1. A developing apparatus comprising:
a developer container for containing a developer;
a first screw, provided in a first chamber in said developer container, for feeding the developer;
a second screw, provided in a second chamber in said developer container, for feeding the developer in a direction opposite from that of said first screw;
an opening through which the developer is moved between the first chamber and the second chamber; and
a developer carrying member, provided in the first chamber, for carrying the developer to effect development of an electrostatic image,
wherein at least one of said first screw and said second screw has a multiple thread screw portion having a number n of threads and a thread pitch P, and
wherein said opening is located downstream from the multiple thread screw portion in a developer feeding direction and extends from a downstream-side end of the multiple thread screw portion in the developer feeding direction toward an upstream side of the multiple thread screw portion in a length equal to or more than nP.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said opening extends in a length of nP or more and 2nP or less.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the developer comprises a toner and a carrier.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said developer carrying member has both end portions, in the developer feeding direction, each located at a position opposite to an associated opening.
5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said developing apparatus further comprises a partition wall for partitioning an inner space of said developer container into said first chamber and said second chamber, and
wherein said developer carrying member has both end portions, in a developing area in the developer feeding direction, located at positions opposite to the partition wall.
6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first screw and said second screw having the multiple thread screw portion has a developer returning screw portion on a downstream side from the multiple thread screw portion in the developer feeding direction.
7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the developer returning screw portion is located close to said opening located downstream from the multiple thread screw portion in the developer feeding direction.
8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said developing apparatus further comprises a partition wall for partitioning an inner space of said developer container into said first chamber and said second chamber,
wherein the multiple thread screw portion is provided to said first screw, and
wherein the partition wall has a shape with a thickness, at a downstream-side end portion thereof, smaller than that at a central portion thereof so as to increase a width of said first chamber in a horizontal direction at the downstream side end portion of the partition wall.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of providing an audio file to a wireless communications device for use as an indicia of an incoming communication, the method comprising:
allowing a party initiating a communication to browse a plurality of audio files;
allowing the initiating party to select at least one of the browsed audio files;
sending at least a portion of the selected audio file to the wireless communications device;
receiving the selected audio file with the communications device; and
using the selected audio file to alert a user of the wireless communications device of the incoming communication.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising allowing the initiating party to review the selected audio file prior to providing the selected audio file to the wireless communications device.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the format of the selected audio file is from the group comprising: MIDI, MPEG, MP3, WAV, PCM, Windows Media Audio code (WMA), or Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC).
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected audio file produces polyphonic sound when the selected audio file is used to alert the user of the wireless communications device of the incoming communication.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising allowing the initiating party to search a remote database for a certain desired audio file using title or description information to aid in locating the desired audio file.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the browsing of audio files is accomplished at least in part using a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) compliant system.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the sending of audio files is accomplished at least in part using a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) compliant system.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising preventing the unauthorized distribution of the audio file provided to the communication device.
9. The method of claim 1 characterized by the use of a personal computer to perform the browsing step.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the initiating party with an opportunity to modify the selected audio file.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising allowing the initiating party to review a modified audio file prior to providing a selected modified audio file to the wireless communications device.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication device is configured to operate in conjunction with copyright protection software to prevent the unauthorized distribution of the selected audio file.
13. The method of claim 1 further comprising allowing the wireless communication device to return to using any previously used indicia of an incoming communication after the incoming communication is received.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the audio file includes a video component which is played on a display screen of the wireless communication device when receiving the incoming communication.
15. A method of providing an audio file to a wireless communications device for use as an indicia of an incoming communication, the method comprising:
allowing a party initiating a communication to browse a plurality of audio files;
allowing the initiating party to select at least one of the browsed audio files;
converting the selected audio file to format usable by the wireless communications device, if necessary;
sending at least a portion of the selected audio file to the wireless communications device;
receiving the selected audio file with the communications device; and
using the selected audio file to alert a user of the wireless communications device of the incoming communication.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising determining a file format compatible with the wireless communication device.
17. The method of claim 15 further comprising allowing the initiating party to review the selected audio file prior to providing the selected audio file to the wireless communications device.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein the format of the selected audio file is from the group comprising: MIDI, MPEG, MP3, WAV, PCM, Windows Media Audio code (WMA), or Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC).
19. The method of claim 15 wherein the selected audio file produces polyphonic sound when the selected audio file is used to alert the user of the wireless communications device of the incoming communication.
20. The method of claim 15 further comprising allowing the initiating party to search a remote database for a certain desired audio file using title or description information to aid in locating the desired audio file.
21. The method of claim 1 wherein the browsing of audio files is accomplished at least in part using a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) compliant system.
22. The method of claim 1 wherein the sending of audio files is accomplished at least in part using a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) compliant system.
23. The method of claim 1 further comprising preventing the unauthorized distribution of the audio file provided to the communication device.
24. The method of claim 1 characterized by the use of a personal computer to perform the browsing step.
25. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the initiating party with an opportunity to modify the selected audio file.
26. The method of claim 25 further comprising allowing the initiating party to review a modified audio file prior to providing a selected modified audio file to the wireless communications device.
27. The method of claim 15 wherein the communication device is configured to operate in conjunction with copyright protection software to prevent the unauthorized distribution of the selected audio file.
28. The method of claim 15 further comprising allowing the wireless communication device to return to using any previously used indicia of an incoming communication after the incoming communication is received.
29. The method of claim 15 wherein the audio file includes a video component which is played on a display screen of the wireless communication device when receiving the incoming communication.