公开(公告)号：US10345741B2

公开(公告)日：2019-07-09

申请号：US15890702

申请日：2018-02-07

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Masashi Fujishima ,  Norio Kubo ,  Junichi Nakagawa ,  Asami Sasaki

IPC: G03G15/08 ,  G03G15/095

Abstract: A developing device includes a developing container, first and second stirring-conveyance members, a developer carrier, a toner concentration sensor, a scraper, and a scraper attachment unit. The second stirring-conveyance member includes a rotation shaft, a first spiral blade to convey developer in an axial direction, and a second spiral blade to overlap a region where the first spiral blade is formed, which is opposite to the first spiral blade in phase, and lower than the first spiral blade in height in a radial direction. An absent region, where the second spiral blade does not exist, is formed in one pitch of the first spiral blade, the one pitch facing the toner concentration sensor. The scraper attachment unit is formed to extend, along a straight line passing through intersection points of the first and second spiral blades and parallel to the rotation shaft, into the absent region.

公开(公告)号：US11714366B2

公开(公告)日：2023-08-01

申请号：US17863032

申请日：2022-07-12

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Masashi Fujishima ,  Norio Kubo

IPC: G03G15/095 ,  G03G21/10

CPC classification number: G03G15/095 ,  G03G21/105

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image supporter, a development unit, a cleaning unit, a collection unit, and a controller. The collection unit includes a collection path where a developer discharge path for transport of a waste developer from a discharger of the development unit and a toner discharge path for transport of waste toner from the cleaning unit merge with each other, and collects the waste developer including the waste toner and waste carrier. A place of a high flow resistance is formed at least partially at the collection path. If the weight ratio of the waste carrier to the waste toner included in the waste developer in the collection path is less than a predetermined value, the controller performs carrier discharge process of moving the carrier from the development unit to the image supporter and removing and discharging the carrier using the cleaning unit during non-image formation.

公开(公告)号：US11314183B2

公开(公告)日：2022-04-26

申请号：US17322298

申请日：2021-05-17

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Masashi Fujishima ,  Norio Kubo ,  Asami Sasaki ,  Yasuhiro Tauchi ,  Tamotsu Shimizu ,  Akira Matayoshi ,  Masaki Kadota ,  Koji Suenami ,  Yuji Toyota

IPC: G03G15/08

Abstract: A developing device includes a developer container, a developer carrier, and first and second stirring/conveying members. The developer container includes a first partition wall partitioning between the two conveying chambers longitudinally, a first communication portion for passing developer from the first to the second conveying chamber, a second communication portion for passing developer from the second to the first conveying chamber, a developer supply port for supplying developer in, a developer discharge portion for discharging excessive developer, a second partition wall arranged, adjacent to the regulating portion, downstream of the second communication portion to partition between the first conveying chamber and the regulating portion, and a shield portion connected to the two partition walls to bridge between them to shield a top part of the second communication portion. A gap is formed between an upper end part of the shield portion and the inner surface of the developer container.

公开(公告)号：US11209752B2

公开(公告)日：2021-12-28

申请号：US17322198

申请日：2021-05-17

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Asami Sasaki ,  Akira Matayoshi ,  Norio Kubo ,  Koji Suenami ,  Yuji Toyota ,  Tamotsu Shimizu ,  Masashi Fujishima ,  Yasuhiro Tauchi

IPC: G03G15/08

Abstract: A developing device includes a developer container, a developer carrier, and first and second members for stirring/conveying. The developer container includes a first partition wall between first and second chambers, a communication portion through which those chambers communicate at opposite ends of the first partition wall, a developer supply port, and a developer discharge portion. The first member stirs and conveys developer in the first chamber in a first direction. The second member stirs and conveys developer in the second chamber in a second direction and includes a regulating portion and a discharging blade. The developer container includes a second partition wall between the first chamber and the regulating portion. The gap from the upper end of the second partition wall to the inner surface of the developer container is larger than the gap thereto from the upper ends of a first helical blade and the regulating portion.

公开(公告)号：US09829829B2

公开(公告)日：2017-11-28

申请号：US15456938

申请日：2017-03-13

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Tamotsu Shimizu ,  Eiji Gyotoku ,  Akihiro Watanabe ,  Norio Kubo ,  Minoru Wada ,  Ryo Taniguchi ,  Yasushi Imanishi ,  Takahiro Okubo

IPC: G03G15/08 ,  G03G15/09

CPC classification number: G03G15/0889 ,  G03G15/065 ,  G03G15/0808 ,  G03G15/0907 ,  G03G15/0921

Abstract: A developing device includes a developing roller, a conveyor roller, a developer stirring unit and a development bias applying unit. The developing roller is arranged to face a photoconductive drum at a predetermined developing position and supplies the toner. The conveyor roller is arranged to face the developing roller at a predetermined facing position and supplies the developer to the developing roller. The development bias applying unit applies development biases to the first sleeve of the developing roller and the second sleeve of the conveyor roller during a developing operation of developing the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive drum with the toner. The development bias applying unit applies the development biases such that a shifting electric field to move the toner on the first sleeve of the developing roller toward the second sleeve of the conveyor roller is formed at the facing position during the developing operation.

