Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Hokuto Electronics Corporation

Masao Ando

Hiroyuki Ishii

Ryukichi Inoue

Shinji Goto

Yoshiaki Watanabe

Jun Saito

Yuzo Isoda

Masahide Tanoue

Takayasu Yuminamochi

Yasunari Kobaru

Takahiro Azeta

Hiroyuki Inoue

Kazushi Watanabe

Masaru Shimura

Tomio Noguchi

Katsuyuki Yokoi

Hiroshi Watanabe

Tomohiro Nakamori

Hiroo Kobayashi

Hiroshi Matsumoto

Kenji Kanari

Masanobu Kanoto

Kiyoharu Yoshioka

Minoru Matsuguma

Kazuhide Kudo

Kei Sawanaka

Kanji Yano

Takamasa Sawada

Makoto Nishigaki

Ikuo Ikemori

A fixing device comprises a cylindrical sheet heating body for heating a sheet; a heat generation section which includes a center heat element that generates heat in a central area, a first heat element that generates heat in a first area containing an end in the length direction, and a second heat element that generates heat in a second area between the central area and the first area; a center temperature measurement section which measures a temperature of a portion of the sheet heating body; a both-end temperature measurement section which measures a temperature of the sheet heating body at a destination by moving in the length direction; and a power controller configured to control electric power to be supplied to the center heat element, to the first heat element, and to the second heat element according to the center temperature measurement section and the both-end temperature measurement section.

Fixing device and fixing method

A temperature measuring device for measuring temperatures of a plurality of heating elements, includes a temperature measuring element positioned to receive infrared rays emitted from each of the heating elements and to output a signal corresponding to an intensity of the light reception, and a light guiding unit including a plurality of light guides, one for each of the heating elements, each light guide being configured to guide the infrared ray emitted from a respective one of the heating elements to the temperature measuring element.

Temperature measurement of heating elements in fixing device

Temperature measuring device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprises a transfer fixer which secondarily transfers a first toner image on a first intermediate transfer belt onto a first side of a sheet at a first secondary transfer position and fixes the first toner image transferred to the first side of the sheet while secondarily transferring a second toner image on the second intermediate transfer belt onto a second side of the sheet opposite to the first side at a second secondary transfer position and fixing the second toner image transferred to the second side of the sheet.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

An image forming apparatus that forms an image according to an electrophotographic system includes plural developing units provided in a cylinder, which freely rotates a fixed angle at a time around a rotation shaft, to rotate together with the cylinder. Toner levels of toner cartridges arranged in the developing units are detected by rotating the cylinder a predetermined angle to stop the cylinder and measuring a flow-down time of a toner, which flows down inside of the toner cartridge, using an optical sensor.

Image forming apparatus, toner cartridge and method to detect toner level

There is provided a position detecting apparatus that has a high ability of detecting a correct position even if there is mechanical play in a moving mechanical member, a position of which is detected, and an image processing apparatus provided with the position detecting apparatus. In a position detecting apparatusof the invention, even if there is a certain degree of play in a slide platethat moves in a slide direction DN and reading by bit mark reading sensorstodeviates from regular reading of binary numbers, since binary numbers appended to a surface of the slide plate is formed by gray codes, a position derived by a position deriving unit is more likely to be controlled to be as small as adjacent binary numbers with respect to a slide direction of the slide plate compared with the case of the conventional simple binary numbers.

Position detecting apparatus and image processing apparatus provided with the same

A recording material separating apparatus has a rotary member contacting with a recording material, a separating member for contacting with the rotary member and separating the recording material from the rotary member, and a guide member for guiding that surface of the recording material separated from the rotary member which is adjacent to the rotary member. The guide member is provided for retraction from a guide position by the pressure of the recording material when jammed, and the separating member is retracted from a separating position in operative association with the retracting action of the guide member.

Recording material separating apparatus of which separating member is retractable in operative association with guide

An object of the present invention is to provide a fixing apparatus that has a fixing rotator in contact with a recording material supporting an unfixed image, a pressure rotator in pressure contact with the fixing rotator, a support member supporting the pressure rotator and swingable around a plurality of fulcrums, an elastic member for biasing the support member so that the pressure rotator is biased to the fixing rotator, and pressure contact force changing device for changing a pressure contact force by swinging the support member against the biasing force of the elastic member, wherein the pressure contact force changing device can change the pressure contact force while the pressure rotator is in pressure contact with the fixing rotator.

Fixing apparatus capable of changing pressure contact force

A sheet attachment detecting apparatus includes a rotary member which is rotatable for conveying a sheet and whose surface is electrically conductive, an electrically conductive member which can be abutted on and separated from the surface of the rotary member, and an attachment detector which applies a power to the rotary member and the electrically conductive member for detecting the attachment of the sheet around the rotary member.

Sheet attachment detecting apparatus, fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus

A sheet conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus include a transfer roller which transfers a developer developing an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive drum to a sheet, a pair of registration rollers which nip the sheet into a conveying nip formed by a pair of rotary members and conveys the sheet to the transfer roller, and an upper transfer guide for leading the sheet from the pair of registration rollers to the transfer roller. In addition, a conveyance regulating member regulates a conveying direction of the sheet conveyed by the pair of registration rollers and brings the sheet into contact with the upper transfer guide.

Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus

In a sheet conveying device, sheets having of various width sizes can be adjusted to sheet conveyance reference of a regulating device without moving the regulating device in the lateral direction of a sheet. An image forming apparatus uses two kinds or sheets of different width sizes (the LTR-size and the A4-size). The regulating device is fixed to a position where an LTR-size sheet can be regulated. When performing switchback conveyance of an A4-size sheet, switchback conveying devices convey the sheet while moving it toward the sheet conveyance reference of the regulating device by a predetermined amount.

Sheet conveying device and sheet processing apparatus

An image forming apparatus usable with a process cartridge comprising an image bearing member and a process device actable on the image bearing member includes guide device, contactable with the process cartridge, for guiding in the loading direction the process cartridge to be loaded into a main assembly of the apparatus; a positioning device for positioning the process cartridge, which is in the disengaged state from the guide device, into the loading location; and a pressing device for pressing the process device onto the positioning device.

Process cartridge and image forming apparatus usable with this process

An image forming apparatus, to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, for forming an image on a recording material. The image forming apparatus includes a first guiding device for guiding the process cartridge toward a predetermined mounting position when the process cartridge is mounted to the image forming apparatus. The first guiding device is disposed upstream of the predetermined mounting position with respect to a mounting movement direction of the process cartridge. A second guiding device is provided for guiding the process cartridge toward the predetermined mounting position when the process cartridge is mounted to the image forming apparatus The second guiding device is disposed (i) closer to the predetermined position than the first guiding device, and (ii) downstream of the first guiding device with respect to the mounting movement direction. Also provided is a feeding device for feeding the recording material.

A process cartridge is detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material. The process cartridge includes an image bearing member, a process device for acting on the image bearing member, which includes a developing device for developing an image on the image bearing member, a frame, and a projection disposed on the upper surface of the frame and extending toward the developing device, the projection having (i) an upward inclined surface, (ii) a flat surface continuing from the upper inclined surface, and (iii) a downward inclined surface that is inclined toward the developing device.

Growing community of inventors

Numazu Shizuoka, Japan

Masao Ando