Toner Container Opening Member Leakage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container designs for toner in image forming apparatuses suffer from leakage issues when the opening/closing member transitions from an open to a closed position, as the toner is attracted to the inner surface with a curved shape without an uneven feature, leading to toner leakage from the edge portion.
Innovation Solution
A container with an opening/closing member featuring a suppressing portion with an uneven shape on its inner circumferential surface, which prevents toner leakage by guiding and retaining the toner during the transition from open to closed positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the inner circumferential surface of the opening/closing member is formed by a curved surface without an uneven shape, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the powder is pushed by the container body and leaks to the outside of the opening/closing member from the edge portion
Solution Approach 1:
The inner circumferential surface of the opening/closing member is designed with localized uneven shapes (protrusions and recesses) at specific positions rather than uniformly across the entire surface. This allows the surface to maintain simplicity overall while introducing local complexity only where needed to prevent powder leakage during the closing operation.
2Ease of operation
If the opening/closing member is moved to close the opening, then the container is disposed at a temporarily placed position for storage, but the powder attracted to the inner circumferential surface may be pushed by the container body and leak to the outside
Solution Approach 1:
The uneven shapes on the inner circumferential surface are designed to counteract the harmful effect of powder leakage before it occurs. When the opening/closing member moves to close the opening, these uneven features preemptively interact with the powder particles, preventing them from being pushed outward and leaking, thus neutralizing the potential harmful effect in advance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively suppresses toner leakage by utilizing the uneven shape to manage toner movement, ensuring secure containment and reducing contamination within the apparatus.
Implementation Method 1
The suppressing portion has an uneven shape. The suppressing portion suppresses leakage of the powder from the opening/closing member to outside of the opening/closing member
Data Source
AI summary
A container includes a container body, an opening/closing member, and a suppressing portion. The container body has a circumferential surface and has an opening in the circumferential surface through which powder contained in the container body is discharged to outside of the container body. The opening/closing member has an inner circumferential surface. The opening/closing member is mounted to the container body, and is moved, when the container body is relatively rotated to one side in a circumferential direction of the container body, from a closed position to an open position The opening/closing member is moved, when the container body is relatively rotated to another side in the circumferential direction, from the open position to the closed position. The suppressing portion is formed in the inner circumferential surface of the opening/closing member. The suppressing portion suppresses leakage of the powder from the opening/closing member to outside of the opening/closing member.