Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Tsukasa Abe

Kazutaka Sueshige

Masato Tanabe

Osamu Anan

Teruhiko Sasaki

Takashi Kuwata

Tatsuro Harada

Akihiro Fujiwara

Shinichi Ueda

Fumihiko Yamaya

Mitsuyoshi Arakawa

Kazuki Matsumoto

Joji Goto

Takashi Yano

Takeshi Yamamoto

Toshimitsu Kawase

Yuuki Nakamura

Kazuhiko Abe

Kinya Kamiguchi

Seiji Inada

Masatomi Yoshida

Ryo Ohtomo

Hiroyuki Matsumoto

Kazuhiro Tenyaku

An image forming apparatus includes a cartridge, including a photosensitive drum and a cleaning member, and an apparatus main body to and from which the cartridge and a toner container are independently attached and detached The apparatus main body includes a toner conveying apparatus receive toner removed from the cartridge and convey the removed toner to the toner container. The toner conveying apparatus includes a first conveying portion to convey the removed toner received from the cartridge toward the toner container, and a second conveying portion to convey the removed toner conveyed by the first conveying portion to the toner container.

Toner conveying apparatus having toner conveying paths and image forming apparatus

A second unit includes a restricted portion that comes into contact with a restricting portion provided to a body of an apparatus, the restricted portion coming into contact with the restricting portion, in order to restrict the movement of a developer carrier in a direction to make contact with an image carrier, when a developing cartridge has not reached a predetermined attachment position, and not coming into contact with the restricting portion when the developing cartridge is in the predetermined attachment position.

Developing cartridge including a member configured to be pressed by a member of an image forming apparatus

A toner conveying apparatus conveying toner used for image forming includes a first conveying portion to convey the toner and having a first screw and a first conveying passage forming member that forms a first conveying space, and a second conveying portion to convey upward the toner and including a second screw and a second conveying passage forming member that forms a second conveying space. The second conveying passage forming member has a connecting port connected to the first conveying passage forming member. The second screw overlaps with the first screw viewed in a direction of a rotational axial line of the first rotation shaft. A cross-sectional area of the first conveying space orthogonal to the direction of the rotation axial line in a second region is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the first conveying space orthogonal to the direction of the rotational axial line in a first region.

Toner conveying apparatus having orthogonal toner conveying paths and image forming apparatus

A toner conveying apparatus includes a frame body, a conveyance member, a light transmission portion, a light emission portion, a light reception portion, and a rubbing member. The frame body forms a conveyance passage surrounded by a wall portion and is provided with a reception inlet for receiving toner from outside. The conveyance member is provided in the conveyance passage and rotates around a first rotation axis to convey the toner. The light transmission portion that is provided in the wall portion and has translucency. The light emission portion emits light toward an inside of the conveyance passage through the light transmission portion. The light reception portion receives the light emitted from the light emission portion through the light transmission portion. The rubbing member rubs on the light transmission portion by being rotated around a second rotation axis extending in a direction crossing the first rotation axis.

Toner conveying apparatus having a light transmission portion

A toner storage apparatus to which a toner cartridge is mountable by being moved in a moving direction includes a toner storage frame that has a reception port and a seal attachment surface, stores toner supplied from the cartridge via the reception port, and has a protrusion from the attachment surface, and a seal portion that is attached to the attachment surface, has a rubbing surface that rubs against the cartridge when the cartridge is moved in the moving direction, and has a communication hole with the reception port. At least part of the protrusion is inside the communication hole and upstream of the reception port in the moving direction. An end of the protrusion is closer to the attachment surface than the rubbing surface in a direction perpendicular to the attachment surface. The seal portion contacts an outer peripheral surface of the protrusion extending in the perpendicular direction.

Toner storage apparatus

Disclosed is a developing apparatus including: a developer bearing member that bears a developer; a developing frame body that rotatably supports the developer bearing member; a one-end side end member that supports one-end side in an axis direction of the developer bearing member of the developing frame body; and another-end side end member that supports the other-end side in the axis direction of the developer bearing member of the developing frame body. Each of the one-end side end member and the other-end side end member is independently movable with respect to the developing frame body.

Developing apparatus, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A toner conveying device for conveying toner, comprising: a first conveying portion; and a second conveying portion conveying the toner conveyed from the first conveying portion. The first conveying portion further includes: a first screw which includes a first rotation shaft and a first blade portion, the first screw including an engaging portion and a first protruded portion on a first end portion; and a first conveying passage forming member having a first inner wall face which forms a first conveying passage. The second conveying portion includes: a second screw which includes a second rotation shaft and a second blade portion, the second screw including an engaged portion and a second protruded portion on a second end portion; and a second conveying passage forming member having a second inner wall face which forms a second conveying passage, and which is connected with the first conveying passage forming member.

Toner conveying device having easily replaceable components

Developing cartridge having a guide projecting from a frame body

A first contact portion provided on a first shutter member that opens and closes a receiving port for receiving a developer from a cartridge and a second contact portion provided on the cartridge are configured to contact each other in an attachment and detachment direction of the cartridge so that the first shutter member is in a position at which the receiving port is opened. The first shutter member is urged by a first urging member so that a contacting state between the first contact portion and the second contact portion is maintained until a second shutter member that opens and closes a supplying port of the cartridge closes the supplying port when the cartridge is discharged from the apparatus body.

Image forming apparatus and cartridge having shutters to open and close a developer supplying and receiving ports

A developing apparatus includes a developer carrying member configured to carry developer, and a developer supply member configured to supply the developer to the developer carrying member, the developer supply member including a shaft, first and second driving members disposed at a first end and a second end of the shaft, respectively, and a toner supply unit disposed between the first end and the second end of the shaft, wherein the first driving member receives a driving force for rotating the developer supply member, and the second driving member outputs the driving force, and wherein the second driving member is mounted to the shaft without play in a rotational direction of the developer supply member with respect to the shaft.

Developing apparatus

A developing cartridge includes a developing frame body rotatably supporting a developing roller. A first end member is attached to the first end of the developing frame and a second end member is attached to the second end of the developing frame body. The first end member and the second end member are rotatable independently of each other and relative to the developing frame body about a rotational axis common to the first end member and the second end member, and with rotation of the developing frame body relative to the first end member and the second end member, the developing roller moves from a first position to a second position in a direction that crosses a position of an axis of the developing roller when the developing roller is in the first position.

A developing cartridge includes a frame rotatably supporting a developing roller. The developing cartridge also includes a first supporting member attached to a first end of the frame, with the first supporting member being movable relative to the frame. The developing cartridge further includes a second supporting member attached to a second end of the frame, with the second supporting member being movable relative to the frame and the first supporting member.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Tsukasa Abe