Abstract: A two-component developer including toner and magnetic carriers is provided. The two-component developer is characterized in that when a development device including a developer bearing member bearing the two-component developer is operated under a development condition of an image forming apparatus using a quasi-photoconductor in which a 10 ?m thick layer of tetrafluoroethylene resin is provided to a conductive material, the number of times of light emission occurring in a magnetic brush formed on the developer bearing member due to partial conduction in the magnetic brush is 10 times or less per second at an observation cross section that is perpendicular relative to a rotation axis of the developer bearing member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention disclosed is of the type sequentially transferring toner images from a plurality of photoconductive drums to a sheet being conveyed by an image transfer belt or an intermediate image transfer belt one above the other with bias applying members to thereby form a composite color image. Backup rollers, contacting the inside surface of the belt, each have volumetric resistivity of 109 ?·cm or above and ten-point mean surface roughness Rz of 6 ?m or above.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming an image includes a photosensitive body, an optical write unit which scans a light beam along a main scan path on a photosensitive body to create a latent image thereon, the light beam having power levels corresponding to multi-level image data, and a shading correction unit which corrects shading along the main scan path by making adjustment to the multi-level image data along the main scan path, and changes the adjustment on a condition-specific basis.

Abstract: A charging device includes a charging member disposed opposite to a surface of an image carrier. The image carrier is charged by applying a voltage to the charging member, and the charging member includes a substrate and a resistor layer thereon. The resistor layer is disposed with two spacers contacting with the image carrier, so that a gap is created between the image carrier and the resistor layer between the two spacers, wherein width variation of the gap with time is prevented. The end portions of the resistor layer of the charging member protrude above the resistor layer between them, and the spacers are constituted by protrudent fractions of the end portions of the resistor layer.

Abstract: A developing method of the present invention develops a latent image formed on an image carrier with a two-ingredient type developer, which consists of toner grains and carrier grains retaining the toner grains thereon, deposited on a developer carrier in the form of brush chains. Assume that the brush chains on the developer carrier has a height of h as measured at a zero field point where the magnetic field formed by a main magnet is zero, and that a gap for development that is the shortest distance between the developer carrier and the image carrier is a, then a and h are equal to each other. Image quality is estimated by varying the combination of an angle ? between the gap and the zero field point, the outside diameter of the image carrier and the outside diameter of the developer carrier and the height h. A desirable or an optimum range of the results of estimation are selected to set various conditions.

Abstract: A charging device includes a charging member disposed opposite to a surface of an image carrier. The image carrier is charged by applying a voltage to the charging member, and the charging member includes a substrate and a resistor layer thereon. The resistor layer is disposed with two spacers contacting with the image carrier, so that a gap is created between the image carrier and the resistor layer between the two spacers, wherein width variation of the gap with time is prevented. The end portions of the resistor layer of the charging member protrude above the resistor layer between them, and the spacers are constituted by protrudent fractions of the end portions of the resistor layer.

Abstract: A two-component developer including toner and magnetic carriers is provided. The two-component developer is characterized in that when a development device including a developer bearing member bearing the two-component developer is operated under a development condition of an image forming apparatus using a quasi-photoconductor in which a 10 ?m thick layer of tetrafluoroethylene resin is provided to a conductive material, the number of times of light emission occurring in a magnetic brush formed on the developer bearing member due to partial conduction in the magnetic brush is 10 times or less per second at an observation cross section that is perpendicular relative to a rotation axis of the developer bearing member.

Abstract: A developing method of the present invention develops a latent image formed on an image carrier with a two-ingredient type developer, which consists of toner grains and carrier grains retaining the toner grains thereon, deposited on a developer carrier in the form of brush chains. Assume that the brush chains on the developer carrier has a height of h as measured at a zero field point where the magnetic field formed by a main magnet is zero, and that a gap for development that is the shortest distance between the developer carrier and the image carrier is a, then a and h are equal to each other. Image quality is estimated by varying the combination of an angle e between the gap and the zero field point, the outside diameter of the image carrier and the outside diameter of the developer carrier and the height h. A desirable or an optimum range of the results of estimation are selected to set various conditions.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an intermediate image transfer belt to which a toner image is to be transferred from an image carrier, an image transferring device for transferring the toner image from the intermediate image transfer belt to a sheet, and a fixing device for fixing the toner image on the sheet. When the length of the sheet in the direction of conveyance is smaller than a distance between the image transferring device and the fixing device, a matching circuit varies only the speeds of the image transferring device and fixing device, but does not vary the speed of a device that executes a step preceding the image transfer step. The matching device then sets an interval between consecutive sheets matching with the varied speeds of the image transferring device and fixing device, thereby matching opposite sides with respect to the image transfer step to each other as to the number of sheets to be conveyed.

Abstract: A two-component developer including toner and magnetic carriers is provided. The two-component developer is characterized in that when a development device including a developer bearing member bearing the two-component developer is operated under a development condition of an image forming apparatus using a quasi-photoconductor in which a 10 &mgr;m thick layer of tetrafluoroethylene resin is provided to a conductive material, the number of times of light emission occurring in a magnetic brush formed on the developer bearing member due to partial conduction in the magnetic brush is 10 times or less per second at an observation cross section that is perpendicular relative to a rotation axis of the developer bearing member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention disclosed is of the type sequentially transferring toner images from a plurality of photoconductive drums to a sheet being conveyed by an image transfer belt or an intermediate image transfer belt one above the other with bias applying members to thereby form a composite color image. Backup rollers, contacting the inside surface of the belt, each have volumetric resistivity of 109 &OHgr;·cm or above and ten-point mean surface roughness Rz of 6 &mgr;m or above.

