Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Seiichi Senda

Shuichi Kato

Masanari Yoshikawa

Tomoaki Hattori

Makoto Souda

Kenjiro Nishiwaki

Yasushi Fujiwara

Junichi Hashimoto

Hiroshi Igarashi

Atsushi Kato

Takuji Matsuno

Kiyoshi Sugimoto

Tomitake Aratachi

Takehiro Masuda

An image forming apparatus comprises: a casing including a side wall having an opening; a drawer member configured to support a plurality of cartridges in such a manner as to allow the cartridges to be detachably attached thereto, and to be movable through the opening from an inside position in which the drawer member is located inside the casing to an outside position in which the drawer member is located outside the casing in a moving direction; and a leg portion configured to support the casing. In this image forming apparatus, the leg portion includes a portion located downstream from the opening in the moving direction of the drawer member.

Image forming apparatus

There is provided a developing unit, including: a body defining a developing chamber and a developer accommodating chamber, and a developer delivery member. The body includes a sliding portion, a restoring portion and a colliding portion at the developer accommodating chamber. The developer delivery member includes an elastic member configured to be made a sliding contact with the sliding portion while being curved elastically, configured to be restored elastically at the restoring portion, and configured to collide with the colliding portion. The developer delivery member is configured so that, the elastic member which has been elastically restored at the restoring portion is collided with the colliding portion to generate an air flow and to deliver the developer in the developer accommodating chamber toward the connection port.

Developing unit

A developing apparatus is provided, including a developing unit including a developing roller; a developer accommodating unit; a partition wall partitioning the developing unit and the developer accommodating unit; a supply port which makes communication between the developing unit and the developer accommodating unit; a transport member configured so that the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating unit is supplied to the developing unit via the supply port in accordance with rotation; a return port configured so that the developer contained in the developing unit is permitted to fall into the developer accommodating unit; an opening/closing member configured to be movable between an open position for opening the return port and a closed position for closing the return port; and a driving mechanism configured so that the opening/closing member is moved to the closed position and the open position.

Developing apparatus and image forming apparatus

A developer container includes a developer accommodating chamber and a transporting member configured to elastically deform, to rotate, and to transport the developer accommodated in the developer accommodating chamber. The developer accommodating chamber includes a dividing wall configured to deform the transporting member by making a sliding contact with the transporting member. The developer accommodating chamber further includes a communicating portion configured to allow the transporting member, which has been elastically deformed by the sliding portion, to restore. The developer accommodating chamber still further includes a contacting portion. The transporting member restored by the communicating portion being configured to contact with the contacting portion.

Developer container including an elastically deformable transporting member and image forming apparatus including the developer container

There is provided a developer transport member including a rotatable member, a main body configured to transport the developer by being rotated in accordance with rotation of the rotatable member, and a metal spring configured to bias the main body.

Developer transport member and developing apparatus

An image forming apparatus is provided, which is configured to form an image with developer of a plurality of colors on a sheet-type recording medium by a non-magnetic single component developing method. The image forming apparatus includes a first color developing unit which is configured to perform developing of a first color by a jumping developing method, and a second color developing unit which is configured to perform developing of the second color by a contact developing method.

A fixing device for fixing a developed image of developer onto a recording sheet by heating and fusing the developer includes a heating roller, a pressure roller and a driving force input element. The heating roller is configured to be heated by a heat source, such as a halogen heater. The pressure roller is disposed adjacent to the heating roller, such that a recording sheet is fed and conveyed between the pressure roller and the heating roller. The driving force input element is fixed to the pressure roller for causing the pressure roller to rotate. A diameter Dp of the pressure roller and a nip width N between the heating roller and the pressure roller in circumferential directions thereof have a relationship represented by the following expression: 0.24&#x3c;N/Dp&#x3c;0.6.

Fixing device and image-forming apparatus

Each transport electrode has its longitudinal direction intersecting with a sub-scanning direction. Transport electrodes are disposed in parallel with each other and are arrayed along the sub-scanning direction. A transport-electrode electricity supply wiring section is connected to root portions of the transport electrodes. The root portions are one end portions of the transport electrodes with respect to the longitudinal direction. Toner transport guide members are disposed to cover the transport-electrode electricity supply wiring section and opposite end portions of the transport electrodes; i.e., the root portions and distal end portions.

