Abstract: A cleaning cartridge insert is provided for removing residual paper debris and toner from a laser printer in between printer cartridge removal and replacement. The cartridge comprises a modified laser printer cartridge with an internal cavity lined with an adhesive foam tape, a plurality of air inlet tubes and a drive roller having an adhesive outer surface. With the lid of the printer cartridge loading cavity is in an open state, the cartridge is placed therein into a working position, as would a replacement cartridge. Compressed air is then forced into the nozzles of the air inlet tubes, stirring paper dust, residual toner and debris from the interior of the printer and onto the foam tape adhesive within the cavity of the cartridge device. The lid is then closed, which initiates the drive roller for cleaning debris from the bias transfer roller via rotation during the machine initializing stage.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member; toner image forming portion for forming a toner image on the image bearing member; a transfer member for transferring the toner image from the image bearing member onto a transfer material; a cleaning blade for removing a toner remaining on the image bearing member after transfer while being contacted to the image bearing member; a rotatable member, provided upstream of the cleaning blade, for carrying the toner and rotationally sliding on the image bearing member; a separating mechanism for removing the toner from the rotatable member in contact with the rotatable member, wherein the separating mechanism includes a toner sump for accumulating the toner in an area adjacent to the rotatable member so that the toner removed from the rotatable member is suppliable to the rotatable member; and a controller for controlling at least one of the toner image forming portion and rotatable member so that an amount of the toner in the toner sump is estimated an

Abstract: A drive transmission device including at least one drive source, a drive transmission member, and a drive gear train. The drive transmission member includes an engaging part that engages a first rotary body provided within a unit detachably attachable to an image forming apparatus and a gear part that engages a motor gear attached to the at least one drive source. The engaging part and the gear part are formed together as an integrated unit. The drive gear train that transmits a driving force from the at least one drive source to a second rotary body provided within the unit includes a first gear and a second gear. The first gear engages the motor gear and the second gear is attached to the drive transmission member.

Abstract: A slide rail includes an outer rail and an inner rail. The inner rail includes a top face portion, main-portion side walls, outer deck portions, and end-portion side walls. The outer rail includes a bottom wall and a storage portion. The main-portion side walls and the end-portion side walls are both provided adjacently on both sides of the top face portion in a width direction thereof, and bent toward outer rail. The main-portion side walls are provided in a portion other than one end portion in the longitudinal direction. The end-portion side walls are provided in the one end portion. Each outer deck portion extends outward in the width direction to be continuous to an edge of each main-portion side wall opposite the top face portion. The storage portions are provided adjacently on both sides of the bottom wall in the width direction and bent toward the inner rail to cover the outer edge portions.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprising: an image bearing member; a conveying member; a transfer means; an attraction means, which is disposed upstream of the transfer means in a conveying direction of the transfer material, for attracting the transfer material onto the conveying member; and a winding means, which is disposed downstream of the transfer means in the conveying direction of the transfer material, for winding the conveying member, wherein a contact amount between the conveying member and the winding means corresponding to a first region where a width of the attraction means pressing the conveying member in the conveying direction is smaller than the contact amount between the conveying member and the winding means corresponding to a second region in which a width of the attraction means which presses the conveying member in the conveying direction that is smaller than the first width.

Abstract: An image forming unit including a toner supplier that comprises a cylindrical conveying passage member and a toner conveying rotational body that is inserted into the cylindrical conveying passage member, includes first/second spiral blades formed on different areas of a rotational axis in an axis direction, wound in directions opposite to each other and is rotated so that the first/second spiral blades convey toner in convergent directions. The rotational axis is inclined such that the second spiral blade is higher than the first spiral blade, and the cylindrical conveying passage member comprises a fresh toner receiving opening that receives fresh toner, a collected toner receiving opening that receives collected toner, and a toner supplier opening disposed at a position where the fresh toner conveyed by the first spiral blade and the collected toner conveyed by the second spiral blade meet, so as to supply the toner to the developer.

