Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Yoshikazu Nishikawa

Toshio Yamanaka

Hideaki Kadowaki

Yoshiaki Ibuchi

Toyoka Aimoto

Keiji Kato

Yukinori Andou

Takashi Miyaji

Akio Shiomi

Fukusaburo Itoh

Kazushige Mizumoto

A developing unit includes a developing tank and a toner hopper. The developing tank is disposed to oppose a recording medium rotatably mounted to an image forming apparatus utilizing electrophotography. A developing member conveys a developer and attaches toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the recording medium to develop the electrostatic latent image. The toner hopper has a toner supply port for supplying toner to the developing tank through a toner replenishing port formed in the developing tank. The developing tank is detachable in a direction of a rotating shaft of the recording medium, and is movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the rotating shaft of the recording medium so as to separate from or oppose the recording medium. The toner hopper has a shutter for opening/closing an opening of the toner supply port. A moving mechanism mounted on the developing tank simultaneously provides movement of the developing tank in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the rotating shaft of the recording medium and movement of the toner hopper shutter to open/close the toner supply port when manipulated.

Developing unit having interlocking mechanism

In a developing apparatus in electrophotographic machines, the surface of a developer guide facing the surface of a magnetic roller includes a first surface area and a second surface area. The first and second surface areas are curved along the surface of the magnetic roller with a space therebetween, and the second surface area is located downstream of the first surface area. The distance between the first surface area of the developer guide and a portion of the surface of the magnetic roller corresponding to the first surface area is larger than the distance between the second surface area of the developer guide and a portion of the surface of the magnetic roller corresponding to the second surface area. A brush of the developer is formed on the surface of the magnetic roller and touches onto the first surface area of the developer guide.

Developing apparatus

A stirrer roller of a developing device for electrophotography has elliptical plates obliquely attached to an axis such that they are mutually parallel and their projections in the directions of the axis are circular. Each plate has notches or holes symmetrically positioned with respect to the center such that the trajectories of these notches do not overlap when the roller rotates around its axis.

Stirrer roller of developing device in electrophotographic copying

A developing device for developing a toner image on a cylindrical electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a toner container which extends perpendicularly to the direction of the photoreceptor and a toner transporting device for moving the toner supplied from the container in the direction of the axis of the photoreceptor. The toner transporting device and the container are detachably attachable to each other and a normally closed shutter is provided at the opening through which toner can be dropped from the container into the toner transporting device. The shutter can be automatically opened when a toner transporting unit having a shutter-opening mechanism is attached to it.

Developing device for copier

A copying machine includes a single paper supply roller for selectively conducting the paper supply in a manual supply mode wherein a copy paper is introduced through a manual inlet and in an automatic supply mode wherein a copy paper is supplied from a copy paper cassette. A copy paper biasing member is associated with the copy paper cassette so that the copy paper is depressed toward the operating region of the paper supply roller. A manual paper supply guide plate is rotatably secured to the copying machine so that the manual paper supply guide plate takes a first position wherein the manual paper supply guide plate is located under the paper supply roller for conducting the manual paper supply, and a second position not to interfere with the automatic paper supply from the copy paper cassette. A correlation mechanism is connected to the copy paper biasing member to disable the copy paper biasing member when the manual paper supply guide plate is located at the first position.

Growing community of inventors

Nara, Japan

Yoshikazu Nishikawa