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US 4,733,267 AGranted
Apparatus for developing electrostatic latent image
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsShigekazu Enoki, Noriyuki Kimura, Shunji Katoh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A two-component toner is directly supplied to a brush which is cyclically transferred while in resilient contact with a latent image carrier for developing an electrostatic latent image on the latent image carrier. After the image has been developed by the toner, residual toner is directly recovered from the brush for uniformizing the toner density on the brush.
Claims5
An apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image, comprising:
- a magnetic brush for holding toner and resiliently contacting a latent image carrier in an image developing region to supply the toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the latent image carrier;
- toner supply means for supplying charged toner to said magnetic brush in a toner supplying region;
- toner recovery means for recovering residual toner from said magnetic brush in a toner recovering region after the image has been developed by the toner;
- and
- said magnetic brush being composed of a magnetically coherent carrier of particles.
2 more elements
An apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image, comprising:
- resilient developing brush means for holding toner and resiliently contacting a latent image carrier in an image developing region to supply the toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the latent image carrier;
- toner supply means for supplying charged toner to said resilient developing brush means in a toner supplying region;
- toner recovery means for recovering residual toner from said resilient developing brush means in a toner recovering region after the image has been developed by the toner;
- detector means for detecting the amount of toner recovered by said toner recovery means to issue a toner signal;
- and
- toner shortage detecting means for detecting a toner shortage in a toner tank to issue a toner shortage signal based on the toner signal from said detector means.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.