Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Takeshi Niimura

Ken Murooka

Tatsuo Hamada

Yoshinori Sugiura

Nobukazu Adachi

Noriyoshi Ishikawa

Akira Kuroda

Akira Yuza

Jun Azuma

Takeshi Kubota

Takeshi Setoriyama

Yoshiro Tsuchiya

Takeshi Sugita

Chitose Tenpaku

Yoshiya Nomura

Wataru Uchida

Shinya Noda

Toshihiko Ochiai

Yasuzumi Taba

Hideki Miyazaki

Seietsu Miura

Takaaki Kawade

Hiroshi Goto

Yoshihiro Ito

Takehiko Suzuki

Masahiko Suzumi

Mahito Yoshioka

Hiroyuki Ishii

Shoichiro Ikegami

Akira Hayakawa

Terutaka Endo

Masahito Omata

Ryuichi Kojima

Shigeru Okamura

Yusuke Niikawa

Yoshihiro Matsuo

Yasumasa Otsuka

Kenji Karashima

Atsushi Oguni

Masahide Tanoue

Yuzuru Tsurumi

Norio Furuya

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly, a developing cartridge, and a cartridge supporting member movable between an inside position in which the pair of the process cartridge and the developing cartridge are located at an image forming position and an outside position in which the process cartridge and the developing cartridge are mountable and demountable. A first portion-to-be-pressed is provided on the process cartridge, a main assembly side process cartridge urging member is provided in the main assembly for pressing the first portion-to-be-pressed when the cartridge supporting member is in the inside position, and a second portion-to-be-pressed is provided on the developing cartridge. In addition, a main assembly side developing cartridge urging member is provided for pressing the second portion-to-be-pressed when the cartridge supporting member is located at the inside position.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus, process cartridge and developing cartridge

An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly, a supporting member capable of supporting a plurality of developing rollers and a plurality of photosensitive drums, and a plurality of developing cartridges each having the developing roller. An urging member urges each developing cartridge to urge the developing roller toward the photosensitive drum, and a spacing member spaces the developing roller and the photosensitive drum from each other. The developing cartridges each include an upper surface facing upward when mounted to the supporting member and two recessed portions provided at the upper surface, each extending in a longitudinal direction of the developing roller, wherein the two recessed portions are disposed along an arrangement direction of the developing cartridges and constitute a gripping portion.

An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly, and a supporting member capable of supporting a plurality of developing rollers and a plurality of photosensitive drums, with the supporting member being movable substantially linearly between an inside position inside of the main assembly and an outside position outside of the main assembly while supporting the developing rollers and the photosensitive drums. In addition, a plurality of developing cartridges each have the developing roller and are mountable to and dismountable from the supporting member which supports the plurality of photosensitive drums when the supporting member is in the outside position. The developing cartridges each include an upper surface facing upward when mounted to the supporting member and a projection projecting upwardly from the upper surface and having a shape providing a space through a middle portion thereof.

The fixing device includes a rotary member for contacting the unfixed toner image, a pressure member for forming the nip portion by contacting the rotary member, and a cover for covering the rotary member with a space between the rotary member and the cover. In a cross section of the fixing device, the cross section being orthogonal to a generatrix direction of the rotary member, the shortest distance (H) between the nip portion and a farthest surface portion of the rotary member farthest away from a surface portion forming the nip portion of the rotary member, the maximum width (W) of the rotary member in the conveyance direction of the recording member, and an area (S) of the space in a range of the maximum width W in the cross section satisfy with a relationship of S/W&#x2267;0.7&#xd7;H.

Fixing device

Provided is an image reading apparatus, including: a placing member on which an original is to be placed; a reading section arranged so as to be opposed to the original across the placing member and reading an image of the original placed on the placing member; a casing which supports an outer peripheral edge portion of the placing member; and a support member supporting a portion other than the outer peripheral edge portion of the placing member, the support member including an abutment portion abutting against the casing, the support member being capable of supporting the placing member under a state in which the abutment portion abuts against the casing.

Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same

A sheet stacking device including a stacking tray, an auxiliary tray, and pivot limiting means. The stacking tray is disposed to be pivotable relative to an apparatus main body. The stacking tray has a stacking surface on which sheets discharged from discharging means are stacked. The auxiliary tray is pivotable between a storage position at which the auxiliary tray is stored in the stacking tray and a pivot position to which the auxiliary tray pivots from the stacking tray. Pivot limiting means limits pivoting of the auxiliary tray from the pivot position when the stacking tray is caused to pivot.

Sheet stacking device and image forming apparatus

An inexpensive and stable regulating member which can control, without depending on an open/close cover, movement of a cartridge used for an image forming apparatus transportable in a cartridge-mounted state is provided. The regulating member includes a first contact portion which receives a first force applied from the cartridge to inside of the regulating member and a second contact portion which receives a second force that prevents the regulating member from moving from a regulating position by receiving the first force at a position away from a mounting and dismounting path of the cartridge where the cartridge passes when the cartridge is mounted on or dismounted from the apparatus main body.

