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:
Sep. 15, 1998
Filed:
Dec. 24, 1996
Applicant:
Inventor:
Naoki Iwata, Niiza, JP;
Assignee:
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G03G / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
399281 ; 399102 ; 399252 ; 399284 ; 399285 ;
Abstract
In an image forming apparatus, a developing device includes an upper and a lower feed roller intervening between a developing roller and a toner hopper and contacting the developing roller. The upper and lower feed rollers feed toner to the developing roller. The two rollers rotate in opposite directions to each other in order to move the toner existing therebetween from the hopper side to the developing roller side. The device is capable of forming a laminate developer layer of uniform charge and uniform thickness on the developer carrier, and eliminating the need for a seal member between a casing and the developer carrier or simplifying its configuration.