Abstract: Provided is a fixing device, the heat generation amount of which can be obtained with a smaller amount of a microwave absorbing material. As a result, the start-up (warm-up) time for achieving a fixing temperature can be shortened without impairing characteristics such as flexibility, releasing property, and durability. The fixing device includes a heating member; a pressurizing member; and a microwave generating unit. It is configured to fix an unfixed toner on a recording material by passing the recording material through a nip formed between the heating member and the pressurizing member. The heating member includes a heat generating layer for generating heat with microwaves generated by the microwave generating unit. The heat generating layer contains a high molecular compound and a carbon fiber having an average fiber diameter of 80-150 nm, an average fiber length of 6-10 ?m, and an absorption peak in a Raman spectrum resulting from a graphite structure.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes multiple image forming stations, and a controller for executing selectively a multi-color image mode or a monochromatic image forming mode, wherein in the monochromatic image forming mode, a first one of image forming stations which forms the image, and a second one which is upstream of the first image forming station exposes the image bearing members to a first image pattern and a second image pattern, respectively, and the controller determines the second image pattern in accordance with the first image pattern, and effects the exposure to the second image pattern.

Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes an endless belt configured to heat an image on a sheet at a nip potion, a heat generation device configured to cause the belt to generate heat, a nip forming member configured to form the nip portion between the nip forming member and the belt, and a pressing roller configured to press an inner surface of the belt toward the nip forming member, the pressing roller including an elastic porous layer containing a plurality of filler particles, wherein a thermal conductivity of the elastic porous layer in an axial direction of the pressing roller is in a range of 6 times to 900 times a thermal conductivity of the elastic porous layer in a radial direction of the pressing roller.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of forming an image includes an image bearing member on which an electrostatic latent image is to be formed, a developer carrying member for carrying a developer to visualize the electrostatic latent image, and a developer feeding member, having a foam layer at its surface, for feeding the developer to the developer carrying member by being rotated in contact with the developer carrying member. In addition, a controller is capable of executing an operation in a first mode in which the developer feeding member is rotated for a first time and then the electrostatic latent image is visualized at a first speed by the developer carrying member and an operation in a second mode in which the developer feeding member is rotated for a second time longer than the first time and then the electrostatic latent image is visualized at a second speed slower than the first speed by the developer carrying member.

Abstract: A pressing rotatable member for use with an image heating apparatus including a base layer; and a porous elastic layer provided on the base layer, wherein the elastic layer has a thermal conductivity in an axial direction thereof and a thermal conductivity in a circumferential direction thereof which are not less than 6-times and not more than 900-times a thermal conductivity in a thickness direction thereof.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer container, a first calculator, and a second calculator. The first calculator calculates an amount of the developer supplied to the image bearing member from the developer container, on the basis of an amount of the developer measured by a measuring device after an image forming operation, and an amount of the developer initially contained in the developer container. A controller outputs an information signal relating to the developer amount accumulated in the collection container on the basis of the amount of the developer calculated by the first calculator and the amount of the developer calculated by the second calculator.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a pressure rotating member which achieves the shortening of a warm-up time while suppressing a non-recording material-contacting area's temperature rise. The pressure rotating member which is used in a thermal fixing apparatus includes: a substrate; and an elastic layer that is formed on the substrate and has a void, wherein the elastic layer contains a needle-shaped filler, wherein the needle-shaped filler has such a thermal conductivity ?1 of the elastic layer in a direction along a rotary axis of the pressure rotating member as to be 6 times or more and 900 times or less of a thermal conductivity ?2 of the elastic layer in a thickness direction.

