Developing apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsMitsuhiro Furukawa, Masanori Akita
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A developing apparatus includes a second chamber configured to communicate with the first chamber and to collect the developer from the developer carrier, an agitating conveyor screw provided in a first chamber and configured to convey the developer in the first chamber while agitating the developer, and a guide member disposed above the agitating conveyor screw in the first chamber. The agitating conveyor screw has an agitating blade spirally extending in the axial direction and the guide member is configured to guide a developer thrown upward by the rotating agitating conveyor screw toward the layer thickness limiting member.
Claims18
A developing apparatus comprising:
- a developer carrier configured to rotate while carrying a developer containing toner and carriers;
- a first chamber configured to supply the developer to the developer carrier;
- a layer thickness limiting member configured to limit the layer thickness of the developer supplied from the first chamber and carried by the developer carrier;
- a second chamber configured to communicate with the first chamber and to collect the developer from the developer carrier;
- an agitating conveyor screw provided parallely with the developer carrier in the first chamber such that an axial direction of a rotation shaft of the agitating conveyor screw is parallel to a rotation shaft of the developer carrier and a position of the agitating conveyor screw is shifted from that of the developer carrier in a width direction orthogonal to the axial direction, the agitating conveyor screw includes an agitating blade spirally extending in the axial direction to convey the developer in the axial direction while agitating the developer in the first chamber;
- and
- a guide member disposed above the agitating conveyor screw in the first chamber and configured to guide a developer thrown by the rotating agitating conveyor screw toward the layer thickness limiting member.
A developing apparatus comprising:
- a developing case with an opening portion;
- a developing sleeve rotatably supported such that a part of an outer circumference of the developing sleeve is exposed to an outside of the developing case from the opening portion of the developing case;
- a supply conveyor screw provided parallely with the developing sleeve, in a width direction orthogonal to an axial direction of a rotation shaft of the supply conveyor screw, in the developing case such that the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the supply conveyor screw is parallel to a rotation shaft of the developing sleeve, the supply conveyor screw includes an agitating blade spirally extending in its axial direction and configured to supply a developer in the developing case to the developing sleeve while conveying the developer in the axial direction by the rotation of the supply conveyor screw;
- and
- a guide member disposed above the supply conveyor screw and configured to guide the developer conveyed by the supply conveyor screw toward the developing sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.