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US 8,041,241 B2Granted
Image forming apparatus and image forming method which controls the exposing of an image carrier to change the exposure time period in the main scanning direction
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsAkihiro Kawasaki, Yoshiko Ogawa, Rumi Konishi
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Abstract
In a disclosed image forming apparatus, a developing bias applied to a developer carrier or exposure energy with which an image carrier is exposed is adjusted such that an isolated one-dot image on the image carrier has a predetermined image density. When the image carrier is exposed to form dot images continuously arranged in a main scanning direction, the exposure time period for each dot image is shorter than that when the image carrier is exposed to form the isolated one-dot image.
Claims17
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an image carrier;
- an exposing unit configured to expose a surface of the image carrier with exposure energy based on image data corresponding to dot images to form a latent image;
- and
- a developing unit configured to perform a developer contact developing method by applying a developing bias onto a developer carrier carrying a non-magnetic one-component developer and causing the non-magnetic one-component developer on the developer carrier to contact the image carrier, thereby developing the latent image on the image carrier into a toner image, wherein:
- the toner image on the image carrier is transferred onto a recording material, either directly or via a surface of an intermediate transfer body;
- and
- the developing bias or the exposure energy is adjusted such that an isolated one-dot image has a predetermined image density, the image forming apparatus further comprising:
- a control unit configured to control the exposing unit in such a manner that, when the image carrier is exposed to form the dot images continuously arranged in a main scanning direction, a width of a latent image potential distribution in the main scanning direction corresponding to each of the dot images on the image carrier is shorter than that when the image carrier is exposed to form the isolated one-dot image,
- wherein:
- the control unit controls the exposing unit in such a manner that, when the image carrier is exposed to form the dot images continuously arranged in the main scanning direction, an exposure time period for each dot image is shorter than that when the image carrier is exposed to form the isolated one-dot image, and
- the control unit controls the exposing unit in such a manner that, when the image carrier is exposed to form three or more dot images continuously arranged in the main scanning direction, the exposure time period for a middle dot image positioned in between edge dot images is shorter than that for each of the edge dot images.
8 more elements
An image forming method comprising the steps of:
- forming a latent image on a surface of an image carrier by exposing the surface of the image carrier based on input image data corresponding to dot images;
- and
- developing the latent image on the image carrier by performing a developer contact developing method with the use of a non-magnetic one-component developer, wherein:
- when the image carrier is exposed to form the dot images continuously arranged in a main scanning direction, a width of a latent image potential distribution in the main scanning direction corresponding to each of the dot images on the image carrier is shorter than that when the image carrier is exposed to form the isolated one-dot image
- when the image carrier is exposed to form three or more dot images continuously arranged in the main scanning direction, the exposure time period for a middle dot image positioned in between edge dot images is shorter than that for each of the edge dot images.
2 more elements
An image forming method, comprising:
- forming a latent image on a surface of an image carrier by exposing the surface of the image carrier based on input image data corresponding to dot images including determining an exposure timing of exposing the image carrier to form each of the dot images continuously arranged in the main scanning direction, wherein the exposure timing is determined such that the dot images continuously arranged in the main scanning direction are bilaterally-symmetric with respect to a center position of all of the dot images;
- and
- developing the latent image on the image carrier by performing a developer contact developing method with the use of a non-magnetic one-component developer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.