Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Subaru Corporation

Taiki Amemiya

Yukio Hosoya

Kunihiro Ogura

Aya Shirai

Kaori Matsushima

Takaki Kawamura

Teruo Sasaki

Masahiro Matsuoka

Hiroshi Nagasawa

Ryuichi Hiramoto

Yoshiyasu Matsumoto

Hiroyuki Matsumoto

Tatsuya Nagase

Asao Matsushima

Hitoshi Nakamura

Junya Onishi

Seijiro Takahashi

Tomoko Sakimura

Kazutoshi Kobayashi

Kazukuni Nishimura

Shinya Enomoto

Kosuke Nakano

Shu Otsuka

Michihiro Kurosaki

Kenji Kamegai

Yuto Nakagawa

An electrophotographic image forming system forms an electrostatic latent image on at least a photoreceptor, develops an image using an electrostatic charge image developing toner, and removes the toner using a cleaning blade. A tip ridge of the cleaning blade is pressed against a surface of the photoreceptor. The system includes a photosensitive layer of the photoreceptor and a surface protecting layer that is provided on a surface of the photosensitive layer. The surface protecting layer includes a polymerizable monomer having at least two polymerizable groups in a molecule and a polymer of a hole transporting compound having a polymerizable group represented by General formula (1). The tip ridge of the cleaning blade has an edge angle that is obtuse and less than 120° and is pressed against the surface of the photoreceptor at an effective contact angle that is in a range of 8 to 20°.

Electrophotographic image forming system with cleaning blade

A stereo camera adjustment system disposes an adjustment plate that displays an adjustment chart for adjusting deviation of image information caused by position misalignment of the stereo camera at a predetermined position relative to a vehicle mounted with a stereo camera, capture an image of the adjustment chart, and process the captured image of the adjustment chart to correct the deviation of the image information. The stereo camera adjustment system includes a plate movement device that adjusts a disposed state of the adjustment plate relative to the vehicle, a detector that detects an attitude of the vehicle stopped at a defined position, and a controller that controls, based on the detected attitude of the vehicle, the plate movement device to adjust the disposed state of the adjustment plate such that the adjustment plate is at the predetermined position relative to the vehicle.

Stereo camera adjustment system

There is provided a method of producing a blade for cleaning a toner image retainer, the method including: binding an abutting layer that abuts against the toner image retainer and a supporting layer that supports the abutting layer, wherein the maximum value D of a difference between a first loss tangent at 1 Hz and a second loss tangent at 100 Hz of the blade that includes the abutting layer and the supporting layer satisfies the formula: 0.2&#x2264;D&#x2264;0.7, wherein the maximum value D is a maximum value of a difference between the first loss tangent and the second loss tangent at temperatures within a range of 0&#xb0; C. to 50&#xb0; C.

Method of producing blade, blade, image forming apparatus, and image forming method

Provided is a cleaning member including a urethane rubber, wherein the urethane rubber has a cyclic structure portion in which a fluorine atom is directly bonded to the cyclic structure portion.

Cleaning member, production method of same, and image forming apparatus

The present invention relates to a solid lubricant to be coated on an image bearing member included in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The solid lubricant contains a resin particle and metal soap. The resin particle includes a particle body containing an amorphous resin as a principal component, and a fluorine atom supported on a surface of the particle body. The resin particle is a particle having a volume average particle size of 70 nm or more. The solid lubricant can sufficiently increase a cleaning effect in the image forming apparatus.

Solid lubricant, solid lubricant coater and image forming apparatus

A solid lubricant to be applied onto an image carrier of an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system, includes a metal soap and resin particles, and the resin particles have a particle main body constituted by a rigid resin other than fluorine-based resins, and fluorine atoms carried on the surface of the particle main body.

Solid lubricant, solid lubricant application apparatus and image forming apparatus

A solid lubricant is supplied to a surface of an image carrier of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The solid lubricant contains a fatty acid metal salt and polypropylene, and the polypropylene has an acid value of 1 mg KOH/g or more. The solid lubricant is a solid substance of a melt mold containing the fatty acid metal salt and the polypropylene.

Solid lubricant, electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and image forming method

A solid lubricant containing a fatty acid metal salt and a polyethylene having an acid value is prepared. The solid lubricant is disposed so as to be applied on a surface of an image bearing member of an image forming apparatus in electrophotography, and a lubricant layer is formed on the surface of the image bearing member with the solid lubricant.

