Cross-Mixing - Ricoh FW780 Service Manual

4.3 CROSS-MIXING

[C]
[B]
[F]
[A]
[E]
[D]
"Cross-mixing" keeps the developer's toner and carrier evenly mixed and evenly
distributes the developer within the development unit. Cross-mixing also agitates
the developer to generate the necessary triboelectric charge on the toner and
carrier particles.
The arrows in the above illustration show the developer movement directions
within the machine. The developer that is attracted to the development roller [A]
is split into two parts by the doctor blade [B]. One part (the magnetic brush) goes
on to develop the latent image on the drum. However, the other part is trimmed
off by the doctor blade and directed to the backspill plate [C].
As the developer slides down the backspill plate to the paddle roller [D], part of
the developer falls into the auger inlet [E] and is transported to the left side of the
unit by the mixing auger [F], where it drops onto the paddle roller. The amount of
developer moved to the right by the backspill plate is equal to the amount moved
to the left by the mixing auger.
A163 2-15 SM