Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Junichi Hama

Ryuji Hattori

Atsushi Funada

Hiroaki Okuma

Hirokazu Murase

Tomio Onuki

Takashi Sato

Tetsuya Fujita

Nobuo Hyakutake

Yoshiyuki Takashima

Masanori Kato

Yoshihiro Enomoto

Nobuyoshi Komatsu

Shigemi Murata

Yoshikazu Okamoto

Satoru Yugeta

Makoto Katayama

Yasuhito Shitaka

Teruaki Koizumi

A removable member-holding device is provided and includes: a pull-out member that is supported so as to be movable between an accommodation position and a pull-out position; a rotatable holder that is supported by the pull-out member so as to be rotatable around a rotation shaft and supported so as to be movable integrally with the pull-out member, and that holds a removable member which is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, the rotatable holder being movable between an insertion possible position where the pull-out member is movable from the pull-out position toward the accommodation position and an inclined position where the rotatable holder rotates downward in a direction of a gravity around the rotation shaft and is inclined with respect to the insertion possible position; and a regulating member that is disposed at the rotation shaft of the rotatable holder to lessen a movement speed of the rotatable holder when rotationally moving to the inclined position.

Removable member-holding device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image holder that holds a latent image; a developing unit that contains developer including toner particles and carrier particles, develops a latent image with the toner particles, and forms a toner image; a voltage applying unit that applies a voltage to the developing unit; a toner concentration detection unit that detects a toner concentration that is a proportion of the toner particles to the developer contained in the developing unit; and a setting unit that sets a setting value of the voltage on the basis of the toner concentration detected by the toner concentration detection unit, the voltage being applied by the voltage applying unit to the developing unit, wherein a difference between an upper limit and a lower limit of the set value increases as the toner concentration increases, the set value being set by the setting unit.

Image forming apparatus

A removable member-holding device is provided and includes: a pull-out member being movably between an accommodating position and a pull-out position; a holding member supported on the pull-out member and having a holding member body, the holding member being extended in a moving direction of the pull-out member and holding a removable member which is removed from the image forming apparatus body, the holding member being movable between an insertion enabling position and a removing position; and a pull-out regulating member provided on a downstream end of the holding member in the pull-out direction and regulating a movement of the removable member to a downstream side in the pull-out direction.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming apparatus body that includes a container attaching portion to which a developer container is removably attached; a container put-on member on which the developer container is put; and a support member to which the container put-on member is attached, the support member supporting the container put-on member to perform a movement between a first position in which the container put-on member is at the container attaching portion and a second position in which the container put-on member is pulled out from the container attaching portion, wherein at the second position, at least a part of the container put-on member is displaced downward through a rotating shaft provided on the support member to a lower position than a height of the container put-on member at the second position in the direction of gravity.

An image forming apparatus includes plural toner image forming devices. Each of which has a rotating photoconductor, a charging device that uniformly charges a surface of the photoconductor, a latent image forming device that forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the charged photoconductor, a developing device that develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor to a toner image, and a developing container that contains toner used by the developing device. A diameter of the photoconductor of at least one toner image forming device is formed larger than a diameter of the photoconductor of the other toner image forming devices. Each developing container of all the toner image forming devices is formed in equal-sized, and a center of rotation of a developing roll of each developing device is arranged in a position upper than a center of rotation of each photoconductor.

There is provided a potential controlling method and potential controller of an image forming apparatus, which can certainly prevent toner and carrier from adhering to the surface of an image bearing body at the time of start and stop of image formation and which can also be applied to an image forming apparatus having a high image forming speed. In the potential controller, at the time of rising or falling of a charged potential of the image bearing body and a developing bias voltage, at least one of the charged potential of the image bearing body and the developing bias voltage is controlled to an objective value through plural stages with the rising or falling of the other occurring through the stages, so that a potential difference between a potential of a non-charged portion of the image bearing body and the developing bias voltage does not exceed a first predetermined value, and a potential difference between a potential of a charged portion of the image bearing body and the developing bias voltage does not exceed a second predetermined value.

Potential controlling method and potential controller of image forming apparatus

A rotary development unit includes a support frame having a plurality of developers arranged in a radial pattern and places any one of the developers in a development position opposite to a photosensitive drum by rotation while retaining the developers; a plurality of toner supply containers attached to the support frame so as to become adjacent to the respective developers; toner supply channels which are disposed substantially in parallel with a rotary shaft of the support frame and connect the respective developers to the adjacent toner supply containers; and supply augers which convey fresh toner to the developers from the toner supply containers within the toner supply channels according to a given number of rotations. In the rotary development unit, when the supply auger is suspended and the support frame is rotated, the fresh toner filled in the toner supply channel is conveyed to the toner supply container from the developer.

Rotary development unit which supplies fresh toner back to a toner

Toner cartridge

In an image forming apparatus wherein plural developing devices 3 have alternating electric field applying mechanisms 4, the alternating electric field applying mechanisms 4 have alternating electric field changing mechanisms 7 for reducing the degree of the action of the alternating electric field on at least one of the developing devices 3 which are later in development order, to a level which is lower than that in the preceding step. As required, at least one of the transferring devices 5 which are later in transfer order has a transfer force changing mechanism 8 for increasing the force of transfer to a transfer medium 6 applied to a color-component toner image on an image carrier 1, to a level which is higher than that in the preceding step. Furthermore, an operation condition judging mechanism 9 may judge whether preset transfer failure conditions are satisfied or not, or environmental conditions may be considered by an environmental condition adjusting device 10.

A voltage application timing control unit is connected to a DC component applying unit and an AC component applying unit in a developing bias applying unit. The voltage application timing control unit independently controls the DC component applying unit and the AC component applying unit so as to independently control the timing of applying a DC voltage from the DC component applying unit to the related member and the timing of applying an AC voltage from the AC component applying unit to the same.

A system for removing foreign matter on a photosensitive body or a developer carrying body in an image forming apparatus, in which a foreign matter removing unit 11 is arranged between a discharge lamp 7 and a transfer drum 9, the foreign matter removing unit 11 having a rotatable cylindrical electrode 11a that closely confronts a photosensitive body 2 at a predetermined distance. A high-voltage sinusoidal wave generator 12 whose frequency, dc component potential, and effective potential are variable is connected to the cylindrical electrode 11a. An ac electric field is generated between the cylindrical electrode 11a and the photosensitive body 2 by the high-voltage sinusoidal wave generator 12 and aggregates of toner particles whose size is larger than that of toner particles are resonated by the ac electric field. Application of a very weak dc electric field under this condition causes the aggregates of toner particles to move toward the cylindrical electrode 11a. As a result of the above construction, small foreign matter such as an aggregate of toner particles whose size is about 100 .mu.m or a carrier adhering to the surface of the photosensitive body, or foreign matter contained in a developer on the developer carrying body can be removed surely without disturbing normal toner particles.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Junichi Hama