Toner Flow - Konica Minolta magicolor 5550 Service Manual

12. Print unit section (developing)
12.2.3

Toner flow

1. Toner stored in the toner cartridge is agitated by the agitating blade and conveyed
onto the front side of the toner cartridge by the conveyance screw.
2. Toner conveyed onto the front side of the toner cartridge is conveyed through the
toner collecting port and then conveyed to the print unit collecting port.
3. The toner conveyed to the collecting port is conveyed into the toner chamber by the
replenishing screw.
4. The toner level detection system provided on the front side of the developing unit
(the sensor is mounted on the main body side) detects, at this time, the level of
toner still available for use in the toner chamber.
5. The toner conveyed to the toner chamber is agitated (charged) by the replenishing
screw and agitating screw.
6. Toner conveyed onto the rear side of the toner chamber is fed to the supply roller.
7. Toner fed to the supply roller is conveyed onto the developing roller.
At this time, the regulator blade/1st and /2nd regulate the height of toner on the sur-
face of the developing roller.
8. Toner on the developing roller is fed to the electrostatic latent image formed on the
surface of the photo conductor.
9. Toner left on the developing roller is neutralized and returned to the supply roller.
10. The toner on the surface of the photo conductor is transferred onto the transfer belt.
11. Toner left on the surface of the photo conductor is scraped off by the cleaning
blade.
12. The toner scraped off by the cleaning blade is conveyed to the waste toner convey-
ance section by the toner collecting screw.
13. The toner conveyed by the toner collecting screw is conveyed and stored as waste
toner in the waste toner bottle.
Replenishing
screw
Toner collecting port
Replenishing screw
Agitating screw
Supply roller
Developing roller
34
Theory of operation Ver. 1.0 Nov. 2006
Toner collecting screw
Agitating screw
Y
A011T2E080DA
K
C
M
A011T2E079DA
Agitating blade
Toner collecting screw
Photo conductor