Apparatus transportable in a cartridge-mounted state for electrophotography image forming

An image forming apparatus includes: a conveying unit for conveying a recording material on which an image is to be formed; and a pair of side members provided on both sides of the recording material conveyed by the conveying unit, in which the pair of side members each have a first surface portion and a second surface portion that extends in a direction different from the first surface portion, the first surface portion of one of the pair of side members being opposed to that of the other, and in which the conveying unit is attached to the second surface portion of each of the pair of side members, whereby the maintenance property of the conveying unit for conveying the recording material is improved.

Main frame construction for an image forming apparatus

A sheet supply portion is disposed in the lowermost portion of a printer so as to be substantially horizontal. A main conveying path for guiding a sheet from a transferring roller to a fixing device is disposed in a substantially vertical direction so as to be along the back of the printer. The guide surface of a sheet delivery guide constituting a conveying path leading from the fixing device to a pair of sheet delivery rollers is a flat surface.

Image forming apparatus

An image heating apparatus that has an elongated heater, a film having a surface which moves while in contact with a recording material bearing an image, wherein the image on the recording material is heated by heat emitted from the heater via the film. The heater has a substrate made of metal and the substrate has a convex portion in a longitudinal direction of the heater.

Image heating apparatus, heater for heating image and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus which has an image bearing member for bearing an image, a transferring member for forming a transfer nip portion between the image bearing member and the transferring member, wherein a recording material is pinched and conveyed and an image on the image bearing member is transferred onto the recording material in the transfer nip portion, a rotary member contacted with the image on the recording material, and a driving roller for forming a fixing nip portion between the rotary member and the driving roller and for driving the rotary member, wherein the recording material bearing the image is pinched and conveyed and the image is fixed to the recording material in the fixing nip portion, and wherein regarding at least a recording material having a maximum size, while the image is being transferred in the transfer nip portion, the image is fixed in the fixing nip portion, and wherein a peripheral speed of the driving roller is always greater than a conveying speed of the recording material in the transfer nip portion.

Image forming apparatus having a mechanism to clean a driving roller by a recording material

A frame structure usable in an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material using a laser source, the apparatus includes a first wall; a second wall opposed to the first wall; first and second connecting members bridging between the first wall and the second wall; a scanner supporting member for supporting an optical device between the first connecting member and the second connecting member; a motor supporting member for supporting a motor between the scanner supporting member and the first wall; wherein the walls, connecting members, scanner supporting member and motor supporting member are integrally molded.

Frame structure and an image forming apparatus using such a frame

The present invention provides a drive controlling apparatus used in a sheet supplying apparatus including a lift/lower sheet supporting device for supporting a sheet, a sheet supply mechanism for feeding out the sheet supported by the sheet supporting device, a biasing mechanism for biasing the sheet supporting device toward the sheet supply mechanism, and a separating mechanism for separating the sheet supporting device from the sheet supply mechanism in opposition to a biasing force of the biasing mechanism, and wherein the sheet urged against the sheet supply mechanism by the biasing mechanism is fed out by the sheet supply mechanism, said drive controlling apparatus adapted to transmit a driving force for operating the separating mechanism from a drive source and comprising a drive side device connected to the drive source, a driven side device connected to the separating mechanism, and a play setting device for providing a play for not transmitting the driving force within a predetermined range between the drive side device and the driven side device.

Sheet supplying apparatus

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material includes an image bearing member; and optical mechanism for projecting light corresponding to image information onto the image bearing member; a developer for developing a latent image formed on the image bearing member into a toner image; a transfer mechanism for transferring the toner image onto a recording material; a fixer for fixing the toner image transferred onto the recording material; a first support for supporting the recording material to be fed to the transfer mechanism; and a second support for supporting the recording material which has been subjected to a fixing operation of the fixer. Air ducts are provided along the back side supporting surfaces of the first support and the second support which overlap in a horizontal direction with the optical mechanism therebetween. A sheet feeding position, an image transfer position, and an image fixing position take lower positions in the order named.

Image forming apparatus having arrangement of sheet support members and

A gear unit usable with an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus including an image bearing member, an image fixing unit for fixing on a recording material a toner image formed on the image bearing member and transferred to the recording material from the image bearing member, and a feeder for feeding the recording material, the gear unit includes an image bearing member driving gear for transmitting a driving force to the image bearing member; fixing device driving gear for transmitting a driving force to the fixing unit; a feed drive gear for transmitting a driving force to the feeder: a supporting member for supporting the image bearing member driving gear, the image fixing device driving gear and the feed driving gear.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Takeshi Niimura