Abstract: A high performance conductive endless belt and an image forming apparatus using the same are provided, the conductive endless belt having superior strength, in particular, superior folding endurance, stable and appropriate electrical resistance even in high voltage application, less voltage dependence of electrical resistance, and superior durability in image output and transfer efficiency. The conductive endless belt is formed by adding a high molecular weight ionic conductive agent and a fluorinated surfactant to a base material selected from the group consisting of (a) a thermoplastic PA, (b) an ABS resin, (c) a thermoplastic POM, (d) a polymer alloy or a polymer blend containing at least two of the above (a) to (c), and (e) a polymer alloy or a polymer blend containing a thermoplastic resin and at least one of the above (a) to (c).

Abstract: An endless belt transports a recording medium through image forming sections and transfers toner images from corresponding ones of the image forming sections onto the recording medium. The endless belt has a surface resistivity and a volume resistivity. The surface resistivity and the volume resistivity are related such that 0.3?(log ? s?log ? v)?1.3 where ? s is the surface resistivity in ?/? measured after a voltage of substantially 500 V is applied to the endless belt for ten seconds and ? v is the volume resistivity in ?·cm ten after a voltage of substantially 250 V is applied to the endless belt for ten seconds.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of photosensitive drums, a plurality of developing devices, an intermediate transfer medium, primary transfer members, and a secondary transfer member for transferring toner images onto a transfer material. A full-color mode and a monocolor mode are selectively carried out. The image forming apparatus also includes a CPU for adjusting the length of a non-image forming region, and an intermediate-transfer-medium movement controller. The CPU brings about a switching state in which an image forming region lies between a primary transfer position on the most downstream one of the photosensitive drums and a secondary transfer position and in which non-image forming regions simultaneously lie at the primary transfer position and at the secondary transfer position. The intermediate-transfer-medium movement controller switches between the full-color mode and the monocolor mode during the switching state.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion disposed in a detachable manner, an opening and closing member taking a closed position and an open position, a transfer unit disposed at the opening and closing member, as facing the image forming portion, having a belt disposed in a freely drivable manner and transferring a developer image, and a medium conveyance member for forming a conveyance route conveying a medium and for opening the conveyance route in association with movement of the opening and closing member from the closed position to the open position.

Abstract: A belt member of the present invention includes ribs that prevent the belt member from being shifted to either side. A plurality of cuts are formed in each rib at preselected intervals in the circumferential direction of the belt member, and each extends from the top toward the bottom of the rib. The cuts may be replaced with projections and recesses alternating with each other in the cicumferential direction of the belt member or bores formed at preselected intervals in the above direction. Such ribs allow, without being subject to a heavy load, the belt member to be wrapped around a support roller with a large curvature or bent in the inverse direction. This reduces deterioration and slippage ascribable to the position of the belt member desirable for the size reduction of an apparatus on which the belt member is mounted.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a shaft, a shaft support portion rotatably supporting the shaft, a shaft gear provided at an end portion of the shaft in a lengthwise direction, and a first gear engaged with the shaft gear and rotating the shaft gear. The rotation of the first gear applies a force acting toward the shaft support potion and the shaft contacts the shaft support portion by the force during rotation so that vibration of the shaft is restricted. An image forming apparatus includes a case having a door that can be opened and closed, a shaft provided in the case, a shaft support portion rotatably supporting the shaft, a shaft gear provided at an end portion of the shaft in a lengthwise direction, and a first gear engaged with the shaft gear and rotating the shaft gear. The first gear is engaged with the shaft gear when the door is closed and disengaged from the shaft gear when the door is open.

Abstract: A rotational speed of a first roller and a time required for a second roller to make one rotation are measured. A controller calculates an amplitude and a phase of fluctuation in a rotational speed in one rotation period of the first roller while the first roller is rotated by a predefined angle based on the speed and the time. The controller corrects measured speed of the first roller based on the amplitude and the phase, and controls a driving roller based on corrected speed.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a belt-rotating unit, a meandering-correction unit, and an attach-detach control unit. The belt-rotating unit rotates an endless belt. The meandering-correction unit corrects meandering of the belt. The attach-detach control unit relatively moves the belt and an abutting member such that a surface of the belt abuts against or detaches from the abutting member. The surface of the belt is abutted against the abutting member before the belt attains a constant rotating speed.

