Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Daisuke Imaki

Yasunobu Youda

Tatsuaki Nagano

Satoshi Narai

Toshiyuki Horikawa

Takayuki Andoh

Yohei Osanai

Takuji Kawai

Koichi A Ono

Hideo Tanaka

Takeshi Shikama

Tomoya Fujii

Susumu Miyazaki

Tetsuo Inui

Shingo Shiramura

Yuki Fujii

Kaoru Tada

Kazunori Bannai

Yoshinobu Sakaue

Noboru Kusunose

Tadashi Nakamura

Nobuyuki Arai

Munekazu Hirata

Koji Hatayama

Masatoshi Ishida

Naoto Kitamura

Yoshinori Hayashi

Hiroaki Ikeda

Makoto Hirakawa

Hiroyoshi Funato

Genta Hagiwara

Hideto Higaki

A sheet conveying device includes a separator to separate a sheet from sheets. The separator includes a separation conveyor; a separation resistance member to press against the separation conveyor via the sheet; a resistance-member holder; a biasing member to contact and bias the resistance-member holder to press the separation resistance member toward the separation conveyor, the resistance-member holder to rotate about a resistance-member rotary shaft to separate from the biasing member in detaching from an apparatus body; and a biasing-member holder configured to rotate about a biasing-member rotary shaft to more incline the biasing member in a state, in which the biasing member is spaced apart from the resistance-member holder, in a moving direction of the resistance-member holder to detach from the apparatus body than the biasing member in a biasing state in which the biasing member biases the resistance-member holder in contact with the resistance-member holder.

Sheet conveying device, image reading device, and image forming apparatus

An image reading device includes a plurality of conveyance rollers to convey a sheet, a motor to drive the plurality of conveyance rollers, an image reading unit to read an image of the sheet, a control device to perform a stop control that stops the sheet in a course of a conveyance path, and a clutch to transmit a driving force of the motor. A first conveyance roller group includes at least one of the plurality of conveyance rollers upstream from a leading end of the sheet stopped by the stop control in a conveyance direction, to which the driving force is transmitted via the clutch. A second conveyance roller group includes at least one of the plurality of conveyance rollers downstream from the leading end of the sheet stopped by the stop control in the conveyance direction, to which the driving force is transmitted without the clutch.

Image reading device configured to selectively stop a sheet based on image reading readiness and image forming apparatus incorporating same

An image-reading unit includes an original document conveyor that includes a first original document tray to hold an original document to be read, a first original document feeding port to feed the original document placed on the first original document tray, and an original document conveying path to convey the original document from the first original document feeding port to an original document discharging port. The original document conveyor further includes an openable second original document tray attached near an intermediate portion of the original document conveying path to hold an original document when opened, and a second original document feeding port to feed the original document on the second original document tray. The image-reading unit further includes an image reader to read an image of the original document being conveyed along the original document conveying path.

Image reading unit

An optical scanner includes a light source including a plurality of light emitting elements, a polygon mirror which deflects light from the light source for scanning a surface of a subject, an optical element arranged between the light source and the polygon mirror, having optical power in a sub scanning direction, a synchronous detector which detects the light deflected by the polygon mirror for synchronous detection and generates a signal for controlling a timing at which the scanning of the surface is started, and a fixing element which secures one end of the optical element. The light emitting elements of the light source are aligned with a certain tilt angle relative to the sub scanning direction. Light from one of the light emitting elements disposed closest to the fixing element in a main scanning direction is used for synchronous detection.

Optical scanner and image forming device incorporating same

A rotation drive device includes a driven rotation member, a driving rotation member, a rotation relay member, a shaft, and a holder. The rotation relay member transmits only a unidirectional rotational driving force from the driving rotation member to the driven rotation member. The rotation relay member includes a housing and a cylindrical one-way clutch. A contact portion between the driving rotation member and the shaft is configured to rotate the driving rotation member and the shaft to transmit the driving force to an inner peripheral side of the cylindrical one-way clutch via the shaft. The driving rotation member includes a boss projected toward the holder and rotatably held in the holder. A portion of the shaft to support the driving rotation member and an inner wall surface of a through hole of the driving rotation member are shaped to rotate the shaft and the driving rotation member. together.

