Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yoichiro Sugino

Hiroshi Mori

Akito Yoshimaru

A developing apparatus using a dry developer in the form of a toner. The apparatus includes a housing having an opening which is located to face a photoconductive element. A vent is formed through the housing to release a pressure being developed in the housing, while a filter closes the vent to filter out a toner cloud. A smooth air guide plate which is more than 5 millimeters wide is provided in an edge portion of the opening downstream of a developing position with respect to an intended direction of a rotation of the photoconductive element. The air guide plate is spaced apart from the photoconductive element by a distance less than 2 millimeters and serves to increase the velocity of air flowing into the housing through the opening and, thereby, prevents toner particles from being released to the outside of the apparatus.

Developing apparatus capable of preventing leakage of a developer

An image forming apparatus forms a recorded image of an original image on a recording sheet by an electrophotography method. An optical scanning unit emits a laser beam which scans a surface of a photosensitive drum. The image forming apparatus is provided with a light absorbing member for absorbing the laser beam which is reflected by the surface of the photosensitive drum so as to prevent a flare from being generated.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Yoichiro Sugino