Patent Publication Number: US-6665505-B2

Title: Dry ink replenishment bottle with internal plug agitation device

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Reference is made to commonly-assigned U.S. patent application No. D/A1155Q, filed concurrently herewith, entitled INTERNAL AGITATING MECHANISM FOR AGITATING MATERIALS WITHIN SEALED CONTAINERS, by Litwiller. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the packaging and subsequent removal of dry marking materials that tend to clump or bridge when shipped or stored in containers. Dry marking materials such as electrophotographic toners are packaged and shipped in particulate form and other dry marking materials such as dry ink jet waxy solids may be shipped in pelletized or granulated form. Such dry marking materials typically settle and become more densely packed over time. A frequent consequence of such dense packing is often the formation of clumps and bridges formed of the materials within the containers. Agitating and/or aerating the materials before use can restore the desired density, consistency and flow characteristics. The present invention deals with a novel apparatus and method for providing in situ agitation and aeration within a dry marking material cartridge. This apparatus and method obviates the need for human intervention such as shaking or tapping a container, thereby making the degree and type of agitation more reliable. 
     Although various dry marking materials are contemplated for use with the present invention, the invention will be described in relation to sealed containers that transport and load electrophotographic toners. Other dry marking materials that may benefit from the present invention include, without limitation, waxy colorants, solid ink jet colorants, ionographic inks, and any other dry ink-like product that ships in a substantially non-liquid form. 
     Generally, in the process of electrostatographic printing, a photoconductive insulating member is charged to a substantially uniform potential to sensitize the surface thereof. The charged portion of the photoconductive insulating layer is thereafter exposed to a light image of an original document to reproduced. This records an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive member corresponding to the information areas contained within the original document. Alternatively, in a printing application, the electrostatic latent image may be created electronically by exposure of the charged photoconductive layer by an electronically controlled laser beam or light emitting diodes. After recording the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive member, the latent image is developed by bringing a developer material charged of opposite polarity into contact therewith. In such processes the developer material may comprise a mixture of carrier particles and toner particles or toner particles alone (both these single component and dual component development systems shall hereinafter be called “toner”). Toner particles are attracted to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner powder image that is subsequently transferred to copy sheet and thereafter permanently affixed to copy sheet by fusing. 
     In such a printing machines, the toner material is consumed in a development process and must be periodically replaced within the development system in order to sustain continuous operation of the machine. Various techniques have been used in the past to replenish the toner supply. Initially, new toner material was added directly from supply bottles or containers by pouring to the developer station located within the body of the automatic reproducing machine. The addition of such gross amounts of toner material altered the triboelectric relationship between the toner and the carrier in the developer station, thereby resulting in reduced charging efficiency of the individual toner particles and accordingly a reduction of the development efficiency when developing the electrostatographic latent image on the image bearing surface. In addition, the pouring process was both wasteful and dirty in that some of the toner particles became airborne and would tend to migrate into the surrounding area and other parts of the machine. Accordingly, separate toner hoppers with a dispensing mechanism for adding the toner from the hopper to the developer station in the printing machines on a regular or as needed basis have been provided. In addition, it has become common practice to provide replenishment toner supplies in a sealed container that, when placed in the printing machine, can be automatically opened to dispense toner into the toner hopper. In some of these designs, the toner cartridge may itself serve as the toner hopper. After this type of toner cartridge is mated to the printing machine at an appropriate receptacle, mechanisms are inserted into the toner cartridge that serve to transport the toner from the toner cartridge into the developer station or an intermediate toner hopper on a regulated basis. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,806 issued to Matsunka et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,121 issued to Meetze et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,323 issued to Meetze. 
