Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kunio Hasegawa

Hiroshi Nakai

Shinya Tanaka

Hitoshi Yamamoto

Tadashi Kasai

Emiko Shiraishi

Makoto Yasuda

Takamasa Ozeki

Taichi Urayama

Mutsuki Morinaga

Jun Hitosugi

Masahide Yamashita

Wakana Itoh

Masato Iio

Takatsugu Komori

Takuya Sekine

Naoyuki Ozaki

Kenji Komito

Toshiyuki Kabata

Kohsuke Yamamoto

Kumiko Hatakeyama

Junpei Fujita

Masahiko Shakuto

Kazumi Kobayashi

Hiroyuki Kunii

Kenji Sengoku

Kazuaki Kamihara

Masayoshi Nakayama

Junichi Ichikawa

Mitsuo Hasebe

Kohei Matsumoto

Masaki Sukesako

Tetsuya Muto

Masakazu Terao

Takuma Higa

Tomoya Ohsugi

Yuichi Aizawa

Yasuhiko Saka

Masahiro Katoh

Keiko Kajimura

Shigeru Mita

Kohsuke Tsunashima

An image forming apparatus includes a toner pattern bearer to bear a first toner pattern having a first image area and a second toner pattern having a second image area different from the first image area. A toner adhesion amount detector detects a toner adhesion amount of toner of each of the first toner pattern and the second toner pattern. A toner degradation rate calculator calculates a first deviation in the toner adhesion amount of the first toner pattern and a second deviation in the toner adhesion amount of the second toner pattern based on the toner adhesion amount detected by the toner adhesion amount detector. The toner degradation rate calculator compares the first deviation with the second deviation and calculates a toner degradation rate based on a comparison result.

Image forming apparatus and method for calculating a toner degradation rate

An image forming apparatus includes an image formation processor to perform image formation to a recording medium with a primary color toner and a secondary color toner that is different from the primary color toner, a database to store multiple setting values, each of which corresponding a combination of a mode type depending on the primary color toner and the secondary color toner and a media type of the recording medium and being applied to a process of the image formation performed by the image forming processor, a database retriever to retrieve an optimum setting value from the multiple setting values stored in the database according to a specified combination of the mode type and the media type, and an operation setting arranger to perform the image formation based on the optimum setting value acquired from the database retriever.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer, a developing device, a supplier, and a controller. The controller controls the supplier according to a detection result of a toner density by the toner density sensor and a toner density target value to adjust the toner density of developer in the developing device. The controller is configured to correct the toner density target value and an imaging condition affecting a toner adhesion amount of an output image separately from the toner density, according to a component adhesion deterioration degree being a deterioration degree of carrier due to adhesion of a toner component, obtained based on at least an average image area ratio of the output image, and a coating abrasion deterioration degree being a progression degree of deterioration due to coating abrasion of the carrier, obtained based on at least the average image area ratio of the output image.

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer, a developing device, a toner container, a toner feed connector, a processor, and a notifier. The developing device develops, with toner, a latent image on the latent image bearer. The toner container contains the toner. The toner container is detachably attachable to the image forming apparatus. The toner feed connector guides the toner of the toner container to the developing device. The information detector detects identification information including toner type information and maintenance contract information stored in the toner container. The processor determines whether the toner type information of the toner container coincides before and after replacement and whether the maintenance contract information of the toner container is matched with maintenance contract information of the image forming apparatus. The notifier indicates a determination made by the processor.

A protective layer forming device, including: a powdery image bearer protecting agent formed of a granulated product containing a fatty acid metal salt and an inorganic lubricant; and a roller-shaped protecting agent supplying member configured to supply the powdery image bearer protecting agent to a surface of an image bearer.

Protective layer forming device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer; a developing device containing two-component developer and including a developer bearer, a development voltage source, and a toner concentration detector; a toner supply device to supply toner to the developing device; a transfer device; and a controller to keep a toner concentration in the developer in the developing device at a target toner concentration during image formation. The controller executes forced toner consumption in which the developing device supplies the toner to the latent image bearer the toner at a predetermined forced toner consumption timing, while inhibiting the toner supply device from supplying toner. When the toner concentration falls to a prescribed toner density lower than the target toner concentration, the controller completes the forced toner consumption and executes a post-consumption toner supply operation.

