JP2001278342A - Case packing method and packing body - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To provide a method and a package for packaging a casing capable of eliminating precipitation and condensation of toner when unpacking and using. SOLUTION: In a package provided with a casing filled with a polymerized toner used for image formation and a packing material for packaging the casing, the casing is vertically oriented in a different direction from when the casing is used. Packing in packing materials.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of packing a housing in which a polymer toner used for image formation is filled.
And packaging.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, polymerized toners have been increasingly used in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses. This is because the polymerized toner has a number of advantages due to its extremely excellent fluidity. When transporting a case filled with such a polymerized toner to, for example, a distributor or an end user from a manufacturer, the case is transported after packing and fixing the case.

[0003]

However, if vibrations due to transportation are given during transportation of the housing filled with the polymerized toner, the polymerized toners enter the gaps between themselves by their own weight and gradually settle to the lower part of the housing. Condensed. In the case of the pulverized toner, the fluidity is not good, so that the toner does not reach the gap between the toners. For this reason, precipitation condensation does not progress very much, and there is little problem. On the other hand, in the case of the polymerized toner, since it is extremely excellent in fluidity, it enters into the gap between each other, and the precipitation and condensation progresses remarkably. In particular, if the bottom of the housing is a semi-cylindrical concave portion in the packed position, the toner tends to be easily condensed there.

In a state where the toner precipitates and condenses,
When the housing is mounted on the image forming apparatus and started to be used,
For example, since the condensed toner applies a high torque to the agitator (toner stirring device), there is a possibility that gear teeth may jump. Also, even when the housing has a developing roller as a developer carrier or a supply roller for supplying a polymerized toner to the developing roller, there is a risk that the developer may stay around the developing roller or the supply roller during transportation. there were.

In order to avoid such a situation, it is conceivable that the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus or the like may write the instruction manual or the like so that the toner is sufficiently loosened by shaking the housing before use. An excellent polymerized toner may leak out by shaking the housing, and such a method is not recommended.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a package for packaging a housing which can eliminate such precipitation and condensation of the polymerized toner when unpacked and used.

[0007]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described. In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, reference numerals in the accompanying drawings are added in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment.

The invention according to claim 1 is a method for packing a casing (4) in which a polymer toner (8) used for image formation is filled, wherein the casing is used in a vertical direction. The problem is solved by a method of packing a housing, which is characterized by packing in different directions. The invention of claim 6 is
A package comprising: a housing filled with a polymer toner used for image formation; and packing materials (11, 12) for packing the housing, wherein the housing is used in a vertical direction. Solves the above problem by a package of a housing characterized in that the package is packed in a packing material in different directions.

[0009] Since the case is filled with the polymerized toner, it is condensed by vibration and the above problem is liable to occur. However, according to these inventions, when the user unpacks the package and tries to use it. Since the direction of the housing in the vertical direction changes, the toner can be moved by gravity. Further, since the polymerized toner is excellent in fluidity, the precipitation and condensation can be alleviated by merely changing the direction in the up-down direction without performing a shaking operation.

A second aspect of the present invention, in the packing method according to the first aspect, is characterized in that the casing is inverted in the vertical direction from the posture in use and packed. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the package for a housing according to the sixth aspect,
The case is characterized in that the case is packaged in a packaging material in a vertical direction from the posture at the time of use.

According to these inventions, when the user unpacks the package and intends to use it, the housing is turned upside down, so that the toner can be moved by gravity. Further, since the polymerized toner is excellent in fluidity, the above-mentioned precipitation condensation can be relieved without merely performing a shaking operation by simply turning the housing upside down.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for packing a casing according to the first or second aspect, a developing roller (6) is attached to the casing so as to be exposed, and the developing roller is attached to the upper surface of the polymerized toner layer. It is characterized by being placed above and packed. Further, the invention of claim 8 is based on claim 6 or 7.
Wherein the developing roller is mounted on the housing so as to be exposed, and the developing roller is disposed above the upper surface of the polymerized toner layer and packed in a packing material. And

[0013] According to these inventions, since the developing roller is disposed above the upper surface of the toner layer and separated from the toner layer, the polymerized toner enters the interface between the developing roller and the housing due to vibrations during transportation or the like and leaks. Can be prevented.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of packing a casing according to any one of the first to third aspects, the joint (1) of the casing is provided.
0), wherein a portion in contact with the polymerized toner at the time of packing is welded. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the package of the housing according to any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, a portion which is a joint of the housing and is in contact with the polymerized toner at the time of packing is welded. Features.

