초록 ▼

A development apparatus in an electrostatographic copier or printer includes a housing having two parallel, cylindrical side-by-side recessed sump sections partially forming and overlapping segment therebetween, and a pair of rotatable mixers having radially extending paddles that interleaf within t

A development apparatus in an electrostatographic copier or printer includes a housing having two parallel, cylindrical side-by-side recessed sump sections partially forming and overlapping segment therebetween, and a pair of rotatable mixers having radially extending paddles that interleaf within the overlapping segment of the sump sections. The development apparatus as such is particularly capable of producing chopping, folding, end-to-end and side-to-side mixing and charging movement of developer material therein, in order to provide high and reliable quality image development.

대표청구항 ▼

In an electrostatographic copier or printer a development apparatus for developing latent images on an image-bearing member of the copier or printer using developer material consisting of charged toner particles and charged magnetic carrier particles, the development apparatus including: (a) an elon

In an electrostatographic copier or printer a development apparatus for developing latent images on an image-bearing member of the copier or printer using developer material consisting of charged toner particles and charged magnetic carrier particles, the development apparatus including: (a) an elongate housing having a sump portion for holding, mixing and charging developer material, said sump portion consisting of first and second parallel, side-by-side cylindrical recessed sections within the bottom of said housing, said first and second recessed sections partially forming an overlapping segment therebetween; (b) a development roller located in a top portion of the housing to be adjacent the image-bearing member of the copier or printer for moving charged developer material into applying relationship with electrostatic latent images thereon, thereby developing such images with toner particles; (c) feed means between said sump portion and said development roller for feeding charged developer material from said sump portion to said development roller; and (d) first and second mixers for producing developer material mixing and charging movement including a chopping action, a folding action, end-to-end flow, and side-to-side flow, thereby assuring high and reliable charge and toner concentration levels, as well as, even or uniform end-to-end accumulation and depletion of toner particles in the developer material, said first and second mixers each including: (i) a rotatable shaft; and (ii) first and second radially extending paddles connected to said shaft and forming an axially repeated set on said shaft, said first and second paddles being each attached to a short post member and connected to said shaft at a developer material moving attack angle X°less than normal, as measured relative to the axis of rotation of said shaft, and said first and second paddles being spaced circumferentially on said shaft an angle Y°; and said first and second mixers being mounted side-by-side within said first and second recessed sections, respectively, of said sump portion such that said first and second paddles of said first mixer interleave within said overlapping segment of said recessed sections with said first and second paddles of said second mixer.