Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Ryo Morihara

Tomoo Akizuki

Masahiko Suzumi

Takeharu Nakada

Kensuke Umeda

Tatsuya Kinukawa

Yusuke Shimizu

Kenichi Iida

Toshihiko Takayama

Yusuke Nakazono

Satoshi Nishida

Takao Kume

Akimichi Suzuki

Takayuki Kanazawa

Akihito Kanamori

Shinji Kubo

Junichi Kubota

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a process unit having an image bearing member, a developer container configured to accommodate toner, a developing portion to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member into a toner image by using the toner accommodated in the developer container; and a replenishment port configured to allow replenishment of toner from the replenishment container, and a display portion. A controller notifies a user of information related to a toner amount by using the display portion in a case where it is determined that a lifetime of the process unit will expire before a sum of toner accommodated in the developer container and toner accommodated in the replenishment container is consumed, wherein the information related to a toner amount is a notification about toner, to be supplied from the replenishment container, which goes to waste.

Image forming apparatus having toner replenishment container control

An image forming apparatus to and from which a replenishment container accommodating toner is detachable and which forms an image on a recording material includes an apparatus body, and a cartridge including an image bearing member, a developer container to accommodate toner, and a developing portion to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member into a toner image by using the toner. A replenishment port allows replenishment of toner from the replenishment container, which is arranged outside of the image forming apparatus, to the developer container therethrough in a state where the replenishment container is attached to the replenishment port, and a controller notifies a user of information related to a toner amount if it is determined that a lifetime of the cartridge will expire before a sum of toner accommodated in the developer container and toner accommodated in the replenishment container is consumed.

An image forming apparatus to and from which a replenishment container accommodating toner is attachable includes a replenishment port to allow replenishment of toner from the replenishment container, which is arranged outside of the image forming apparatus, to a developer container therethrough in a state where the replenishment container is attached to the replenishment port, an opening/closing portion to open and close the replenishment port, and a locking member to move between a restricting position in which the locking member restricts movement of the opening/closing portion from the closed position to the open position, and an allowing position in which the movement of the opening/closing portion from the closed position to the open position is allowed. A controller maintains, when the replenishment container is attached to the replenishment port, the locking member in the restricting position in a case where a lifetime of the cartridge is less than a threshold.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a fixing unit, an image analyzer, and a temperature controller configured to control a temperature of the fixing unit in accordance to a target temperature. The image analyzer is configured to analyze image data for forming the toner image by the image forming unit, to evaluate a continuity of pixels of an image contained in the image data. The temperature controller is configured to change the target temperature based on analysis results of the image analyzer such that a value of the target temperature in a case where the image data contains an image with a continuity of pixels equal to or smaller than a predetermined value is higher than a value of the target temperature in a case where the image data contains no image with a continuity of pixels equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

Image forming apparatus that sets a target temperature for a fixing unit based on a minimum number of continuous pixels in a line

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a cartridge attachable to and detachable from the apparatus body, a replenishment restriction portion configured to switch between a restricting state in which toner replenishment through a replenishment port is restricted and an allowing state in which toner replenishment through the replenishment port is allowed, a toner remainder amount detection portion, and a controller. The controller is configured to, when the replenishment container is attached to the replenishment port, maintain the replenishment restriction portion in the restricting state in a case where a second printable sheet number is larger than a first printable sheet number, with the first printable sheet number being obtained from a lifetime of the cartridge, and the second printable sheet number being obtained from a sum of the amount of toner accommodated in the developer container and an amount of toner accommodated in the replenishment container.

A fixing apparatus includes a tubular film, an elongate plate-like heater including a first surface in contact with an inner surface of the film and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the heater being in contact with the inner surface of the film with the second surface, a heat conducting member that is long along the length of the heater and is in contact with the second surface of the heater, and a support member capable of rotating the film while supporting the heater, with the heat conducting member therebetween. The heat conducting member includes an extending portion extending, outside an upstream end of the heater in a rotational direction of the film, in a direction from the second surface of the heater toward the first surface. The extending portion includes a contact portion protruding from the first surface of the heater toward the film into contact therewith.

Fixing apparatus including a heat conducting member with an extending portion extending upstream of the heater

In a first operation mode in which a first addition value for each sheet of a recording material and a first initial control temperature, when the total sum of the first addition values exceeds a predetermined threshold value, a control portion of an image heating portion, which heats an image on the recording material, of an image forming apparatus changes the first initial control temperature to a first correction control temperature. When the operation mode is changed from the first operation mode to a second operation mode in which a second addition value different from the first addition value and a second initial control temperature different from the first initial control temperature, the control portion corrects the first correction control temperature based on a difference between initial control target temperatures.