According to these inventions, since the joint of the housing is welded, it is possible to prevent the polymerized toner from leaking from the interface of the joint.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method of packing a casing according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the coverage of the polymerized toner with the external additive is 100% or more. According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the package of the casing according to any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the coverage of the polymerized toner with the external additive is 100% or more.

According to these inventions, since the coverage of the external additive is set to 100% or more, the toner does not harden even if the temperature is slightly increased. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a problem that the toner does not solidify and fall when the housing is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body while unpacking and changing the direction from the packed state. Further, it is possible to easily manage the temperature when stocking or transporting the package of the housing.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a package of a developing unit filled with a polymerization toner. A developing unit 13 covered with a water-impermeable material such as a vinyl bag is denoted by a reference numeral 13 (hereinafter, a developing unit covered with a water-impermeable material such as a vinyl bag is denoted by a reference numeral 13; 1) are fixed to the packing blocks 12, 12, and housed in the packing box 11 together with the instruction manual 14.

The concave portion 12a of the packing block 12 is formed so as to be in close contact with the developing unit 13 when both side surfaces of the developing unit 13 are fitted. In addition, packing block 1
A plurality of ribs 12b, 12b,
, 12c, 12c, ... are also formed so that the packing block 12 fits tightly inside the packing box 11. Therefore, the developing unit 13 and the packing block 1
2 and the packing box 11 are conveyed and moved together, and there is no so-called "play", so that unexpected trouble due to vibration during transportation is avoided.

The developing unit 1 is packaged in an upside-down posture from the posture in use. For comparison, FIG. 2 shows a package of the developing unit that is packed while being kept in a posture in use. As is clear from both figures, the semi-cylindrical case bottom 15 is arranged at the top in this embodiment, and is arranged at the bottom in FIG. 2 and packed.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the developing unit 1.
The developing unit 1 includes a toner accommodating chamber 2 in a housing 4, and an agitator 9 is provided in the toner accommodating chamber 2 and filled with a polymerized toner 8. On the photosensitive drum side (not shown, right side in FIG. 3A) of the toner storage chamber 2, a developing chamber 3 is formed, and a supply roller 5 and a developing roller 6 are formed.
Are rotatably supported.

FIG. 3A shows the developing unit 1 which is arranged upside down from the posture in use in the vertical direction. That is, the developing unit 13 of FIG. 1 is packed in such a posture. Since the developing unit 1 is inverted, the polymerized toner 8 filled in the toner chamber 2
Flows downward by gravity and accumulates on the ceiling portion 16 of the toner chamber. The developing roller 6 is disposed above the upper surface of the polymerized toner layer. Further, the casing seam 10 in contact with the polymerized toner layer is sealed by ultrasonic welding. Therefore, in the packed posture, the interface between the developing roller 6 and the housing 4 or the seam 1
The polymerized toner 8 does not leak from 0.

On the other hand, when the user or the like unpacks the package and loads the developing unit 1 into the image forming apparatus in a normal posture, the developing unit 1 is further inverted to the posture shown in FIG. 3B. During this time, polymerized toner 8 having excellent fluidity 8
Flows again to the bottom 15 of the toner storage chamber 2 due to gravity, and moves and accumulates. Therefore, the coagulated sediment of the polymerized toner 8 that has accumulated above the ceiling 16 of the toner storage chamber 2 while being packed is reliably loosened by the operation of the user or the like loading the developing unit into the image forming apparatus. be able to.

In the present embodiment, an external additive is added to the polymerized toner 8, and its coverage is adjusted to be 100% or more. The value of the coverage obtained when 1% by weight of an external additive having a predetermined BET value is added is known. Here, the "BET value" refers to a specific surface area measured by adsorbing nitrogen, and is represented by an area per unit weight (unit: square meters / gram). Therefore, BET
The larger the value, the smaller the particle size, and the smaller the BET value, the larger the particle size.

When 1% by weight of an external additive was added to the polymerized toner having an average particle size of 9 μm, the coverage was as shown in Table 1 below.
become that way.

