Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Takehiro Kishi

Takayuki Suga

Takeshi Aoyama

Ryuta Ai

Hirotoshi Tajima

Hyoe Iwata

Yukihiro Miura

Yasushi Takeuchi

Tsuyoshi Tajiri

Keita Shigihara

An image forming apparatus includes a controller configured to control first and second image forming units to form a plurality of groups of detection images, the plurality of groups of detection images being scaled based on a scaling factor, determine a plurality of detection start timings that respectively correspond to the plurality of groups based on the scaling factor, control a detection unit to detect the plurality of groups based on the determined detection start timings, and control the detected misregistration of a first image to be formed by the first image forming unit and a second image to be formed by the second image forming unit.

Image forming apparatus that adjusts color misregistration

A belt feeding device includes a belt, a first roller, an opposing roller, a second roller, and a brush roller. (|D2s&#x2212;D2m|/2)&#xd7;10&#x2265;&#x3bb;&#x2265;(|D2s&#x2212;D2m|/2)&#xd7;(b/(a+b)) is satisfied, where D2m is a minimum diameter of the first roller, D2s is a maximum diameter of the first roller, &#x3bb; is an entering amount of the opposing roller into the brush roller with respect to a reference line A between a portion of the first roller having the minimum diameter D2m and the second roller, a is a distance between a line passing through a rotation center of the first roller and a line passing through a rotation center of the opposing roller, and b is a distance between a line passing through a rotation center of the second roller and a line passing through the rotation center of the opposing roller.

Belt feeding device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a detection unit configured to detect a test pattern formed on an image carrier by image forming units; and an adjustment unit configured to control the image forming units to form the test pattern, and adjust relative positions of images based on a detection result of the test pattern. The adjustment unit is further configured to control the image forming units to form the test pattern after the image forming units have formed on the image carrier an image to be transferred to a sheet with a basis weight less than a threshold, and before the image forming units form on the image carrier an image to be transferred to a sheet with a basis weight greater than the threshold.

Image forming apparatus that adjusts relative positions of images by detecting test pattern

An image forming apparatus includes a member-to-be-cleaned, a first cleaner unit including a first attracting member, a first rotatable member and a first blade member, a second cleaner unit including a second attracting member, a second rotatable member and a second blade member, and a feeding member. The feeding member rotates around its rotational axis and is provided vertically below a first position where a toner drops by gravitation and a second position where the toner drops by gravitation. The feeding member is disposed such that vertical lines passing through the first position and the second position cross the feeding member.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a stretch roller and a steering roller rotatably supporting an intermediate transfer belt and a control portion executing a meandering control operation of controlling a widthwise position of the intermediate transfer belt by operating a tilting portion tilting the steering roller. The control portion tilts the steering roller to a reference position when transfer biases are applied to first and second transfer members in forming an image to perform the meandering control operation from the reference position. The control portion is also configured to be able to update the reference position stored in a storage portion based on an inclined position of the steering roller during the meandering control operation in the state in which the transfer members are applied.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a toner image forming unit, a sensor, and a control unit. The toner image forming unit is configured to form a toner image on the image bearing member. The sensor includes a light-emitting unit for emitting light, a light-receiving unit for receiving reflected light, an electrical circuit board in which the light-emitting unit is attached, and a frame supporting the electrical circuit board with the electrical circuit board bonded with three supporting portions. The sensor is configured to detect the toner image formed on the image bearing member. The control unit is configured to control a toner image forming condition of the toner image forming unit according to an output of the sensor.

An image forming apparatus includes a belt member which bears a toner image, a transfer portion for forming a transfer nip portion, a changing unit for changing an advancing angle of the belt member advancing into the transfer nip portion, a guide member which is arranged at an upstream side of the transfer nip portion in a recording material conveying direction and face to a untransfered face of the recording material and guide a recording material to the transfer nip portion, and a controller for controlling the changing unit so that a belt face advancing into the transfer nip portion and conveying a recording material having a first thickness is at a position farther from the guide member than the belt face advancing into the transfer nip portion and conveying a recording material having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness.

Image forming apparatus featuring a rotatable belt member adjustment roller

A consumable component sorting system which make it possible to prolong the service life of a consumable component and reduce cost burdened on a user. An image forming apparatus collects information on its own operational environment or operational condition. A data server estimates a change in characteristics of the consumable component used in the image forming apparatus based on the information on the operational environment or the operational condition of the same collected thereby. A component managing server sorts out a consumable component suited to the operational environment or the operational condition of the image forming apparatus, based on the result of the estimation of the data server.

