Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Minolta Company, Ltd.

Hitoshi Sekino

Narutaka Yoshida

Keizo Nishiguchi

Hirofumi Hasegawa

Kazuyoshi Hara

Kenji Sawada

Yasuhiro Matsuura

Satoshi Yoshida

Kazuo Matsuura

Masashi Sakamoto

Masahiro Sato

Hiroshi Mizuno

Akihito Ikegawa

Tatsuya Eguchi

Yuji Enoguchi

Naoki Toyoshi

Hirokatsu Shimada

Shuichi Nakagawa

Akihiro Kawasaki

Hiroaki Kojima

Toshihiko Kumon

Katsuyuki Taima

Takashi Akazawa

Yoshio Tohyama

Norio Tamada

Takayuki Ogawa

Hiroshi Toda

Yasutsugu Takesue

Genta Sakaguchi

Kazuo Matuura

Tatsuya Isono

The invention provides image forming method and apparatus. One embodiment of the invention is an image forming apparatus with a developing device. This apparatus also includes: (1) an electrostatic latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, (2) a developing roller rotatably driven in a first direction during developing, (3) a developing-roller-reverse rotator which rotates the developing roller in a second direction opposite the first direction, when the developing device moves with respect to the electrostatic latent image carrier. Another embodiment is an image forming apparatus that also includes a developer-regulating member positioned in direct contact with or close proximity to the developing roller. In this embodiment, the rotation of the developing roller in the second direction dislodges materials stuck between the developing roller and the developer-regulating member. Yet another embodiment of the invention an image forming apparatus that also includes a developing device, an electrostatic latent image carrier, a developing roller, and a developer-regulating member. This embodiment further includes a separating member coupled to at least one of the developing-regulating member and the developer roller. The separating member moves the developer-regulating member and the developing roller away from each other when the developing device moves.

Apparatus and method for removing foreign materials lodged inside an

An image forming apparatus has an apparatus housing having a releasible and movable side frame, and a stationary side frame, a photosensitive unit having a photosensitive member and which is detachably mounted on the movable side frame, and an intermediate transfer unit having an intermediate transfer member for temporarily receiving a transferred toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member in a primary transfer, and transferring the temporarily transfer toner image to a recording sheet in a secondary transfer, the intermediate transfer unit being detachably mounted on the movable side frame.

Image forming apparatus having means to disable a drive force when an

In an image forming apparatus, a toner image, formed by developing an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor, is primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer member and is secondarily transferred to a recording sheet. The image forming apparatus is provided with a retractable transfer member, which secondarily transfers the toner image on the recording sheet, and a retractable cleaning member, which removes a residual toner on the intermediate transfer member after the secondary transfer. In the above apparatus, when the primary transfer and the secondary transfer are not being performed, the transfer member and the cleaning member are allowed to contact with or retract from the intermediate transfer member.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus has an apparatus housing having a releasible and movable side frame, and stationary side frame, a photosensitive unit having a photosensitive member and which is detachably mounted on the movable side frame, and an intermediate transfer unit having an intermediate transfer member for temporarily receiving a transferred toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member in a primary transfer, and transferring the temporarily transfer toner image to a recording sheet in secondary transfer, the intermediate transfer unit being detachably mounted on the movable side frame.

Image forming apparatus allowing simple replacement of intermediate

An electrostatic latent image developing device includes a rotatable developing sleeve for providing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor with a toner so as to develop the latent image into a visual image, and a toner regulating blade which contacts at one surface with the developing sleeve so that the toner is regulated and then formed into a thin layer. The toner regulating blade has, in a surface confronting the toner bearing member, a bevelled portion which forms a wedge shaped space in a upstream side of a contact region of the blade and the developing sleeve with respect to a direction of a movement of the developing sleeve. Further, the toner regulating blade has chamfered portions in the bevelled portion at both sides thereof. Therefore, the sleeve bears a toner thin layer having a constant density.