     In any design utilizing a customer replaceable toner cartridge for replenishment, one difficulty that arises is the uniform dispensing of the toner. In particular, toner particles are known to settle and clump during shipment and storage. This clumping phenomenon is caused for a variety of reasons: 1) particles of smaller size can fill and pack spaces between larger articles; 2) toner particles are often tacky; and 3) the electrostatic properties of toner particles enable charge attractions between particles. The result is often agglomerations, or clumps, of particles within the toner cartridge. These agglomerations often compact and form bridging structures within the toner cartridge, and such bridging structures adhere to the sides of the toner cartridges. Simple probes and augers as disclosed in patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,806 issued to Matsunka et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,121 issued to Meetze et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,323 issued to Meetze may penetrate such agglomerations and bridging structures but do not break them up. Even rotation of the cartridges after mating onto a printing machine toner receptacle does not impart enough energy to shake the clumped toner particles apart from its various clumps and bridging structures. In the worst case, toner may be entirely prevented from exiting the cartridge unless it is agitated. Since toner cost is a major component of the total cost of printing, any significant amount of toner left in a toner cartridge significantly increases the effective cost of using the printer. Worse, customers that do not receive the expected print volume from a cartridge may assume that the cartridge is faulty and make a warranty claim. In other cases, such customers have been known to make a service call that consumes valuable service and technician time. 
     In response to the above problems related to removal of substantially all toner from toner cartridges, various devices and procedures have been developed. One effective procedure when performed correctly is simply the shaking of a toner cartridge by human operators prior to mating the cartridge with the printing machine receptacle. However, many operators do not read the instructions and do not know or remember that toner cartridges need to be shaken. In addition, even when human operators read instructions, humans inevitably interpret product instructions subjectively such that an instruction to “vigorously agitate” a cartridge may lead to too much force by a few operators and too little by others. The result is that some cartridges are shaken or pounded hard enough to be damaged while others are not shaken enough to break up clumps and bridges that may have formed. Once the cartridge is mated to the receiving receptacle while the toner particles remain clumped and bridged, the operator is left with several choices: One is to leave the cartridge as is and to risk failure of toner transfer from the cartridge, wasting toner and/or believing that the printing system is consuming too much toner. A second choice is removal of the cartridge with its seals open, thereby risking contaminating the toner itself plus spilling the difficult-to-clean particles. A third choice is to try to strike, squeeze, or otherwise agitate the toner cartridge in situ. In addition to the probability that some toner nevertheless remains within the cartridge, such agitation in situ risks damage to the mating receptacle and associated parts of the printing machine. The end result is a frequent waste of valuable toner and a resulting increase in the costs of operating the printing machines plus the risk of warranty and service events. 
     For toner cartridges that are mounted onto printing machines in order that toner be extracted in a regulated fashion from the cartridges, such cartridges are now often cylindrical in shape with spiral ribs located on the inside peripheral walls of the cartridges. An example of such prior art cartridges is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,323 issued to Meetze incorporated and is hereby incorporated by reference. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,806 issued to Matsuoka et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816 issued to Staudt et al. that both disclose substantially cylindrical toner cartridges having on their peripheral surface a spiral groove. The toner cartridge and the receiving apparatus operate to rotate the cartridge and to thereby transport the toner within the spiral groove. The apparatus includes a supplying element in the form of an opening and a regulating device. Although toner cartridges with such spiral grooves are effective in urging toward the mouth of the cartridge, such grooves by themselves do little to break up the clumps or bridging described above. Even when the apparatus includes a probe, auger, or similar device that penetrates the stored toner in a cartridge, current designs place such probes only along the central axis of the cartridge. Toner clumped or agglomerated along the periphery of the toner cartridge may not be jostled or mixed by either the rotation of the cartridge or by the probe itself. 
     Turning now to FIG. 1, a toner cartridge of the prior art is shown. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows the container cap portion  110  of prior art cartridge  90  from U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816 separated from bottle portion  98 . The circumference of container cap  110  is separated into quarters by radial protrusions  112 . Pockets  124  are the spaces formed within the ring of container cap  110  by the four protrusions. Bore hole  274  (not labeled in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816 is shown at base of the visible portion of protrusions  112 . More details concerning bore hole  274  are set forth below in relation to prior art FIG.  2 . Experience shows that toner at times becomes packed in pockets  124 , particularly when the cartridge has been shipped or stored with that portion of cartridge  110  lower than the rest of the cartridge. Also, no matter how shipped and stored, toner may clump and form bridges in portions of bottle  98 . With adequate shaking by human operators prior to installation, such packed, clumped, and bridged toner becomes loose and aerated. However, as discussed above, some operators forget to shake vigorously. Vigorous shaking is particularly necessary when toner powders have packed into pockets  124 . 
     Turning now to prior art FIG. 2, a plan view of the same prior art container shown in FIG. 1 shows more details of container cap  110 . In this view, container cap  110  is shown attached to bottle portion  98  of cartridge  90 . U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816 teaches the use of two seals to keep toner particles within bottle  98 . Outer seal  136  is a perforable seal filling large outer bore  272 . Inner seal  140  fills and seals small bore  274 . As taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816, Inner seal  140  and outer seal  136  cooperate to keep contamination out of cartridge  110  and toner particles within. Specifically, upon installation of cartridge  110  onto the printing system, auger  194 , which is contained inside tube  144 , perforates outer seal  136  and contacts inner seal  140 . Since outer seal  136  comprises flexible elastic material, it maintains a tight seal around tube  144  as tube  144  is pushed further into cartridge  110 . Tube  144  has a diameter approximately equal to small bore  274 . As auger  194  pushes against inner seal  140 , it pushes the seal into the interior of bottle  98 . Inner seal  140  may either fall freely into bottle  98  or may remain attached to the tip of auger  194 , depending upon the design of inner seal  140  and the tip of auger  194 . 
     Returning to FIG. 1, the long dimension of protrusions  112  is in the direction of and approximately the length of container cap  110 . The short dimension of protrusions  112 , however, is less than the radius of container cap  110  since at least the diameter of bore  274  must be left unobstructed in order for auger  194  and tube  144  to be pushed into the interior of bottle  98 . In the prior art example of protrusions  112  shown in FIG. 1, at least a portion of the long dimension of protrusions  112  extends toward bottle  98  without being attached to the sides of bores  274  or  272 . Auger  194  pushes inner seal  140  through this open bore space into the interior of bottle  98 . However, since the maximum diameter of inner seal  140  cannot exceed this bore space, nothing in prior art cartridge  90  acts to push or agitate any toner particles that have clumped or bridged inside pockets  124 , especially along the outside perimeter of container cap  110 . Moreover, since auger  194  remains centered along center line  122 , auger  194  does not by itself help agitate or break up clumps and bridges along the perimeter of bottle  98 . Even when inner seal  140  is pushed into bottle  98  and left to tumble as cartridge  90  rotates, there is no assurance that tumbling inner seal  140  will contact toner along the entire length of bottle  98 . Indeed, spiral rib  104  is designed to urge all tumbling objects inside bottle  98 , including both toner and any tumbling inner seal  140 , toward container cap  110  rather than toward the end of bottle  98  away from container cap  110 . In sum, even prior art cartridges such as cartridge  90  that receive penetrating augers down their center lines are not made with apparatus to agitate toner clumps and bridges formed along the outside perimeter of the cartridge or within pockets of their container caps. The design of these prior art cartridges relies upon human operators to shake and agitate the cartridges prior to installation in order to break apart such clumps and bridges. 
     At least one prior art device employed a helical member such as a spring inside the toner cartridge for the express purpose of breaking up clumps, bridges, and other agglomerations. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,907, issued to Gallant, a cylindrical toner cartridge includes a dispensing opening at one end and an integral toner transport, mixing, and anti-bridging member rotatably supported within the container. The transport, mixing, and anti-bridging member comprises a first coiled spring element having a cross section substantially the same as the cross section of the cartridge and freely rotatable therein, which spring is wound in the direction to transport toner along its length toward the dispensing opening. The member also comprises a second coiled spring element having a cross section substantially smaller than the first spring element but being substantially concentrically positioned and being attached to the first spring element but wound in a direction opposite to the first spring element. In this manner, rotation of the cartridge while the spring members remain substantially fixed results in the scraping of clumped toner from the sides of the cartridge and mixing and penetration of any agglomerations and bridges within the interior of the cartridge by the inner spring. 
     As described above, conventional toners tend to clump and form bridges. Additionally, recent advances in imaging and toner production have led to smaller toner particles that now may average less than 10 microns. In order to overcome electrostatic forces that tend to attract particles together, a substantial amount of aeration of the toner particles is preferred. It would be advantageous, therefore, to devise a toner cartridge assembly that both aerates toner and that automatically breaks up clumps and bridges within the toner without the need for human operators to shake or otherwise agitate the container prior to installation. 
     Although the above background for the present invention and several of its embodiments are explained in relation to toner cartridges, the present invention is believed to have wide applicability to any dry marking material prone to clump or form bridges in the shipping cartridge. In particular and without limitation, the present invention applies to dry ink jet marking materials of the type comprised of waxy solid material that marks once melted and placed on the media to be marked. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One embodiment of the present invention comprises a device for storing a supply of marking materials for use in a marking system, comprising: a. an open ended container defining a chamber in communication with the open end thereof with the marking materials being stored in the chamber of said container, said chamber having an end opposite the open end, a center point of such opposite end, a center point of the internal opening at the open end, and an axis running from the center of the opening at the open end to the center of the opposite end; b. an internal seal attached to the open end of said container, said internal seal having a body closely conforming to the internal opening of said container, said internal seal being removable from the open end of said container by displacement of said internal seal into the chamber of said container; and c. a vane attached to the body of said internal seal and extending away from the axis of the chamber. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention comprises an internal seal for a container for storing a supply of marking materials for use in a marking system, said storage device having an internal opening having a rim, and said internal seal comprising: a. a body closely conforming to the internal opening of the container, said internal seal being removable from the internal opening and said internal seal having a central axis running generally perpendicularly to the rim; and c. a vane attached to the body of the internal seal and extending away from the axis of the body. 
     Yet another embodiment of the present invention is a marking system with a supply of marking materials, said marking machine comprising: a. an open container defining a chamber in communication with the open end thereof with the marking materials being stored in the chamber of said container, said chamber having an end opposite the open end, a center point of such opposite end, a center point of the internal opening at the open end, and an axis running from the center of the opening at the open end to the center of the opposite end; b. an internal seal attached to the open end of said container, said internal seal having a body closely conforming to the internal opening of said container, said internal seal being removable from the open end of said container by displacement of said internal seal into the chamber of said container; and c. a vane attached to the body of said internal seal and extending away from the axis of the chamber. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a container of the prior art. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a development apparatus of the prior art. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a development apparatus of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a container of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of an inner seal of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of a container of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of a development apparatus of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an inner seal of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is an elevated perspective view of an inner seal and a probe of the present invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a schematic elevational view of an illustrative marking machine of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     While the present invention will hereinafter be described in connection with several embodiments and methods of use, it will be understood that this is not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments and methods of use. On the contrary, the following description is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents, as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     Inasmuch as the art of electrophotographic printing is well known, the various processing stations employed in the FIG. 10 printing machine will be shown hereinafter schematically and their operation described briefly with reference thereto. 
     Referring initially to FIG. 10, there is shown an illustrative electrophotographic printing machine incorporating the development apparatus of the present invention therein. The printing machine incorporates a photoreceptor  10  in the form of a belt having a photoconductive surface layer  12  on an electroconductive substrate  14 . Preferably the surface  12  is made from a selenium alloy. The substrate  14  is preferably made from an aluminum alloy which is electrically grounded. The belt is driven by means of motor  24  along a path defined by rollers  18 ,  20  and  22 , the direction of movement being counter-clockwise as viewed and as shown by arrow  16 . Initially a portion of the belt  10  passes through a charge station A at which a corona generator  26  charges surface  12  to a relatively high, substantially uniform, potential. A high voltage power supply  28  is coupled to device  26 . 
     Next, the charged portion of photoconductive surface  12  is advanced through exposure station B. At exposure station B, an original document  36  is positioned on a raster input scanner (RIS), indicated generally by the reference numeral  29 . The RIS contains document illumination lamps, optics, a mechanical scanning drive, and a charge coupled device (CCD array). The RIS captures the entire original document and converts it to a series of raster scan lines and (for color printing) measures a set of primary color densities, i.e., red, green and blue densities at each point of the original document. This information is transmitted to an image processing system (IPS), indicated generally by the reference numeral  30 . IPS  30  is the control electronics which prepare and manage the image data flow to raster output scanner (ROS), indicated generally by the reference numeral  34 . A user interface (UI), indicated generally by the reference numeral  32 , is in communication with the IPS. The UI enables the operator to control the various operator adjustable functions. The output signal from the UI is transmitted to IPS  30 . The signal corresponding to the desired image is transmitted from IPS  30  to ROS  34 , which creates the output copy image. ROS  34  lays out the image in a series of horizontal scan lines with each line having a specified number of pixels per inch. The ROS includes a laser having a rotating polygon mirror block associated therewith. The ROS exposes the charged photoconductive surface of the printer. 
     After the electrostatic latent image has been recorded on photoconductive surface  12 , belt  10  advances the latent image to development station C as shown in FIG.  10 . At development station C, a development system  38 , develops the latent image recorded on the photoconductive surface. The chamber in developer housing  44  stores a supply of developer material  47 . The developer material may be a two component developer material of at least magnetic carrier granules having toner particles adhering triboelectrically thereto. It should be appreciated that the developer material may likewise comprise a one component developer material consisting primarily of toner particles. 
     Again referring to FIG. 10, after the electrostatic latent image has been developed, belt  10  advances the developed image to transfer station D, at which a copy sheet  54  is advanced by roll  52  and guides  56  into contact with the developed image on belt  10 . A corona generator  58  is used to spray ions onto the back of the sheet so as to attract the toner image from belt  10  the sheet. As the belt turns around roller  18 , the sheet is stripped therefrom with the toner image thereon. 
     After transfer, the sheet is advanced by a conveyor (not shown) to fusing station E. Fusing station E includes a heated fuser roller  64  and a back-up roller  66 . The sheet passes between fuser roller  64  and back-up roller  66  with the toner powder image contacting fuser roller  64 . In this way, the toner powder image is permanently affixed to the sheet. After fusing, the sheet advances through chute  70  to catch tray  72  for subsequent removal from the printing machine by the operator. 
     After the sheet is separated from photoconductive surface  12  of belt  10 , the residual toner particles adhering to photoconductive surface  12  are removed therefrom at cleaning station F by a rotatably mounted fibrous brush  74  in contact with photoconductive surface  12 . Subsequent to cleaning, a discharge lamp (not shown) floods photoconductive surface  12  with light to dissipate any residual electrostatic charge remaining thereon prior to the charging thereof for the next successive imaging cycle. 
     It is believed that the foregoing description is sufficient for purposes of the present application to illustrate the general operation of an electrophotographic printing machine incorporating the development apparatus of the present invention therein. 
     Turning to FIG. 3, a plan view of developer station  38  is shown with cartridge  90  partially attached. Auger  194  is shown inserted into cartridge  90  through outer seal  136 . Inner seal  141  of the present invention is shown attached to the tip of auger  194  and pushed into the interior of bottle  98 . Auger  194  thus comprises a probe that travels into the interior of the chamber of cartridge  90 . FIG. 3 is closely based upon FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. Since U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816 discusses in detail the operation of developer station  38  and its components, only a brief summary will be provided below. In brief, toner falls into tube  144  from cartridge  90  through opening  198 . Auger  194  conveys the toner into developer sump housing  184  of the printing machine. Subsequently, the toner is conveyed into developer housing  44 . The apparatus within developer housing  44  and the photoreceptor  10  cooperate to convert latent images on photoreceptor  10  into visible images as described above. 
     The present invention involves inner, or internal, seal  141  shown in FIG. 3 to be nudged by the tip of auger  194  which serves as a probe into the interior chamber of cartridge  90 . When compared to inner seals of the prior art such as inner seal  140  shown in prior art FIG. 2, inner seal  141  of the present invention has members, or vanes, that extend substantially outward from center line  122  towards the perimeter of bottle  98 . In this manner, the extended portions of inner seal  141  sweep through the clumps and bridges of toner that may form even along the periphery of cartridge  90 . 
     An elevated perspective view of inner seal  141  and its initial placement within cartridge  90  is shown in FIG.  4 . As shown, inner seal  141  has an equal number of extensions,  142 A- 142 D, as there are radial protrusions  112 . These extensions, or vanes, can take any shape and may extend any length from the hub of inner seal  141  as desired. Preferably but not necessarily, vanes  142 A- 142 D are positioned to approximately bisect pockets  124 . If protrusions  112  are curved or spiraled to further urge toner toward opening  198  in tube  144  (shown in FIG. 3 above), then vanes  142 A- 142 D are preferably though not necessarily similarly curved. 
     As discussed above in relation to FIG. 1, toner particles are particularly prone to pack and form clumps and bridges within pockets  124 . In contrast to prior art seal  140  shown in FIG. 2, vanes  142 A- 142 D of the inner seal of the present invention extend outward into pockets  124 . Vanes  142 A- 142 D may extend all the way to the periphery of container cap  110 , which is the end section of cartridge  90  proximate to open end at bore  274 . Also, as discussed above, the initial position of the inner seal over bore  274  places vanes  142 A- 142 D proximate to the end  94  of cartridge  90  through which auger  194  penetrates the cartridge. In this manner, when inner seal  141  is displayed from bore  274  in the manner discussed above in relation to prior art inner seals, then vanes  142 A- 142 D push and sweep toner clumps and bridges out of pockets  124 . Also to be noted, as shown in FIG. 4, is that vanes  142 A- 142 D are initially positioned to fit through the gaps formed between the edges of protrusions  112  proximate to center line  122 . 
     Turning now to FIG. 5, more details of inner seal  141  are shown. Diameter D S  of central plug  276  approximates the diameter of bore  274 . Central plug  276  forms the main body of inner seal  141  and serves the same function as its counterpart in prior art inner seal  140  discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2. In contrast to the prior art inner seal  140 , however, inner seal  141  of the present invention need not have a lip to prevent it from being pushed into bore  274 . Instead, vanes  142 A- 142 D may serve this function. In addition, as discussed above, vanes  142 A- 142 D serve to break up clumps and bridges formed by toner, particularly those clumps and bridges that have formed inside pockets  124  shown in FIG.  4 . As shown in FIG. 5, vanes  142 A- 142 D may span any diameter D O  up to nearly the diameter of container cap  110 . The larger the dimension of D O , the greater its ability to break apart clumps and bridges of toner. Also, it should be noted that although the example given of the present invention shows four vanes  142 A- 142 D, any number and shape of vanes are possible as long as such vanes fit through the spaces between protrusions  112  as discussed above. Of course, if a cartridge  90  does not include protrusions  112 , then the shape and size of vanes  142  are not restricted by such protrusions. As with prior art inner seal  140  taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816, novel inner seal  141  with its vanes  142 A- 142 D may be made of any suitable plastic material, particularly any thermoplastic resin suitable for an injection mold processing. 
     Vanes  142 A- 142 D therefore represent an improvement over the prior art and enable the inner seal of the present invention to serve a function different from and in addition to the functions of inner seals of the prior art. In this manner, the need of human operators to shake and agitate cartridge  90  prior to mounting it onto a printing system is substantially eliminated. 
     Turning now to  6 , the interaction of inner seal  141  with its vanes  142 A- 142 D and auger  194  is shown. In this plan view, auger  194  has pushed seal  141  out of bore  274 , past protrusions  112 , and into bottle  98 . Once vanes  142 A- 142 D have cleared protrusions  112 , auger  194  is free to rotate. Toner  92  is shown falling into opening  198  such that auger  194  begins the transport of toner  92  to the developer housing as discussed above. Rotation of auger  194  with inner seal  141  attached to its tip  200  is advantageous since vanes  142 A- 142 D rotate with auger  194 , thereby further agitating and aerating the tumbling toner and further breaking apart any clumps and bridges. 
     Although it is possible for inner seal  141  to not be fastened to tip  200  of auger  194 , this would result in inner seal  141  falling into bottle  98 . The beneficial effects of rotating vanes  142 A- 142 D would therefore not be obtained. Worse, there may be some possibility that vanes  142 A- 142 D could become detached from body  276  of seal  141  and to ultimately be urged toward opening  198  and auger  194 . Accordingly, it is preferred that inner seal  141  remain attached to tip  200  once pushed away from bore  274 . There are many techniques to achieve such attachment, including adhesives and shapes by which body  276  of inner seal  141  mechanically grips tip  200  of auger  194 . An example of such a mechanical gripping configuration is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,972 issued to Playfair et al. which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     Turning now to FIG. 7, the benefits of pushing inner seal  141  all the way through cartridge  90  is shown. If protrusions  412  extend the entire length of cartridge  490  as shown in FIG. 11 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816, then the spiral ribs are not necessary. In this plan view, the design of auger  494  and tube  443  extends each almost the entire length of cartridge  490 . Opening  498  in tube  443  similarly is greatly extended when compared to the opening  98  shown in FIGS. 2,  3  and  6 . As discussed above in relation to FIG. 6, auger  494  with its tip  500  can begin rotation once vanes  442 A- 442 D are pushed by tip  500  beyond protrusions  412  that are contained within container cap  410 . In this manner, vanes  442 A- 442 D are rotated by auger  494  down the entire length of cartridge  490 . The result is that initial non-rotational movement of vanes  442 A- 442 D sweeps and pushes toner out of pockets  424  formed between protrusions  412 . Thereafter, rotational motion increases the mixing and agitating function of vanes  442 A- 442 D. Of course, even if vanes  442 A- 442 D do not rotate when pushed through the length of cartridge  490 , they still serve to break up clumps and bridges. Any such clumps and bridges that are not entirely dissipated by the traverse of vanes  442 A- 44 D have been loosened sufficiently that they will tumble and be broken apart by rotation of cartridge  490 . If cartridge  490  has spiral ribs as discussed above (not shown in FIG.  7 ), then such spiral ribs further ensure that all clumps and bridges are dissipated. Also, if protrusions  412  extend the entire length of cartridge  490  as shown in FIG. 11 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816, then vanes  442 A- 442 D should preferably be attached to the tip of tube  443  in a non-rotational fashion. The beneficial effects of sweeping toner through pockets  424  nevertheless are realized. 
