Abstract: An exposure head that exposes a photosensitive member to light includes a plurality of light-emitting element array chips mounted on one surface of a board, a connector mounted on the other surface of the board, and a first driver IC and a second driver IC that are connected to the connector and drive the light-emitting element array chips, wherein the first driver IC is placed on one side of the board with respect to the connector in the longitudinal direction of the board, and the second driver IC is placed on the other side of the board with respect to the connector in the longitudinal direction of the board.

Abstract: The heater including a substrate, a first heat generation member, a second heat generation member having a length substantially a same in a longitudinal direction as a length of the first heat generation member, a third heat generation member having a length shorter than lengths of the first heat generation member and the second heat generation member in the longitudinal direction, and a fourth heat generation member having a length shorter than length of the third heat generation member in the longitudinal direction, wherein the first heat generation member, the second heat generation member, the third heat generation member and the fourth heat generation member are arranged on the substrate.

Abstract: A driving apparatus comprising a driving circuit is provided. The driving circuit includes an output terminal to which the load element is connected, a current output circuit configured to supply a current to the load element, a voltage supply circuit configured to apply a voltage to the load element, a first signal line configured to control a timing at which the current output circuit starts supplying a current to the load element and a second signal line configured to control a timing at which the voltage supply circuit is turned off. The voltage supply circuit starts applying a voltage before the current output circuit supplies a current to the load element, and a timing at which the current output circuit starts supplying a current differs from a timing at which the voltage supply circuit turns off application of a voltage.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a density detector, a determination unit, and a change unit. The density detector detects a density of a patch image formed on an image carrier over plural places. The determination unit determines whether plural detection results of the density detector are within a threshold. When the number of determination results, by the determination unit, that the density of the patch image is not within the threshold exceeds a predetermined number, the change unit changes (i) a detection timing at which the patch image is detected by the density detector or (ii) a formation position of the patch image on the image carrier.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a flexible endless belt, a pressure rotator disposed outside the belt and facing the belt, a nip formation pad disposed inside a loop of the belt and configured to form a fixing nip between the belt and the pressure rotator, a heater configured to heat the belt, a flange configured to support an end portion of the belt, a first lubricant, and a second lubricant. The first lubricant is applied between the nip formation pad and an inner surface of the belt. The second lubricant is applied between the flange and the inner surface of the belt. The second lubricant has a temperature characteristic different from a temperature characteristic of the first lubricant.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes first and second casings, a support portion, a control panel, and a USB port. The first casing houses an image forming unit and includes a sheet discharge tray configured to support a sheet discharged by a discharge roller. The second casing is disposed above the first casing, and houses an image scanner. The support portion is disposed at a top surface of the first casing such that the support portion support raises the second casing, and partially defines an open portion that enables an access to the sheet discharged on the sheet discharge tray. The control panel is disposed at the second casing. A downstream end portion of the control panel is positioned downstream of the discharge roller in a discharging direction. The USB port is positioned above the sheet discharge tray, and overlaps, when viewed from the top, with the sheet discharge tray.

Abstract: A process cartridge includes: a drum cartridge including a photosensitive drum; and a toner cartridge which is mountable on the drum cartridge and stores toner, wherein the drum cartridge includes: a cleaner configured to collect waste toner on the photosensitive drum; a waste toner conveyance tube configured to convey the waste toner collected by the cleaner; and a developing unit which includes a developing roller configured to supply toner to the photosensitive drum and is swingable about a swing axis with respect to the photosensitive drum, and wherein the toner cartridge has a waste toner storing chamber for storing the waste toner conveyed by the waste toner conveyance tube.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a revolving member, a first-transfer member, a second-transfer member that transfers the toner image on the revolving member onto a recording medium, a removing member downstream of the second-transfer member to remove a deposit on the revolving member, a fixing device that generates heat and that fixes the toner image transferred on the recording medium, a generating member that causes air to flow from the fixing device toward the revolving member, and an executing unit that executes a removal mode including causing the fixing device to generate heat, causing the generating member to operate, causing the revolving member to operate, causing the first-transfer member to operate so as to transfer a cleaning image as a toner image onto the revolving member, and causing the removing member to remove the cleaning image from the revolving member without transferring the cleaning image onto the recording medium.

Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes an endless film, a pressing member forming a nip portion together with the film, and a film holding member provided at a longitudinal end portion of the film. The film holding member includes a movable member including a restriction surface configured to restrict a longitudinal movement of the film and a guide surface configured to guide a rotation of the film, the guide surface including a lubricant application unit. The film holding member further includes a biased member supporting the movable member and including a force reception portion, and is configured to cause the movable member to move upstream in a conveyance direction of the recording material at the nip portion relative to the biased member and cause the lubricant application unit to abut against an inner peripheral surface of the fixing film, when the movable member moves longitudinally.

