Abstract: A developing device includes a developer bearer to carry, by rotation, developer to a developing range, a casing including a developer container to contain the developer and housing the developer bearer, a gap retainer adjacent to the developer container and downstream from the developing range in a rotation direction of the developer bearer, an opposing wall opposing an end face of the gap retainer in an axial direction of the developer bearer, a first seal disposed between the end face of the gap retainer and the opposing wall, and a contact portion disposed adjacent to an end portion of the gap retainer in the axial direction of the developer bearer. The gap retainer secures a predetermined gap between the developer bearer and the gap retainer. The contact portion contacts, via a second seal, the gap retainer in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the developer bearer.

Abstract: A transfer roller is provided and includes a support body, a foaming elastic layer that is disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the support body, and a surface resin layer that contains polyimide or polyamide-imide and covers an outer circumferential surface of the foaming elastic layer, in which circumferential lengths of both end portions of the surface resin layer in a roller axial direction is shorter than that of a center portion of the surface resin layer in the roller axial direction.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided with a setting unit that sets a white toner amount per unit area corresponding to lightness of a recording medium that forms a white image using white toner, and an image forming unit that forms a white image using a white toner amount per unit area which is set by the setting unit and forms a color image using colored toner.

Abstract: A cleaning unit includes a cleaning member that removes a developer from a surface of an image holding member; an accommodating portion that accommodates the removed developer; and a transport member that transports the developer removed by the cleaning member to the accommodating portion, wherein the transport member includes a transport unit that extends in a direction intersecting with a developer transport direction, has a surface formed to be inclined in a direction approaching the cleaning member towards an upstream side, and transports the developer while contacting with the developer.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a mounting portion on which a toner container provided with an accommodating portion configured to accommodate toner is mountable; and an opening connectable with an opening provided in the toner container to be in fluid communication with the toner accommodating portion when the toner container is mounted to the mounting portion. The mounting portion is provided with a rib extending in a mounting direction in which the toner container is mounted to the mounting portion and configured to guide a bottom surface of the toner container in the mounting direction, the rib including a plurality of sets of alternating peak and valley arranged along a longitudinal direction of the rib.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, including a body with an aperture, a processing unit movable between an inside position and an outside position, and a transfer unit, is provided. The processing unit includes first and second drum cleaners to remove waste toner from first and second photosensitive drums respectively; and a waste toner conveyer including a conveyer tube longitudinally extending in a movable direction of the processing unit, a port, a conveyer screw located inside the conveyer tube, and a shutter movable between an opening position and a closed position to open and close the port. The transfer unit includes a belt unit with a belt arranged to contact the first photosensitive drum and the second photosensitive drum, and a belt cleaner including a container with an opening which communicates with the port of the conveyer tube when the processing unit is in the inside position.

Abstract: A cleaning member includes a core and an elastic layer helically wound around an outer peripheral surface of the core so as to extend from one end to the other end of the core. When the cleaning member is rotated by a member to be cleaned, a non-contact region in which a first end portion and a second end portion of the elastic layer in an axial direction of the core are not in contact with the member to be cleaned is in a range from approximately 0° to approximately 60° in terms of a rotation angle of the cleaning member viewed from one side in the axial direction of the core.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that includes a developing device which performs development with a toner having a metal color which contains a flat metal pigment and a developing device which performs development with a toner having another color other than the metal color which does not contains a flat metal pigment, and forms a toner image on a recording medium; a fixing unit that fixes the toner image formed on the recording medium; and a controller that controls the image forming unit and the fixing unit such that a toner image is formed of the toner having the metal color and fixed on one surface of a film, and controls transport of the film as defined herein.

Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a fixing device configured to enable an image to be fixed on an image receiving medium passing through a nip between a heating section and a pressurizing section through heat of the heating section and pressurization of the pressurizing section; and a conveyance roller arranged at the downstream side of the fixing section in a conveyance direction of the image receiving medium and initially convey the fixed image receiving medium. The conveyance roller comprises an axis part; a plurality of large-diameter parts each configured to have an outer diameter larger than that of the axis part; and a plurality of small-diameter parts each configured to have an outer diameter which is larger than that of the axis part and smaller than that of the large-diameter part.

Abstract: There is provided an electrostatic image-developing toner containing a binder resin, a coloring agent and a release agent having a melting temperature of 85° C. to 120° C., the toner having a sea-island structure involving a sea part containing the binder resin and an island part containing the release agent, wherein a mode value of the distribution of the eccentricity degree B of the release agent-containing island part, represented by the specific formula, is from 0.75 to 1.00 and a skewness of the distribution of the eccentricity degree B is from ?1.30 to ?0.50.

