Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshiro Tsuchiya

Yoshiya Nomura

Yoshinori Sugiura

Takeshi Kubota

Akira Kuroda

Ken Murooka

Nobukazu Adachi

Takeshi Niimura

Noriyoshi Ishikawa

Takeshi Setoriyama

Takeshi Sugita

Jun Azuma

Akira Yuza

Tatsuo Hamada

Chitose Tenpaku

Hiroaki Miyake

Kenji Matsuda

Hiroo Kobayashi

Tsuyoshi Waragai

Kouji Hashimoto

Toshifumi Moritani

Tadashi Yagi

Hiroshi Yukimachi

Michio Uchida

Yoshiro Saito

Takahiro Azeta

Kazunori Takashima

Masahito Ohtsuka

Kaoru Sato

Yasushi Sato

Akihiko Takeuchi

Junichi Kimizuka

Kimio Nakahata

Koichi Tanigawa

Yukihiro Ohzeki

Koichi Hiroshima

Junji Araya

Takayasu Yuminamochi

Tatsunori Ishiyama

Toshihiko Inuyama

Akihisa Kusano

Kazuhiko Okazawa

Takamasa Sawada

Makoto Abe

Toshiyuki Ito

Masahito Otsuka

Takahiro Azeda

Takao Yokomizo

There is provided an image forming apparatus that can suppress the formation of creases when forming images on both surfaces of a sheet and can greatly reduce the incidence of unprinted areas. The image forming apparatus has a sheet stacking section in which sheets are stacked, a sheet conveying section that conveys a sheet, an image forming section that forms an image on the sheet while the sheet is conveyed, a re-conveying section that again conveys the sheet with the image formed on a first surface thereof to the image forming section, and a sheet feeding section that feeds a sheet from the sheet stacking section or the re-conveying section to the image forming section. When a sheet is fed from the sheet stacking section for image formation on the first surface of the sheet by the image forming section, the sheet is fed at a first speed, and when a sheet is fed from the re-conveying section for image formation on a second surface of the sheet by the image forming section, the sheet is fed at a second speed that is slower than the first speed and is slower than the speed at which the sheet is conveyed by the sheet conveying section.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

A developing cartridge detachably mountable to the main assembly of an image forming apparatus includes a toner carrying member for carrying toner to a developing station at which an electrostatic image formed on an image bearing member is developed with the toner. The cartridge also includes a toner accommodating portion for accommodating the toner to be supplied to a developer carrying member. The cartridge further includes an engaging portion, the shape of which is different depending on the type of the toner it contains. The engaging portion is engageable with an engaging portion of one of two or more developing cartridge slots provided in a main assembly of the image forming apparatus. The cartridge also includes a light transmitting portion disposed in the engaging portion to transmit light to be detected by a detector provided in the main assembly of the image forming apparatus to detect the amount of the toner in the toner accommodating portion.

Development cartridge and image forming apparatus

A developing cartridge is provided for developing a latent image formed on a photosensitive member. The developing cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The developing cartridge includes a developing member for developing a latent image formed on the photosensitive member with toner; a toner accommodating portion for accommodating the toner to be used for development by the developing member; a toner supply opening, provided in the toner accommodating portion, for supplying the toner accommodated in the toner accommodating portion to the developing member; a toner seal for blocking the toner from being supplied from the toner supply opening toward the developing member; a developing frame including a developing member mounting portion for mounting the developing member, the developing frame being provided with a toner passing opening for passing the toner supplied from the toner supply opening; a toner frame supporting the toner accommodating portion; and a toner seal opening provided between the toner passing opening of the developing frame and a bonding portion between the toner frame and the developing frame.

Developing cartridge for developing an electrostatic image formed on an

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

A developing cartridge for developing a latent image formed on a photosensitive member, which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, includes a developing member for developing a latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member with toner; a toner accommodating portion for accommodating the toner to be used by the developing member; first and second light transmitting portions provided in the toner accommodating portion; a first light guide for directing, to the first light transmitting portion, light emitted by a light emission member provided in the main assembly; and a second light guide for directing the light having passed through the second light transmitting portion to a light receiving element provided in the main assembly.

Developer cartridge for developing a latent image detachably mountable

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of forming a multicolor image on a recording medium, includes a first mounting arrangement for detachably mounting a photosensitive member cartridge having an electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a second mounting arrangement for detachably mounting a developing cartridge having a developer roller for developing a latent image formed on said electrophotographic photosensitive member. The developer cartridge is swingably provided about a swing center so that the cartridge is shiftable in parallel with an axis of said electrophotographic photosensitive member.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus having first and second

An image forming apparatus, usable with a process cartridge detachably mountable thereto, for forming an image on a recording material includes a mounting device for mounting the process cartridge; an openable member relative to a main assembly of the image forming apparatus; an urging device, provided in the main assembly, for urging the process cartridge when the openable member is closed, and for releasing the process cartridge when the openable member is opened.

Image forming apparatus having a detachably mountable process cartridge

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

Image forming apparatus

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 forming apparatus includes an image bearing member movable along an endless path; a helical gear, adjacent an end of the image bearing member, for transmitting a driving force to the image bearing member; a rotatable member contributable to image formation on the image bearing member and having a shaft urged toward the image bearing member; driving means for driving the shaft; and a coupler disposed between the driving means and the shaft of the rotatable member, and effective to transmit rotational force in a direction of the shaft substantially without transmitting force in a radial direction of the rotatable member.

Image forming apparatus with rotatable member press-contacted to image

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus with a supply roller for supplying a sheet, a supply path for directing the sheet to an image forming section, a sheet ejecting path for the sheet on which an image is formed at the image forming section toward an ejecting section, a space integrally formed in a lower part of a body of the image forming apparatus, a branch path branched from the sheet ejecting path and adapted to direct the sheet toward the space, an introduction path for directing the sheet from the space to the supply path, and a sheet re-feeing unit removable with respect to the body of the image forming apparatus and including a sheet re-feeding path having an entrance facing the branch path and an exit facing the introduction path.

Image forming apparatus having re-feeding unit

An image forming apparatus includes a movable image bearing member, an image forming device for forming the image bearing member, and an image transfer device contactable to the image bearing member at an image transfer position. The transfer device transfers the image formed by the image forming device onto a transfer material while the transfer material is conveyed through the transfer position together with the image bearing member, wherein the transfer device has a hardness of 20-40 degrees (Asker-C), and it is pressed to the image bearing member at a pressure of 50-200 g/cm.sup.2, and wherein a peripheral speed of the transfer device at the transfer position during a transfer operation is higher than a peripheral speed of the image bearing member at the transfer position.

Image forming apparatus having transfer device and image bearing member

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Yoshiro Tsuchiya