[0026]

[Table 1]

In the present embodiment, the external additives having the two BET values shown above were used in the composition shown in Table 2.

[0028]

[Table 2]

In any of the examples, the coverage is about 100%, and the composition can be suitably used as an external additive of the polymerized toner 8. The amount of the external additive may be slightly more than 100%. By using the external additive in this manner, the coagulation of the toner can be prevented even when the temperature is slightly increased, and the loosening effect can be reliably obtained only by inverting the developing unit.

Note that, as shown in FIG.
If the developing unit 1 is packed so that the developing roller 6 is disposed above the upper surface of the polymerization toner 8, the supply roller 5 can be used when stocking and transporting the developing unit 1.
The polymerized toner 8 is not condensed (see FIG. 3B) in the space (wedge-shaped depression) generated by the developing roller 6 and the developing roller 6. Therefore, when rotating the supply roller 5 and the developing roller 6, a large load due to the condensation of the polymerized toner 8 is not applied to the supply roller 5 and the developing roller 6.

In the above embodiment, the developing unit has been described as an example of the housing filled with the polymerized toner, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention may be any housing as long as it is filled with a polymerized toner used for image formation, and for example, may include a photosensitive drum. Further, a toner cartridge without a developing roller or a supply roller, for example, a toner cartridge filled with replenishing polymerization toner may be used. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention is preferably applied to a developing unit bundled with the image forming apparatus main body.

In the above embodiment, the case where the casing seam 10 is ultrasonically welded has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, heat welding or vibration welding may be used. Is also good.

[0033]

As described above, the casing filled with the polymerized toner used for forming an image therein is packaged upside down in the vertical direction, so that the user unpacks and uses the package. At this time, the direction of the housing in the vertical direction is reversed, and the toner can be moved by gravity. Further, since the polymerized toner is excellent in fluidity, the precipitation and condensation can be alleviated without changing the direction only by changing the vertical direction.

Further, since the developing roller is disposed above the upper surface of the polymerized toner layer and packed, it is possible to prevent the polymerized toner from leaking from the interface between the housing and the developing roller.

Further, since the portion which is the joint of the housing and which is in contact with the polymerized toner at the time of packing is welded, it is possible to prevent the polymerized toner from leaking from the joint of the housing.

Also, since the coverage of the polymerized toner with the external additive is 100% or more, the toner does not solidify even if the temperature is slightly increased, and the polymerized toner precipitates and condenses simply by changing the direction of the housing. Can be loosened. This makes it easy to manage the temperature when stocking or transporting the package of the housing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a package in which a developing unit is inverted and packed.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a package in which the developing unit is packed in a posture in use.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of the developing unit, in which FIG. 3A shows a state in which the posture in use is reversed, and FIG. 3B shows a posture in use.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Case 6 Developing roller 8 Polymerized toner 10 Case seam 11 Packing box 12 Packing block

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method for packing a housing in which a polymer toner used for image formation is filled, wherein the housing is packed in a vertical direction different from a direction in which the housing is used. A method of packing the housing to be performed. 2. The method of packing a housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing is inverted from the posture in use in the vertical direction and packed. 3. The package according to claim 1, wherein a developing roller is attached to the housing so as to be exposed, and the developing roller is arranged above the upper surface of the polymerized toner layer and packed. How to pack the enclosure as described. 4. The method of packing a case according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the joint of the case, which is in contact with the polymerized toner during packing, is welded. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coverage of the polymerized toner with the external additive is 100% or more.
A packaging method for a housing according to any one of the above. 6. A package comprising: a housing filled with a polymerized toner used for image formation; and a packing material for packing the housing, wherein the housing is arranged in a vertical direction. The package of the housing, wherein the package is packed in the packing material in a different direction from the use. 7. The package according to claim 6, wherein the housing is packaged in the packing material while being inverted in a vertical direction from a posture in use. 8. A developing roller is mounted on the housing so as to be exposed, and the developing roller is disposed above an upper surface of the polymerized toner layer and packed in the packing material. The package of a housing according to claim 6 or 7, 9. The package according to claim 6, wherein a portion of the joint of the case, which is in contact with the polymerized toner during packing, is welded. . 10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the coverage of the polymerized toner with an external additive is 100% or more.
A package for a housing according to any one of the above.