Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a plurality of image carriers, a common drive source which drives the plurality of image carriers and a drive shaft that is connected to and driven by the drive source. It also has a plurality of worm gears that are provided corresponding to the plurality of image carriers and are formed coaxially with the drive shaft, and a plurality of worm wheels that are respectively meshed with the respective worm gears and respectively transmit drive forces of the worm gears to the image carriers. The plurality of worm gears are made of a resin material, and the worm gears and the worm wheels drive the plurality of image carries by making use of the elastic deformation of the worm gears when the worm gears and the worm wheels are respectively meshed with each other.

Abstract: A toner cartridge comprising a rotary 2 provided with an agitator 3 that agitates a toner, and a bearing that rotatably supports a shaft tip 6 of the rotary 2, comprises a retainer 10 at the shaft tip 6 of the rotary 2 and at the bearing 7 that inhibits the slipping out, in the axial direction, of the shaft tip 6 of the rotary 2 from the bearing 7.

Abstract: Disclosed is an image forming apparatus, which comprises an image bearing member on which a toner image is formed, a sweep roller for removing residual toner particles from the image bearing member, and a recovery roller for recovering the toner particles from the sweep roller. The recovery roller has a diameter of 10 mm or less, and a surface roughness Rz of 1.6 ?m to 6.4 ?m.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus having a fixing device for fixing toner image on a recording material, the fixing device includes: a heating member which heats a recording material; a pressing member which comes into contact with the heating member with pressure; and an air separator which separates the recording material from the heating member by compressed air blown between a leading edge of the recording material and the heating member, the air separator includes a plurality of nozzles disposed in a width direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording material and an air emitting amount distribution setting section which unifies an emitting amount distribution in the width direction of the compressed air which is emitted from the nozzles.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus and process cartridge employed in same which, when contact charging processing is implemented employing a brush roller, suppresses the generation of localized excessive discharge and suppresses a state of localized excessive discharge on a photosensitive drum surface. Charging means is configured from a brush roller in the surface of which a brush is formed, drive means for rotationally driving the brush roller, and a power source for applying a prescribed charging voltage to the brush roller, and uniformly charges the surface of the latent image carrier by bringing the brush roller into contact with the surface of the latent image carrier.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with a cooling fan for cooling toner boxes within the apparatus. The outlet of the cooling fan and the toner boxes are connected by flexible tubes, respectively. This makes it possible to connect the cooling fan with the toner boxes even if there is not sufficient space, thereby enabling cooling of the toner boxes.

Abstract: A cleaning device includes a cleaning blade for contacting to a rotatable image bearing member and removing toner from the image bearing member; an auxiliary cleaning member, disposed upstream of the cleaning blade with respect to a rotational direction of the image bearing member, for assisting cleaning operation of the cleaning blade; and a sheet contacted to the auxiliary cleaning member and to a surface of the cleaning blade which is remote from the image bearing member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has: a housing; a member to be cooled provided inside the housing, the member to be cooled in which heat builds up; an airflow producing portion provided in a predetermined position of the housing for taking in air outside the housing; an air guide member for passing the air thus taken in through a hollow cross-section part, and guiding the air to the member to be cooled to cool the member to be cooled; an air inlet portion provided at one end of the air guide member for taking in the air from the airflow producing portion; and an air blowoff portion provided at another end of the air guide member for sending the air to the member to be cooled, the air blowoff portion in which the cross-sectional area of the hollow cross-section part is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the hollow cross-section part in the air inlet portion.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus determines process items needed as exchanged components and an order of executing the process items needed for a plurality of kinds of exchanged components based on priority order information of the process items and causes a display unit to control a display for ordering to execute process items needed for the components according to the determined order of execution.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus that includes: an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed; a developing agent carrier which supplies developing agent to the image carrier; a linear movement member which reciprocally and substantially linearly moves between a pressing position for pressing the developing agent carrier against the image carrier and a releasing position for releasing pressure; a drive source; a cover which is provided on a body of the apparatus so as to be opened and closed; a first input member which inputs a driving force from the drive source to the linear movement member as a force for moving the linear movement member; and a second input member which inputs a force for moving the linear movement member in conjunction with an opening motion of the cover.

