Abstract: Provided are an image bearing member; a charging member that charges the image bearing member; an exposure unit that exposes the image bearing member; a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image as a developer image by supplying a developer, charged to regular polarity, to the image bearing member; a transfer member that transfers the developer image to a transfer-receiving body; and a collecting member that collects a deposit on the image bearing member downstream of a transfer portion of the image bearing member at which the developer image is transferred to the transfer-receiving body by the transfer member, and upstream of a charging portion of the image bearing member charged by the charging member, in a rotation direction of the image bearing member. After transfer of the developer image to the transfer-receiving body, the developer remaining on the image bearing member is collected by the developing unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, an electrostatic image forming portion, a developing member, a transfer member, a transfer voltage source, a brush member, a brush voltage source, and a controller capable of executing a cleaning operation. The controller carries out control so that the cleaning operation includes a first operation in which a potential difference is formed between the transfer member and the photosensitive member so that toner charged to a normal charge polarity is moved from the transfer member toward the photosensitive member, and a second operation in which a potential difference is formed between the brush member and the photosensitive member so that the toner charged to the normal charge polarity is moved from the photosensitive member toward the brush member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable photosensitive member, a charging member, a developing device, a transfer member, a brush, a driving source and a control portion. The control portion controls the driving source to execute an image forming process in which image formation to the recording material is executed and a non-image-forming process in which the photosensitive member is driven to rotate other than the image forming process. The non-image-forming process between a first recording material and a second recording material to which the image formation is executed following the first recording material is defined as a first non-image-forming process, and the non-image-forming process between the second recording material and a third recording material is defined as a second non-image-forming process.

Abstract: A driving unit is controlled so that a driving state where an image bearing member is driven with a first potential difference formed between a brush member and the image bearing member at a contact portion where the image bearing member is in contact with the brush member transitions to a stopped state where the image bearing member stops being driven with a second potential difference formed, the second potential difference having an absolute value less than that of the first potential difference.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, an exposing device, a developing device, a transfer member, a brush, a voltage applying portion, and a control portion controlling a surface potential of the photosensitive member at the brush contacting position. When a value of subtracting a value of the surface potential of the photosensitive member in the brush contacting position from a value of the brush voltage is defined as a contacting position potential difference, the control portion controls the surface potential of the photosensitive member in the brush contacting position so that the contacting position potential difference is changed from a first potential difference to a second potential difference in a predetermined direction which is either one of an increasing direction or a decreasing direction, and then the contacting position potential difference is changed from the second potential difference to a third potential difference in the predetermined direction.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image bearing member, a charging member, a developing roller, a transfer roller, and a brush configured to be brought into contact with a surface of the image bearing member on a side downstream of a transfer portion and upstream of a charging portion in a rotation direction of the image bearing member and in which, wherein, after the transfer of a developer image onto a transferred member, a developer remaining on the surface of the image bearing member is collected by the developing roller, the brush is disposed such that, in a cross section perpendicular to a rotation axis of the image bearing member, a contact region of the surface of the image bearing member in contact with the brush overlaps a virtual line containing the rotation axis of the image bearing member and extending upward from the rotation axis in a vertical direction.

Abstract: A control unit performs control to make a direction of an electric field generated in a first area of an image carrier forming a transfer portion during image forming operation, relative to a voltage applied to a brush member in a state where the first area passes through a contact portion, different from a direction of an electric field generated in a second area of the image carrier forming the contact portion, relative to the voltage applied to the brush member during a period when operation is shifted from first operation in which the image carrier is rotated at a first speed to second operation in which the image carrier is rotated at a second speed different from the first speed, during non-image forming operation different from the image forming operation.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set an operation mode, and a processing unit configured to perform image processing on image data according to the operation mode. In a case when a first mode is set, the image processing includes determining, in the image data, one or more target pixels having a gradation value equal to or higher than a first threshold value, and one or more adjacent pixels that are different from the one or more target pixels and adjacent to the one or more target pixels, setting a first gradation value lower than the first threshold value as a gradation value of the one or more target pixels, and setting a second gradation value higher than the first gradation value as a gradation value of the one or more adjacent pixels.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developer bearing member, a frame having a storage member, and a first temperature detection unit. The storage member is for storing a developer for the developer bearing member to record an image on a recording material. The storage member includes an attachment part in which a supply container enclosing a developer is removably attachable to the attachment part. With reference to a recording material conveyance path having a center in a width direction of the recording material that is orthogonal to a recording material conveyance direction and in a case where an area on one side of the conveyance path center is a first area and the area on the other side of the conveyance path center is a second area, the attachment part is arranged in the first area and the first temperature detection unit is arranged in the second area.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a fixing unit, first and second rotating members, and a discharge unit to discharge a recording material to an outside. The fixing unit fixes an image from the image forming unit onto the recording material. The first rotating member comes into contact with and guides the image bearing recording material, and is driven to rotate by conveyance of the recording material. The second rotating member comes into contact with the image bearing recording material more on a downstream side than the first rotating member in a conveyance direction of the recording material, guides the recording material, and is driven to rotate by conveyance of the recording material. The first rotating member does not perform swinging motion by coming into contact with the recording material, and the second rotating member performs swinging motion by coming into contact with the recording material.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a charging unit that charges an image bearing member, a developing unit that forms a toner image on an latent image formed on the image bearing member, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a transfer material, a charge neutralizer that neutralizes a charge of the image bearing member downstream of a transfer portion and upstream of a charging portion in a rotating direction of the image bearing member, a conductive collecting unit that collects a material adhering on the image bearing member downstream of the transfer portion and upstream of the charging portion, wherein the developing unit collects residual toner on the image bearing member, an voltage application unit sets a potential difference between the voltage applied to the collecting unit and the surface electric potential of the image bearing member not more than a discharge threshold.

