Abstract:
A seal assembly for use in an imaging cartridge includes a gasket having an elongate gasket opening and a seal having first and second sides. The first side of the seal is at least partially affixed to a first side of the gasket and covers the gasket opening. The seal includes a seal tail extending over at least a portion of the second side of the seal such that an underside of the seal tail is adjacent to the second side of the seal. A tying element affixes the underside of the seal tail to the seal assembly.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     The present invention generally relates to seals, gaskets and the like, and more particularly to a seal or gasket to retain or seal toner in a printer toner cartridge or the like.  
         [0002]     In the imaging industry, there is a growing market for the remanufacture and refurbishing of various types of replaceable imaging cartridges such as toner cartridges, drum cartridges, inkjet cartridges, and the like. These imaging cartridges are used in imaging devices such as laser printers, xerographic copiers, inkjet printers, facsimile machines and the like, for example. Imaging cartridges, once spent, are unusable for their originally intended purpose. Without a refurbishing process these cartridges would simply be discarded, even though the cartridge itself may still have potential life. As a result, techniques have been developed specifically to address this issue. These processes may entail, for example, the disassembly of the various structures of the cartridge, replacing toner or ink, cleaning, adjusting or replacing any worn components and reassembling the imaging cartridge.  
         [0003]     Imaging cartridges include one or more compartments holding the marking material which is deposited on a surface, such as paper. For a laser toner cartridge, this compartment is referred to as the toner hopper. During the remanufacture of a laser toner cartridge, any remaining residual toner should be removed from the toner hopper and the toner hopper should be cleaned. New toner is then placed in the toner hopper and the hopper opening is then sealed with a toner hopper seal. The purpose of the toner hopper seal is to ensure that toner does not migrate from the toner hopper during shipping of the toner cartridge package. Being a fine, dry powder, toner will migrate throughout the package and may damage other components of the toner cartridge. Such toner migration will also create an esthetically unpleasing mess for the end user. If the toner is not confined to the toner hopper, the end users may have toner on their hands and clothes.  
         [0004]     A variety of seals have been used to seal or reseal toner hoppers. One seal assembly includes a gasket having a removable seal covering the opening in the gasket.  
         [0005]     The removable seal includes a tail. During the installation of the seal assembly, this tail is laid back over the removable seal and an end portion of the tail is placed through an opening between the toner hopper and the developer roller housing. The end user pulls the tail to remove at least a portion of the seal, allowing toner to migrate through the gasket opening from the toner hopper to the developer roller. However, during the installation of the seal assembly, the tail must be properly aligned with the rest of the seal assembly. This alignment requires extra time and labor, and if not performed correctly, may result in an inoperable installation. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a seal assembly which includes a seal tail which attached to the seal assembly in the aligned position.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     In one aspect of the present invention, a seal assembly for use in an imaging cartridge includes a gasket having an elongate gasket opening and a seal having first and second sides. The first side of the seal is at least partially affixed to a first side of the gasket and covers the gasket opening. The seal includes a seal tail extending over at least a portion of the second side of the seal such that an underside of the seal tail is adjacent to the second side of the seal. A tying element affixes the underside of the seal tail to the seal assembly.  
         [0007]     A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  shows a side view of a seal assembly in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  shows a top view of a seal assembly in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  shows a partially exploded view of a seal assembly in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIGS. 4-6  show respectively a side view, top view and bottom view of a seal assembly in accordance with another aspect of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of a toner hopper of a toner cartridge including a seal assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]     The following detailed description of preferred embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings which illustrate specific embodiments of the invention. In the discussion that follows, specific systems and techniques for manufacturing or forming a seal assembly having an aligned seal tail are disclosed. Other embodiments having different structures and operations for the manufacture of other types of seals or seal assemblies including an aligned seal tail do not depart from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show respectively a side view and a top view of a seal assembly  100  in accordance with the present invention.  FIG. 3  shows a partially exploded perspective view of the seal assembly  100  in accordance with the present invention. The seal assembly  100  is intended to be placed over the opening of a toner hopper of an imaging cartridge after the toner has been placed into the toner hopper. The seal assembly  100  comprises a gasket  102  having a gasket opening  104  running down the length of the gasket  102 . The size of the gasket opening  104  may conform generally to the size of the opening of the toner hopper. The gasket  102  may suitably comprise a foam (such as a semi-rigid foam, an open cell foam, or a closed cell foam, for example), plastic (such as polystyrene), a rigid material, or other suitable materials.  
