Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes a rotatable member contactable to a recording material carrying an image; and a limiting member for limiting movement of the rotatable member in a direction of a generating line of the rotatable member, wherein the limiting member is provided with a surface opposed to an outer peripheral surface at an end portion of the rotatable member.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an image heating apparatus that has heating device for heating an image formed on a recording material, the heating device including a moving member moving as coming into contact with the recording material, a temperature detecting element for detecting a temperature of the heating device, and power supply control device for controlling an electrical power to the heating device so that the temperature detected by the temperature detecting element is maintained at a set temperature, wherein the power supply control device sets the electrical power in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detecting element and a moving speed of the moving member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member for bearing an image, a transfer material bearing member for bearing and conveying a transfer material, wherein an image on the image bearing member is transferred onto the transfer material born on the transfer material bearing member at a transfer portion, a detector for detecting a detection image transferred from the image bearing member onto the transfer material bearing member, wherein the detection image conveyed to the transfer portion by the transfer material bearing member after being detected by the detector is transferred onto the image bearing member, and a controller for controlling a timing at which the transfer material is supplied to the transfer material bearing member on the basis of information with respect to the detection image when an image is continuously formed on a plurality of transfer materials.

Abstract: A developing bias value used to perform image formation is corrected by calculating, for each developing cartridge, an amount of a density shift due to a shift of a transfer efficiency using a correction value representing how degree a density on transferring paper will be shifted from a density on a photosensitive drum and a wearing degree of each developing cartridge corresponding to the total endurance number of printed sheets or the amount of consumed toner.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to improve the solubility of sphingoglycolipids having low solubility in water. Disclosed is a lyophilized composition comprising the &agr;-glycosylceramide represented by the following formula (A) or a salt thereof, a polyoxysorbitan fatty acid ester and disaccharide or monosaccharide, and preferably additional deoxycholic acid or histidine, and a process for preparing it: wherein R1 represents H or OH; X denotes an integer in the range of 7-25; R2 represents any one of the substituents —CH2(CH2)YCH3, —CH(OH)(CH2)YCH3, —CH(OH)(CH2)YCH(CH3)2, —CH═CH(CH2)YCH3, or —CH(OH)(CH2)YCH(CH3)CH2CH3, wherein Y denotes an integer in the range of 5-17; either one of R3 or R4 represents H, and the other represents H, OH, NH2 or NHCOCH3; either one of R5 or R6 represents H, and the other represents OH; either one of R7 or R8 represents H, and the other represents OH; R9 represents H, CH3 or CH2OH.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus that is provided with photosensitive drums (11M), (11C), (11Y) and (11Bk) for forming latent images by irradiation of light reflected by a polygon mirror and a fixing device (40) for fixing toner images corresponding to the latent images on a sheet material to prevent deterioration of an image to be formed if reflective surfaces of a reflective polyhedron are thinned out in reducing a process speed of image formation. This apparatus is further provided with a control unit (35) for, if the number of surfaces of the polygon mirror is m (m is an integer of three or more), performing control for selecting n such that m/(n+1) does not make an integer as a relation between m and n and performing control for making n surfaces unused as a reflective surface of light among continuous n+1 surfaces of the reflective polyhedron in the decelerating image forming process.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to improve the solubility of sphingoglycolipids having low solubility in water.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus prevents the offset of toner onto a fixing roller, by forming a surface mold release layer made of pure fluororesin material on a core member of the fixing roller and by applying a bias voltage to the fixing roller.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that has unfixed toner image forming device for forming unfixed toner images, and fixing device for fixing on a recording material the unfixed toner image formed by the unfixed toner image forming device, wherein the fixing device includes a film, a first back up member and a second back up member which sandwich the film therebetween and are in pressure contact with each other to form a nip portion, and device for increasing a temperature of the film, nips and conveys the recording material bearing the unfixed toner image between the film and the second back up member at the nip portion, and fixes the unfixed toner image on the recording material, wherein toner of the unfixed toner image contains a releasing agent in a binder which contains a coloring material ingredient and have a melt index value of 0.5 g or more and 100 g or less in accordance with a Melt Index measuring method, and wherein an average surface pressure at the nip portion is 5.

Abstract: A fixing apparatus prevents the offset of toner onto a fixing roller, by forming a surface mold release layer made of pure fluororesin material on a core member of the fixing roller and by applying a bias voltage to the fixing roller.

