Abstract: An optical sensor attached to an apparatus includes a substrate and a light emitting element mounted on a first surface of the substrate. The light emitting element emits a light to a detection object in parallel to the substrate. A light receiving element is mounted on the first surface of the substrate. The light receiving element receives a regular reflection light reflected by the detection object. The said first surface serves as a positioning reference for positioning the optical sensor on an optical sensor mounting member provided in the apparatus.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording sheet is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a main body, a belt unit, and a pressing member configured to press the belt unit in a pressing direction crossing both a belt extending direction and an axial direction of a belt roller. A first positioning portion is disposed in the main body and a second positioning portion is disposed in the belt unit. A second positioning portion is disposed in the belt unit and configured to contact the first positioning portion to allow the belt unit to be positioned in the main body, and the pressing member is configured to press the belt unit such that the second positioning portion maintains contact with the first positioning portion.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a fusing belt, a pressure roller disposed to face the fusing belt so as to press a recording medium onto the fusing belt, a nip forming member to support an inner surface of the fusing belt so as to form a fusing nip along with the pressure roller, and a heat source disposed inside the fusing belt to simultaneously apply radiant heat to the fusing belt and the nip forming member. The nip forming member includes a hill portion, which is located to one side thereof farther downstream in a movement direction of the recording medium and protrudes toward the hill portion. The hill portion causes the recording medium, which has curled in a given direction, to be bent in an opposite direction immediately prior to exiting from between the nip forming member and the pressure roller, thereby reducing curling of the recording medium.

Abstract: A pressing mechanism that presses a solid lubricant against a brush roller includes two movable members that receive the biasing force of a single biasing unit, rotate around a fulcrum, and press places of the solid lubricant at the symmetric positions with respect to the center of a contact portion of the solid lubricant. The curvature of a portion of a curve shape of the movable member that contacts a casing inner wall is set such that the pressing force in a pressing direction of the solid lubricant in the last stage becomes greater than the pressing force in an intermediate stage, from the initial stage to the last stage after the solid lubricant of the predetermined amount or more is scraped off via the intermediate stage.

Abstract: A developer recovery container includes a first room that stores a recovered developer; a plurality of linearly obliquely arranged recovery ports facing the first room, a developer removed by a cleaning unit for an intermediate transfer unit and a developer removed by a cleaning unit for a black-image bearing member being dropped in the first room respectively through top one and bottom one of the recovery ports; a second room formed below an area between one of the recovery ports located next to the top recovery port and another recovery port located next to the one recovery port, the developer flowing from the first room to the second room; a conveying unit that conveys the developer in the first room to the second room by a quantity of the developer exceeding a storage limit of the first room; and a sensor that detects the developer in the second room.

Abstract: An electrophotographic apparatus has an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a surface layer of an amorphous silicon carbide. The ratio of the atom density (C) of carbon atoms to the sum of the atom density (Si) of silicon atoms and the atom density (C) of carbon atoms, C/(Si+C), in the surface layer is set larger from one end portion toward the other end portion of the electrophotographic photosensitive member in the direction of rotational axis thereof, and is from 0.61 or more to 0.75 or less in the entire region of the electrophotographic photosensitive member in the direction of rotational axis thereof. The electrophotographic apparatus has an air current generator which draws out air from the side of the one end portion toward the side of the other end portion.

Abstract: Provided is a liquid development apparatus having a constitution in which liquid developer containing carrier liquid with toner dispersed therein is supplied from a liquid developer/cleaning liquid supply member on a pool forming member arranged facing to a supply roller so as to form a pool of the liquid developer, from which pool the liquid developer is supplied to the supply roller, wherein a liquid developer/cleaning liquid supply member supplies cleaning liquid on a pool forming member to form a suitable pooling portion of the cleaning liquid and the liquid developer remaining on the surface of the supply roller is removed and cleaned.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier that rotates by power generated by a driving source. A power transmission system transmits the power from the driving source to the image carrier. The power transmission system includes a coupling member to attenuate oscillation. The coupling member includes a viscous fluid, male and female fittings, and a rotating resistor. The viscous fluid provides a resistance against rotation of the image carrier. The male and female fittings are mutually fitted and rotatably supported on a rotary shaft of the image carrier penetrating through the male and female fittings in a direction in which they are mutually fitted. The rotating resistor is accommodated together with the viscous fluid in an accommodation space defined by a recess of the male fitting and a bottom inner surface of the female fitting. The rotating resistor integrally rotates with the rotary shaft.

Abstract: A developing device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus of a premix developing system, with which developer splashed by the transport member is not discharged from the device, fluctuations of the amount of developer discharged to the outside are not produced, and the output image quality is stable. This developing device is provided with a pocket part, which is installed in a depressed manner facing the outside in relation to the transport route formed by the transport member, and into and out of which part of the developer transported in the transport route flows. This pocket part is provided with a discharge port for discharging developer to outside the device when the surface of the developer flowing into the pocket part exceeds a specified height.

Abstract: A phase synchronization mode is performed at a time of subsequent rotation after image formation. After detection of a phase difference by phase detecting sensors 103a, 103d, rotation phases are synchronized between driving motors 111, 102d after a lapse of a variable time. Specifically, timing for starting the rotation phase synchronization is shifted by 20 msec for each phase synchronization control so as to vary angular positions of the photosensitive drums 101a, 101b, 101d at which phase control is started. In this manner, sliding-contact positions are distributed and development and concentration of sliding-contact damages are prevented on the photosensitive drums 101a, 101b, 101d.