Abstract: The invention provides a belt including a belt base having elasticity and a projection member having elasticity which is provided along at least one edge of the belt base so as to project from the belt base, and an adhesive layer which bonds the belt base and the projection member, wherein the ten-point average roughness Rz in the region of the belt base to be bonded with the projection member is about 4 ?m or more and the ten-point average roughness Rz in the region of the projection member to be bonded with the belt base is about 6 ?m or more.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developer container having a developer supply opening and a developer storage section, so that developer is supplied from the developer container to the developer storage section through the developer supply opening. The developing device further includes a developer guide member disposed below the developer supply opening along a longitudinal direction of the developing device, and a developer delivery member disposed in the developer guide member for delivering developer supplied through the developer supply opening in a longitudinal direction of the developer guide member. The developer guide member has a wall portion having a shape so that developer flows out the developer guide member in a substantially uniform amount along the longitudinal direction of the developing device.

Abstract: A digital printing apparatus is controlled to provide a roughly consistent output rate, of printed sheets per minute, regardless of the size and orientation of the output print sheets. In one embodiment, the printer outputs short-edge-fed legal or A3 sheets within 25% of the rate it can output long-edge-fed letter or A4 sheets.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, toner primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer belt is secondarily transferred at a first nip area formed by a secondary transfer roller and a transfuse roller, onto the transfuse roller, at pressure of 5.3 N/cm2 to 20 N/cm2 and at a driving speed ratio of the intermediate transfer belt and the transfuse roller of 1.02 to 1.04, and the toner sufficiently heated and melted in the process of conveyance from the first nip area to a second nip area formed by the transfuse roller and a pressure roller is thirdly transferred and fixed to a recording medium P at the second nip area, at pressure of 13.3 N/cm2 to 33.3 N/cm2.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus that includes: a reading unit; an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet; a fixing unit; a mode selecting unit that selects a first mode from plural modes, in the first mode of which a document is read by the reading unit and the image is formed by the image forming unit; a temperature controlling unit that controls a temperature of the fixing unit to be one of a fixing state a standby state and a sleep state; a sleep transferring unit that transfers to the sleep state; and a switching unit that switches the fixing unit to the standby state on selecting the first mode. The temperature is controlled to transfer to the standby state on switching to transfer to the standby state, and otherwise, controlled to be in the sleep state is until receiving an instruction to the first mode.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device or method which may reduce starvation in the transfer of an image forming substance to a developing location within an image forming apparatus. The device may include a first roller having a surface which is capable of supplying an image forming substance to a developing location. A second roller may then be included having a surface in rotating contact with the first roller. The second roller is capable of supplying image forming substance to the first roller. The second roller may comprise foam having a specified porosity, electrical conductivity, and/or be configured to rotate in a desired direction and/or desired speed relative to the first roller.

Abstract: The heating apparatus has a heating member and a pressure member which are mutually pressure-welded to hold and convey and heat a heated member to be heated by a nip portion formed between the heating member and the pressure member, includes a temperature detector, power control means, and a curl reduction mode for setting a paper conveyance interval temperature which is the target temperature of the heating member set in a paper conveyance interval which is a period from end of heating the M-th member to be heated up to start of heating the M+1-th member to be heated in continuous heating of N members to be heated or in a certain period in the paper conveyance interval to a temperature higher than the heating temperature of a member to be heated which is the target temperature of the heating member when heating the M+1-th member to be heated.

Abstract: An image forming method includes forming toner images on first and second image bearing members; transferring a first toner image on the first image bearing member and a second toner image on the second image bearing member, in mutually superposed manner, onto a recording material; heating the first and second toner image thereby fixing the same to the recording material; detecting alignment marks on the first and second image bearing members in the course of a continuous job for continuously forming images; controlling relative positions of the first toner image and the second toner image, based on a result of detection of the alignment marks; and increasing a frequency of execution of the relative position control in the continuous job, as the recording material to be subjected to image formation in the continuous job has a smaller width in a direction perpendicular to a transport direction of the recording material.

Abstract: The present application is directed to cleaner units and methods for removing waste toner from a transfer member within an image forming device. The device may include a blade that is positioned against the transfer member to remove the waste toner. The blade directs the waste toner into a cleaner house where the waste toner is removed. The cleaner unit is positioned within the image forming device to prevent contact with the media sheets moving along the media path. The cleaner unit may also be positioned to utilize existing elements to facilitate the removal of the waste toner from the transfer member.

Abstract: In the image forming apparatus, a developing bias in a developing unit is supplied from a drive electrode on the main body side of the apparatus to an electrode member as a DEV output. A detect electrode is also in contact with the electrode member from the apparatus main body side, while the electric potential of the detect electrode is input to a control part through an A/D converter. The control part, based on the electric potential, controls the DEV output so that the electric potential can coincide with a desired electric potential, and when the electric potential is less than a given value, the control part judges that an abnormal condition such as poor contact has occurred.