Toner hopper, developing unit and image forming apparatus
US7933539B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 1, 2009 |
| Grant date | Apr 26, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 20, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03G2215/0838
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A toner hopper contains toner supplied from a toner container and supplies the toner to a developing device. The toner hopper includes: a container tank for containing the toner; a carrying screw which is disposed in the container tank and is rotated so as to carry the toner in the container tank; and an elastic member having a first section which is fixed to the container tank and a second section which comes into contact with the carrying screw, the first section being farther from the carrying screw than the second section in a direction perpendicular to an axis line of the carrying screw. According to the arrangement, it is possible to stabilize an amount of toner supplied from the toner hopper to the developing device.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.