JPH03102371A - Vessel device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent toner sticking to a seal member from splashing by containing a part of the sealing member in contact with the toner into a cover member when the seal member is peeled from a toner vessel mounted to a developing device. CONSTITUTION:One edge of the member sealing the opening of a toner cartridge 11 is folded back and the folded part is covered with a cover member 15. After the cartridge 11 is mounted along the rail 20 of the developing device main body 18, the end 14a of the member 14 is pulled outward to drop toner in the cartridge 11 to the main body 18. When the end 14a is pulled, the part of the member 14 in contact with the toner is sequentially pulled into the member 15 so that the toner T sticking to the member 14 is contained into the member 15. When the overall member 14 is peeled off from a collar 13, both the members 14 and 15 are pulled out of the main body 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a container device used as a toner cartridge provided in a developing device of an electrophotographic recording device, for example.

(Prior Art) Electrophotographic recording devices used in copying machines, facsimile machines, laser printers, etc. have a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a transfer device, and a fixing device arranged around a photosensitive drum along the rotation direction. The photosensitive drum is rotated and the drum surface is charged by a charging device, the drum surface is exposed to light by an exposure device to form a latent image, and then a developing device supplies toner to the drum surface to perform development. A toner image is formed, a transfer device transfers the toner image on the surface of the drum onto recording paper, and a fixing device fixes the toner image on the recording paper to perform recording.

The developing device in this electrophotographic recording device includes a device body that stores toner and supplies it to the surface of the photosensitive drum, and when the toner in the device body decreases due to toner use, toner is replenished inside the device body. are doing.

As a method for replenishing toner into the main body of the developing device, a toner cartridge containing toner is loaded into the main body of the device, and toner is replenished from the toner cartridge into the main body of the device, and when the inside of the main body of the device becomes empty. There is a toner cartridge replacement method in which the toner cartridge is removed from the apparatus main body and a new toner cartridge is loaded into the apparatus main body. According to this method, since the toner is directly supplied from the toner cartridge into the inside of the apparatus main body, the toner replenishment work can be performed without toner scattering to the outside, and there is an advantage that staining due to toner scattering can be prevented.

A conventional toner cartridge device used in this toner cartridge replacement method will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a toner cartridge, and this toner cartridge 1 forms an oblong case, and has an opening 2 formed in its bottom surface. Insert toner cartridge 1 into opening 2
Fill the inside of the toner cartridge 1 from the opening 2 with the toner T facing upward, and then place the seal member 3 in the opening 2 of the toner cartridge tray 1 and open the periphery of the seal member 3. The opening 2 is sealed by pasting it on the periphery of the opening 2 by a method such as thermal welding. The sealing member 3 has a length that is more than twice the length of the opening 2 of the toner cartridge 1, and the part that is not attached to the opening 2 is folded back outward along the length direction of the opening 2. They are stacked on top of each other.

Then, the toner cartridge 1 is inserted into the main body 4 of the developing device.
Load it into the opening provided on the top surface. In this loaded state, the end of the seal member 3 is connected to the toner cartridge 1 and the main body 4 of the apparatus.
Extract it to the outside from between. When replenishing the toner T from the toner cartridge 1 to the main body 4 of the apparatus, the operator pulls the end of the sealing member 3 protruding from the outside of the toner cartridge 1, as shown in FIG. 8(a). Figure 8(b),
As shown in (e), the seal member 3 attached to the opening 2 of the toner cartridge 1 is sequentially peeled off and the toner cartridge 1 is opened. As shown in FIG. 8(d), when the sealing member 3 is peeled off over the entire opening 2, the toner T stored in the toner cartridge 1 is released from the opening 2 of the toner cartridge 1 into the main body of the developing device. Fall into the interior of 4. The toner cartridge 1 is used as a lid for the opening of the developing device main body 4, and when the toner T inside the developing device main body 4 is insufficient and needs to be replenished, the old toner cartridge 1 can be removed from the developing device main body 4 and replaced with a new one. However, the toner cartridge device having this configuration has the following problems.

That is, the inner surface of the portion of the sealing member 4 attached to the opening 2 of the toner cartridge 1 is
Since the toner T contained in the toner cartridge 1 is located inside the toner cartridge 1, the toner T contained in the toner cartridge 1 adheres thereto.

