Abstract: The development device includes a toner carrier, a toner supplier, and a surface electrical potential controller. When the toner supplier supplies toner particles to the toner carrier, the toner carrier carries toner particles to adhere to a latent image formed on the latent image carrier and has a time constant ?1 of a surface electrical potential change of the toner carrier. The surface electrical potential controller has a time constant ?2 of a surface electrical potential change of the toner carrier smaller than the time constant ?1. The toner carrier includes a plurality of electrodes aligned in parallel and electrically insulated from each other on the surface thereof, and a voltage supplier for supplying each of the plurality of electrodes with a voltage to periodically switch electrical fields therebetween, so that the toner particles form a cloud on the surface of the toner carrier while hopping.

Abstract: The present invention provides an aqueous composition and an aqueous composition comprising a titanium compound, having a deodorant, antimicrobial or antifungal effect. That is, the present invention relates to an aqueous composition comprising a metal composition comprising iron, aluminum and potassium, and water, where the aqueous composition may contain tetrahydroxytitanium hydrochloride, and a deodorant and an antimicrobial and/or antifungal agent comprising the aqueous composition.

Abstract: A development apparatus using a hopping method and an image formation apparatus including the development apparatus are disclosed. The development apparatus includes a toner supporting object for supporting and conveying a toner by a movement of the toner supporting object, while the toner is hopping on a surface of the toner supporting object by an electric field; a regulating member made of a flexible material for constituting a toner thickness regulation position; a latent image supporting object for supporting a latent image; and a development position, which is a position of the toner supporting object, that counters the latent image supporting object; wherein the toner is conveyed through the regulation position to the development position where the toner is adhered to the latent image, and wherein one end of the regulating member is supported, and the other end contacts the toner supporting object.

Abstract: An image formation apparatus using a hopping method is disclosed. Toner provided on a moving surface of a toner supporting object is conveyed, while the toner is hopping on the surface due to an electric field, to a position that counters a latent image supporting object by movement of the surface, and is adhered to a latent image formed on the latent image supporting object. The image formation apparatus includes a supply member for scooping up the toner in a toner container by plural hollows formed on a surface of the supply member with endless movement of the surface of the supply member, for conveying the toner to a position where the supply member contacts the toner supporting object, and for providing the toner to the surface of the toner supporting object.

Abstract: A developing device of the present invention is operable with a two-ingredient type developer by mixing and agitating toner grains and carrier grains to thereby electrify the toner grains. At least the carrier grains are sealed in a space formed in the developing device until the developing device starts being used while the toner grains are introduced in the developing device at the start of use.

Abstract: A color image forming apparatus including a first-color developing unit configured to form a toner image on the photoconductive belt; and a second-color developing unit and successive developing units, at least the second-color and successive developing units each include an electrostatic developing unit including, an electrostatic toner conveying device including a plurality of electrodes, and a toner feeding device configured to feed the toner to the electrostatic toner conveying device, wherein voltages applied to the plurality of electrodes form a traveling-wave electric field for electrostatically transferring the toner, an electric field for causing the toner to electrostatically move toward the latent image formed on the photoconductive belt is formed, and toners not moved toward the latent image are directly conveyed to the toner feeding device by the electrostatic toner conveying device.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is capable of specifying the type of an occurring abnormality to a certain extent while avoiding the increasingly complicated control that is caused when a plurality of abnormalities is detected individually according to the presence of their respective causes. A normal group data set, which is a collection of normal value combinations relating to grouped information constituted by a plurality of information of differing types, is stored in RAM or ROM serving as information storage device of a control unit. At least two or more sets of grouped information, including first grouped information constituted by a plurality of different types of information, and second grouped information constituted by a plurality of information in a different combination to that of the first grouped information, are obtained from the RAM, the ROM, various sensors, and an operation display unit.

Abstract: A charging device includes a case that surrounds a charging unit and has plural ventilating sections, a gas separating unit that varies a component ratio of the air near an opposed portion of a photosensitive member and the charging unit, and a gas electrolyzing unit that electrolyzes moisture of the area near the opposed portion. The gas separating unit has a nitrogen enriching unit that includes a nitrogen enriching film set in a ventilating section and a pressurizing chamber for forming a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the case and supplies a nitrogen enriched air to the inside of the case or an oxygen enriching unit that includes an oxygen enriching film set in another ventilating section and a depressurizing chamber for forming a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the case and exhausts an oxygen enriched air to the outside of the case.

Abstract: A disclosed development device includes: a latent image carrier; a conveying member disposed so as to face the latent image carrier, the conveying member having plural electrodes insulated from one another and arranged at predetermined intervals so as to generate an electric field for moving toner on the conveying member; a voltage application unit applying a voltage of n phases (n is a positive integer not less than one) to the electrodes so as to form a cloud of the toner and the toner is adhered to the latent image carrier so as to form a visualized toner image; a toner supply unit supplying the toner to the conveying member; and a height adjusting member adjusting a uniform height for a toner layer of the toner immediately before a development area on the conveying member in which development is performed.