Abstract: A fixing device includes an endless belt-shaped fixing member to rotate in a predetermined direction, formed in a loop, an inner circumferential face of which is coated with a lubricant; a pressing member contacting an outer circumferential surface of the fixing member, to press against the fixing member; a driver to drive and rotate the pressing member; a contact member provided inside the loop formed by the fixing member and pressed against the pressing member via the fixing member to form a nip between the pressing member and the fixing member; and a heating member to heat the fixing member, provided inside the loop formed by the fixing member. When the fixing device starts up, the pressing member drives and rotates the fixing member less than 360 degrees to move a warmed range of the fixing member heated by the heating member to the nip.

Abstract: A toner box for being detachably mounted in a developing unit of an image-forming device, includes: a main body; a shutter; a shutter cover; and a toner seal. The main body is configured to accommodate toner therein and has a main-body-side communication through-hole, through which an interior and an exterior of the main body communicate. The shutter is disposed so as to be capable of moving between an open position in which the shutter opens the main-body-side communication through-hole, and a closed position in which the shutter closes the main-body-side communication through-hole. The shutter cover is configured to cover part of the shutter. The shutter cover has a cover-side communication through-hole at a position corresponding to the main-body-side communication through-hole to allow communication of toner through the main-body-side communication through-hole.

Abstract: An image forming unit including a toner supplier that comprises a cylindrical conveying passage member and a toner conveying rotational body that is inserted into the cylindrical conveying passage member, includes first/second spiral blades formed on different areas of a rotational axis in an axis direction, wound in directions opposite to each other and is rotated so that the first/second spiral blades convey toner in convergent directions. The rotational axis is inclined such that the second spiral blade is higher than the first spiral blade, and the cylindrical conveying passage member comprises a fresh toner receiving opening that receives fresh toner, a collected toner receiving opening that receives collected toner, and a toner supplier opening disposed at a position where the fresh toner conveyed by the first spiral blade and the collected toner conveyed by the second spiral blade meet, so as to supply the toner to the developer.

Abstract: A developer bearing member includes a base body, a surface layer, and a plurality of concave portions provided on the surface layer, wherein a resistance value of the surface layer is 102 ?·cm to 108 ?·cm, the number of the concave portions per unit area is 2250/mm2 to 12254/mm2, a major diameter of an opening of the concave portion is 8 ?m to 20 ?m, a depth of the concave portion is 2 ?m to 5 ?m, a dimensional tolerance of the major diameter is 0.5 ?m or less, and a dimensional tolerance of the depth is 0.5 ?m or less.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, having: an image carrier configured by a positively charged single-layer electrophotographic photosensitive body; a charging device which is based on a contact charging method for charging a circumferential surface of the image carrier while making contact with the circumferential surface of the image carrier; a developing roller which is disposed so as to oppose the image carrier and carry and convey toner on the circumferential surface; and a voltage application unit which applies a developing bias to the developing roller, wherein the frequency of an AC component of the developing bias applied by the voltage application unit is 2.6 to 4.2 kHz.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a flexible endless fixing member; a metal member; and a pressing member. “A” is equal to or less than “Bmax” and greater than “Bave” (“Bmax”?“A”>“Bave”), where “A” represents an amount of a clearance at the time of normal temperature between the fixing member and the metal member, “Bmax” represents a maximum amount of deformation generated in the metal member when heating is started by the heating member from a normal temperature state, and “Bave” represents an amount of stable deformation generated in the metal member when the temperature of the entire metal member becomes even.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprising: a rotary body which rotates in accordance with an image forming operation; a rotation shaft of the rotary body; a through hole which is provided in an end portion in an axial direction of the rotation shaft; a stabilizing member which is provided to rotate together with the rotary body and stabilize the rotary body by reducing fluctuations of rotation of the rotary body under inertia, and which has an inserted portion into which the rotation shaft is inserted; a holding member which is disposed so as to be adjacent to the stabilizing member in the axial direction to hold the stabilizing member on the rotation shaft; a through hole which is formed in the longitudinal portion correspondingly to the through hole provided in the rotation shaft; and a clamp member which passes through the through hole provided in the longitudinal portion and the through hole provided in the rotation shaft.

