Developer Sealing Member Trigger Points for Peeling Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional developer accommodating units in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses face challenges in reducing the peeling force required to unseal the developer, leading to difficulties in unsealing and potential developer scattering during the manufacturing process.
Innovation Solution
A developer accommodating unit with a flexible container and a sealing member that includes projected or recessed portions in the bonding area, allowing the unsealing member to initiate peeling from specific trigger points, reducing the peeling force and facilitating the unsealing process while maintaining the structural integrity of the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sealing member is made with a broad opening width to ensure proper sealing, then sealing reliability is improved, but the peeling force required to unseal increases making unsealing difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bonding portion is segmented into multiple regions with different bonding strengths. The intermediate portion has strong bonding for reliable sealing, while the end portions have weakened bonding (via reduced welding area or different welding pattern) to serve as trigger points for easy unsealing. This segmentation allows the sealing member to maintain both high sealing reliability and easy unsealing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the bonding area are given different local qualities in terms of bonding strength. The intermediate portion maintains full bonding strength for reliable sealing, while the end portions have reduced bonding strength to facilitate unsealing. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between strong sealing and easy unsealing.
2Ease of operation
If the mountain shape apex angle is reduced to less than 90 degrees to further reduce peeling force, then unsealing ease is improved, but the mountain shape size increases requiring more sealing space and increasing device size
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire mountain shape larger with a smaller apex angle, the invention segments the bonding portion into different regions. The end portions are designed with reduced bonding strength through alternative means (reduced welding area, different welding pattern) rather than geometric changes, thus avoiding the need for larger mountain shapes and additional sealing space.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the bonding parameters (welding area, welding pattern) rather than geometric parameters (mountain shape apex angle). By reducing the welding area or changing the welding pattern at the end portions, the peeling force is reduced without increasing the physical size of the mountain shape, thus avoiding the need for additional sealing space.
3Productivity
If the opening width is made broad to ensure proper developer discharge, then developer flow is improved, but the bonding portion size increases making unsealing more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bonding portion is segmented into intermediate and end portions with different bonding characteristics. This allows the opening to be broad for efficient developer discharge while the end portions have reduced bonding strength for easy unsealing, resolving the contradiction between discharge efficiency and unsealing ease.
Solution Approach 2:
Different local qualities are applied to different portions of the bonding area. The intermediate portion has full bonding strength to accommodate the broad opening for efficient developer discharge, while the end portions have reduced bonding strength to facilitate easy unsealing, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A developer accommodating unit for accommodating a developer includes: a flexible container provided with an opening for permitting discharge of the accommodated developer; a sealing member for sealing the opening and for exposing the opening by being moved in a direction crossing a longitudinal direction of the developer accommodating unit; an unsealing member, mounted to the sealing member, for moving the sealing member; a frame including a fixing portion for fixing the flexible container; and a bonding portion for bonding an end portion of the sealing member and a periphery of the opening. The bonding portion includes a projected portion or recessed portion in a plane of the bonding portion as at least a part thereof, in an upstream side or a downstream side of the opening with respect to an unsealing direction of the opening.