Abstract: A loop belt of an image forming apparatus is formed by splicing belt members made of different materials in a width direction of the loop belt.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for printing a mono-color image using a single-pass color printer. According to the apparatus and method, dummy toner images are developed onto the photosensitive substances that do not perform an image forming operation so as to correspond to a non-image region of an intermediate transfer belt (or a carrying belt), thus friction between a blade and the photosensitive substances that are not related to the image forming operation can be reduced.

Abstract: A transfer device transfers an image formed on each of image-carrier rotating members onto a transfer belt by applying a bias voltage to the image-carrier rotating members. A rotation axis of one of image-carrier rotating member located the most upstream is positioned closer to the transfer belt than those of the other image-carrier rotating members. Each of the bias-applying rotating members is displaced downstream of the corresponding image-carrier rotating member, and a line on which a rotation axis of the bias-applying rotating member and that of the corresponding image-carrier rotating member fall is orthogonal to a moving direction of the transfer belt.

Abstract: An image forming unit includes: an image carrier on which a latent image is formed; an intermediate transfer belt to which a toner image obtained by developing the latent image on the image carrier is transferred; plural rolls, around which the intermediate transfer belt is wrapped and stretched; and a pair of side frames for rotatably supporting the plurality of rolls. Each of the side frames includes a guide groove for guiding a shaft of at least one of the plural rolls through an opening which is open in a direction orthogonal to an axial direction of the plural rolls.

Abstract: A belt device includes an endless belt, a plurality of rollers around which the endless belt is wound, and a foreign material entry preventing member disposed on at least one side of the endless belt in the width direction. The foreign material entry preventing member prevents the entry of the foreign material into a region surrounded by the endless belt.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a body; a transport belt that includes a transport face, and that transports the sheet while supporting the sheet on a transport face; a developer-image forming portion that forms a developer image on the sheet transported by transport belt; and a fixing device that includes a contact portion disposed lower position than the transport face, and that fixes the developer image on the sheet by the contact portion.

Abstract: An electrophotographic image forming apparatus has a development unit with a photoconductor. A transport belt conveys a printing medium onto which a toner image is transferred from the photoconductor. A separator is disposed inside the transport belt, and is capable of extending outwardly to push the printing medium to separate the printing medium from the transport belt after transferring the toner image.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, includes: a belt-like member that is capable of cyclic rotation; a plurality of support members, along which the belt-like member is stretched; a first member that is located along an inner face of the belt-like member; and a regulator that is located opposite the inner face of the belt-like member, wherein the regulator maintains a cyclic rotating state for the belt-like member while ensuring the first member is separated by a gap from the belt-like member.

Abstract: A contact charging roller includes a support member and a conductive coating member. The conductive coating member is composed of a seamless tube that contains at least (1) a non-polar resin or a styrene-type thermoplastic elastomer excluding a poly(styrene-hydrogentaged butadiene-styrene) block terpolymer and (2) a polar resin or an elastomer having a polar functional group containing at least nitrogen or oxygen, and contains carbon black in an amount of 10% to 60% by mass with respect to the total mass of the non-polar resin or elastomer and the polar resin or elastomer.

Abstract: A method for evaluating an electric resistance member of an image forming apparatus which can maintain good image quality, without the occurrence of transfer defects such as insufficient transfer, even in a long-term use. An intermediate transfer belt of the image forming apparatus, which is evaluated based on a fluctuation characteristic of the resistivity in a period of continuous voltage application, is used. The absolute value ??s of the amount of changes in the surface resistivity of the intermediate transfer belt within 2 seconds to 100 seconds from the beginning of voltage application is 0.3 [Log(?/)] or less, when the surface resistivity ?s is measured by applying a voltage of 500 V. The absolute value ??v of the amount of changes in the volume resistivity within 2 seconds to 100 seconds from the beginning of voltage application is 0.5 [Log(?·cm)] or less, when the volume resistivity ?v is measured by applying a voltage of 200 V.

