Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Tomio Noguchi

Masaaki Sato

Chikara Imaizumi

Hiromi Sakurai

Takeo Kawanami

Kenji Matsuzaka

Akira Yoshimura

Yosuke Kashiide

Yukio Kubo

Satoshi Nishiya

Takao Sameshima

Susumu Nittani

Kenichi Iida

Yuichiro Inaba

Akitoshi Toyota

Koji Fujinaka

Shinjiro Toba

Koji Wada

Masato Tanabe

Tsuyoshi Ogawa

Takahiro Azeta

Hiromi Fujinaka

Kenichi Tagami

Kei Hayashida

Yasuyoshi Hayakawa

Hiroshi Takarada

Naoki Asano

Shinji Kubo

Kei Sawanaka

Kazunori Takashima

Koji Yamaguchi

Kazuhiko Kanno

Noriaki Sato

Masaru Shimura

Hideo Nanataki

Naoki Enomoto

Kenji Kanari

Takayasu Yuminamochi

Yu Shuhama

Masao Ando

Minoru Matsuguma

Yuichiro Osawa

Tomoya Kuruma

Yumi Fujiwara

A process cartridge includes a photosensitive drum and a developing roller for developing a latent image on the photosensitive drum. The process cartridge also includes a protrusion having a surface configured to receive a force to move a frame supporting the developing roller from the first position in which the developing roller contacts the photosensitive drum to the second position in which the developing roller is spaced apart from the photosensitive drum. The process cartridge is configured such that, when the frame is in the first position and the process cartridge is oriented with the photosensitive drum and the protrusion positioned at a bottom side of the process cartridge, (i) a rotational axis of the photosensitive drum is lower than a rotational axis of the developing roller, and (ii) as viewed in a direction of the rotational axis of the photosensitive drum, the surface of the protrusion extends in a direction that is perpendicular to a part of a surface at the bottom side of the process cartridge that extends away from the photosensitive drum and away from the protrusion.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge including protrusion to receive a force for moving developing roller

An image forming apparatus includes a developer container having an accommodating portion to accommodate developer, and a replenishment port for replenishing the accommodating portion with developer from an attachable replenishment container. A transfer portion transfers the developer image on an image bearing member onto a recording material, a supporting tray supports the recording material, and a discharge portion discharges the recording material on the supporting surface. The supporting tray has an opening portion opening with the replenishment port being exposed through the supporting surface, wherein an opening/closing member is movable between a closed position where it covers the replenishment port and serves as a part of the supporting surface and an open position where the replenishment port is exposed. Movement of the opening/closing member to the closed position is hindered by the replenishment container in a state it is attached to the developer container.

Image forming apparatus having toner replenishment

An image forming apparatus includes a main body that includes a photosensitive member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and a development unit configured to develop the photosensitive member with toner. The main body is configured to discharge a recording material on which an image is formed with the toner onto a discharge tray. The image forming apparatus also includes a toner supply port on which a supply container is mounted to supply toner to a toner containing portion of the development unit. The image forming apparatus further includes a non-contact communication portion including an antenna and configured to receive a signal for user authentication. The discharge tray, the toner supply port, and the non-contact communication portion are provided at an upper portion of the main body. The non-contact communication portion is provided outside the discharge tray when the main body is viewed from above.

Techniques and mechanisms for supplying toner to an image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a developer container to and from which a replenishment container is attachable and detachable, the developer container including an accommodating portion, and a supporting portion, wherein the developer container includes a projection portion that is provided at one end portion thereof in the rotation axis direction of the developer bearing member and projects toward the supporting portion more than a center portion of the developer container in a crossing direction crossing the rotation axis direction, the projection portion communicates with the accommodating portion and includes, at a distal end portion thereof, an attachment portion configured such that the replenishment container is attachable thereto in a state of being exposed to the outside of the apparatus, and a replenishment port for replenishing the accommodating portion with developer from the replenishment container is defined in the attachment portion.