Therefore, when opening the toner cartridge 1 by pulling the end of the sealing member 3 protruding from the outside of the toner cartridge 1 and peeling off the parts of the sealing member 3 attached to the opening 2 of the toner cartridge 1 one after another, the toner cartridge The inner surface of the part of the sealing member 3 that covered the opening of the toner T is peeled off from the toner cartridge 1 with the toner T attached to it, facing downward, and moves through the gap between the toner cartridge 1 and the developing device main body 4, and is removed from the gap between the toner cartridge 1 and the developing device main body 4. pulled out from the outside. Therefore, when the seal member 3 is peeled off, the toner T adhering to the part of the seal member 3 covering the opening of the toner cartridge 1 scatters and falls inside the electrophotographic recording apparatus equipped with the developing device. Furthermore, when the peeled off seal member is processed outside the electrophotographic recording device, the toner T adhering to the seal member 3 scatters and falls, staining the area around the electrophotographic recording device, and furthermore, (Problem to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in conventional toner cartridge devices, when replacing the toner cartridge, there is a problem that the operator's clothes are soiled. When processing the sealed seal member, there is a problem in that the toner adhering to the seal member scatters and falls, staining the inside and outside of the electrophotographic recording device and the clothes of the operator.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container device that prevents contamination due to objects contained in the container adhering to the sealing member when the sealing member is peeled off from the container.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the container device of the present invention comprises: a container having an opening for storing an object and releasing the stored object; a sealing member having a portion covered with the opening of the container and affixed to the container and the remaining portion being folded back to the outside of the portion covering the opening; The sealing member is arranged to overlap a portion of the sealing member that covers the opening, and is movably inserted through a portion of the sealing member that does not cover the opening to cover the opening. A cover member that hides a portion of the sealing member covering the opening when the portion is peeled off from the container.

(Function) In order to open the opening of the container, when the part of the sealing member that is not attached to the container is peeled off from the container by pulling the part of the sealing member that is not attached to the container, the part of the sealing member that is attached to the container is removed. Since the portion of the sealing member that is attached to the container is housed and hidden inside the cover member, the object contained in the container that adheres to the portion of the sealing member that is affixed to the container does not scatter to the outside.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment in which the container device of the present invention is applied to a toner cartridge used in a developing device in an electrophotographic recording device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

The structure of the toner cartridge device will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a toner cartridge. This toner cartridge 11 has a horizontally long rectangular box shape, and an opening 12 along the longitudinal direction is formed on the bottom surface of the toner cartridge 11.
A collar 13 is formed around the rim. The toner cartridge 11 accommodates toner T to be supplied to the developing device. Reference numeral 14 denotes a sealing member, and this sealing member 14 has a length equal to twice the length of the opening 12 of the container 11 plus the length for attaching to the toner cartridge 1 and the end 14 to be pulled by the operator, and the width of the opening 12. It is horizontally long and has a width equal to the width of the paper, plus the attachment allowance, and is made of a sheet of synthetic resin.

A portion of the sealing member 14 is disposed on the lower surface of the toner cartridge 11 to cover the entire opening 12, and its peripheral edge is attached to the collar 13 of the toner cartridge 11 by a method such as heat welding. Thereby, the sealing member 14 seals the opening 12 of the toner cartridge 11.

That is, the toner T contained inside the toner cartridge 11 is sealed. The other part of the sealing member 14 is not attached to the toner cartridge 11, but is folded downward from the end of the part attached to the toner cartridge 11 and overlapped with the part attached to the toner cartridge 11. In this case, the end 14a of the portion of the sealing member 14 that is not attached to the toner cartridge 11 protrudes outward from the end of the toner cartridge 11. Reference numeral 15 denotes a cover member in the shape of an envelope with both ends open, and this cover member 15 is made of synthetic resin. That is, this cover member 15
has a cylindrical shape, and has a length that is the sum of the length of the opening 12 of the toner cartridge 11 plus an attachment margin for the sealing member 14, and a width that is larger than the width of the sealing member 14.

The cover member 15 is disposed below the toner cartridge 11 along the longitudinal direction, and is not attached to the toner cartridge 11 but is folded back from the middle to the bottom and overlapped.The cover member 15 is moved after the portion of the seal member 14 that is overlapped covers the openings at both ends. It is inserted as much as possible. In this case, the end 14a of the portion of the sealing member 14 inserted into the interior of the cover member 15 protrudes from the open end of the cover member 15 and extends to the outside of the end of the toner cartridge 11. By pasting an adhesive tape (not shown) to the end 14a of the sealing member 14 and pasting this adhesive tape to a part of the toner cartridge 11, the part of the sealing member 14 that is not pasted to the toner cartridge 11 and the cover member 15 are separated. It is held in the toner cartridge 11.

