Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Takeshi Tabuchi

Takaaki Tawada

Yuji Arai

Masami Tomita

Yutaka Takahashi

Toshio Koike

Naohiro Kumagai

Tadashi Hayakawa

Ken Amemiya

Sadao Takahashi

Masanori Kawasumi

Masato Yanagida

Nobuo Kikuchi

Yoshiaki Miyashita

Kentaro Matsumoto

Kouichi Yamazaki

Takeshi Shintani

Takatsugu Fujishiro

Tokuya Ojimi

Hiroshi Ono

Takeshi Uchitani

Yoshio Hattori

Eisaku Murakami

Takeo Suda

Shinichi Kawahara

Shuji Tanaka

Akira Fujimori

Haruji Mizuishi

Takuzi Yoneda

Hiroomi Harada

Takuji Yoneda

Teruyuki Kasuga

Hiroshi Hosokawa

Satoshi Takano

Satoshi Hatori

Kaoru Yoshino

Yoshiyuki Kimura

Hiroshi Mizusawa

Keiichi Yoshida

Shinya Karasawa

Hiromichi Ninomiya

Junji Kurokawa

Naomi Misago

Chohtaroh Kataoka

Hirohisa Otsuka

Hirohisa Ohtsuka

Hideyo Watanabe

Hidemasa Sato

A charging device includes a charging roller, a drive transmission device, and a charging roller cleaner. The charging roller opposes an image carrier driven to rotate and rotates to charge the image carrier. The charging roller cleaner contacts the charging roller to clean the charging roller. The drive transmission device transmits torque from the image carrier to the charging roller, and includes an image carrier gear and a driven gear. The image carrier gear and the driven gear form a gear train to drive the charging roller in response to rotation of the image carrier. The charging roller cleaner is disposed facing a rear surface of the charging roller to prevent displacement of the charging roller due to a force generated by a pressure angle formed between the image carrier gear and the driven gear when the charging roller rotates in response to rotation of the image carrier.

Charging device capable of efficiently charging image carrier

In an image forming apparatus, an area applied with a lubricant, i.e., an area of a lubricant layer having a uniform thickness, is obtained by spreading the lubricant by a lubricant smoothing blade. The area applied with a lubricant covers an area cleaned by a cleaning blade, i.e., a contact portion of the cleaning blade with a photoconductor.

Image forming apparatus, lubricant applying device, transfer device, process cartridge, and toner

A process cartridge including an image bearing member; a lubricant applicator, which includes a lubricant application member configured to apply a solid lubricant to the surface of the image bearing member; and a smoothing member configured to smooth the applied solid lubricant, and at least one of a charging device, a developing device and a cleaning device, wherein the amount of the solid lubricant present on a portion of surface of the image bearing member, which is located between the lubricant application member and the smoothing blade, is from 0.11 to 1.2 mg/m. The smoothing member is preferably a blade having a JIS-A hardness of not less than 79&#xb0;. The process cartridge is preferably assembled by a method including setting the lubricant smoothing member, the lubricant and the lubricant application member to a housing of the process cartridge; and then setting the image bearing member to the housing.

Lubricant applicator, and image forming apparatus and process cartridge using the lubricant applicator, and method for assembling the process cartridge

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a charging unit that charges the image carrier, a latent image forming unit that forms a latent image on the image carrier, a developing unit that develops the latent image to form a toner image, a transferring unit that transfers the toner image to a recording medium, a cleaning unit that cleans toner remaining on the image carrier, a lubricant applying unit that applies a solid lubricant to a surface of the image carrier, and a detecting unit that detects whether the image carrier is brand new. The toner has an average roundness of 0.94 or more. The lubricant applying unit is operated when the detecting unit detects that the image carrier is brand new.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge having a detachable unit body having a lubricant applying unit and image carrier mounted thereon

A cleaning device, a process cartridge, an image forming apparatus, and toner to maintain improved cleaning performance for a long time. The cleaning device includes a cleaning blade, a lubricant applying part, and a toner removing part. The cleaning blade is disposed in contact with a surface of an image bearing member. The lubricant applying part coats a solid lubricant on the surface of the image bearing member, and is disposed in an upstream side from the cleaning blade with respect to a rotational direction of the image bearing member. The toner removing part removes toner particles, and is disposed in an upstream side from the lubricant applying part with respect to the rotational direction of the image bearing member.