An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image, a special color developing device to develop the latent image with a special color toner other than standard color toners to form a special color toner image, an adhesion amount adjuster to adjust a special color toner adhesion amount by changing an application bias between the photoconductor and a developing sleeve of the special color developing device, a setting unit to set brightness of the special color toner, and a developing-performance adjuster to adjust a developing performance of the special color developing device according to a setting value of the brightness set by the setting unit. The developing-performance adjuster adjusts the developing performance of the special color developing device to a developing performance different from a developing performance set to each of standard color developing devices in adjustment of densities of the standard color toners.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

An image forming apparatus includes a first image bearer, a lubricant dispenser to apply lubricant to the first image bearer, and a controller to adjust a spatial interval during image formation between successive recording media on each of which an image is formed, according to a total amount of toner attached to the first image bearer for each of the successive recording media, to apply the lubricant to the first image bearer.

Provided is an image bearing member protecting agent which contains a fatty acid metal salt and an inorganic lubricant, wherein an aspect ratio (average major axis length/average minor axis length) of the inorganic lubricant is 60 to 400, and a mass ratio of the fatty acid metal salt to the inorganic lubricant (fatty acid metal salt/inorganic lubricant) is 98/2 to 85/15.

Image bearing member protecting agent, protective layer forming device, and image forming apparatus

A method of transferring an image includes the steps of; bringing an image bearer bearing an image thereon as a transfer origin in contact with a transferring objective (onto which the image is transferred) as a transfer destination; moving at least one of the image bearer and the transferring objective in a prescribed direction; and sequentially transferring the image borne on the image bearer onto the transferring objective in a contacting section in which the image bearer and the transferring objective contact each other in a direction in which the image does not pass through the contacting section.

Method of transferring image and image transferring system and image forming apparatus with same

A protecting agent-supplying device including: a rotation member configured to rotate in a certain direction; an image bearing member-protecting agent containing a fatty acid metal salt and an inorganic lubricant, and being in the form of a solid, wherein the agent is scraped off by the rotation of the rotation member, supplied to an image bearing member for protection thereof, and disposed to have a surface facing the rotation member, which surface has a width G in a direction along the certain direction, and wherein the position X (a center of the width G) is located upstream in the direction along the certain direction from the position Y (a line of intersection between the surface facing and a line extended from the rotational center of the rotation member perpendicular to the surface facing), and a distance d between these positions satisfies a formula 0&#x3c;d&#x2266;G/2.

Protecting agent-supplying device, process cartridge, image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus is disclosed, including an image bearing member and a protective layer forming unit. In an embodiment, the protective layer forming unit includes a protective agent supplying member which rotatably contacts a surface of the image bearing member and an image bearing member protective agent. The image bearing member protective agent includes at least a metal salt of a fatty acid and an inorganic lubricant. The protective agent supplying member includes a core material and a foam layer formed on an outer periphery of the core material and including a plurality of cells. Finally, a drive torque of the image bearing member and a drive torque of the protective agent supplying member satisfy a formula.

An image forming apparatus includes at least: an image bearing member; a protective layer forming unit including at least a protective agent supplying member and an image bearing member protective agent; and a rotational speed controlling unit. In at least one embodiment, the protective agent supplying member includes a core material and a foam layer including a plurality of cells, and a number of cells n existing at a contact portion between a surface of the image bearing member and the protective agent supplying member is greater than 9 and less than 23. Further, a traveling speed V of the cells with respect to the surface of the image bearing member at the contact portion is greater than 837 cells/mm2/s and less than 4,670 cells/mm2/s.

Image forming apparatus, protective agent supplying member and protective layer forming apparatus

To provide a protecting agent supplying member, containing a core, and a foam layer formed on a periphery of the core, wherein the protecting agent supplying member is in the shape of a roller, and wherein the foam layer has concavities regularly arranged in a surface thereof.

Protecting agent supplying member, protective layer forming device, and image forming apparatus

There is provided a protective agent feeding member, which contains a core and a foam layer provided on an outer periphery of the core, in which the protective agent feeding member is in the shape of a roller, and the foam layer has a roughened surface and has a maximum height Ry of 400 &#x3bc;m to 1,630 &#x3bc;m.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Kunio Hasegawa