Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Dai Suwama

Midori Shimomura

Keita Saito

Sayaka Morita

Hiroyuki Maeda

Miho Yamano

Naoki Yamamoto

Kanji Nakayama

Tomohiro Kato

Hiroaki Takada

Tomohisa Yoshida

Wataru Onoda

Tsuyoshi Tamaru

An image forming apparatus includes an image former which forms an image on a recording medium, a pressure member, a fixing member which is pressed against the pressure member to form a nip portion and comes into contact with the image formed on the recording medium conveyed at the nip portion, and a hardware processor. The hardware processor causes one member, either the pressure member or the fixing member, to function as a driving member which conveys the recording medium in a normal mode and causes the other member of the pressure member and the fixing member to perform an assist operation for reducing torque of the driving member compared to the normal mode to increase gloss of the image in a high-gloss mode.

Image forming apparatus capable of increasing gloss of an image

A conductive pattern formation method includes: a step of patterning a base member with an ink in which conductive particulates are distributed to form a pattern; a step of making a conductive developer act on the pattern; and a pressurization step of pressurizing the pattern.

Conductive pattern formation method and conductive pattern formation device

There is provided a burning method of burning, on a base member, a precursor in which conductive particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium, and the burning method includes: a first pressurization step of pressurizing the precursor heated to a burning temperature or above; and a second pressurization step of pressurizing, after the first pressurization step, the precursor with a pressurization force higher than a pressurization force in the first pressurization step.

Burning method

A fixing device includes a fixing roller heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater; a pressure belt in pressure contact with the fixing roller; and a pressing part which presses the pressure belt toward the fixing roller. The fixing device adopts a belt-nip system and fixes a toner image formed on a recording medium to the recording medium by heat and pressure while the recording medium is nipped and conveyed through a nip part. The nip part is formed by the fixing roller and the pressure belt and includes an adhesion nip and a separation nip. The pressing part includes a pressing member, a sheet member which covers the pressing surface of the pressing member along a conveying direction of the recording medium, and a pressing fluid which is filled at the adhesion nip between the pressing member and the sheet member.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus that prevent local unevenness of a pressure force

A fixing apparatus includes the following. A heating unit includes an outer surface driven to rotate and heats a sheet on which color material is transferred. A reflecting unit reflects heat emitted from the heating unit. The reflecting unit further includes, a covering unit which covers at least a portion of the outer surface of the heating unit so that there is a predetermined space; and a movable unit which is provided in the covering unit and which can be switched between a first position and a second position in which air in the space can flow more easily than the first position. The fixing apparatus also includes, a switching unit which switches the movable unit between the first position and the second position; and a controller which controls the switching unit.

Fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus including a covering unit with a movable unit for effective heating

There is provided a method of manufacturing a pattern substrate in which a pattern is formed on the surface of the substrate. The manufacturing method includes a step of preparing the substrate and a step of arranging a liquid-repellent or lyophilic material on the surface of the substrate so as to form the pattern on the surface of the substrate in which the surface of the substrate has a liquid-repellent region and a lyophilic region, the pattern is formed by one of the liquid-repellent region and the lyophilic region and the pattern is used to locate a component by the surface tension of a liquid member.

Method of manufacturing pattern substrate and method of locating component

A conductive pattern production device includes: a patterning unit that forms a pattern of a composite ink on a base member; and a burning unit that burns the pattern by high-frequency heating. The composite ink is obtained by mixing a particle material that is a material having a relative permeability of 200 or above or a carbon micro-coil and a conductive ink that has, after the burning, a resistivity of 1 to 2000 &#x3bc;&#x3a9;&#xb7;cm.

Conductive pattern production device

A fixing apparatus includes: a heating member that has an outer circumferential surface to be driven in a circulative manner and heats a sheet; a heat radiation suppression member that covers a part of an outer circumferential surface of the heating member to have a predetermined gap and suppresses heat radiation, wherein the heat radiation suppression member has a movable part capable of moving to a first position and a second position more distant than the first position from a part covered by the heating member; a moving unit that moves the movable part to the first position or the second position; a jam detection unit that detects a jam of a sheet in the vicinity of the downstream side end portion of the nip part; and a control unit that controls the moving unit such that the movable part is moved from the first position to the second position.

Fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus

A processing apparatus includes: a light emission unit configured to emit light to a surface of a particle dispersed liquid applied to a base material, the particle dispersed liquid having particles dispersed in a solvent; a reflected light amount monitoring unit configured to detect an amount of the light reflected, and monitor a temporal variation of the detected value; and a condition adjustment unit configured to adjust a condition for a particle securing process, the particle securing process being performed to remove the solvent and secure the particles onto the base material, wherein, when the temporal variation falls within a predetermined range after the value has reached an extreme value, securing of the particles is determined to have been completed.

Processing apparatus and particle securing method

A developing device having: a guide member creating a guide channel for guiding the developer being fed thereto while being supported on the developer support; and a regulating member regulating the amount of the developer that has passed through the guide channel, the guide member further creates a reflux channel in a gap from an inner surface of the housing, the reflux channel is connected to the guide channel via a communication channel such that the developer regulated by the regulating member returns toward an upstream end of the guide member, the upstream end of the guide member is disposed in a position opposed to the position where the magnetic flux density of the catch pole peaks, and the magnet assembly further includes a feeding pole that is disposed downstream of the catch pole and upstream of the developing pole, so as to be opposed to the guide channel.

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Hachioji, Japan

Dai Suwama