Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Keiji Kato

Yasuyuki Ishiguro

Atsushi Inoue

Hiroshi Kawahito

Toshio Nishino

Wataru Yoshida

Yasuo Imai

Katsuzo Uchida

Naoyuki Yamane

Hisashi Kunihiro

Toshihide Ohgoshi

Fumito Mizoguchi

Yukinori Andou

Miki Demoto

Jun Yamaguchi

Toyoka Aimoto

Hideaki Hagihara

Masato Asanuma

Tsutomu Nagata

Yoshikazu Nishikawa

Akio Shiomi

Takashi Sugito

Toshiyuki Kurosaka

Humito Mizoguchi

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

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 toner cartridge stored in a developer casing includes a biasing force generating device, an actuating rod that switches the biasing device between an active state and a non-active state by one movement of a release member. A developer casing swings by the movement of the actuating rod and presses a developing roller with appropriate pressure to a photosensitive drum. There is a lock member that is restrained from moving by the movement of the actuating rod. The structure recited is capable of inserting and fixing the developer casing to an image forming device. Also, by one restore movement of the release member, the photosensitive drum and the developing roller are separated and the lock is released, thereby enabling removal/exchange of the developer casing.

Image forming device and toner device

A developing apparatus is equipped with a development casing, a development roller, and developer stirring shafts that rotate together with the development roller. In this developing apparatus, the developer stirring shafts are disposed adjacent to each other and are also disposed substantially in parallel with the development roller. Each developer stirring shaft has a rotational axis that rotates together with the development roller and has a plurality of stirring vanes of an approximately elliptic shape laid out at a predetermined angle with respect to the rotational axis. The rotational axis is provided substantially in parallel with the development roller. The stirring vanes are disposed substantially in parallel with each other, with the opposing stirring vanes between the adjacent developer stirring shafts having mutually different installation positions in the axial direction.

Developing apparatus having stirring shafts with elliptic stirring vanes

A toner hopper is arranged to feed the toner stored in itself to a developing unit and have a stirring roller and a feeding roller respectively supported rotatably, an interlocking mechanism for transmitting the force of rotation to the stirring roller, a manually rotating mechanism for manually rotating the stirring roller, and an interlocking restricting mechanism. The interlocking mechanism restricts the operation of the interlocking mechanism such that the force of rotation of the stirring roller is not transmitted to the feeding roller while the manually rotating mechanism supplies force of rotation to the stirring roller.

Toner hopper having stirring and feeding rollers

The object of the present invention is to provide a method of packaging a developer cartridge especially for use in the image-forming of the electrophotographic process, the method by which the operativity of users can be improved and the pollution due to the sealing member of the developer cartridge can be prevented. The object of the present invention is achieved by fixing a free end of the above sealing member held between the sealing portions of the packing bag when the packing bag is hermetically sealed. With this, the sealing member is pulled off in accordance with the developer cartridge being drawn out from the bag when it is used. When the whole part of the developer cartridge is drawn out, the sealing member is completely pulled off, and is left inside the packing bag.

Method of packing a developer cartridge

A developer cartridge is provided to prevent toner from overflowing a toner hopper into a development tank, and to prevent a toner supply roller from being deformed by heavy pressure. In order to achieve the object, the developer cartridge is provided with a seal member (8) in the toner hopper (2). The seal member has one end blocking a toner supply port (9) and the other end secured to a rotary shaft (7a) of an agitating member (7). The seal member is rolled up by rotating the agitating member when using the cartridge for the first time.

Developer cartridge

A developing apparatus includes a first locking means for locking a first supplying lid disposed at a first supplying opening in a closing position, a second locking element for locking a second supplying lid of a second supplying opening in a closing position, and a lock release element for releasing only the second locking element when a detachable developer cartridge is used. The second locking element includes a concave portion formed on a peripheral wall of the second supplying opening and a lock piece disposed in the concave portion, and a hole formed at an edge of the second supplying lid. The lock piece engages the hole when the second supplying lid is closed, thereby the lid is locked. The lock release element includes a lid having a opening disposed at an upper surface of the developing apparatus and a hole disposed at the lock piece, and the detachable developer cartridge comprises a pair of lock release pieces. The hole engages only the lock release piece for releasing the locking of the second supplying lid when the developer cartridge is mounted on the developing apparatus.

Developing apparatus having a detachable developer cartridge

A developing device for developing a toner image on a cylindrical electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a toner container which extends perpendicularly to the direction of the photoreceptor and a toner transporting device for moving the toner supplied from the container in the direction of the axis of the photoreceptor. The toner transporting device and the container are detachably attachable to each other and a normally closed shutter is provided at the opening through which toner can be dropped from the container into the toner transporting device. The shutter can be automatically opened when a toner transporting unit having a shutter-opening mechanism is attached to it.

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Nara, Japan

Keiji Kato