The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 04, 2018
Filed:
Sep. 29, 2016
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, JP;
Tohru Sakuwa, Osaka, JP;
Yasuhiro Nishimura, Osaka, JP;
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
In an image forming apparatus, a cleaning portion has a discharge pipe that guides toner that has been collected from a peripheral surface of a photoreceptor drum as waste toner to the outside of a process unit. The discharge pipe is drawn from a side surface of the process unit and includes at a tip portion a discharge port that discharges the waste toner. A restricting portion is arranged on a side surface of the discharge pipe, between a position corresponding to an insertion port and the discharge port, and restricts a flow of air moving from the discharge port to the insertion port. The insertion port is provided on a same surface as the side surface of the process unit from which the discharge pipe is drawn. And the insertion port is configured to be inserted by a cleaning tool for the electrode.