Abstract: The image heating apparatus includes a flexible rotatable member, a flexible rotatable member, a slidable member contacting an internal surface of the flexible rotatable member, a holder for holding the slidable member, and a pressure roller for applying a pressure to the flexible rotatable member thereby forming a nip portion with the slidable member, wherein a holding surface of the holder includes a first holding area of a crowned shape in which a central portion in a longitudinal direction of the holder protrudes more than both end portions toward the nip portion, and a second holding area of a crowned shape, which is provided at a downstream side of the first holding area in a moving direction of the flexible rotatable member and in which a central portion in a longitudinal direction of the holder protrudes more than both end portions toward the nip portion, and the second holding area has a crown amount larger than a crown amount of the first holding area.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus having a sharp neutralizing member which can perform uniform neutralizing effects for a long period of time. The sharp neutralizing member includes sharp projections in which tip portions having the following relationship between a distance P_between the tip portions of neighboring projections and the distance D between the tip portion of the projection and an object of neutralization: D?4.0 mm, and 0.8*D?P?1.5*D. Particularly for neutralization of a carrier of toner images, it is possible to achieve uniform neutralization of the medium and to provide a high-quality image.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus that can suppress the formation of creases when forming images on both surfaces of a sheet and can greatly reduce the incidence of unprinted areas. The image forming apparatus has a sheet stacking section in which sheets are stacked, a sheet conveying section that conveys a sheet, an image forming section that forms an image on the sheet while the sheet is conveyed, a re-conveying section that again conveys the sheet with the image formed on a first surface thereof to the image forming section, and a sheet feeding section that feeds a sheet from the sheet stacking section or the re-conveying section to the image forming section.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus that can suppress the formation of creases when forming images on both surfaces of a sheet and can greatly reduce the incidence of unprinted areas. The image forming apparatus has a sheet stacking section in which sheets are stacked, a sheet conveying section that conveys a sheet, an image forming section that forms an image on the sheet while the sheet is conveyed, a re-conveying section that again conveys the sheet with the image formed on a first surface thereof to the image forming section, and a sheet feeding section that feeds a sheet from the sheet stacking section or the re-conveying section to the image forming section.

Abstract: The image heating apparatus for heating an image formed on a recording material, including a heater, a holder for holding the heater, a rotating member rotating around the holder and being flexible and having a metal layer, and a pressure roller forming a nip with the heater across the rotating member, wherein the rotating member moves in a direction around the rotating member and detaching from the pressure roller just after passing through a downstream end portion of a surface of the heater opposed to the pressure roller. Thus, an uneven heating of a toner image can be prevented even in case the recording material becomes undulated after passing the nip portion.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a charging apparatus, comprising a discharging member having a plurality of protrusions and an auxiliary member for assisting discharges by the discharging member. Discharge is made between the discharging member and the auxiliary member upon application of a voltage between the discharging member and the auxiliary member. Where an interval among the distal ends of the plural protrusions of the discharging member is denoted as P and an interval between the discharging member and the auxiliary member is denoted as D, P is equal to or greater than D.

Abstract: There is provided an image forming apparatus that can suppress the formation of creases when forming images on both surfaces of a sheet and can greatly reduce the incidence of unprinted areas. The image forming apparatus has a sheet stacking section in which sheets are stacked, a sheet conveying section that conveys a sheet, an image forming section that forms an image on the sheet while the sheet is conveyed, a re-conveying section that again conveys the sheet with the image formed on a first surface thereof to the image forming section, and a sheet feeding section that feeds a sheet from the sheet stacking section or the re-conveying section to the image forming section.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a plurality of process stations vertically arranged each of which includes an image bearing member on which a latent image is to be formed and a developing device for developing the latent image, image bearing member driving devices, for driving the image bearing members, development driving devices, for driving the developing devices, and a transfer material bearing and conveying device for bearing and conveying the transfer material, wherein, while the transfer member is vertically conveyed through transfer nips that are formed by the transfer material bearing and conveying device and the image bearing members of all of the plurality of process stations, images formed by the plurality of pocess stations are sequentially transferred to the transfer material to form an image, and wherein process stations to be used for image forming can be selected, and the image bearing member driving devices and the development driving devices are controlled, so that, during an image for

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has an image bearing member, a charger for charging the image bearing member image forming means for selectively erasing charge on the image bearing member to thereby form an electrostatic image, and a developing device for developing the electrostatic image. The developing device includes a developing roll contacting with the image bearing member and is capable of having a developing bias applied thereto and contacting and spacing device for contacting and spacing the developing roll with respect to the image bearing member. The contacting and spacing device contacts the developing roll having the developing bias applied to the area thereof charged by the charger with the image bearing member at a start of image formation.

Abstract: When a cleaner is included exclusively for cleaning a transfer/transport belt to remove toner therefrom, the structure of an image forming apparatus becomes complex and the costs thereof increase. The present invention attempts to remedy this situation. Specifically, a difference between a peripheral speed relative to the transfer/transport belt to be set for cleaning and a peripheral speed relative to photosensitive drums to be set therefor is made larger than that between peripheral speeds to be set for ordinary image formation. Because of this constituent feature, unnecessary toner on the transfer/transport belt is efficiently transferred onto the photosensitive drums on a stable basis for a short period of time.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a plurality of process stations vertically arranged each of which includes an image bearing member on which a latent image is to be formed and a developing device for developing the latent image, image bearing member driving devices, for driving the image bearing members, development driving devices, for driving the developing devices, and a transfer material bearing and conveying device for bearing and conveying the transfer material, wherein, while the transfer member is vertically conveyed through transfer nips that are formed by the transfer material bearing and conveying device and the image bearing members of all of the plurality of process stations, images formed by the plurality of pocess stations are sequentially transferred to the transfer material to form an image, and wherein process stations to be used for image forming can be selected, and the image bearing member driving devices and the development driving devices are controlled, so that, during an image for

Abstract: The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that has an image bearing member a charger for charging the image bearing member image forming means for selectively erasing charge on the image bearing member to thereby form an electrostatic image a developing device for developing the electrostatic image, the developing device including a developing roll contacting with the image bearing member and having a developing bias applied thereto and contacting and spacing means for contacting and spacing the developing roll with respect to the image bearing member the contacting and spacing means contacting the developing roll having the developing bias applied to the area thereof charged by the charger with the image bearing member at a start of image formation.

