Abstract: A powder transport device includes a first transport tube through which powder falls under gravity; a second transport tube having a transport member that transports the powder in a substantially horizontal direction; and a joint section having a ceiling, opposed side walls, an upstream wall, and a downstream wall. The joint section defines a first drop region, defined by the downstream wall and the side walls, continuous with and positioned directly under the first transport tube, to drop the powder dropped from the first transport tube; and a second drop region, defined by the ceiling, the upstream wall, and the side walls, displaced relative to and continuous with the first drop region, positioned adjacent to the second transport tube, to drop the powder transported from the second transport tube upstream from the first drop region in the direction in which the powder is transported through the second transport tube.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus to check an amount of waste toner stored in a waste toner container in stages. The image forming apparatus includes a main body, a waste toner container which is installed in the main body to store waste toner, a light emitting part which emits light to detect an amount of the waste toner stored in the waste toner container, a plurality of light receiving parts which receive the light emitted from the light emitting part, and a light distribution member which distributes the light emitted from the light emitting part to the plurality of light receiving parts. Waste toner detecting regions are respectively defined on light paths between the light distribution member and the plurality of light receiving parts. The waste toner detecting regions are located at different positions along an accumulated direction of the waste toner in the waste toner container.

Abstract: A toner conveyer device for use din an image forming apparatus includes a toner conveyer belt conveys waste toner, a screw member that receives the waste toner from the toner conveyer belt and conveys the waste toner to a housing unit, and a scraping member that scrapes waste toner that adheres to the screw member.

Abstract: The toner transporting section is provided with a plurality of toner discharge portions, selectively discharges a waste toner from any one of the plurality of toner discharge portions, and stores the waste toner in a waste toner container to which the waste toner discharged from the selected toner discharge portion is to be stored. Accordingly, it is possible to exchange the waste toner container corresponding to the toner discharge portion not used for discharging the waste toner. Therefore, it is possible to exchange the waste toner containers without stopping an image forming operation in an image forming apparatus provided with a cleaning device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developing device that uses a developer carrier to advance to an image carrier a developer including a toner and a carrier and supplies the toner to the image carrier by applying a developing bias between the developer carrier and the image carrier. In the image forming apparatus, the following operation is performed before the developer in the developing device is taken out. The toner is supplied to the image carrier by applying the developing bias between the developer carrier and the image carrier, the developing bias increased in a direction to supply the toner to the image carrier. The toner supplied onto the image carrier is not transferred to a transfer receiving material but is advanced into a toner recovery device for recovery. The recovered toner is prevented from being returned to the developing device.

Abstract: In a method for recycling a double component developer that contains a carrier and a toner used for an image forming device such as office automation equipment, an economic value of recycling is increased, thereby allowing a company to carry out an active and sustainable environmental activity. Material components of a carrier are completely utilized, so that a process of removing and disposing part of components of the carrier, which is present in the conventional technology of a carrier recycling, is omitted from a recycling system, and in consequence, a cost of recycling is minimized. Furthermore, as well as a subject of the recycling, i.e. a carrier itself, a more valuable material, i.e. a platinum group metal, is utilized for the recycling.

Abstract: An image forming method in which toner having a an average circularity of 0.94-0.99, and an average equivalent circle diameter of 2.6-7.4 ?m of toner particles is utilized, an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrying member being developed, and the toner image is transferred on a transferring material followed by fixing, wherein non-transferred toner remaining on said image carrying member is collected for reuse for image formation, and non-transferred toner collected is utilized after having been passed through a toner intermediate chamber.

Abstract: To provide a unit that can increase positioning precision of a blade member to a rotating member, an image forming apparatus, and a method of manufacturing a unit frame. A first reference surface of a boss provided on a surface of a frame to which a blade is contacted is formed by a first mold that forms a positioning hole for positioning a rotating member The first reference surface supports the blade member to prevent the blade member from moving to a weight direction. With this arrangement, there is no manufacturing error of the first reference surface due to a mold assembling error. As a result, precision of positioning the blade member to the rotating member can be increased.