Rotation drive device, image reading device, and image forming apparatus

An image reading device includes: a reading unit; a first detecting unit that detects a position of the reading unit in the sub-scanning direction; a second detecting unit that detects a position of the reading unit in the sub-scanning direction; and a calculating unit that calculates a skew quantity and a skew direction of the reading unit, based on a difference, introduced by the skew, between a travel distance by which the reading unit has travelled from a measurement reference position located on an upstream side of the first detecting unit and the second detecting unit in a moving direction to a point where the reading unit is detected by the first detecting unit, and a travel distance by which the reading unit has travelled from the measurement reference position to a point where the reading unit is detected by the second detecting unit.

Image reading device, method and non-transitory computer-readable medium for detecting moving image reader positions to correct skew

An image reading device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a first transparent body, a second transparent body, a holding body, and a reading body. The second transparent body is disposed separated from and inclined at a predetermined angle to the first transparent body. The holding body holds the first and second transparent bodies. The reading body moves in a sub-scanning direction along the first and second transparent bodies. The holding body includes a flat face and a frame-shaped face. The flat face is contiguous to the first transparent body on a same plane and smoothly connected with the second transparent body. The frame-shaped face projects outwardly beyond the second transparent body facing the reading body. The reading body moves and contacts the first transparent body and the holding body, and moves with a gap relative to the second transparent body.

Image reading device and image forming apparatus incorporating the image reading device

An automatic document feeder that is included in an image reader of an image forming apparatus includes a sheet conveying roller, a document feeder cover, a projection piece, a motor, a driving side gear, and a driving force transmission device including an idler gear, a driving force release gear, a slide body, a first elastic body to bias the idler gear and the driving force release gear to be separated, a second elastic body to bias the driving force release gear and the slide body to be separated, and a drive shaft. The driving force transmission device meshes the driving and driven side meshing portions together with a biasing force applied by the second elastic body when the document feeder cover is closed, and releases the driving and driven side meshing portions with a biasing force applied by the first elastic body when the document feeder cover is opened.

Automatic document feeder, image reading device incorporating the automatic document feeder, and image forming apparatus incorporating the image reading device

P-polarized light beam passing through an f&#x3b8; lens passes through a polarization beam splitter, is converted into S-polarized light beam by a quarter-wave plate and a reflecting mirror, re-enters the polarization beam splitter, and is reflected at the polarization beam splitter in the &#x2212;Z direction. An optical path of a light beam between a polygon mirror and the f&#x3b8; lens, between the f&#x3b8; lens and the polarization beam splitter, between the polarization beam splitter and the quarter-wave plate, between the quarter-wave plate and a reflecting mirror, between the reflecting mirror and the quarter-wave plate, and between the quarter-wave plate and the polarization beam splitter are in the same plane.

Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image carriers and an optical writing device including light sources that emit light beams of different wavelengths, a deflector that deflects the light beams emitted from the light sources and synthesized on an identical axis in a sub-scanning direction, a first beam separator, a second beam separator, a first imaging device, and a second imaging device. The first beam separator and the second beam separator are located between the first imaging device and the second imaging device and transmit or reflect the light beams according to travel directions or wavelengths thereof. One of the targets is scanned with the light beam transmitted through the second beam separator. Another target is scanned with the light beam reflected by the second and first beam separators. The first and second imaging devices narrow the beams in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, respectively.

Image forming apparatus, optical writing device, and optical writing method

A first beam separation device is arranged either to allow the light beams to enter and pass or to reflect the light beams in accordance with a direction of entrance of the light beams. A second beam separation device is provided either to allow or to reflect the light beams having passed through the first beam separation device in accordance a wavelength thereof. The light beam passing through the second beam separation device scans one of plural scan objectives and the light beam reflected by the second beam separation device is further reflected by the first beam separation device and then scans the other one of the plural scan objectives. A first imaging device is provided to correct a f-theta (f&#x3b8;) performance and a curvature of an imaging plane to enable the light beams to scan the plural scan objectives at a constant speed. The first imaging device is integral with the first beam separation device.

Optical writing device and image forming apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Daisuke Imaki