         [0015]     The seal assembly  100  further comprises a removable seal  106  having a seal tail  108 . As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the removable seal  106  may be integral with the seal tail  108 . Alternately, the seal tail  108  may be a separate material permanently attached to the removable seal  106 . The removable seal  106  and the seal tail may suitably comprise a synthetic material, such as polyester or polypropylene, for example.  
         [0016]     The removable seal  106  covers the gasket opening  104  and is adhered by heat sealing or adhesive, for example, to one side of the gasket  102 . The seal tail  108  is folded back over the removable seal  106  and is held longitudinally in an aligned position by a tying element  110  that adheres the underside  109  of the seal tail  108  to another portion of the seal assembly  100 . Preferably, the tying element  110  provides a sufficiently strong securing force to hold the seal tail  108  place during the handling and installation of the seal assembly  100 , but is weak enough such that the bond can be readily broken when an end user pulls on an end of the seal tail  108  in the direction indicated by arrow  111 . The adhesive binding strength of the tying element may be less than 0.70 pounds, per ASTM D3330 peel test.  
         [0017]     As seen more clearly in  FIG. 2 , the tying element  110  secures the seal tail  108  in an aligned position with respect to the rest of the seal assembly  100 , facilitating the ease of installation of the seal assembly  100  on a toner hopper. In a preferred embodiment, the tying element  110  comprises a small glue dot, such as a hot melt styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS) rubber glue, for example, which adheres the underside  109  of the seal tail  108  to the top surface of the gasket  102 . In another aspect, the tying element  110  may comprise an adhesive layer, such as double sided tape, or other suitable materials. In another aspect, the tying element may adhere the underside  109  of the seal tail  108  to another portion of the seal assembly, such as a top side of the removable seal  106 , for example.  
         [0018]     As seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the removable seal  106  may have a greater width than the seal tail  108 . In such a case, a center portion of the removable seal  106  will be tom out of the seal assembly  100  when an end user pulls the seal tail  108 . Alternately, the removable seal  106  and the seal tail  108  may share a common width. In such a case, the entire removable seal  106  will be separated from the seal assembly  100  when an end user pulls the seal tail  108 .  
         [0019]     To allow for the attachment of the seal assembly  100  to the toner hopper opening, an adhesive layer  112  preferably covers the bottom side of the gasket  102 . The adhesive layer  112  may suitably comprise rubber, acrylic, a structural carrier, or a combination of such materials, for example. The adhesive layer  112  may be covered by a release liner  114  to protect the adhesive layer  112  until the release liner is removed prior to attachment of the seal assembly  100  to the toner hopper. Both the adhesive layer  112  and the release liner may include an opening corresponding the gasket opening  104 . In an alternate embodiment, the gasket  102  may be affixed to the toner hopper by other suitable techniques, such as gluing, for example.  
         [0020]      FIGS. 4-6  show a seal assembly  400  in accordance with another aspect of the present invention. The seal assembly  400  is substantially similar to the seal assembly  100  and may comprise the same type materials of the seal assembly  100 , but does not include a gasket. The seal assembly  400  comprises a removable seal  406  having a seal tail  408 . The seal tail  408  is folded back over the removable seal  406  and is held longitudinally in an aligned position by a tying element  410  which adheres the underside  409  of the seal tail  408  to a top side of the removable seal  406 . To allow for attachment of the seal assembly  400  to the toner hopper opening, an adhesive layer  412  preferably covers the outer perimeter of the bottom side of the removable seal  406 . The adhesive layer  412  may be covered by a release liner  414 . When the end user pulls the seal tail  408  of an installed seal assembly  400 , a center portion of the removable seal  406  will be torn away, allowing toner to migrate from the toner hopper.  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  shows the seal assembly  100  affixed to a toner hopper  700  in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0022]     Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and that the invention has other applications in other environments. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention. The following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention to the specific embodiments described herein.