Abstract: A method of moving a transfer member from a first image transfer position to a second non-image transfer position after transfer of a toner image. This method reduces toner and photoconductor drum degradation in image forming apparatuses.

Abstract: The present invention provides a semiconductive belt including a substrate and a surface layer, wherein: the substrate contains a resin; the Young's modulus of the substrate is 1000 to 8000 MPa; the surface layer contains a lubricant component, a fibrous filling material, and an elastic material; and the durometer hardness of the surface layer is A30/S to A70/S.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image carrying member, a transfer member, support rollers, a detecting mechanism, and a controller. The image carrying member forms a toner image on its surface facing a surface of the transfer member, supported by the support rollers, which transfers the toner image to a recording medium. The detecting mechanism includes a detection roller, a roller shaft, a moving member, and a sensor, and detects a speed of the transfer member. The detection roller includes one support roller selected from the support rollers, and is provided with the roller shaft. The moving member is directly fixed to the roller shaft and rotates with the detection roller. The sensor detects a moving speed of the detection roller with the moving member. The controller controls a traveling speed of the transfer member to a target speed based on a detection result of the sensor.

Abstract: A belt member driving mechanism includes a first roller having a rotation shaft and configured to be rotated in a first direction, a belt member including a belt surface having a predetermined width in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and configured to be rotated by a driving force from the first roller, a second roller configured to apply a predetermined tension force to the belt member in cooperation with the first roller, and a temperature control unit, including a detection unit which detects an elongation and/or a contraction of the belt surface of the belt member, configured to produce a temperature difference along the second direction of the belt surface of the belt member to reduce the elongation or contraction.

Abstract: A tubular roller to support a belt having an inner surface provided with a protruding circumferential edge having a width includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The first portion has a first outer radius and contacts the inner surface of the belt. The second portion has a second outer radius smaller than the first outer radius of the first portion. The third portion is connected to the first portion with a first vertically extending wall and to the second portion with a second vertically extending wall and has a third outer radius smaller than the second outer radius.

Abstract: A scale is provided along at least one side of a portion of a belt. A sensor reads the scale on the belt to obtain scale information. An actual speed calculating unit calculates a speed of the belt from the scale information. A speed calculating unit calculates a speed of the belt from information other than the scale information. A control unit that provides a control to correct speed of the belt according to the speed calculated by the actual speed calculating unit when the speed calculated by the actual speed calculating unit is normal, and provides a control to correct speed of the belt according to the speed calculated by the speed calculating unit when the speed calculated by the actual speed calculating unit is abnormal.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus having: an image forming body for forming a latent image and a toner image; a developing device for developing with a toner the latent image formed on the image forming body to form the toner image; a primary transfer device for transferring the toner image on the image forming body onto an intermediate transfer body; and a secondary transfer device for transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer body onto an image support. The primary transfer device has conductive body or semi-conductive body, and is provided with a power supply unit for applying a bias voltage. It is characterized in that the variation coefficient of the shape factor of the toner is 16% or less, and the number variation coefficient of the number particle size distribution of the toner is 27% or less.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus which includes an image carrier holding toner images of plural colors, and a transfer portion that transfers the toner images of plural of colors held on the image carrier onto a recording medium, wherein the image carrier is made of an elastic material, has a pattern image forming unit repeatedly forming a pattern image for color misregistration detection on the image carrier at a constant interval so as to set the pattern images within a length range of the recording medium, wherein one of the pattern images includes a first toner image group in which plural toner images of a first color is formed at a first interval, and a second toner image group in which plural toner images of a second color is formed at a second interval.

Abstract: A transfer belt device includes an endless transfer belt that is tightly stretched by a plurality of rollers and forms a transport path where a recording medium or a developer image is transported facing a monochrome image bearing member and a plurality of color image bearing members arranged in parallel along a fixed direction. In the apparatus, a first transfer unit having a first linking member in which a monochrome-image transfer member is supported that transfers a developer image formed on the monochrome image bearing member onto a recording medium or an outer peripheral surface of the belt, and a second transfer unit having a second linking member in which a plurality of color-image transfer members are supported that transfer developer images formed on the respective color image bearing members onto a recording medium or an outer peripheral surface of the belt, are linked via the first and second linking members.

