Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Shinji Mitsui

Yoshifumi Ozaki

Hirokazu Hamano

Kazuaki Iikura

Akihiko Noda

Yosuke Ninomiya

Takafumi Wakai

Yasuyuki Tsutsumi

Masaru Sakuma

Munenobu Okubo

Chihiro Hagiwara

Takashi Sato

Takuya Iwamura

Keiji Sanekata

Hisashi Murase

Masahiro Andoh

Junichi Ishibashi

An image forming apparatus includes image forming sections each including a developing section having a developer bearing member and a developer supply unit and a transfer unit that transfers an image developed on a photoconductor by the developing unit onto a transfer body, a controller that controls a driving time of the developer bearing member so that developer is born on the developer bearing member during a period when image formation is not performed and the developer attached to the transfer body by the image forming sections does not overlap, a detector that detects the attached developer by each image forming section, and a specification unit that specifies the image forming section which attaches the developer to the transfer body, on the basis of a time from when the controller starts driving the developer bearing member to when the detector detects the developer attached to the transfer body.

Image forming apparatus having unit specifying which image forming section attaches developer

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image forming unit, a developing unit, replenishing unit, and a control unit. The latent image forming unit forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to an image information signal on an image carrier. The developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image using a two-component developer in which magnetic carriers are mixed with toner to form a visible image. The replenishing unit replenishes the toner to the developing unit. The control unit controls switching between first processing, which includes idling processing for replenishing at least part of residual toner, which is to be replenished to the developing unit and remains without being replenished to the developing unit, to the developing unit and stirring the toner within the developing unit, and second processing, which includes the idling processing and density correction processing for correcting a density of the toner within the developing unit.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and non-transitory computer readable medium

A developing device includes a first transport path and a second transport path. In the first transport path, a developer containing toner and a magnetic material is transported in the axial direction of a first transport member that opposes a developer holding element by rotation of the first transport member. The second transport path includes plural flow paths that extend along the axial direction, and plural second transport members provided in the plural flow paths to transport the developer. The plural flow paths each have a length in the axial direction that is shorter than the length of the first transport path in the axial direction. Respective end portions of the first and second transport path are connected such that the developer which has flowed into the second transport path from one end of the first transport path flows into the other end of the first transport path.

Developing device including a first transport path and a second transport path including a plurality of flow paths and image forming apparatus

There is provided a developing device including a toner holding member that is rotatably provided to face an image holding member and holds and transports a nonmagnetic single-component toner toward a development region to develop an electrostatic latent image on the image holding member, a supplying member that is rotatably provided in elastic contact with the toner holding member to supply the toner from a contact region therebetween to the toner holding member, a toner replenishing unit that faces a replenishment region at a portion apart from the contact region to replenish a new toner, and a regulating member that is provided on a downstream side of the contact region in a rotation direction thereof and on an upstream side of the development region to triboelectrically charge the toner held on the toner holding member and regulate the amount of toner provided for the development.

Developing device, and image forming apparatus using the same

A developing device includes a toner holding member that is rotatably installed opposite to an image holding member which holds a latent image and circularly moves, a supply member that has a rough surface capable of capturing toner, a toner supply portion that supplies new toner, and a restriction member that restricts an amount of toner used for development, wherein the toner supply portion connects an accommodation chamber to a developing chamber via a toner transport path, wherein a developing chamber side opening is located on a lower side of an accommodation chamber side opening of the toner transport path, and wherein a width size in a direction following a rotation direction of the supply member in the developing chamber side opening of the toner transport path is set to be smaller than an outer diameter of the supply member in a projection plane viewed from the supply member side.

A developing device includes a transporting unit that rotates while facing an image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image, the transporting unit transporting developer toward the image carrier; a feeding unit that contacts the transporting unit to feed the developer to the transporting unit; a transport path that connects a containing chamber that contains the developer to a feeding chamber that houses the feeding unit; a supplying unit that retains the developer to be supplied in the transport path and supplies the developer to the feeding unit in a supply region that is separated from a contact region in which the feeding unit contacts the transporting unit; and an attaching unit that is disposed downstream of the contact region and upstream of the supply region in a rotation direction of the feeding unit and that attaches the developer to the feeding unit at a location below the contact region.

Developing device having an attaching unit for attaching developer and image forming apparatus including the same

A developing device including a toner holding member that faces but is not in contact with an image carrier carrying a latent image and that rotates while holding a nonmagnetic toner, a charging member that charges the toner, and a developing electric field forming unit that forms a developing electric field at least including a direct current component to cause the charged toner to fly and adhere to the latent image to develop the latent image. When the developing electric field is applied such that the toner is caused to fly toward the image carrier by the direct current component of the developing electric field, maintaining a non-electrostatic adhesion of the toner to the toner holding member to be about 2 nN or more under a low-temperature low-humidity environment of a temperature of 10&#xb0; C. and a relative humidity of 15%. The toner holding member's surface has a specific surface roughness specified by a specific oil retention volume.

Image forming apparatus including developing device using toner holding member with specific surface roughness

An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member, an exposing device, a developing device, a transfer device, a fixing device, a container mounting portion demountably mounted with a toner container, a toner supply unit supplying the toner to the developing device from the toner container, a first estimation unit estimating an amount of toner used on the basis of the image data, a second estimation unit estimating the amount of toner used on the basis of a toner supplying operation of the toner supply unit, and an emptiness determining unit determining emptiness of the toner container on the basis of only the amount of toner used estimated by the first estimation unit in a first state and both the amounts of toner used estimated by the first and second estimation units in a second state.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes image holding bodies that hold latent images and toner images, developer units that form toner images by developing the latent images, a transfer unit that transfers the toner images to a recording medium, a fixing unit that fixes the transferred toner images to the recording medium, container mounting portions on which toner containers are replaceably mounted, and remaining toner amount calculating units that calculate the amount of toners remaining in the toner containers, wherein the remaining toner amount calculating unit includes a primary calculator that calculates plural primary remaining amounts on the basis of bases different from each other, a storage unit that stores empty area data of a remaining amount space, and a secondary calculator that refers to the empty area data stored in the storage unit, and calculates a ratio of a distance.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Shinji Mitsui