chamber 7, a blade-shaped layer forming body 13
Is arranged and is brought into contact with the developing roll 3. The layer forming body 13 thins the toner attached to the developing roll 3 and charges the toner.

(2) Embodiment of Developer Container A. Configuration of Container Body Next, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the container body 5a of the developer container 5 according to the embodiment. As shown in the drawing, the developer container 5 of the container body 5a has a substantially cylindrical shape, and two openings 10 are formed in the peripheral wall along the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 1, when the developer container 5 is attached to the developing housing 1, the opening 10 faces the developer chamber 7, and the toner 4 is supplied into the developer chamber 7 through the opening 10.

A crank-shaped stirring member 8 formed of a thin metal rod is disposed inside the container body 5a, and is supported by both end walls of the container body 5a. One end of the stirring member 8 is fixed to the gear 9, and the gear 9 is rotated by a gear driving mechanism (not shown), whereby the stirring member 8 is rotated as shown in FIG. 1 and the toner 4 in the container body 5a is developed. It can be moved into the agent chamber 7. In addition,
A flat plate-like handle 11 is projectingly provided on the end surface of the container body 5a opposite to the gear 9. The handle 11 is a portion that is held by the user when the container body 5a is attached to or detached from the insertion portion 6.

B. Structure of Seal Now, before being attached to the insertion portion 6 of the developing housing 1,
As shown in FIG. 3, a long tape-shaped seal 16 is adhered to the outer surface of the peripheral wall portion of the container body 5a, and the two openings 10 are covered by the seal 16 and the container body 5a is covered.
The toner inside does not leak out.
An adhesive for adhering to the container body 5a is applied to the back surface of the seal 16, but no adhesive is applied to the area corresponding to the opening 10 on the back surface of the seal 16 and the toner is applied to the seal 16. Is not attached in large quantities. The reference numeral 16a indicates the front surface of the seal 16.

Now, in the seal 16, the container body 5a
At the end 17 on the side opposite to the handle 11, a first gripping piece 17a for the user to pick and start to peel off is formed so as to project in the lateral direction of the seal 16. A second knob 18a is also formed on the end portion (stop portion) 18 on the side of the handle 11 so as to project in the lateral direction. No adhesive is applied to the back surfaces of these knobs 17a and 18a. Here, the seal 16 has a length larger than the range in which the two openings 10 are formed, the ends 17 and 18 are located at a position apart from the opening 10, and the tabs 17a and 18a are the same as those of the user. When picked, seal 16
The toner attached to the back surface of the has a protruding length that does not stain the finger. In addition, as shown in FIG.
Has been folded twice from the beginning and has a habit,
It is arranged on the end of the container body 5a while being folded.

The end portion 18 and the opening 1 adjacent to the end portion 18 are also provided.
A notch 19 is formed at a position between 0 and 0. Two notches 19 are formed on both sides of the seal 16. Then, a convex portion 20 is formed in the middle of the end portion 17 and the end portion 18. The convex portion 20 is located at a position substantially equidistant from the end portions 17 and 18, and is projected from a side edge opposite to the end portions 17 and 18.

C. Peeling Operation of Seal Next, the peeling operation of the seal 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. First, the user grasps the container body 5a with one hand and uses the other hand to grasp the end portion 1 on the opposite side.
The first picking piece 17a of No. 7 is picked. Then, while the first knob 17a is being separated from the container body 5a, the seal 16
Start stripping.

If the peeling of the seal 16 is continued in this way, the back surface 16b of the seal 16 faces the side opposite to the container body 5a, as shown in FIG. Then, finally, the handle 1
The stripping proceeds to the position of the notch 19 adjacent to the end portion 18 on the first side.

Here, the user can not only visually confirm that the peeling has been performed up to the position of the notch 19, but also that the end portion 18 has a greater peeling resistance than the position of the notch 19. be able to. This is because the adhesive is applied to the entire portion of the end portion 18 other than the second tab 18a protruding in the lateral direction, whereas the cutout 1
This is because at position 9 the width of the adhesive is small because the width is small and the adhesive strength is small. Thus, while peeling off the seal 16, the user visually and visually feels the peeling resistance increases, and surely stops the peeling of the seal 16 at the end portion 18.

