Abstract: Provided is a coating composition capable of forming a coating film which exhibits excellent durability and is suitable for repair. It is a coating composition containing a resin component and a pigment, in which a linear expansion coefficient at a temperature equal to or less than a glass transition temperature of a nonvolatile component is 3.2×10?5/K or less.

Abstract: Provided is a coating composition capable of forming a coating film which exhibits excellent durability and is suitable for repair. It is a coating composition containing a resin component and a pigment, in which a linear expansion coefficient at a temperature equal to or less than a glass transition temperature of a nonvolatile component is 3.2×10?5/K or less.

Abstract: A developer carrying member for carrying a developer containing toner and a carrier and for developing an electrostatic image on a photosensitive member, a developer container in which the developer is electrically charged and is carried on the developer carrying member, a detecting portion for detecting a toner content, a video count means for counting and integrating the number of development dots of entirety of an image, and a supplying device for supplying a developer for supply to the developer container depending on a consumption amount of the toner are provided, and first and second toner supply amounts are acquired on the basis of outputs of the video count means and the detecting portion, and in the case where as regards a final toner supply amount determined on the basis of the first and second toner supply amounts, a fluctuation in predetermined during printing is increased from a first value to a second value, a ratio of the second toner supply amount to the first toner supply amount is decreased.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developing device, and a controller capable of executing an operation in a forced consumption mode in which toner is consumed without being transferred onto a recording material. The controller includes a difference calculating portion configured to calculate a difference between an image amount of a predetermined image forming number and a reference value. The reference value is set i) at a first reference value when information on an average image amount per predetermined image forming number or per predetermined driving time of the developing device is less than a value corresponding to a predetermined reference image amount, and is set ii) at a second reference value lower than the first reference value when the information on the average image amount is not less than a predetermined reference image amount.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developing container, a rotatable developer carrying member, and a magnetic field generator. Magnetic members are provided at end portions of the developer carrying member with a gap to an outer peripheral surface of the developer carrying member, and magnet members are provided opposed to the magnetic members so as to magnetize the magnetic members. The outer peripheral surface of the developer carrying member includes a first region including a developing region corresponding to an image forming region and a second region outside and adjacent to the first region and having lower developer feeding power than the first region or having substantially no feeding power. The first region is larger than a region between outside surfaces of the magnetic members and is smaller than a region between inside surfaces of the magnet members.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developing device, a supplying device, and a control unit. The image bearing member bears a latent image. The developing device develops the latent image with a toner. The supplying device supplies toner to the developing device. The control unit executes a discharge operation to consume toner transferred onto the image bearing member from the developing device without transferring the toner onto a recording medium. The control unit executes the discharge operation where first deterioration integrated information exceeds a first executing threshold, and where second deterioration integrated information exceeds a second executing threshold that is larger than the first executing threshold.

Abstract: A development device includes a developer bearing member and a magnet which is fixed inside of the developer bearing member. The magnet includes a first magnetic pole for developing a latent image, a second magnetic pole adjacent to the first magnetic pole and being an opposite pole to the first magnetic pole, and a third magnetic pole adjacent to both the first and second magnetic poles and having an opposite pole to the first magnetic pole. A developer regulation portion is disposed such that when a maximum peak amount of a magnetic flux density of the first magnetic pole in a normal direction of the developer bearing member is defined as positive, the magnetic flux density of the first magnetic pole becomes positive in an entire region from a downstream side of the regulating member in a rotary direction of the developer bearing member and through a developing area.

Abstract: A development device, includes: a developer bearing member; a magnet that is stored in the developer bearing member and has a development pole; and a regulation portion that is disposed to face the developer bearing member for regulating an amount of developer carried on the developer bearing member, wherein the regulation portion is disposed such that, when a magnetic flux density of the development pole in the normal direction with respect to a surface of the developer bearing member is defined as positive, a magnetic flux density becomes positive in the entirety of a region which is upstream of a development region where the developer and an image bearing member are in contact with each other so as to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member and which is downstream of the regulation portion in a rotation direction of the developer bearing member.

Abstract: A constitution capable of properly effecting forced consumption of toner depending on toner deterioration is realized. When image formation is started, a long term average print ratio which is an average print ratio per predetermined sheet number (per 5000 sheets) is calculated (S2). Then, whether or not the calculated long term average print ratio is less than a predetermined print ratio of 2% is discriminated (S3). When the long term average print ratio is less than 2%, a toner deterioration threshold video count Vt is set at 10 (first reference value) (S4). On the other hand, when the long term average print ratio is not less than 2%, the toner deterioration threshold video count Vt is set at 5 (second reference value) (S5).

