Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shigeru Hoashi

Masaru Shimura

Michio Uchida

Takahito Ueno

Atsushi Numagami

Kazuhiro Doda

Seiji Saito

Ken Nakagawa

Takashi Shimada

Takaaki Akamatsu

Kenji Kanari

Takamitsu Soda

Hiromi Fujinaka

Tomoya Kuruma

Kazunari Murayama

Akira Yoshimura

Shuuichi Tetsuno

Yoshinori Hashimoto

Isao Matsuoka

Shogo Miyakawa

Masahiro Suzuki

Masaki Sato

Takeo Kawanami

Kazuo Chadani

Shinji Katagiri

Shuichi Tetsuno

Takeshi Yasumoto

Tatsuya Kinukawa

Masao Amano

Akinori Takayama

Yuichiro Osawa

Yukihiro Fujiwara

Akio Ono

Yuichiro Inaba

Masatoshi Takiguchi

An image forming apparatus includes a housing configured to accommodate an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material, a discharge unit configured to discharge the recording material to the outside of the housing, and a motor disposed inside of the housing and configured to drive the image forming unit. The housing includes a stacking unit on which the recording material discharged by the discharge unit is stacked and a wall surface provided at an end of the stacking unit in a width direction that is perpendicular to a vertical direction and a discharge direction of the discharge unit, and the wall surface extends upward beyond the stacking unit. The motor is disposed at a position that overlaps the wall surface as viewed in the width direction.

Image forming apparatus

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an image forming apparatus includes a feeding module, an image forming module, and a fixing module. The feeding module feeds a recording material. The image forming module includes a photosensitive drum and forms a developer image on the recording material fed to the image forming module by the feeding module. The fixing module fixes the developer image formed by the image forming module to the recording material. The image forming module includes a scanner frame that supports an exposure unit configured to expose the photosensitive drum. The feeding module is installed on the scanner frame.

Image forming apparatus having feeding and fixing modules provided on a transfer frame

Image forming apparatus having modules mounted to secure rigidity of a main body of the image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus include a door through which a tray carrying a cartridge passes, wherein in interrelation with the door closing operation, (i) movement of the tray from a movable position to an image forming position, (ii) movement of a drive transmission member, for transmitting a driving force to the cartridge from a main assembly, from a first spacing position to a drive-connecting position, (iii) movement of an urging member for urging the cartridge to the main assembly from a second spacing position to a contact position, and (iv) movement of an electric energy supply member, for supplying electric power to the cartridge from the main assembly, from a third spacing position to an electric energy supplying position, are carried out in the order named.

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of photosensitive members and a plurality of developing units, each of which includes a developing roller actable on the photosensitive member and movable relative to the photosensitive member. A movable member moves between an inside and an outside of a main assembly, and a mounting portion, provided in the movable member, supports the plurality of developing units, which are detachably mountable to the mounting portion. An interrelating member, movable in interrelation with movement of the movable member, moves the plurality of developing units in an upward direction relative to the plurality of photosensitive members when the movable member is moved from the inside to the outside of the main assembly.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge

An image forming apparatus include a door through which a tray carrying a cartridge passes. In a door closing operation, (i) movement of the tray from a movable position to an image forming position, (ii) movement of a drive transmission member, for transmitting a driving force to the cartridge from a main assembly, from a first spacing position to a drive-connecting position, (iii) movement of an urging member for urging the cartridge to the main assembly from a second spacing position to a contact position, and (iv) movement of an electric energy supply member, for supplying electric power to the cartridge from the main assembly, from a third spacing position to an electric energy supplying position, are carried out in the order named.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image bearing member for bearing a toner image; a belt for conveying the toner image; and a transfer device for rubbing the belt, and a surface of the transfer device, which is brought into contact with the belt includes linear concave portions or linear convex portions. The image forming apparatus of the present invention prevents a friction force between the belt and the transfer device rubbing the belt from increasing and brings a transfer member into a stable contact with the belt for conveying the toner image, thereby suppressing increase in drive torque of the belt which rubs the transfer device and suppressing occurrence of image failure.

An image forming apparatus, having process cartridges each including a photosensitive drum and a developing roller, includes a movable member movable between an inside and an outside of a main assembly of the image forming apparatus in a movement direction crossing a longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum, and a mounting portion for supporting the process cartridges, wherein the process cartridges are detachably mountable to the mounting portion from a direction crossing the longitudinal direction and the movement direction. In addition, and an interrelating member, movable in interrelation with movement of the movable member, moves the developing roller relative to the photosensitive drum so that a distance between a rotation center of the photosensitive drum and a rotation center of the developing roller is decreased with respect to the movement direction when the movable member is moved from the inside to the outside of the main assembly.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member unit including a toner image carrying member, a transfer unit including a movable endless belt for transferring the toner image from the carrying member onto a transfer material, a plurality of stretching members for stretching the endless belt, and a supporting portion, provided at an end portion with respect to a widthwise direction, for supporting the stretching members. In addition, a main assembly frame is provided at a position opposing the supporting portion and includes a positioning portion for determining positions of the plurality of stretching members, wherein the supporting portion is movable relative to the main assembly frame.

In an image forming apparatus, one of a plurality of support members supporting an intermediate transfer belt is a guide member configured to regulate the rotational direction of the intermediate transfer belt while being held in sliding contact with the intermediate transfer belt at a position opposite the secondary transfer member across the intermediate transfer belt. This guide member is equipped with a first resistor portion in sliding contact with the intermediate transfer belt and a second resistor portion of a higher electrical resistance than the first resistor portion, with the second resistor portion provided upstream of the first resistor portion in the rotational direction of the intermediate transfer belt.

Image forming apparatus having a second resistor portion with a higher electrical resistance than a first resistor portion

A color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a cartridge tray supporting a plurality of cartridges is movable through a plurality of opening portions to respective outside positions outside an apparatus main body. In the color electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the plurality of cartridges are removably mounted to the apparatus main body to form an image on a recording medium. The color electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a cartridge tray, which is movable, while supporting the plurality of cartridges, between an inside position positioned inside the apparatus main body and the outside positions, a plurality of opening portions provided in the apparatus main body, through which the cartridge tray is movable between the inside position and the outside positions, and doors for opening and closing the plurality of opening portions.

Color electrophotographic image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus for forming image on a recording medium includes a photosensitive member, a motor, a belt, and a drive member to rotate the belt, the drive member including a driven coupling. The apparatus also includes a drive coupling to rotate by a driving force generated by the motor, the drive coupling being movable in an axial direction to take an engagement position at which the driving force is transmittable to the driven coupling, and a release position. The apparatus further includes a transfer member to transfer a toner image onto the recording medium or the belt, a voltage application unit to apply a voltage to the transfer member, and a control unit to cause the voltage application unit to apply the voltage to the transfer member after the drive coupling moves to the engagement position and the driving force is transmitted to the driven coupling.

Image forming apparatus having a controllable drive coupling

An image forming apparatus is provided for forming an image on a recording material. An opening is provided to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus, with first and second openable members being movable between closed positions in which portions of the opening are closed and open positions in which portions of the opening are opened. A movable member is movable between a set position inside the main assembly and an outward position in which the movable member, having passed through the opening, is located at an outermost position. The movable member is capable of supporting a plurality of cartridges, side by side, with each of the cartridges including at least one of an image bearing member on which a latent image is to be formed and a developing roller for developing with a developer the latent image formed on the image bearing member.

Growing community of inventors

Numazu, Japan

Shigeru Hoashi