Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Nissan Motor Company Limited

Hiroki Eguchi

Masatake Usui

Yuki Nishizawa

Motoyasu Muramatsu

Satoshi Murasaki

Masaki Hirose

Ryo Suzuki

Hiroshi Mano

Akira Kato

Tomonori Sato

Akira Kuroda

Takaaki Tsuruya

Minoru Hayasaki

Aoji Isono

Michio Uchida

Atsuyoshi Abe

Shinji Hashiguchi

Munehito Kurata

Keisuke Mochizuki

Tetsuya Sano

Azusa Kobayashi

Yusaku Iwasawa

Yasuo Yoda

Yasunari Kobaru

Yasuhisa Matsumoto

A controller of an image forming apparatus controls a transfer voltage applying portion so that a voltage is not applied to a transfer member or a voltage of an opposite polarity to a normal charge polarity of toner is applied to the transfer member, in a first period including at least a period, after rotation of a photosensitive member and a developing member, from first arrival of a first region at a transfer portion to first arrival of a second region at the transfer portion, and so that at least a first voltage of the same polarity as the normal charge polarity and a second voltage of the same polarity as the first voltage and larger in absolute value than the first voltage are applied to the transfer member in a second period after the first period and before a toner image reaches the transfer portion.

Image forming apparatus with control of transfer voltage

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum and an exposure unit for exposing a surface of the photosensitive drum to form an image by a first exposure amount. In a rotational axis direction of a charging portion, a width of a transfer portion is shorter than that of a developing portion, a width of the transfer portion is shorter than that of the charging portion and an end portion of the surface includes a non-transfer area in contact with the charging portion and not in contact with the transfer portion. The voltage having the normal polarity is applied to the transfer portion when no recording material exists at the transfer portion, and the exposure unit exposes an area, including the non-transfer area of the surface that has passed through the transfer portion during application of the voltage, by a second exposure amount less than the first exposure amount.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a charging member, an exposure unit, a developing member, and a transfer member. In a rotational axis direction of the charging member, a width of a transfer portion of the transfer member is shorter than that of a charging portion of the charging member, and an end of the surface of the photosensitive drum in the axis direction includes a non-transfer area in contact with the charging member and not in contact with the transfer member. The exposure unit exposes the non-transfer area during rotation of the photosensitive drum, and forms a surface potential on the surface downstream of an exposing portion and upstream of the transfer portion with respect to a rotational direction. A controller controls such that an absolute value of the surface potential of the non-transfer area is lower than that of the transfer outside paper passing area.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form a toner image on a recording material, a fixing unit configured to fix the toner image formed on the recording material by the image forming unit to the recording material, and a controller configured to cause the image forming unit to form an image on a basis of image information, the controller being configured to cause the image forming unit to form the image in which a first toner image and a second toner image is superimposed on each other on the recording material, the first toner image being a toner image corresponding to the image information, the second toner image being constituted by a pattern having anisotropy such that glossiness of the image changes depending on a direction in which the image is viewed.

An image forming apparatus includes a control unit configured to, in executing a job to form images continuously on a plurality of sheets of a recording material, accumulate an addition amount per sheet to an index in accordance with a number of sheets of the recording material to which images are formed in the job. A value of the addition amount per sheet is determined in correspondence with an attribute of the recording material used in the job. The control unit is configured to, during execution of the job, change a throughput of the job so that images are formed at a first throughput if an accumulated value of the index still does not exceed a predetermined threshold value and images are formed at a second throughput slower than the first throughput if the accumulated value of the index has exceeded the threshold value.

Image forming apparatus that changes a throughput based on a value related to a number of sheets on which images have been formed

Method of controlling cooling water temperature of an engine in which the lower limit value of engine rotation speed is set according to outside air temperature and vehicle speed. When the vehicle starts traveling, a temperature raising-state lower limit rotation speed is set to raise the cooling water temperature to a third threshold value. After the cooling water temperature is raised to the third threshold value, the lower limit value is not set. If the cooling water temperature drops to a second threshold value, a maintaining-state lower limit rotation speed lower than the temperature raising-state lower limit rotation speed is set to raise the cooling water temperature. If the cooling water temperature does not rise but drops to a first threshold value, a temperature re-raising-state lower limit rotation speed lower than the temperature raising-state lower limit rotation speed and higher than the maintaining-state lower limit rotation speed is set.

Engine cooling water temperature control method and control apparatus

In a fixing device of the present invention, first and second movable members are each urged toward a flexible member so that the contact between contact surfaces of the first and second movable members and end faces of the flexible member are each maintained.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

In a warm-up period of a fixing apparatus of the present disclosure, a control unit supplies first electric power to a heater and thereafter supplies second electric power larger than the first electric power to the heater. The timing of starting to supply the second electric power is determined according to the degree of an increase in temperature sensed by a temperature sensing member after a driving signal is transmitted to a driving source.

Fixing apparatus

A cylindrical fixing member for use with a fixing device includes a heat generating layer and an electrode layer contacting the heat generating layer. The electrode layer is smaller in volume resistance value than the heat generating layer. The electrode layer is formed in a helical shape so that a helical axis thereof extends in a direction along a generatrix direction of the fixing member. One end and the other end of the electrode layer are electrically open.

Cylindrical fixing member, fixing device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a fixing unit including a tubular film and an opposed member to form a first nip, a conveying unit including a second nip, the pressure variable mechanism changing a pressure of the second nip, a control unit controlling the pressure variable mechanism, and an acquisition unit acquiring information about a length of the recording material. The control unit controls the pressure variable mechanism according to the information so that the recording material is conveyed by the second nip set to a first pressure when the length of the recording material is less than a predetermined length, and the recording material is conveyed by the second nip set to a second pressure lower than the first pressure when the length of the recording material is equal to or greater than the predetermined length.

A fixing device fixes an image on a recording material. The fixing device includes a cylindrical rotatable member with an electroconductive layer and at least one slit at an end portion with respect to a generatrix direction, a coil, inside the rotatable member, the coil including a helically-shaped portion having a helical axis along the generatrix direction and forming an alternating magnetic field for causing the electroconductive layer to generate heat through electromagnetic induction heating, and a magnetic core provided inside the helically-shaped portion. The magnetic core does not form a loop outside the electroconductive layer, 70% or more of magnetic lines of force coming out of one end of the core and passing through an outside of the electroconductive layer return to another end of the core, and the image is fixed on the recording material by the generated heat.

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Yokohama, Japan

Hiroki Eguchi