A tongue piece 16 is formed in the widthwise center of the open end of the cover member 15 on the side from which the end 14a of the sealing member 14 protrudes, and a tongue piece 16 is formed in the widthwise center of the folded portion of the sealing member 14 that is not attached to the toner cartridge 11. A hole 17 into which the tongue piece 16 of the cover member 15 engages is formed in the center.

When manufacturing this toner cartridge device, the opening 12 of the toner cartridge 11 is covered with the sealing member 14, and a cap fitted into a hole (not shown) provided in the toner cartridge 11 is removed to open the hole. Put the toner T into the toner cartridge 11 through the hole, and then fit the cap to close the hole.

The case where this toner cartridge device is loaded into the main body of the developing device and the toner T is supplied from the toner cartridge device to the main body of the developing device will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

The developing device main body 18 of the developing device has a tank shape for storing toner T, and has a horizontally long opening 19 of a size corresponding to the opening 12 of the toner cartridge 11 formed on the top surface. along the longitudinal direction of the rail 2
0 and 20 are formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the rail 2 has a collar 13 formed in the opening of the developing device main body 18 with the toner cartridge 11 in a state with the opening 12 facing downward.
0 and 20, and place the toner cartridge 11 on the opening 19 of the developing device main body 18 and move it from one end to the other end. 19, and load the toner cartridge 11 into the developing device main body 18. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the toner cartridge 11 is loaded into the developing device main body 18. As shown in FIG. In this loaded state, the toner T accommodated in the toner cartridge 11 is
The seal member 14 attached to the opening 12 prevents the liquid from being released from the opening 12. The portion of the sealing member 14 that is not attached to the toner cartridge 11 and the cover member 15 are held horizontally between the flange 13 of the toner cartridge 1l and the periphery of the opening 19 of the developing device main body 18. The end 14a of the seal member 14 protruding from the cover member 15 is connected to the toner cartridge 11.
It protrudes to the outside from a gap formed between one end of the collar 13 and one end of the peripheral edge of the opening 19 of the developing device main body 18 .

As will be described later, in order to slow down the moving speed of the cover member 15 compared to the peeling speed of the sealing member 14 when peeling off the sealing member 14, for example, friction is applied to the periphery of one end of the opening 19 of the developing device main body 18. Attach the resistor 21. As this frictional resistor 21, for example, an anti-slip tape whose upper surface that contacts the cover member 15 is roughened is used. When the cover member 15 slides on the upper surface of the frictional resistor 21, the rough surface of the upper surface of the frictional resistor 21 applies frictional resistance to the surface of the cover member 15.

Next, a case will be described in which the sealing member 14 of the toner cartridge device is peeled off and the toner T is replenished into the developing device main body 18. First, the toner cartridge device is shown in Figure 4 (
As shown in a), the portion of the sealing member 14 that is not attached to the toner cartridge 11 and the cover member 15 are held horizontally by being sandwiched between the flange 13 of the toner cartridge 11 and the flange 21 of the developing device main body 18. There is. The seal member 14 that an operator protrudes from the gap between the flange 13 of the toner cartridge 11 and the flange 21 of the developing device main body 18
Grasp the end 14a of the and pull it outward. Figure 4(b)
, when the end 14a of the seal member 14 is pulled as shown in FIG. As the toner cartridge 11 moves sequentially, the parts of the seal member 14 pasted on the collar 13 of the toner cartridge 11 are sequentially peeled off from the p413 and move through the inside of the cover member 15 toward the outside of the developing device main body 18. . At this time, the part of the seal member 14 that has peeled off from the flange 13 is bent downward and moves into the cover member 15 through the inner end opening of the cover member 15, so that the bent part of the seal member 14 covers the cover. The member 15 is moved while pushing its inner end toward the outside of the developing device main body 18. For this reason, cover member 1
5 is pushed by the seal member 14 and moves toward the outside of the developing device main body 18, and is pulled out of the developing device main body 18 through the gap between the developing device main body 18 and the collar 13 of the toner cartridge 11. However, since the cover member 15 is sandwiched between the flange 13 of the toner cartridge 11 and the periphery of the opening 19 of the developing device main body 18 and comes into sliding contact with the upper surface of the opening periphery of the developing device main body 18, frictional resistance is provided. When the cover member 15 moves, it comes into sliding contact with a frictional resistor 21 attached to the developing device main body 18, and the sliding contact with the frictional resistor 21 provides frictional resistance. Because of this resistance, the sealing member 14 moves toward the outside of the developing device main body 18 at a slower speed than the speed at which the sealing member 14 moves toward the outside of the developing device main body 18. The seal member 14 peeled off from the toner cartridge 11 is housed inside the cover member 15.

