Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Fumito Mizoguchi

Hisashi Kunihiro

Takeshi Wakabayashi

Hiroshi Kubota

Hiroshi Kawahito

Hiroshi Tanisawa

Toshiki Takiguchi

Toshihide Ohgoshi

Atsushi Inoue

Wataru Yoshida

Yasuyuki Ishiguro

Takahiko Kimura

Masashi Hirai

Toshio Nishino

Yoshiki Ichikawa

Keiji Kato

Kiyoshi Morimoto

Jun Yamaguchi

Hiroshi Tachiki

Kenichi Nagata

Eiichi Kido

Hideshi Izumi

Hideaki Hagihara

Yoshiaki Sanada

Arihiro Tsunoda

Yoshinori Otsuka

Hiroshige Araki

Akira Nakakuma

Keiji Katoh

Yohichi Takesawa

Keiji Katou

Takao Hiroyasu

Hiroshi Tanizawa

A belt unit is provided with an endless belt, a driving roller, and a pair of guide ribs. The driving roller is disposed on an inner peripheral surface side of the endless belt and drives the endless belt. The pair of guide ribs is placed on each opposite widthwise end of the inner peripheral surface of the endless belt and contacts both end faces of the driving roller, thus preventing meandering of the endless belt. Additionally, the driving roller is equipped with a low friction region at both opposite lengthwise ends in a predetermined width and the low friction region is configured to have a friction coefficient that is lower than a friction coefficient of a region adjacent to the low friction region.

Belt unit and image forming apparatus

A secondary transfer unit stretches a transfer belt in an endless form over a driving roller, a driven roller, a transfer roller, an auxiliary roller, and a support roller therebetween. The transfer belt moves, by rotation of the driving roller, along a circulation path which passes through a transfer position. The transfer roller and the auxiliary roller press the transfer belt from the inner peripheral surface of the transfer belt toward an intermediate transfer belt in the transfer position. The transfer belt has an outer peripheral surface thereof which is pressed against the intermediate transfer belt and is roughened so that the surface roughness of the outer peripheral surface becomes 6 &#x3bc;m to 10 &#x3bc;m.

Transfer belt unit and image forming apparatus

A blade cleaning jig includes a cleaning portion and a gripping portion. The cleaning portion includes a support body of stainless steel or the like and polishing tape provided on the upper face of this support body, and moreover a cushioning material is inserted between the support body and the polishing tape. A protective member for preventing damage to the surface of a developer roller is attached to the entire lower face of the support body. This protective member is attached bent at a circumferential end portion such that the protective member covers from the lower face of the support body via a circumferential edge portion to an upper face circumferential edge portion.

Blade cleaning jig

A state detection mechanism includes a movable member, a spring member, a fringesection, and a stopper member. The spring member displaces the movable member arranged at the first predetermined position to a second predetermined position by applying restoration force in a D direction to the movable member. The fringe section restricts the displacement by abutting to a protrusion member formed on the movable member arranged at the first predetermined position. The stopper member restricts rotation of the movable member, which rotates around an axis that extends in a D direction, by abutting to the protrusion member formed on the movable member arranged at the first predetermined position. When torque is transmitted to the movable member from a shaft, the movable member rotates wound an axis that extends in the D direction, and the protrusion member and the stopper member abut to each other.

State detection mechanism

A developing device is provided, in which respective lateral ends (the portions overlapped with the side seals) of the front seal boardare adhered/fixed to the side seals. More specifically, the gap between the both sides Aand the return edge Aof the opening section A of the toner tankand the developing roller is sealed by a single plane composed of the side sealsand the front seal boardthat are combined with each other. On this account, there is no gap between the side sealand the front seal boarddue to vibration caused by external force, time degradation etc. (i.e., it prevents the side sealsto be away from the front seal board). On this account, toner leakage can be securely prevented even when the developing device is driven for a long period of time or when some kind of vibration is applied to the development device.

Developing device and printing device

The process frame body has the guide portion, and the development device has the to-be-guided shaft. When the process frame body is unattached to the apparatus main body, the guide portion of the development device is absent, thus preventing proper attachment and positioning of the development device. The convex engagement portion is formed integrally with the development device so as to jut into the attachment path for the process frame body. This prevents attachment of the process frame body when the development device is attached first. If users try to attach the process frame body after attachment of the development device, the convex engagement portion interferes with the process frame body, thus preventing attachment of the process frame body.

Image forming apparatus with arrangement for controlling assembly order

A detection mechanism is provided with a sealing member made of elastic material for preventing toner leakage between (a) a pierced wall surface of a toner tank through which a rotating shaft is inserted and (b) a second side plate provided on the rotating shaft. With this structure, a flat splicing surface of the sealing member is made to closely contact a second side plate that can be coated with a high lubricant member whose frictional forces is small. When a sealing force of the sealing member is strongly compressed, the sealing member prevents toner from coming into the sliding surface.

Developer detection device and printer

A toner container has a partitioning wall disposed therein for partitioning the toner container while allowing communication between partitioned compartments. A waste toner collecting port for receiving the waste toner collected by the cleaning unit of an image forming apparatus is formed in a waste toner collection department. A toner agitating element for mixing waste toner with unused toner is located inside the partitioned waste toner collection compartment.

Toner cartridge for image forming apparatus

A flexible element for converting an opening port of a toner supply container in an openable and closable manner is provided so that, when the toner supply container is joined to a developing unit, an external force acting on the developing unit or toner supplying container, deforms the flexible element to uncover the opening and when the toner supply container and developing unit are separated one from another, the opening port is covered by the flexible element.

Toner supplying unit for a developing apparatus

A toner cartridge having toner agitating and mixing properties. The structure insures image quality without increasing in complexity of the structure as well as capable of being compacted. A used toner recycling opening for dropping used toner by gravity is formed in an upper wall of a cartridge main body storing fresh toner. A toner agitator and a toner supply device with an opening for supplying mixed toner to a developing apparatus are arranged within the cartridge main body. The toner can be sufficiently mixed and agitated on a cartridge main body side without depending on a developing apparatus side, and the toner cartridge is prevented from being large-sized. In particular, since the used toner drops by gravity, a taking-in structure of this used toner is simplified, and a mixing work of the used toner with fresh toner is made irrespective of a moving direction of the toner agitator. Also, there are two film sealing members for sealing the used toner recycling and toner supply openings.

Toner cartridge with mixed toner delivery apparatus

Sensitive drum cartridge for an image forming apparatus

Toner cartridge

Developing unit for an image forming apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Nara, Japan

Fumito Mizoguchi