Konica Corporation

Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.

Konica Corporatoin

Shizuo Morita

Masakazu Fukuchi

Satoshi Haneda

Shunji Matsuo

Tadayoshi Ikeda

Hisao Satoh

Masahiko Itaya

Hisashi Shoji

Seiko Naganuma

Kunio Shigeta

Hiroyuki Nomori

Kunihisa Yoshino

Shizuo Kayano

Sachie Hosokoezawa

Fumiaki Hiraike

Noboru Hatakeyama

Kazushi Hayakawa

Masayuki Kamegamori

Kiyoshi Kimura

Toru Matsumoto

Masahiko Matsunawa

Yukio Okamoto

Tadashi Miwa

Hiroshi Fuma

Toshiro Fujimori

Yasuhiko Tanaka

Akihiko Tamura

Kunio Ito

Yoshiyuki Ichihara

Kazuo Yasuda

Toshinori Yamazaki

Kiyoaki Kawamoto

Tetsuko Omoto

Masato Ueda

Tsugio Sugizaki

Hideo Satoh

Makoto Kon

Motokazu Ikeda

Kiyoshi Harada

Masakuzu Fukuchi

Satoshi Heneda

Seiko Nagamuma

Tadayashi Ikeda

Hiseo Satoh

An apparatus for forming Y, M, C, and BK color toner images, includes a controller to control an exposure device to conduct a pre-transfer image exposure on the color toner images on the photoreceptor on the basis of recording signals after the final color toner image formation of the Y, M, C, and BK color toner images before transferring the color toner images.

Color image forming apparatus in which pre-transfer image exposure is

An image forming apparatus in which there are integrally provided a process cartridge, composed of an image carrying member in which a latent image is formed, and a developing device and/or a cleaning device. The process cartridge is detachably mountable on the apparatus. A moving device moves the process cartridge from a first position, allowing image forming, to a second position in which the process cartridge can be detached. The moving device outputs a signal indicating that the process cartridge is being moved. There is provided a device to output an instruction signal to a controller which, on receipt of the instruction signal, outputs a drive signal to the moving device to move the process cartridge provided that no signal is input from the moving device.

Image forming apparatus

In an image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge in which an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and a developing unit which develops the electrostatic latent image so that a toner image can be formed, both integrally formed into one unit. There is provided a developer container including a discharge section which can be inserted into a supply opening of the developing unit, and a container in which a predetermined amount of developer is contained, wherein the developer container is provided to the toner supply opening of the developing unit and the developer is supplied into the developing unit housing when a toner stirring screw of the developing unit is rotated.

A method for forming a toner image on a photoreceptor includes charging a photoreceptor to a charged electric potential; exposing the photoreceptor so as to form a reference latent image for each of three colors with an exposure light having a reference image density; developing the three reference latent images with yellow, magenta and cyan developers each of the developers including a carrier and one of the yellow, magenta and cyan color developer so as to form a superimposed three color toner image; detecting a color balance between the superimposed three color toner images by separating reflected light from the superimposed images; and consuming at least one color developer of the yellow, magenta and cyan developers in accordance with a detection result of the color balance so that a new color balance of the superimposed three color toner images will have a desired color balance.

Color image recording apparatus with a detector to detect a superimposed

A color image forming apparatus includes a housing and a cartridge adapted to be attached to or detached from the housing in a horizontal direction. The cartridge includes a photoreceptor and a plurality of developing devices vertically piled up. Each developing device has an opening to receive toner and a cover to open or close the opening. When the cartridge is detached from the housing in the horizontal direction and is placed in a laid down position thereof, toner can be supplied into the developing devices through the opening which is at the top portion of the laid-down cartridge.

Color image forming apparatus with mountable cartridge therein

An image forming machine such as a copier and a printer for forming a color image on a recording sheet. The image forming machine includes: a photoreceptor for carrying the color image; an image writer such as a laser beam generator for forming a latent image of the color image on a surface of the photoreceptor; plural color developers for developing the latent image with color toners so that a developed color image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor; a transferer for transferring the developed color image from the photoreceptor to the recording sheet; a cleaner for cleaning a residual portion of the developed color image on the photoreceptor; and a controller for controlling a cleaning operation of the cleaner which starts the cleaning operation after the transferring operation is completed. In the image forming machine, the plural color developers, the transferer, and the cleaner are located facing toward the surface of the photoreceptor, and a length of the surface between the transferer and the cleaner through the plural color developers is longer than a length of the color image. In addition, the image writer, the plurality of color developers, the transferer and the cleaning device are located in a specific order around the photoreceptor.

Color image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a process cartridge that incorporates a photoreceptor and a plurality of developing devices. The process cartridge is provided with a first driving shaft to drive the photoreceptor and a second driving shaft to independently drive the developing devices. When the process cartridge is mounted in the image forming apparatus which includes spaced apart first and second gears, the first and second driving shafts are coupled separately with the spaced apart first and second gears so that driving forces are separately transmitted to the first and second driving shafts. A flywheel is mounted on a third driving shaft that is coupled with the first driving shaft to drive the photoreceptor. Since the developing devices are constructed to receive a large number of different possible loads, the developers are placed in a condition where vibrations are created easily by the driving of the various possible loads. The driving of the photoreceptor is arranged to be independent of the driving of the developing devices so that vibrations generated by the driving of the developing devices are not transmitted to the photoreceptor. Furthermore, the flywheel is provided on the third driving shaft, and a third gear is mounted on the third driving shaft. Since the third gear is coupled with the first driving shaft to drive the photoreceptor, the rotation of the photoreceptor will be smoothed out by the presence of the flywheel.