Cleaning device, process cartridge, image forming apparatus and toner

A cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade that cleans toner on an image carrier and a brush-shaped roller that applies a lubricant of a molded lubricant on the image carrier. The brush-shaped roller is insulative, and delivers the toner cleaned by the cleaning blade to inside of the cleaning unit.

Cleaning unit, process cartridge, image forming apparatus, and toner

An image forming apparatus and a photoconductive belt module including an endless belt configured to be electrically charged, a plurality of rollers that span the endless belt around the rollers and rotatively transport the endless belt, and a charging device disposed opposite one of the plurality of rollers and apart from the surface of the endless belt at a predetermined distance and configured to charges a surface of the endless belt electrically.

Image forming apparatus and photoconductive belt module having a non-contact proximity charging device

An electrostatic charging roller having at least two layers; namely an elastic layer and a surface layer covering a surface of the elastic layer; wherein the surface layer contains low structure acetylene with a particle diameter of 44 to 60 m.mu. to improve uniformity in electrification by the electrostatic charging roller having a surface layer in which conductive particles and non-adhesive resin are dispersed therein. Also dependency of the electrostatic charging roller on humidity is suppressed to a lower level, which makes smaller fluctuation of the electrifying characteristics caused by changes in environmental conditions.

Electrostatic charging roller

An image forming method and apparatus having a temperature sensor which moves into and out of contact with the surface of a charge roller contacting the photoconductive drum. When a copying operation is occurring and a voltage is applied to the charge roller, the air temperature surrounding the charge roller is detected and when the copy machine is idle and a voltage is not being applied to the charge roller, the temperature sensor moves into contact with the surface of the charge roller and the surface of the charge roller is detected. A voltage is applied to the charge roller depending upon the detected temperature. The temperature sensor may also be used to detect the temperature of a contact transfer roller or belt.

Image forming apparatus and method having a temperature sensor which is

In an image forming apparatus, a charging member, image transfer member or similar contact member contacts an image carrier implemented as a photoconductive element. Even when a voltage is applied to the contact member in a relatively low temperature environment, the contact member is provided with an adequate charge potential or an image transfer potential.

Image forming apparatus with a contact member contacting an image carrier

A system for cleaning a charge inducing member comprising a cleaning element for establishing relative lineal as well as rotary movement between the cleaning element and charge inducing member. Embodiments include various mechanisms for imparting axial reciprocal motion to the cleaning element and for disabling reciprocation of the cleaning element or separating the cleaning element and charging member from each other during sensitive portions of a photoduplication cycle.

Method of and system for cleaning a charge inducing member

In an image forming apparatus having a charging member for charging a photoconductive element in the form of a drum or a belt in contact therewith, a cleaning member cleans the surface of a charge roller contacting the photoconductive element. The cleaning member is usually spaced apart from the surface of the charge roller, but the former is caused to contact the latter only for a predetermined period of time at predetermined intervals. This frees the charge roller from excessive cleaning due to the cleaning member and, therefore, obviates defective images. The time for causing the cleaning member to contact the charge roller may be changed on the basis of the degree of contamination of the charge roller in order to cope with accidental smears brought about on the charge roller.

Cleaning system for charging drum of an image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive body. A charge member is held in contact with the photosensitive body and charges the photosensitive body by applying a voltage thereto. An exposure device exposes a surface of the photosensitive body charged by the charge member and forms an electrostatic latent image. A developing device attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive body and visualizes the electrostatic latent image. Further, a particle diameter of fine powder which is the toner used in the developing device is equal to or less than 3 .mu.m, and a containing rate of the fine powder is equal to or less than 5%. Further, an angle of spatula of the toner used in the developing device may be at least 25 degrees. A cohesiveness of the toner may also be at least 9%.

Toner used in an image forming apparatus

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Saitama, Japan

Takeshi Tabuchi