DEVELOPER CONTAINER

• US 20200133163A1
• Filed: 10/08/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: SUENAGA, Takenori
• Granted Patent: US 10,712,687 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0872 the developer cartridges being generally horizontally mounted parallel to its longitudinal rotational axis
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0886 by mechanical means, e.g. shutter, plug

Abstract

A developer container includes a container main body that stores a developer, has an outlet for discharging the developer to a downstream side in a conveyance direction in which the developer is conveyed, has a sidewall having a circular cross-section perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and has a first ridge that continuously or intermittently continues to the downstream side in a helical form in a certain winding direction and is formed on an inner surface of the sidewall, and a limiter disposed at a downstream end that is an end on the downstream side of the container main body, to secure a space between the limiter and the sidewall, the space extending to an upstream side of the outlet in the conveyance direction and extending from the upstream side to the outlet.

Claims

1. A developer container comprising:

a container main body that stores a developer, has an outlet for discharging the developer to a downstream side in a conveyance direction in which the developer is conveyed, has a sidewall having a circular cross-section perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and has a first ridge that continuously or intermittently continues to the downstream side in a helical form in a certain winding direction and is formed on an inner surface of the sidewall; and

a limiter disposed at a downstream end that is an end on the downstream side of the container main body, to secure a space between the limiter and the sidewall, the space extending to an upstream side of the outlet in the conveyance direction and extending from the upstream side to the outlet,

wherein one of the limiter and the sidewall has a second ridge for reducing an area of a cross-section of the space perpendicular to the conveyance direction at a first position to a smaller area than an area of a cross-section of the space perpendicular to the conveyance direction at a second position.

2. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the limiter has a circular cylinder at the downstream end, and has one or a plurality of the second ridges on a side surface of the circular cylinder.

3. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the second ridge is formed on the inner surface of the sidewall on the downstream side of an end on the upstream side of the limiter.

4. The developer container according to claim 3, wherein the limiter is a circular cylinder.

5. The developer container according to claim 3, wherein the limiter is a circular cylinder that has an obliquely-cut end and has a bottom surface at the downstream end.

6. The developer container according to claim 3, wherein

the limiter has a circular cylinder and a circular cone whose radii are equal to each other, and

one end surface of the circular cylinder is disposed at the downstream end, and a bottom surface of the circular cone is disposed on the other end surface of the circular cylinder.

7. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the container main body has two of the first ridges.

8. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the outlet is disposed at the downstream end.