Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit including a tubular film, a pressure roller, and a heater including a heating element. The apparatus further includes a control unit configured to calculate an accumulated electrical energy supplied to a portion of the heating element. The portion of the heating element is located in an area corresponding to a second area of the nip portion. The second area is an area of the nip portion through which the recording material conveyed to the nip portion is not passed. The control unit is configured to determine an operation of heat leveling, which is performed for leveling a heat distribution in the nip portion after the recording material had passed the nip portion, based on the calculated accumulated electrical energy.

Abstract: An energy storage apparatus 20 includes: energy storage devices B1 to B4; a cutoff switch 40 that cuts off current of the energy storage device; a parallel circuit 70 including a rectifier element 75 in which a discharge direction is set to a forward direction, the parallel circuit 70 being connected in parallel to the cutoff switch 40; a first current sensor 50 that measures the current of the energy storage devices B1 to B4; a discharge circuit 90 that discharges an inspection current to the first current sensor 50 through a discharge path including the parallel circuit 70 using the energy storage device as a power source; and a controller 80. The controller 80 determines whether the first current sensor 50 correctly measures the current based on a measurement value of the inspection current Ib.

Abstract: A belt cleaning blade has a contact site that comes into contact with at least a surface of a belt which is a member to be cleaned, in which the contact site is configured with polyurethane rubber including hard segments and soft segments, and in a cross section of the contact site, a ratio X of domains of the hard segments to a total area of the cross section is 14.9% or more and 25.1% or less, and a ratio Y of an area of domains of the hard segments having an area of 200 nm2 or more and 1,000 nm2 or less to a total area of the domains of the hard segments in the cross section is 17.8% or more and 46.5% or less.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing unit, a temperature sensor, and a controller. The fixing unit includes a fixing member with which a medium on which a developer image is transferred comes into contact and a heat source that supplies heat to the fixing member. The temperature sensor measures temperature of a surface with which the medium comes into contact in the fixing member. The controller outputs information indicating an abnormality of temperature detection by the temperature sensor if an estimation value of temperature of the fixing member is larger than a predetermined reference value.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit having a plurality of members, a control unit, and a sound collecting unit. The control unit controls operations of the plurality of members in a first operation mode in which the image forming unit forms an image on a recording material. The sound collecting unit collects a sound that arises in the image forming apparatus during the first operation mode execution to generate a sound signal. When it is determined, based on the generated sound signal, that an abnormal sound has arisen, the control unit determines a source of the abnormal sound by transitioning to a second operation mode after the first operation mode has ended and causing, in the second operation mode, one or more members, from the plurality of members, that are possible sources of the abnormal sound to operate separately from the remaining plurality of members.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a chassis having an opening, a cover, photosensitive members, an intermediate transfer belt, a primary-transfer member, a secondary-transfer roller, a cleaner device, an external-sheet inlet, a waste toner container, a connector, and a conveying roller, which is arranged within the feeding path to feed the recording sheet inserted through the external-sheet inlet in the feeding path. The conveying roller is mounted on the waste toner container and removable from the chassis along with the waste toner container.

Abstract: A first sensor signal and a second sensor signal are provided by a sensor unit to an evaluation unit. The first sensor signal is dependent on the angular position and is associated with a first detection position, and the second sensor signal is associated with a second detection position lying about the rotational axis perpendicular to the first detection position. An orthogonal error is converted by the evaluation unit into an amplitude difference between respective amplitudes of the first and second sensor signals based on a coordinate transformation of the first and second sensor signals. Each of the first and second sensor signals are adjusted by the evaluation unit based on the amplitude difference. An angular position of a rotational component is determined by the evaluation unit based on output from an a tan 2-function that takes the adjusted first and second sensor signals as input.

Abstract: In a cartridge, a housing has a developer accommodating portion and includes a first side wall and a second side wall. A coupling member is disposed at a position opposite to the developer accommodating portion with respect to the first side wall. A detection body is disposed at a position opposite to the developer accommodating portion with respect to the second side wall. A first driving force transmission member is positioned at the same side with the coupling member with respect to the first side wall, and transmits driving force from the coupling member to a rotating member. A second driving force transmission member is positioned at the same side with the detection body with respect to the second side wall, and transmits driving force from the rotating member to the detection body.

Abstract: An estimation device configured to estimate a charge rate of a battery includes a voltage sensor configured to detect a voltage of the battery, a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the battery, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is connected to the voltage sensor and the temperature sensor and is configured to execute, while a vehicle is parked, an estimation process of estimating the charge rate of the battery based on a detection voltage and a detection temperature. The detection voltage is detected by the voltage sensor. The detection temperature is detected by the temperature sensor.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor, a charging section that charges a surface of the photoconductor, an electrostatic charge image forming section that forms an electrostatic charge image on the charged surface of the photoconductor, a developing section that accommodates a developer containing a toner and develops the electrostatic charge image formed on the surface of the photoconductor by using the developer to form a toner image, a transfer section that includes an endless belt and transfers the toner image to a recording medium; and a cleaning section that includes a cleaning blade that comes into contact with a surface of the endless belt and performs cleaning of the surface of the endless belt with the cleaning blade, in which a dynamic friction coefficient ? between the endless belt and the cleaning blade is 0.10 or more and 0.

