Image forming apparatus having toner supply unit to supply toner to developing unit
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorShougo Sato
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure features an image forming apparatus having a first developing unit having a first developing roller; and a first toner supply unit configured to supply toner to the first developing unit, the first toner supply unit having: a first container configured to accommodate the toner therein, the first container having a first inlet opening through which the toner is received in the first container and a first outlet opening through which the toner in the first container is discharged; a first lid configured to close the first inlet opening; and a first shutter configured to open the first outlet opening when the first lid closes the first inlet opening, and to close the first outlet opening when the first lid opens the first inlet opening.
Claims8
An image forming apparatus, comprising:
- a first developing unit including a first developing roller;
- and
- a first toner supply unit configured to supply toner to the first developing unit, the first toner supply unit including:
- a first container configured to accommodate the toner therein, the first container having a first inlet opening through which the toner is received in the first container and a first outlet opening through which the toner in the first container is discharged;
- a first agitator positioned in the first container and configured to agitate the toner in the first container;
- a first lid configured to close the first inlet opening;
- and
- a first shutter configured to open the first outlet opening when the first lid closes the first inlet opening, and to close the first outlet opening when the first lid opens the first inlet opening,
- wherein the first container is pivotally movable about the rotation axis between a first position at which the first lid closes the first inlet opening and a second position at which the first lid opens the first inlet opening;
- and
- wherein the first shutter is configured to open the first outlet opening when the first container is at the first position, and to close the first outlet opening when the first container is at the second position.
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a first developing unit including a first developing roller extending in a first direction;
- and
- a first toner supply unit configured to supply toner to the first developing unit, the first toner supply unit including:
- a first container configured to accommodate the toner therein, the first container having a first inlet opening through which the toner is received in the first container and a first outlet opening through which the toner in the first container is discharged;
- a first lid configured to close the first inlet opening;
- and
- a first shutter configured to open the first outlet opening when the first lid closes the first inlet opening, and to close the first outlet opening when the first lid opens the first inlet opening,
- wherein the first container is pivotally movable about a rotation axis extending in the first direction between a first position at which the first lid closes the first inlet opening and a second position at which the first lid opens the first inlet opening, and
- wherein the first shutter is configured to open the first outlet opening when the first container is at the first position, and to close the first outlet opening when the first container is at the second position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.