Developer Cartridge Sealing with Angled Interlocking Ends
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing developer cartridges face issues with toner leakage due to gaps between the seal member's end portions, which compromises the sealing effectiveness and leads to developer loss.
Innovation Solution
The developer cartridge incorporates a seal member with angled portions on both end edges, ensuring that even if a gap forms between the end portions, the angled configurations prevent developer passage and leakage by engaging convex and concave portions, providing enhanced sealing performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a seal member with inclined end edges is wound around the cylindrical shutter, then the seal member can be easily installed and covers the sealing surface, but gaps may form between the end portions allowing toner leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The seal member incorporates asymmetric angled portions at its end portions that interlock with corresponding angled portions on the cylindrical shutter. This asymmetric design creates a non-uniform engagement pattern where the angled portions fit together at specific angles, preventing the seal member from rotating or shifting position. This eliminates gaps between end portions while maintaining ease of installation through the guided angular engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal member is designed with end portions that nest into corresponding recesses or grooves on the cylindrical shutter surface. The angled portions at the ends create an interlocking nested structure where the seal member's end portions fit within designated spaces on the shutter, providing mechanical constraint that prevents gap formation and ensures reliable sealing.
2Reliability
If the seal member end portions are made to meet exactly, then sealing performance is maximized, but manufacturing variations cause gaps to form
Solution Approach 1:
The seal member combines materials with different properties: a flexible sealing material for the main body that can deform to fill gaps, and a rigid angled portion structure at the ends that provides precise mechanical interlocking. This composite approach allows the flexible portion to accommodate manufacturing variations while the rigid angled portions maintain precise alignment and prevent gap formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The angled portions are designed with specific angle parameters that compensate for manufacturing variations. By optimizing the angle and dimensions of these portions, the design creates a tolerance buffer that absorbs variations in seal member length and positioning, ensuring consistent sealing performance across different manufacturing batches without requiring ultra-precise manufacturing.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A developer cartridge includes a storing portion (31) that stores developer and has an opening, a shutter member that opens and closes the opening, and a seal member (50) that seals between the shutter member and the storing portion. The seal member is so provided that both end portions (55) thereof face each other. One end portion of the seal member has at least one angled portion provided inside both side end edges of the seal member in width direction of the seal member, and the other end portion has an angled portion along the angled portion of said one end portion.