Abstract: A conductive belt having a base layer (3) electroconductive and made of a resin, an intermediate layer (5) ionic-conductive and made of an elastomer, and a surface coating layer (7). The base layer (3) has a tensile modulus of elasticity of not less than 500 Mpa and a volume electric resistance value not less than 106 ?·cm nor more than 1011 ?·cm. The intermediate layer (5) has a JIS A hardness less than 70, a thickness not less than 50 ?m nor more than 600 ?m, and a volume electric resistance value not less than 108 ?·cm nor more than 1014 ?·cm.

Abstract: In a belt apparatus used for image formation structured such that processing unit used for image formation are placed around a belt extended between at least two rollers and at least one of the processing unit acts on a roller so as to impart a rotational load thereto, it is possible to avoid a reduction in the image quality of a transfer image on the belt caused by the roller that supports the belt receiving variations in the load due to the movement towards or away from the belt of a cleaning blade. A drive source is connected to the roller to which directly receiving the load variation making this roller the drive roller for the belt.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus having: a transfer section which transfers a toner image onto an intermediate transfer body or a transfer material to form an image thereon; a selection section for selecting one mode among a plurality of modes including a first mode for forming the image by using a plurality of colors including a first color and a second mode for forming the image by using less number of colors including the first color than that of the colors in the first mode; and a control section for controlling the transfer section in order that a transfer rate of a toner image of the first color in the second mode is larger than that of a toner image of the first color in the first mode when toner images are transferred onto the intermediate transfer body or the transfer material by the transfer section.

Abstract: In an Image forming apparatus, a light color toner image forming unit that forms a light color toner image on a transfer medium has a first developing device which develops an electrostatic image on a first image bearing member to form the light color toner image on the first image bearing member. A first transfer member electrostatically transfers the light color toner image to the transferring medium member by abutting against the first image bearing member with the transferring member in a first abutting position. A deep color toner image forming unit that forms a deep color toner image on a transferring medium has a second developing device which develops an electrostatic image on a second image bearing member in a second developing portion to form the deep color image on the second image bearing member.

Abstract: An electrophotographic printing device including a toner-developer unit, a lighting device, a developer drum, a photoconductor, a transfer unit and an earthed charging device. The substrate to be printed is placed on a transport device and moved along the transfer unit and the toner image of the transfer unit is transmitted to the substrate. A clear, sharp and shadow-free printed image is obtained by arranging the substrate on a non-earthed, electrically conductive layer which is insulated relative to the earthed transport device by an insulator extending along the charging device that is located above the substrate and the measurement of substrate that is to be printed and that is oriented in the direction of transport. The charging device can be charged at a potential, exciting voltage UF, of between 1 to 10 kV, more particularly 1.5 to 4 kV.

Abstract: A belt driving controller includes a driving roller having a radius r1, a plurality of driven rollers that is driven by rotation of the driving roller, the driven rollers having a radius r2, an endless belt that is wound on the driving roller and the driven rollers and an encoder that is attached to one of the driven rollers, and that outputs a signal. The rotation of the driving roller is controlled based on the signal from the encoder, and (?2/?1)×(r1/r2)?1 is satisfied where ?1 is a correction coefficient for a fluctuation in thickness of the endless belt caused by a belt winding angle on the driving roller, and ?2 is a correction coefficient for a fluctuation in the thickness on the driven roller.

Abstract: An image having a quality superior to that of the prior art is obtained even if there are multiple causes of image degradation. In a color image forming apparatus that includes a plurality of rotating bodies for forming a color image by rotating in cooperation, amounts of fluctuation in the rotational speeds of the rotating bodies that cause a decline in the image quality of the color image are detected for every rotating body (i.e., for every cause) and the detected amounts of fluctuation are corrected appropriately.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an endless belt stretched over a plurality of rollers. The apparatus also includes a potential detecting device for detecting a potential of the endless belt. The detecting device is positioned downstream, along a sheet transport path, of a transfer position where the belt has direct contact with the image bearing member. The apparatus further includes a transferring member for transferring a toner image formed on the image bearing member to a sheet. An image forming process is halted when the potential detecting device does not detect a change in potential caused by presence of a sheet on the endless belt.

