Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Takaaki Yanagisawa

Masumi Sato

Tomotoshi Nakahara

Kouta Fujimori

Junichi Matsumoto

Satoshi Muramatsu

Yoshio Hattori

Takeshi Saito

Kazuhisa Sudo

Hideo Ichikawa

Sunao Ikeda

Shigeru Yoshiki

Nobuhiro Makita

Seiji Ozawa

Nobuo Iwata

Nobuo Kasahara

Tomoyuki Ichikawa

Akio Kosuge

Yoshinori Ozawa

Kazuhiko Yuuki

Yoshi Hattori

Goro Katsuyama

Tsukuru Kai

Masaaki Kabumoto

Kanae Amemiya

Masahiro Yonekawa

Masahiro Kurita

Hiroo Kitagawa

Hisashi Ishijima

Tadao Koike

Kenji Fukumizu

Fumihiko Ishikawa

Satoshi Kanda

Masayuki Ohtani

Masaaki Nagano

The toner supply unit is provided with a preventing unit for preventing toner contamination due to toner leakage from that sealing valve. A mouth ring of the toner container is provided with the sealing valve. This valve is opened/closed by removing/inserting a nozzle.

Toner supply unit and image forming apparatus

A toner replenishing device includes a toner conveyance path for connecting a toner storing device with a developing device, a toner conveying device for conveying the toner from the toner storing device to the developing device along the toner conveyance path, and an air supplying device connected to the toner conveyance path vie an air supply path for supplying the toner storing device with air from a bottom of the toner storing device so as to agitate the toner pooling in the toner storing device.

Apparatus and method for replenishing a developing device with toner while suppressing toner remaining

A toner container includes a container body having a mouth-piece member positioned at a mouth of the container body. The mouth-piece member includes an opening to allow toner to be discharged from the container body, a valve configured to seal the opening and which allows a nozzle located at a setting portion of an image forming apparatus to protrude into the valve, and a least two guides provided at opposite sides of the mouth-piece member configured to engage with at least two setting guides at the setting portion of the image forming apparatus.

A container including a container body configured to hold toner and a mouthpiece configured to deliver toner from the container body. The mouthpiece includes a circular outlet and engagement portions configured as openings located at positions opposed to each other around the circular outlet. The circular outlet is positioned at a center location between the positions of the engagement portions, and the engagement portions are configured to engage with guide members provided at a setting portion on which the container is to be mounted.

A toner container has a hollow body having a small diameter mouth portion, a ramp surface at one end and a spiral. A removable lid is positioned at the mouth portion so as to close the mouth portion and a lug is provided at the lid.

Toner container having lid including lug

A toner supply unit powder pump of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is driven by an exclusive motor independently of a main motor driving major parts of the image forming apparatus. Thereby, the toner supply unit can implement responsive supply of toner unaffected by operation mode changes with a simpler construction. A toner supply system can use plural powder pumps for plural color developing stations. By considering distance and elevation of toner transport paths to respective stations, appropriate pump revolutions can be determined for respective stations, to achieve desirable toner transport amounts to respective stations in relatively short time with a simpler construction supply unit. A method precisely controls toner transport amounts by intermittently driving the powder pump with an arbitrary unit driving time. When the arbitrary unit driving time is changed to another unit driving time, the pump is driven transiently with the still another unit driving time.

Image forming apparatus with improved capabilities for toner supply

A developer replenishing device for replenishing a developing device with a developer, and a developer container for use therewith. The developer container, or toner bottle, includes a shoulder portion adjoining a first end of a hollow body. The body is formed with a spiral guide for guiding a developer stored in the developer container. The shoulder portion forms a wall and includes an engaging portion engageable with driver that causes the body to rotate. The engaging portion includes a lug protruding from the shoulder portion which allows a characteristic of toner to be identified. The engaging portion has an outside surface of a guide portion that guides a developer stored in the developer container. Two engaging portions may be angularly spaced from each other by 180 degrees. The developer container also includes a discharge mouth, which adjoins the first end of the body, which is smaller in diameter than the shoulder portion, and which includes an annular collar protruding outwardly, and a positioning portion positioned on a holder for the developer container. The positioning portion includes a lug protruding from an outside surface of the body. The holder for the developer container includes a hitting member which hits against the outside surface when the body is caused to rotate. A plurality of lugs are formed on an outside circumferential surface of the collar of the discharge mouth.

Developer replenishing device and developer container for use therewith

An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a mount portion in which a toner container is expected to be set from above. When the toner container set in the mount portion runs out of toner, a spring causes the toner container to hop up away from a position where it is set. This promotes easy handling of the toner container in a limited space available in the apparatus.

Image forming apparatus and toner container therefor

A color image forming apparatus includes a main body and a toner container setting part configured to set a plurality of toner containers individually therein. Each toner container contains a toner of a different color, and the setting part includes a receiving member configured to receive the plurality of toner containers inserted therein. The plurality of toner containers, inserted in the receiving member, are partially exposed.

Color image forming apparatus and toner replenishing apparatus each including plural toner containers received in receiving member of setting part and toner containers therefor

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Tokyo, Japan

Takaaki Yanagisawa