Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Ricoh Printing Systems, Ltd.

Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hitachi, Ltd.

Tomofumi Yoshida

Hirobumi Ooyoshi

Yoshiyuki Shimizu

Tomohiro Kubota

Kenzo Tatsumi

Yoshihiro Kawakami

Koji Kato

Shinichi Arasawa

Kohta Sakaya

Yasunobu Ogata

Jin Sam Park

Goo Chul Jung

Shintaro Yamada

Manabu Hamada

Rie Mitani

Yuusuke Furuichi

Osamu Saito

Yasuhide Ohkubo

Yutaka Naitoh

Takafumi Miyazaki

Masahiko Saito

Naoki Nakatake

Ryuji Inoue

Shoh Tsuritani

Kenji Nakamura

Akira Sasaki

Kazuyoshi Kondo

Kazuhiro Wakamatsu

Susumu Tateyama

Masanari Fujita

Tetsumaru Fujita

Yuji Nagatomo

Atsushi Takehara

Nobuhiko Kita

Yoshitaro Ishii

Shunichi Oohara

Yoshihiro Fukuhata

Haruo Hashimoto

Tatsuo Fukushima

Takeru Muramatsu

Kenji Asuwa

Masashi Yahara

Shin Murayama

Shuuichi Nakagawa

Shinji Todaka

Naoyuki Matsumoto

Hidekazu Shono

Satoshi Narita

Sho Tsuritani

Koichi Sato

Kei Hasegawa

Ryouhei Ohi

Kazushige Oonishi

Yasunori Satake

Yasuhiro Kiyono

Goo Chui Jung

A toner container is detachably attachable to a developing device. The toner container includes an outlet to discharge toner contained in the toner container, an agitating member to agitate the toner in the container, a coupling to transmit a driving force to the agitating member, a shutter to open and close the outlet, a lever disposed at one end of the container and a pivoting portion disposed at the other end and connected by a common shaft such that both rotate together, and the lever and the coupling are disposed at the one end in a mutually non-overlapping manner when viewed from the axial direction of the common shaft.

Toner container having a shutter, a lever disposed on one side, and a pivoting portion on the other side which rotate together with a common shaft

A removable unit is removably installed in an apparatus. The removable unit includes a plurality of powered components, a power supply connector configured to electrically connect a power supply of the apparatus and the plurality of powered components. The power supply connector is configured to change a combination of respective voltages applied to the plurality of powered components.

Removable unit and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A toner container is detachably attachable to a developing device. The developing device includes an inlet to be poured with a toner, an inlet shutter to move between a closed position, at which the inlet is closed, and an open position, at which the inlet is open, a biasing mechanism to bias the inlet shutter toward the closed position, an engaged structure provided in the inlet shutter, an engaging structure to engage with the engaged structure and to retain the inlet shutter at the open position against a biasing force of the biasing mechanism, and an engagement releasing structure provided in the inlet shutter and to release an engaging state between the engaged structure and the engaging structure. The toner container includes a contacting surface to contact with the engagement releasing structure and to make the engagement releasing structure release the engaging state.

Toner container with an operating structure disposed on a first side, a shutter disposed on a second side, and a lock

Toner container with an operating structure disposed on a first side, and a shutter disposed on a second side

Toner container, developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus that include a toner container contacting surface to contact with a developing device engagement releasing structure

A toner container includes a container body that is used to house a toner and that is detachably attachable to a mounting portion in a developing device; and an operating member that is used to open and close a shutter. The shutter as well as the operating member includes an engaging portion that can engage with a linking member which is disposed in the mounting portion and which can perform a reciprocating linear movement. In the state in which the container body is not mounted in the mounting portion, the shutter and the operating member are in a non-linked state with each other. In contrast, in the state in which the container body is mounted in the mounting portion, the shutter and the operating member become able to be linked to each other via the linking member.

