Electrophotography – Image formation – Development
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-27
2002-07-09
Braun, Fred L (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Image formation
Development
C399S263000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06418290
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developer container which is used for replenishing a developing apparatus of an electronic image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or a printer with a developer, and a developer agitating sheet which is suited for use in the developer container.
2. Related Background Art
A fine powder toner has conventionally been used as a developer for an electronic image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or a printer (hereinafter referred to as an image forming apparatus). When the developer is consumed in a main body of the image forming apparatus, the toner is replenished into the image forming apparatus using a toner replenishing container which is a toner container. The toner replenishing container is configured by a cylindrical or regularly parallelepipedous main body of the container which is generally made of synthetic resin, a closing member which has an aperture portion open for replenishing the toner from the main body of the container into a developing apparatus, an agitating member which carries the toner from inside the main body of the container toward the aperture portion and a carrying member. Furthermore, there has been prepared a process cartridge which integrates a toner replenishing container with a photosensitive drum, a cleaning device, a charging device and the like, and is used in a main body of the image forming apparatus.
Since the toner is a remarkably fine powder, it poses a problem that it is splashed and soils an operator and surroundings during a toner replenishing work. Accordingly, there has been proposed and put to practical use a conventional type toner container which is installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus like the process cartridge and discharges the toner through an aperture.
In case of the above described toner replenishing container which is cylindrical or regularly parallelepipedous, the agitating member is equipped on a tip with blades (agitating sheets) consisting of flexible members which rub inside wall surfaces of the container to discharge a contained developer. The blades consisting of the flexible members are prepared as blades used for rubbing walls surfaces which are in parallel with a longitudinal direction and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction respectively of the container, that is, three or more flexible blades are disposed on the tip of the agitating member.
However, the conventional type toner replenishing container poses problems which are described below.
The agitating member disposed in the toner replenishing container has at least a blade for rubbing (sliding frictionally) the wall surface in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the container and two blades for rubbing the wall surfaces perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the container, thereby increasing a number of parts of the toner replenishing container and enhancing a manufacturing cost of the toner replenishing container. When the blades which rub the surfaces perpendicular to the longitudinal direction are simply omitted, the toner remains in the replenishing container after discharge in an amount larger on the order of lOg than an amount of the toner which remains in a toner replenishing container in which the blades are not omitted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an agitating sheet which allows a number of parts to be reduced and a developer container which uses the agitating sheet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an agitating sheet which exhibits enhanced developer agitating performance even when the sheet is used in a singularity and a developer container which has the agitating sheet.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a toner agitating sheet and a developer container which permit omitting sheets used exclusively for rubbing container wall surfaces intersecting with a direction of a rotating axis without degrading developer discharging performance.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4981218 (1991-01-01), Ban et al.
patent: 5351728 (1994-10-01), Ban et al.
patent: 5579101 (1996-11-01), Omata et al.
patent: 5832342 (1998-11-01), Hazama et al.
patent: 5870652 (1999-02-01), Kanamori et al.
patent: 6088561 (2000-07-01), Kawamura et al.
patent: 6128453 (2000-10-01), Ban et al.
patent: 6131008 (2000-10-01), Kanamori et al.
patent: 6246854 (2001-06-01), Kurosawa et al.
patent: 10-20668 (1998-01-01), None
Ban Yutaka
Isomura Tetuo
Murakami Katsuya
Braun Fred L
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
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