Next, the user changes the pulling direction of the first gripping piece 17a of the seal 16 and pulls the end 17 toward the container body 5a. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the seal 1
The ends 17 and 18 of 6 are overlapped. At this time, the seal 16 is curved so that the front surface 16a of the seal 16 is on the outside and the back surface 16b is on the inside. Seal 16
The toner in the container body 5a adheres to the back surface 16b of the container due to static electricity.
By bending 6, the toner on the back surface 16b hardly adheres to the user's finger or clothes. That is,
The surface 16a on which the toner 16 is not attached becomes the outside,
This is because the toner does not adhere even when touched. It is natural for the user to adopt such a bending method of the seal 16 in order to avoid contamination by toner. Therefore,
During the peeling of the seal 16, it is possible to reduce stains due to the toner. As shown in FIG. 3, since the end portion 17 of the seal 16 is folded back twice from the beginning and has a habit, the user holds the first gripping piece 17a, that is, changes the grip. Without
As shown in FIG. 4, the stripping direction can be easily changed.

When the seal 16 is bent in this manner, the user uses the convex portion 20 as a mark, and the seal 1 is placed at this position.
If 6 is bent, the end portion 17 and the end portion 18 can be easily and reliably overlapped with each other. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the finger from touching the back surface 16b of the seal 16 on which the toner adheres. The seal 16 is made of a thin and highly flexible material, and bends when the end portions 17 and 18 are overlapped with each other as described above. Adheres. However, in a special case where the seal 16 is curved so that the back surface 16b is on the outside at the time of peeling, the user changes the hand holding the first knob 17a, It is also possible to forcibly bend the seal 16 while pinching the surface 16a at the position of the convex portion 20.

Finally, the user picks up the first and second picking pieces 17a and 18a, which are superposed, and peels them from the container body 5a. As a result, the entire seal 16 is peeled off from the container body 5a. In this way, when the seal 16 is finally peeled off from the container body 5a, the user always picks the second picking piece 18a. That is, the distance between the position where the seal 16 is finally pulled by the user and the position where the seal 16 is adhered to the container body 5a to the end is little or very short, if any. For this reason, the moment applied to the container body 5a through the seal 16 at the time of the final stripping becomes very small, and the container body 5a is hardly impacted by the reaction of the removal of the moment and the toner from the opening 10 is removed. Can be prevented from scattering.

Moreover, the seal 16 and the container body 5a have
Since it is only necessary to form the gripping pieces 17a, 18a, the notch 19 and the like on the seal 16 without providing a special part, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost. Further, except for the special case where the seal 16 has a habit as described above, during the series of operations for peeling off the seal 16, the user changes the hand holding the first knob 17a. No need.

(3) Modification Example FIG. 6 shows a developer container 5 having a seal 26 as a modification example. The seal 26 is different from the seal 16 in that the convex portion 20 serving as a folding mark is not provided.
The other points are similar. Further, the peeling-off of the seal 26 is almost the same as the peeling-off of the seal 16, but the ease of folding back the seal 26 is the same as that of the seal 1 described above.
6 is excellent. The end 17 and the end 1 of the seal 26 are
It is also possible to write a line or a pattern serving as a mark at an intermediate position with respect to 8 to facilitate the folding back of the seal 26.

FIG. 7 shows a developer container 5 having a seal 36 which is another modification. This seal 36 is at the end 1
The width from 7 to the end portion 18 is formed to be wider than the opening 10 as a whole so that the user does not stain his / her finger with any of the side edges of the seal 36. And
Similar to the above embodiment, two notches 19 are formed between the end portion 18 and the opening 10 adjacent to the end portion 18. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a development view showing the back surface 36b of the seal 36 of the modified example of FIG. 7, in which the shaded portions indicated by reference numerals 21 and 22 are adhesive application areas. Of these, the adhesive application area 22 at the end portion 18 is wider than the adhesive application area 21.

The method of peeling off the seal 36 is the same as described above. Further, here, since the adhesive application area 22 at the end portion 18 is extremely wider than the adhesive application area 21, the end portion 18 has a significantly larger peeling resistance than the position of the notch 19. Has become. This ensures that the peeling off of the seal 16 at the end 18 is stopped. Further, since the seal 36 is widened as a whole, as shown in FIG. 7, the area of the portion other than the adhesive application areas 21 and 22 becomes relatively large, so that the toner on the back surface 36b is changed by the user. It is less likely to touch. This allows the seal 36 to be easily folded back at any position. The seal 36 can be folded back more than once. Further, since the seal 36 is wide as a whole, even if the toner is peeled off from the adhesive application area 21, it is possible to electrostatically adsorb the toner at other portions and prevent the toner from falling.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 to 5, it is possible to provide a plurality of convex portions 20 and fold the seal 16 twice or more. When peeling off the seal 16 and before folding back, as shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG.
Since the length of the seal 16 is added to the length of the seal 16, it may be difficult to peel the seal 16 in a narrow place. However, by folding the seal 16 multiple times, it is easy to peel the seal 16 in a narrow place. You can do it. Further, since the back surface 16b is less exposed, it is possible to reduce the amount of toner contamination.

