Konica Corporation

Toshihide Miura

Satoshi Haneda

Hisayoshi Nagase

Hiroyuki Tokimatsu

Shuta Hamada

Kunio Shigeta

Masahiro Onodera

Yotaro Sato

Masakazu Fukuchi

Hiroyuki Arai

Yasushi Yamada

Tadayoshi Ikeda

Yoshikazu Maekawa

Tsugio Hirabayashi

Susumu Okui

Fumitaka Mochizuki

In a fixing apparatus for fixing toner images on a transfer material upon which toner images have been placed by applying heat to the transfer material, the fixing apparatus includes: a roll-shaped rotary member for applying heat to the transfer material upon which toner images have been placed, the roll-shaped rotary member including a cylindrical ray-transmitting base member, and a ray absorbing layer for generating heat onto the transfer material upon which toner images have been placed so as to fix the toner on the transfer material, the ray absorbing layer, provided on an outer side of the ray-transmitting base member; a ray irradiating device for irradiating ray to the ray absorbing layer, the ray irradiating device provided inside the cylindrical ray-transmitting base member; bearing member for rotatably supporting the roll-shaped rotary member; flange members provided on both ends of the ray-transmitting base member; and an elastic covering member provided between the flange member and the roll-shaped rotary member for joining each member.

Apparatus for fixing toner images on a transfer material

A fixing apparatus for fixing toner images on a transfer material by applying heat on the transfer material, the fixing apparatus includes: a roll-shaped rotary member for applying heat, including a cylindrical ray-transmitting base member, and a ray absorbing layer for generating heat, provided on an outer side of the ray-transmitting base member; a ray irradiating device for irradiating ray, provided inside the cylindrical ray-transmitting base member; and flange members provided on both ends of the ray-transmitting base member, and each of the flange members being joined with the ray-transmitting base member through a joining elastic layer.

Fixing apparatus

A color image forming apparatus includes a photoreceptor drum having an outer diameter of 50 mm to 100 mm and a rotational axis, four charging devices for charging the photoreceptor drum, and four exposure devices, provided inside the photoreceptor drum, for imagewise exposing an inner surface of the photoreceptor drum to form respective four latent images. Four developing devices are provided outside the photoreceptor drum at an upper section thereof for developing respective ones of the four latent images using respective different one-component type color developers to form four different color toner images in a superimposed manner on an outer surface of the photoreceptor drum during one rotation thereof the photoreceptor drum. Each developing device has a developing roller for conveying the respective one-component type developers to the outer surface of the photoreceptor drum, and the four developing devices are arranged along an outer circumference of the photoreceptor drum in a manner such that a rotational axis of each of the developing rollers is located within a central angle of 180.degree.. In addition, a transfer device is provided at a lower section of the photoreceptor drum for transferring the superimposed four different color toner images from the outer surface of the photoreceptor drum to a sheet. The transfer device includes an inlet sheet passage and an outlet sheet passage, and the outlet sheet passage is arranged either coplanar with the inlet sheet passage or inclined with respect to the inlet sheet passage at an angle between 10.degree. above the inlet sheet passage and 30.degree. beneath the inlet sheet passage.

Color image forming apparatus having developing devices located within a

An image forming apparatus includes: a first image carrier for carrying a toner image formed by an toner image forming device; a second image carrier for carrying thereon the toner image transferred from the first image carrier, and for transferring a transfer sheet thereon; a first transfer device for transferring the toner image carried on the first image carrier onto the second image carrier or a front side of the transfer sheet; a second transfer device for transferring the toner image carried on the second image carrier onto a back side of the transfer sheet; a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred on the transfer sheet, wherein the second image carrier has a curvature portion at an edge thereof facing the fixing device; and a conveyance section provided between the curvature portion and the fixing device, having a claw member provided adjacent to the curvature portion for lifting a leading edge of the transfer sheet conveyed along the curvature portion. The claw member is separated from the curvature portion, interlocking with retreat of the conveyance section.

Image forming apparatus

A color image forming apparatus includes: a rotary image forming body; a plurality of charging units provided along the image forming body for charging the image forming body; a plurality of exposure units each provided inside the image forming body for imagewise exposing the image forming body to form a latent image; a plurality of developing units each storing therein colored developer different from each other, provided along the image forming body, for developing the latent image formed on the image forming body to form a colored toner image different from each other. After a plurality of different colored toner images are superimposed on the image forming body through successively repeating of charging by the charging unit, imagewise exposing by the exposure unit and developing by the developing unit to form a colored toner image during one rotation of the image forming body, the superimposed toner images are collectively transferred onto a transfer member. The apparatus further includes a process cartridge integrally having the plurality of charging units, the image forming body having therein the plurality of exposure units and the plurality of developing units, wherein the plurality of developing units are detachably attachable to the process cartridge.

Color image forming apparatus having developing devices arranged around

An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming body; an intermediate transfer body for carrying a toner image transferred from the image forming body and conveying a transfer material thereon; a first transfer device for transferring the toner image on the image forming body onto the intermediate transfer body or a front side of the transfer material; a second transfer device for transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer body onto a back side of the transfer material; and a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred on the transfer material. The second transfer device includes a corona discharger having a discharging electrode and a shielding member for shielding an electric field when the discharging electrode discharges, and the shielding member has a circulation hole through which air flows along an outer circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer body in a conveyance direction from upstream to downstream of the transfer material.