Abstract: A heating device has a first rotating member that is heated by a heat source, and a second rotating member that forms a nip portion with the first rotating member, such that a recording material is heated up at the nip portion. The heating device further has: a first cover disposed along an outer peripheral surface of the first rotating member, so as to surround the first rotating member, and a second cover, disposed between the first cover and the first rotating member, and having a protruding portion that protrudes towards the first rotating member. In a longitudinal direction of the first rotating member, a length of the first rotating member is a first length, and a length of the protruding portion is a second length that is smaller than the first length.

Abstract: A mechanism that enables developer replenishment by a simpler structure and a mechanism that enables more user-friendly developer replenishment are provided. An attachment port to which a developer supply bottle containing a developer stored therein is detachably attachable is disposed in an interior of an image forming apparatus. The developer supply bottle can be attached when the cover is in an open state. According to this image forming apparatus, when the developer supply bottle is attached to the attachment port, the developer inside the developer supply bottle moves into a developer housing chamber by its own weight.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus controls the number of rotations of a photosensitive drum based on information related to the use of the photosensitive drum and a suspension time in a rotation operation of rotating the photosensitive drum after a lapse of the suspension time between a first image forming operation of forming an image on a transfer material and a second image forming operation performed after the first image forming operation.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a fixing unit, first and second rotating members, and a discharge unit to discharge a recording material to an outside. The fixing unit fixes an image from the image forming unit onto the recording material. The first rotating member comes into contact with and guides the image bearing recording material, and is driven to rotate by conveyance of the recording material. The second rotating member comes into contact with the image bearing recording material more on a downstream side than the first rotating member in a conveyance direction of the recording material, guides the recording material, and is driven to rotate by conveyance of the recording material. The first rotating member does not perform swinging motion by coming into contact with the recording material, and the second rotating member performs swinging motion by coming into contact with the recording material.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a charging unit that charges an image bearing member, a developing unit that forms a toner image on an latent image formed on the image bearing member, a transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto a transfer material, a charge neutralizer that neutralizes a charge of the image bearing member downstream of a transfer portion and upstream of a charging portion in a rotating direction of the image bearing member, a conductive collecting unit that collects a material adhering on the image bearing member downstream of the transfer portion and upstream of the charging portion, wherein the developing unit collects residual toner on the image bearing member, an voltage application unit sets a potential difference between the voltage applied to the collecting unit and the surface electric potential of the image bearing member not more than a discharge threshold.

Abstract: A mechanism that enables developer replenishment by a simpler structure and a mechanism that enables more user-friendly developer replenishment are provided. An attachment port to which a developer supply bottle containing a developer stored therein is detachably attachable is disposed in an interior of an image forming apparatus. The developer supply bottle can be attached when the cover is in an open state. According to this image forming apparatus, when the developer supply bottle is attached to the attachment port, the developer inside the developer supply bottle moves into a developer housing chamber by its own weight.

Abstract: A cartridge attachable to and detachable from an image forming apparatus forming an image on a recording material, the cartridge includes: an image bearing member; a developer container that contains therein a developer; a developing member that is rotatable and carries the developer supplied from the developer container and supplies the developer to the image bearing member; a developer supplying member that is rotatable and provided in the developer container and in contact with the developing member to supply the developer to a surface of the developing member; and a contact member provided in the developer container and in contact with a surface of the developer supplying member, wherein the developer remaining on the image bearing member after image formation is collected to the developing member, and the developer collected to the developing member is collected into the developer container.

Abstract: Provided are an image bearing member; a charging member that charges the image bearing member; an exposure unit that exposes the image bearing member; a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image as a developer image by supplying a developer, charged to regular polarity, to the image bearing member; a transfer member that transfers the developer image to a transfer-receiving body; and a collecting member that collects a deposit on the image bearing member downstream of a transfer portion of the image bearing member at which the developer image is transferred to the transfer-receiving body by the transfer member, and upstream of a charging portion of the image bearing member charged by the charging member, in a rotation direction of the image bearing member. After transfer of the developer image to the transfer-receiving body, the developer remaining on the image bearing member is collected by the developing unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a setting unit configured to set an operation mode; and a processing unit configured to perform image processing on image data according to the operation mode. In a case where a first mode is set, the image processing includes determining, in the image data, one or more target pixels having a gradation value equal to or higher than a first threshold value, and one or more adjacent pixels that are different from the one or more target pixels and adjacent to the one or more target pixels, setting a first gradation value lower than the first threshold value as a gradation value of the one or more target pixels, and setting a second gradation value higher than the first gradation value as a gradation value of the one or more adjacent pixels.