9 to 12 are development views showing a modified example of the adhesive application area of the seal. In these modified examples, various measures are taken to stop the peeling operation of the seal at the end portion 18. First, in the example of FIG.
An unbonded portion 23 is provided between the adhesive application area 22 corresponding to No. 8 and the adhesive application area 21 surrounding the opening 10. As a result, since there is no adhesive strength in the region adjacent to the end portion 18, the user once feels a sharp decrease in the peeling resistance, and then the sharp increase in the peeling resistance occurs at the end portion 18. It is designed to feel.

In the example of FIG. 10, the adhesive application area 22 and the adhesive application area 21 are continuous, but the adhesive application area 22 is made wider than the adhesive application area 21 and the adhesive strength of the end portion 18 is increased. Is larger than the adhesive strength of the adjacent part. This allows the user to feel an increase in stripping resistance at the end 18. In the example of FIG. 11, the adhesive application area 22 and the adhesive application area 21 are continuous with each other, and a taper portion 24 narrowing toward the adhesive application area 22 is provided between them. The user is
Then, the decrease in the adhesive strength, that is, the peeling resistance is gradually sensed, and then the sharp increase in the peeling resistance is sensed at the end portion 18.

The example of FIG. 12 is a combination of the examples of FIGS. 9 and 11. Various other combinations are possible. In addition, the example of FIG. 9 to FIG.
It is applicable to any of 6, 26 and 36. Furthermore, since the peeling resistance can be sensed at the end portion 18 and the peeling operation can be stopped here, the seal 1
Notches 19 formed in 6, 26 and 36 are not always necessary. However, if the notch 19 is provided, the end portion 18 is visually
Is recognized and a more reliable stop operation is possible.

As the material of the seals 16, 26, 36, various resins and papers can be used. In this case, if a breathable material is used, it is possible to prevent problems such as damage to the container body 5a due to changes in atmospheric pressure. For example, a product name “TYVEK” manufactured by DuPont, which is a film of polytetrafluoroethylene resin in which a large number of holes are formed, can be used. Also,
Handles 17a, 18 provided on the seals 16, 26, 36
The a and the convex portion 20 may be formed integrally with the seal, or may be provided by attaching an adhesive tape having a strong adhesive force.

[0033]

As described above, according to the developer container of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the contamination caused by the scattering of the developer when the seal is peeled off. In addition, it is not necessary to provide expensive special parts on the seal and the toner container body, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a developing device in which a developer container according to the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a container body of a developer container according to the embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a seal is adhered to the container body of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the seal is being peeled off from the container body of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state immediately before the seal is finally peeled off from the container body of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a modified example.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another modification.

8 is a development view showing an adhesive application area of the seal of the modified example of FIG. 7. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a development view showing a modified example of the adhesive application area of the seal.

FIG. 10 is a development view showing another modification of the adhesive application area of the seal.

FIG. 11 is a development view showing another modified example of the adhesive application area of the seal.

FIG. 12 is a development view showing another modification of the adhesive application area of the seal.

[Explanation of symbols]

A developing device, 1 developing housing, 5 developer container, 5
a container body, 10 openings, 11 handles, 16, 26,
36 seal, 16a front surface, 16b back surface, 17 end portion, 17a first knob, 18 end portion (stop portion), 1
8a 2nd knob piece, 19 notch, 20 convex part (mark), 21 adhesive application area, 22 adhesive application area

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hideaki Miyata 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A developer container for supplying a developer to an image forming apparatus, wherein the developer container has a cylindrical shape or a hollow box shape and is capable of containing the developer therein, and is provided on a wall portion for supplying the developer. And a developer container main body having an opening, and one end portion which is detachably attached to the outer surface of the wall of the developer container main body so as to cover the opening and allows the user to start picking and peeling. A tape-shaped seal having an end portion, and a stop portion for stopping the peeling operation of the seal is provided in the seal, and the one end portion and the other end portion are overlapped with each other in the middle of peeling the seal. A developer container characterized by being peeled off. 2. The adhesive strength of the stop portion of the seal to the developer container is greater than the adhesive strength of a portion of the seal adjacent to the stop portion to the developer container. The developer container described. 3. A mark for bending the seal when the one end and the other end are overlapped is provided in the middle of the one end and the other end of the seal. The developer container according to claim 1 or 2.