Image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12259666-B2
Application number	US-202318336485-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 16, 2023
Priority date	Dec 18, 2020
Publication date	Mar 25, 2025
Grant date	Mar 25, 2025

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an exposure head including a light emitting portion that includes a first electrode layer including a plurality of electrodes that are two-dimensionally arranged in a rotation direction and a rotational axis direction of a photosensitive member, a light emitting layer stacked on the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer through which light is transmissible; and a controller configured to control a voltage applied to each of the plurality of electrodes in such a way that one pixel is formed by controlling the voltage applied to the plurality of electrodes arranged at different positions in the rotation direction, in which the plurality of electrodes are arranged in such a way that a pitch of the plurality of electrodes included in the first electrode layer in the rotation direction is an integer multiple of a resolution of an image formed by the image forming apparatus in the rotation direction, and the integer is greater than one.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus configured to expose a surface of a photosensitive member with light to form an electrostatic latent image, and attach toner to the electrostatic latent image to form an image, the image forming apparatus comprising:
an exposure head configured to expose the surface of the photosensitive member with light to form the electrostatic latent image and including a light emitting portion that includes a substrate, a first electrode layer including a plurality of electrodes that are two-dimensionally arranged in a rotation direction of the photosensitive member and a rotational axis direction of the photosensitive member and are arranged on the substrate at intervals, a light emitting layer stacked on the first electrode layer and configured to emit light when a voltage is applied, and a second electrode layer arranged on a side opposite to a side where the first electrode layer is arranged with respect to the light emitting layer and through which light is transmissible; and
a controller configured to control application of a voltage to each of the plurality of electrodes included in the first electrode layer based on image data in such a way that the light emitting layer emits light and configured to control the voltage applied to each of the plurality of electrodes based on the image data in such a way that one pixel is formed by controlling the voltage applied to the plurality of electrodes arranged at different positions in the rotation direction,
wherein the plurality of electrodes are arranged in such a way that a pitch of the plurality of electrodes included in the first electrode layer in the rotation direction is an integer multiple of a resolution of the image formed by the image forming apparatus in the rotation direction, and the integer is greater than one.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls application of the voltage to the electrodes arranged in parallel in the rotation direction among the plurality of electrodes included in the first electrode layer in such a way that light emission or non-light emission of the light emitting portions arranged in parallel in the rotation direction is simultaneously performed according to image data.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein a length of each of the electrodes included in the first electrode layer in the rotation direction is equal to a length in the rotational axis direction.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein a length of each of the electrodes included in the first electrode layer in the rotation direction is longer than a length in the rotational axis direction.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the light emitting layer is an organic light emitting layer.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a length of each of the electrodes included in the first electrode layer in the rotation direction is equal to a length in the rotational axis direction.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a length of each of the electrodes included in the first electrode layer in the rotation direction is longer than a length in the rotational axis direction.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one pixel in the image data is formed by a portion of the plurality of electrodes that differ in position in the rotation direction.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one pixel in the image data is formed by irradiating the plurality of electrodes, each of which has a different position in the rotation direction, at the same location in the rotation direction on the surface of the photosensitive member in the rotational direction.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Akagi Daisuke

Classifications

• G03G15/04054

  by LED arrays · CPC title

• G03G2215/0407

  Light-emitting array or panel · CPC title

• G03G15/043 Primary

  with means for controlling illumination or exposure (G03G15/041 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04N1/036 Primary

  for optical reproduction · CPC title