Abstract: The present invention provides an noise suppression circuit comprises an internal circuit which has a high and a low level terminals. The low level terminal is connected to a low level power supply (GND) line. The noise suppression circuit further comprises a first transistor in which one main electrode is connected to the high level terminal of the circuit, a bypass capacitor connected between the other main electrode of the first transistor and the low level power supply line, and a second transistor connected between the other main electrode of the first transistor and a high level power supply (VDD) line. The first transistor is conductive when the internal circuit is active, and is not conductive when the internal circuit is inactive. The second transistor is not conductive when the internal circuit is active, and is conductive when the internal circuit is inactive.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is capable of specifying the type of an occurring abnormality to a certain extent while avoiding the increasingly complicated control that is caused when a plurality of abnormalities is detected individually according to the presence of their respective causes. A normal group data set, which is a collection of normal value combinations relating to grouped information constituted by a plurality of information of differing types, is stored in RAM or ROM serving as information storage device of a control unit. At least two or more sets of grouped information, including first grouped information constituted by a plurality of different types of information, and second grouped information constituted by a plurality of information in a different combination to that of the first grouped information, are obtained from the RAM, the ROM, various sensors, and an operation display unit.

Abstract: An automatic circuit design apparatus includes a setting module configured to set an upper limit electric potential of a virtual ground line in a circuit to be designed, by use of a cell library for low-threshold cells, a cell library for high-threshold cells, and information of the circuit to be designed. A layout generator is configured to generate a layout based on the information, the cell library for low-threshold cells, and the cell library for high-threshold cells.

Abstract: An apparatus for developing a latent image on a latent image carrier includes a toner carrier and multiple electrodes arranged at intervals on a surface of the toner carrier. A potential difference is formed between even-numbered electrodes and odd-numbered electrodes of the electrodes by applying a first pulse voltage to the even-numbered electrodes and a second pulse voltage to the odd-numbered electrodes so that toner on the surface of the toner carrier moves back and forth between the electrodes, where the first and second pulse voltages are in different phases, and the toner moving back and forth between the electrodes is conveyed to a position facing the latent image carrier by movement of the surface of the toner carrier and thereby caused to adhere to the latent image on the latent image carrier.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is capable of specifying the type of an occurring abnormality to a certain extent while avoiding the increasingly complicated control that is cause when a plurality of abnormalities is detected individually according to the presence of their respective causes. A normal group data set, which is a collection of normal value combination relating to grouped information constituted by a plurality of information of differing types, is stored in RAM or ROM serving as information storage device of a control unit. At least two or more sets of grouped information, including first grouped information constituted by a plurality of different types of information, and second grouped information constituted by a plurality of information in a different combination to that of the first grouped information, are obtained from the RAM, the ROM, various sensors, and an operation display unit.

Abstract: The present invention provides a detector that brings a cleaning blade made from elastomer in contact with a photoconductor to observe vibrations of the cleaning blade or a supporting member for the cleaning blade and calculates an index value based upon a normal condition using multi-dimensional data for each frequency obtained by Fourier transform of the vibrations as signals, thereby detecting abnormality of a condition of contact of the cleaning blade with the photoconductor such as the presence of adhesion material or damage to the photoconductor.

Abstract: A powder transferring apparatus provided with a powder electrostatic transferring device includes a plurality of transferring electrodes configured to generate an electric field for transferring the powder by an electrostatic force including a powder transferring amount detecting device to detect an amount of powder on a surface of the powder electrostatic transferring device.

Abstract: An automated wiring pattern layout method is provided. With this method, a first wiring pattern is generated with width W and extending in a first direction, and a second wiring pattern is generated with width W and extending in a direction perpendicular to the first wiring pattern in a manner such that the end thereof ends at the end portion of the first wiring pattern. Moreover, an overlapping region is generated by bending an end of either one of the first or the second wiring pattern at a right angle to produce an L-shaped extension and overlaying the first and the second wiring pattern, and a rectangular-shaped VIA pattern is generated at the overlapping region.

Abstract: Development device includes an electrostatic conveyance device, a supply device, and a collection device. The electrostatic conveyance device moves toner on a surface thereof in a toner conveyance direction by a phase-shifting electric field. The surface has upstream and downstream side ends where the phase-shifting electric field starts and ends, respectively. The supply device opposes the upstream side end to supply the toner onto the electrostatic conveyance surface. The toner supplied by the supply device onto the electrostatic conveyance surface is moved by the phase-shifting electric field to a development area of the electrostatic conveyance device opposing an image bearing. The collection device opposes the downstream side end and collects the toner moved on the electrostatic conveyance surface to a downstream side of the development area of the electrostatic conveyance device in the toner conveyance direction without contributing to the development.

Abstract: An abnormality determining apparatus includes an information storage unit for storing normal index information serving as an index of a normal state of the detection subject, an information obtaining unit for obtaining a plurality of types of information, and an abnormality determining unit for determining the presence of an abnormality in the detection subject on the basis of the normal index information stored in the information storage unit, and the information obtained by the information obtaining unit. The information storage unit stores a plurality of normal index information having different values. The abnormality determining unit selects, at a predetermined timing, normal index information to be used to determine the presence of an abnormality in the detection subject from the plurality of normal index information.

Abstract: The present invention provides an noise suppression circuit comprises an internal circuit which has a high and a low level terminals. The low level terminal is connected to a low level power supply (GND) line. The noise suppression circuit further comprises a first transistor in which one main electrode is connected to the high level terminal of the circuit, a bypass capacitor connected between the other main electrode of the first transistor and the low level power supply line, and a second transistor connected between the other main electrode of the first transistor and a high level power supply (VDD) line. The first transistor is conductive when the internal circuit is active, and is not conductive when the internal circuit is inactive. The second transistor is not conductive when the internal circuit is active, and is conductive when the internal circuit is inactive.