Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yusuke Nakazono

Junichi Kato

Satoru Inami

Seiichi Shinohara

Masahiro Yoshida

Hiroyuki Sakakibara

Yoji Tomoyuki

Masaaki Takahashi

Akira Kato

Kazuo Kishino

Tomoo Akizuki

Masahiko Suzumi

Hikaru Osada

Satoshi Sunahara

Atsutoshi Ando

Tatsuya Kinukawa

Ryo Morihara

Takeharu Nakada

Atsushi Numagami

Toshiyuki Karakama

Yutaka Sato

Satoshi Nishida

Ken Nakagawa

Hideo Kawamoto

Isamu Takeda

Kenichi Ogawa

Eiji Uekawa

Noriyuki Ito

Hisashi Nakahara

Takayuki Kanazawa

Satoru Taniguchi

Yuji Kitano

Masahito Omata

Noriaki Tanaka

Koichi Suwa

Akihito Kanamori

Naofumi Murata

Shinji Kubo

Yasumasa Otsuka

Osamu Soutome

Junichi Kubota

A fixing apparatus is used that has: a first rotation member; an elongated heater disposed in an internal space of the first rotation member, and having a heat generating member and a substrate on which the heat generating member is provided; a temperature sensing unit that detects a temperature of the heater; a heater holder that holds the heater; a second rotation member that forms a nip portion with the heater, across the first rotation member; a reservoir unit that stores grease that is supplied between the first rotation member and the heater; and an elastic member that encloses the temperature sensing unit, such that a toner image formed on a recording material is heated and fixed at the nip portion.

Fixing apparatus and image forming apparatus

A fixing apparatus includes a tubular film, an elongate plate-like heater including a first surface in contact with an inner surface of the film and a second surface opposite to the first surface, the heater being in contact with the inner surface of the film with the second surface, a heat conducting member that is long along the length of the heater and is in contact with the second surface of the heater, and a support member capable of rotating the film while supporting the heater, with the heat conducting member therebetween. The heat conducting member includes an extending portion extending, outside an upstream end of the heater in a rotational direction of the film, in a direction from the second surface of the heater toward the first surface. The extending portion includes a contact portion protruding from the first surface of the heater toward the film into contact therewith.

Fixing apparatus including a heat conducting member with an extending portion extending upstream of the heater

An image forming apparatus including: a charging member configured to charge a photosensitive member at a charging portion by a charging voltage in which an alternate-current voltage is superimposed on a direct-current voltage; a transfer member configured to transfer a toner image formed on the photosensitive member to a recording material at a transfer portion; and a controller configured to control the charging voltage, a predetermined area of the photosensitive member passing through the transfer portion during a trailing edge of the recording material passing through the transfer portion, wherein the controller controls a value of a peak-to-peak voltage of the alternate-current voltage when the predetermined area passes through the charging portion to be larger than a value of a peak-to-peak voltage when an area that becomes the image area other than the predetermined area passes through the charging portion.

Image forming apparatus

Image heating apparatus capable of preventing an excessive temperature increase in a sheet non-passing area and heater for use in the image heating apparatus including: a substrate, a heat generating resistor formed on the substrate, and first and second electrodes for supplying an electric power to the heat generating resistor. Each of the first and second electrodes has a first area to contact a power supplying connector and a second area provided at an end portion electrically opposite to the first area along a longitudinal direction of the substrate, and the heat generating resistor is provided to electrically connect the second area of the first and second electrode so that when the heater is at a set temperature for an image heating operation a resistance value Rc of the second area, and a resistance value Rt between a portion within the second area of the first and second electrode and electrically closest to the first area satisfy a relation Rc/Rt&#x3c;=1/30.

Image heating apparatus and heater for use therein

The image heating apparatus for heating an image formed on a recording material includes a heater, a supporting member for supporting the heater, a flexible rotatable member rotated while contacting with the heater, and a backup member contacting with the rotatable member. The recording material passes between the rotatable member and the backup member, and upstream of the heater of the supporting member with respect to the direction of movement of the recording material, there are provided a protruding portion protruding more toward the backup member side than the surface of contact between the heater and the rotatable member, and a groove portion provided between the protruding portion and the heater and depressed more than the surface of contact of the heater with the rotatable member, and a lubricant is contained in the groove portion. Thereby, the driving torque of the rotatable member can be suppressed.

Image heating apparatus having flexible rotatable member

A pressure roller has a metal core, an elastic layer of cured rubber composition at least containing a water-absorbing polymer containing water and a surface releasing layer laminated on an outer periphery of the metal core. A compression amount (y) of the elastic layer satisfies the following relationship: y&#x2266;0.8 (mm).

