Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Koichi Suwa

Masahiro Goto

Junichi Kato

Takahiro Inoue

Manabu Takano

Koichi Hiroshima

Shinichi Tsukida

Makoto Takeuchi

Akio Noguchi

Masaki Ojima

Yoji Serizawa

Seiji Uchiyama

Kazuro Yamada

Yukihide Ushio

Shimpei Matsuo

Masahiro Yoshida

Hideyuki Yano

Atsutoshi Ando

Satoru Inami

Hiromichi Yamada

Tadashi Onimura

Hideki Matsumoto

Satoshi Sunahara

Keiji Okano

Jun Suzuki

Yasushi Shimizu

Hiroshi Sato

Hiroshi Hashimoto

Shunichi Masuda

Toshio Miyamoto

Takashi Nakahara

Kenjiro Hori

Seiichi Shinohara

Satoshi Akiyama

Tatsunori Ishiyama

Kazumi Yamauchi

Yusuke Nakazono

Toshio Yoshimoto

Yoshimi Kuramochi

Hiromiichi Yamada

Hiroyasu Seita

A developing apparatus includes a developer carrying member carrying thereon a developer having a magnetic substance. The developer carried on the developer carrying member contacts an image holding member in a developing portion. A regulating member abuts against the developer carried on the developer carrying member and regulates the layer thickness of the developer carried on the developer carrying member. A DC electric field forming unit forms a DC electric field between the developer carrying member and the regulating member. The intensity of the electric field formed between the developer carrying member and the regulating member being 10&times;10 to 28.3&times;10 (V/m).

Developing apparatus with a DC electric field formed between a developer carrying member and a developer regulating member and image forming apparatus using the same

A developing apparatus includes a developer containing portion containing a developer having a weight average particle diameter of not more than 7 &mgr;m, a developer bearing member for bearing a developer, and an agitating member that agitates the developer contained in the developer containing portion. The agitating member is intermittently driven with respect to rotation of a developing sleeve. The agitating member is driven to rotate for one page every time the image forming apparatus performs a predetermined number of printing operations. A rod member having a crank-like shape may be used as the agitating member and both of the end portions serve as the center of rotation. By controlling the drive of the agitating member, it is possible to effectively adjust the supply of toner to the developing sleeve and prevent the density lowering phenomena caused due to inflow of a large amount of the new toner presented at the rear of the developing container. The agitating member may be positioned closest to the developing sleeve and may be arranged below the toner container. Accordingly, to these arrangements, the image density after printing a low print pattern can be prevented from being lessened to obtain a uniform image density even though a one-component magnetic developer having the weight average particle sized diameter of not more than 7 &mgr;m is used.

Developing apparatus including intermittent developer agitating feature, and image forming apparatus using same

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging device for charging the photosensitive member, an exposing device for exposing a light including image information to the photosensitive member, and a developing device for supplying a toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on said photosensitive member. The developing means is held by a cartridge removably mountable on a main body of the image forming apparatus. The cartridge includes a memory for memorizing an amount of use of the cartridge, wherein a charging amount of the toner caused by friction in the cartridge when the amount of use of the cartridge is in an initial state is smaller than that when the amount of use of said cartridge is not in an initial state. A judging device compares the amount of use of the cartridge with a predetermined value showing a condition that the amount of use of the cartridge is in the initial state. A control device controls operating parameters relating to at least one of the charging device, the exposing device, and the developing device, in accordance with a compared result of the judging device, so as to prevent thinning of an image line width until the amount of use of the cartridge reaches the predetermined value. The control device changes the operating parameters until the amount of use of the cartridge reaches the predetermined value, and sets the operating parameters to be constant after the amount of use of the cartridge reaches the predetermined value.

Image forming apparatus with an amount of use control feature and cartridge removably mounted on the apparatus

The present invention relates to a developing apparatus in which, assuming that a tangent which is in contact with said detecting member on an opening portion side of a developing container in a vertical direction is a first tangent, and a tangent which is in contact with a rotating locus of a first agitating member on an opposite side of the opening portion in a vertical direction is a second tangent, the first tangent is positioned nearer to the opening portion than the second tangent, and a lower end of said partition member is provided between the first tangent and the second tangent.

Developer apparatus featuring a developer container partition portion disposed between a detecting member and an agitating member

An image forming apparatus having at least: an image carrying member for carrying an electrostatic latent image, the image carrying member having a photosensitive layer on a conductive substrate; a developer for developing the electrostatic latent image carrying member on the image carrying member; a developer carrying member for carrying the developer and conveying it to a development area; a control member making contact with the developer carrying member for controlling the coating amount of the developer; and a cleaning member for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive layer of the image carrying member by making contact with the surface of the image carrying member with a contact pressure of 0.15N (15 gf) to 0.89N (90 gf). The photosensitive layer contains at least one kind of polycarbonate resin (I) having a viscosity average molecular weight of 1.5&times;10,or less and at least one kind of polycarbonate resin (II) having a viscosity average molecular weight of more than 1.5&times;10,, the polycarbonate resin (I) is contained in 30% by mass to 95% by mass based on the total content of the resins (I) and (II). The developer has a toner containing toner particles and external additives, and the toner contains (a) 0.1% by mass to 5.0% by mass of a first fine powder with a number average particle size of 0.005 &mgr;m to 3.00 &mgr;m, and (b) 0.02% by mass to 2.00% by mass of an inorganic second fine powder containing 25% by mass to 90% by mass of a lubricant, as external additives.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge

An image forming apparatus includes, an image bearing member, a charger which may be a main charger and auxiliary charger for charging the image bearing member, a developing unit for forming a toner image by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member using a toner having the same polarity as that of the charger, a transfer electrode, having a width different from that of the charger and contacting a transfer material, for applying a bias voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the charger to the transfer material, the cleaning blade contacting the image bearing member in a counter direction relative to a moving direction of the image bearing member in order to scrape and remove toner particles remaining on the image bearing member after the image transfer due to the potential of the image bearing member, and a member for reducing a charging potential difference between the charger and the transfer electrode generated on the image bearing member. A lubricant may be applied between the image bearing member and the cleaning blade member. By making the width of the charger and the width of the transfer electrode substantially the same, the charging potential difference between the charger and the transfer electrode generated on the image bearing member is reduced.

Image forming apparatus having a mechanism for preventing stripping off

The present invention provides an envelope comprising an envelope body including a pair of sheet-shaped constructural pieces which provide a front surface and a back surface, respectively, and are connected to each other to form an opening at at least one side, and a fixing portion for preventing relative movement between the pair of sheet-shaped constructural pieces in a facial direction.

Envelope for use in image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus which converts character or pattern information into bit map information (pixel information) and forms an image based thereon. The image forming apparatus includes a light-beam generator for generating a modulated light beam, a light-beam deflector for scanning an image carrier, a device for feeding a sheet to registration rollers and a driver for driving the image carrier. A time period is provided to operate the light-beam deflector and the feeding device before the driver starts to drive the image carrier to form an image.

Image forming apparatus with image carrier and sheet feed drive control

A cleaning device for an electrophotographic apparatus including an image carrier has a cleaning blade with an edge slidably contracting with an image carrier to remove foreign matter remaining on a surface of the image carrier. A lubricant including indefinite-form lubricant particles is applied to zones on the edges of the cleaning blade near both longitudinal ends of the cleaning blade and a lubricant including spherical lubricant particles is applied to a zone on the edge of the cleaning blade between the zones to which the lubricant including indefinite-form lubricant particles has been applied. A process cartridge includes the cleaning device, and an image forming apparatus incorporates the process cartridge.

Cleaning blade for use in electrophotography, process cartridge and

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, having an image bearing member; an image forming device for forming an image on the image bearing member; a transfer device for transferring the image formed on the image bearing member by the image forming device onto a recording medium; a heat fixing unit for fixing the image transferred to the recording medium by the transfer device onto the recording medium; a power source; and a controller for detecting a temperature increased condition of the heat fixing unit when the power source is turned ON and for determining a temperature adjust temperature of the heat fixing unit at a fixing operation in accordance with the detected result.

Image forming apparatus capable of setting fixing temperature

An image forming apparatus includes a feeder means and a recorder. The feeder feeds a sheet of recording paper to a predetermined position in response to a spare paper feed signal instructing the feeding of the sheet of recording paper to the predetermined position preliminarily, and then feeds the sheet of recording paper being stopped at the predetermined position again in response to a record request signal. The recorder records an image on the sheet of recording paper fed by the feeder means through an electrophotographic process. The recorder means starts preparation to execute the electrophotographic process upon receiving the spare paper feed signal. As a result throughput is increased without causing other problems.

Image forming apparatus with fixer temperature control

An image forming apparatus comprises a data receiver for receiving encoded character or graphic information in the unit of a page from the outside; a pixel converter for converting the encoded character or graphic information into pixel information; an image forming device for forming an image on a recording medium based on the pixel information; and a feeder for feeding the recording medium to said image forming device. In the apparatus, the feeder is adapted to feed the recording medium to a predetermined position prior to the completion of pixel conversion of a page by the pixel converter.

Image forming apparatus with feeder control based on pixel conversion

An image forming apparatus comprises includes a feeder means and recorder. The feeder feeds a sheet of recording paper to a predetermined position in response to a spare paper feed signal instructing the feeding of the sheet of recording paper to the predetermined position preliminarily, and then feeds the sheet of recording paper being stopped at the predetermined position again in response to a record request signal. The recorder records an image on the sheet of recording paper fed by the feeder means through an electrophotographic process. The recorder means starts preparation to execute the electrophotographic process upon receiving the spare paper feed signal. As a result, throughput is increased without causing other problems.

A feed interval of continuous feeding is changed according to the set temperature of a heating member or the size of a recording material, or a feed interval is long for a predetermined time after a state for forming an image is established and is then decreased after the predetermined time has passed, thereby causing a slight increase in the temperature of the non-passage portion.

Image forming apparatus with changeable feed interval for continuous feed

An image forming apparatus has an image supporting member for supporting a toner image, a transfer rotating member forming a nip with the image supporting member and electrostatically transferring the toner image formed on the image supporting member to a recording material, a fixing device for fixing the toner image to the recording material holding the toner image, and a guide member for guiding the recording material so that the angle between the direction of separation of the recording material from the transfer rotating member and the tangent to the image supporting member at the center of the nip is at least 2.degree. in a direction toward the image supporting member. The fixing device has a fixing rotating member, which contacts the toner image on the recording material and to which a bias of the same polarity as that of the toner is applied, and a pressure rotating member in pressure contact with the fixing rotating member so as to hold the recording material between the fixing rotating member and the pressure rotating member.

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Yokohama, Japan

Koichi Suwa