Abstract: Provided is a fixing device whose required heat generation amount can be obtained with a smaller amount of a microwave absorbing material, hence start-up (warm-up) time for achieving fixable temperature of the fixing device can be shortened without impairing characteristics such as flexibility, releasing property, durability. The fixing device comprises: a heating member; a pressurizing member; and a microwave generating unit, the fixing device being configured to fix an unfixed toner on a recording material by passing the recording material through a nip formed between the heating member and the pressurizing member, wherein: the heating member includes a heat generating layer for generating heat with microwave generated by the microwave generating unit; and the heat generating layer contains a high molecular compound and a carbon fiber having an average fiber diameter of 80-150 nm, an average fiber length of 6-10 ?m, and in Raman spectrum, an absorption peak resulting from graphite structure.

Abstract: Provided is a member for electrophotography including a fluorine resin surface layer formed by melting fluorine resin powder, the member being capable of stably maintaining rubber elasticity over a long time period. Further, provided are a fixing member, a fixing device, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus each capable of stably providing the image quality of an electrophotographic image. The member for electrophotography is a member for electrophotography, comprising: a substrate; a cured silicone rubber elastic layer; and a fluorine resin surface layer obtained by melting a fluorine resin powder, wherein: when a microhardness of a cured rubber forming the cured silicone rubber elastic layer is defined as H?0, and a microhardness of a rubber obtained by soaking the cured rubber in a methyl hydrogen silicone oil for 24 hours, and then further curing the cured rubber is defined as H?1, H?1/H?0 is 2.5 or more and 5.0 or less.

Abstract: A fixing member manufacturing method includes: a step of coating an outer peripheral surface of an elastic material with an adhesive; a step of externally fitting a resin tube around the elastic material coated with the adhesive; a step of temporarily fixing the resin tube onto the elastic material by heating the resin tube at a longitudinal end portion; a step of temporarily fixing the resin tube onto the elastic material by heating the resin tube at the other longitudinal end portion except for a circumferential part of the resin tube; a step of squeezing out an excessive adhesive from between the elastic material and the resin tube, in a direction from the longitudinal end portion to the other longitudinal end portion of the resin tube; and a step of fixing the resin tube onto the elastic material by heating the adhesive.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum life estimation mechanism which estimates wear amounts of a charge transfer layer in both of a toner bearing area and an end portion of a toner non-bearing area of a developing roller and informs a user that the photosensitive drum has reached the end of its life if, out of total wear amounts of the areas corresponding to predetermined life threshold values of the toner bearing and non-bearing areas, either of the total wear amounts reaches the threshold value.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a developer container, a first calculator, and a second calculator, wherein the first calculator calculates an amount of the developer supplied to the image bearing member from the developer container, on the basis of an amount of the developer measured by a measuring device after an image forming operation, and an amount of the developer initially contained in the developer container, and wherein the controller outputs information signal relating to the developer amount accumulated in the collection container on the basis of the amount of the developer calculated by the first calculator and the amount of the developer calculated by the second calculator.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes multiple image forming stations, and a controller for executing selectively a multi-color image mode or a monochromatic image forming mode, wherein in the monochromatic image forming mode, a first one of image forming stations which forms the image, and a second one which is upstream of the first image forming station exposes the image bearing members to a first image pattern and a second image pattern, respectively, and the controller determines the second image pattern in accordance with the first image pattern, and effects the exposure to the second image pattern.

Abstract: Depending on whether or not a disk device is mounted, a space produced in a liquid crystal television receiver is effectively used. Mounting holes for fixing a power substrate 12 to an LCD cover 8 are formed to the same size as mounting holes formed in an MPEG substrate 10 necessary for a disk device integrated type construction and fixed to mounting parts formed in the LCD cover 8. This makes it possible to remove the MPEG substrate 10 which is unnecessary in the case of a disk device non-integrated type construction, use the mounting parts formed in the LCD cover 8 for attaching the MPEG substrate 10 as mounting parts of the power substrate 12 as they are and eliminate the necessity for an outside power device such as an AC adapter.

