Abstract: There is provided a consumable supply method for supplying a refill consumable stored in a refill consumable container to a consumable container installable in an equipment body. The consumable supply method includes removing a refill information storage device storing information on the refill consumable from the refill consumable container; removing an information storage device storing information on a consumable contained in the consumable container, the information being for exchange with the equipment body, from the consumable container; and attaching the refill information storage device removed from the refill consumable container as an information storage device to the consumable container in place of the information storage device removed from the consumable container.

Abstract: A sheet conveyance guide includes a sheet material. The sheet material has a surface to face a sheet when the sheet conveyance guide guides the sheet travelling in a conveyance direction. The sheet material has irregularities over a whole area of the surface.

Abstract: There is provided a consumable supply method for supplying a refill consumable stored in a refill consumable container to a consumable container installable in an equipment body. The consumable supply method includes removing a refill information storage device storing information on the refill consumable from the refill consumable container; removing an information storage device storing information on a consumable contained in the consumable container, the information being for exchange with the equipment body, from the consumable container; and attaching the refill information storage device removed from the refill consumable container as an information storage device to the consumable container in place of the information storage device removed from the consumable container.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor, a charger, a charge remover, and control circuitry. The charger is configured to charge the photoconductor. The charge remover is configured to remove charge from a surface of the photoconductor by light and electric discharge. The control circuitry is configured to: estimate a surface potential that the photoconductor has after the photoconductor is charged by the charger, based on a characteristic value of the photoconductor and a value of a current flowing through the charger after the charge remover removes charge from the photoconductor; and control a charging bias applied to the charger, based on the surface potential estimated.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor, a charger, a charge remover, and control circuitry. The charger is configured to charge the photoconductor. The charge remover is configured to remove charge from a surface of the photoconductor by light and electric discharge. The control circuitry is configured to: estimate a surface potential that the photoconductor has after the photoconductor is charged by the charger, based on a characteristic value of the photoconductor and a value of a current flowing through the charger after the charge remover removes charge from the photoconductor; and control a charging bias applied to the charger, based on the surface potential estimated.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearer, a toner image forming device, an image reader, and a control unit. The toner image forming device forms a test toner image on the image bearer. The image reader reads the test toner image and a predetermined reference member. The control unit calculates an amount of toner contained in the test toner image based on image data from the test toner image. Based on image data from the reference member, the control unit selects a position of a pixel to be used for calculation of the amount of toner contained in the test toner image from pixels included in the image data from the reference member, to calculate the amount of toner contained in the test toner image from data of a pixel located at the position thus selected among pixels included in the image data from the test toner image.

Abstract: An image density detector for detecting image density of an image borne by an image bearer includes a reference board, a light emitter, a light receiver, an image density calculator, and an image density detecting condition corrector. The reference board has a spectral reflectance distribution closer to a spectral reflectance distribution of the image forming material than a spectral reflectance distribution of white. The light emitter emits light to the reference board and the image borne by the image bearer. The light receiver receives the light reflected from the image and the reference board. The image density calculator calculates the image density of the image based on an output of the light receiver receiving the light reflected from the image. The image density detecting condition corrector corrects an image density detecting condition based on an output of the light receiver receiving the light reflected from the reference board.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an image forming device to form a toner image on the image bearer, a transfer device to transfer the toner image to a recording medium, a line sensor as an image density sensor to detect image density of the toner image, and a controller operatively connected to the image density sensor. The image density sensor is disposed so as to be shorter in a rotational direction of the image bearer than in a width direction of the image bearer perpendicular to the rotational direction of the image bearer. The controller forms a shading pattern image including a plurality of patches on the image bearer, and detects image density of the plurality of patches, so as to control image density. The shading pattern image is shorter in the rotational direction of the image bearer than in the width direction of the image bearer.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearer, a toner image forming device, an image reader, and a control unit. The toner image forming device forms a test toner image on the image bearer. The image reader reads the test toner image and a predetermined reference member. The control unit calculates an amount of toner contained in the test toner image based on image data from the test toner image. Based on image data from the reference member, the control unit selects a position of a pixel to be used for calculation of the amount of toner contained in the test toner image from pixels included in the image data from the reference member, to calculate the amount of toner contained in the test toner image from data of a pixel located at the position thus selected among pixels included in the image data from the test toner image.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an image forming device to form a toner image on the image bearer, a transfer device to transfer the toner image to a recording medium, a line sensor as an image density sensor to detect image density of the toner image, and a controller operatively connected to the image density sensor. The image density sensor is disposed so as to be shorter in a rotational direction of the image bearer than in a width direction of the image bearer perpendicular to the rotational direction of the image bearer. The controller forms a shading pattern image including a plurality of patches on the image bearer, and detects image density of the plurality of patches, so as to control image density. The shading pattern image is shorter in the rotational direction of the image bearer than in the width direction of the image bearer.

Abstract: A powder refilling device includes a refill powder chamber to accommodate a powder bag containing powder, an opener to open the powder bag inside the refill powder chamber, and a squeezer to squeeze the opened powder bag to discharge powder therefrom and reduce a volume of the opened powder bag.

