Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Katsunori Yokoyama

Kazushi Watanabe

Atsushi Numagami

Rie Endo

Shinji Yamamoto

Isao Ikemoto

Kazuaki Takahata

Kazumasa Shibata

Hiroki Kasama

Shinichi Nishida

Yasushi Shimizu

Kazunari Hagiwara

Naoto Kichijima

Yoshihiro Ito

Tadayuki Tsuda

Katsuhiro Sakaizawa

Seiji Uchiyama

Takao Nakagawa

Ryuji Yamamoto

Toshiyuki Karakama

Hiroomi Matsuzaki

Minoru Sato

Shinichi Sasaki

Akira Suzuki

Satoshi Kurihara

Hirokazu Usami

Tomokazu Morita

Satoru Nitobe

A damping component includes a base with an attachment portion to be attached to a vibrated member, a damping member disposed at an outer circumferential side of the base while being compressed, and a holding portion disposed at an outer circumferential side of the damping member and compressively holding the damping member. The damping member has rigidity lower than rigidity of the base and rigidity of the holding portion and has a loss factor, measured by a mechanical impedance method in a state being compressed between the base and the holding portion, of 0.05 or more.

Damping component and damping structure

A damping structure includes a first frame on which a driving portion is mounted, a second frame provided at a position facing the first frame in a state being connected with the first frame, a projecting portion provided projectively from one frame toward the other frame of the first and second frames, and a damping member compressively held between the projecting portion and the other frame. The damping member has rigidity lower than rigidities of the first and second frames and of the projecting portion and has a loss factor, measured by a mechanical impedance method in the state being compressed between the projecting portion and the other frame, of 0.05 or more.

Damping structure

An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a cover, a driving unit, and a film. The main body is configured to accommodate an image forming portion which forms an image on a recording material. The cover is provided on the main body and covers the image forming portion. The driving unit is provided on the main body and drives the image forming portion. The film is attached to the cover with a gap formed against an inner wall of the cover. The film faces the inner wall of the cover while a tension is given thereto and without coming into contact with the driving unit.

Cover for image forming apparatus

A dumping structure includes a first frame on which a driving portion is mounted, a second frame, a fixture fixing the first frame to the second frame, a restrict portion, provided around the fixture and provided between the first and second frames, which restricts a distance between the first and second frames, and a damping member, provided around the restrict portion, which is compressed by the first and second frame. The damping member has rigidity lower than rigidity of the first frame, rigidity of the second frame and rigidity of the restrict portion, and has a loss factor, measured by a mechanical impedance method in the state being compressed between the first and second frames, of 0.05 or more.

Damping component and structure including the same

An amount-of-developer regulating apparatus configured to restrict the amount of developer carried on a developer bearing member. The amount-of-developer regulating apparatus includes a flexible developer amount regulation member having a contact portion configured to contact with a developer bearing member, and first and second holding portions configured to hold the developer amount regulation member and to contact with the developer amount regulation member at further upstream and further downstream in a direction where the developer bearing member is rotationally moved than the contact portion. With a pressure distribution of the contact portion as to the developer bearing member, there are a plurality of local maximum values in the direction where the developer bearing member is rotationally moved. Thus, the apparatus can be reduced in size, and also image concentration unevenness after long-term use can be prevented.

Developing apparatus

An electrophotographic photosensitive drum with a simple structure for realizing a seamless digital photosensitive drum having an exposure source and a photosensitive member which are integrated with each other. The electrophotographic photosensitive drum includes a self-luminous device portion, a functional separation portion, and a photosensitive portion. The self-luminous device portion includes a first electrode wire layer including multiple first electrode wires provided in a circumferential direction of a cylindrical substrate and arrayed in a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical substrate so as to be separated from each other by an insulating member, and each of the multiple first electrode wires is annularly formed.

