Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Naoto Kichijima

Yasushi Shimizu

Kazunari Hagiwara

Shinichi Nishida

Katsunori Yokoyama

Koichi Okuda

Shuji Moriya

Kenya Ogawa

Katsuhiro Sakaizawa

Rie Endo

Hirokazu Usami

An amount-of-developer regulating apparatus configured to restrict the amount of developer carried on a developer bearing member. The amount-of-developer regulating apparatus includes a flexible developer amount regulation member having a contact portion configured to contact with a developer bearing member, and first and second holding portions configured to hold the developer amount regulation member and to contact with the developer amount regulation member at further upstream and further downstream in a direction where the developer bearing member is rotationally moved than the contact portion. With a pressure distribution of the contact portion as to the developer bearing member, there are a plurality of local maximum values in the direction where the developer bearing member is rotationally moved. Thus, the apparatus can be reduced in size, and also image concentration unevenness after long-term use can be prevented.

Developing apparatus

A sheet-shaped regulation member is supported by a supporting unit with an elastic force occurring by bending a sheet-shaped regulation member in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a force received as a result of being pressed by a developing roller. Thus, direct contact can be securely made onto a developer bearing member, and a regulation member can be provided which enables easily attaching thereof to the supporting member, as well as enabling a developing apparatus, processing cartridge, and image forming apparatus, to be reduced in size.

Developing apparatus, processing cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A developing apparatus having a developing sleeve provided with an elastic layer on its surface, and for developing an electrostatic image formed on an image bearing member with a mono-component magnetic toner having a mean degree of circularity of 0.965 or greater, a magnet provided in the developing sleeve, and a blade for regulating the amount of the developer carried on the developing sleeve satisfies the expressions |Br|/|B|&#x2267;0.5 and Nsb/(Bs&#xd7;R)&#x2266;0.5, where B (G) is magnetic flux density formed on the surface of the developing sleeve by the magnet at the contact position between the blade and the developing sleeve, Nsb (mm) is the contact width between the blade and the developing sleeve, Br (G) is a component of magnetic flux density B (G) in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the developing sleeve, Bs (rad) is a half value width of the perpendicular component of the magnetic flux density of the nearest one of the magnetic poles of the magnet to the contact position on the surface of the developing sleeve, and R (mm) is the radius of the developing sleeve.

Developing apparatus featuring image defect supression

A developing apparatus includes a developing roller for developing an image with a developer; a non-rotary magnet roll inside the roller; a blade; and an abutting member abutting against the roller, wherein the following expressions are satisfied: |Vs|&#x3e;|Vdev|, |Br|/|B|&#x2266;0.5, and L/(BH&#xd7;R)&#x2267;0.1, where |Vdev|: a DC component Vdev of a voltage applied to the roller, |Vs|: a DC component Vs of a voltage applied to the member, B(G): the magnetic flux density formed on the surface of the roller at the abutting position by the magnet roll, Br(G): the component of the magnetic flux density B(G) perpendicular to the surface of the roller, and L(mm): the abutting width between the roller and the member, BH(rad): the half value width of the component B&#x3b8;(G) horizontal to the surface of the roller, and R(mm): the radius of the roller.

Developing apparatus for preventing ghost images and uneven image density

A developing apparatus having a rotatable developing sleeve having an elastic layer on the surface thereof for carrying a mono-component magnetic developer and urged against a photosensitive drum to develop an electrostatic image formed on the drum with the developer, a non-rotary magnet provided inside the sleeve for magnetically attracting the developer to the sleeve, and a blade having an abutting portion abutting against the sleeve in a counter direction for regulating the amount of the developer on the sleeve, a step portion spaced apart from the abutting portion, and a separating portion provided upstream of the step portion in the rotation direction of the sleeve, wherein the surface of the sleeve to which the separating portion is opposed includes a position satisfying |Br|/|B|&#x2267;0.5, where B(G): the magnitude of magnetic flux density formed on the surface of the sleeve, and Br(G): a component of the magnetic flux density in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the sleeve.

Growing community of inventors

Mishima, Japan

Naoto Kichijima