US 6,308,018 B1Granted

Image forming apparatus

AssigneeSharp Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsHiroaki Yoshida, Jitsuo Masuda, Junji Morimoto, Eiichi Kido, Masahiro Sakai, Atsushi Inoue, Takayuki Yamanaka

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

The image forming portion of this image forming apparatus includes a LSU, a photosensitive drum, a developing unit holder, a multiple number of developing units, an intermediate transfer element, a transfer element and a fixing unit. All the developing units are of an identical configuration. Therefore, for replacement of developing units, the operator may and should remove any color of developing unit in the same fashion and attach a fresh developing unit of the color in the same fashion. The image forming portion sets up the image forming conditions for individual colors in the developing order.

Claims22

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus comprising

a static latent image support,
a charging device for charging the surface of the static latent image support,
an exposing device for forming a static latent image on the static latent image support, and
a plurality of developing units, each developing the formed static latent image with a developer held therein to produce a visual image, wherein the developed images are transferred and superimposed one over another to a recording medium and fixed thereto, the image forming apparatus further comprising:
a developing unit holding portion having as many holders for accommodating the developing units and allowing the developing units to be detachably attached and set in an arbitrary order;
and
a controller for regulating the image forming conditions of each developer under which image is formed, depending on the order of development determined by the arrangement in which the developing units are set in the developing unit holding portion and depending on the colors of the developers held in the developing units.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.