Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – With manipulation of flexible or collapsible receiver or supply
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-15
2001-10-09
Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
With manipulation of flexible or collapsible receiver or supply
C141S369000, C141S391000, C220S009400, C220S495010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298885
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a powder accommodating container to fill and accommodate the powder, and to an improvement of a toner accommodating container which is detachably structured to replenish powdered toner to a developing device of an electrostatic image forming apparatus such as, for example, an electrophotographic copier or laser printer.
Conventionally, as a means to replenish easily scattered powder into a powder receiving device, a power container in which the powder is accommodated and whose powder replenishing opening portion is hermetically sealed by a film-like seal material, is used. When the powder is replenished, after the powder container is turned upside down, and the opening portion is turned to the down side and mounted onto the mounting portion of the powder receiving device, by pealing the seal material, the powder flows from the opening portion and is replenished into a hopper of the receiving device. The powder container as described above is widely used because the powder does not scatter to the outside when the powder is replenished.
In the electrostatic image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image on a rotating electric charge carrier is developed by a developing device, and after the powder toner in the toner is adhered onto an electrostatic latent image portion and forms a toner image, the toner image is transferred onto the recording sheet and fixed. Because the powder toner is consumed together with the development, it is necessary to replenish the toner to the developing device corresponding to the consumption, and as a storing portion of the toner to be replenished, a toner hopper is provided.
A large amount of toner is stored in the toner hopper, however, as the toner in the developing device is decreased, the toner in the toner hopper is replenished into the developing device, and the toner in the toner hopper is gradually decreased. Then, when the residual amount of the toner in the toner hopper is decreased, the toner is replenished into the toner hopper from the toner accommodating container (toner replenishing cartridge) in which the toner is accommodated, by an operator.
Although the toner replenishment of the electrostatic recording apparatus using the dry type two-component developer is described above, in also the case of the electrostatic image forming apparatus using one-component developer, the same replenishment is necessary.
In any of the above developers, the toner replenishment is, generally, conducted in such a manner that the toner is replenished from the toner accommodating container to the toner hopper. This toner accommodating container is the above described powder accommodating container.
Generally, as the conventional powder accommodating container, hard containers molded by synthetic resins such as polyethylene resin or PET are used. These powder accommodating containers are hardly breakable even if the content material is consumed and the container is empty, and because the original shape is maintained, the container is bulky and occupies a large space when it is stored as it is.
Further, in order to conduct the scrapping disposal of the empty powder accommodating container, when it is carried to the disposal place, it takes large space in the carrying car for collection, and the withdrawal of large quantity can not be conducted once, and this is inefficient.
Further, the hard powder accommodating container molded by synthetic resins such as polyethylene resin or PET are collected by the manufacturer for protection of environmental pollution or resource recycling, and are shredded and molded again or recycled for other uses, or the accommodating container is washed and filled with the powder and recycled.
An outer wall of the conventional powder accommodating container is strongly formed so that it does not occurs that the container is broken on the way of transportation and the content material leaks to the outside, and for the purpose of the operability when the content material is replenished into the hopper of the receiving device or prevention of scattering. Accordingly, even when the content material is consumed and the container is empty, it is difficult to conduct the destruction processing to collapse the powder accommodating container, and the original shape is maintained.
Further, the storage place for the used powder accommodating container takes up large space. Further, when the used powder accommodating containers are collected and carried, these take up large space in the carrying car, which is inefficient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a powder accommodating container in which, when the unused powder accommodating container is being carried or stored, the accommodating body in which the content material is accommodated, maintains a predetermined shape and is protected, and which, when the content material is consumed and the container is empty, is structured such that the outer packaging body of the outside or the component member is simply disassembled or transformed, and the volume is reduced and the occupied volume for the storage and transportation can be reduced. A powder accommodating container of the present invention to solve the above problems, which is structured by: a flexible bag having an opening, capable of storing the powder; a protecting member for enclosing at least part of the flexible bag, wherein the protecting member is capable of being transformed; and a cover mounted on the protecting member, for opening and closing the opening.
A powder accommodating container of the present invention to solve the above problems, which is structured by: a flexible bag having an opening, capable of storing the powder; a plurality of stays for enclosing at least part of the flexible bag; and a cover detachably mounted on the plurality of stays, for opening and closing the opening.
A powder accommodating container of the present invention to solve the above problems, which is structured by: a flexible bag body which accommodates the powder and can be reduced in size and deformed; a mouthpiece which is engaged with one opening of the flexible bag body and has a powder replenishing opening portion; a movable lid which is engaged with the mouthpiece and seals the powder replenishing opening portion so as to be opened and closed; a holding member engaged with the other opening of the flexible bag body; an outer packaging body by which the mouthpiece and the holding member are opposed and connected to each other, and the flexible bag body is accommodated, the powder accommodating container is characterized in that, when the powder in the flexible bag body is delivered and empty, the outer packaging body is separated from the mouthpiece and/or the holding member and is collapsed, and the flexible bag body is made reducible and deformable.
A powder accommodating container of the present invention, which is structured by: a flexible bag body which accommodates the powder and can be reduced in a size and deformed; a mouthpiece which is engaged with one opening of the flexible bag body and has a powder replenishing opening portion; a movable lid which is engaged with the mouthpiece and seals the powder replenishing opening portion so as to be opened and closed; a holding member engaged with the other opening of the flexible bag body; a detachable interval holding member by which the mouthpiece and the holding member are opposed to each other and the interval between these members is held, and the vicinity of both openings of the flexible bag body is held, the powder accommodating container is characterized in that, when the powder in the flexible bag body is delivered and empty, the interval holding member is separated from the mouthpiece and/or the holding member and is disengaged, and the flexible bag body is made reducible and deformable.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2952379 (1960-09-01), Potter
patent: 3921897 (1975-11-01), Noyes et al.
patent: 5731021 (1998-03-01), Spector
Nakanishi Tatsuo
Tsuji Yasuaki
Yoshino Masahiro
Bierman Jordan B.
Bierman, Muserlian and Lucas
Konica Corporation
Maust Timothy L.
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