JPH11184227A - Toner supply container and toner filling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner replenishing container and method for replenishing the toner capable of preventing the toner from scattering at the toner replenishing time, and replenishing the toner in the higher density. SOLUTION: In this toner replenishing container 4 provided with the container main body 1 furnished with an open part of the toner replenishing for containing the toner 6, and a sealing film (sealing member) 2 sealing the open part of the container main body 1, the container is allowed to dispose an incision part (opening part) 3 serving as the toner replenishing port along the approximately whole length in the lengthwise direction of the container 1, and so as to firmly seal the incision part 3 by the sealing member after replenishing the toner 6 from the incision part 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner replenishing container used for supplying toner to a developing device of an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or a printer, and a toner filling method for filling the container with toner. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, powder toner is used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or a printer. A toner supply container is generally formed of a synthetic resin or the like into a cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped shape. It comprises a container body and a seal member for sealing the opening of the container body that is open for replenishing the toner to the developing device from the container body. This toner supply container usually has a filling port for filling the container body with toner on a side wall corresponding to an end in the longitudinal direction. After filling the toner, the filling port is made of a plastic cap such as polyethylene or an adhesive. Sealed with a label seal.

[0003] In particular, a process cartridge constructed by integrating a photosensitive drum, a cleaner, a charger, and the like with the toner supply container has also been manufactured.

[0004]

However, there is a problem that the toner scatters around when the toner is supplied to the toner supply container.

In addition, as described above, the filling port opened in the toner supply container is sealed with a plastic cap or an adhesive label seal after filling the toner, resulting in an increase in cost and a deterioration in assemblability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has as its object to prevent toner scattering at the time of filling the toner and to fill the toner at a higher density. Is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to cut down a part of the container body to form a filling port and a sealing member therefor, thereby eliminating a cap for sealing the filling port and a label seal, thereby reducing costs. An object of the present invention is to provide a toner supply container capable of improving the assemblability.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a container body having an opening for replenishing toner and containing toner, and the opening of the container body. In the toner supply container provided with a seal member for sealing the toner container, an opening serving as a toner filling port is provided over substantially the entire length of the container body in the longitudinal direction, and after filling the toner from the filling port, the filling port is sealed with the sealing member. It is characterized by being sealed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the thickness of the container body is 2 mm or less, and the material used for the container body has a flexural modulus of 20,000.
kg / cm ² or less, and the container body is deformed when the toner is filled.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the toner filling port and the sealing member are formed by cutting a part of the container body, and the toner is supplied from the toner filling port. After filling, the incision is sealed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect, the cross-sectional shape of the container main body is substantially triangular or substantially fan-shaped, and a longitudinal direction of a vertex opposed to the opening is provided. In which an opening serving as a toner filling port is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, the container body is formed by vacuum forming.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect, the material of the container body is a plastic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, nylon, or a composite of paper and paper and plastic resin. It is characterized by being a material.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the means for sealing the incised portion is heat welding, ultrasonic welding, or sticking with an adhesive tape or the like.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the incision is formed in a protruding shape.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner supply container having a toner supply container having an opening for toner supply and containing toner, and a seal member for sealing the opening of the container body. In a toner filling method for filling a toner,
An opening serving as a toner filling port is provided over substantially the entire length of the container body in the longitudinal direction, and when filling the toner from the toner filling port, the toner is filled while moving the container body or the filling nozzle in the longitudinal direction. And

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the present invention, the toner is filled by deforming a side portion of the container body when the toner is filled.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toner supply container 4 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the toner supply container 4.

The toner supply container 4 according to the present embodiment is
The container main body 1 has a triangular prism shape having a substantially triangular cross section and has an opening for toner supply, and a seal film 2 for sealing the toner supply opening of the container main body 1.

The container body 1 is made of polypropylene. The container body 1 is manufactured by vacuum molding and has a thickness of 0.3 to 0.5 mm. The seal film 2 is made of polyester / nylon / sealant (adhesive layer for PP), which is
The heat-sealing seals the toner supply opening. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the free end of the seal film 2 is turned back by 180 ° to form a handle.

Next, the toner filling method according to the present invention will be described.

In the toner replenishing container 4 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a container opening 3 is formed by cutting a bottom portion (a top portion in FIG. 3) of the container body 1 in the longitudinal direction as a filling port.

As shown in FIG. 4, the toner supply container 4 is filled with the toner 6 by opening the container cutout 3 and inserting the filling nozzle 5 into the container. In the present embodiment, the toner 6 is filled using the auger type simple filling machine 9 shown in FIG.