Image forming apparatus that changes a control target temperature in accordance with a number of sheets of recording material that have passed through an image heating portion

A fixing apparatus includes a holding member including a groove-like holding portion, a heater supported by the holding portion, a film rotatable around the heater, the film being configured to be heated by sliding on the heater and to heat a toner image on a printing material, and a gap filling member including, on an upstream side with respect to the heater in a direction in which the circumferential surface of the film moves, a first portion disposed between the heater and the holding member and a first contact portion connecting to the first portion and being in contact with the film. A second distance between the first portion and the holding member disposed upstream from the first portion and facing the first portion is smaller than a first distance between the heater and the first portion disposed upstream from the heater and facing the holding member.

Fixing apparatus

A fixing device including a rotatable tubular film, a heater including a substrate and a heat generating resistor, the heater including a first surface in contact with an inner surface of the film and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the heater extending in a longitudinal direction of the substrate, and a heat conducting member extending in the longitudinal direction and including a heater contact portion in contact with the second surface. The heat conducting member includes a film contact portion at a position adjacent to the first surface, the film contact portion being in contact with the inner circumferential surface, and on one side in the longitudinal direction, the heat generating resistor extends outside of a longitudinal end portion of the film contact portion, and the heater contact portion extends outside of the film contact portion.

Fixing device

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a fixing portion, a temperature detecting portion, a measuring portion, a storing portion, and a controller. The controller is capable of setting a case that a start of feeding of a recording material is permitted after a lapse of a predetermined time need to measure a temperature rising rate of the fixing portion and a case that the start of feeding of the recording material is permitted, depending on a value relating to the temperature rising rate stored in the storing portion, at timing before the lapse of the predetermined time.

Image forming apparatus configured to set a start of a feeding operation based on a value related to a rate of temperature rise for a fixing portion

An image forming apparatus including: a charging member configured to charge a photosensitive member at a charging portion by a charging voltage in which an alternate-current voltage is superimposed on a direct-current voltage; a transfer member configured to transfer a toner image formed on the photosensitive member to a recording material at a transfer portion; and a controller configured to control the charging voltage, a predetermined area of the photosensitive member passing through the transfer portion during a trailing edge of the recording material passing through the transfer portion, wherein the controller controls a value of a peak-to-peak voltage of the alternate-current voltage when the predetermined area passes through the charging portion to be larger than a value of a peak-to-peak voltage when an area that becomes the image area other than the predetermined area passes through the charging portion.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes image bearing members, cleaning blades for removing toner from corresponding image bearing members, and developing devices for developing an electrostatic latent image on corresponding image bearing members with toner. The image forming apparatus is operable in a monochromatic mode in which the toner image is formed only on a predetermined one of the image bearing members, and no image is formed on the other image bearing member. In a monochromatic mode operation, a controller starts to drive the plurality of image bearing members in synchronism with each other in a state that the other image bearing member is spaced from a belt and the predetermined image bearing member is in contact with the belt. The controller is capable of executing a supplying operation for supplying the toner from the developing devices to the cleaning blades by way of the image bearing members, respectively.

An image forming apparatus includes a signal generating unit that stores information on a plurality of dither matrices preset in correspondence with the density level of toner to be attached to the photosensitive member and converts input image data based on the dither matrices to generate a driving signal. The signal generating unit stores information on a first dither matrix corresponding to a first density level and a second dither matrix corresponding to a second density level higher than the first density level. The first dither matrix includes a minute exposure area in which the exposure device is caused to emit light to attain a potential at which no toner adheres to the photosensitive member, and the second dither matrix includes a normal exposure area in which the exposure device is caused to emit light to attain a potential at which toner adheres to the photosensitive member.

Apparatus to form latent image using dither matrices having minute and normal exposure areas controlling toner adhesion

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, an intermediary transfer belt containing an ion conductive agent, a secondary transfer member, and a charging device. With respect to the intermediary transfer belt, when a difference in number of digits (or in log value) between resistivity measured by using a metal probe and resistivity measured by using a sputtering electrode is &#x394;M, a difference in number of digits (or in log value) between resistivity in a first environment and resistivity in a second environment higher than the first environment in temperature or humidity is &#x394;E, a length of the secondary transfer portion with respect to the movement direction of the intermediary transfer belt is La, and a distance from the charging portion to the primary transfer portion with respect to the movement direction is Lb, the following relationship is satisfied:&#x394;&#x2212;log().

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Tokyo, Japan

Ryo Morihara