公开(公告)号：US12044995B2

公开(公告)日：2024-07-23

申请号：US18160379

申请日：2023-01-27

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Koji Suenami ,  Norio Kubo ,  Masashi Fujishima

IPC: G03G15/00

CPC classification number: G03G15/5041 ,  G03G15/55 ,  G03G15/757

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a gear that transmits a drive force, which is supplied from a drive unit, to a photosensitive drum; a formation processing unit that, at arrival of each of specific formation timings, uses the photosensitive drum thereby to form a to-be-detected toner image that is based on a to-be-detected image having a specific density; an acquisition processing unit that acquires a variation width of a density in the to-be-detected toner image formed by the formation processing unit; and a determination processing unit that determines a failure timing of the gear based on the variation width for each of the formation timings.

公开(公告)号：US20210302867A1

公开(公告)日：2021-09-30

申请号：US17206261

申请日：2021-03-19

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Tamotsu Shimizu ,  Norio Kubo ,  Asami Sasaki ,  Yasuhiro Tauchi ,  Yuji Toyota

IPC: G03G15/06

Abstract: A bias condition determiner executes, in order, a first direct current voltage determination mode (first DC calibration) for determining a provisional reference direct current voltage that is a provisional reference for a direct current voltage of a developing bias applied to a developing roller, an inter-peak voltage determination mode (AC calibration) for determining a reference inter-peak voltage that is a reference for an inter-peak voltage of an alternating current voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller in an image forming operation, and a second direct current voltage determination mode (second DC calibration) for determining a reference direct current voltage that is a reference for the direct current voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller in the image forming operation.

公开(公告)号：US11112722B1

公开(公告)日：2021-09-07

申请号：US17206248

申请日：2021-03-19

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Tamotsu Shimizu ,  Norio Kubo ,  Asami Sasaki ,  Yasuhiro Tauchi ,  Yuji Toyota

IPC: G03G15/06

Abstract: A bias condition determiner executes a direct current voltage determination mode (DC calibration) for determining a reference direct current voltage that is a reference for a direct current voltage of a developing bias applied to a developing roller in an image forming operation and an inter-peak voltage determination mode (AC calibration) for determining a reference inter-peak voltage that is a reference for an inter-peak voltage of an alternating current voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller in the image forming operation. A calibration executor determines whether the inter-peak voltage determination mode needs to be executed in accordance with a value of the reference direct current voltage.

公开(公告)号：US11048192B1

公开(公告)日：2021-06-29

申请号：US17113063

申请日：2020-12-06

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Yuji Toyota ,  Yasuhiro Tauchi ,  Masashi Fujishima ,  Norio Kubo ,  Akira Matayoshi

IPC: G03G15/08 ,  G03G15/09 ,  G03G15/06

Abstract: Provided is an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of image defects in response to a difference in carrier resistance and obtaining high image quality. A developing unit has a developing roller that carries toner in a two-component developer that includes a toner and a magnetic carrier on the surface thereof, and forms a toner image on the surface of a photosensitive drum. A current detecting unit detects developing current flowing between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum when a developing voltage is applied to the developing roller by a developing power supply. When the developing voltage is applied to the photosensitive drum, a control unit derives a carrier resistance based on the developing current detected by a current detecting unit, and controls an AC amplitude of an AC voltage of the developing voltage based on the carrier resistance.

公开(公告)号：US11163243B2

公开(公告)日：2021-11-02

申请号：US17206261

申请日：2021-03-19

Applicant: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.

Inventor： Tamotsu Shimizu ,  Norio Kubo ,  Asami Sasaki ,  Yasuhiro Tauchi ,  Yuji Toyota

IPC: G03G15/06

Abstract: A bias condition determiner executes, in order, a first direct current voltage determination mode (first DC calibration) for determining a provisional reference direct current voltage that is a provisional reference for a direct current voltage of a developing bias applied to a developing roller, an inter-peak voltage determination mode (AC calibration) for determining a reference inter-peak voltage that is a reference for an inter-peak voltage of an alternating current voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller in an image forming operation, and a second direct current voltage determination mode (second DC calibration) for determining a reference direct current voltage that is a reference for the direct current voltage of the developing bias applied to the developing roller in the image forming operation.