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US 7,689,135 B2Granted
Image forming apparatus with a drive motor that can rotate a rotary developing unit
AssigneeSeiko Epson Corporation
InventorHiroshi Tanaka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An image forming apparatus, having: a rotary developing unit, to and from which a plurality of developing cartridges storing developers are attached and detached and which moves one of the attached developing cartridges to a developing position by being rotated around a rotation axis; a drive motor that rotates the rotary developing unit; and a controller that controls a torque of the drive motor in response to a condition of the developing cartridges to be attached to the rotary developing unit or a condition of the rotary developing unit.
Claims4
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a rotary developing unit, to and from which a plurality of developing cartridges storing developers are attached and detached and which moves one of the attached developing cartridges to a developing position by being rotated around a rotation axis;
- a drive motor that rotates the rotary developing unit;
- and
- a controller that controls a torque of the drive motor in response to a condition of the developing cartridges to be attached to the rotary developing unit and/or a condition of the rotary developing unit,
- wherein the torque of the drive motor is determined based on an amount of current to be fed to the drive motor, and the controller controls the torque of the drive motor by controlling the amount of current to be fed to the drive motor in response to the condition of the developing cartridges and/or the condition of the rotary developing unit.
2 more elements
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- a rotary developing unit, to and from which a plurality of developing cartridges storing developers are attached and detached and which moves one of the attached developing cartridges to a developing position by being rotated around a rotation axis;
- a drive motor that rotates the rotary developing unit;
- and
- a controller that controls a torque of the drive motor in response to a condition of the developing cartridges to be attached to the rotary developing unit and/or a condition of the rotary developing unit,
- wherein the condition of the developing cartridges to be attached to the rotary developing unit and/or the condition of the rotary developing unit include all of:
- an attachment condition indicating a number of the developing cartridges attached to the rotary developing unit and a place of attachment of the developing cartridges;
- a residual amount of the developers of the developing cartridges attached to the rotary developing unit;
- a phase indicating a position of rotation of the rotary developing unit;
- and a rotational acceleration of the rotary developing unit.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.