Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Shuichi Kato

Junichi Hashimoto

Seiichi Senda

Masanari Yoshikawa

Yasushi Okabe

Hiroshi Igarashi

Isao Kishi

Atsushi Kato

Toshio Furukawa

Tomoaki Hattori

Norio Uchida

Yohsuke Hata

In a developer cartridge, a base portion may be fixed to a surface of one side of a frame, and extend from one end thereof to another end thereof in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. A first portion may extend from one end thereof to another end thereof in the first direction. The one end of the first portion is connected to the other end of the base portion. A second portion may extend from one end thereof to another end thereof in a direction opposite to the second direction. The one end of the second portion is connected to the other end of the first portion. An electrode for the cartridge is deformable such that a distance between the base portion and the second portion can be decreased.

Developer cartridge

An image forming device capable of providing precise positional relationship between an exposure unit and a photosensitive body. The exposure unit having an exposure head elongated in a longitudinal direction and having light emitting sections arrayed in the longitudinal direction. The light elements emit light in an optical axis direction. A frame supports the photosensitive body. A positioning protrusion protrudes in the optical axis direction from one of the frame and the exposure unit. A remaining one of the frame and the exposure unit is formed with a positioning part engageable with the positioning protrusion. A biasing unit provides a biasing force that ensures engagement between the positioning protrusion and the positioning part.

Image forming device providing accurate positioning between exposure unit and photosensitive body

An image forming apparatus comprises: a casing including a side wall having an opening; a drawer member configured to support a plurality of cartridges in such a manner as to allow the cartridges to be detachably attached thereto, and to be movable through the opening from an inside position in which the drawer member is located inside the casing to an outside position in which the drawer member is located outside the casing in a moving direction; and a leg portion configured to support the casing. In this image forming apparatus, the leg portion includes a portion located downstream from the opening in the moving direction of the drawer member.

Image forming apparatus

A developer container may include a container body accommodating developer, a conveyance member, and a rotation member having a rotary shaft and an elastic part supported by the rotation member and configured to convey the developer. The container body may include a first support part to which the rotary shaft is loosely fitted, and a second support part that supports the rotary shaft. The container body may further include a sliding contact part that the elastic part sliding-contacts while being elastically deformed when the conveyance member is being rotated. In some examples, a distance from a center of the rotary shaft to a leading end of the elastic part gradually increases from the one end portion-side of the rotary shaft towards the other end portion-side of the rotary shaft.

Developer conveyance member and corresponding support part configuration for developer container and developing device

An image forming apparatus includes: a photosensitive body on which an electrostatic latent image is formed; a developing cartridge arranged below the photosensitive body and having a developing roller configured to supply a developing agent to the photosensitive body and to be rotatable about an rotation shaft of the developing roller; a support body configured to removably support the developing cartridge; and a pressing member configured to press the rotation shaft of the developing roller so as to press the developing roller against the photosensitive body.

A developing cartridge having a first side plate and a second side plate spaced opposite from the first side plate, a developer carrying member rotatably supported between the side plates, a developer supplying member rotatably supported between the side plates, a input member to which driving force is input rotatably supported by the first side plate, a primary developing gear to which the driving force is transferred provided on the developer carrying member at the first side plate, a secondary developing gear to which the driving force is transferred provided on the developer carrying member at the second side plate, and a supply gear to which the driving force is transferred provided on the developer supplying member at the second side plate, wherein the input member and the supply gear are arranged so that their projections in the direction of the rotation axis of the developer supplying member overlap.

Developing cartridge

There is provided a developing unit, including: a body defining a developing chamber and a developer accommodating chamber, and a developer delivery member. The body includes a sliding portion, a restoring portion and a colliding portion at the developer accommodating chamber. The developer delivery member includes an elastic member configured to be made a sliding contact with the sliding portion while being curved elastically, configured to be restored elastically at the restoring portion, and configured to collide with the colliding portion. The developer delivery member is configured so that, the elastic member which has been elastically restored at the restoring portion is collided with the colliding portion to generate an air flow and to deliver the developer in the developer accommodating chamber toward the connection port.

Developing unit

An image forming apparatus including: an intermediate transfer member configured to transfer the developer images on the plurality of photosensitive members; a secondary transfer member configured to transfer the developer images transferred onto the intermediate transfer member onto a recording sheet; a plurality of primary holding rollers provided to each of the plurality of photosensitive members, respectively; a collecting unit configured to collect developer remaining on the intermediate transfer member; and a control device configured to control biases applied to the secondary transfer member and the plurality of primary holding rollers, wherein, after printing control terminates, the control device is configured to perform cleaning control in which biases having opposite polarities to biases during the printing control are applied to the plurality of primary holding rollers and the secondary transfer member.

A developer container includes: a container body that has an opening at an upper part and is configured to accommodate therein developer; a conveyance member that is provided in the container body, and includes a rotation member having a rotary shaft and an elastic part, which is supported by the rotation member, is configured to be elastically deformed and is configured to rotate to convey the developer from the opening to an outside of the container body; and a driving member that is connected to one end portion of the rotary shaft and is configured to rotate the rotary shaft. The container body includes a first support part to which the other end portion of the rotary shaft is loosely fitted and a second support part that supports the one end portion of the rotary shaft.

Developer container and developing device

A developer container for an image forming apparatus includes a housing configured to store developer, a developer conveying member disposed inside the housing and configured to rotate to convey the developer stored in the housing. The developer conveying member includes a rotary shaft, a rotary base member and a sheet-like main body. The main body has a base end portion fixed to the rotary base member and a free end portion configured to be pressed into contact with an inner wall of the housing. The rotary base member includes an urging member configured to urge the main body from an upstream side toward a downstream side in a direction of rotation thereof.

Developer container having a developer conveying member including an urging member

A developing apparatus is provided, including a developing unit including a developing roller; a developer accommodating unit; a partition wall partitioning the developing unit and the developer accommodating unit; a supply port which makes communication between the developing unit and the developer accommodating unit; a transport member configured so that the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating unit is supplied to the developing unit via the supply port in accordance with rotation; a return port configured so that the developer contained in the developing unit is permitted to fall into the developer accommodating unit; an opening/closing member configured to be movable between an open position for opening the return port and a closed position for closing the return port; and a driving mechanism configured so that the opening/closing member is moved to the closed position and the open position.

Developing apparatus and image forming apparatus

There is provided a developer transport member including a rotatable member, a main body configured to transport the developer by being rotated in accordance with rotation of the rotatable member, and a metal spring configured to bias the main body.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Shuichi Kato