Electrophotographic photosensitive drum, electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and method of manufacturing electrophotographic photosensitive drum

A simple structure of a digital photosensitive drum having an exposure source and a photosensitive member which are integrated with each other. The drum is mountable to a structure of a conventional electrophotographic image forming process. An interval between phase detecting patterns of an encoder wheel portion which is rotated with the drum is equal to or smaller than an interval between a charging position and a developing position. During an image forming process, a timing for each pixel to be driven to emit light is controlled based on a phase detection value.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A sheet-shaped regulation member is supported by a supporting unit with an elastic force occurring by bending a sheet-shaped regulation member in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a force received as a result of being pressed by a developing roller. Thus, direct contact can be securely made onto a developer bearing member, and a regulation member can be provided which enables easily attaching thereof to the supporting member, as well as enabling a developing apparatus, processing cartridge, and image forming apparatus, to be reduced in size.

Developing apparatus, processing cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A cleaning member configured to remove developer from an electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a longitudinally-shaped planar elastic blade that comes into contact with the electrophotographic photosensitive member to remove the developer from a surface thereof; and a holder supporting the elastic blade. The holder includes an engaging part that engages with the frame to secure the cleaning member to the frame; and a supporting part that holds the elastic blade inside the engaging part to support the elastic blade in the thickness direction thereof.

Cleaning member, cleaning unit, process cartridge, and electrophotographic image-forming apparatus

A developer feeding screw, which includes a shaft and a helical shape portion around said shaft, for feeding a developer in a direction of an axis of said shaft by rotation about the axis, said feeding screw, the improvement residing in that:

Developer conveyance screw

A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein said main assembly includes a motor, a main assembly side gear for receiving driving force from said motor and a hole defined by twisted surfaces, said hole being substantially coaxial with said gear, said process cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum; process means actable on said photosensitive drum; a projection engageable with said twisted surfaces, said projection being provided at a longitudinal end of said photosensitive drum, wherein said projection is non-twisted, and when said main assembly side gear rotates with said hole and projection engaged with each other, rotational driving force is transmitted from said gear to said photosensitive drum through engagement between said hole and said projection; and a resilient member for urging said process cartridge in a longitudinal direction of said photosensitive drum when said process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly.

Process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A bearing member for a cartridge frame of a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein the process cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, the bearing member includes a bearing portion for rotatably supporting a shaft provided at an end of the electrophotographic photosensitive drum; a protection portion formed along a circumference of a driving force receptor portion projected outwardly at an end of the shaft, wherein the driving force receptor portion being in the form of a male coupling projection engageable with a female coupling recess provided in a main assembly of the apparatus to receive driving force from the main assembly when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly; a locking portion for mounting the bearing member to the cartridge frame.

Bearing, process cartridge and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A coupling pin for coupling a first frame and a second frame of a process cartridge detachably mountable relative to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes (a) a first shaft portion for being press-fitted into a first hole formed in the first frame; and (b) a second shaft portion for being press-fitted into a second hole formed in the first frame, where the second shaft portion is upstream of the first shaft portion in a direction of press-fitting of the coupling pin. The second shaft portion has an outer diameter which is larger than that of the first shaft portion. The pin further includes (c) a third shaft portion for being loosely fitted into a hole formed in the second frame with a gap between the third shaft portion and inside surface of the hole of the second shaft.

Process cartridge having a coupling pin and a coupling pin comprising first, second, and third shaft portion

A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein the main assembly includes a motor, a main assembly side gear for receiving driving force from the motor, a main assembly positioning member, a hole which is substantially coaxial with the gear, and a process cartridge mounting portion for mounting the process cartridge, the process cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum; process mechanism(s) actable on the photosensitive drum; and a projection engageable with the hole, the projection being provided at a longitudinal end of the photosensitive drum; wherein when the main assembly side gear rotates with the hole and projection engaged with each other, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the gear to the photosensitive drum through engagement between the hole and the projection; a cartridge positioning portion for abutting to the main assembly positioning portion to stop a movement of the process cartridge beyond a predetermined distance in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axis of the photosensitive drum, when the process cartridge is mounted to the cartridge mounting portion, and the photosensitive drum receives the rotation driving force through the hole and the projection.

Growing community of inventors

Susono, Japan

Katsunori Yokoyama