     Turning now to FIG. 8, an alternative embodiment of inner seal  141  is shown. In this elevated perspective view, inner seal  141  is comprised of two sections. Section  141 A is essentially identical to the conventional prior art seal shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,816. The only difference is an attachment fixture  300  located centrally on the face of end  282 . In the embodiment shown, fixture  300  is simply a raised “button” knob suitable for a snap fastener to slip over. Section  141 B comprises the vanes  142 A- 142 D of the present invention. In this embodiment, vanes  142 A- 142 D comprise wire-like protrusions arranged in flower petal-like pattern from central hub  301 . Central hub  301  comprises a central bore sized to fit over and snap onto fixture  300 . Once snapped onto such fixture, then section  141 B with its vanes  142 A- 142 D act in conjunction with section  141 A as if both were molded from the same injection process. 
     Turning now to FIG. 9, yet another embodiment of an inner seal of the present invention is shown. This embodiment is based upon the inner seal taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,1237,972 by Playfair et al. This embodiment of inner seal  141  shows that vanes  142 A- 142 D are attached to the body of seal  16  by flexible hinges  17 A- 17 D. These may be simple snap hinges molded of plastic. Hinges  17 A- 17 D are capable of swinging vanes  141 A- 141 D outward toward the perimeter of bottle  98  and folding the vanes backward along the axis  122  of cartridge  90 . The purpose of the hinges is to position the vanes in a completely open position when inner seal  141  is first removed from bore  274  by auger  194 . As taught by Playfair, however, body  16  is designed to remain attached to auger  194  and then to reseal bore  274  when the auger is removed from cartridge  90 . Such removal of the auger and resealing involves the retraction of the auger from the closed end of bottle  90  toward the end with bore  274 . The effect of hinges  17 A- 17 D is to allow vanes  142 A- 142 D to fold backward toward central axis  122  as the body  16  is retracted through unconsumed toner particles. The advantage of such retraction is that vanes  142 A- 142 D when retracted will not push or recompress toner particles in the end of the cartridge toward bore  274 . 
     In sum, a toner cartridge has been presented having an internal seal removable from the opening by pushing inwardly on the seal. The seal of the present invention has the advantages of prior art inner seals that seal toner inside the cartridge during shipment and storage and that is not susceptible to removal inadvertently. When combined with a perforable outer seal, such inner seal seals the cartridge during operation as well as during shipment and storage. Also as with the prior art, the inner seal which is in contact with toner remains inside the enclosed cartridge and never need be contacted by human operators. In addition to these advantages, the novel inner seal of the present invention with its agitating vanes completely or at least substantially eliminates the need for human operators to shake and agitate toner bottles prior to installation. This improves customer satisfaction and saves possible warranty returns of toner cartridges and expensive service calls. When compared to known agitating devices and methods in the prior art, the present invention enables less reliance upon human operators. Moreover, the present invention can be implemented for relatively minor cost since the vanes of the present invention require minor increases in the amount of plastic consumed. Several embodiments of the improved inner seal have been shown, and it is clear that any number of additional shapes, sizes and embodiments are possible. 
     It is, therefore, evident that there has been provided in accordance with the present invention an improved inner seal for a marking material cartridge that fully satisfies the aims and advantages set forth above. While the invention has been described in conjunction with several embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.