Solid lubricant, image forming apparatus and image forming method

A lubricant applicator incorporated in a cleaning device disposed in an image forming apparatus having an image bearing member on which an image containing toner is formed, includes: a lubricant supplying unit that supplies lubricant; a brush roller that scrapes off the lubricant to apply the lubricant to a surface of the image bearing member; and a flicker member positioned on an upstream side from the lubricant supplying unit in a rotation direction of the brush roller, the flicker member coming into contact with the brush roller, wherein the flicker member is a plate-shaped member in which an opening is formed, the flicker member having elasticity to be allowed to elastically rock by coming into contact with the brush roller, and the opening is formed in a region with which the brush roller comes into contact.

Lubricant applicator, cleaning device, and image forming apparatus

Provided is a toner for electrostatic image development that has good low-temperature fixability, also has long-term heat-resistant storage stability and can form an image with unevenness in gloss suppressed. The toner for electrostatic image development includes toner particles. The toner particles have a domain-matrix structure in which a first domain phase including a crystalline polyester resin A and a second domain phase including a crystalline polyester resin B are dispersed in a matrix phase including a vinyl resin. The average diameter of the first domain phase is 400 to 900 nm, and the average diameter of the second domain phase is 10 to 200 nm. The melting point of the crystalline polyester resin A and the melting point of the crystalline polyester resin B are each 95&#xb0; C. or lower.

Toner for electrostatic image development

Provided is a toner for electrostatic image development, having low-temperature fixability and long-term stable charge property and also having heat-resistant storage stability. The toner for electrostatic image development includes toner particles containing a binder resin. The binder resin has a domain-matrix structure in which a crystalline polyester resin is dispersed as a domain phase in a matrix phase formed of an amorphous vinyl polymer formed using at least a vinyl-based monomer. The amorphous vinyl polymer has a carboxy group concentration of not less than 0.2 mmol/g and not more than 1.0 mmol/g, and the crystalline polyester resin has an ester group concentration of not less than 0.1 mmol/g and not more than 7.1 mmol/g.

Provided is a toner for electrostatic image development having low-temperature fixability and providing stability of glossiness for various types of paper. The toner for electrostatic image development includes toner particles having a domain-matrix structure. In the domain-matrix structure, a domain phase including a crystalline polyester resin having a melting point of 40 to 90&#xb0; C. and a domain phase including a vinyl resin B having a weight average molecular weight of 250,000 to 400,000 are dispersed in a matrix phase including a vinyl resin A having a weight average molecular weight of 10,000 to 50,000.

Disclosed is a toner for electrostatic image development that has excellent low-temperature fixability and also has sufficient heat-resistant storage stability. The toner for electrostatic image development includes toner particles containing an amorphous resin including amorphous resins A and B and a crystalline polyester resin. The toner particles have a domain-matrix structure in which a domain phase including fine core particles of the crystalline polyester resin is dispersed in a matrix phase formed of the amorphous resin A composed of a vinyl-based polymer. The surface of the fine core particles of the crystalline polyester resin is coated with the amorphous resin B composed of a vinyl-based polymer.

A plurality of image parts, each having a different gloss level, are formed on the same recording material by electrophotographic technology. The plurality of gloss levels are visually recognized due to the plurality of image parts. The image forming method includes: developing electrostatic latent images on respective image carriers using a high softening point clear toner and a low softening point clear toner, to form a toner image by the high softening point clear toner and a toner image by the low softening point clear toner; transferring the toner images onto a recording material; and heat-fixing the toner image for low gloss and the toner image for high gloss transferred and formed onto the recording material, wherein a softening point Tm(a) of the high softening point clear toner and a softening point Tm(b) of the low softening point clear toner satisfy Tm(a)&#x2212;Tm(b)&#x3e;6&#xb0; C.

Image forming method

An image forming method includes: performing a first gloss processing and a second gloss processing. The first gloss processing includes: heating and pressing a processed body which supports a first toner layer containing at least a clear toner [X] onto a first surface of a recording material, while allowing the first toner layer to be closely adhered to a gloss processing belt; and cooling the same. The second gloss processing includes heating and pressing a processed body which supports a second toner layer containing at least a clear toner [Y] onto a second surface of the recording material, while allowing the second toner layer to be closely adhered to the gloss processing belt; and cooling the same. Here, a storage elastic modulus G' X (150) at 150&#xb0; C. of the clear toner [X] is lower than a storage elastic modulus G&#x2032; Y (150) at 150&#xb0; C. of the clear toner [Y].

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Taiki Amemiya