Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yusaku Takada

Kenji Takeda

Hajime Katayama

Akio Ohno

Kiyoharu Tanaka

Kenji Yoshinaga

Tateki Nagaoka

Tsuneki Inuzuka

Yutaka Komiya

Hirotoshi Kishi

Hiroshi Nitanda

Noriyoshi Iida

Shinichi Oguri

Hiroshi Hara

Atsushi Kubota

Yasushi Murayama

Shigeyoshi Onoda

Takahiro Inoue

Takao Aoki

Osamu Hoshino

Masashi Suda

Ikuo Soma

A transfer device for transferring a toner image onto a transfer material includes transfer material supporting device having a sheet-like material for supporting the transfer material and a supporting member for supporting the sheet-like material for movement along an endless path, gripper, mounted in an opening in the supporting member for releasably gripping an end of the transfer material, a sheet member mounted on the gripper to cover at least a portion of the gripper. A transfer device for transferring a toner image onto a transfer material includes a transfer drum including a transfer material supporting drum including a cut-away portion and a longitudinal strip, the cut-away portion being covered with a sheet-like member for supporting the transfer material, and wherein an end portion of the sheet-like material is bent toward inside of the transfer material supporting drum, and further including a releasable gripper disposed in the supporting drum for releasably gripping an end of the transfer material; and a cleaner contactable to the transfer drum to clean the same.

Anti-fouling device for sheet gripper

A color image forming apparatus including an image bearing member movable along an endless path, on which color toner images are formed, a transfer material supporting member movable along an endless path for supporting a transfer material and conveying it to an image transfer position where the color toner images are superimposed and transferred sequentially to the transfer material. Also provided are a first driving motor for driving the image bearing member, and a second driving motor, separately provided from the first motor, for driving the transfer material supporting member. In addition, the apparatus includes a detector for detecting the speed of the surface of the transfer material, a discriminator for determining whether the speed variations detected by the detector are within a tolerable range, and a control, responsive to the discriminator, for stopping the operation of a subsequent image transfer step when the detected speed variation is beyond the tolerable range, and for repeating latent image forming, developing, and transfer steps.

Color image forming apparatus comprising separate motors for driving the

A plurality of developing devices or units are supported on a supporting member or turret which is rotatable to revolve the developing devices to move a desired developing device to a developing station where the developing operation is effected with the desired one of the developing devices. The developing devices are each provided with detecting elements for detecting the remaining amount of the developer or the concentration of the developer. The detecting elements are located at such a position that during the rotation of the supporting member the developer particles move with the rotation of the supporting member so that the detecting element is constantly cleaned by the moving developer.

Developing apparatus

A toner supplying system for use in combination with a developing device (100) of the type having a conveyor means (300) carrying a plurality of developing units (101) such as to bring the desired developing unit to the developing position for the development of a latent image on an image carrying member (1). The toner supplying system comprises a hopper (201) disposed outside the developing device, a shaft (310) provided in the toner conveyor means, a toner transportation means (202) for transporting the toner from the hopper to the shaft, and a toner passage means (310, 350) through which the toner is supplied from the shaft to respective developing units. The toner passage means includes annular chambers (351) formed between the hollow shaft (310) and an intermediate pipe (350). The annular chambers are separated axially by partition sealing means (354). Toner passage means (225, 450), switchable between open and shut-off states and adapted to take the open state only when their associated developing unit is in a toner supplying position, are also provided. The system further comprises a toner density detecting means (50) for detecting the toner density in the developing agent on the developing unit under development. The toner density detecting means produces, when the detected toner density is too low, a signal for bringing the developing unit to the toner supplying position after completion of the development of the final color on a copying paper under developing operation.

Color image forming apparatus

A color image forming apparatus wherein a plurality of developing devices or units are supported on a supporting member or turret which is rotatable to revolve the developing devices to move a desired one of the developing devices to a developing station where the developing operation is effected with the desired one of the developing devices so that a color image is formed. The presence, absence or the amount of the developer within the developing devices are detected. When the detection indicates that the toner is to be supplied into a developing device, the developing device is moved to a predetermined developer supplying position, and then is stopped so that the developing device is supplied with the developer at the developer supplying position.