Image forming apparatus with a developer feed device having a developer transport body for transporting developer

An image forming apparatus, such as a laser printer, may use high levels of heat to form images, and some elements may expand and contract with changing temperatures. An apparatus may include a heat roller disposed against a pressure roller, with an endless belt member enclosing the pressure roller. The belt member may also have different frictional characteristics on an inside and outside of the roller, such that when peripheral speeds change due to expansion of the pressure roller, the belt member may be configured to slip against the pressure roller, and maintain a frictional relationship with the heat roller (or a printing medium, such as paper, that is pinched between the rollers). Additionally, the rotational speed of an axis of the pressure roller may be adjusted to compensate for the thermal expansion.

Image forming apparatus roller configuration

Each transport electrode has its longitudinal direction intersecting with a sub-scanning direction. Transport electrodesare disposed in parallel with each other and are arrayed along the sub-scanning direction. A transport-electrode electricity supply wiring section is connected to root portions of the transport electrodes. The root portions are one end portions of the transport electrodes with respect to the longitudinal direction. Toner transport guide members are disposed in such a manner as to cover the transport-electrode electricity supply wiring section and opposite end portions of the transport electrodes; i.e., the root portions and distal end portions.

In a fixing portion, a heating roller and a pressure roller are provided. An angle of separation &#x3b8; (&#xb0;), the temperature T(&#xb0; C.) of the surface of the heating roller, the diameter D(mm) of the pressure roller, and the width W(mm) of a nip part are set to satisfy the following inequality: 114&#x2266;0.55 T&#x2212;2.36&#x3b8;&#x2212;1.59 D+8.62 W&#x2266;144.

Image-forming device

Disclosed is a thermal fixing device using at least two heaters for respectively heating center and end portions of a fixing member, in which after the driving of the two heaters is stopped, thermal fixing can be re-started quickly at proper temperatures for both the center and end portions. First, in S, a judgment is made as to whether the center portion temperature of the thermal roller exceeds 100&#xb0; C. or not. When it exceeds 100&#xb0; C., the procedure advances to S, where the center heater is turned ON two seconds after turning ON the side heater. By thus turning ON the center heater two seconds after the turning ON of the side heater, it is possible to reduce the temperature difference between the two heaters to approximately 8 to 13&#xb0; C. at the time point when the center heater is turned ON. In this way, the end portions of the thermal roller are heated prior to the center portion thereof, so that, as compared with the case in which the center heater and the side heater are turned ON simultaneously, the temperature difference between these portions is smaller.

Thermal fixing device and image forming apparatus using the same

A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of a heating roller contacts the heating roller with the bottom surface of a contact section provided on the front end of the temperature sensor. A temperature detecting element is disposed on the upper surface of the front end at a position corresponding to the contact section. The front edge of the sensor is bent away from the heating roller. During a printing process, a portion of the toner that is liquefied in the heat fixing process remains on the heating roller and is subsequently deposited on the bottom surface of the contact plate as the heating roller rotates. However, by forming the surface from the contact section to the front edge as a smooth curved surface to eliminate edges or corners that can lead to the accumulation of toner, a clump of toner does not form on the bottom surface of the contact plate.

Temperature sensor, heat fixing device, and image forming device

A thermal fixing device includes: a heating member configured to be in contact with a fixation medium; a first pressing member disposed to face the heating member and applies a force directed toward both sides of the fixation medium in a direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction of the fixation medium by pressing the fixation medium to the heating member; and a second pressing member disposed to face the heating member at a position downstream in the conveyance direction with respect to the first pressing member and applies a force, which is larger than the force of the first pressing member, directed toward both sides of the fixation medium in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction.

Thermal fixing device and image forming apparatus

A thermal fixing device is equipped with a plurality of heaters for heating a fixing member at different axial positions thereof for proper temperature control. When the difference between the center temperature Tand the end temperature Texceeds a proper temperature difference range (15&#xb0; C.), of the center temperature Tand the end temperature T, the one nearer to the average temperature Tof the fixing upper limit temperature Tand the fixing lower limit temperature T. is selected. The control value for the farther halogen lamp is changed so as to approach the selected temperature. When the temperature difference is 10&#xb0; C. or less, the control value is further changed. With this process, it is possible to set both the temperatures and the portion near the center of the thermal roller to temperatures within the proper temperature range.

Growing community of inventors

Anjo, Japan

Seiichi Senda