Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshiyuki Batori

Masanari Morioka

Toshiaki Takeuchi

Daisuke Makiguchi

Ryuta Murakami

Yoshikazu Sasago

Ken Kikuchi

Teruhiko Sasaki

Minoru Sato

Hiroki Ogino

Takeshi Arimitsu

Hiroshi Takarada

Takashi Akutsu

Naoki Matsumaru

Nobuyoshi Hara

Shinya Noda

Ryozo Yanagisawa

Kazuma Shimizu

Naoki Hayashi

Isao Ikemoto

Naoya Asanuma

Takashi Kimura

Junichi Matsumura

Noritomo Yamaguchi

Hiroaki Sasaki

Ichiro Terada

Koji Yamaguchi

Atsushi Numagami

Daisuke Abe

Hiroomi Matsuzaki

Yu Fukasawa

Takatoshi Hamada

Fumito Nonaka

Kazuki Matsumoto

Makoto Tokudome

Satoshi Kurihara

Gosuke Goto

Katsushi Koike

Shigeo Miyabe

Tadayuki Tsuda

Toshiyuki Karakama

Noriyuki Komatsu

Kazuo Chadani

Masahiro Yoshida

Koji Wada

Shinichi Sasaki

Hiroshi Satoh

Goshi Ozaki

Seiji Yamaguchi

Yuuki Nakamura

Akira Higeta

Masaaki Matsushita

Tatsuo Fujisaki

Akiyoshi Yokoi

Tomofumi Kawamura

Shohei Katsuya

Takao Nakagawa

A gear unit for transmitting a rotational force to a rotatable member carrying developer and to which a coupling member is mountable. The gear unit includes a hole portion which opens outwardly in a direction along a rotational axis of the cylinder gear and which has an opening capable of accommodating the spherical portion, a groove portion which continues from the hole portion and which is capable of accommodating the projected portion, and a limiting portion for limiting inward movement of the spherical portion in the direction along the rotational axis of the gear. A closing member is provided for partially covering the opening of the hole portion and mounted to the gear to limit outward movement of the spherical portion in the direction along the rotational axis of the gear. The closing member is constituted by a plurality of independent pieces.

Photosensitive drum unit, assembling method therefor, and disassembling method therefor

A rotatable developer carrying member unit includes a rotatable developer carrying member and a rotational force receiving member for receiving a rotational force for rotating the rotatable developer carrying member. The rotational force receiving member includes a rotational force receiving portion for receiving the rotational force at one end portion side thereof and a portion-to-be-engaged at another end portion side thereof. One of the engaging portion and the portion-to-be-engaged includes a male screw portion and the other of the engaging portion and the portion-to-be-engaged includes a female screw portion.

A developing device includes a developer bearing member, a developer container, a regulating blade including a plate-like elastic portion, and an elastic seal sealing, and a pressing member pressing the elastic seal, wherein the plate-like elastic portion includes a metal plate, a second projection projecting from a second surface of the metal plate facing the developer bearing member, and a first projection projecting from a first surface opposite to the second surface of the metal plate, and wherein a projecting amount of the first projection is greater than a projecting amount of the second projection, wherein a top surface of the second projection contacts the surface of the developer bearing member, and an end surface of the first projection contacts an end surface of the elastic seal in the rotation axis direction.

Developing blade, developing device, and cartridge

A photosensitive drum unit includes a photosensitive drum having a cylinder, a rotational force receiving member, a spherical member including a projected portion, and a drum flange provided at one end portion of the cylinder and accommodating the spherical member. The drum flange includes (i) a hole portion capable of accommodating the spherical portion and having an opening that opens outwardly in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder, (ii) a groove portion that continues from the hole portion and is capable of accommodating the projected portion for receiving the rotational force from the projected portion, and (iii) a limiting portion for limiting inward movement of the spherical portion in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder.

