Image forming apparatus
AssigneeFuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
InventorTakuji Matsumoto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes image forming units which are detachably mounted on an apparatus body, and each of which includes an image holding body and a developing unit provided with a developing member that supplies a developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image holding body, shaft members which rotatably support the developing units, urging members which urge the developing members toward the image holding bodies, supply devices which supply developers to the developing units, transport passages which are provided so as to extend toward the developing members and the image holding bodies, and elastic members which form a part of the transport passage and are extensibly deformed so as to absorb the deviation of the relative position between the supply port and the receiving port.
Claims12
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- image forming units that are detachably mounted on an apparatus body, each of the image forming units including an image holding body where an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface of the image holding body and a developing unit provided with a developing member that is disposed with a gap between the developing member and the image holding body and supplies a developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image holding body while rotating;
- shaft members that are provided at the image forming units and rotatably support the developing units so that the developing members approach or are separated from the image holding bodies when seen in a direction of a rotation axis of the developing member, a direction of a rotation axis of each shaft member being parallel to the rotation axis of the developing member;
- urging members that are provided at the image forming units and urge the developing members toward the image holding bodies, one end of each of the urging members being fixed to each of the developing units;
- supply devices that are disposed adjacent to the developing units and supply developers to the developing units when seen in the direction of the rotation axis of the developing member;
- transport passages of which base end portions are connected to body parts of the supply devices, through which developers stored in the body parts are transported to the developing units, and which are provided so as to extend toward the developing members and the image holding bodies when seen in the direction of the rotation axis of the developing member, the developers being transported to the developing units from supply ports formed at leading end portions of the transport passages through receiving ports of the developing units connected to the supply ports;
- and
- elastic members each of which forms a part of the transport passage and is extensibly deformed so as to absorb the deviation of the relative position between the supply port and the receiving port.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.