The toner 6 in the toner supply container 4 is
At the time of filling, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
Alternatively, it is important that the toner supply container 4 is moved in the horizontal direction so that the toner 6 discharged from the filling nozzle 5 is uniformly filled in the toner supply container 4. The toner supply container 4 may be moved, although the filling nozzle 5 or the toner supply container 4 may be moved.

If the filling nozzle 5 or the toner supply container 4 does not move, the toner 6 discharged from the filling nozzle 5 is accumulated in the toner supply container 4, and the toner 6 in the container 4 and the toner discharged from the filling nozzle 5 6 may be connected and the toner 6 may overflow or fuse. That is, in filling the toner 6 in the present embodiment, it is necessary to control the amount of the toner 6 discharged from the filling nozzle 5, the moving speed of the toner supply container 4, and the amount of the filling nozzle 5 entering the toner supply container 4. is there.

More specifically, the discharge amount of the toner 6 from the filling nozzle 5 is preferably larger in order to improve the filling tact on the assumption that the toner 6 does not fuse. At this time, in order to prevent the fusion of the toner 6, it is necessary to move the toner replenishing container 4 as described above. As the amount of the discharged toner 6 increases, the moving speed of the toner replenishing container 4 decreases. Need to be bigger. That is, it is desirable to set an appropriate condition from the relationship between the toner filling amount and the filling tact.

Also, regarding the movement of the toner supply container 4,
Although it is possible to consider a case where the length of the toner supply container 4 moves about once in the longitudinal direction and how many times the toner supply container 4 moves, it is also desirable to set conditions based on the relationship between the toner filling amount and the filling tact. In the present embodiment, the toner 6 is filled by moving the toner replenishing container 4 only once in one direction substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the penetration amount of the filling nozzle 5 into the toner supply container 4
Is larger, the distance B between the filling nozzle 5 and the bottom of the container body 1 (the sealing film 2 corresponds to the bottom in FIG. 5) becomes shorter, and the falling distance of the toner 6 discharged from the filling nozzle 5 becomes shorter. 6 can be expected not only to be hardly scattered but also to prevent a decrease in the density, so that high density filling can be expected. At the same time, problems such as a decrease in the effective filling volume of 1 occur. Therefore,
Also in this case, similarly to the movement of the toner supply container 4, it is desirable to set appropriate conditions in relation to the filling amount and the filling tact. In the present embodiment, the filling nozzle 5 enters the container body 1 by 10 mm. Then, the toner 6 was filled (a penetration amount A = 10 mm).

In the present embodiment, as for the container body 1, a thin container made of polypropylene is used as described above and a soft container is used. This makes it easy not only to cut a part of the container body 1, but also to fill the toner body 6 by inserting the filling nozzle 5 into the linear cutout 3 and filling the toner 6.
Is deformed and the toner 6 is easily filled. When the filling nozzle 5 is actually inserted into the container body 1, the filling nozzle 5
The incision 3 serving as a filling port is widened by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the container body 1, and the longitudinal side surface portion of the container body 1 is curved and deformed by the influence of the opening, thereby expanding the apparent volume of the container body 1, making it easier to fill the toner 6. Become. For this purpose, as described above, it is essential that the container body 1 has a deformable rigidity (that is, softness), the thickness of the container body 1 is 2 mm or less, and the material used for the container body 1 Has a flexural modulus of 20,000 kg / cm ²
It is desirable that: If possible, thickness 1
mm and a flexural modulus of 10,000 kg / cm ² or less. Note that, in the present embodiment, as described above, the thickness is set to 0.
As a result of constituting the container body 1 from polypropylene having a flexural modulus of 3 to 0.5 mm and a flexural modulus of 5000 kg / cm ² , the effective filling volume of about 10% increases, further increasing the tact time for a predetermined filling amount and the conventional tact time. The filling amount could be increased.

Conversely, since the cutout 3 is originally linear, it is possible to fill the toner 6 with the opening other than the periphery of the filling nozzle 5 closed, so that the toner 6 can be scattered. It can also be prevented more reliably.

Further, in the present embodiment, a triangular prism-shaped container having a substantially triangular cross section is used as the container main body 1. However, an opening serving as a toner filling port is provided in the longitudinal direction of the vertex opposed to the toner supply opening. Therefore, the toner 6 discharged from the filling nozzle 5 is uniformly filled in the toner replenishing container 4 as compared with an ordinary rectangular parallelepiped container, and the dead space in the container 4 becomes very small, so that the toner 6 can be further reduced. High-density filling becomes possible. The shape of the container body 1 may be any shape as long as the above-mentioned effects can be obtained, but the most preferable shape is a triangular prism.