Abstract: A reflection type flat cathode-ray tube enhanced in quality of display image, and its manufacturing method are presented. A flat cathode-ray tube is composed by forming a grid layer, a reflective layer, and a fluorescent layer sequentially at the inner side of a screen panel. The reflective layer is preferably formed at the outer side of the circumference of the fluorescent layer. On a transfer substrate, a transfer foil laminating at least a fluorescent layer, a reflective layer, and a grid layer in this order is prepared, the grid layer side of the transfer foil is heated, pressed and adhered to the inner side of a screen panel, a transfer substrate is peeled off, and a fluorescent screen composed of the fluorescent layer, reflective layer, and grid layer is transferred.

Abstract: A lubricating apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes an oil pump 12 comprising a feed pump 13 and scavenging pumps 14 and 15. Then oil pump 12 and an oil tank 16 are arranged at the outside of the internal combustion engine 9. A pump shaft for the pumps 13, 14 and 15 can be arranged in a same direction as that of a crank shaft of the engine 9. The feed pump 13 and two scavenging pumps 14 and 15 are arranged in serial order with the feed pump being farthest from the engine 9. A check valve 24 can be arranged in a passage of the discharge side of the feed pump 13. A relief valve 23 can be arranged between a passage of the discharge side of the feed pump 13 and a passage of the intake side of the scavenging pump 14.

Abstract: To provide a liquid crystal television which is small in size and low in price, by designing the construction of the control circuit boards of a liquid crystal display device including a recording/reproducing device such as a DVD or the like and the layout construction thereof. The present invention is characterized by installing three main boards comprising: a television circuit board mounted with an analog control circuit for power supply processing, audio video signal processing, etc., a circuit board for a DVD circuit mounted with a DVD driving control circuit and a liquid crystal circuit board mounted with a liquid crystal digital control circuit on the back of a liquid crystal panel unit in a liquid crystal television device mounted with a recording/reproducing device such as a DVD or the like.

Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device with a built-in disk device by adopting an arrangement of the disk device and the substrate designed so as to be able to reduce the size and thickness of the liquid crystal display device and share the substrate among liquid crystal display devices having different screen sizes. In a 20-inch LCD 50, a main control substrate 14 is disposed substantially at the center of the lower part, substantially in parallel to an LCD module, a disk device 11 is disposed at the top on the left side and a disk device control substrate 12 is disposed alongside the disk device 11 so as to be substantially horizontal to the disk device 11 and a power supply circuit substrate 51 is disposed at the top on the right side so that it is possible to use the same disk device 11, the disk device control substrate 12 and the main control substrate 14 as those of a 14-inch LCD.

Abstract: A reflection type flat cathode-ray tube enhanced in quality of display image, and its manufacturing method are presented. A flat cathode-ray tube is composed by forming a grid layer, a reflective layer, and a fluorescent layer sequentially at the inner side of a screen panel. The reflective layer is preferably formed at the inner side of the circumference of the fluorescent layer. On a transfer substrate, a transfer foil laminating at least a fluorescent layer, a reflective layer, and a grid layer in this order is prepared, the grid layer side of the transfer foil is heated, pressed and adhered to the inner side of a screen panel, a transfer substrate is peeled off, and a fluorescent screen composed of the fluorescent layer, reflective layer, and grid layer is transferred.

Abstract: A lubricating apparatus for an internal combustion engine includes an oil pump 12 comprising a feed pump 13 and scavenging pumps 14 and 15. Then oil pump 12 and an oil tank 16 are arranged at the outside of the internal combustion engine 9. A pump shaft for the pumps 13, 14 and 15 can be arranged in a same direction as that of a crank shaft of the engine 9. The feed pump 13 and two scavenging pumps 14 and 15 are arranged in serial order with the feed pump being farthest from the engine 9. A check valve 24 can be arranged in a passage of the discharge side of the feed pump 13. A relief valve 23 can be arranged between a passage of the discharge side of the feed pump 13 and a passage of the intake side of the scavenging pump 14.