Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Takeshi Sugita

Akira Kuroda

Nobukazu Adachi

Akira Yuza

Takeshi Kubota

Yoshinori Sugiura

Ken Murooka

Takeshi Niimura

Noriyoshi Ishikawa

Takeshi Setoriyama

Yoshiro Tsuchiya

Jun Azuma

Tatsuo Hamada

Chitose Tenpaku

Yoshiya Nomura

Yoichiro Maebashi

Kazushi Suzuki

Tamotsu Kaneko

Hisahiro Saito

Toru Oguma

Hideshi Kawaguchi

Akira Kato

Satoshi Nishida

Hideyuki Matsubara

Yasuhiro Nakata

Manabu Takano

Toshio Yoshimoto

Tatsubumi Mizuno

Atsushi Wada

Yasumasa Nashida

Keisuke Endoh

An image forming apparatus is capable of being attached with a toner supply container. The toner supply container stores a toner that is to be supplied to a developing portion. An attachment location of the toner supply container is below a light scanning portion in a vertical direction.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a member for use in forming an image, an acquiring unit, a scanning unit, and a control unit. The acquiring unit is configured to acquire first image information on the image formed on a recording material. The scanning unit is configured to scan the image formed on the recording material to acquire second image information. The control unit is configured to compare the first image information acquired by the acquiring unit with the second image information acquired by the scanning unit to determine a state of the member based on a comparison result.

Apparatus and system for forming image

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus on which a process cartridge is detachably mountable forms an image on a recording medium, and has a main body electrical contact electrically connected to a cartridge electrical contact when the cartridge is mounted on an apparatus main body, an electrically grounded electrically conductive discharge preventing member for effecting discharge between it and a charged foreign substance to thereby prevent discharge from occurring between the foreign substance and the main body electrical contact when the foreign substance has entered the apparatus main body on which the process cartridge is not mounted. The discharge preventing member is movable between a first position located in the entry route of the cartridge and a second position retracted from the first position and located outside the entry route. The apparatus also has an actuating member for moving the discharge preventing member from the first to the second position.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus, process cartridge and discharge preventing mechanism

An image forming apparatus has sufficient fixing stability and load capacity and being free of sheet jamming and poor image formation. An image forming apparatus includes a transfer voltage applying section for applying a voltage to a transfer section; a transfer current detector for detecting the transfer current flowing through the transfer section; a fixing section for fixing the toner image to fixing position at a predetermined temperature; and a size detector for detecting the size of the recording material. The transfer voltage applying section applies a predetermined transfer voltage, while the recording material passes through the transfer section, so that the transfer current is kept a constant current. When the predetermined transfer voltage is lower than a threshold voltage and the size of the recording material is larger than the predetermined size, the fixing section fixes the toner image at a temperature which is lower than the predetermined temperature.

Image forming apparatus and fixing temperature control method

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

An image heating apparatus includes a heater; an endless film loosely trained around the heater; a pressing roller cooperative with the heater to form a nip with the film interposed between the pressing roller and the heater; a driver for driving the pressing roller; a guiding member for guiding an inside surface of the film, and extended along the pressing roller; wherein the guiding member has, at an end portion, a film guiding surface which is inclined relative to an axis of the pressing roller.

Image heating apparatus using endless web guided by a guide having

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.

Gear unit, image forming apparatus and gear unit mounting method

An assembling method of an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material includes preparing a frame, a feeding unit having a feeding roller, electrical component unit having electrical components and an outer cover; mounting the feeding unit and the electrical component unit to the frame from a position of the frame which takes a bottom position upon installation of the image forming apparatus; and then overturning of the frame; mounting the outer cover to the frame from a position which takes a top position upon installation of the frame.

Image forming apparatus, assembling method of image forming apparatus,

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, to which a process cartridge is detachably mountable, the image forming apparatus including a mounting device for mounting a process cartridge having an image bearing member comprising a helical gear, and a process device actable on the image bearing member; a feeder for feeding the recording material; and projection device for projecting image information light onto the image bearing member in a direction from a projection reference disposed at one side of an axis of the image bearing member to the other side; a positioning reference for positioning the image bearing member in its axial direction; feed guide reference for guiding the recording material fed by the feeder; and wherein the positioning reference, the feed guide reference and the projection reference are disposed in a same side of a main assembly of the image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus with helical gear drive train

An image fixing apparatus includes a heating member; a film in slidable contact with the heating member; a pressing roller cooperable with the heating member to form a nip with the film therebetween; wherein the pressing roller comprises a core metal of aluminum; and a metal member for transferring heat from the heating member.

Image fixing apparatus having means for preventing temperature unevenness

A heater with a base member has a resistor extended along a length of the base member and generating heat upon electric power supply thereto. Also provided is a temperature detecting element for detecting the temperature of the base member, and first and second electric power supply contacts for supplying electric power to the resistor, the first contacts being provided only adjacent a first longitudinal end of the base member and the second contacts being provided only adjacent a second longitudinal end of the base member.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Takeshi Sugita