Abstract: A device for recovering toner in an image-forming machine includes a cleaning mechanism for removing the toner that remains on an image carrier, a toner conveyer mechanism for conveying the toner removed by said cleaning mechanism, and a toner recovery container for containing the toner conveyed by said toner conveyer mechanism. The toner conveyer mechanism includes a toner conveying pipe connected at its one end to said cleaning mechanism and having, at its other end, a toner discharge port that faces a toner reception port formed in said toner recovery container, a toner conveying member in the form of a coil arranged in said toner conveying pipe and is coupled at its one end to a rotary member, and a toner-scraping member mounted on the other end of said toner conveying member and rotates together with said toner conveying member.

Abstract: A multi-directional driving mechanism includes a moving plate supported rotatably on a supporting shaft and having an input portion and a plurality of output portions, a solenoid coupled to the input portion of the moving plate for causing the moving plate to pivot through a predetermined angle, and a plurality of coupling members each having one end coupled to the plurality of output portions provided on the moving plate. A transfer device for an image forming machine has contacting/separating mechanisms for moving a transfer belt unit, a moving mechanism for moving a cleaning blade, and the multi-directional driving mechanism, the other end each of the plurality of coupling members of the multi-directional driving mechanism being coupled to the contacting/separating mechanisms or the moving mechanism.

Abstract: A transfer device for an image forming machine has a belt unit including a driving roller, a driven roller disposed at a distance from the driving roller, a transfer belt looped between the driving roller and the driven roller, and a transfer roller disposed opposite an image bearing member with the transfer belt interposed therebetween; a contacting/separating device for moving the belt unit between a transfer position and a non-transfer position; and a voltage source for applying a predetermined voltage onto the transfer roller. The transfer roller is disposed apart from the transfer belt, and when the belt unit is brought to the transfer position by the contacting/separating device, the transfer roller presses the transfer belt against the image bearing member. Another embodiment includes a cleaning blade disposed apart from the transfer belt, and which in the transfer position contacts the transfer belt.

Abstract: An image forming machine equipped with a transfer belt unit includes a safety detecting means for detecting the completion of setting of an opening/closing member constituting the image forming machine, and a controlling means for controlling the operation of a driving means for a driving roller on the basis of a signal from the safety detecting means. When the safety detecting means signals the completion of the setting after signaling the incompletion of the setting, the controlling means controls the driving means so as to perform a reverse driving, thereby driving the driving roller reversely by a predetermined amount.

Abstract: A transfer device of an image forming machine has a belt unit comprising a pair of supporting plates disposed with a predetermined spacing, a driving roller journaled rotatably at one end portion of the pair of supporting plates, a driven roller journaled rotatably at the other end portion of the pair of supporting plates with a predetermined spacing from the driving roller, a transfer roller disposed between the driving roller and the driven roller, journaled rotatably on the pair of supporting plates, and given a predetermined voltage, and a transfer belt looped among the driving roller, the driven roller and the transfer roller, and disposed opposite an image bearing member. The transfer belt of the belt unit is formed so as to have a width larger than the spacing between the pair of supporting plates, and is disposed such that its side end portions surround at least part of the pair of supporting plates.

Abstract: A transfer device for an image forming machine has a driving roller, a driven roller disposed at a distance from the driving roller, a transfer belt extending between the driving roller and the driven roller, a transfer roller disposed opposite an image bearing member, with the transfer belt interposed therebetween and pressing the transfer belt against the image bearing member, and a voltage source for applying a predetermined voltage onto the transfer roller. The transfer roller consists of a rotating shaft and a roller portion mounted on the rotating shaft, and the hardness of the roller portion is set to result in a compression of 0.45 to 2.00 mm at a linear pressure of 3 g/cm. The volume resistivity of the roller portion of the transfer roller is set at 10.sup.2 to 10.sup.9 ohm-centimeters.

Abstract: A transfer plate which also serves as a sheet guide plate is pushed by a torsion spring. A minimum gap less than 0.2 mm between a guide surface of the transfer plate and the surface of a photoreceptor drum is maintained to be smaller than the thickness of a transfer sheet by a spacer member provided on the guide surface. When the sheet passes through the gap between the drum surface and the guide surface, the transfer plate is pushed down by the sheet and the sheet is pressed onto a toner image formed on the drum surface with an appropriate pressure by the pushing force of the torsion spring. At this time, a transfer voltage is applied to the transfer plate, so that the toner image on the drum surface is transferred to the sheet.

Abstract: A cleaning unit includes a plurality of rotatable fur brushes which are arranged so as to adjoin in a downstream direction of a transferring process on a surface of a photoreceptor drum and whose tips are in contact with the surface for removing residual toner on the surface, recovering rollers arranged so as to be in contact with the tip of each of the fur brushes for removing toner adhering to the fur brushes, and a charger for charging the fur brushes and the recovering rollers, wherein the fur brush arranged at the downmost stream side rotates at a lower speed compared to another fur brush arranged in the upstream side thereof, wherein a discharger is further provided for decreasing the charge of the residual toner, and wherein the charger charges the downmost stream side fur brush reversely to the uppermost stream side fur brush.