Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a main body casing, a drum cartridge, a developing cartridge and an intermediate transfer belt. The drum cartridge is removably insertable into to the main body casing in a first direction. The developing cartridge is removably insertable into the main body casing in the first direction. The drum cartridge includes a first handle. The first handle has a first recess having a first hollow. The developing cartridge includes a second handle. The second handle has a second recess having a second hollow.

Abstract: A development device includes a development housing, a development roller, a supply roller and a layer thickness regulating member. The development housing stores a nonmagnetic one-component toner. The development roller is formed by a cylindrical elastic body, and moves in a same direction as a rotational direction of a rotatable photosensitive drum at a development nip area while coming into contact with the photosensitive drum. The supply roller is formed by a cylindrical elastic body, and supplies the toner to the development roller and collects the toner from the development roller. The development roller has a surface free energy within a range of 5 mJ/m2 or more and 27 mJ/m2 or less.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member for charging the photosensitive member, a cleaning member that comes into contact with the charging member and moves relative to the charging member to clean the charging member, an opening/closing member for exposing an inside of the apparatus, and a driving mechanism that moves the charging member and the cleaning member relative to each other in association with opening/closing of the opening/closing member.

Abstract: A cartridge includes a photosensitive drum and a discharge opening for permitting discharge of toner removed from the photosensitive drum to outside of the cartridge. The cartridge also includes a coupling member provided adjacent to the discharge opening and configured to output a rotational force, with the coupling member being movable relative to the photosensitive drum between (i) a first position and (ii) a second position retracted from the first position.

Abstract: A photosensitive drum is rotatable about a drum axis extending in a first direction. A frame includes a first side plate located at first end in the first direction and a second side plate spaced from the first side plate in the first direction. The frame rotatably supports the photosensitive drum between the first side plate and the second side plate in the first direction. The frame holds a developer cartridge. A lock lever is pivotable about a pivot axis extending in a second direction intersecting with the first direction. The lock lever is movable between a lock position at which the developer cartridge is locked on the frame and a release position at which the developer cartridge is unlocked from the frame.

Abstract: A developing device includes a developer container, a developer carrier, and first and second stirring/conveying members. The developer container includes a first partition wall partitioning between the two conveying chambers longitudinally, a first communication portion for passing developer from the first to the second conveying chamber, a second communication portion for passing developer from the second to the first conveying chamber, a developer supply port for supplying developer in, a developer discharge portion for discharging excessive developer, a second partition wall arranged, adjacent to the regulating portion, downstream of the second communication portion to partition between the first conveying chamber and the regulating portion, and a shield portion connected to the two partition walls to bridge between them to shield a top part of the second communication portion. A gap is formed between an upper end part of the shield portion and the inner surface of the developer container.

Abstract: A process cartridge detachably mountable to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus including a main assembly side drive transmission member and a main assembly side urging member, the cartridge including a rotatable photosensitive drum; a rotatable developing roller for developing a latent image formed on the drum, the developing roller contactable to and spaceable from the drum; an urging force receiving portion for receiving an urging force from the urging member to space the roller from the drum; a cartridge side drive transmission portion capable of coupling with the main assembly side drive transmission member to receive a rotational force for rotating the roller; a releasing member capable of urging the main assembly side drive transmission member to decouple the cartridge side drive transmission member from the main assembly side drive transmission member by the urging force receiving portion receiving the urging force from the main assembly side urging member.

Abstract: A fixing device includes: a heating unit configured to come into contact with a medium to heat the medium; and a contacting unit configured to not come into contact with the medium and to come into contact with the heating unit, in which a surface temperature of the contacting unit is made higher than a surface temperature of the heating unit to move deposits from the contacting unit to the heating unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a main assembly, a first cartridge including an image bearing member, a second cartridge including a developing member, a developer supplying member provided in the second cartridge, and a controller for changing a polarity of a developer supply amount control bias which is a difference between the developing bias and the developer supplying bias depending on a print ratio based on an inputted image data. The controller changes the polarity of the developer supply amount control bias depending on at least one of a use history of the first cartridge and a use history of the second cartridge and on the print ratio.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus includes a heating roller including a plurality of halogen heaters whose number is three or more and a driving-force transmission member disposed on one end portion of the heating roller and configured to transmit rotational force that rotates the heating roller. The plurality of halogen heaters whose number is three or more includes at least one asymmetric halogen heater in which an amount of heat generated from one end side on which the driving-force transmission member is provided is larger than an amount of heat generated from another end side, and in which heat generation distribution is asymmetric with respect to a center of a heat generating portion in a longitudinal direction, and at least one symmetric halogen heater in which heat generation distribution is symmetric with respect to a center of a heat generating portion in a longitudinal direction, and the number of symmetric halogen heaters is larger than the number of asymmetric halogen heaters.