The filling of the toner 6 was performed based on the above conditions (see FIGS. 5 to 7).

As described above, the scattering of the toner 6 at the time of filling is very small, and a predetermined filling amount can be filled without difficulty.

Although the toner 6 used in the present embodiment is a magnetic toner having a relatively large specific gravity, in the present invention, a non-magnetic toner such as a color toner is more expensive. The effect can be expected. The non-magnetic toner has a lower specific gravity and a better fluidity than the magnetic toner, so that the density at the time of filling is easily lowered and the toner is easily scattered. Therefore, a higher effect can be obtained by the present invention.

Next, sealing of the filling port after filling the toner will be described.

In this embodiment, the incision 3 is sealed by ultrasonic welding.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9,
The incision 3 of the container body 1 is 5 mm wide along the container longitudinal direction.
(Welded portion 7, hatched portion in FIG. 9). still,
In FIG. 8, reference numeral 8 denotes a welding jig.

The toner supply container 4 in this embodiment is formed by cutting a part of the container body 1 instead of forming the filling port at the time of molding as in the conventional case. It is preferred that

As described above, it is preferable that the container body 1 is made of a material and a wall thickness which are easily deformed at the time of filling. Specifically, the material of the container body 1 is a plastic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, nylon or the like, paper or a composite material of paper and plastic resin, and the bending elastic modulus is 20,000 kg / cm ² or less. 10
It is preferably not more than 000 kg / cm ² . Further, the thickness of the container body 1 is desirably a value that does not make incision and deformation difficult, specifically, 2 mm or less, preferably 1 mm or less.

Further, as a method of molding the container body 1, any method can be basically used as long as it can be molded with the above-mentioned material and thickness, but the most preferable method is vacuum molding.

Examples of means for sealing the filling port include welding such as heat welding and ultrasonic welding, and sticking with an adhesive tape or the like, but welding is desirable for improving the sealing property. Especially,
Since the inner surfaces of the container body 1 are welded to each other, that is, the same material, high sealing properties can be expected.

A toner filling test was performed using the toner supply container 4 according to the present embodiment.
And the filling tact was improved. In addition, sufficient sealing strength was obtained in sealing the filling port, and no particular abnormality was observed. Further, when the toner 6 was supplied, the strength at the time of opening was about 4 to 6 kgf, and the toner 6 could be easily supplied.

A distribution and environmental test were conducted on 1,000 toner replenishing containers 4 and no abnormalities were observed.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a state where the toner is filled in the toner supply container according to the present embodiment.

The present embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the toner supply container 4 is moved twice when the toner 6 is filled.

According to the present embodiment, the amount of toner 6 discharged from the filling nozzle 5 can be increased, and the filling tact for a predetermined filling amount can be further shortened.

In the present embodiment, the first embodiment
Approximately 10% of tact was improved.

Further, the toner supply container 4 according to the present embodiment
Also, toner filling, toner replenishment, physical distribution, and environmental tests were carried out, but no abnormalities were found as in the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the toner supply container according to the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Embodiment 2 is the same as Embodiment 1 except that the cutout 3 of the container body 1 is formed in a projecting shape (projecting portion 3a).

In the present embodiment, the cutout 3 of the container body 1 is projected in a rib shape, and the tip of the protrusion is cut out to fill the toner. Then, after filling the toner, the protrusion 3a may be welded so as to be crushed, so that the cutting and sealing are facilitated and the assemblability of the toner supply container 4 is improved.

The toner replenishing container 4 according to the present embodiment was also subjected to toner filling, toner replenishment, physical distribution and environmental tests in the same manner as in the first embodiment. I couldn't.

<Comparative Example 1> Next, Comparative Example 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a side sectional view of the toner supply container according to Comparative Example 1.

The toner supply container 4 according to the present embodiment includes a container body 1 having an opening for toner supply and a seal film 2 for sealing the opening of the container body 1.
Although the shape of the container body 1 was a triangular prism shape as in the first embodiment, the material of the container body 1 was polystyrene,
Manufactured by injection molding. The thickness of the container body 1 is 1-2.
mm. The seal film 2 was made of polyester / nylon / sealant (PS adhesive layer), and this was heat-sealed to the container body 1 to seal the opening.

Further, a toner filling port 1a is formed on the side surface of the container body 1 when the container body 1 is molded.
The toner filling port 1a was sealed with a filling port cap (not shown) molded of polyethylene.

In this embodiment, the toner 6 is filled with the container body 1 vertically set as shown in the figure.