Toner container, developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus that include an operating member to move a shutter for a toner outlet via a linking member

A developing device includes a housing to store a powder, a developing roller to hold the powder, a supplying roller to supply the powder to the developing roller, a regulator to regulate the powder held by the developing roller, a powder conveyer to convey the powder for image forming, a first powder storing chamber, and a second powder storing chamber. The powder conveyor includes a first conveying part that includes a rotating axis, and a conveying surface inclined with respect to the rotating axis along a direction of the rotating axis. The powder conveyor further includes a second conveying part that includes a conveying surface parallel to the rotating axis along the direction of the rotating axis, and the first conveying part and the second conveying part are disposed alternately along the direction of the rotating axis.

Developing device having a powder conveyor, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus including the same

A developing device is provided. The developing device includes a developer carrier, a regulator, a first developer storing chamber, a plurality of conveyers disposed within the first developer storing chamber, a second developer storing chamber in communication with the first developer storing chamber, and a supply member disposed within the second developer storing chamber. The developer carrier carries developer on its surface and supplies developer to a latent image carrier carrying a latent image. The regulator regulates the thickness of developer on the surface of the developer carrier. The first developer storing chamber stores developer separated from the developer carrier by the regulator and is to be supplied with fresh developer. Each of the plurality of conveyers coveys developer in a different conveyance direction. The second developer storing chamber is to be supplied with developer from the first developer storing chamber. The supply member supplies developer to the developer carrier.

Developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A toner container includes a substantially tetrahedral toner-containing portion having an openable edge to discharge toner contained in the toner-containing portion, and a reference fold along which the toner container is foldable after the openable edge is opened. The reference fold extends from the openable edge and is provided on medians of two triangular faces of the toner-containing portion adjoining each other along the openable edge.

Toner container, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A developer amount detector for detecting an amount of developer contained in a unit removably installable in an image forming apparatus, including optical elements having a light-emitting element to emit light and a light-receiving element to receive the light; two light-guiding members, provided in the unit, to guide the light from the light-emitting element to the light-receiving element; a holder, held in the image forming apparatus, to hold the optical elements, movable in a direction orthogonal to optical axes of the optical elements as the unit is being installed in the image forming apparatus; and a positioning mechanism to position the unit within the image forming apparatus by restricting movement of the holder in the direction orthogonal to the optical axes relative to the unit in a state in which the unit is installed in the image forming apparatus.

Developer amount detector, image forming apparatus incorporating same, and positioning structure for positioning unit within image forming apparatus

A first developer container delivers developer to a second developer container, the first developer container including a first opening to be engaged with the second developer container and to deliver the developer; and a conveyor to convey the developer and to deliver the developer through the first opening.

Developer container, developing device, process cartridge, image forming device, and developer refilling method

A development device includes a development housing, a first developer conveyance member, a developer bearer, and a developer amount detector to detect an amount of developer in the development housing. The developer amount detector includes a light-emitting element, a right-receiving element, a first light guide including a first end from which light enters and a second end disposed inside the development housing, and a second light guide including a first end positioned inside the development housing across a predetermined distance from the second end of the first light guide and a second end from which the light exits. The second end of the first light guide and the first end of the second light guide are arranged in an axial direction of the first developer conveyance member with a light transmission path therebetween partly inside a locus of rotation of the first developer conveyance member.

Developer amount detector, and developer container, development device, and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A developing device includes a developing chamber; a toner carrier disposed in the developing chamber; a toner supply part configured to supply toner to the toner carrier; a toner amount detecting part configured to change its rotational position according to the amount of toner near the toner supply part to detect the amount of toner remaining in the developing chamber; and a toner flow restricting part configured to block movement of the toner around the toner amount detecting part which is caused by a flow of the toner in the developing chamber generated by the rotation of the toner supply part and the toner carrier.

Developing device, process unit, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an exposure device as a light source, a developer container storing developer and attached to a main body of the image forming apparatus perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the photoconductor, a developing unit and a photoconductor unit having a photoconductor for bearing a latent image thereon each detachably attached to the main body substantially in the same direction as the developer container. An exposure device displacing mechanism displaces the exposure device between a first position enabling the exposure device to function as the light source and a second position disabling the exposure device to function as the light source. The photoconductor unit is detached when the developer container is either displaced from an initially attached position or is removed from the main body and the exposure device displacing device has displaced the exposure device to the second position.

Image forming apparatus capable of effectively utilizing interior space

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Tomofumi Yoshida