Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Kenji Kanari

Masaru Shimura

Ken Nakagawa

Kazuhiro Doda

Takashi Shimada

Seiji Saito

Michio Uchida

Takaaki Akamatsu

Shigeru Hoashi

Takamitsu Soda

Toshio Miyamoto

Masahiko Suzumi

Shuuichi Tetsuno

Masahiro Suzuki

Tomoo Akizuki

Shinji Hashiguchi

Masato Sako

Shuichi Tetsuno

Yuichiro Inaba

Takayasu Yuminamochi

Takeshi Kawamura

Tomoya Kuruma

Masahiro Goto

Tomio Noguchi

Satoru Izawa

Keisuke Mochizuki

Hikaru Osada

Hiroto Hasegawa

Tetsuya Sano

Masao Ando

Yasuhiro Nakata

Minoru Matsuguma

Masami Takeda

Shuji Moriya

Kei Sawanaka

Yuzuru Tsurumi

The fixing apparatus includes a sleeve, a nip portion forming member that contacts an inner surface of the sleeve, a pressure member, and a regulation member for regulating movement of the sleeve. The regulation member includes a first surface and a second surface. The first surface on an upstream side of the nip portion in a conveyance direction of the recording material includes a region in which the distance between the inner surface of the sleeve and the first surface in a radial direction of the sleeve increases toward a center portion of the sleeve in the generatrix direction, and in which the end surface of the sleeve contacts the region when the sleeve moves in the generatrix direction.

Image heating apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes: an image bearing member for bearing a toner image; a belt for conveying the toner image; and a transfer device for rubbing the belt, and a surface of the transfer device, which is brought into contact with the belt includes linear concave portions or linear convex portions. The image forming apparatus of the present invention prevents a friction force between the belt and the transfer device rubbing the belt from increasing and brings a transfer member into a stable contact with the belt for conveying the toner image, thereby suppressing increase in drive torque of the belt which rubs the transfer device and suppressing occurrence of image failure.

Image forming apparatus

In an image forming apparatus, to provide a lubrication effect for an abutment portion of a transfer belt and a belt cleaning blade, when a control toner image is supplied, the control toner image is supplied to the abutment portion even when it is not necessary, thereby consuming a large amount of toner. In the image forming apparatus, the control unit changes a toner amount of the control toner image reaching the abutment portion of a photosensitive member and a photosensitive member cleaning blade and the toner amount thereof reaching the abutment portion of a transfer belt and a belt cleaning blade, based on a detection result of an environment detection unit.

Image forming apparatus capable of reducing a toner consumption amount by performing toner supply control

An image forming apparatus for forming image on a recording medium includes a photosensitive member, a motor, a belt, and a drive member to rotate the belt, the drive member including a driven coupling. The apparatus also includes a drive coupling to rotate by a driving force generated by the motor, the drive coupling being movable in an axial direction to take an engagement position at which the driving force is transmittable to the driven coupling, and a release position. The apparatus further includes a transfer member to transfer a toner image onto the recording medium or the belt, a voltage application unit to apply a voltage to the transfer member, and a control unit to cause the voltage application unit to apply the voltage to the transfer member after the drive coupling moves to the engagement position and the driving force is transmitted to the driven coupling.

Image forming apparatus having a controllable drive coupling

A charge member charges secondary transfer remaining toner on an intermediate transfer member to a polarity opposite to a normal charge polarity. The remaining toner is moved by a transfer bias, from the intermediate transfer member onto an image bearing member. A BK station is arranged on the downstream of other stations. In a continuous BK monochromatic mode, by applying a reverse bias to transfer portions of the other stations and applying the transfer bias only to the BK station, remaining toner can be collected into the BK station (simultaneously with the transfer). In a full-color mode, remaining toner is collected into the station on the uppermost stream. Thus, the image bearing member for collecting remaining toner on the intermediate transfer member differs according to the mode, thereby suppressing the collection of remaining toner being concentrated on one image bearing member.

Image forming apparatus for transferring transfer residual toner onto image bearing member

Deflection recessed in a bow shape at the axial central portion in the longitudinal direction of the transfer member is avoided to prevent failure in image caused by the transfer nip being improperly forming at the central portion. The pressing force of the transfer member against an image bearing member resulting in failure in transfer is made uniform in the longitudinal direction. The transfer member forming the transfer nip are pressed toward the photosensitive drum at the central portion in the longitudinal direction or in the positions which are spaced apart toward the center from the ends to avoid the deflection of the transfer member.

Image forming apparatus with transfer member for transferring toner on image bearing member

There is a charge member which charges secondary transfer remaining toner on an intermediate transfer member to a polarity opposite to a normal charge polarity. The transfer remaining toner charged by the charge member is moved in the direction opposite to that of normal toner by a transfer bias and moved from the intermediate transfer member onto an image bearing member. A BK station is arranged on the downstream of other stations. In a continuous BK monochromatic mode, by applying a reverse bias to transfer portions of the other stations and applying the transfer bias only to the BK station, waste toner can be collected into the BK station (simultaneously with the transfer). In a full-color mode, since each transfer bias is applied to all stations, the waste toner is collected into the station on the uppermost stream. Thus, the image bearing member for collecting the transfer remaining toner on the intermediate transfer member is made different according to the mode, thereby suppressing that the collection of the waste toner is concentrated on one image bearing member.

Image forming apparatus having a transfer device having one or both of concave and convex portions

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member for bearing a toner image; a rotatable intermediary transfer member; and a transfer unit, configured and positioned to form a transfer nip between the intermediary transfer member and the image bearing member, for transferring the toner image from the image bearing member onto a surface of the intermediary transfer member. The transfer unit includes a sheet member on which the intermediary transfer member is slidable, and includes an elastic member for urging the sheet member toward the intermediary transfer member at a position of the transfer nip. The sheet member is provided with a reinforcing portion, having a linear expansion coefficient different from that of the sheet member, in an area in which the elastic member urges the sheet member.

Image forming apparatus having a transfer unit including an elastic member

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Numazu, Japan

Kenji Kanari