Image forming apparatus with driving mechanism for photoreceptor

A device for charging a photoreceptor on which a toner image is formed, comprises a rotatable sleeve, at least two magnets disposed in the sleeve so as to attract magnetic particles in a form of magnetic brush, and a electric power source to provide the photoreceptor with an electric charge through the magnetic brush. One of the magnets is disposed upstream of the closest point between the photoreceptor and the sleeve, and the other magnet is disposed downstream of the closest point.

Image forming apparatus having charger to charge image carrier with

An image forming machine has a charging roller on which magnetic particles are supplied to form a magnetic brush and an image forming body which is charged under the condition that the magnetic brush on the charging roller is in an alternating electric field. When the distance between a regulating member that regulates an amount of the magnetic particles passing through and the charging roller is defined to be DB and the distance between the image forming body and the charging roller is defined to be DI, an inequality of 0.7 DB.ltoreq.DI.ltoreq.1.0 DB is satisfied. More preferably, DB is in the relation of 0.2.ltoreq.DB.ltoreq.1.0 in mm.

Image forming apparatus with charger of image carrier using magnetic

In a color image forming machine including a belt-shaped photoreceptor stretched around a plurality of rollers, and a horizontal portion of the photoreceptor being disposed above and in parallel to face a plurality of developing devices, a charging device and a transfer device are disposed to face the photoreceptor at a common position where the photoreceptor is curved around one roller. A cleaning device is disposed to face the photoreceptor at a position where the photoreceptor is curved around the other roller. The charging device is used as a transfer device by changing supplied voltage or is interchangeable with the transfer device by being either slid or rotated between two positions. The photoreceptor, the developing devices and the cleaning device are integrally formed as a cartridge which is detachably mountable to the machine. The photoreceptor is rotated at least five times when a color image is formed by the processes of charging, exposing, transferring and cleaning, and is rotated at least twice when a monochromatic image is formed by the processes.

Color image forming apparatus with interchangeable charging and

An image forming machine, such as a printer or a copying machine for forming a toner image on a photoreceptor includes an image writer, such as a laser beam generator, for forming a latent image on the photoreceptor; a developer for developing the latent image with a developer, which includes a toner and a carrier; a controller for controlling a toner concentration of the developer so that the toner concentration is equalized; a circuit to automatically form a reference toner image on the photoreceptor; a detector for detecting a toner deposition amount of the reference toner image; and a controller circuit for decreasing a toner charge amount of the toner when the toner concentration is equalized and the toner deposition amount of the reference toner image is smaller than a predetermined value.

Electrostatic recording apparatus using variable bias developing voltage

An image forming machine such as a copier or a printer for developing a latent image on a photoreceptor with toner. The image forming machine includes a sleeve for charging the photoreceptor; magnetic particles for forming a magnetic brush on a surface of the sleeve; a driver for driving the sleeve so that the magnetic brush is moved; and a power applying circuit for applying an alternating current between 20 and 500 .mu.A/cm on to a charging area between the sleeve and the photoreceptor; in which the sleeve is located in the vicinity of the photoreceptor so that the magnetic brush is in contact with the surface of the photoreceptor.

Magnetic brush charging device

An image forming apparatus has a plurality of mixed input thereto including one-sided and two-sided documents, and then copied on sheets which are successively outputted in accordance with the supplied documents. The apparatus has a feeder to feed the documents to a reading station, and a discriminator to discriminate whether each of the documents is a one-sided or a two-sided document. Then the apparatus selectively outputs copied sheets in either a one-sided copy mode, a two-sided copy mode or a mixed copy mode in which one-sided and two-sided copy sheets are outputted in accordance with the mixed one-sided and two-sided documents.

Image forming apparatus for copying one and two-sided documents

The invention provides a photoreceptor belt for forming a latent image on its imaging surface. The photoreceptor belt is stretched in the form of a loop around a plurality of rollers so as to be rotated for carrying a formed image. Both ends of the photoreceptor belt are bonded in the manner that the leading end in relation to the rotation direction is positioned inside than the trailing end in relation to the form of loop and the inner surface of the trailing end is superimposed on the outer surface of the leading end. Cleaning device for cleaning the imaging surface of the photoreceptor belt is disposed to have a cleaning direction opposite to the rotation direction of the photoreceptor belt. The photoreceptor belt is positioned to stop where the bonded ends of the belt are proximate to the corona charging device. The photoreceptor belt is then positioned to stop where the bonded ends of the belt are proximate to the fixing device when the next image formation is not conducted within a period of time after the previous image formation.

Belt type image forming unit

An image forming apparatus is provided with a rotatable upper cover, one surface of which serves as a first exit tray on which recording sheets are discharged with image sides face downward, the other surface of which serves as a second exit tray on which recording sheets are discharged with image sides face upward. Guide members which are activated in accordance with the rotation of the rotatable upper cover are provided above delivering rollers, thereby the recording sheets delivered by the delivering rollers are selectively discharged with the image sides either face downward to the first exit tray or face upward to the second exit tray.

Image forming apparatus with sheet discharging device

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Hachioji, Japan

Shizuo Morita