Toner regulating blade having a bevelled edge

A developing device having a sealing construction for preventing a toner leakage therefrom. The developing device having a housing for accommodating a toner therein, a developing sleeve supported at the housing for holding a toner on a peripheral surface thereof, a scraper one end of which is supported at the housing and the other end of which is pressed in contact with the peripheral surface of the developing sleeve along an axial direction of the developing sleeve for regulating means for regulating an amount of the toner supplied to said peripheral surface of said developing sleeve. The space among the housing, the developing sleeve and the scraper is sealed by a square-frame shaped seal member.

Developing device with a sealing construction for preventing toner

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus comprising a main assembly and an imaging cartridge detachable from the main assembly. The imaging cartridge includes a first unit and a second unit, both of which are separable form each other, a toner image carrier provided in the first unit, and a charging device provided in the second unit for transferring a toner image on the toner image carrier onto a copy sheet, wherein the charging device includes a charging roller. The present invention also provides an imaging cartridge detachable from the main assembly of an image forming apparatus. The imaging cartridge comprises a first unit and a second unit wherein the second unit is separable from the first unit, a toner image carrier provided in the first unit, and a charging device provided in the second unit for transferring a toner image on the toner image carrier onto a copy sheet.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus with detachable imaging

An image forming apparatus having a sheet storing unit for storing sheets therein along a bottom of a body of the apparatus, a sheet feeding mechanism for feeding the sheets stored in the sheet storing unit one by one toward a rear side of the body, a sheet path for leading each sheet fed by the sheet feeding mechanism upward, an image forming unit for forming an image on the sheet traveling in the sheet path, and a sheet ejecting unit for ejecting the image-formed sheet toward a front side of the body onto a sheet receiving portion disposed on an upper side of the body. The image forming unit is made as a cartridge containing a photosensitive member, a developing device, a transferring device and a cleaner. The cartridge is mounted in a holder which is movable between a cartridge exchange position and a set position.

An image forming device has a rotating image carrier for carrying an image and a transfer unit including a plurality of rotating rollers, an endless belt travelling around the rollers, and a supporting member for supporting the rollers in such a manner that distances between the rollers be kept constant. At least one of the rollers is a pressure-contacting roller opposed to the image carrier with the endless belt therebetween. The device further has a pressure-contacting unit for energizing the transfer unit in a direction that the pressure-contacting roller be pressure-contacted on the image carrier with the endless belt therebetween.

Image forming device for pressure-contacting an endless belt on an image

A laser beam scanning apparatus includes plural laser beam sources for emitting laser beams modulated by a picture signal and having different characteristics from each other, a beam composition device for composing the beams emitted from the sources to form one laser beam, a deflecting device for deflecting the composite beam in a main scanning direction, and a beam splitter for splitting the deflected beam on the basis of the characteristic thereof. The apparatus further includes a beam-selecting device for selecting the beam in correspondence with the characteristic of the beam split by the splitter so as to transmit the beam with a specified characteristic and reflect the beam with a characteristic different from that of the transmitted beam.

Laser scanner with selected plural beam sources

A developing apparatus having a sealing mechanism for preventing a toner leakage is disclosed. A sealing member has a recess for receiving one end of a scraper rod. In the recess, an elastic sealing plate presses the end of the scraper rod against the peripheral surface of a thin film sleeve and seals the recess. Toner transported along the inner side face of the sealing member is scraped by the end of the scraper rod. The elastic member prevents the leakage of toner which has penetrated into the contact face between the inner peripheral surface of the sealing member and the outer peripheral surface of the thin film sleeve.

Developing apparatus having a sealing construction for preventing a

A laser beam scanning device including a plurality of laser beam sources for emitting laser beams having properties different from each other, respectively such that each of the laser beams is modulated by an image signal, a deflection member for simultaneously deflecting the laser beams emitted by the laser beam sources, a light detecting member for detecting one of the laser beams such that modulation of the laser beams emitted by the laser beam sources is started in response to a signal outputted from the light detecting member and an optical member which is disposed on an optical path from the deflection member to the light detecting member and optically selects only the one of the laser beams so as to irradiate the one of the laser beams onto the light detecting member.

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Toyokawa, Japan

Hitoshi Sekino