Image forming apparatus having an opening/closing member that is prevented from closing when a replenishment container is attached to a process unit

An apparatus includes a developer container to and from which a replenishment container is attachable and detachable and which includes an accommodating portion and a replenishment port, a transfer portion configured to transfer a developer image on an image bearing member onto a recording material, a supporting tray including a supporting surface configured to support the recording material thereon, and a discharge portion configured to discharge the recording material, onto which the developer image has been transferred, on the supporting surface, wherein the supporting surface has an opening portion opening such that the replenishment port is exposed through the supporting surface, and wherein an opening/closing member configured to be movable between a closed position where the opening/closing member covers the replenishment port and serves as a part of the supporting surface and an open position where the replenishment port is exposed is provided.

An image forming apparatus includes a developer container to accommodate developer containing toner, a developer bearing member to rotate while bearing the developer accommodated in the developer container and develop the electrostatic latent image borne on an image bearing member into a developer image, a detection portion to output remainder amount information corresponding to an amount of the developer accommodated in the developer container, and a notification portion capable of notifying a first state indicating that a remainder amount of the developer accommodated in the developer container is a first amount or more and a second state indicating that the remainder amount of the developer accommodated in the developer container is less than the first amount. The notification portion notifies one of a plurality of states including the first state and the second state on a basis of the remainder amount information output from the detection portion.

Image forming apparatus and image forming system

An image forming apparatus includes a storage container in which toner is stored, a replenishment port configured to allow replenishment of toner from the replenishment container outside the image forming apparatus to the storage container therethrough, a replenishment restriction portion, a drive source configured to supply a driving force, and a drive transmission portion configured to take a first operation state, in which the drive transmission portion transmits the driving force of the drive source to the replenishment restriction portion to switch the replenishment restriction portion between a restricting state and an allowing state, and a second operation state, in which the drive transmission portion transmits the driving force of the drive source to a toner conveyance portion to cause the toner conveyance portion to convey toner.

Image forming apparatus having a mechanism to restrict or allow toner replenishment

An image forming apparatus includes a mounting portion for mounting a process cartridge, the process cartridge including a first unit having an image bearing drum, and a second unit having a developing roller, the second unit being movable between a contact position in which the roller contacts the drum and a spaced position in which they are mutually spaced; an engageable member engageable with a force receiving portion provided on the second unit; wherein the engageable member is movable between a first position for maintaining the second unit in the spaced position by engaging with the force receiving portion, a second position for permitting movement of the second unit from the spaced position to the contact position; and a third position for permitting the process cartridge to be mounted, by being pressed by the process cartridge to retract, when the process cartridge is mounted to the mounting portion.

Process cartridge having a protrusion with a surface configured to receive a force to move a frame of the process cartridge

Image forming apparatus with mechanism for supplying the image forming apparatus with toner

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge

An apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer container having a replenishment port, a developer bearing member, a detection portion configured to output remainder amount information corresponding to the amount of developer accommodated in the developer container, a notification portion capable of notifying a first state, and a second state, and a control portion. The maximum amount of the developer that the developer container is capable of accommodating is larger than a value obtained by adding the amount of the developer accommodated in a replenishment container containing the developer for replenishment to the first amount, and wherein notification of the second state corresponds to notification of a case where the amount of the developer remaining in the developer container is larger than a case where the amount of the developer remaining in the developer container is the smallest.

An image forming apparatus includes a storage container in which toner is stored, a replenishment port configured to allow replenishment of toner from a replenishment container outside the image forming apparatus to the storage container therethrough, a replenishment restriction portion, and a drive source configured to supply a driving force A drive transmission portion is configured to take a first operation state, in which the drive transmission portion transmits the driving force of the drive source to the replenishment restriction portion to switch the replenishment restriction portion between a restricting state and an allowing state, and a second operation state, in which the drive transmission portion transmits the driving force of the drive source to a toner conveyance portion to cause the toner conveyance portion to convey toner.

Image forming apparatus having a detachable toner replenishment container

Image forming apparatus including a movable engageable member and process cartridge including a force receiving portion

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Suntou-gun, Japan

Tomio Noguchi