Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Satoru Inami

Junichi Kato

Seiichi Shinohara

Atsutoshi Ando

Yusuke Nakazono

Masahiro Yoshida

Nobuyoshi Yoshida

Takayuki Namiki

Jun Suzuki

Masaki Ojima

Kazushige Sakurai

Tetsuya Sano

Koichi Suwa

Hiroshi Sato

Masanobu Saito

Satoshi Sunahara

Masahito Kato

Daisuke Baba

Kouichi Suwa

Tadashi Onimura

Atsushi Numagami

Toshiyuki Karakama

Seiji Yamaguchi

Masaharu Ohkubo

Masao Uyama

Norihito Naito

Takahiro Inoue

Hiroaki Ogata

Hiroki Kisu

Tadashi Dojo

Ryosuke Kanai

Michihito Yamazaki

Kenji Shindo

Nobuo Komiya

Erika Asano

Hideto Oka

Hiroyasu Seita

Masanobu Saitou

A cleaning device includes a fixing portion provided on a frame, a cleaning member, and an accommodating portion. The cleaning member includes a blade portion contacted to an image bearing member (drum) and a supporting member. The supporting member includes one end portion where the blade portion is provided, another end portion including a portion-to-be-fixed for being fixed at the fixing portion, and a bent portion between the one end portion and the other end portion in a side remote from a surface of the drum toward an outside with respect to a line connecting the portion-to-be-fixed and a contact portion where the blade portion is contacted to the drum. The portion-to-be-fixed is provided downstream of the contact portion with respect to movement direction of the drum. Between the frame and the other end portion, a gap for permitting elastic deformation of the other end portion is provided.

Cleaning device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

A cleaning device for use with an image forming apparatus, includes: a frame including a fixing portion; a cleaning member, fixed at the fixing portion, for removing developer from an image bearing member (drum). The cleaning member includes: a blade portion contacted to the drum; and a flexible supporting member for supporting the blade portion, the supporting member including one end portion where the blade portion is provided, another end portion including a portion-to-be-fixed at the fixing portion, and a bent portion between the end portions; and an engaging portion provided on the frame. The engaging portion is engaged, such that the blade portion is not contacted to the drum, with a portion-to-be-engaged provided at the supporting member to position the cleaning member. The engaging portion is spaced from the portion-to-be-engaged in a state in which the blade portion is contacted to the drum.

An image forming apparatus includes a process cartridge. In the case where the process cartridge is a fresh cartridge, after toner (developer) is sufficiently fed to a developer carrying member in the entire longitudinal area of the developer carrying member, an initializing operation for depositing the toner on a contact portion between an image bearing member and a cleaning blade.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearer for carrying a toner image, a charger for contacting a surface of the image bearer, a cleaning blade for contacting the image bearer surface to remove toner thereon after toner image transfer onto a transfer material, and a controller for controlling a voltage applied to the charger. The controller applies to the charger a first potential which includes a peak-to-peak voltage larger than a discharge starting voltage in an image forming operation, and applies to the charger a second voltage which includes a peak-to-peak voltage smaller than the discharge starting voltage, for at least one full rotation of the image bearer, after completion of image formation and before an AC voltage component applied to the charger is shut off.

A image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum having a high-lubricity state layer. In an initial rotation operation performed after mounting a process cartridge, in a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge in which lubricating particles are not applied in a contact area between a fresh cleaning blade and the photosensitive drum, toner is supplied only by application of a developing bias after the photosensitive drum and a developing sleeve are driven to supply and stagnate the toner in the contact area between the cleaning blade and the photosensitive drum.

A developing apparatus, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus which form an image whose image density can be maintained, which form a fogged image and which form an image of uneven density within an acceptable range, even when the diameter of a developer carrying member is not more than 12 mm. The apparatus includes a developer carrying member whose outer diameter is in the range of 8 mm to 12 mm, and a magnetic mono-component developerhaving a saturation magnetization of in a range of 20 Am/kg to 37 Am/kg when the magnetic field of 79.6 kA/m (1000 oersteds) is applied, the magnetization of not less than 70% and not more than 80% of the saturation magnetization when the magnetic field is lowered to 55.7 kA/m (700 oersteds), and the magnetization of not less than 50% and not more than 62% of the saturation magnetization when the magnetic field is lowered to 39.8 kA/m (500 oersteds).