Abstract: A fixing device is provided with a fixing device body, a fixing member, and a first attachment section. The fixing device body is adapted to attach to and detach from an apparatus body of a double-sided image forming apparatus, which has a return passage through which a recording medium is returned to an image forming position, and an apparatus body of a single-sided image forming apparatus, which does not have the return passage. The first attachment section is provided at a return passage side in the fixing device body, and is adapted to have a passage surface member, which has a passage surface of an introduction passage through which a fixed recording medium is introduced into the return passage, attached thereto.

Abstract: A housing unit includes: a first housing that contains a cylindrical image holder; a second housing that contains a fuser unit for fixing an image to a recording medium by a heat roller; a protruding unit that protrudes outwardly from a surface of the first housing, which surface faces a circular surface of the image holder; a heat resistant member that is formed of a material having heat resistance higher than that of the protruding unit, and covers the protruding unit; a metallic supporting unit that supports an end of the heat roller; a connecting unit that is formed on the supporting unit and is shaped to contact and fit the heat resistant member; and a fixing unit that fixes the first housing to the second housing at such a position that the connecting unit is fitted to the heat resistant member.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a laser source that irradiates an image with laser light, the image being formed on a moving recording material with a thermoplastic image-forming material; and a support member arranged to face the laser source and having a curved portion, the curved portion being curved to extend in a recording-material moving direction and to protrude toward the laser source, the curved portion having a supporting portion of the recording material corresponding to at least an irradiation area of the laser light in a curved manner.

Abstract: Provided is a developing device capable of, with a simple structure, preventing occurrence of image degradation ascribable to a distribution of an amount of fall in a longitudinal direction due to developer replenishment within a developer container. An upper rim portion of a developer regulating wall for adjusting an amount of a developer falling along a developer transport direction of a developer transport path is inclined so as to become low in height in the developer transport direction of the developer transport path. A width of a surface in the developer transport direction of the developer transport path is enlarged along the developer transport direction of the developer transport path. A wall is formed by the developer transported on the developer transport path, and the developer transported in a longitudinal direction is transported in the longitudinal direction while breaking a wall of the developer itself.

Abstract: A printer apparatus includes the use of at least two HSD stations to develop an electrostatic image generated by a single exposure on a photoreceptor in order to enable high speed, high quality monochrome development. A third standby HSD station can be included for increased reliability or be cycled in and out of development allowing on-the-fly cleaning of HSD wires.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member bearing an image; a transfer member having the image transferred thereto from the image bearing member; a correction-image-formation control unit that causes, on the transfer member, a bias correction image to be formed based on an uncorrected bias and a first parameter-correction image to be formed immediately behind the bias correction image based on the uncorrected bias and an uncorrected image-formation parameter; a bias correcting unit obtaining a corrected bias by correcting the uncorrected bias based on the bias correction image; a bias determining unit for determining whether the corrected bias is within a predetermined range defined based on the uncorrected bias; and a parameter correcting unit obtaining, if the corrected bias is within the predetermined range, a corrected image-formation parameter by correcting the uncorrected image-formation parameter based on the first parameter-correction image.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes, a carrier element, an image forming unit, a patch mark generation unit, a specular reflected light detection unit that detects light irradiated onto the carrier element by the irradiation unit and specularly-reflected by the carrier element or patch marks, and a diffuse reflected light detection unit that detects the light irradiated onto the carrier element by the irradiation unit and diffusely-reflected by the carrier element or the patch marks. Additionally, the image forming apparatus includes, a correction unit that corrects at least one of a value detected by the specular reflected light detection unit and the diffuse reflected light detection unit, a correction condition determination unit that determines correction conditions for the correction unit, and a density calculation unit that calculates a density of a patch mark.