Abstract: Magnetic field sensor for sensing a two-dimensional external magnetic field, including a magnetic tunnel junction including a reference layer having a fixed reference magnetization, a sense ferromagnetic layer having a sense magnetization, and a tunnel barrier layer between the sense and reference ferromagnetic layers; the sense ferromagnetic layer including a first sense ferromagnetic layer in contact with the tunnel barrier layer, a second sense ferromagnetic layer, and a first non-magnetic layer between the first and second sense ferromagnetic layers; the second sense ferromagnetic layer includes a plurality of multilayer element, each multilayer element including a second non-magnetic layer between two second ferromagnetic sense layers; and wherein the second sense ferromagnetic layer has a thickness equal or less than 12 nm.

Abstract: A conveyance device to convey a recording medium includes a heater, a first temperature detector, a second temperature detector, and a recording medium detector. The heater heats the recording medium. The first temperature detector and the second temperature detector detect a temperature of the heater. The recording medium detector detects the recording medium. The first temperature detector is disposed at a position farther from a center position of a heating region of the heater than the second temperature detector in a conveyance orthogonal direction. The conveyance orthogonal direction is along a surface of the recording medium and orthogonal to a direction in which the recording medium is conveyed. The recording medium detector is disposed on a side opposite to the first temperature detector with respect to the second temperature detector in the conveyance orthogonal direction.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of sheet storage receptacles configured to store a sheet. The image forming apparatus also includes a fixing device having a heating belt and a pressure roller configured to heat and fix toner on the sheet conveyed from one of the plurality of sheet storage receptacles. The image forming apparatus also includes a processor and a memory configured to store temperature information associated with each sheet storage receptacle and related to temperature control of the fixing device, acquire type information of a sheet to be printed, in response to a predetermined condition, specify the sheet storage receptacle storing the sheet to be printed, and perform a first heating control that controls a temperature of the fixing device based on the stored temperature information associated with the specified sheet storage receptacle.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a first seal, on which a first discrimination mark is displayed, provided at a position corresponding to a first mounting portion for mounting a first collecting container for collecting residual toner, and a second seal, on which a second discrimination mark is displayed, provided at a position corresponding to a second mounting portion for mounting a second collecting container for collecting residual toner. A notifying device notifies, in a case that one of the first collecting container and the second collecting container becomes full, information prompting exchange of the collecting container which becomes full and identifying the collecting container to be exchanged by indicating the first discrimination mark or the second discrimination mark.

Abstract: A device includes a resonant voltage measurement unit 10 configured to input a predetermined frequency signal to a circuit including a fixed capacitance formed between a ground and a lower electrode, a variable capacitance formed between an upper electrode that is disposed above the lower electrode and the ground or between the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and a resonance inductor to measure a resonant voltage that is dependent on a current flowing in the resonance inductor when the variable capacitance is changed to cause the circuit to resonate, a pre-correction voltage-to-ground measurement unit 20 configured to measure a pre-correction voltage-to-ground that is a voltage between a measurement electrode, which is disposed at an equal height to the lower electrode and forms a capacitance-to-ground between the measurement electrode and the ground, and a measurement probe connected to a conductor, and a voltage-to-ground correction unit 30 configured to use the fixed capacitance, the variable capa

Abstract: A fixing device includes a heater including a substrate and a resistance heating element, an endless belt, a holder, a first heat conductive member and a second heat conductive member arranged in a longitudinal direction of the heater such that a first end of the first heat conductive member and a second of the second heat conductive member in the longitudinal direction of the heater are adjacent to each other, a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature at an end part of the heater. The temperature sensor is in contact with the first heat conductive member. A position located between first end of the first heat conductive member and the second end of the second heat conductive member is closer to the temperature sensor than a central position of the resistance heating element in the longitudinal direction of the heater.

Abstract: A transfer device includes an intermediate transfer belt that has an outer peripheral surface to which a toner image is to be transferred, a primary transfer device that has a primary transfer member performing primary transfer of a toner image formed on a surface of an image holder to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt, and a secondary transfer device that has a secondary transfer belt arranged in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt and performing secondary transfer of the toner image transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt to a surface of a recording medium, in which the intermediate transfer belt has an indentation modulus A of 5,000 MPa or more, and the secondary transfer belt has an indentation modulus B of 300 MPa or less and a tensile modulus C of 250 MPa or more.

Abstract: A cleaning device includes a blade-shaped cleaning member of which a tip formed by an elastic body is arranged to be pressed against an endless belt and that cleans a surface of the endless belt; and a driven roller that is arranged to face the cleaning member via the endless belt and is driven and rotated with movement of the endless belt and of which an outer peripheral surface is formed by an elastic body.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer, an intermediate transferor, a primary transferor, a second transferor, and a cleaning blade. The latent image bearer has a surface onto which a lubricant comprising zinc stearate is supplied. The intermediate transferor has a surface onto which the toner image is transferred, the surface including an adhering region to which the lubricant from the latent image bearer adheres. The cleaning blade cleans the surface of the intermediate transferor including the adhering region, after the toner image is secondarily transferred. In a region outside at least a horizontal A4 sheet passing width on the intermediate transferor, a ratio of a peak area derived from zinc stearate to a peak area derived from the intermediate transferor in a difference spectrum between attenuated total reflection (ATR) infrared absorption spectrums of the intermediate transferor in an unused state and after use is 0.892 or less.

Abstract: In an image heating apparatus, a plurality of heat-generating members that a heater has include a first heat-generating member group and a second heat-generating member group, symmetrically laid out with a conveyance reference position of a recording material. A control portion supplies electric power via first and second common circuits to the first heat-generating member group and the second heat-generating member group. A temperature-detecting portion includes a first temperature-detecting element for detecting a temperature of one of the heat-generating members included in the first heat-generating member group, and a second temperature-detecting element for detecting the temperature of one of the heat-generating members included in the second heat-generating member group.