Image forming apparatus which is equipped with an intermediate transfer

In an image forming apparatus provided with a first image carrying member; a belt-shaped second image carrying member onto which a toner image is transferred from the first image carrying member; a pair of rotatable fixing members forming a nip region for fixing the toner images transferred on the both sides of the sheet; a conveying device for guiding the sheet separated from an end of the belt-shaped second image carrying member to the pair of rotatable fixing members, when the sheet is nipped and conveyed through the nip region of the pair of rotatable fixing members, the belt-shaped second image carrying member and the pair of rotatable fixing members are arranged such that the sheet is conveyed so as to form a loop protruding from a line connecting the entrance of the nip region and the end of the belt-shaped second image carrying member.

Image forming apparatus which conveys unfixed toner images to a fixing

An image forming apparatus includes: a first image bearer for bearing a toner image formed by a toner image forming device; a second image bearer for bearing the toner image which is transferred from the first image bearer; a first transferring device for transferring the toner image borne on the first image bearer onto the second image bearer or a front side of a transfer material; a second transferring device for transferring the toner image borne on the second image bearer onto a back side of the transfer material; a fixing device for fixing toner images transferred on both sides of the transfer material which is conveyed on the second image bearer and separated therefrom; and a separating claw for separating the transfer material from the second image bearer. The separating claw is provided facing a curvature portion provided at an end portion of the second image bearer on a side of the fixing device, and provided on a side of the second image bearer with respect to a tangential plane of the curvature portion passing an entrance of a nip portion for nipping the transfer material of the fixing device.

An image forming apparatus comprises a photoreceptor drum, a supporting member provided inside the photoreceptor drum and supporting plural exposure devices; and a signal passage to transmit an image signal to the plural exposure devices. The signal passage connects the outside and the inside of the photoreceptor drum by passing a part of the supporting member.

Image forming apparatus having a single-body image forming drum unit

An apparatus for forming toner images on both sides of a sheet includes a first transfer device which transfers a toner image from a rotatable image forming body onto a rotatable intermediate transfer member or onto the first side of a sheet; a second transfer device which transfers a toner image from the rotatable intermediate transfer member onto the second side of the sheet; and a fixing device which fixes the toner image on the first side of the sheet and the toner image on the second side of the sheet simultaneously. The sheet is conveyed to the first transfer device and to the second transfer device by the rotatable intermediate transfer member, is separated at a separating section from the rotatable intermediate transfer member, and is brought to the fixing device. The second transfer device is located between the first transfer device and the separating section, and a conductive member is located opposite the second transfer device.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus has an image forming body which is rotatable in a subsidiary scanning direction. A plurality of imagewise exposure devices for imagewise exposing the image forming body are arranged to face the image forming body and to be aligned in a straight line in a primary scanning direction perpendicular to the subsidiary scanning direction of the image forming body. A common supporting member is provided for supporting the plurality of exposure devices, and bearing members are provided on first and second ends of the common supporting member. The plurality of exposure devices are: (i) radially arranged on the common supporting member with respect to a rotation axis of the image forming body, and (ii) fixed on the supporting member with respect to the bearing members, and the image forming body is rotatable against the common supporting member through the bearing members.

Image forming apparatus having a plurality of exposure devices which are

An image forming apparatus having an exposure optical system provided with an exposure light source in which light-emitting elements are arranged on a base plate to be line-shaped and with a lens array of a distributed refractive index type that converges a beam emitted from the exposure light source on the surface of a photoreceptor and conducts imagewise exposure. The apparatus is configured to satisfy the expression: ##EQU1## In the expression, .DELTA.T1 represents a variation width (K) of the temperature in the vicinity of light-emitting elements, R represents a radius of the photoreceptor mentioned above, Ri represents a length (.mu.m) of each member constituting the exposure optical system in the radial direction of the photoreceptor, .alpha. represents a coefficient of linear thermal expansion (.degree.C..sup.-1) of a transparent base that forms the photoreceptor, .alpha.i represents a coefficient of linear thermal expansion (.degree.C..sup.-1) of each member that constitute the exposure optical system, and F represents the depth of focus (.mu.m) of the lens array.

A method of producing a substrate for a photoreceptor having an exposing device therein for use in an electrophotographic apparatus, including the steps of: injecting polymerizable liquid material into a die whose inner surface is cylindrical; polymerizing the polymerizable liquid material while rotating and heating the die so that a substrate is formed inside the die; and removing the substrate from the die after the polymerizing, wherein the polymerizable liquid material is a transparent resin material and a thickness of the substrate is controlled according to an injecting amount of the polymerizable liquid material.

Process for producing cylindrical substrate for image formation

In a color image forming apparatus, wherein plural toner images are superimposed on the photoreceptor during a single rotation of the photoreceptor by a plurality of charging devices, image exposing means and developing means, each of the plurality of image exposing means comprises an array-shaped plural elements aligned in the axial direction of the photoreceptor and the color image forming apparatus further comprises heating means or heat absorbing means provided for each of the plurality of image exposing means and control means for controlling a temperature of each of the plurality of image exposing means independently of others by the heating means or the heat absorbing means.

Color image forming apparatus

A color image forming apparatus including: an image forming body rotating about a rotary axis; a plurality of imagewise exposure devices mounted on an optical system supporting body and provided inside the image forming body for imagewise exposing the image forming body, wherein the image forming body is integrally formed with the optical system supporting body; a plurality of developing units provided around the image forming body; a suspending member for suspending the optical system supporting body; and guiding member for guiding the suspending member so that the image forming body is pulled out in a direction of the rotary axis of the image forming body.

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Koganei, Japan

Toshihide Miura