Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130039670 | DEVELOPING UNIT, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A developing unit includes a developer storage unit, a developer bearing member, an agitation member, a flexible member, and a magnet member. The developer storage unit stores a developer. The developer bearing member develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member with the developer. The agitation member agitates the developer in the developer storage unit. The flexible member, disposed in the developer storage unit, is distorted by pressure applied by the agitation member via the developer. The magnet member, disposed on the flexible member, is displaced in response to the flexible member being distorted. | 02-14-2013 |
20130155163 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes: an image bearing member configured to bear a toner image; a plurality of electrode portions; a control unit configured to control a voltage applied to the electrode unit based on image information; and a toner bearing member configured to bear toner and form a toner image on the image bearing member according to the voltage applied to the electrode portion, in which α>1.22 is satisfied and rx″/ry″ is defined as α, where Dy indicates a thickness of the image bearing member, Dx indicates a distance between the electrode portions adjacent to each other, rx″ indicates a resistance component of the image bearing member in a direction parallel to Dx and ry″ indicates a resistance component of the image bearing member in a direction parallel to Dy in a rectangular solid body including Dx and Dy in a side. | 06-20-2013 |
20130223857 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit adapted to contain a developer a member adapted to perform a circumduction motion in the developing unit and a detection unit installed on an internal surface of the developing unit and adapted to detect a signal corresponding to pressure in the developing unit which varies with the circumduction motion of the member. An amount of the developer can be determined based on the detected pressure. | 08-29-2013 |
20130266330 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a developing unit for accommodating a developer; a ratatable member for paddling in the developing unit, wherein the paddling member includes a pressure-applying portion for applying pressure to a wall surface perpendicular to a rotational axis direction; a pressure-detecting portion for detecting the pressure applied by the pressure-applying portion of the ratatable member, wherein the pressure-detecting portion is provided on the wall surface perpendicular to the rotational axis direction of the ratatable member in the developing unit; and a discriminating portion for discriminating an amount of the developer in the developing unit on the basis of a detection result of the pressure-detecting portion. | 10-10-2013 |
20130308965 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable member which is provided on and rotatable about a rotation shaft in a detachably mountable developing unit containing a developer and has flexibility so that it is flexed depending on a resistance of the developer; an electroconductive member to be detected which is provided on the rotatable member; a detecting electrode provided in a neighborhood of an outer wall surface of a bottom of the developing unit; a converting portion for detecting an electrostatic capacity between the member to be detected and the detecting electrode and for converting the electrostatic capacity into an electric signal; a measuring portion for measuring a time duration in which the electric signal converted by the converting portion exceeds a predetermined threshold; and a discriminating portion for discriminating an amount of the developer on the basis of the time duration measured by the measuring portion. | 11-21-2013 |
20140023385 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit that is detachable and contains a developer, a detection member that includes an electrode to be detected and is rotatable around a rotation axis in the developing unit, an agitator that moves around the rotation axis in the developing unit; an electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode provided on an exterior of the developing unit, an electrostatic capacitance sensor that detects electrostatic capacitance between the electrode to be detected and the electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode, and outputs data on the detected electrostatic capacitance, and a CPU that determines an amount of developer in the developing unit based on the data output from the electrostatic capacitance sensor. | 01-23-2014 |
20140037305 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit that contains developer and that is detachable; a detection member that includes a detected electrode and that moves around a rotation shaft in the developing unit, an electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode that is provided on an outer side of the developing unit, an electrostatic capacitance sensor that detects an electrostatic capacitance between the detected electrode and the electrostatic capacitance sensor electrode and that outputs data related to the detected electrostatic capacitance, and a CPU that determines an amount of the developer in the developing unit based on the data output from the electrostatic capacitance sensor. | 02-06-2014 |
20140044443 | DEVELOPING APPARATUS, PROCESS CARTRIDGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - When a stirring member that stirs developer in a developer containing portion rotates at high speed, toner flies and the detection accuracy of light transmission type toner remaining amount detection is degraded. A developing apparatus including a developer containing portion that contains developer, a stirring member that stirs the developer in the developer containing portion, and a partition member which is disposed to separate the developer containing portion from a space adjacent to the developer containing portion and which bends to block at least a part of a light path, which is formed in the space and used to detect an amount of the developer, when being pressed by the stirring member via the developer. | 02-13-2014 |
20140204431 | MOTOR CONTROL DEVICE, AND OPTICAL SCANNING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING DEVICE AND PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD INCLUDING THE SAME - A CPU determines that a motor is undergoing a forward rotation when a time difference between a detection timing of a light beam deflected by a rotating polygonal mirror and an output timing of a detection signal from a magnetic detector element falls within a predetermined range, and that the motor is undergoing a reverse rotation when the time difference does not fall within the predetermined range. With this configuration, a detection circuit for detecting voltage induced in three phases is unnecessary, and therefore the cost can be reduced. Furthermore, there is no need to detect voltage induced in each of the three phases. As it suffices to simply detect the time difference, the amount of time required to detect a rotation direction can be reduced. | 07-24-2014 |