Abstract: A color image forming apparatus has developing unit, an image bearing member capable of bearing thereon toner images of plural colors formed by the developing unit, a rotatable intermediate transferring member, transferring unit for transferring the toner images of plural colors on the image bearing member to the intermediate transferring member at a first transferring position in electrostatically superposed relationship with one another, and a charger for charging any residual toner remaining on the intermediate transferring member after the toner images on the intermediate transferring member transferred by the transferring unit have been transferred to a transfer material at a second transferring position to a polarity opposite to the regular charging polarity of the toners in the developing unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an intermediate transfer member, an image forming device for forming a toner image on the intermediate transfer member wherein the toner image on the intermediate transfer member is transferred to a transfer material, a charging member for charging the intermediate transfer member by contacting the intermediate transfer member, wherein discharge is performed between the charging member and the intermediate transfer member by a voltage in which the direct current voltage and the alternating current voltage are superimposed applied to the charging member when the intermediate transfer member is charged by the charging member, and a control device for controlling the voltage applied to the charging member, wherein the control device stops the supply of the alternating current voltage to the charging member after the peak-to-peak voltage applied to the charging member is attenuated.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprises an image bearing member for bearing an image, and a movable member which is abutted against the image bearing member and onto which the image on the image bearing member is transferred. The movable member includes a substrate, a sheet-like member, and an elastic layer disposed between the substrate and the sheet-like member and compressed to a predetermined thickness before the movable member is abutted against the image bearing member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has an image bearing member, an intermediary member and a voltage applicator to electrostatically to transfer the toner image from the image bearing member onto the intermediary transfer member and then transfer the image onto a transfer material. The apparatus is operable selectively in a first mode in which toner images of different colors are sequentially and superposedly transferred from the image bearing member onto the intermediary transfer member by the voltage application, and in a second mode in which only a toner image of a first color of the different colors is transferred onto the intermediary transfer member from the image bearing member. An absolute value of the voltage applied to the intermediary transfer member by the voltage applicator is larger when the second mode is selected than when the first mode is selected, when the toner image of the first color is transferred from the image bearing member onto the intermediary transfer member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, charging means, exposure means, developing means, and an image holding member, where the exposure means is adapted, in exposing the photosensitive member according to an image signal, to expose a pixel not exposed in accordance with the image signal with a faint light.

Abstract: An output apparatus capable of receiving multi-level dot information of a first recording dot density, generating multi-level dot information of a second recording dot density, and transmitting the thus-generated second dot information in a visible way. The output apparatus comprises: a receiving device capable of receiving multi-level dot information of a first recording dot density; a generating device capable of generating multi-level interpolation dot information by applying a predetermined calculation to the thus-received multi-level dot information; and a dot density conversion device capable of generating multi-level dot information of a second, higher recording dot density from said interpolation dot information and the received multi-level dot information, whereby high density image data can be generated from low density image data.

Abstract: An output apparatus capable of receiving multi-level dot information of a first recording dot density, generating multi-level dot information of a second recording dot density, and transmitting the thus-generated second dot information in a visible way. The output apparatus comprises: a receiving device capable of receiving multi-level dot information of a first recording dot density; a generating device capable of generating multi-level interpolation dot information by applying a predetermined calculation to the thus-received multi-level dot information; and a dot density conversion device capable of generating multi-level dot information of second higher recording dot density from said interpolation dot information and the received multi-level dot information, whereby high density image data can be generated from low density image data.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the toner images of the plural colors on the intermediate transfer member are electrostatically transferred to a transfer material, and the image forming charges the toner image of a color, among the toner images of the plural colors formed on the intermediate transfer member, different from the last color in such a manner that the charge amount per unit weight of the toner image of the different color becomes 0.5 to 1.5 times of the charge amount per unit weight of the toner image of the last color, after the formation of the toner image of the last color on the intermediate transfer member and prior to the transfer of the toner images of the plural colors on the intermediate transfer member to the transfer material.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member for carrying a toner image; an image forming unit for forming a toner test image on the image bearing member; a transfer material carrying member, for carrying a transfer material, wherein the test toner image is transferred onto a transfer material carried on the transfer material carrying member or onto the transfer material carrying member; and a density detecting unit for detecting a density of the toner test image transferred to the transfer material carrying member. A transfer intensity is smaller when the toner test image for density detection is transferred onto the transfer material carrying member than when the toner test image is transferred onto the transfer material tarried an the transfer material carrying member. The transfer intensity also changes depending on whether the transferred toner test image is the first color toner test image or the second toner test image, and depending on an ambient condition sensor.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus a length of a transfer material in a conveying direction thereof is L.sub.p, a length of a toner image transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt in a shifting direction is L.sub.p ', a distance between a first transfer portion t.sub.1 and a second transfer portion t.sub.2 along the shifting direction of the intermediate transfer belt is L.sub.t1-t2 and a distance between the second transfer portion t.sub.2 and a fixing portion fix along the shifting direction of the transfer material is L.sub.t2-fix, so that the following relation is established:L.sub.t1-t2 >L.sub.p ' and L.sub.p >L.sub.t2-fix.After a first transfer is complete and before initiation of a second transfer, the speed of the intermediate transfer belt is decreased, so that, following to the second transfer process at a low speed, the toner image can be fixed onto the transfer material at a low speed. With this arrangement, the distance L.sub.