In this embodiment, since the distance from the filling nozzle 5 to the bottom of the container body 1 at the time of filling is long, after the toner 6 discharged from the filling nozzle 5 reaches the bottom of the container body 1, It flew up and was easily scattered from the filling port 1a, and sufficient dust collection was required.

Further, regarding the filling tact, the container body 1
Because the density of the toner 6 that has soared inside has decreased,
The tact time has been slightly reduced with respect to the first embodiment.

<Comparative Example 2> Next, Comparative Example 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a side sectional view showing a state where the toner is filled in the toner supply container according to Comparative Example 2.

This embodiment is the same as Embodiment 1 including the material and shape of the container body 1 except that the container body 1 and the filling nozzle 5 are fixed when the toner 6 is filled.

In the case of this example, as shown in FIG. 13, the filling nozzle 5 was arranged at the center in the longitudinal direction of the container body 1 to perform filling.
A dead space is formed in which the filling nozzle 5 and the toner 6 in the container body 1 can be filled at about 70% of a predetermined filling amount.
And the toner 6 was fused.

[0063]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has the following effects. (1) The toner is less scattered when the toner is filled, and is less likely to be stained. (2) Since the distance from which the toner falls from the filling nozzle to the container body is small, the toner can be filled at a higher density. (3) By deforming the container body at the time of toner filling, the apparent effective filling volume can be increased, and the filling tact time can be increased and the toner filling amount can be increased. (4) A plastic cap or a label seal is not required as a sealing member for the toner filling port of the container body, so that the number of parts and the cost can be reduced. (5) By welding and sealing the inner surfaces of the container body by heat welding or ultrasonic welding at the toner filling port after filling the toner, a high welding strength is obtained and the sealing property is enhanced. (6) Since it is not necessary to seal the toner filling port with another member, it is easy to unify the materials, and the ecology is improved. (7) By forming the cutout portion at the time of forming the toner filling port into a projecting shape, the cutting and sealing operations are facilitated, and the assemblability of the toner supply container is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toner supply container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the toner supply container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toner supply container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where toner is filled in the toner supply container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the toner supply container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is filled with toner.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a state where toner is being filled in the toner supply container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a short side sectional view showing a state in which the toner is supplied to the toner supply container according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a short sectional view showing a state in which the filling port of the toner supply container according to the first embodiment of the present invention is sealed.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which a filling port of the toner supply container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is sealed.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing a state in which toner is filled in a toner supply container according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a toner supply container according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side sectional view of a toner supply container according to Comparative Example 1.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view showing a state where toner is filled in a toner supply container according to Comparative Example 2.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of an auger type simple filling machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container main body 2 Seal film 3 Cut-out part 4 Toner supply container 5 Filling nozzle 6 Toner 7 Welding part 8 Welding jig 9 Auger simple filling machine

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A toner supply container having a container body having an opening for supplying toner and containing toner, and a seal member for sealing the opening of the container body. An opening serving as a toner filling port is provided over substantially the entire length in the direction, and after filling the toner from the filling port, the filling port is sealed with a sealing member. 2. The container body has a thickness of 2 mm or less, and a material used for the container body has a flexural modulus of 20,000.
^2. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the toner supply container is not more than kg / cm ² , and the container main body is deformed when the toner is filled. 3. The toner filling port and the sealing member are formed by cutting a part of the container body, and after filling the toner from the toner filling port, the cut section is sealed. Item 3. The toner supply container according to Item 1 or 2. 4. A container according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of said container body is substantially triangular or substantially fan-shaped, and an opening serving as a toner filling port is provided in a longitudinal direction of a vertex opposed to said opening. 4. The toner supply container according to claim 2, 3 or 4. 5. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein said container body is formed by vacuum molding. 6. The container body is made of polypropylene,
4. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the container is a plastic resin such as polyethylene, vinyl chloride, nylon or the like, or a composite material of paper and paper and plastic resin. 7. The toner supply container according to claim 3, wherein said sealing means for said cutout portion is heat welding, ultrasonic welding, or sticking such as an adhesive tape. 8. The toner supply container according to claim 3, wherein said cutout portion is formed in a projecting shape. 9. A toner filling device for filling a toner supply container with a toner supply container having a toner supply opening having a toner supply opening and a seal member for sealing the opening of the container main body. In the method, an opening serving as a toner filling port is provided over substantially the entire length of the container body in the longitudinal direction, and when filling the toner from the toner filling port, the toner is filled while moving the container body or the filling nozzle in the longitudinal direction. A toner filling method characterized by the above-mentioned. 10. The toner filling method according to claim 9, wherein the filling of the toner is performed by deforming a side surface of the container body when filling the toner.