Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Junya Sumida

Yasuo Fukamachi

Kazutoshi Nakamura

Shinya Kusuda

Nao Itabashi

Naoya Kamimura

Junichi Hashimoto

Hideshi Nishiyama

Shintaro Sakaguchi

Tomitake Aratachi

Toshiyuki Sano

Saya Minoshima

Misato Osuka

Toshio Furukawa

Yusuke Ikegami

Masaaki Furukawa

Yuki Nagashima

Chieko Mimura

Shunsuke Ishii

Marika Ozaki

Sakiho Hayakawa

Photosensitive drum unit

An image forming apparatus includes a main housing, a movable drawer, and a process cartridge attachable to the drawer. The process cartridge includes a drum unit, and a developing unit. The drum unit includes a drum housing, and a photosensitive drum rotatable about a first axis extending in a first direction. The photosensitive drum is positioned at one end portion of the drum housing at one side in a second direction. The developing unit includes a developing casing, a developing roller, and a developing handle for detaching the process cartridge from the drawer toward another side in the second direction. The developing roller is positioned at one end portion of the developing casing at the one side in the second direction. The developing handle is positioned apart from the drum unit toward the another side in the second direction.

Image forming apparatus including detachable process cartridge having handle on developing unit

A process cartridge includes: a drum cartridge; a developing cartridge; and a plate. The drum cartridge includes: a drum frame; a photosensitive drum; a first holder; and a first memory having a first electrical contact surface that is movably supported by the first holder. The developing cartridge is attachable to the drum frame. The developing cartridge includes: a casing; a developing roller; a second holder; and a second memory having a second electrical contact surface that is movably supported by the second holder. The plate connects the first holder and the second holder to each other in a state where the developing cartridge is attached to the drum frame. The second holder moves together with the plate in accordance with movement of the first holder in a state where the plate connects the first holder and the second holder to each other.

Process cartridge including drum cartridge having first holder, developing cartridge having second holder, and plate for connecting first holder and second holder to each other

A process cartridge includes: a drum cartridge; and a developing cartridge. The drum cartridge includes: a drum frame; a photosensitive drum rotatable about a first axis extending in a first direction; and a first memory having a first electrical contact surface. The developing cartridge is attachable to the drum frame and includes: a casing; a developing roller rotatable about a second axis extending in the first direction; a second memory having a second electrical contact surface; and a developing holder holding the second electrical contact surface such that the second electrical contact surface is movable relative to the casing. The drum cartridge further includes an elastic member that can expand and contract in a second direction crossing the first direction. The developing holder is connected to the elastic member and is movable in the second direction in a state where the developing cartridge is attached to the drum frame.

Process cartridge including developing cartridge having developing holder, and drum cartridge having elastic member that can be connected to developing holder

A developing cartridge includes a casing, a developing roller rotatable about an axis extending in a first direction, a developing memory having an electrical contact surface, an agitator, an agitator gear rotatable about an agitator axis together with the agitator, a holder holding the electrical contact surface, and a plate movable between a first position and a second position in a second direction crossing the first direction relative to the casing. The holder is movable relative to the casing in a third direction crossing the first and second directions between a retracted position and an advancing position. The holder is movable from the retracted position to the advancing position in response to a movement of the plate from the first position to the second position. The plate is positioned farther away from the developing roller than the agitator gear and the holder are in the second direction.

Developing cartridge including movable plate for moving holder holding electrical contact surface

A controller is configured to: when an inter-sheet time is shorter than or equal to a first time, maintain a developing roller in contact with a photosensitive drum during an inter-sheet time; when the inter-sheet time is longer than the first time and shorter than or equal to a second time longer than the first time, perform, during the inter-sheet time, at least part of temporary separation processing of temporarily separating the developing roller from the photosensitive drum in a state where the photosensitive drum is rotating; and when the inter-sheet time is longer than the second time, perform, during the inter-sheet time, at least part of temporary stop processing of separating the developing roller from the photosensitive drum and then stopping rotation of the photosensitive drum, and subsequently restarting rotation thereof and then bringing the developing roller into contact with the photosensitive drum.

Image forming apparatus with developing roller separation processing

In response to determining that image forming in a color mode is performed on a first sheet and then image forming in a monochrome mode is successively performed on the second sheet, perform charging bias reduction processing gradually reducing a charging bias from first to second charging bias and developing bias reduction processing of gradually reducing a developing bias from first to second developing bias during a first inter-sheet period after the first sheet passes a first photosensitive drum and before the second sheet reaches the first photosensitive drum, and perform separation processing such that an execution period of the separation processing overlaps at least one of an execution period of the charging bias reduction processing and an execution period of the developing bias reduction processing, the separation processing being processing of controlling a moving mechanism to move a first developing roller from a contact position to a separation position.

Image forming apparatus which switches from color to monochrome mode with charging and developing bias reduction

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing member, first and second image forming portions, and a processor. In the first and second image forming portions, first and second blades are respectively in contact with first and second photosensitive members. A distance between the first image forming portion and the fixing member is shorter than a distance between the second image forming portion and the fixing member. The processor controls a first image forming portion to perform a toner supply operation in which a first supply member supplies toner amounting to a first quantity per a prescribed rotation amount of the first photosensitive member, and controls the second image forming portion to perform a toner supply operation in which the second supply member supplies toner amounting to a second quantity per the prescribed rotation amount of the second photosensitive member. The second quantity is smaller than the first quantity.

Image forming apparatus having photosensitive members and blades in contact with respective photosensitive members

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Junya Sumida