Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yasuhiro Fukase

Takeo Kawanami

Akinori Mitsumata

Daisuke Aoki

Shinichi Nishida

Hiroyuki Munetsugu

Toshiyuki Watanabe

Goshi Ozaki

Yuichiro Inaba

Tomoya Tateishi

Noritomo Yamaguchi

Osamu Sasaoka

Tetsuo Furukawa

Hiromi Sakurai

Eiichiro Kimizuka

Norihiro Matsumoto

Akinori Yokota

Fuyuko Koyama

Yuya Yanagi

Yukino Uoo

An image forming apparatus includes a stacking tray on which a sheet is stacked, a cover unit, and an apparatus main body having an image forming unit. The cover unit forms a sheet storage portion storing the sheet between the cover unit and the stacking tray, and covering the sheet stacked on the stacking tray. The cover unit includes a first cover portion attached to a second cover portion that rotates about a rotating shaft at a position on a sheet rear end side in a sheet conveying direction to open and close an opening that leads to the sheet storage portion. An exterior surface of the second cover portion faces outside the sheet storage portion when the second cover portion is closed to close the opening and faces up in a vertical direction when the second cover portion is in an open state where the opening is open.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a conveyance unit configured to convey a sheet in a conveyance direction, an image bearing member, a transfer unit, a fixing unit, a sheet discharge unit, a detection unit, and a control unit configured to control conveyance of the sheet by controlling the conveyance unit and the image bearing member. In a case where the control unit has judged that a jam occurred by a jammed sheet based on a detection result of the detection unit, the control unit is configured to perform a conveyance processing of conveying the jammed sheet such that a trailing edge of the jammed sheet reaches a downstream side of the transfer nip in the conveyance direction.

An attachment is used with an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a main assembly including a photosensitive drum and a main assembly portion-to-be-engaged, and includes a developing unit including a developing container, a developing roller, and a mounting portion. The attachment includes a first engaging portion, and a second engaging portion. The attachment is mountable to the mounting portion in a state in which a toner container is not mounted to the mounting portion. The attachment does not include a toner accommodating portion for accommodating the toner.

Attachment and image forming system

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearing members, a transfer unit including an intermediate transfer belt, a plurality of transferring members which sandwich the intermediate transfer belt between the plurality of image bearing members and themselves, a biasing member which biases each of the plurality of transferring members toward the plurality of image bearing members via the intermediate transfer belt, and a frame which supports the intermediate transfer belt, the plurality of transferring members, and the biasing member, and an apparatus main body which supports the plurality of image bearing members and the transfer unit. The apparatus main body includes a supporting portion which supports the transfer unit and a biasing force receiving portion of which a position is between the plurality of transferring members in a moving direction of the surface of the intermediate transfer belt and which is capable of supporting the transfer unit.

A cancellation operation of a fixing nip and movement of a transfer roller are interlocked with each other. In the image forming apparatus, at least a first state in which the relative position is arranged at a fixing position and the transfer roller is arranged at a transfer position, a second state in which the relative position is arranged at a transfer nip cancellation position and the transfer roller is arranged at a transfer nip cancellation position, and a third state in which the relative position is arranged at a fixing nip cancellation position and the transfer roller is arranged at one of an intermediate position between the transfer position and the transfer nip cancellation position and the transfer position may be taken as a combination state of the relative position between the fixing roller and the facing member and the position of the transfer roller.

An image forming apparatus includes a driving unit having a first drum gear, a first coupling member, a second drum gear, and a second coupling member. The first coupling member is provided at a first position of the first drum gear. The second coupling member is provided at a second position of the second drum gear and is configured to rotate together with the second drum gear. A first angle from a first meshing position to a first transfer position in a first direction and a second angle from a second meshing position to a second transfer position in a second direction are different from each other. The second position of the second drum gear is shifted from a position corresponding to the first position of the first drum gear by a difference between the first angle and the second angle in a direction opposite of the second direction.

An image forming apparatus includes a transfer nip control member being movable to a pressing position, where a pressing force for positioning a transfer roller in a transfer nip releasing position is applied to a transfer unit in a closed position, and to a releasing position, where application of the pressing force is released; a fixing nip control mechanism for changing a relative position between a fixing roller and an opposing member to a fixing position, where a fixing nip is formed, and to a fixing nip releasing position; and an interlocking mechanism for moving the transfer nip control member in the releasing position to the pressing position in conjunction with a fixing nip releasing operation by the fixing nip control mechanism. The transfer nip control member in the pressing position is moved to the releasing position when the transfer unit is moved from the closed position to an open position.

