Seal for a toner cartridge assembly

Abstract

A seal for a toner cartridge assembly used in printers, copy machines and facsimile machines. The seal is a strip which can be torn out so as to define an opening for the passage of toner. The strip has a structure which lowers the tearing force required when starting to tear the strip with respect to the tearing force required for other parts of the seal, or the seal has a structure which increases the binding of parts of the seal adjacent to the strip on the cartridge.

Description

THE STATE OF THE ARTSeals in the form of a film comprising a strip which can be torn out have already been used in toner cartridge assembly of printers, copy machines and facsimile machines.Such seals are preferred with respect to the seals disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,902 as in the latter seals, it is necessary to manufacture slotted seal inserts having a slot with very accurate dimensions. Furthermore, the film closing the slot is glued to the insert, whereby when peeling the film away from the slot, said slot can be damaged if the insert is not sufficiently rigid. The seals according to this U.S. patent are seals used to permit the recharging of a toner cartridge.Seals in the form of a film comprising a strip which can be torn out are often used for new cartridges, i.e. not for recharging toner cartridges. Recently, Applicant has proposed a seal of this kind suitable for recharging toner cartridges.The major drawback of these kind of seals is that when tearing the strip, ther...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention relates to a seal for a toner cartridge assembly used in printers, copy machines and facsimile machines and preventing the loss of toner from said cartridge assembly during handling and shipment. The seal comprises a layer from which a strip can be torn out so as to define an opening for the passage of toner with respect to the part of the layer which has not been torn out. The layer is preferably unperforated in its parts intended to define the passage for the toner or in its part intended to close the passage of toner out of the cartridge. Said strip is linked to an element to be pulled for tearing out the strip from a first end part of the strip up to another end part of said strip, whereby when the first end part of the strip is not torn, the strip prevents the loss or leakage of toner from the cartridge, while when the strip is torn up to its other end part, the opening for the passage of toner is formed. According to the invention, the strip is provided at its first end part with a means lowering the tearing force required when starting to tear the strip with respect to the tearing force required to tearing other parts of the seal, or the part or parts of the seal adjacent to said first end are provided with a means intended to increase the binding or linking of said part or parts of the seal on the cartridge.

According to an embodiment, the seal has edges or lateral parts adjacent to said edges intended to be attached by linking means to the toner cartridge, while said first end part of the strip is at least partly intended to be attached by a linking means to the toner cartridge, said means for lowering the tearing force extending at most in the end part of the strip intended to be attached by a linking means to the toner cartridge.

The invention relates also to a toner cartridge assembly used in printers, copy machines and facsimile machines. The cartridge is provided with a seal for preventing the loss or leakage of toner from said cartridge assembly during handling and shipment. The seal is a seal according to the invention as disclosed heretofore or possibly hereafter. The seal comprises a layer from which a strip can be torn out so as to define an opening for the passage of toner with respect to the part of the layer which has not been torn out, said strip being linked to an element to be pulled for tearing the strip from a first end part of which up to another end part of which, whereby when the first end part of the strip has not been torn, the strip prevents the loss of leakage of toner from the cartridge, while when the strip has torn up to its end, the opening for the passage of toner is formed.

Problems solved by technology

Furthermore, the film closing the slot is glued to the insert, whereby when peeling the film away from the slot, said slot can be damaged if the insert is not sufficiently rigid.

The major drawback of these kind of seals is that when tearing the strip, there is a risk that the film is also partly torn out and extends into the passage of toner.

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