That is, the toner T stored inside the toner cartridge 11 is attached to the part of the seal member 14 that was pasted on the toner cartridge 14, and the part of the seal member 14 to which this toner T has been attached is the cover member. 15
is housed inside.

As the sealing member 14 is peeled off from the toner cartridge l4, the opening 12 of the toner cartridge 11 is sequentially opened along the length direction, and the toner T stored inside the toner cartridge 11 is released and used for development. It falls into the inside of the device main body 18.

As shown in FIG. 4(d), when the seal member 14 is completely peeled off from the toner cartridge 11, the seal member 14
4 and the other end of the cover member 15 are aligned, and the entire cover member 15 is pulled out from between the flange 22 of the developing device main body 18 and the flange 13 of the toner cartridge 11 to the outside of the developing device main body 18.

At this time, the seal member l4 attached to the toner cartridge 11 pulled out from the cover member 15
The entire portion is housed inside the cover member 15. Note that when the entire portion of the seal member 14 that was pasted on the toner cartridge 11 is accommodated inside the cover member 15, the hole 17 formed in the seal member 14 is inserted into the cover member 1.
5, the portion of the sealing member 14 accommodated in the cover member 15 does not come off from the cover member 15, and the cover member 15 is integrated with the sealing member 14. It is pulled out from between the developing device main body 18 and the toner cartridge 11.

Then, the part of the seal member 14 to which the toner T has adhered is accommodated and hidden inside the cover member 15, and the seal member 1
The toner T adhering to the seal member 14 will not scatter and fall from the seal member 14. Therefore, when the seal member 14 is peeled off from the toner cartridge 1l, the toner T adhering to the seal member 14 does not fall into the interior of the electrophotographic recording apparatus provided with the developing device and contaminate the interior of the apparatus. Also,
When the peeled off seal member 14 is taken out to the outside of the electrophotographic recording apparatus for processing, the toner T adhering to the seal member 14 may scatter and fall to the outside of the electrophotographic recording apparatus, staining the surroundings of the apparatus or causing damage to the operator. It has the advantage that it does not adhere to clothes and stain them.

Note that the means for applying frictional resistance to the cover member 15 is not limited to that in the embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a tongue piece 22 that slides into contact with the seal member 14 may be provided on the other end side of the cover member 15.

In short, the cover member 15 is
Any material may be used as long as it provides frictional resistance to the cover member so that the moving speed of the cover member is reduced to about 1/2.

The structure of the cover member 15 is also not limited to the embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to a toner cartridge device installed in a developing device of an electrophotographic recording device, but is a container device that stores powder or mucus inside a container and seals the opening of the container with a sealing member. It can be widely applied to containers, and is effective in preventing contamination caused by objects stored in containers.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the container device of the present invention, when the sealing member that seals the opening of the container is peeled off from the container and the contained object is released, the operation of peeling off the sealing member and In order to accommodate and hide the part of the sealing member to which the object to be accommodated is attached inside the cover member, the object to be accommodated attached to the sealing member is prevented from scattering and falling from the sealing member.
When peeling off the sealing member and when processing the peeled off sealing member, an excellent effect can be achieved in that it is possible to prevent contamination accidents caused by objects to be accommodated scattering and falling from the sealing member.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show an embodiment in which the container device of the present invention is applied to a toner cartridge device for a developing device.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the toner cartridge device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the state in which the toner cartridge device is loaded into the developing device main body, FIG. 3 is a view showing the operation of loading the toner cartridge device into the developing device main body, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of peeling off the seal member of the toner cartridge device, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the toner cartridge device, and FIGS. 6 to 8 are diagrams showing conventional examples of the toner cartridge device. 6 is a perspective view showing the toner cartridge device, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the state in which the toner cartridge device is loaded into the main body of the developing device, and FIG. 8 shows the process of peeling off the seal member of the toner cartridge device. FIG.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A container having an opening for storing a contained object and releasing the contained object, and a portion having a portion covered with the opening of the container and affixed to the container, and a remaining portion covering the opening. a seal member that is folded back to the outside; and a seal that has a length greater than the opening of the container and is placed overlapping a portion of the seal member that covers the opening and does not cover the opening. a cover member through which a portion of the seal member is movably inserted to hide a portion of the seal member covering the opening when the portion of the seal member covering the opening is peeled off from the container; A container device characterized by: