Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Akira Shinshi

Hiroshi Yoshinaga

Naoki Iwaya

Kenichi Hasegawa

Yoshiki Yamaguchi

Toshihiko Shimokawa

Yutaka Ikebuchi

Ippei Fujimoto

Kenji Ishii

Masaaki Yoshikawa

Tetsuo Tokuda

Shuntaroh Tamaki

Takamasa Hase

Takahiro Imada

Masayuki Yamane

Tadashi Hayakawa

Kunihiro Ohyama

Yuuki Satoh

Yuichiro Ueda

Shouji Okabe

Yasunori Ishigaya

Masahiko Satoh

Masami Tomita

Masaki Takahashi

Takeshi Uchitani

Yasufumi Takahashi

Takuji Takahashi

Ryota Yamashina

Ken Omura

Tomoko Takahashi

Hiroshi Seo

Masanori Kawasumi

Kazuhisa Sudo

Shunichi Hashimoto

Masaharu Furuya

Hirokatsu Suzuki

Takahiro Yoshikawa

Mugijirou Uno

Setsuo Soga

Hirohmi Tamura

Takuya Suganuma

Kazuya Saitoh

Tetuso Tokuda

Masahiko Sato

Masanao Ehara

Toshiharu Hachisuka

Yasuhiro Kohira

Takahiro Nakayama

Toshihiko Shimokkawa

A toner container includes a container body, an opening, a cover, a toner discharge port, a shutter, a cylindrical structure, protrusions, and an identifier. The shutter is attached to the cover and includes a main shutter covering the toner discharge port. The main shutter moves between a closed position to close the toner discharge port and an open position to open the toner discharge port. The protrusions are on both sides of the cover and protrude in a direction orthogonal to a toner container mounting direction. The identifier is on the cover to indicate a toner color. The cylindrical structure's leading end is downstream of leading ends of the protrusions in the mounting direction. The main shutter's leading end is downstream of the protrusions' leading ends in the mounting direction when the main shutter is in the closed position. The protrusions are downstream of the identifier in the mounting direction.

Information storage system including a plurality of terminals

Developer container which discharges toner from a lower side and includes a box section

Apparatus and method for preventing an information storage device from falling from a removable device

Developer container having a cap with three portions of different diameters

An information storage device installed in a removable device configured to be removably installed in an image forming apparatus body, includes: an information storage unit that stores information communicated between the image forming apparatus body and the removable device; a terminal that comes in contact with a body side terminal; and a substrate that holds the information storage unit and the terminal and includes a hole configured to be engaged with a protruding section installed in the image forming apparatus body. The terminal includes a plurality of terminals each including one of a plurality of metallic plates arranged in a transverse direction thereof. An earth terminal, which comes in contact with a body side earth terminal formed in the protruding section, is formed in the hole. The hole is disposed at a position sandwiched between two metallic plates among the plurality of metallic plates.

A fixing device to fix a toner image on a sheet includes a first rotary member that rotates in a predetermined direction and a second rotary member that contacts an outer circumferential surface of the first rotary member. A stationary member is fixed inside the first rotary member to press the first and second rotary members together to form a nip portion between the rotary members. A reinforcement member is fixedly provided inside the first rotary member and pressed against the stationary member. The fixing device includes heat source to heat the first rotary member and a reflector to reflect heater light emitted from the heat source toward the first rotary member.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including same

A fixing device includes a substantially cylindrical metal member, a heater, an endless, flexible fixing member, a rotary pressing member, and a stationary member. The heater heats the metal member. The fixing member is disposed rotatable around the metal member. An inner circumferential surface of the fixing member is heated by the metal member to heat and fix a toner image. The rotary pressing member is disposed opposite the metal member and pressed against an outer circumferential surface of the fixing member to form a nip between the rotary pressing member and the fixing member through which a recording medium bearing the toner image passes. The stationary member is disposed in pressure contact with the inner circumferential surface of the fixing member, and has an opposing face opposing the rotary pressing member and having a curvature smaller than a curvature of the rotary pressing member.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Akira Shinshi