Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hidetoshi Hanamoto

Tsutomu Ishida

Toshikazu Tsuchiya

Masafumi Monde

Shinji Hosoya

Taku Fukita

Satoru Koyama

Hidehiro Ushiozu

Takashi Odate

Yoshitaka Kokubo

Akihiko Takeuchi

Tatsuaki Orihara

Takahiro Uchiyama

Takuya Mukaibara

Takeshi Kawamura

Yasuo Yoda

Naoto Tsuchihashi

Yasunari Kobaru

Yoshiki Kudo

Kazutaka Yaguchi

Ken-ichi Iida

A motor control apparatus includes: a switching power supply; a first motor configured to operate with a voltage from the switching power supply; and a control unit configured to control the first motor, wherein the control unit is further configured to cause the switching power supply to supply power of the switching power supply to a load other than the first motor before detecting an initial position of a rotor of the first motor using a current flowing through the first motor.

Motor control apparatus and image forming apparatus that detect rotor position

An image forming apparatus includes an irradiation unit for irradiating an image carrier having a detection image with light; a light-receiving unit for receiving reflected light of the light irradiated by the irradiation unit and outputting a detection signal corresponding to a light-receiving amount of the reflected light including a specular-reflected light component; and a detection unit for detecting one of position information and density information of the detection image based on a signal corresponding to a difference between a value of the detection signal corresponding to the light-receiving amount of the reflected light from a first position where the detection image is formed and a value of the detection signal corresponding to the light-receiving amount of the reflected light from a second position different from the first position.

Image forming apparatus and detection apparatus for detecting position or density information of detection image

An object is to accurately determine a factor that drops the quantity of laser light. An image forming apparatus is provided, which has: a laser diode that includes a front side emission point to which drive current is supplied and from which rear light is emitted; a photosensitive drum to which the rear light is emitted; a detection portion that detects a value on a surface potential of the photosensitive drum; and a determination portion that determines an abnormality of the laser diode, and the detection portion detects, a plurality of times, a value on the surface potential of a portion of the photosensitive drum to which the rear light is emitted, and the determination portion determines whether the laser diode is abnormal based on a change amount of the value on the surface potential detected by the detection portion.

Image forming apparatus with malfunction detection

An image forming apparatus includes a developing unit that contains developer and that is detachable; and a detection member that includes a detected electrode and that moves around a rotation shaft in the developing unit, an electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode that is provided on an outer side of the developing unit, an electrostatic capacitance sensor that detects an electrostatic capacitance between the detected electrode and the electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode and that outputs data related to the detected electrostatic capacitance, and a CPU that determines an amount of the developer in the developing unit based on the data output from the electrostatic capacitance sensor.

Image forming apparatus for determining remaining amount of developer in developer container

An image forming apparatus includes a developing unit for accommodating a developer, a rotatable member, rotatable in the developing unit, for stirring the developer, and a pressure-detecting portion for detecting a pressure applied by the rotatable member and for outputting a voltage signal corresponding to the pressure. The pressure-detecting portion is provided on the wall surface perpendicular to the rotational axis direction of the rotatable member in the developing unit. In addition, a discriminating portion discriminates an amount of the developer in the developing unit on the basis of a change in the voltage signal outputted from the pressure-detecting portion.

Image forming apparatus

A developing apparatus includes a developing unit configured to be detachable from and attachable to an image forming apparatus to contain a developer, a rotary member configured to rotate in the developing unit, and a detection unit installed on an internal surface of the developing unit and configured to detect a pressure caused by pressure through the developer by rotation of the rotary member. In addition, a measurement unit is configured to measure a period in which the pressure is changed, and a determination unit is configured to determine an amount of the developer in the developing unit based on the period detected by the measurement unit.

Image forming apparatus having developer amount determination

The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit that is detachable and contains a developer, a detection member that includes an electrode to be detected and is rotatable around a rotation axis in the developing unit, an agitator that moves around the rotation axis in the developing unit; an electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode provided on an exterior of the developing unit, an electrostatic capacitance sensor that detects electrostatic capacitance between the electrode to be detected and the electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode, and outputs data on the detected electrostatic capacitance, and a CPU that determines an amount of developer in the developing unit based on the data output from the electrostatic capacitance sensor.

When a stirring member that stirs developer in a developer containing portion rotates at high speed, toner flies and the detection accuracy of light transmission type toner remaining amount detection is degraded. A developing apparatus including a developer containing portion that contains developer, a stirring member that stirs the developer in the developer containing portion, and a partition member which is disposed to separate the developer containing portion from a space adjacent to the developer containing portion and which bends to block at least a part of a light path, which is formed in the space and used to detect an amount of the developer, when being pressed by the stirring member via the developer.

Developing apparatus, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a toner carrying roller for carrying a toner, an image carrying member, contacting the toner on the toner carrying roller, on which a toner image is to be formed with the toner, and an electrode portion provided at an opposing position in which the electrode portion opposes the toner carrying roller via the image carrying member interposed therebetween. The toner image is formed on the image carrying member by changing a value of a voltage, on the basis of image information, applied to the electrode portion, and the toner carried on the toner carrying roller and the image carrying member contact each other in a toner contact area. The toner is moved between the toner carrying roller and the image carrying member in a toner movement area by changing the value of the voltage applied to the electrode portion, and the toner movement area is present downstream of the toner contact area with respect to a movement direction of the image carrying member.

Image forming apparatus having toner density control

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable member which is provided on and rotatable about a rotation shaft in a detachably mountable developing unit containing a developer and has flexibility so that it is flexed depending on a resistance of the developer; an electroconductive member to be detected which is provided on the rotatable member; a detecting electrode provided in a neighborhood of an outer wall surface of a bottom of the developing unit; a converting portion for detecting an electrostatic capacity between the member to be detected and the detecting electrode and for converting the electrostatic capacity into an electric signal; a measuring portion for measuring a time duration in which the electric signal converted by the converting portion exceeds a predetermined threshold; and a discriminating portion for discriminating an amount of the developer on the basis of the time duration measured by the measuring portion.

A developing unit includes a developer storage unit, a developer bearing member, an agitation member, a flexible member, and a magnet member. The developer storage unit stores a developer. The developer bearing member develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member with the developer. The agitation member agitates the developer in the developer storage unit. The flexible member, disposed in the developer storage unit, is distorted by pressure applied by the agitation member via the developer. The magnet member, disposed on the flexible member, is displaced in response to the flexible member being distorted.

Developing unit, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A toner container includes a toner accommodating portion: a rotatable toner stirring member; a sensor for detecting a remaining amount of the toner; wherein the sensor includes a first flexible sheet portion, a second sheet portion, a first opening, a first electroconductive portion, a second electroconductive portion, wherein the first sheet portion flexes by a stirring operation of the stirring member, and the first electroconductive portion is contacted to the second electroconductive portion, by which the remaining toner amount is detectable, and wherein the toner accommodating portion is provided with a second opening for communicating the first opening and an outside of the toner accommodating portion with each other.

Toner container, developing device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a controller which sets fixing conditions in a fixing unit in accordance with the type of printing medium sensed by a sensor. An intermediate transfer member and sensor are configured as an intermediate transfer member unit. The intermediate transfer member unit is removably installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus. The intermediate transfer member unit has a storage unit which stores information used to determine the type printing medium by the sensor.

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Mishima, Japan

Hidetoshi Hanamoto