Image forming apparatus and toner cartridge for the same
AssigneeSharp Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsYasuyuki Ishiguro, Wataru Yoshida, Toshihide Ohgoshi, Toshio Nishino, Atsushi Inoue, Takahiko Kimura
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Abstract
Elastic members are fixed at one end to the housing of an image forming apparatus while their distal ends extend into the framework of the developing unit. When a toner cartridge is fitted to the framework of the developing unit, the distal ends of the elastic members abut the top surface of the toner cartridge, so that the elastic members are compressed to produce repulsive force, which in turn causes the developing unit to rotate clockwise about a support so as to bring the developer roller into pressing contact with the photoconductor.
Claims4
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a photoconductor forming electrostatic latent images on the surface thereof;
- a developing unit having a developer roller rotatably supported by a framework thereof for making toner adhere to the photoconductor surface so as to form a toner image;
- a toner cartridge removably attached to the framework of the developing unit for supplying toner to the developer roller;
- and
- a housing for covering the photoconductor and developing unit,
- the image forming apparatus being characterized in that elastic members fixed at one end thereof to the housing are provided, and when the toner cartridge is set into the framework of the developing unit, the distal ends of the elastic members abut the toner cartridge so that the elastic members are compressed to produce repulsive force, which acts on the developer roller by way of the toner cartridge and framework so that the developer roller comes into pressing contact with the photoconductor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.