Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shinichi Sugiyama

Koji Nojima

Takanori Sakurai

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device configured to form, in a first position, a toner image on a sheet using toner containing a parting material; a fixing device configured to fix the toner image formed on the sheet by the image forming device in a second position, by heat and pressure; a fan configured to flow air along an air flow path between the image forming device and the fixing device; and a partition configured and positioned to substantially separate between the air flow path and a sheet feeding path from the first position to the second position.

Image forming apparatus having partition configured to separate air flow and sheet feeding paths

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a rotatable belt member configured to contact the image bearing member, a belt unit configured to support the belt member and removably mounted on the image forming apparatus, an operation unit disposed on the belt unit, a belt unit moving mechanism configured to cause the belt member to contact the image bearing member when the operation unit is in a first position and to cause the belt member to separate from the image bearing member when the operation unit is in a second position, and a tensile force releasing mechanism configured to release a tensile force applied to the belt member when the belt unit is pulled out from the image forming apparatus and the operation unit is in a third position.

Image forming apparatus having releasing mechanism for removable toner-image conveyance belt

The present invention relates to a developing apparatus comprisinga developing container for containing a developing agent and rotatable first and second developing members provided at the developing container as to face an image carrier for developing an electrostatic image formed on the image carrier. The first developing member is secured to the developing container to keep a gap to the image carrier and the second developing member has keeping members at both ends in a longitudinal direction thereof to keep a gap to the image carrier.

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Kashiwa, Japan

Shinichi Sugiyama