An image forming apparatus for forming an unfixed image on a recording material includes a fixing device having a pair of rotatable members for holding therebetween and conveying the recording material to fix the unfixed image on the recording material, speed control device for variably controlling the fixing rotational speed of the pair of rotatable members to a first fixing speed and a second fixing speed lower than the first fixing speed, application apparatus for intermittently supplying a parting agent to at least one of the pair of rotatable members, and application control apparatus for variably controlling the application acting period of the application apparatus in accordance with the fixing rotational speed of the pair of rotatable members variably set by the speed control device.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus has a rotatable member, a plurality of processing devices for forming an image on the rotatable member and transferring the image to transfer material, a device for fixing the transferred image, circuitry for controlling the operation of the rotating member and processing devices so that when the power switch is turned on at least the fixing device is turned on and when the power switch is turned off the fixing device is turned off while the rotation of the rotatable member is continued. The apparatus also includes a signal generating device associated with one of the processing devices, a first detector for detecting transfer material and a second detector for detecting the position of an original carriage, and circuitry for checking for a paper jam by counting signals from the time of the second detector signal. The apparatus also includes a detector for detecting the home position of the original carriage, setting structure for setting the carriage to the home position and resetting structure for preventing the start of processing immediately upon operation of a manual start switch.

Copying apparatus

The present invention relates to the drive and control of a device for cleaning transfer material supporting member, the cleaning device being adapted to operate only when corona dischargers disposed opposite the transfer material supporting member are not in operation, whereby toner particles scattered upon the operation of the cleaning device is prevented from depositing on the surrounding parts under the influence of corona discharging.

Method of cleaning a transfer material supporting member in an image

An apparatus for transferring a developed image on an image bearing member includes a transfer corona discharger disposed in opposition to the transfer position of the image bearing member, transfer material bearing member having a dielectric transfer material bearing surface and disposed to move the transfer material passing through the area between the image bearing member and the transfer corona discharger, and transfer material attraction charge applying device disposed on the downstream of the transfer position and in the space between the surface of the image bearing member and the transfer material bearing surface of the transfer material bearing member.

Apparatus for transferring images

An ozone filtering mechanism in an image forming apparatus such as office copiers, etc. and its arrangement, wherein various component elements disposed in the image forming apparatus in such a manner that a flow path for a discharge current of ozone gas generated from a corona discharger and a flow path for heat current from a heat source such as a light source, etc. may be centralized at one place, thereby enabling a single ozone filter to be disposed at this portion of the centralized flow paths for perfect ozone filtration. Presence of the heat current at the time of the ozone filtration promotes adsorption and decomposition of ozone to augment the filtering effect to the maximum possible extent.

Image forming apparatus incorporating therein ozone filtering mechanism

An image information recording device having a pair of image fixing rollers which hold a toner image bearing member between them under pressure to fix a toner image thereon during conveyance of the same, a toner-image-bearing-member-discharging-path-forming device disposed at a position subsequent to the pair of image fixing rollers with respect to a moving path of the toner image bearing member, a disengaging device to disengage, depending on necessity, the discharging path formation by the toner-image-bearing-member-discharging-path-forming device, and a device for decreasing a pressure between the pair of fixing rollers or separating the same in association with the disengagement of the discharging path formation.

Image information recording device

An electrophotographic apparatus is provided with a squeezer for removing unnecessary liquid from a liquid layer formed on a movable photosensitive medium between the step of developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum by liquid developer and the step of fixing the toner image formed thereby on the photosensitive medium or transferring such toner image to a transfer medium. The apparatus is further provided with a non-contact squeeze power forming device such as a corona discharger or air knife for damming up the unnecessary liquid, and also provided with a liquid layer control member for contacting the liquid dammed up and bulged into a crest-like form so that the thickness of the liquid flowing down the surface of the photosensitive medium is uniform. At least a portion of the liquid-contacting surface of this member forms a planar or a convexly curved surface having a progressively increasing spacing with respect to the photosensitive medium in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the photosensitive medium.

Wet type electrophotographic apparatus

In a copying apparatus having an endless photosensitive medium, a number of copy process devices for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive medium, for developing the latent image, for transferring the developed image and for cleaning the photosensitive medium, there is provided circuitry for controlling the operation of at least one of the copy process devices in accordance with the generation of a predetermined number of clock signals. The control circuitry acts to start the initiation of the copy process after counting a predetermined number of signals and to stop the rotation of the medium at a different rotational position from the start position. The apparatus also includes a jam detecting device and reciprocating member for the formation of the latent image, the position of which is detected for utilization in the control circuitry.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Yusaku Takada