Abstract: A belt member is seamed to form an endless belt which is stretched by a plurality of roller members and circulated in a first direction. The belt member is provided with an electrode portion at a first end portion thereof in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. A cleaning member is abutted against the belt member. A seam of the belt member extends obliquely relative to the first direction such that an end of the seam confronting the electrode portion is situated in an upstream side of the first direction.

Abstract: Preventing the imaging forming process of an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus having a plurality of imaging modules in tandem relative to a receiver transport belt moveable along a transport path from becoming contaminated with fuser release oil. A substantially uniform layer of the pigmented marking particles from the development subsystem of the image forming process is deposited onto the photoconductive member of the image forming process during any non-imaging cycles of the process, including cycle down, non-imaging skip frames, or recovery from a receiver jam. The substantially uniform layer of pigmented marking particles acts as a barrier to block fuser release oil from the photoconductive member and as a vehicle to carry away contaminating fuser release oil.

Abstract: A transfer belt unit and image forming apparatus that achieves the reduction in size and cost of a transfer belt unit and can prevent fluctuation of the cleaning performance. The unit has a transfer belt, and a plurality of rollers around which the transfer belt 14 is laid with certain tension, wherein at least one of the rollers is a tension roller 13 for tensioning to the transfer belt; frames supporting the plurality of rollers; tensioning mechanisms which are disposed on the side faces of the frames to bias the tension roller in a belt tensioning direction; a cleaning device in contact with the transfer belt at a position opposing the tension roller; rotation preventing members which prevent the rotational torque from being transmitted to the cleaning device; and position restricting members which restrict the relative position between the cleaning device and the tension roller.

Abstract: A scale is provided along at least one side of a portion of a belt. A sensor reads the scale on the belt to obtain scale information. An actual speed calculating unit calculates a speed of the belt from the scale information. A speed calculating unit calculates a speed of the belt from information other than the scale information. A control unit that provides a control to correct speed of the belt according to the speed calculated by the actual speed calculating unit when the speed calculated by the actual speed calculating unit is normal, and provides a control to correct speed of the belt according to the speed calculated by the speed calculating unit when the speed calculated by the actual speed calculating unit is abnormal.

Abstract: A transport belt comprising a base member layer formed of a film comprised of a thermoplastic material and wound in the shape of a belt, and a plurality of electrodes arranged at given intervals in the shape of comb teeth on the outer periphery or inner periphery of the first base member layer. The electrodes each comprise a linear film comprised of a thermoplastic material and are joined by heating onto the first base member layer. This transport belt is improved in attraction of recording mediums and enables transport of the recording mediums in a high accuracy. Also disclosed are a process for its manufacture and an image-forming apparatus making use of the same.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes at least one image carrier. An endless transfer belt directly or indirectly receives toner images and pattern toner images from the image carrier and is spanned around and surrounds a drive roller and driven rollers. A position shift detector detects positions of pattern toner images formed on the image carrier. Pattern toner images are formed on the image carrier at an interval of 1/N of a circumferential length of the image carrier, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 1. The pattern toner images are transferred from the image carrier onto the transfer belt over one cycle length of the transfer belt. The position shift detector detects positions of the pattern toner images to obtain position shift data. Moving average values of N number of the position shift data are calculated.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes at least one image bearing member. A visual image forming device forms the visual images on the at least one image bearing member. A two-side transfer device transfers the visual images on the at least one image bearing member onto both sides of the recording medium held on a recording medium holding member. A fixing device fixes the visual images transferred onto the both sides of the recording medium. A recording medium conveying device including at least one recording medium supporting member supports the recording medium. The recording medium conveying device is positioned between the two-side transfer device and the fixing device, and conveys the recording medium from the two-side transfer device to the fixing device while supporting a non-image portion of the recording medium by the at least one recording medium supporting member.