Abstract: There is provided a developer container, which is divided into a first containing part and a second containing part that are communicated with each other at communication parts on the opposite end sides, which has a discharge port at the second containing part, and in which a developer is contained; a developer carrying member that carries the developer within the developer container to adhere it to the image carrying member; a first conveyance member that conveys the developer in the first containing part of the developer container while agitating it; a second conveyance member that conveys the developer in the second containing part of the developer container while agitating it, and supplies the developer to the developer carrying member; a third conveyance member that is arranged between the second conveyance member and the discharge port; a first driving member that rotary-drives the first conveyance member and the second conveyance member; and a second driving member that drives the third driving member

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a toner density detection unit, cleaning member, motor and motion conversion unit. The toner density detection unit is configured to detect toner density. The cleaning member is configured to linearly reciprocate to clean a detection surface of the toner density detection unit. The motor has a rotational shaft. The motion conversion unit is configured to convert a rotation of the rotational shaft to a linear reciprocal movement of the cleaning member. The motion conversion unit includes a cam having a shape configured to cause the cleaning member to perform one reciprocal movement at each rotation of the cam.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a toner supply member which is in contact with the toner carrier and is provided within the container, has a foam layer on its surface, rotates in a predetermined direction for image formation and supplies the toner to the toner carrier and has a contact area with the toner carrier with an uppermost stream position in the predetermined direction of the contact area being higher than a lowermost stream position and has a period when the toner supply member rotates in the opposite direction of the predetermined direction to increase the toner amount contained in the foam layer.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has: a positively-charged single layer type electrophotographic photoreceptor; a charging device with a contact charging roller for charging a surface of the photoreceptor; an exposure device for exposing the charged surface to light to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor; a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image; and a transfer device for transferring the toner image to a transferred body. The photoreceptor has a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer that contains a charge generating agent, a charge transport agent and a binder resin. The binder resin has a yield point strain of 9 to 29%, and the contact charging roller has a conductive layer with a thickness of 1 mm to 3 mm. The image forming apparatus is environmentally responsive and having a long-lasting positively-charged single layer type photoreceptor and charging roller.

Abstract: Disclosed is an image forming apparatus, which makes it possible to reduce the frequency of image defect occurrences to a level as lower as possible by detecting abnormalities generated with age on the photoreceptor member and/or in the cleaning section, so as to suppress an amount of spoiled paper sheets and material. The image forming apparatus includes: a light source that is disposed at a position located between a cleaning section and a charging section, to emit an inspection light, which is to be irradiated onto a photoreceptor member over a main-scanning direction thereof; a tight-contact type image sensor that has a line image sensor to receive the inspection light reflected from a surface of the photoreceptor member; and a control section to determine a status of a surface of the photoreceptor member, based on a result of analyzing the inspection light receive by the line image sensor.

Abstract: Methods are provided for printing and fusing a toner on a receiver having a toner pile that extends at least about 50 ?m above a receiver. According to one aspect, a first energy is applied to raise a temperature of a first portion of the toner pile to a range of elevated temperature levels below a glass transition temperature of the toner, a second energy is applied to a temperature of a second portion of the toner pile above the glass transition temperature and to allow the second portion to transfer energy to the first portion. The second energy is provided at a level that allows the transferred energy to raise the temperature of the first portion from the range of elevated levels to the range of temperatures above the glass transition temperature. a range of temperatures above the glass transition temperature for the toner.

Abstract: A waste-toner collecting device includes a waste toner collector that collects and stores therein non-transferred toner as waste toner conveyed from a cleaning unit via the conveying path; and a leveling member that levels waste toner accumulated inside the waste toner collector, and drive of which is controlled so that driving conditions thereof are varied based on information of an image formed on the image carrier. The switching of the driving conditions of the leveling member is controlled so as to be performed after a delay time during which the non-transferred toner collected in the cleaning unit reaches the waste-toner collector via the conveying path.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus including: a forming unit that forms a toner image according to image information for an image to be formed on a sheet; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed on the sheet; a switching unit that switches a fixing pressure of the fixing unit by an operation; a stopping unit that, when the fixing pressure is switched to fix at a second fixing pressure lower than a predefined first fixing pressure, stops conveying a final sheet before the final sheet is fed after being fixed; and an instructing unit that, when the stopping unit stops conveying the final sheet, instructs switching to the first fixing pressure.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided which includes a multiplexer (MUX) which is able to be connected to at least one developer supplier, at least one pull-up resistor which is connected in parallel to at least one connection line between the at least one developer supplier and the MUX, and a central processing unit (CPU) which detects a connection signal from the at least one pullup resistor and the at least one connection line, and determines whether an initial developer supplier is mounted according to the value of the connection signal.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium; a fixing device that nips the recording medium and that rotates at a first peripheral velocity, to transport the recording medium, and to fix the image to the recording medium; a transport path; a first transporting section that rotates at a second peripheral velocity, and nips and transports the recording medium to which the image is fixed; a second transporting section that rotates at a third peripheral velocity, and nips and transports the recording medium to which the image is fixed; a detecting unit that detects a move-out timing; and a controller that controls a peripheral velocity of the second transporting section so as to be greater than the third peripheral velocity and less than the second peripheral velocity in accordance with the timing detected by the detecting unit.