Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Kazushige Sakurai

Tomomi Kakeshita

Hideki Matsumoto

Toshiyuki Karakama

Hiroaki Ogata

Hiroki Kisu

Hiroshi Sato

Toru Oguma

Masaki Ojima

Masaharu Ohkubo

Kazumi Yamauchi

Michihito Yamazaki

Erika Asano

Kazushi Watanabe

Hiroshi Sasame

Junichi Kato

Shinya Yamamoto

Tetsuya Sano

Satoru Inami

Takashi Hibi

Kouichi Suwa

Isao Ikemoto

Seiji Yamaguchi

Takahiro Inoue

Masanobu Kanoto

Eiichiro Kimizuka

Yasushi Shimizu

Katsuhiro Sakaizawa

Yukihiro Ohzeki

Hiroto Hasegawa

Atsutoshi Ando

Shinichi Tsukida

Keiji Okano

Takeo Shoji

Katsuhiro Kojima

Tadashi Onimura

A developing device develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member. The developing device is mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The developing device includes a developer carrying member for feeding a developer to the electrophotographic photosensitive member to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, a first electroconductive portion, a second electroconductive portion for cooperating with the first electroconductive portion to provide an electrostatic capacity, a first electrical contact for receiving a voltage to be applied to the first electroconductive portion from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and a second electrical contact for transmitting, to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an electric signal corresponding to an electrostatic capacity between the first electroconductive portion and the second electroconductive portion when a voltage is applied to the first electroconductive portion to detect a remaining amount of the developer by the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Image developing apparatus, process cartridge, electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and developing unit frame

An image forming apparatus or a cartridge detachably attachable to the image forming apparatus is provided, wherein the apparatus comprises developer container for containing developer, developer amount detecting means for detecting an amount of the developer contained in the developer container, a memory for memorizing information concerning the amount of the developer detected by the detecting means and output means for outputting the information concerning the amount of the developer, and the output means outputs the information concerning the developer memorized in the memory until the detection result of the detecting means is confirmed.

Image forming apparatus having developer amount detector

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device for forming an image on a recording material. At least a part of the image forming device is in the form of a unit which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of the apparatus. The apparatus includes a memory mounted to the unit. The memory stores information relating to the timing at which a driving parameter of the image forming device is changed.

Image forming apparatus and cartridge detachably mountable thereto

An image forming apparatus or a cartridge detachably attachable to the image forming apparatus is provided, wherein the apparatus comprises a developer container for containing developer, a developer amount detector for detecting an amount of the developer contained in the developer container, a memory for memorizing information concerning the amount of the developer detected by the detector and an output unit for outputting the information concerning the amount of the developer. The output unit outputs the information concerning the developer memorized in the memory until the detection result of the detector is confirmed.

MEMORY DEVICE STORING INFORMATION WARNING A USER ABOUT THE DEVELOPER-REMAINING AMOUNT, A PROCESS CARTRIDGE INCLUDING A MEMORY STORING SUCH INFORMATION, AND A CONTROL SYSTEM AND A MEMORY SYSTEM FOR WARNING A USER ABOUT THE DEVELOPER-REMAINING AMOUNT

IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS COMPRISING MEANS FOR DETECTING AN AMOUNT OF DEVELOPER CONTAINED IN A DEVELOPER CONTAINER, A MEMORY FOR STORING THE AMOUNT DETECTED BY THE DETECTING MEANS, AND CONTROL MEANS FOR UPDATING THE INFORMATION STORED IN THE MEMORY

A developing device usable with a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a developing member for supplying a developer to an electrophotographic photosensitive member for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, a first electrode, and a second electrode. An electrical signal is generated in accordance with an electrostatic capacity between the first electrode and second electrode when the first electrode or the second electrode is supplied with a voltage from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and is measured by the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus to detect a remaining amount of the developer.

Developing device, a process cartridge, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for detecting an amount of developer

A developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member, said developing device being mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, said developing device includes a developer carrying member for feeding a developer to said electrophotographic photosensitive member to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member; a first electroconductive portion; a second electroconductive portion for cooperating with said first electroconductive portion to provide an electrostatic capacity; a first electrical contact for receiving a voltage to be applied to said first electroconductive portion from the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus; a second electrical contact for transmitting, to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an electric signal corresponding to an electrostatic capacity between said first electroconductive portion and said second electroconductive portion when a voltage is applied to said first electroconductive portion to detect a remaining amount of the developer by the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

A process cartridge detachable mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum; a developing roller for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum with developer; a transferring roller for causing transfer of the developer image from the photosensitive drum to a recording material; a cleaner, contacted to the photosensitive drum, for removing a developer remaining on the photosensitive drum; a developer accommodating portion for accommodating developer removed from the photosensitive drum by the cleaner; and a memory including a storing portion for storing predetermined information and a communicator for effecting wireless communication of the predetermined information stored in the storing portion with a main assembly side communicator provided in the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The storing portion is disposed inside the developer accommodating portion and the storing portion is disposed on the same side of the process cartridge as the photosensitive drum with respect to tangent lines passing a contact point between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller or transfer roller.

Process cartridge having storage device which communicates with image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus has a cartridge detachably mounted thereon, having unitized as one piece, one or more of a photosensitive body on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a charging device for charging the photosensitive body, and a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive body and including a storage medium capable of storing electronic information, an exposing device for exposing the photosensitive body, and a device for detecting a used amount of the cartridge. The storage medium has information stored in advance for determining an exposure condition specific to each cartridge and has an area for writing used amount information of the cartridge detected by the detecting device, and performs control for changing the exposure condition of the photosensitive body based on the information for determining the exposure conditions and the used amount information.

Image forming apparatus, cartridge, image forming system and storage medium

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device for forming an image on a recording material, wherein at least a part of the image forming means is in the form of a unit which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of the apparatus, the apparatus includes a memory, wherein the memory is mounted to the unit, wherein the memory stores information relating to the timing at which a driving parameter of the image forming means is changed.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device for forming an image on a recording material, wherein at least a part of the image forming device is in the form of a unit which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of the apparatus, the apparatus includes a memory, wherein the memory is mounted to the unit, wherein the memory stores information relating to the timing at which a driving parameter of the image forming device is changed.

A developer amount indicating method of successively indicating a developer amount in a developer containing portion mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body, the method including the steps of successively indicating the developer amount based on a detection result of a first detector for successively detecting the developer amount in the developer containing portion, and subsequently and successively indicating the developer amount based on the detection result of a second detector for successively detecting the developer amount in the developer containing portion.

Developer amount indicating method and electrophotographic image forming apparatus

A process cartridge is detachably mountable to both of an image forming apparatus of the electrode-rod-detection type and an image forming apparatus of the electrode-plate-detection type. The process cartridge has a photosensitive drum, a developing roller for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum, and a toner containing portion containing therein a toner to be used to develop the electrostatic latent image by the developing roller. The process cartridge further has an antenna rod having one end thereof exposed from a cartridge frame, and first to third electrodes including electrode plates. As a result, the process cartridge has the ability to be detachably mountable to both of the main body of the image forming apparatus of the electrode-rod-detection type and the main body of the image forming apparatus of the electrode-plate-detection type.

Growing community of inventors

Shizuoka-ken, Japan

Kazushige Sakurai