Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Kazushige Nishiyama

Yusuke Ishida

Hideaki Suzuki

Koki Watanabe

Yuichiro Toyohara

Takashi Sakaki

Masayuki Hama

Tsuyoshi Kunishi

Hideki Fujita

Eikou Mori

A particle adhesion preventing member used for an image forming apparatus that forms an image using charged toner, and configured to prevent adhesion of the charged toner, includes a conductive member, and an insulating member that is attached to the conductive member, including a porous member made of an ethylene propylene diene ternary copolymer having a density of 0.01 g/cmor more and 0.2 g/cmor less or silicon having a density of 0.01 g/cmor more and 0.3 g/cmor less, and being negatively charged with negatively charged particles adhering onto a surface thereof.

Particle adhesion preventing member, electric field forming member, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes: a developing unit for developing a latent image on an image bearing member by using a developer containing toner and a carrier; and a detecting unit for detecting a density of a detection reference toner image, wherein detection results obtained by the detecting unit are employed to control a toner replenishment operation for the developing unit, and wherein, when the detection results obtained by the detecting unit is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, a residual toner amount determination mode is performed. The residual toner amount determination mode includes: a toner replenishment step of performing an operation for replenishing toner; a detecting step of performing the detecting unit to detect the density of the detection reference toner image; and a comparison step of comparing a first detection result obtained at the detection step with a second detection result obtained by the detecting unit before said toner replenishment step is performed the first time, and for which respective performance of the steps is enabled while an image forming operation is halted, and wherein, based on the results obtained at said comparison step, whether the residual toner amount determination mode should be continued is determined.

Image forming apparatus with a toner replenishment feature

An image forming apparatus for forming an image by a power supply from a commercial power source, the image forming apparatus including: an image forming member for forming an image on a recording material; a heater for heating the image forming member; a heat fixing device for fixing an image formed on the recording material; a capacitor for storing power supplied from the commercial power source; and a distributor for distributing power stored in the capacitor to the heat fixing device and the heater.

Image forming apparatus with control of power distribution to heat fixing device

A two-component developing apparatus is provided with a developer carrying member for carrying the developer thereon to an image bearing member. An agitating chamber is provided with a screw member provided with fins on the rotary shaft thereof for agitating and carrying the developer, and a receiving port for receiving a supplied toner therein, and constituting a circulation route for the developer together with the developing chamber, more fins are provided in a second area spaced apart by a predetermined distance and more from the receiving port toward the downstream side thereof with respect to a developer carrying direction than in a first area near the receiving port.

Developing apparatus including first and second developer chambers and feeding member disposed in the second developer chamber for regulating a developer level

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member for bearing an electrostatic latent image; a developing device for developing the latent image on the image bearing member with a developer including toner and carrier particles at a developing position, the developing device including a developer carrying member for carrying the developer, a plurality of developing devices containing toner particles which have colors different from each other, and a moving mechanism for carrying the developing devices to move a selected one of the developing devices to the developing position. The apparatus further includes a density detector for detecting a toner density on the developer carrying member the devices located at a position different from the developing position; a controller, responsive to an output of the density detector, for controlling toner contents in the developing devices. When the density operation in an operation mode, in which only one of the developing devices is used, the controller effects the density detecting operation after the developer carrying member is rotated through a predetermined period of time, for the developing device which comes to a detecting position by way of the developing position.

Image forming apparatus including a plurality of developing devices with a toner density detecting feature

Image forming apparatus with residual toner replenishing feature based on two detection results

A developing device includes a developing container for accommodating a magnetic developer containing magnetic toner. First and second developer carrying members carry the developer from inside of the developing container toward an image bearing member by rotations thereof in the same rotational directions. The developer is fed by the first developer carrying member to and then is fed by the second developer carrying member to a latent image formed by the image bearing member. First and second magnetic field generation members are provided in the first and second developer carrying member fields, wherein the first magnetic field has a first magnetic pole disposed at a position substantially opposed to the image bearing member, and a second magnetic pole disposed at a position substantially opposite the second developer carrying member and having a polarity opposite the first magnetic pole. The second magnetic field generation member has a third magnetic pole disposed at a position substantially opposite the first developer carrying member and having the same polarity as the first magnetic pole. Magnetic forces A, B and C provided by the first magnetic pole, the second magnetic pole and the third magnetic pole, respectively satisfy: |A|&#x3e;|B|&#x3e;|C|.

Developing device featuring three magnetic poles for generating three magnetic forces

An image forming apparatus for outputting an image through an electrophotographic process in accordance with a digital image signal includes an electrophotographic photosensitive member; an optical system for applying light information to the photosensitive member; a developing device for forming a toner image on the photosensitive member; an input path for a plurality of digital image signals containing a bi-level digital image signal and a multi-level digital image signal; a controller for changing developing condition of the developing device when the image is outputted in accordance with the bi-level digital image signal, and changing an image forming condition which is different from the developing condition when an image is outputted in accordance with a multi-level digital image signal.

Image forming apparatus for outputting image in response to digital image signal

A developer-carrying member has a conductive substrate and a conductive resin coating layer provided on the surface of the conductive substrate. The conductive resin coating layer has a resin in which graphite particles or molybdenum disulfide particles stand dispersed, and the particles are uncovered to the surface of the conductive resin coating layer at a specific degree of uncovering. Also disclosed are a process for producing the developer-carrying member, a developing apparatus having the developer-carrying member, and an image-forming apparatus having the developing apparatus.

Developer-carrying member having exposed surface containing graphite or molybdenum disulfide particles

A developing apparatus include a first developer bearing member and a second developer bearing member wherein, in a longitudinal direction of a first developer bearing member, a width of a second magnetic seal portion opposed to a second developer bearing member is greater than a width of each of a first magnetic seal portion opposed to the first developer bearing member.

Developing apparatus featuring first and second developer bearing members and first and second magnetic seal portions

The present invention relates to a developing apparatus which has an upstream developer bearing member for developing a latent image formed on an image bearing member and a downstream developer bearing member for developing a latent image on an image bearing member, and the downstream developer bearing member is provided downstream of the upstream developer bearing member in a moving direction of the image bearing member.

Developing apparatus featuring first and second developer bearing members each including a non-negative member and a coating member covering the non-negative member

A developing agent bearing member is manufactured such that a base is prepared, and a photosensitive layer is formed on the base. Then, the photosensitive resist layer is exposed with a pattern, and an uneven portion is formed on a surface of the developing agent bearing member by etching the pattern-exposed photosensitive resist layer.

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Chiba, Japan

Kazushige Nishiyama