# US 12,189,333 B2 · Image forming apparatus capable of executing speed reduction control of system linear speed at time of warming-up

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- Number: US 12,189,333 B2
- Document ID: US12189333B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/350,310
- Filed: 2023-07-11
- Published: 2024-01-25
- Granted: 2025-01-07
- Earliest claimed: 2022-07-20
- Assignees: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
- Applicants: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
- Inventors: Masahito Ishino; Takahisa Nakaue; Tomohiro Tamaki; Sueaki Okamoto
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12189333B2

## CPC

- G03G 21/20: Humidity or temperature control {also ozone evacuation; Internal apparatus environment control}
- G03G 15/0806: {on a donor element, e.g. belt, roller (complete developer unit G03G15/0896)}
- G03G 15/0812: {characterised by the developer regulating means, e.g. structure of doctor blade}
- G03G 15/553: {Monitoring or warning means for exhaustion or lifetime end of consumables, e.g. indication of insufficient copy sheet quantity for a job}
- G03G 2215/0617: contact development (i.e. the developer layer on the donor member contacts the latent image carrier)
- G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY

## Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, a control section, and a temperature detecting device. The developing device includes a developer carrying member having an outer circumferential surface on which a toner layer is formed, and a regulation blade that regulates a thickness of the toner layer. The control section executes speed reduction control to reduce a rotation speed of the developer carrying member at a time of warming-up. When a printing operation to be performed after the warming-up is intermittent printing and an interval of the intermittent printing is not less than a prescribed time or a temperature detected by the temperature detecting device is not more than a prescribed temperature, the control section reduces the rotation speed of the developer carrying member in the speed reduction control to a second speed lower than the first speed.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An image forming apparatus, comprising:
an image carrying member including a photosensitive layer formed on a surface thereof;
a charging device that charges the image carrying member to a prescribed surface potential;
an exposure device that exposes to light the surface of the image carrying member charged by the charging device so as to form thereon an electrostatic latent image with attenuated electrostatic charge;
a developing device including:
a development container for containing a non-magnetic one-component developer composed only of a toner;
a developer carrying member that is brought into pressure contact at a prescribed pressing force with the image carrying member and has an outer circumferential surface on which the toner is carried to form a toner layer; and
a regulation blade that contacts the outer circumferential surface of the developer carrying member so as to regulate a thickness of the toner layer formed on the outer circumferential surface of the developer carrying member,
the developing device supplying the toner to the image carrying member on which the electrostatic latent image is formed;
a control section that controls driving of the developing device; and
a temperature detecting device that detects a temperature in a vicinity of the developing device,
wherein
the control section executes speed reduction control to reduce a rotation speed of the developer carrying member at a time of warming-up before image formation to a first speed lower than a reference speed at a time of the image formation, and
when a printing operation to be performed after the warming-up is intermittent printing and an interval of the intermittent printing is not less than a prescribed amount of time or the temperature detected by the temperature detecting device is not more than a prescribed temperature, the control section reduces the rotation speed of the developer carrying member in the speed reduction control to a second speed lower than the first speed.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the first speed is ¾ of the reference speed, and the second speed is ½ of the reference speed.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
when the interval of the intermittent printing is not less than 10 minutes or when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting device is not more than 18 □C., the control section reduces the rotation speed of the developer carrying member in the speed reduction control to the second speed.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
the control section executes the speed reduction control after a cumulative drive time of the developing device from a start of use of the developing device has reached 10% of a life of the developing device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:
a printed sheet number counting portion that counts a cumulative number of sheets printed from the start of use of the developing device,
wherein based on the cumulative number of sheets printed, the control section estimates the cumulative drive time.