Abstract: An exposure head includes surface emitting element array chips and a driving voltage generation portion outputting a driving voltage to the surface emitting element array chip. The driving voltage generation portion includes digital analog conversion control circuits (DACs) provided corresponding to each surface light emitting element array chip and output drive voltages, and DACs which output maximum and minimum drive voltages. A CPU controls the DACs and outputs a driving voltage corresponding to the light emission amount of each surface light emitting element array chip.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is capable of being attached with a toner supply container. The toner supply container stores a toner that is to be supplied to a developing portion. An attachment location of the toner supply container is below a light scanning portion in a vertical direction.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device and a processor. The fixing device has a heat generating element, a fixing belt which moves along a surface of the heat generating element while an inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt makes contact with the heat generating element, a rotatable body configured to be pressed against an outer peripheral surface of the fixing belt, and a lubricant which is applied to and in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt. The processor is configured to acquire a physical quantity which changes in accordance with a magnitude of a torque that is applied to rotate the rotatable body, and cause the rotatable body to execute a predetermined operation to adjust a gap between the heat generating element and the fixing belt, based on the physical quantity acquired while the fixing device is carrying out image formation.

Abstract: A charging member 2 that charges an image bearing member 1 has an electrically conductive support and an elastic layer in contact with the image bearing member 1. The elastic layer includes a semi-conductive rubber composition having a matrix-domain structure including a matrix and domains having electric conductivity. The matrix has a higher volume resistivity than the domain. The developer includes a toner having toner particles. The toner particles each have a surface layer including an organosilicon polymer. The organosilicon polymer has a structure represented by R—SiO3/2 (R is a hydrocarbon group having at least 1 and not more than 6 carbon atoms). The adhesion ratio of the organosilicon polymer on the surface of the toner particle is 90% or more.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image holding member; a charging unit; an electrostatic image forming unit; a developing unit that includes an electrostatic image developer including a toner and develops the electrostatic image formed on the surface of the image holding member with the electrostatic image developer to form a toner image; a transfer unit; and a cleaning unit that removes toner particles present on the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade arranged to contact with the surface of the image holding member. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade A containing a contacting portion having a JIS-A hardness of 90° or more, or the cleaning unit includes a control unit B that controls a load with which the cleaning blade contacts with the image holding member, the control unit B controlling the load in a constant load mode.

Abstract: An intermediate transfer member includes: a base layer; an elastic layer that is disposed on the base layer; and a surface layer that is disposed on the elastic layer, wherein, when a breaking elongation of the surface layer is Ah, and a breaking elongation of the elastic layer is Ad, Ad/Ah=4 to 100 is satisfied, and when a linear expansion coefficient of the surface layer is Bh, and a linear expansion coefficient of the elastic layer is Bd, Bd/Bh=0.8 to 2 is satisfied.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developing roller to rotate in a predetermined direction of rotation and opposed to or in contact with an image bearer to form a development range, a cover to cover the developing roller downstream from the development range in the predetermined direction of rotation, a sheet member cantilevered by the cover to contact the developing roller with a flat face of the sheet member while trailing along the predetermined direction of rotation at a position downstream from the development range. The cover includes a large gap portion to form a first gap in a first predetermined range in the predetermined direction of rotation and a small gap portion disposed adjacent to and downstream from the large gap portion in the predetermined direction of rotation to form a second gap smaller than the first gap in a second predetermined range in the predetermined direction of rotation.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a cover member that covers part of a main body frame; a first turn support member having: one end turnably supported by a first shaft provided at the main body frame, the first shaft extending horizontally; and another end turnably supported by a second shaft provided at the cover member, the second shaft extending horizontally; and a second turn support member having: one end turnably supported by a third shaft provided below the first shaft of the main body frame, the third shaft extending horizontally; and another end turnably supported by a fourth shaft provided at the cover member, the fourth shaft extending horizontally, wherein in a closed state where the cover member covers the main body frame, the fourth shaft is located below the third shaft, and in a fully open state, the fourth shaft is located above the third shaft.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, an exposure device, a developing device, a primary transfer device, a secondary transfer device, and a control unit. The exposure device exposes the image carrier to form an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier. The developing device forms a toner image by developing the electrostatic latent image using toner. The primary transfer device primarily transfers the toner image to a transfer body. The secondary transfer device applies a transfer bias to secondarily transfer the toner image to a recording medium. The control unit applies a cleaning bias to the secondary transfer device to remove residual toner after the secondary transfer. When the control unit determines that the toner image based on the exposed electrostatic latent image is not secondarily transferred at a predetermined timing, the first cleaning processing is performed until the subsequent processing is started.

Abstract: A drum unit includes: a frame; a first photosensitive drum; a second photosensitive drum; a charger; and a storage medium. The frame includes: a first frame plate; a second frame plate spaced apart from the first frame plate in a first direction; a third frame plate connecting one end of the first frame plate to one end of the second frame plate; and a fourth frame plate connecting another end of the first frame plate to another end of the second frame plate. The first photosensitive drum and the second photosensitive drum are rotatably supported by the frame. The second photosensitive drum is spaced apart from the first photosensitive drum and positioned closer to the third frame plate than the first photosensitive drum to the third frame plate in a second direction. The storage medium has an electrical contact surface positioned at an outer surface of the fourth frame plate.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form an image based on image data, a fixing unit configured to fix the image formed by the image forming unit on a recording material, a conversion unit configured to convert image data into conversion data including a plurality of areas having a first resolution in a main scanning direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording material, and a second resolution higher than the first resolution in a sub-scanning direction, which is the conveyance direction of the recording material, an analysis unit configured to analyze values related to the areas of the plurality of areas of the conversion data obtained by the conversion unit, and a temperature control unit configured to control a fixing temperature of the fixing unit according to a result of the analysis performed by the analysis unit.