Patent ID: 8867971

Claim:
A developer regulator to restrict an amount of a developer, the developer regulator comprising: a base portion; an intermediate portion including a first face, a second face opposite the first face, and a first end which is continuous with the base portion, the intermediate portion having a flat area on the first face, the flat area having a roughened surface; and a distal end continuous with a second end of the intermediate portion, the distal end being bent relative to the base portion in a direction opposite the first face of the intermediate portion on which the flat area is formed, wherein the flat area extends on the first face between a first point at the first end of the intermediate portion and a second point at the second end of the intermediate portion, wherein a distance between the first point and the second point on the first face of the intermediate portion is greater than a distance between a first point on the second face at the first end of the intermediate portion and a second point on the second face at the second end of the intermediate portion, and wherein a thickness between the first point on the first face of the intermediate portion and the first point on the second face of the intermediate portion is greater than a thickness between the first face of the intermediate portion and the second face of the intermediate portion at the second point of the second face in a direction parallel to a line between the first point on the first face of the intermediate portion and the first point on the second face of the intermediate portion.