Oki Data Corporation

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

Masashi Fujii

Junichi Ushikubo

Shun Hatanaka

Tatsuhiko Shimomura

Kiichiro Uyama

Osamu Tsujii

Kenji Arai

Yoshihiro Goto

Tetsu Koyama

Hisatoshi Saito

Miki Mori

Hirokatsu Suzuki

Kazunori Masanobu

Takao Shoji

Teruo Yamamoto

Hideo Kosuge

Takeo Tsuchiya

A development unit according to an embodiment may include a developer carrier configured to carry developer on a surface thereof; a layer regulation member being elongate in a direction and provided facing the developer carrier; and a frame supporting the developer carrier and the layer regulation member. The layer regulation member comprises a metal blade that contacts the developer carrier and a support member attached to the frame and supporting the blade. A free length of the blade at an end portion in a longitudinal direction of the layer regulation member is shorter than a free length of the blade at a center portion in the longitudinal direction of the layer regulation member.

Development unit, image formation unit, and image formation apparatus including developer carrier and layer regulation member

Image drum cartridge

Toner cartridge

A developer container includes: a body in which a plurality of developer chambers that store developer are arranged, each developer chamber having an opening; and a plurality of covers that seal the openings of the plurality of developer chambers, the plurality of covers being separately provided to correspond to the openings of the plurality of developer chambers.

Developer container, image forming unit, and image forming apparatus

A developer container according to an embodiment includes: a container having a space that contains a developer; an optical system includes a first optical member including first end face exposed to a containing space in the container and a second optical member including a second end face exposed to the containing space and being opposed to the first end face in a first direction, and on which the light is incident through the second end face; a shaft provided in the containing space to be rotatable about the first direction; a cleaning member provided to the shaft to be movable in the first direction to clean the first and second end faces by passing through a gap with a rotation of the shaft; and a guide member provided upstream of the optical system and that comes into contact with the cleaning member to guide the cleaning member to a gap.

Developer container, image formation unit, and image formation apparatus

A developer container includes a memory device with a first marker; and a main body with a second marker, the main body being configured to accommodate a developer. The memory device is attached to the main body such that both the first marker and the second marker are visually recognized.

Developer container, developer unit and image forming apparatus

A developer container is described that is capable of preventing the developer held inside the container from being squirted to the outside. A cartridge, an image formation unit and an image formation apparatus are described that are each provided with the developer container. The developer container has: a first member; a second member that is combined with the first member such that the first and second members form a developer storage room; and a third member that covers a boundary portion between the first member and the second member. An aspect of the invention is that it can prevent the developer from being squirted to the outside of the developer container.

Developer container, cartridge, image formation unit and image formation apparatus

A developer holding apparatus includes a first chamber, a second chamber, a communication port, and a shutter. The first chamber holds a developer material therein. The second chamber is adjacent the first chamber, and holds the developer material therein. The first chamber communicates with the second chamber through the communication port. The shutter opens and closes the communication port.

Developer holding apparatus, image forming unit, and image forming apparatus

A substrate mounting structure includes: a substrate member including a substrate portion, the substrate portion having first and second surfaces opposite to each other in a thickness direction of the substrate portion, first to fourth edges, and a predetermined thickness in the thickness direction; a first mounting member on which the substrate member is placed; and a second mounting member attached to the first mounting member to hold the substrate member on the first mounting member. The first mounting member includes first, second, and third restricting portions abutting on the first edge, the second edge, and the second surface to restrict movement of the substrate member, respectively. The second mounting member includes fourth, fifth, and sixth restricting portions abutting on the third edge, the fourth edge, and the first surface to restrict movement of the substrate member.

Substrate mounting structure, developer container, image forming unit, image forming apparatus, and substrate mounting method

A developer container includes a developer containing part that has an cylindrical hollow shape inside and contains developer therein; and an agitation member that is elastic and rotatably provided inside the developer containing part, rotating around a rotation axis that is a center of the cylindrical hollow shape, having at least a side edge extending in the rotation axis. The developer containing part has a side wall part on one end thereof in a direction of the rotation axis of the agitation member, the side wall extending to correspond to the side edge of the agitation member and scraping a surface of the side wall while the agitation member rotates, the side wall part has a projection part that projects toward inside of the developer containing part so that the side edge of the agitation member is elastically deformed by the projection part when passing over the projection part.

Developer container, image forming unit and image forming apparatus

A developer storage container includes a developer storage portion in which a developer is stored, the developer storage portion having a wall, a rotating body rotatably provided in the developer storage portion, and an agitating plate that engages the rotating body and agitates the developer at least in the vicinity of the wall.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Masashi Fujii