Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hironobu Isobe

Kenji Matsuda

Masahide Kinoshita

Koichi Hiroshima

Yasufumi Yoshino

Ryuichi Yoshizawa

Shigeo Miyabe

Nobuharu Hoshi

Yoshiya Nomura

Hisayoshi Kojima

Kazuo Shishido

Tomonori Mori

Minoru Sato

Atsushi Kubota

Akira Higeta

Hiroo Kobayashi

Akiyoshi Fujita

Koji Miura

Koji Yamaguchi

Atsushi Numagami

Toshiyuki Karakama

Kazunari Murayama

Shinya Noda

Yasuyoshi Hayakawa

Kojiro Yasui

Fumito Nonaka

Tatsuya Shiratori

Seiichi Shinohara

Takashi Yahagi

Teruo Komatsu

Shinji Goto

Syuhei Kawasaki

Hiroshi Sato

Kanji Yokomori

Kazunori Kobayashi

Kouji Miura

Kouji Hashimoto

A developing cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The cartridge includes a developing roller, for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member, having an elastic roller portion and a shaft portion supporting the elastic roller portion, a developer regulating member; a protecting member including a contact portion provided for contact with the elastic roller portion when the protecting member is demountably mounted between the developing roller and the developer regulating member; and a supporting portion for supporting the contact portion and provided for contact with the elastic roller portion when the protecting member is demountably mounted between the developing roller and the developer regulating member. The contact portion has a hardness which is not less than a predetermined value and not more than a hardness of the elastic roller portion.

Process cartridge, developing cartridge and developing roller

Using two or more developer replenishing units, each of which has a first storage for storing identification information related to developer and a second storage for storing history information related to the developer, if the identification information read out from each developing replenishing unit accords with unique information stored in an image forming main body, the history information is read out from the developing replenishing unit and analyzed to judge whether the utilization amount of the developing replenishing unit is at the end of its life. If the developing replenishing unit is not at the end of its life, the discharge amount of the developer replenished from the developer replenishing unit is controlled according to the history information and image output results formed by means of the image forming main body.

Cartridge for replenishing developer including a memory device and a control system featuring the cartridge

The information storing medium has a substrate, a storing element, provided on the substrate, for storing information, a protecting portion, covering the storing element, for protecting the storing element, an electrical contact point that is provided beside the protecting portion on a side of the substrate, on which the storing element is provided, and is electrically connected to the storing element, and a sliding region that is provided on the electrical contact point. In the information storing medium, when the storing medium is mounted on the apparatus main body, the electrical contact point contacts a main body electrical contact point provided on the apparatus main body. Also, when the electrical contact point and the main body electrical contact point contact each other, the main body electrical contact point slides on the electrical contact point in the sliding region.

Information storing medium, unit, process cartridge, developing cartridge, and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A developing cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The apparatus includes: a frame; a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member; a first projected portion engaging a first positioning portion provided in the main assembly of the apparatus when the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly to position the cartridge; a second projected portion engaging a second positioning portion provided in the main assembly when the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly to regulate rotation of the cartridge about the first positioning portion; and a cartridge guide member contacting a main assembly guide portion to guide the cartridge when the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly. The second projected portion is urged in a direction to contact the second positioning portion when the cartridge is set in the main assembly.

Developing cartridge and process cartridge having first and second projected portions and image forming apparatus mounting such a developing cartridge

A developer supply container detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus, includes a developer accommodating portion; a developer discharging portion; and a cover cover in the developer discharging portion, the cover being movable between a first position in which the cover covers the developer discharging portion and a second position in which the developer discharging position is exposed, wherein the second position is closer to the developer accommodating portion than the first position.

Image forming apparatus and developer supply container removably mountable in image forming apparatus

A cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a cartridge frame; a developing member for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member; a first guide, provided projected outwardly of the cartridge frame at one longitudinal end side of the developing member, for guiding the cartridge when the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus a second guide, provided projected outwardly of the cartridge frame at the other longitudinal end side of the developing member, for guiding the cartridge when the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus; and a developing bias contact, provided exposed on the first guide for receiving a developing bias to be applied to the developing member from the main assembly of the apparatus when the cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus.

Cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member; a developing device for developing a latent image formed on the image bearing member, the image bearing member and the developing means being detachably mountable to the apparatus as a process unit; a developer supply unit for supplying a developer to the developing means, the developer supply unit being detachably mountable to the apparatus; and a first memory mounted on the process unit. The first memory stores information relating to the developer supply unit.

Image forming apparatus capable of discriminating a service life of detachably mounted process unit

Image forming apparatus and process unit mountable to image forming apparatus

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

Developing cartridge

A unit detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus includes a developer accommodating portion having a developer inlet hole; a first opening and closing member for opening and closing the inlet hole; and a second opening and closing member for opening and closing the inlet hole, the second opening and closing member being movable above the first opening and closing member.

Cartridge having developer supply opening and image forming apparatus usable therewith

A developer supply container is detachably mountable on an image forming apparatus and includes a containing chamber for containing a developer. A first feeding member is provided in the containing chamber and feeds the developer to an outlet of the containing chamber. A feeding chamber communicates with the containing chamber. A second feeding member is provided in the feeding chamber and feeds the developer coming from the containing chamber to an outlet of the container. A partition member partitions the developer supply container into the containing chamber and the feeding chamber. A partitioning area of the partition member is larger than an area of the outlet of the containing chamber. An image forming apparatus includes a developing device and the developer supply container.

Developer supply container and image forming apparatus capable of mounting the container thereon

A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a cartridge frame; an electrophotographic photosensitive member; a process device actable on the photosensitive member, a first cartridge guiding portion for being guided by a main assembly guide provided in the main assembly of the apparatus when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus, the first cartridge guiding portion being provided at one end, with respect to a mounting direction in which the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of apparatus of the cartridge frame; and a second cartridge guiding portion for being guided by the main assembly guide provided in the main assembly of the apparatus when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of apparatus, the second cartridge guiding portion being provided at the other end, with respect to the mounting direction, of the cartridge frame, wherein when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly of the apparatus, the first and second cartridge guiding portions are at different heights.

Process cartridge having first and second cartridge guiding portions and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge is attached

Growing community of inventors

Numazu, Japan

Hironobu Isobe