Abstract: A developing device includes a developer carrier to carry a developer, and a developer conveyor to supply the developer to the developer carrier. The developer conveyor includes a shaft extending in an axial direction to rotate in a rotational direction, a helical blade having a conveying surface to convey the developer around the shaft along the axial direction, and a protrusion attached to a rear surface of the helical blade, which faces the conveying surface, and having a leading surface extending from an upstream end to a downstream end in the rotational direction of the shaft.

Abstract: A cartridge for an image forming apparatus includes: a process unit to be used to form an image; a first member including a first resin material; a second member including a second resin material having higher flame retardant capability than the first resin material; and an electrode member including a contact section configured to be supplied with power from an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus. The electrode member is configured to electrically connect the apparatus main body to the process unit. The second resin material of the second member has a greater density than the first resin material of the first member. The contact section is located in the vicinity of the first and second members and is closer to the second member than to the first member.

Abstract: An imaging system with a gloss treatment device includes an endless belt, a heating portion and a pressing portion. The endless belt conveys a medium along a conveyance direction. The heating portion heats the endless belt. The pressing portion presses the endless belt against the heating portion. A nip is formed in a region where the endless belt contacts both of the pressing portion and the heating portion. The nip includes an upstream end and a downstream end in the conveyance direction, and a reference line intersects the upstream end and the downstream end of the nip. The endless belt includes a conveyance portion that is inclined toward the heating portion, in relation to the reference line associated with the nip.

Abstract: In an image forming device, a first fixing member has a roller. A second fixing member has a belt to form a nip together with the first fixing member. A first motor drives the roller. A pressure modifying mechanism modifies a nip pressure at the nip to selected one of a first nip pressure and a second nip pressure smaller than the first nip pressure. A controller starts driving the first motor to drive the roller in a case where a print command is received in a state that the nip pressure is the second nip pressure. The controller modifies the nip pressure from the second nip pressure to the first nip pressure after the driving is performed and fixes the developer image on the sheet in a state that the nip pressure is the first nip pressure.

Abstract: A glossiness inspection device includes an illumination device that emits irradiation light to a glossiness detection target and a light receiving device that receives reflected light of the irradiation light reflected by the glossiness detection target and outputs a light reception detection signal according to an amount of the received light. A dimmer of the device adjusts an amount of the irradiation light, and a detection signal adjuster of the device adjusts a gain for amplifying the light reception detection signal. An irradiation position controller of the device selectively irradiates a first gloss region and a second gloss region of a correction plate with the irradiation light. A hardware processor of the device adjusts at least one of the amount of the irradiation light, an offset of the detection signal adjuster, a characteristic straight line for calculating a glossiness, or a calculated glossiness.

Abstract: A toner conveying device includes a case that can store therein toner to be conveyed, a conveyance member rotatably supported at both ends thereof by the case and configured to rotate to convey the toner inside the case in a conveying direction set in advance, and a pushing member pushed against the conveyance member and configured to slide on an outer peripheral portion of the conveyance member as the conveyance member rotates. The pushing member includes a first sheet member having flexibility and abutting on the outer peripheral portion in a first direction intersecting with a rotational axis direction of the conveyance member to push the conveyance member and a second sheet member having flexibility and abutting on the outer peripheral portion in a second direction, which is different from the first direction, intersecting with the rotational axis direction to push the conveyance member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus (1) includes a casing (21) having a toner conveyance path (34); a screw (24) conveying a toner in the toner conveyance path (34) in a predetermined conveyance direction; and a downstream side bearing (25) rotatably supporting a downstream side end portion of the screw (24) in the conveyance direction, wherein the screw (24) includes: a shaft (51) extending in the conveyance direction; and a spiral fin (52) provided around an outer circumferential face of the shaft (51), the shaft (51) has a downstream side insertion part (54) inserted into the downstream side bearing (25), and the downstream side insertion part (54) has an outer diameter larger than an outer diameter of a downstream side end portion of the fin (52) in the conveyance direction.

Abstract: An image heating device includes a heater having a plurality of heating elements that heat a plurality of heating regions and a control portion that controls the supply of electric power to the plurality of heating elements. The power supply is controlled so that a first average temperature, which is an average value of control target temperatures of heating regions included in a first region located closer to one end side than a central heating region in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of a recording material, and a second average temperature, which is an average value of control target temperatures of heating regions included in a second region located closer to the other end side than the central heating region, are within a predetermined temperature range.

Abstract: An example developing device includes a housing to contain a developer and having an opening, a developing sleeve provided in the housing and partially exposed to the outside of the housing through the opening, a magnetic member including a plurality of magnetic poles and located inside the developing sleeve, and an elastic member blocking an inflow of air through a space between a downstream edge of the opening in a rotation direction of the developing sleeve and an outer circumferential surface of the developing sleeve. The elastic member includes a fixed portion fixed to the housing at a position adjacent to the downstream edge of the opening and an extension portion extending from the fixed portion in a bent form in the rotation direction of the developing sleeve to be elastically in contact with the surface of the developing sleeve.