Abstract: A controller (a) increases a development bias when a surface potential of the photoconductor drum is 0 Volt, and determines a level of the development bias as a discharge voltage at a timing when discharge is detected between a photoconductor drum and a developing roller, (b) sets an alternating current component of the development bias so as to make a lowest level of the development bias equal to a level lower by the discharge voltage than a desired surface potential of the photoconductor drum, and (c) increases an applied voltage to a charging roller (that charges a surface of the photoconductor drum) when applying to the developing roller the development bias of which the alternating current component has been set, and determines as an applied voltage to the charging roller corresponding to the desired surface potential, the applied voltage at a timing when the discharge is detected.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming portion capable of forming an image on a recording medium; an operation portion for performing an operation of the image forming apparatus; a push button which is arranged in a surface of the operation portion, and with which a signal of stopping an image forming action performed by the image forming portion is input; a receiving portion provided in the operation portion so as to be able to receive a radio signal from a communication component by placing the communication component transmitting the radio signal so as to face the receiving portion; and at least a central portion of the push button located at a position recessed from the surface of the operation portion.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an optical scanning unit including a rotatable polygonal mirror and a detecting portion; and a controller. A rotation center of the rotatable polygonal mirror is made eccentric with respect to a center of gravity of the rotatable polygonal mirror by 7.5 ?m or more. The controller identifies one of reflecting surfaces of the rotatable polygonal mirror as a reference surface by using a signal outputted from the detecting portion for each of the reflecting surfaces of the rotatable polygonal mirror and a period of signals from light beams reflected by consecutive two reflecting surfaces with respect to a rotational direction of the rotatable polygonal mirror.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a primary heat generator and a secondary heat generator to heat an endless belt and a temperature detector, disposed opposite the secondary heat generator, to detect a temperature of the endless belt. The secondary heat generator includes an inboard edge and an outboard edge disposed outboard from the inboard edge in an axial direction of the endless belt. The secondary heat generator has an inboard length defined between a center of a detection span of the temperature detector and the inboard edge in the axial direction of the endless belt. The secondary heat generator further has an outboard length defined between the center of the detection span of the temperature detector and the outboard edge in the axial direction of the endless belt. The secondary heat generator defines a ratio of the outboard length to the inboard length that is greater than 7/3.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearer to bear toner; a developer bearer includes a first seal on one end of the developer bearer in a direction of axis and a second seal on another end of the developer bearer in the direction of axis, to supply the image bearer with the toner; a supply member disposed within a range between the first seal and the second seal in the direction of axis, to supply the developer bearer with the toner; and a transfer member opposed to the image bearer. The transfer member has a width shorter than a width of the supply member in the direction of axis. The transfer member is disposed within a range between one end and another end of the supply member in the direction of axis.

Abstract: A developing device includes N number of containers, N number of conveying members, N number of first sensors, stirring portions, a switching unit, and a control unit. The N number of conveying members stir and convey respective developers inside the N number of containers. The N number of first sensors are located at the N number of containers to detect toners remaining amount inside of the N number of containers. The stirring portions are located at the respective N number of conveying members to stir the developers at detecting regions opposed to detecting surfaces of the N number of first sensors by rotations of the N number of conveying members. The switching unit selects any one of outputs of the N number of first sensors to output. The control unit receives the selected output to detect the remaining amounts of the developers inside the N number of containers.

Abstract: A fixing device includes a fixing belt rotatably located around a rotation axis, a pressure member rotatably located, and a pressing member. The pressure member is brought into pressure contact with the fixing belt to form a fixing nip. The pressing member includes a pressing surface that presses the fixing belt toward a side of the pressure member. The pressing surface includes a plane surface portion extending along a conveyance direction of a recording medium, and a curved surface portion located at a downstream side of the plane surface portion in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. The curved surface portion is curved along an outer peripheral surface of the pressure member. The curved surface portion has a curvature radius larger than a curvature radius of the outer peripheral surface of the pressure member before a deformation in association with a formation of the fixing nip.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a motor for rotating a stirring member and a cleaner to which a driving force of the motor is transmitted via a transmission mechanism. In a buffer container of a toner replenishment device of a developing device, a gear connected to a restriction member for stirring toner in the buffer container and restricting toner from dropping into a toner conveying section and a cleaning member for cleaning the detection surface of a toner sensor are driven by a motor. A CPU controls a timing at which a clutch stops transmission of the driving force from the motor to the gear, based on a result of detection by a flag sensor that detects an amount of rotation of the gear, and a rotational speed of the motor.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a body having a port, an image forming section positioned further than the center of the body toward a first side while including an image forming unit that forms an image on a medium by a developer including an additive and a fixing unit that heats and fixes the image onto the medium, a duct extending from the vicinity of the fixing unit to a position further than the center of the body toward a second side, a connecting portion connected to a portion of the duct, which is farthest from the fixing unit, and the port on the second side while being wider than the duct such that a flow velocity of a gas inside the connecting portion is less than that inside the duct, and a moving unit that moves the gas from the fixing unit to the connecting portion through the duct.

Abstract: A multilayered blade made of an elastic material includes an edge layer, having a contact edge to contact an object, and at least one backup layer laminated on the edge layer. The blade has a converted loss tangent tan ? of 0.23 or greater and 0.51 or smaller in a temperature range of from 0° C. to 50° C. The converted loss tangent tan ? is defined as: X = A A + B × L 1 + B A + B × L 2 , where X represents the converted loss tangent tan ?, A represents a thickness in millimeters of the edge layer, B represents a thickness in millimeters of the at least one backup layer, L1 represents a variation of a loss tangent tan ? of the edge layer in the temperature range of from 0° C. to 50° C., and L2 represents a variation of a loss tangent tan ? of the at least one backup layer in the temperature range of from 0° C. to 50° C.