Image forming apparatus with control of transfer and fixing nips

An image forming apparatus including: a plurality of cartridges; a belt configured to abut against the photosensitive drums of the plurality of cartridges; a frame configured to axially support a plurality of rollers around which the belt is extended; and a movable member configured to be movable while supporting the plurality of cartridges, the movable member being movable between a first position in which the plurality of cartridges are in an main body of the apparatus and a second position in which the plurality of cartridges are drawn out from the main body of the apparatus, wherein the frame is provided with a plurality of positioning portions configured to allow abutment of the plurality of cartridges and determine the positions of the plurality of cartridges in the main body of the apparatus.

An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly, a first unit openable relative to the main assembly, and a second unit which is provided inner than the first unit and which is openable relative to the main assembly. Two engaging portions are provided on the second unit for placing the second unit in a closed state in engagement with the main assembly. An urging portion is provided in the first unit for urging the second unit. The second unit is urged by the urging portion of the first unit so that a state of the second unit is capable of being changed from an open state to the closed state. The urging portion urges a region in a neighborhood of a central portion of the second unit with respect to a direction of arrangement of the two engaging portions.

Image forming apparatus having a first unit which is moved interrelatedly with a second unit via an urging portion

Provided is an image forming apparatus including a fixing unit that is attached to the apparatus body and includes a fixing portion configured to fix an image formed on a sheet by an image forming portion and a reverse portion configured to reverse the sheet having passed through the fixing portion, a two-side conveyance unit that includes a duplex conveyance path configured to guide the sheet reversed by the reverse portion to the image forming portion and a conveyance portion configured to convey the sheet on the duplex conveyance path, and a positioning unit configured to position the two-side conveyance unit with respect to the fixing unit. The positioning unit includes an engagement portion provided in the fixing unit, and an engagement portion provided in the two-side conveyance unit and engaging with the engagement portion of the fixing unit.

Duplex image forming apparatus with two-side conveyance unit rotatable between open and closed positions

An image forming apparatus includes: a main assembly; a first unit openable relative to the main assembly; a second unit which is provided inner than the first unit and which is openable relative to the main assembly; two engaging portions, provided on the second unit, for placing the second unit in a closed state in engagement with the main assembly; and an urging portion, provided in the first unit, for urging the second unit. The second unit is urged by the urging portion of the first unit so that a state of the second unit is capable of being changed from an open state to the closed state. The urging portion urges a region in a neighborhood of a central portion of the second unit with respect to a direction of arrangement of the two engaging portions.

Image forming apparatus having openable inside and outside units

A belt unit used for an image forming apparatus is provided. The belt unit includes a rotatable endless belt, a plurality of stretching members configured to stretch the belt, an urging member, and a contact and separation unit configured to be able to switch a position of the stretching member urged by the urging member. In moving the stretching member urged by the urging member from the separation position to the contact position, the contact and separation unit makes one end side of the stretching member urged by the urging member in a longitudinal direction coming into contact with the inner surface of the belt faster than the other end side, and temporarily decreases the movement speeds of the both ends of the stretching member in the longitudinal direction respectively before arriving at the contact position.

Belt unit and image forming apparatus having the belt unit

An image forming apparatus includes a bearing member provided to a secondary transfer unit, with the bearing member being configured to engage with a main body unit of the apparatus, a hooking-receiving member rotatably provided in the main body unit of the apparatus and opposed to the bearing member, and a rotation regulation member provided to the main body unit of the apparatus to regulate rotation of the hooking-receiving member. The hooking-receiving member contacts the rotation regulation member when the secondary transfer unit is closed with respect to the main body unit of the apparatus and-rotates in a direction away from the rotation regulation member when the secondary transfer unit is opened with respect to the main body unit of the apparatus.

An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a sheet stack unit, an endless intermediate transfer member, a first transfer member for transferring a toner image onto the sheets conveyed from the sheet stack unit, at a nip formed between the intermediate transfer member and the first transfer member, and a second transfer member. In addition, a first voltage applying device applies a voltage to the first transfer member, a second voltage applying device applies a voltage having an opposite polarity to the second transfer member, and a controller controls the first and second voltage applying devices. In a timing when a leading edge of a first sheet reaches the nip, a trailing edge of the first sheet contacts a second sheet conveyed on the sheet stack unit, and wherein a period in which the controller causes the first voltage applying device and the second voltage applying device to apply the voltages to the first transfer member and the second transfer member, respectively, is at least from a time when secondary transfer onto the first sheet is started to a time when the trailing edge of the first sheet stops sliding on the second sheet stacked on the sheet stack portion.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member; a plurality of developing devices, contactable to the image bearing member, for developing a latent image on the image bearing member with toner; a rotatable member for rotatably supporting the plurality of developing devices; a detecting device for detecting a position of the image bearing member, wherein on the basis of an output of the detecting device, the rotatable member is rotated; and a control device for changeably controlling a period from timing of detection by the detecting device to timing of contact of one of the plurality of developing device, rotated by the rotatable member, to the image bearing member.

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Yasuhiro Fukase