Hitachi Printing Solutions, Ltd.

Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.

Ricoh Printing Systems, Ltd.

Hiroyoshi Matsumoto

Tsuneaki Kawanishi

Hisao Okada

Teruaki Mitsuya

Keisuke Kubota

Masayoshi Ishii

Natsuki Kuribayashi

Koji Kato

Masayasu Anzai

Takashi Suzuki

Yoshitaka Fujinuma

Masahiro Yagi

Toshio Ogiso

Yasuo Takuma

Chikara Hiraoka

Shigeru Obata

Masayuki Ainoya

Tsutomu Nakagawa

Yuichiro Suzuki

Katsuya Kawai

Tomonari Hokkyo

Chiharu Kamoshida

A disclosed fixing device includes: a heat roller unit having a rotatable roller having an elastic body on a surface thereof and a heating unit heating the roller; a pad disposed along a circumference of the elastic body of the heat roller; a belt member disposed on a curved surface of the pad, the belt member rotating by following a rotation of the heat roller; and a pressure member pressing the belt member to the heat roller using the pad, the fixing device causing a conveyed recording medium carrying a visualized image to pass through a space between the heat roller and the pressure member so as to fix the visualized image on the recording medium, wherein a curvature of the curved surface of the pad is changed in a central portion and end portions in an axial direction of the heat roller.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus provided with fixing device

A transfer member transporting section is disposed so as to bring a tip end of a transfer member into contact with a peripheral face of a transfer rotary member before the tip end of the transfer member enters a nip area. A bias power supply has a polarity inverting function of, during a period from a timing when the tip end of the transfer member is brought into contact with the transfer rotary member by the transfer member transporting section, to that when the tip end of the transfer member enters the nip area, applying a voltage of a polarity which is identical with that of a toner, to the transfer rotary member, and after the tip end of the transfer member enters the nip area, applying a voltage of a polarity which is opposite to that of the toner, to the transfer rotary member.

Image forming apparatus with transfer bias inverting function

A developing unit in an electro-photographic apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile and a copier for actualizing an image employing colored particles such as toner, and more particularly to a developing unit for forming a toner image on the surface of a photosensitive body. The developing unit includes a plurality of developing rollers each having a core and a sleeve. The sleeve accommodates the core. The plurality of developing rollers include a first developing roller and a second developing roller. The sleeve for the first developing roller is rotated to move in the same direction as a moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive body. The sleeve for the second developing roller is rotated to move in an opposite direction to the moving direction of the surface of the photosensitive body. The core of only one of the plurality of developing rollers is driven in rotation while the other core is fixed. Alternatively, a magnetic pole of one of the developing rollers is placed at an opposing position where the developing rollers mutually oppose while an intermediate portion between two poles of the second developer roller is placed at the opposing position.

Electro-photographic developing unit

A uniform image is obtained by matching the sliding friction force, the moving speed and the developing agent in a developing region of two developing rollers and an electric characteristic of a photosensitive body used for image development. Two developing rollers rotating in directions opposite to each other are used, the moving direction of the first developing roller being opposite to the moving direction of the photosensitive body, and a circumferential speed ratio of a circumferential speed of the first developing roller to a circumferential speed of the photosensitive body is within a rage of 0.5 to 2.5; and the moving direction of the second developing roller is equal to the moving direction of the photosensitive body, and a circumferential speed ratio of a circumferential speed of the second developing roller to a circumferential speed of the photosensitive body is within a range of 1.5 to 3.5. A ratio of the sliding friction force between a magnetic brush for developing agent and the photosensitive body formed in the first developing roller and the sliding friction force between a magnetic brush for developing agent and the photosensitive body formed in the second developing roller is within a range of 0.9 to 2.1.

Electrophotographic apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Ibaraki, Japan

Hiroyoshi Matsumoto