Developing apparatus including a cylindrical developer carrying member conveying a magnetic mono-component developer

An image forming apparatus forming a preferable image without white dots caused by excessive charging when a halftone image is formed by providing a potential difference between a surface potential of a photosensitive drum immediately before charging by a charging device, and that of the drum after the charging in an image forming area of the drum. At least one of a charging bias and a transfer bias is changed between a first area and a second area. The first area is an area on the drum that passes a transfer portion when a recording medium is not present between the roller and the drum, and on that a latent image is to be formed. The second area is an area on the drum that passes the transfer portion when the medium is present between the roller and the drum, and on that a latent image is to be formed.

An image forming apparatus allows mounting thereon and dismounting therefrom a plurality of types of cartridges, each of the cartridges including a plurality of process members used for image formation and a storage medium for storing information. The image forming apparatus includes a storage unit that stores a plurality of pieces of setting information for setting an image forming condition in accordance with a plurality of characteristics of the cartridges; and a controller that sets the image forming condition based on information regarding a usage amount of each of the plurality of types of cartridges and selection information for selecting one of the plurality of pieces of setting information, the selection information being stored in the storage medium in the cartridge.

Image forming apparatus setting an image forming condition based on characteristics of a cartridge, cartridge used in the image forming apparatus, and storage medium mounted on the cartridge

In an image processing apparatus that includes an order placement means for executing an operation associated with order placement of an expendable used in an image forming apparatus, data associated with image formation is accumulated to have a timing associated with order placement as a trigger, and the operation of the order placement means is controlled on the basis of the accumulated value. In this manner, redundant orders for expendables can be prevented.

Image processing apparatus, method of placing order for expendables of image processing apparatus, storage medium, and program

A developing apparatus having a developer carrying member carrying developer including toner, a developer regulating member regulating the layer thickness of the developer carried on the developer carrying member, and a lubricant provided in a contact portion between the carrying member and the regulating member with the developer being not present on the carrying member, wherein the lubricant includes a first polymer particle which is of a spherical shape having an average degree of circularity of 0.90 or greater and is of a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner, and a second polymer particle of a scalelike shape and of the same polarity as the charging polarity of the toner.

Developing apparatus

There is provided an image forming apparatus such as a latent image forming apparatus, in which the density of a half tone is stable independent on a write position of a main scanning line, even if a plurality of semiconductor lasers are used. The image forming apparatus has a latent image forming unit for pulse-width-modulating a drive signal of the semiconductor laser in response to the write position of image data. The latent image forming unit has an image sorting circuit for sorting the image data into an odd line and an even line, a memory for storing a turning on position, a pulse generating position control circuit for generating a pulse generating position signal, a PWM circuit for generating a triangular wave in accordance with the pulse generating position signal, and a beam-A-circuit and a beam-B-circuit, which control beams from the semiconductor laser.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

An image forming and apparatus is provided in which a halftone density of an image is stabilized irrespective of a timing at which writing on scanning lines is started, even when using multiple laser beams. First, it is determined whether or not a portion exposed by adjacent laser beams (i.e., exposed by both of two beams simultaneously) is present. If the result of the determination is affirmative, it is then determined whether or not a portion adjacent to the exposed portion and not exposed by a laser beam is present. If the result of this determination is affirmative, exposure by fine dots is added to the portion not exposed by a laser beam.

Image forming apparatus and method

An agitating member for agitating a developer includes a metal shaft, a plate member joined to the metal shaft, and a sheet member joined to the plate member, the sheet member being free to curve. A developing apparatus includes a developer bearing member bearing a developer thereon, a developer container containing the developer therein, and the above-described agitating member provided in the developer container for agitating the developer and supplying it to the developer bearing member. A process cartridge detachably attachable to the main body of an image forming apparatus, includes an electrophotographic photosensitive member and the above-described developing apparatus.

Agitating member, developing apparatus and process cartridge

A charging member is disposed in contact with an electrophotographic photosensitive member and charges the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member electrostatically upon application of a voltage. The charging member has a conductive support, a base layer and a surface layer which are formed on the conductive support. The surface layer contains fluorine resin particles as a filler and a fluorine resin as a binder resin.

Charging member, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

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.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Satoru Inami