Abstract: A developing device, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus which are capable of suppressing inconveniences such as stagnation of a developer at a taking-in portion of the developer and deterioration of the developer due to sliding of the developer with a developer carrying member in the case where a magnetic sealing member is used are provided.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developer carrying member for carrying a developer comprising a toner and a carrier, a magnet provided inside the developer carrying member, a developing chamber for feeding the developer to the developer carrying member, and a feeding member rotatably provided in the developing chamber for feeding the developer in the developing chamber. A non-magnetic blade member regulates an amount of the developer to be coated on said developer carrying member, and a route forming portion forms a route for feeding a developer in the developing chamber. The magnet is opposed to a region inside of the developer carrying member from a downstream end of an opposing portion to the blade member with the rotational direction of said developer carrying member so as to attract the developer on the region.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developing device, a supplying device, and a control unit. The image bearing member bears a latent image. The developing device develops the latent image with a toner. The supplying device supplies toner to the developing device. The control unit executes a discharge operation to consume toner transferred onto the image bearing member from the developing device without transferring the toner onto a recording medium. The control unit executes the discharge operation where first deterioration integrated information exceeds a first executing threshold, and where second deterioration integrated information exceeds a second executing threshold that is larger than the first executing threshold.

Abstract: A developing apparatus includes a second chamber configured to communicate with the first chamber and to collect the developer from the developer carrier, an agitating conveyor screw provided in a first chamber and configured to convey the developer in the first chamber while agitating the developer, and a guide member disposed above the agitating conveyor screw in the first chamber. The agitating conveyor screw has an agitating blade spirally extending in the axial direction and the guide member is configured to guide a developer thrown upward by the rotating agitating conveyor screw toward the layer thickness limiting member.

Abstract: A developing device includes: a developer carrying member; a magnet; a developing chamber; a blade member; and a guiding portion. A distance from a developer feeding start position of the guiding portion to said blade member is 2 mm or more along a developer carrying member rotational direction. When a magnetic force at a surface of the developer carrying member with respect to a direction normal to the developer carrying member is Fr, the magnetic poles are provided so that a ratio of an integrated value FrNear obtained by integrating the magnetic force Fr from the blade member to a position of 2 mm upstream of the blade member with respect to the rotational direction to an integrated value FrAll obtained by integrating the magnetic force from the blade member to the developer feeding start position with respect to the rotational direction is 60% or more.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a toner image forming device for forming a color image. The toner image forming device forms a first color test image and a second color test image superposedly on an image conveying member so that at least one of a screen angle and a screen ruling with respect to the first color test image is different from that with respect to the second color test image. The image forming apparatus further includes a detecting device for detecting a distribution of heights of the first and second color test images formed superposedly on the image conveying member by the toner image forming device, and a control device for controlling a toner image forming condition of the toner image forming device on the basis of the distribution detected by the detecting device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a transparent image forming unit configured to form a transparent toner image on a recording material, a fixing unit configured to fix the transparent toner image formed on the recording material, an acquisition unit configured to acquire a region where a mark visually recognizable due to a glossiness difference is to be formed, and a control unit configured to control the transparent image forming unit such that the transparent toner image formed in the region acquired by the acquisition unit is formed in a predetermined pattern in which a first portion having first glossiness after fixing and a second portion having second glossiness after fixing that is different from the first glossiness are at least alternately disposed.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a color image forming portion for forming a color toner image on an image bearing member and a transparent image forming portion for forming a transparent toner image on the image bearing member. The color and transparent image forming portions form test color and test transparent toner images on the image bearing member. A detecting portion detects a density of each of the test color and test transparent toner images and a control portion controls an image forming condition for an image to be formed on a recording material, on the basis of a result of the detection. The test transparent and test color toner images are formed on the image bearing member between operations for forming the images on the recording material. A frequency of formations of the test transparent toner images is lower than that of the formations of the test color toner images.

Abstract: A repulsive magnetic field is formed in a section immediately upstream of a regulating blade, so that generation of a developing-agent stationary layer is suppressed or eliminated. Accordingly, a developing apparatus capable of stably maintaining the layer thickness of developing agent conveyed to a developing area for a long time is provided.

Abstract: A sensor system includes an LED configured to emit light to a recording medium and a light-receiving sensor configured to receive a transmitted light that has passed through the recording medium after having been emitted from the LED to the recording medium. An emitting optical axis of the LED is away from a perpendicular receiving optical axis of the light-receiving sensor.

Abstract: To provide a recording-material type determination apparatus and recording-material type determination method which can determine the type of recording material using simple calculations as well as to provide an image forming apparatus capable of obtaining stable image quality independent of the type of recording material using the apparatus and method. Based on data read by a read unit which reads surface images of recording material, a first calculation unit calculates the depth of irregularities in the surface of recording material and stores the results of calculation in a register A while a second calculation unit calculates the spacing of irregularities on the surface of the recording material and stores the results of calculation in a register B. Based on the values in the registers A and B, the type of recording material such as gloss paper, plain paper, rough paper or OHT is determined.