Abstract: A belt drive control device of the present invention is constructed to sense the angular displacement or the angular velocity of a driven roller, separates from the angular displacement or the angular velocity sensed an AC component having a frequency that corresponds to the periodic thickness variation of an endless belt in the circumferential direction, and then controls the rotation of a drive roller in accordance with the amplitude and phase of the AC component.

Abstract: A belt apparatus having an endless belt which is wound around and movably driven by a plurality of support rollers. The speed fluctuations of the endless belt due to the variations in thickness of the endless belt are prevented. A driving apparatus for driving the endless belt has a driving roller and an opposite roller facing with each other across the endless belt, and a driving motor for driving the driving roller, the driving roller and the opposite roller being in pressure contact with each other only at both end parts in their axial direction via the endless belt and the pressure contact part forming a plane.

Abstract: A driving device for an image carrying member, e.g., a belt, is to be provided that causes no increase in size and cost of the device and sufficiently stabilizes the velocity of the image carrying member upon fluctuation in load, so as to suppress or prevent formation of an image defect referred to as so-called “banding”. A rotating member is made in contact with at least one of a driving force transmitting member and an image carrying member, which are arranged in a driving force transmission path for transmitting the driving force to the image carrying member, and the rotating member rotates in contact with the driving force transmitting member or the image carrying member, and providing, upon occurring fluctuation in velocity of the driving force transmitting member or the image carrying member, a viscous effect that suppresses the fluctuation in velocity.

Abstract: The color image forming apparatus comprises a transfer belt device which feeds a transfer member such as a paper and a plurality of image forming units. The image forming units are disposed facing towards the transfer belt device. The transfer belt device, at least in a portion in which the image forming units have been disposed, is arranged such that it is inclined with respect to the ground. Each of the image forming unit forms a desired image and sequentially transfers the formed image on the transfer member fed by the transfer belt device.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus having a subunit movable between closed and open positions, the nip between media alignment rollers is opened automatically when the subunit is opened. A drive roller and a backup roller are disposed in a housing, wherein the bearing holding the backup roller is segmented. A rear segment is disposed on a flexible arm, and is biased towards the front segment, biasing the backup roller to contact the drive roller to form a nip for bump alignment of media sheets. A bell crank engages a rotary member or rotary member frame mounted on the subunit when the subunit is closed. When the subunit is opened, the bell crank disengages the member, pivoting a link member having a cam surface and engaging the cam surface against a cam follower surface on the housing, forcing the backup roller to a position spaced apart from the drive roller.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a cleaning blade for cleaning a conveying belt or an intermediate transfer body, and a lubricating agent coating mechanism for coating a lubricating agent on the surface of the conveying belt or the intermediate transfer, body, wherein detection is made whether a conveying belt, an intermediate transfer body belt or a cleaning blade is a new article, and the lubricating agent coating mechanism is operated to coat the lubricating agent on the surface of the conveying belt or the intermediate transfer body. Further, detection is made of installation temperature and humidity of the image forming apparatus, and in case of under-prescribed environments, the lubricating agent coating mechanism is operated to coat the lubricating agent on the surface of the conveying belt or the intermediate transfer body. Thereby, the cleaning performance is improved, and the blade burring is prevented.

Abstract: In a transfer unit of an image forming apparatus, an auxiliary transfer roller and a main transfer roller are provided relative to a photosensitive drum, with a transfer belt interposed. A low voltage for avoiding occurrence of a high electric field is applied to the auxiliary transfer roller, while a high transfer voltage for realizing sufficient transfer is applied to the main transfer roller.

Abstract: A belt extends a plurality of rollers, and bears thereon an image formed by an image forming device or a transfer material onto which the image is transferred. The belt satisfies the following relationship: 1.5??break/?max?10, wherein ?max represents the strain at the time of applying to the belt a maximum stress value obtained from a stress-strain curve measured in accordance with JIS K7161, and ?break represents the strain at a breaking point of the belt.