Image heating apparatus and pressure roller used for the apparatus

An image heating apparatus has a non-rotatable heater with a metallic substrate together with a film that moves in contact with the heater and is accompanied by a backup roller which defines a nip with the heater via the film. The metallic substrate has a cylindrical shape and the heater has a first insulating layer on an outer peripheral surface of the metallic substrate, a heat generating resistor on the first insulating layer and a second insulating layer on the heat generating resistor.

Heater having metallic substrate and image heating apparatus using heater

A heater, or an image heating apparatus including the heater includes a substrate, heat generating resistors formed at least in a cycle path on the substrate, and current supply electrodes provided at electrical ends of the heat generating resistors, wherein plural heat generating resistors are connected in parallel to at least one of the current supply electrodes. Thus there can be obtained a heater having excellent heat generating characteristics even in a compact dimension and an image heating apparatus utilizing such heater.

Heater having at least one cycle path resistor and image heating apparatus therein

Heating assembly, image-forming apparatus, and process for producing silicone rubber sponge and roller

An agitating member for agitating a developer includes a metal shaft, a plate member joined to the metal shaft, and a sheet member joined to the plate member, the sheet member being free to curve. A developing apparatus includes a developer bearing member bearing a developer thereon, a developer container containing the developer therein, and the above-described agitating member provided in the developer container for agitating the developer and supplying it to the developer bearing member. A process cartridge detachably attachable to the main body of an image forming apparatus, includes an electrophotographic photosensitive member and the above-described developing apparatus.

Agitating member, developing apparatus and process cartridge

A charging member is disposed in contact with an electrophotographic photosensitive member and charges the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member electrostatically upon application of a voltage. The charging member has a conductive support, a base layer and a surface layer which are formed on the conductive support. The surface layer contains fluorine resin particles as a filler and a fluorine resin as a binder resin.

Charging member, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus having at least: an image carrying member for carrying an electrostatic latent image, the image carrying member having a photosensitive layer on a conductive substrate; a developer for developing the electrostatic latent image carrying member on the image carrying member; a developer carrying member for carrying the developer and conveying it to a development area; a control member making contact with the developer carrying member for controlling the coating amount of the developer; and a cleaning member for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive layer of the image carrying member by making contact with the surface of the image carrying member with a contact pressure of 0.15N (15 gf) to 0.89N (90 gf). The photosensitive layer contains at least one kind of polycarbonate resin (I) having a viscosity average molecular weight of 1.5&times;10,or less and at least one kind of polycarbonate resin (II) having a viscosity average molecular weight of more than 1.5&times;10,, the polycarbonate resin (I) is contained in 30% by mass to 95% by mass based on the total content of the resins (I) and (II). The developer has a toner containing toner particles and external additives, and the toner contains (a) 0.1% by mass to 5.0% by mass of a first fine powder with a number average particle size of 0.005 &mgr;m to 3.00 &mgr;m, and (b) 0.02% by mass to 2.00% by mass of an inorganic second fine powder containing 25% by mass to 90% by mass of a lubricant, as external additives.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer carrying member for carrying thereon a developer to transport the developer to a developing zone, and a regulation member provided in touch with the surface of the developer carrying member to regulate coat weight of the developer carried thereon. The image bearing member includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer formed thereon, and the photosensitive layer contains at least one polycarbonate resin (I) having a viscosity-average molecular weight not more than 1.5&times;10,and at least one polycarbonate resin (II) having a viscosity-average molecular weight more than 1.5&times;10,, the polycarbonate resin (I) being contained in a proportion of from 30% by weight to 95% by weight based on the total weight of the polycarbonate resins (I) and (II). On the developer carrying member, the developer is in a coat weight not more than 1.5 mg/cm,at the developing zone after its regulation by the regulation member. This apparatus can prevent smeared images and enables stable and high-grade image formation.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member for bearing an electrostatic image; a developer carrying member for carrying a developer and for forming a developing zone with the image bearing member, wherein the developer is externally added with additive having a charging polarity opposite from that of the developer; a voltage applying device for applying a developing voltage to the developer carrying member; voltage a control device for controlling the developing voltage so as to change force for directing the additive toward a non-image portion of the image bearing member in accordance with a number of image forming operations.

Image forming apparatus using a developer of a given polarity and an

A cartridge detachably attachable on an image forming apparatus a photosensitive member as an image bearing member and a cleaning blade member polycarbonate resin having a viscosity average molecular weight of 1.5.times.10.sup.4 or less is blended with the surface layer of the image bearing member, and the peak value of tan .delta. of the dynamic viscoelastic characteristic of the cleaning blade member appears at 12.degree. C. or less.

Cleaning member, image forming apparatus provided with a cleaning blade

Growing community of inventors

Shizuoka, Japan

Yusuke Nakazono