Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

Mita Industrial Co., Ltd. (a Corp. of Japan)

Koichi Yasuda

Shigeki Hayashi

Masanobu Maeshima

Hiroki Morishita

Hiroshi Kubota

Masahiro Hashizume

Hiroshi Kimura

Naoyuki Ishida

Susumu Taniguchi

Hiroshi Ishida

Tadakazu Ogiri

Osamu Yoshimura

Yasuo Hatate

Hiroyuki Ueda

Shinichi Kotera

Yasuhiko Moriuchi

Hisayuki Tachibana

The image-forming machine has an electrostatic latent image-bearing member on which an electrostatic latent image will be formed and an exchangeable developing unit. The developing unit includes a developing housing, a developing agent contained in the developing unit and a developing agent applicator for applying the developing agent onto the surface of the electrostatic latent image-bearing member. A counter is provided that counts the number of times the developing unit has been used and that can be reset. In the developing unit is disposed a developing agent depletion detector that detects the depletion of the developing agent. The developing unit further has a reset that resets the counter when the use of the developing unit is started. When the developing agent depletion detector has detected the depletion of the developing agent, a developing unit exchange signal is formed to indicate that the developing unit be renewed. The developing unit exchange signal is formed even when the counter has counted a predetermined number that corresponds to the life of the developing unit.

Image-forming machine equipped with an exchangeable developing unit

Toner cartridge

Developing unit for a reprographic apparatus

A developing unit comprises a developer container having an agitation space for agitating developer therein and a toner hopper for feeding toner to the agitation space of the developer container. A lower wall of the toner hopper includes a toner drop port allowing toner to fall into the aforesaid agitation space. On a surface of the lower wall exposed to the agitation space, disposed is a partition wall surrounding the periphery of the toner drop port. The partition wall defines a non-agitation space. The toner is allowed to fall from the toner drop port smoothly into the agitation space through the non-agitation space which is not affected by the agitation.

Developing unit including a partition wall defining a non-agitation

If it is desired to display the number of copies which can be outputted corresponding to the defined capacity of a developer which is determined by an image forming apparatus, a document which is thought to have a substantially average black ratio of the respective black ratios of images actually recorded by the image forming apparatus is prepared. The prepared document is set in reading means. An image of the set document is read by reading means. The black ratio of the image of the document is calculated on the basis of an output of the reading means. The number of copies which can be outputted corresponding to the defined capacity of the developer which is determined by the image forming apparatus is calculated on the basis of the calculated black ratio. The calculated number of copies which can be outputted is displayed.

Image forming apparatus

Photoconductive unit for a reprographic apparatus

An image-forming machine equipped with a transfer device means of the type not using a transfer corona discharger is disclosed. A charge supply member is disposed opposite to an image forming member on whose surface a toner image is to be formed and at a greater distance than the thickness of a transfer material from the image forming member. In a transfer zone, the surface of the transfer material is brought into contact with the surface of the image forming member. In a charge supply zone, the transfer material is contacted with the surface of the charge supply member. In the direction of conveyance of the transfer material, the charge supply zone is positioned downstream of the transfer zone.

Image-forming machine with toner image transfer means having a charge

An image-forming machine equipped with a transfer device of the type not using a transfer corona discharger is disclosed. A charge supply member is disposed opposite to an image forming member on whose surface a toner image is to be formed, and at a greater distance than the thickness of a transfer material from the image forming member. A voltage of a predetermined polarity is applied to the charge supply member. In a transfer zone, the surface of the transfer material is brought into contact with the surface of the image forming member, while the back of the transfer material is not contacted with the surface of the charge supply member.

Image-forming machine with toner image transfer means

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Osaka, Japan

Koichi Yasuda