Abstract: An image forming apparatus, which comprises a toner density detection device for detecting the density of a toner inside a developing device, acquires the number of pixels from inputted image information, calculates the toner replenishment amount from the toner density detection value and the information on the pixels, and thereby performs replenishment control so that excessive replenishment or insufficient replenishment of the toner is not caused. The upper limit value of the amount of toner to be replenished at once to the developing device is changed in accordance with the amount of information on an input image such as the image area, pixels of the input image.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum capable of bearing an electrostatic image, a development device having a developing sleeve capable of bearing a developer and a developer container capable of storing a magnetic toner, and a CPU controlling operation to discharge a developer having polarity opposite to a normally charged polarity to the photosensitive drum by enlarging a restoration electric field to force the developer having a normally charged polarity from the photosensitive drum to the development sleeve during image forming is not performed compared to that during normal image forming is performed, based on a weighted value (p×K) on an edge portion pixel number p of an edge portion of an output image.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus a developing device develops an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier with a developer that contains toner to obtain a toner image, a toner-amount detecting unit detects amount of toner attached to the toner image, and a toner-density detecting unit detects a density of toner in the developer. Moreover, a process control unit corrects a toner-density target value indicative of a target value of density of toner in the developer based on the amount of toner detected by the toner-amount detecting unit and the density of toner detected by the toner-density detecting unit, and a determines execution timing of next process based on corrected toner-density target value.

Abstract: A transfer residual toner that has not been electrostatically transferred onto a transfer paper P at a transfer nip and remains on a surface of a photosensitive element is temporarily retained by an elastic blade of a toner retaining unit in a mechanical manner before reaching a latent image forming area. When passing through the latent image forming area, the transfer residual toner is returned onto the surface of the photosensitive member at such a timing that writing is not performed by an exposing unit on the surface of the photosensitive element.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image carriers, an image forming mechanism, a seamless belt-like intermediate transfer body or a transfer material carrier, a detection mechanism, and an optical detecting apparatus. The optical detecting apparatus includes at least a printed board, and a plurality of photodetectors formed of a light-emitting element, a light-receiving element and light-shielding members, which are mounted on the printed board. The optical detecting apparatus is disposed such that it detects a belt surface adjacent to rollers of the intermediate transfer body or the transfer material carrier, and either displacement of a transfer image or image density is detected by a plurality of photodetectors detecting pattern images which are transferred from the plurality of image carriers to the image transfer body or the transfer material carrier.

Abstract: A developing unit supplies toner from a developing roller to an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier, and creates a visual image. A forced consumption unit causes, when a proportion of number of pixels used for forming the electrostatic latent image for a maximum image effective-width is equal to or less than a predetermined value, a forced consumption of toner by an amount corresponding to a difference between a toner amount corresponding to the number of pixels and a predetermined toner consumption amount. The forced consumption unit adds toner of an amount used in the forced consumption to an amount of toner to be supplied in a next imaging process.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with an image formation portion, a measuring portion and a determination portion. The image formation portion forms an image on an image carrier. The measuring portion measures image formation ability associated with resolution of the image formation portion. The determination portion determines operating condition of the image formation portion according to the measured image formation ability and size of a component image constituting a code pattern image to be formed by the image formation portion. The code pattern image is constituted by a combination of a plurality of the component image having a predetermined shape. The code pattern image is code information expressed as a pattern image.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a toner image formed on a photosensitive drum is primarily transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt. The toner image on the intermediate transfer belt is secondarily transferred onto a transfer material by a secondary transfer roller in contact with the intermediate transfer belt. A relation A>B>C is satisfied, where A is a width of the intermediate transfer member, B is a width of the secondary transfer member, and C is a width of the transfer material. The intermediate transfer member includes a patch-pattern forming area that is not contacted by the secondary transfer member. The image forming apparatus includes a reflection-type photosensor that detects a patch pattern formed in the patch-pattern forming area.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes at least one image bearing member, an intermediate transfer member, a secondary transfer member, and at least one optical sensor. In the image forming apparatus, it is determined that output values of the respective amounts of toner detected by the at least one optical sensor are affected by an impact caused due to a separation of the secondary transfer member from the intermediate transfer member and the output values are ignored as image adjustment input information, when the secondary transfer member separates from the intermediate transfer member during any of writing, developing, and transferring the plurality of image adjustment patterns, if the output values fall outside a given range and an interval between the output values of adjacent image bearing members is substantially equal to a distance between the two adjacent image bearing members for the primary transfer.

Abstract: A transfer residual toner that has not been electrostatically transferred onto a transfer paper P at a transfer nip and remains on a surface of a photosensitive element is temporarily retained by an elastic blade of a toner retaining unit in a mechanical manner before reaching a latent image forming area. When passing through the latent image forming area, the transfer residual toner is returned onto the surface of the photosensitive member at such a timing that writing is not performed by an exposing unit on the surface of the photosensitive element.

