DISPOSABLE DEVELOPMENT STATION FOR LOW COST COPIER OR PRINTER

摘要

A development station for a low cost copier or printer has a housing that is assembled from three molded plastic parts (14, 16, 18) that are sonically bonded together to form a unitary, substantially closed housing. Walls (30) in the housing divide the housing into two separate chambers (40, 42). The first chamber (40) contains a developer mix comprising carrier particles and toner. The second chamber (42) holds a supply of toner particles. The walls of the second chamber are vertical or slanted downwardly at a steep angle to facilitate flow of toner particles out of the second chamber through an opening into the first chamber under control of a foam dispensing roller (52). A mixing wheel (80) in the first chamber mixes the developer material and delivers some of it to a magnetic brush comprising a rotatable magnetic roller (112) and a stationary shell (114). The magnetic brush applies developer material through the housing to a latent image on a photoconductor advanced past the development station. The development station is relatively simple to assemble and load and inexpensive so that it can be disposed of when all of the toner has been used for development of latent images.