Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Manabu Hamada

Tomohiro Kubota

Yoshiyuki Shimizu

Naoki Nakatake

Masato Tsuji

Shoh Tsuritani

Masanari Fujita

Hirobumi Ooyoshi

Tomofumi Yoshida

Emi Kita

Sho Tsuritani

Kenji Nakamura

Yoshihiro Mikuriya

Osamu Saito

Kenzo Tatsumi

Masayuki Hagi

Tsuyoshi Nozaki

Takuya Kadota

Yoshimichi Ishikawa

Kazuoki Fuwa

Tetsumaru Fujita

Chiyoshi Nozaki

Yuji Nagatomo

Yoshihiro Kawakami

Tomohiro Fukao

Nobuhiko Kita

Shintaro Yamada

Shinichi Arasawa

Tomoharu Miki

Haruo Hashimoto

Tatsuo Fukushima

Takeru Muramatsu

Shin Murayama

Tetsushi Sakuma

Hidekazu Shono

A toner cartridge include a convex portion and a conveyance drive gear. There is a protrusion which protrudes from the center of the conveyance drive gear. Further, there is a hole at a rear side of the convex portion. The protrusion is to be inserted into the hole which is at the rear side of the convex portion.

Toner cartridge including a protrusion protruding from a center of a conveyance drive gear

A removable device detachably attachable to a receiving structure includes a convex to be inserted into a groove of the receiving structure, a rotator to rotate around a rotational shaft, a recess at a rear side of the convex, a gear attached to the rotational shaft, and a gear cover to cover at least a part of the gear. Further, an end of the rotational shaft is inserted into the recess, part of the gear is exposed from the gear cover, and a peripheral of the end of the rotational shaft is surrounded by the gear cover.

Developer container for image forming apparatus

The developer container includes a rotator that is rotated in the container body, a sequence of gears disposed outside the developer container that transmits a torque to the rotator, and a container guiding portion that fits with a main body side guiding portion and guides the developer container in a direction in which the developer container is attached to a mounting portion of an image forming device main body. A first gear included in the sequence of the gears is movable between an operating position where the first gear engages with a second gear and a retracted position where the first gear is retracted. On a surface on which the container guiding portion is disposed, a part of the container guiding portion is disposed within a projected area of the first gear being disposed at the operating position.

Downsized developer container with higher degree of freedom

A removable device is to be detachably attached to an apparatus main body. The removable device includes a conveying drive gear attached to a first rotational shaft, an agitating drive gear attached to a second rotational shaft, and a torque transmission gear attached to a third rotational shaft. When an addendum circle diameter of the conveying drive gear is A, and an addendum circle diameter of the agitating drive gear is B, B&#x3e;A is satisfied. The torque transmission gear moves around the conveying drive gear to access the agitating drive gear.

Developer container, developing device, process unit, and image forming apparatus

A removable developer container includes a convex portion to be inserted into a groove of an apparatus main body, a rotator to rotate around a rotational shaft, and a recess convex portion to be inserted into a groove of an apparatus main body, at a rear side of the convex portion. One end of the rotational shaft is inserted into the recess.

Developer container including a convex portion, a rotator, and a recess

A removable device to be detachably attached to an apparatus main body includes a container body to store developer; a discharge opening to discharge the developer inside the container body; an internal shutter to open and close the discharge opening; an external shutter to open and close the discharge opening, the external shutter being disposed at an outer side with respect to the internal shutter, wherein the internal shutter and the external shutter are configured to be driven separately.

A process unit includes a photosensitive member that carries an image; a developing device that has a developer carrying member carrying a developer to be supplied to the photosensitive member; a rotating shaft that supports the developing device rotatably for approaching and separating from the photosensitive member; a photosensitive member gear provided to the photosensitive member; and a developing gear provided to the developer carrying member. The photosensitive member gear and the developing gear engage together and driving force can be transmitted, and the rotating shaft is placed on a driving force vector between the gears or on an extended line thereof, the driving force vector being generated from engagement between the photosensitive member gear and the developing gear.

Process unit including a rotatable shaft along a driving force vector and image forming apparatus including the same

A powder container that includes a container body to contain powder for image formation, a discharge outlet formed in the container body to discharge powder therefrom, a shutter movable between an open position to open the discharge outlet and a closed position to close the discharge outlet, and a seal member to be interposed between the container body and the shutter when the shutter is at the open position. In a state in which the shutter is at the open position, a downstream end of the seal member in an opening direction in which the shutter moves to open the discharge outlet is positioned downstream from a downstream end of the shutter in the opening direction.

Powder container, developing unit, process unit, and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A developer container includes: a container body that stores a developer and includes a filling port for the developer; and a container terminal that is attachable to and detachable from the container body. The container body is provided with an identifier that engages with the container terminal and is caused to change own form that can be identified from an outside, by an external force that is applied to detach the container terminal from the container body. The container body is provided with a flow preparation part that separates an inside and outside of the container body before changing the form of the identifier and that allows the air to flow between the inside and outside of the container body after changing the form of the identifier.

Developer container, developing device, processing unit, image forming device, and method of manufacturing developer container

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, an apparatus-side terminal provided to a first inner side wall of the apparatus body, a developer container to contain developer and to be removably installable in the apparatus body, a container-side terminal electrically connectable to the apparatus-side terminal and disposed in a first end portion of the developer container in a longitudinal direction thereof, and an apparatus-side protrusion projecting inward from the first inner side wall of the apparatus body. In removal of the developer container from the apparatus body, a second end portion of the developer container in the longitudinal direction is disengaged from the apparatus body before the first end portion is disengaged from the apparatus body, and the apparatus-side protrusion contacts the first end portion of the developer container immediately after removal of the developer container from the apparatus body is started.

Image forming apparatus and developer container, developing device, process unit, and replaceable unit therefor

An image forming apparatus includes a powder container containing powder used for image forming and including an inlet through which the powder is supplied, a powder supply unit including an outlet that is removably connected to the inlet and supplying the powder to the powder container with the outlet connected to the inlet of the powder container, a powder amount detector detecting whether a present powder level in the powder container is equal to or greater than a threshold, and a controller controlling an amount of powder supply from the powder supply unit and controlling the present powder level in the powder container after replenishment to remain in a range from the threshold and a position corresponding to an upper edge of the inlet. A powder transport unit includes a transport decelerating part to decelerate the speed of powder transport and a detection area in the image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus and powder transport unit

Powder container

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Osaka, Japan

Manabu Hamada