Abstract: When the acute angle between a normal line, oriented outward from a blade abutting portion of a photosensitive member over which a cleaning blade remains abutted before separation of the surface of the photosensitive member from the cleaning blade, and a horizontal plane, passing through the origin of the normal line, is expressed as a positive value when the normal line lies above the horizontal plane and expressed as a negative value when the normal line lies below the horizontal plane; an imaging unit frame so supports a photosensitive module that the photosensitive member can rotate to a specific rotational position having a greater angle than the angle at the time of separation of the surface of the photosensitive member from the cleaning blade. Until the photosensitive member rotates from a normal rotational position to the specific rotational position, the photosensitive module cannot be removed from the imaging unit frame.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearing member, a charger, an irradiator, a developing device, a transfer device, a neutralizer, and a varying device is provided. The neutralizer is adapted to neutralize the image bearing member by emitting neutralization light thereto, after a toner image formed on the image bearing member is transferred therefrom. The varying device is adapted to vary an amount of the neutralization light to be emitted to the image bearing member by pulse-width modulation of a voltage to be supplied to the neutralizer. The image forming apparatus satisfies the following formula: f/V>5 wherein f (Hz) represents a frequency of the pulse-width modulation and V (mm/s) represents a linear speed of the image bearing member.

Abstract: A cleaning device to remove untransferred toner from a surface of an image carrier rotatable in a predetermined direction. The cleaning device includes a lubricant supply roller contacting the surface of the image carrier to supply a lubricant carried thereon to the surface of the image carrier, a first blade provided upstream from the lubricant supply roller in the direction of rotation of the image carrier, and a second blade provided downstream from the lubricant supply roller. The first blade contacts the surface of the image carrier to level the untransferred toner attaching to the surface of the image carrier to a thin layer. The second blade contacts the surface of the image carrier to level the lubricant supplied to the surface of the image carrier by the lubricant supply roller to a thin layer and to remove the untransferred toner from the surface of the image carrier.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a cleaning device that collects a waste toner attached to the surface of the image carrier using a cleaning member, a waste container that is removable from an image forming apparatus body, a temporary storage unit that is provided in the image forming apparatus body to temporarily store a waste including the waste toner collected in the cleaning device before the waste is transported to the waste container, and a waste transport unit that transports the waste to the temporary storage unit, wherein a discharge speed of the waste from the temporary storage unit by the waste discharge unit is lower than a transport speed of the waste to the temporary storage unit by the waste transport unit.

Abstract: A lubricant supply device including a solid lubricant, a lubricant supply roller, a detector, and a varying device is provided. The lubricant supply roller is adapted to supply the lubricant to a toner image bearing member and is rotatable in a predetermined direction while slidably contacting both the solid lubricant and the toner image bearing member. The detector is adapted to detect an absolute humidity around the lubricant supply device. The varying device is adapted to vary an amount of the lubricant to be supplied to the toner image bearing member based on the absolute humidity detected by the detector.

Abstract: A lubricant supplying device includes a lubricant supplying roller configured to rotate in a certain direction and makes a sliding contact with an image carrier on which a toner image is carried; a solid lubricant arranged to slide in contact with the lubricant supplying roller; a changing unit configured to change a revolution of the lubricant supplying roller to adjust an amount of the solid lubricant supplied onto the image carrier; and a calculation unit configured to obtain a product life or total consumption of the solid lubricant from a total running distance or total operating time of the image carrier or the lubricant supplying roller, the product life or the total consumption of the solid lubricant being corrected based on the amount of the solid lubricant supplied onto the image carrier.

Abstract: A powder refilling device includes a refill powder chamber to accommodate a powder bag containing powder, an opener to open the powder bag inside the refill powder chamber, and a squeezer to squeeze the opened powder bag to discharge powder therefrom and reduce a volume of the opened powder bag.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a charging device to charge a surface of the image carrier, disposed across a predetermined gap from the image carrier, a latent image forming device, a developing device to develop a latent image formed on the image carrier into a toner image, a transfer unit to transfer the toner image from the image carrier onto a recording medium, a cleaning member to clean the image carrier after the toner image is transferred therefrom, a lubricant application member to lubricate the image carrier, a polarity adjustor to adjust polarities of the toner and lubricant adhering to the image carrier to be identical to a polarity of a charging bias. The polarity adjustor is disposed facing the image carrier, upstream from the charging device and downstream from the transfer unit in a direction in which the image carrier rotates.

Abstract: A waste toner container that collects waste toner that is not used to form an image in an image forming unit of an image forming apparatus, and includes a waste toner collection opening to receive the waste toner output from the image forming unit, a toner amount detector to detect toner amount in the waste toner container, and a waste toner conveyance member disposed inside the waste toner container to convey the waste toner in the waste toner container. The waste toner conveyance member defines a waste toner conveyance direction exchange point, which is a boundary between two different toner conveyance direction regions in which the waste toner is conveyed in opposite directions, and the waste toner conveyance direction exchange point is disposed closer to the toner amount detector than is the waste toner collection opening.