An accommodating container includes: an accommodating chamber, provided with an opening, for accommodating a developer; a seal member for unsealably sealing the opening; and a rotatable member rotatably supported inside the accommodating chamber. The seal member includes a sealing portion for sealing the opening, a connecting portion connected with the rotatable member, and at least one hole provided between the sealing portion and the connecting portion. The rotatable member includes a shaft portion and at least one projection extending in a direction of being spaced from the shaft portion. The hole and the projection are provided to establish a non-overlapping positional relationship with respect to a direction along the shaft portion.

Accommodating container, process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A developer accommodating container for accommodating a developer includes: a toner seal member for unsealably sealing an opening of the developer accommodating container; an unsealing member, connected to an end portion of the toner seal member, for unsealing the opening by moving at least a part of the toner seal member; and an auxiliary unsealing member for assisting unsealing by changing a pulling direction of the toner seal member by the unsealing member. The auxiliary unsealing member includes a shaft portion or a projected portion. The shaft portion or the projected portion extends in a longitudinal direction of the developer accommodating container.

Developer accommodating container with projected shaped portion for contacting toner seal member

Developer container with sealing member having a plurality of holes and rotatable member having a plurality of projections contactable with the sealing member

Developer accommodating container, developing cartridge, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

A developing cartridge includes: a flexible developer bag, provided with an opening and provided in a frame, for accommodating a developer; and an acting member contactable to the developer bag. The developer bag is fixed to the frame at its upper portion. The developer bag is swingable by contact with the acting member.

Developing cartridge, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

Developer accommodating container with toner seal member, unsealing member, and auxiliary unsealing member

A developer container includes: a developer accommodating chamber, provided with an opening, for accommodating a developer; a sealing member bonded to the developer accommodating container so as to block the opening; and a rotatable member, having a connecting surface where the sealing member is connected thereto, for peeling off the sealing member from the opening by rotation thereof. The connecting surface has a rectangular shape which has a long side with respect to a rotational axis direction of the rotatable member and which is twisted in a rotational direction of the rotatable member.

Developer container, developing cartridge, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

A cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus includes: a frame; a flexible container, provided with an opening at a side thereof and provided inside the frame, for accommodating a developer; and a feeding member, provided below the flexible container and provided between the flexible container and the frame, for feeding the developer. The feeding member is capable of discharging the developer discharged through the opening of the flexible container into between the flexible container and the frame.

Cartridge, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

A cartridge includes: a toner chamber, provided with an opening, for accommodating a toner; and a seal member including a sealing portion, elongated in a longitudinal direction of the cartridge, for unsealably sealing the opening and a mounting portion for being mounted on an unsealing member to unseal the opening. The sealing portion includes a first sealing portion located at a longitudinal end portion and a second sealing portion located at a longitudinal central portion. With respect to a direction crossing the longitudinal direction, a length between the first sealing portion and the mounting portion of the seal member is shorter than a length between the second sealing portion and the mounting portion.

Cartridge, developing cartridge, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

A cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus includes: a frame; a flexible developer bag, provided with an opening and provided inside the frame, for containing a developer; and an elastic member for discharging the developer through the opening by acting on the developer bag. The elastic member is extended from a free state by contact with the developer bag, and elastic energy accumulated by extension of the elastic member acts on the developer bag to discharge the developer through the opening.

Cartridge with flexible developer bag and elastic member for acting on the developer bag

A developer container includes: a developer chamber, provided with an opening, for accommodating a developer; a rotatable member rotatably supported in the developer chamber; and a sealing member for being removed at the opening by being wound up by the rotatable member, wherein the sealing member is provided in the developer chamber and includes a first end portion connected to the rotatable member and a second end portion sealing the opening. Sealing of the opening is made by bonding the sealing member along an edge of the opening. The developer container includes a first bonding portion provided upstream of the opening and a second bonding portion provided downstream of the opening with respect to an unsealing direction of the sealing member. A peeling-off force for peeling off the sealing member at a predetermined angle is larger at the first bonding portion than at the second bonding portion.

Growing community of inventors

Hiratsuka, Japan

Yoshiyuki Batori