Consumable component selection based on operational environment or condition

An image reading apparatus accurately determines the positions of image forming mirrors formed with an off-axis reflecting surface, while enabling any thermal expansion caused by a rise in temperature due to a rise in the surrounding temperature to be absorbed. Each image forming mirror formed with an off-axis reflecting surface comprises respective and independent units for determining the positions in the longitudinal direction, in the lateral position, and in the direction orthogonal to the reflecting surface. Holes with which the longitudinal position determining units and the lateral position determining units engage have gaps in the directions orthogonal to the position determining directions to absorb the thermal expansion caused by a rise in the temperature of the image forming mirror when the position determining units engage with the holes. Determination of the position of the reflecting surfaces of the image forming mirrors is carried out by urging faces provided on the reflecting surface side against the housing.

Image reading apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, which rotates and bears a toner image, a thickness of the image bearing member having a periodical variation in a rotation direction of the image bearing member, a first image forming device, which forms a toner image on the image bearing member at a first region with a first toner; and a second image forming device, which forms a toner image on the image bearing member at a second region with a second toner. A distance between a central position of the first region in the rotation direction of the image bearing member and a central position of the second region in the rotation direction of the image bearing member is approximately integer multiples of a periodical length in the periodical variation of the thickness of the image bearing member.

Image forming apparatus which prevents misregistration

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit for forming a toner image on a recording material. A first accommodating body accommodates the image forming unit. A fixing unit fixes an image formed by the image forming unit on the recording material. A second accommodating body accommodates the fixing unit, with the second accommodating body being attached to an external part of the first accommodating body. An air current path is formed by a space created by connecting the first accommodating body and the second accommodating body such that the recording material on which the image has been formed is conveyed from the first accommo-dating body to the second accommodating body in order to fix the image. The air current path is adapted to guide air to move outside of the apparatus by use of fans.

Image forming apparatus in which a fan is used to affect air flow

An image-forming apparatus includes an image-bearing member supporting a toner image; a transfer roller that rotates in contact with the image-bearing member so as to transfer the toner image to a recording material; first and second cleaning rollers, each having a brush provided on a circumferential surface thereof so as to electrostatically recover toner deposited on the transfer roller while rotating in contact therewith; a recovery roller that rotates in contact with the first and second cleaning rollers to electrostatically recover the toner therefrom; and a blade-like removing member that comes in contact with the recovery roller so as to remove the toner therefrom.

Image-forming apparatus having cleaning roller to remove toner from transfer roller that facilitates transferring toner image from image-bearing member to recording material

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a transfer member, and a transfer member cleaning apparatus. The transfer member cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning blade and a rotatable cleaning member around the transfer member. A transfer member where a developer image is transferred from the image bearing member onto a transfer material, the cleaning blade, and the rotatable cleaning member are disposed in this order from an upstream side to a downstream side in a rotation direction of the transfer member. During a cleaning operation of the transfer member cleaning apparatus, developer in an amount corresponding to one to three layers of the developer passes through between the cleaning blade and the transfer member.

To provide an image forming apparatus including a first image bearing member, first toner image forming means which forms a first toner image on the first image bearing member, an intermediate transfer member in which a circumferential face is formed, the circumferential face rotates in a predetermined direction by using the center of the circumferential face as a rotating center and the thickness is periodically changed at a predetermined interval in the predetermined rotating direction, a first primary transfer region in which the first toner image on the first image bearing member is transferred to the intermediate transfer member, a second image bearing member and a second primary transfer region in which the toner image on the second image bearing member is transferred to the intermediate transfer member to which the first toner image is transferred, in which the distance between the central position of the first primary transfer region and the central position of the second primary transfer region in the rotating direction of the intermediate transfer member is approximately integer times of the predetermined interval. Thereby, it is possible to restrain misregistration from occurring.

An image reader adopting an off-axial optical system, an adjustable imaging mirror and a CCD fixed to a highly rigid structure. Since the relative position between reflecting and imaging mirrors can be set highly accurately, adjusting only the CCD-mounting position allows a required specification of the read image to be met. The imaging mirror can easily be adjusted without distorting the reflecting surface. The reflecting and imaging mirrors, and the CCD-mounting-position adjuster are positioned directly to reflecting-mirror supporting sections, imaging-mirror supporting sections, and CCD supporting sections, which are integrated with a carriage casing, and fixed to them. The CCD is fixed to the carriage casing with the CCD-mounting-position adjuster. An imaging mirror close to a diaphragm and adjacent to the image is supported by a mirror adjusting plate, which can be displaced to adjust the position of the imaging mirror.

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Toride, Japan

Takehiro Kishi