Abstract: An imaging system includes: a housing including a developing chamber, a developing roller located in the developing chamber to transport a developer and spaced apart from the housing; a conveyance path extending along at least part of a periphery of the developing roller in order to form a flow of air including the developer; and a control member. The developing roller includes a peeling pole at a fixed position with respect to the housing, to discharge the developer. The control member is located along the conveyance path in proximity to the peeling pole of the developing roller, to reduce a flow rate of the air flowing through the conveyance path.

Abstract: An example device to develop an electrostatic latent includes first and second passages coupled to each other through first and second openings. A first stir-and-transport member located in the first passage includes a first helical blade to stir and transport a developer along the first passage in a first direction and to supply the developer to a developing roller. A second stir-and-transport member located in the second passage includes a second helical blade to stir and transport the developer along the second passage in a second direction. A developer discharge pipe is coupled to the developer container to communicate with a downstream side of the first passage. The first stir-and-transport member includes a first reverse helical blade having a pitch between approximately 0.5 times and 1.5 times the pitch of the first helical blade and located downstream of the first helical blade and disposed downstream of the second opening.

Abstract: An imaging system comprises a stirring-conveyance member to supply developer to a developing roller. The stirring-conveyance member includes a spiral structure to convey the developer and a reverse spiral structure disposed downstream the spiral structure in a conveying direction of the developer. The reverse spiral structure has a maximum outer diameter at an upstream end in the conveying direction and a minimum outer diameter at a downstream end in the conveying direction. The minimum outer diameter is approximately ? or less, of the maximum outer diameter.

Abstract: A developing device configured to develop a latent image formed on a surface of an image bearer includes a rotator, a bearing, a holder, a first regulator, and a second regulator. The rotator includes a rotation shaft. The bearing supports the rotation shaft. The holder holds the bearing. The first regulator, disposed on any one of the bearing and the holder, regulates movement of the bearing such that the bearing does not fall toward one end side in an axial direction of the rotation shaft relative to the holder. The second regulator regulates movement of the bearing such that the bearing does not fall toward another end side in the axial direction relative to the holder after the bearing is attached to the holder.

Abstract: A cooling device cools, with air, a heating member having a longitudinal direction. The cooling device includes a blower, an air duct, and an air-volume varying mechanism. The blower blows the air. The air passes through the air duct. The air duct has a first opening to which the air is supplied by the blower, a second opening to face a portion of the heating member, and a third opening to face another portion of the heating member. The air-volume varying mechanism changes an air volume of the air discharged from the second opening and the third opening.

Abstract: A developer container includes: a case that stores developer and in which a developer outlet for discharging the developer is formed; a conveying spiral that is rotatably disposed in the case and rotates to convey the developer toward the developer outlet in an axial direction of the conveying spiral; a guide wall that is disposed along the conveying spiral and guides the developer in the axial direction of the conveying spiral; and a push member that is attached to the conveying spiral and rotates with the conveying spiral to push the developer into the developer outlet. A cutout is formed at a portion of the guide wall corresponding to the push member to form a guide portion that guides the developer to the developer outlet.

Abstract: An imaging system includes a toner transfer device, a leveling device and a glossing device. The toner transfer device transfers gloss toner to a surface of a medium. The leveling device levels a layer of the gloss toner on the surface of the medium. The glossing device performs a re-melting process and a cooling process on the medium after the layer of the gloss toner has been leveled.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus forms a stable image on a recording material by using toner containing a release agent. A toner image can be formed on the recording material using a fixer, and a reverse transport path arranged on a downstream side of the fixer can reverses and transports the recording material after fixing. A reverse roller provided on the reverse transport path can reverse and send out the recording material by reversely transporting the recording material. A transporter can be provided between the fixer and the reverse roller on the reverse transport path, and a release agent remover removes the release agent adhering to the reverse roller. In embodiments, the transporter can include a release agent adhesion preventer that prevents the release agent from adhering to the transporter.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a fixing unit, an image analyzer, and a temperature controller configured to control a temperature of the fixing unit in accordance to a target temperature. The image analyzer is configured to analyze image data for forming the toner image by the image forming unit, to evaluate a continuity of pixels of an image contained in the image data. The temperature controller is configured to change the target temperature based on analysis results of the image analyzer such that a value of the target temperature in a case where the image data contains an image with a continuity of pixels equal to or smaller than a predetermined value is higher than a value of the target temperature in a case where the image data contains no image with a continuity of pixels equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developer container including a storage portion and a supplying inlet, a discharging portion configured to discharge a recording material in a discharging direction, a discharging outlet through which the recording material is discharged to an outside of the image forming apparatus, and a stacking portion which is a part of a top surface of an exterior of the image forming apparatus. The stacking portion includes a first area on which the recording material discharged from the discharging outlet is stacked, and a second area which is positioned outward with respect to the discharging outlet in a width direction orthogonal to the discharging direction. The supplying inlet is disposed at a position corresponding to the first area in the width direction. At least a part of the second area is positioned below the discharging outlet.

Abstract: A print material cartridge (215) that includes a reservoir to maintain an amount of print material (Toner) therein; an agitator (230) formed within the reservoir to fragment clumps of print material present in the reservoir; and a tab (235) mechanically coupled to the agitator via a gear system (240), the tab extending out of a housing of the print material cartridge to activate the agitator as the print material cartridge is being interfaced with a printing device (205, 410).