Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Atsushi Hosoi

Hatsuo Tajima

Shigeo Kimura

Kensaku Kusaka

Fumitaka Kan

Akira Yamamoto

Kimio Nakahata

Hidemi Egami

Shunji Nakamura

Masahide Kinoshita

Hiroshi Tajika

Hiroyuki Adachi

Norihisa Hoshika

Yoshihiko Suzuki

Hidekazu Maruta

Takashi Saito

Masaaki Yamaji

Shokyo Koh

Masanori Takenouchi

Yoshiaki Kobayashi

Jun Asai

Tamotsu Okada

Hiroya Hirose

Kanji Yano

Fumitaka Aoki

Junichi Handa

Ikuko Naruse

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member drum, a charging device for charging the photosensitive member drum, an image exposure device for image-exposing the photosensitive member drum, and an electric charge erasing device for erasing an electric charge outside an image-exposing area of the photosensitive member drum, wherein the electric charge erasing device is provided with a light emitting element and an optical element for lowering an amount of light which is incident on a border between the image-exposing area and an outside area thereof from the light emitting element.

Image forming apparatus having an LED charge erasing device

An image forming apparatus includes a lower structural body, an upper structural body turnable around a turning shaft between a closed position in which the upper structural body is closed with respect to the lower structural body and an opened position in which the upper structural body is opened upward with respect to the lower structural body, and a developing device which develops, with a developing agent, an electrostatic image formed on a photosensitive drum. The developing device is disposed inside the upper structural body and includes a developing roller rotatable around a rotating axis to bear and transport the developing agent to a developing position and a developing-agent container containing the developing agent. An axial direction of the rotating axis of the developing roller intersects with an axial direction of the turning shaft of the upper structural body. An angle by which the upper structural body is turned from the closed position to the opened position is not more than an angle of repose of the developing agent.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a contact member contacting with the image bearing member, a detector for detecting the voltage-current characteristic between the image bearing member and the contact member, and a counter for counting the frequency of image formation. Image forming conditions on the image bearing member are controlled on the basis of the detected result by the detector and the counted value of the counter.

System for altering a charge applied to a photosensitive drum by a

In a developing method, a layer of electrically charged toner particles is formed on a surface of a developer carrying member, and magnetic particles which retain on their surfaces electrically charged toner particles are dispersed on the surface of the developing carrying member. The toner particles and magnetic particles are carried on the developing carrying member to a developing position where a surface of an electrostatic latent image bearing member for bearing an electrostatic latent image is opposed with a clearance to the surface of the developer carrying member. An alternating electric field is formed at the developing position against the electrostatic image and chains of magnetic particles are formed by stationary magnetic field generating apparatus disposed behind the developer carrying member. The latent electrostatic latent image is developed by the charge toner particles on the surface of the developer carrying member and on the surface of the magnetic particles in the clearance under the alternating electric field and the stationary magnetic field.

Method for transferring toner from developer carrying member to image

A heating apparatus includes a heater; a film in slidable contact with the heater and movable together with a recording material carrying an image, such that the image is heated by heat from the heater through the film. The heater is provided with a heat resistive resin layer for sliding contact with the film.

Heating apparatus using heater having heat-resistive resin layer

A heating apparatus includes a heater which is stationary in use; a film in sliding contact with the heater; a pressing member cooperative with the film to form a nip therebetween; wherein the heater is provided with a portion which is stepped in a direction away from the film toward downstream with respect to a movement direction of the film, the stepped portion being in a width of the nip.

Heater having stepped portion and heating apparatus using same

An image fixing apparatus includes a heater maintained at a controlled temperature; a film contacted to the heater and movable together with and in sliding contact with a recording material carrying a visualized image, wherein the visualized image is heated by the heater through the film; a temperature detecting element for detecting a temperature of the film or a member contacted to the film; and a controller for changing a level of the controlled temperature on the basis of an output of the temperature detecting element before start of an image fixing operation of the image fixing apparatus.

Set temperature changeable image fixing apparatus

An image fixing apparatus includes a heater; a film movable while being in contact with a recording material carrying a toner image, wherein the toner image is heated by heat from the heater through the film; wherein the film and the recording material are separated when a temperature of the toner image is lower than a maximum temperature provided by the heater and is higher than a glass transition point of the toner.

Image fixing apparatus

An image fixing apparatus includes a heater which is stationary during an image fixing operation, a linear heat generating layer and a film movable in sliding contact with the heater in which a toner image on a recording material is heated by heat from the heater through the film. The heater produces amounts of heat which are different in a direction transverse to a direction of movement of the recording material by varying the resistance distribution of the linear heat generating layer.

Image fixing apparatus having linear heat generating layer with variable

An image heating apparatus includes a heater having a heating surface; a base member for supporting said heater, said base member having an edge; a holder for supporting said base member; a film movable with a recording material in sliding contact with the heating surface; wherein said holder has a rounded projection for preventing contact of said film with the edge.

A heating apparatus includes a heater; a film movable in contact with a recording material carrying an image, wherein the image is heated from the heater through the film; the film having an insulative heat resistive resin base layer at a side near the heater and a parting layer containing conductive material at a side near the recording material; a conductive member contacted or close to the base layer of the film; and a potential maintaining device for maintaining substantially the same potential of the parting layer and the conductive member.

Heating device using film having conductive parting layer

A fixing device includes a heating element fixedly supported during a fixing procedure, a film, apparatus enabling the film to slide against the heating element, and a pressurizing roller for pressing a recording material on which a toner image is supported against the film. The heating element has a substrate, a heat generating layer provided on the substrate, and a heat-melting portion provided on the substrate. The heat-melting portion melts at a temperature higher than the fixing temperature and lower than the withstanding temperature of the substrate and thereby disconnects the heat generating layer from its power source.

Fixing device and fixing heater for use in the same

An image fixing apparatus includes a heater which is fixed during an image fixing operation, a film for sliding movement of the heater, wherein a toner image on a recording material is heated by heat from the heater through the film, detecting means for detecting non-movement of the film, and power supply stopping means for stopping energization of the heater in response to an output of the detecting means.

Image forming apparatus having a heater in contact with a film to fix a

An image fixing apparatus includes a heater; an endless film through which a toner image on a recording material is heated by heat produced by the heater; and a controller for controlling a position of the endless film in a direction perpendicular to a rotating directon of the endless film.

Image fixing apparatus with movable film and means for controlling film

A developing method including forming a layer of electrically charged toner particles on a surface of the developer carrying member and dispersing magnetic particles retaining on their surfaces electrically charged toner particles on the surface of the developer carrying member, carrying the particles on the developer carrying member to a developing position where a surface of an electrostatic latent image bearing member for bearing an electrostatic latent image is opposed with a clearance to the surface of the developer carrying member, applying an alternating electric field across the clearance and forming the magnetic particles into chains of the magnetic particles by magnetic field generating means disposed behind the developer carrying member, and developing the electrostatic latent image by the charged toner particles on the surface of the developer carrying member and on the surfaces of the magnetic particles.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Atsushi Hosoi