Abstract: Provided is a printing apparatus including a cassette configured to be capable of managing a stored paper-sheet by using paper-sheet size information and paper-sheet attribute data, in which an adjustment value of a print position is registered to copied paper-sheet attribute data if an event in which the adjustment value is registered to paper-sheet attribute data in which the paper-sheet size information is not set occurs.

Abstract: A cartridge configured to be attachable to an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus includes a first unit including a photosensitive drum, a second unit attached to the first unit and including a developing roller, and a second frame member including a toner storage portion and including a toner reception port, the toner storage portion including a first end portion and a second end portion in a rotational axis direction of the photosensitive drum, the toner reception port provided in the first end portion, a toner container configured to be attachable to the second unit, the toner container including a toner discharge port configured to discharge the toner to the toner storage portion through the toner reception port, and a memory, the memory provided in an end portion of the cartridge on the same side as the second end portion of the toner storage portion.

Abstract: A development device includes a development housing, a development roller, a supply roller and a layer thickness regulating member. The development housing stores a nonmagnetic one-component toner. The development roller is formed by a cylindrical elastic body. The supply roller includes a metal shaft member and a cylindrical foamed elastic body, and supplies the toner to the development roller and collects the toner from the development roller. The supply roller has an electric resistance within a range of 1×102? or more and 1×104? or less. The supply roller comes into contact with the circumferential face of the development roller in a state where a compression load within a range of 0.2 N or more and 1.5 N or less is applied to the shaft member of the supply roller in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the shaft member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a heater, heating roller heated by the heater and a fixing belt heated by the heating roller. A thermistor detects a temperature of the fixing belt at an area where the belt is stretched by the heating roller. When a CPU receives a signal which instructs the stop of rotation of the fixing belt, the CPU continues rotation of the fixing belt until the detected temperature detected by the thermistor decreases a predetermined temperature in a case in which the detected temperature is higher than the predetermined temperature.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a separation mechanism moves a developing roller from a contact position to a separation position. At the contact position a surface of the developing roller is in contact with a surface of a photosensitive drum. At the separation position the surface of the developing roller is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum. A sensor detects whether the developing roller is at the separation position. A controller executes a transmission process transmitting to the motor a command to drive the separation mechanism, a determination process determining whether or not the sensor detects that the developing roller is positioned at the separation position within a predetermined period of time after the command is transmitted in the transmission process, and a stop process stopping image formation operation in a case where the sensor does not detect that the developing roller is positioned at the separation position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an endless rotatable belt, a rotary pressing member, a pressing member, a driving unit, a heating roller, a temperature detection member, and a control unit. The rotary pressing member is configured to form a nip portion between the rotary pressing member and the belt, the nip portion being a portion in which a toner image borne by a recording material is fixed to the recording material while the recording material is nipped and conveyed. The control unit is configured to control the driving unit such that the driving unit does not start to rotate the belt during a period of time for a preparatory operation if a temperature of the heating roller is higher than a predetermined temperature, wherein the preparatory operation is an operation performed for enabling image formation after an error or a jam is handled.

Abstract: A rotator includes a rotation shaft, a first radial flap, a second radial flap, and a holder. The first radial flap extends from the rotation shaft in a first radial direction, and the second radial flap extends from the rotation shaft in a second radial direction. The holder holds the first radial flap and the second radial flap and includes a support face and a hole. The support face faces toward a rotation direction of the rotator and is configured to fix the first radial flap by thermal caulking. The hole is configured to insert a part of the second radial flap to hold the second radial flap.

Abstract: A driving device for photosensitive members and developing rollers includes a clutch for selectively transmitting a rotational force from a driving source to the rollers. The clutch includes a rotatable driving member having a first engaging portion together with the first portion, a follower having a second engaging portion engageable with the first portion, and a rotatable member changeable, by rotation in a direction opposite from a rotational direction of the driving member, from a first state in which the driving force from the driving source is not transmitted without engagement between the first portion and the second engaging portion to a second state in which the rotor rotates by engagement therebetween. The rotor urges the follower in the opposite direction when the first engageable member and the second engageable member are not engaged with each other, by the opposite rotation.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes a plurality of parts, an acquisition unit, and a control unit. The plurality of parts are used in the image forming process and are replaced according to the degree of use. The acquisition unit acquires, for each of the parts, use-related information that is information indicating the degree of use of the plurality of parts. The control unit determines the replacement timing of the part using the plurality of pieces of use-related information acquired by the acquisition unit and the determination condition regarding the replacement timing of the part.

Abstract: A developing cartridge may include: a casing to accommodate developer; a storage medium including an electric contact surface; an elastic member extending in a first direction crossing the electric contact surface, and configured to be compressed or stretched in the first direction between a first state and a second state; and a holder including an outer surface positioned toward a side of the holder in the first direction, the electric contact surface positioned at the outer surface, and movable between first and second positions in the first direction relative to the casing. A length of the elastic member in the first direction is greater in the first state than in the second state. The electric contact surface is in the first position when the elastic member is in the first state, and the electric contact surface is in the second position when the elastic member is in the second state.