Abstract: A transfer residual toner that has not been electrostatically transferred onto a transfer paper P at a transfer nip and remains on a surface of a photosensitive element is temporarily retained by an elastic blade of a toner retaining unit in a mechanical manner before reaching a latent image forming area. When passing through the latent image forming area, the transfer residual toner is returned onto the surface of the photosensitive member at such a timing that writing is not performed by an exposing unit on the surface of the photosensitive element.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus includes a developing device that holds a two-component developer to develop an image, a detecting unit that outputs a reference output value and a second output value when the two-component developer is stirred and carried at a stirring/carrying speed corresponding to a second image forming mode, a stirring/carrying member that stirs and carries the two-component developer, and a controlling unit that controls the toner concentration based on the reference output value when forming an image in a first image forming mode, and controls the toner concentration, when forming an image in the second image forming mode, a corrected output value obtained by correcting an output value in the second image forming mode with a difference value between the reference output value and the second output value.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with an image formation portion, a measuring portion and a determination portion. The image formation portion forms an image on an image carrier. The measuring portion measures image formation ability associated with resolution of the image formation portion. The determination portion determines operating condition of the image formation portion according to the measured image formation ability and size of a component image constituting a code pattern image to be formed by the image formation portion. The code pattern image is constituted by a combination of a plurality of the component image having a predetermined shape. The code pattern image is code information expressed as a pattern image.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a toner image formed on a photosensitive drum is primarily transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt. The toner image on the intermediate transfer belt is secondarily transferred onto a transfer material by a secondary transfer roller in contact with the intermediate transfer belt. A relation A>B>C is satisfied, where A is a width of the intermediate transfer member, B is a width of the secondary transfer member, and C is a width of the transfer material. The intermediate transfer member includes a patch-pattern forming area that is not contacted by the secondary transfer member. The image forming apparatus includes a reflection-type photosensor that detects a patch pattern formed in the patch-pattern forming area.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of includes a developing device bifunctioning as a cleaning device for collecting toner grains left on a photoconductive drum after the transfer of a toner image from the drum to a paper sheet or similar image transfer medium. In the event of toner collection, a DC voltage is applied that causes the residual toner to move from the drum toward a developing sleeve. A main-pole magnet generates, at a position where the developing sleeve faces the drum, a magnetic field of between 100 mT and 200 mT in a direction normal to the surface of the sleeve.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes at least one image bearing member, an intermediate transfer member, a secondary transfer member, and at least one optical sensor. In the image forming apparatus, it is determined that output values of the respective amounts of toner detected by the at least one optical sensor are affected by an impact caused due to a separation of the secondary transfer member from the intermediate transfer member and the output values are ignored as image adjustment input information, when the secondary transfer member separates from the intermediate transfer member during any of writing, developing, and transferring the plurality of image adjustment patterns, if the output values fall outside a given range and an interval between the output values of adjacent image bearing members is substantially equal to a distance between the two adjacent image bearing members for the primary transfer.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, which comprises a toner density detection device for detecting the density of a toner inside a developing device, acquires the number of pixels from inputted image information, calculates the toner replenishment amount from the toner density detection value and the information on the pixels, and thereby performs replenishment control so that excessive replenishment or insufficient replenishment of the toner is not caused. The upper limit value of the amount of toner to be replenished at once to the developing device is changed in accordance with the amount of information on an input image such as the image area, pixels of the input image.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a charging device configured to uniformly charge a surface of the image carrier with a charging member applied with a bias of a first polarity (e.g. a negative polarity) for charging. A latent image forming device forms a latent image on the surface of the image carrier uniformly charged. A developing device develops a latent image by depositing toner grains of the first polarity on the latent image to thereby form a corresponding toner image. A transferring device forms an electric field between the image carrier and a moving member that serves as a movable contact with the image carrier to thereby transfer the toner image from the surface of the image carrier to the moving member or to a recording member nipped between the image carrier and the moving member. A polarity controlling device sets residual toner to a second polarity (e.g.

Abstract: A developing unit supplies toner from a developing roller to an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier, and creates a visual image. A forced consumption unit causes, when a proportion of number of pixels used for forming the electrostatic latent image for a maximum image effective-width is equal to or less than a predetermined value, a forced consumption of toner by an amount corresponding to a difference between a toner amount corresponding to the number of pixels and a predetermined toner consumption amount. The forced consumption unit adds toner of an amount used in the forced consumption to an amount of toner to be supplied in a next imaging process.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus a developing device develops an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier with a developer that contains toner to obtain a toner image, a toner-amount detecting unit detects amount of toner attached to the toner image, and a toner-density detecting unit detects a density of toner in the developer. Moreover, a process control unit corrects a toner-density target value indicative of a target value of density of toner in the developer based on the amount of toner detected by the toner-amount detecting unit and the density of toner detected by the toner-density detecting unit, and a determines execution timing of next process based on corrected toner-density target value.