Abstract: A developing method of the present invention develops a latent image formed on an image carrier with a two-ingredient type developer, which consists of toner grains and carrier grains retaining the toner grains thereon, deposited on a developer carrier in the form of brush chains. Assume that the brush chains on the developer carrier has a height of h as measured at a zero field point where the magnetic field formed by a main magnet is zero, and that a gap for development that is the shortest distance between the developer carrier and the image carrier is a, then a and h are equal to each other. Image quality is estimated by varying the combination of an angle &thgr; between the gap and the zero field point, the outside diameter of the image carrier and the outside diameter of the developer carrier and the height h. A desirable or an optimum range of the results of estimation are selected to set various conditions.

Abstract: A charging device is described, including a charging member 40BK disposed opposite to a surface of an image carrier 60BK. The image carrier 60BK is charged by applying a voltage to the charging member 40BK, and the charging member 40BK comprises a substrate 101BK and a resistor layer 104BK thereon. The resistor layer 104BK is disposed with two spacers 105BK contacting with the image carrier 60BK, so that a gap is created between the image carrier 60BK and the resistor layer 104BK between the two spacers 105BK, wherein width variation of the gap with time is prevented. The end portions of the resistor layer 104BK of the charging member 60BK protrude above the resistor layer 104BK between them, and the spacers 105BK are constituted by protrudent fractions of the end portions of the resistor layer 104BK.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an intermediate image transfer belt to which a toner image is to be transferred from an image carrier, an image transferring device for transferring the toner image from the intermediate image transfer belt to a sheet, and a fixing device for fixing the toner image on the sheet. When the length of the sheet in the direction of conveyance is smaller than a distance between the image transferring device and the fixing device, a matching circuit varies only the speeds of the image transferring device and fixing device, but does not vary the speed of a device that executes a step preceding the image transfer step. The matching device then sets an interval between consecutive sheets matching with the varied speeds of the image transferring device and fixing device, thereby matching opposite sides with respect to the image transfer step to each other as to the number of sheets to be conveyed.

Abstract: An image forming system is disclosed which can prevent toner stain adhered onto an image bearing member at the time of switching from one developing unit to another from adhering to an image area on an intermediate transfer member and which can thereby prevent the deterioration of image quality. Latent images formed on a photoreceptor drum are developed by developing units in a revolver developing unit, toner images thus formed are primarily transferred in an overlapped state onto an intermediate transfer belt in a primary transfer section, and the thus primarily transferred toner images are together transferred secondarily onto a transfer paper. In this image forming system, a revolving operation of the revolver developing unit is controlled so that an area on the photoreceptor drum with which a developer contained in a Bk developing unit comes into contact upon 22.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming an image includes a photosensitive body, an optical write unit which scans a light beam along a main scan path on a photosensitive body to create a latent image thereon, the light beam having power levels corresponding to multi-level image data, and a shading correction unit which corrects shading along the main scan path by making adjustment to the multi-level image data along the main scan path, and changes the adjustment on a condition-specific basis.

Abstract: An image forming system is disclosed which can prevent toner stain adhered onto an image bearing member at the time of switching from one developing unit to another from adhering to an image area on an intermediate transfer member and which can thereby prevent the deterioration of image quality. Latent images formed on a photoreceptor drum are developed by developing units in a revolver developing unit, toner images thus formed are primarily transferred in an overlapped state onto an intermediate transfer belt in a primary transfer section, and the thus primarily transferred toner images are together transferred secondarily onto a transfer paper. In this image forming system, a revolving operation of the revolver developing unit is controlled so that an area on the photoreceptor drum with which a developer contained in a Bk developing unit comes into contact upon 22.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a revolver type developing unit rotatably mounted on an apparatus body and having a plurality of developing sections, and an intermediate image transfer body having an endless movable surface to which a toner image is transferred from an image carrier. While the intermediate image transfer body is caused to run idle, the apparatus allows a minimum of toner apt to contaminate the background of a recording medium to be transferred from the developing section located at a developing position to the image carrier. Particularly, the apparatus frees the recording medium from contamination in the form of a band extending in the widthwise direction of the medium.

Abstract: An image is generated by exposing the surface to a scanning laser beam in accordance with an image forming process. The intermediate image transfer member receives the image from the image carrying member and transfers it onto a recording sheet. A memory stores a plurality of values of process line speeds A for defining a speed of an image forming process in a sub-scanning direction, and a plurality of values of process line speeds B for defining a speed of the image transfer process.

Abstract: An image forming system is disclosed which can prevent toner stain adhered onto an image bearing member at the time of switching from one developing unit to another from adhering to an image area on an intermediate transfer member and which can thereby prevent the deterioration of image quality. Latent images formed on a photoreceptor drum are developed by developing units in a revolver developing unit, toner images thus formed are primarily transferred in an overlapped state onto an intermediate transfer belt in a primary transfer section, and the thus primarily transferred toner images are together transferred secondarily onto a transfer paper. In this image forming system, a revolving operation of the revolver developing unit is controlled so that an area on the photoreceptor drum with which a developer contained in a Bk developing unit comes into contact upon 22.