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:
Apr. 08, 2008
Filed:
Feb. 14, 2006
Tsuyoshi Imamura, Sagamihara, JP;
Tsuyoshi Imamura, Sagamihara, JP;
Ricoh Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A developer-carrying member to transport a developer having a carrier to a developing area facing an image carrying member in an image forming apparatus includes a sleeve. The sleeve carries the developer. The surface of the sleeve has a maximum roughness Rmax of one-sixth or greater than a particle diameter of the carrier, and a surface index of 1.5 or greater. The surface index is expressed by the equation of 'surface index=Rmax/(L−LL),' in which LL is a measurement-range length selected from a roughness profile of the surface of the sleeve, Lis a total surface distance of the developer-carrying member in the measurement-range length LL, and Rmax is a maximum roughness of the sleeve surface, defined by a difference between a maximum roughness value and a minimum roughness value on a roughness profile of the surface of the sleeve.