# US 2014/0193167 A1 · Image forming apparatus

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- Number: US 2014/0193167 A1
- Document ID: US20140193167A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/076,599
- Filed: 2013-11-11
- Published: 2014-07-10
- Earliest claimed: 2013-01-08
- Assignees: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha; Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
- Applicants: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha; Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
- Inventors: Eiji Shinohara
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140193167A1

## CPC

- G03G 21/0094: {fatigue treatment of the photoconductor}
- G03G 15/0844: {Arrangements for purging used developer from the developing unit}
- G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY

## Abstract

According to an embodiment, an image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, an image erasing unit, and a control unit. The image forming unit performs an image forming process of forming an image on an image bearing body by a toner and transferring the toner image from the image bearing body onto a recording medium, and a refresh process of forming an image on the image bearing body by a toner and removing the toner image from the image bearing body. The control unit controls the image forming unit such that the image forming unit performs the refresh process together with the erasing process performed by the erasing unit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An image forming apparatus which forms an image on a recording medium, comprising:
an image forming unit configured to perform an image forming process of forming an image on an image bearing body by a toner and transferring the toner image from the image bearing body onto the recording medium, and a refresh process of forming an image on the image bearing body by the toner and removing the toner image from the image bearing body;
an erasing unit configured to erase the image formed on the recording medium using an erasable toner; and
a control unit configured to control the image forming unit such that the image forming unit performs the refresh process together with the erasing process performed by the erasing unit.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit includes a transfer unit that transfers the toner image formed on the image bearing body to the recording medium when the image forming process is performed.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the transfer unit to suppress that the toner image formed on the image bearing body is transferred onto the recording medium when the refresh process is performed.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transfer unit includes a transfer roller which is provided in contact with the image bearing body, and to which a bias voltage is applied.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls the bias voltage to transfer the toner image formed on the image bearing body onto the recording medium when the image forming process is performed, and not to transfer the toner image formed on the image bearing body onto the recording medium when the refresh process is performed.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit controls the bias voltage to apply a bias voltage with a reverse polarity to the case of performing the image forming process to the transfer roller when the refresh process is performed.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the erasing unit includes a heating unit that serves as a fixing unit fixing the toner image transferred onto the recording medium when the image forming process is performed, and the image bearing body includes a transfer belt that transports the recording medium to the heating unit with the recording medium interposed between the transfer roller and the image bearing body.

### Claim 8

The image forming apparatus according to claim wherein the control unit controls the image forming unit to periodically perform the refresh process separately from the refresh process performed with the erasing process.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit controls the image forming unit to perform the refresh process separately from the refresh process performed with the erasing process when the number of image formation times formed by the image forming process reaches a predetermined performance value.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the control unit corrects the predetermined performance value when the refresh process is performed with the erasing process.