Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Other

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Fujifilm Corporation

Hitachi, Ltd.

Fuij Photo Film Co., Ltd.

Daisuke Takahashi

Hideaki Shiga

Yusuke Ishihara

Seiji Tsuyuki

Kiyoo Morita

Jeffrey S McAllister

Robert Ralph Heinze

Thomas R Albrecht

Shozo Onmori

Kengo Oishi

Daisuke Ito

Kazuo Hiraguchi

Akio Kosuge

Teruo Ashikawa

Shinichi Akatsu

Ken Yoshida

Akihiro Hashimoto

Keiko Matsumoto

Hidetoshi Yamamoto

Kenji Ishikawa

Yoichi Sakurai

Yuji Suzuki

Toshio Koike

Atsushi Nagata

Susumu Sakamoto

Tomohide Takenaka

Thomas W Von Alten

Junichi Nagasawa

Masahiro Katoh

Takuji Daihisa

Ed Childers

Takayuki Isawa

There is provided a consumable supply method for supplying a refill consumable stored in a refill consumable container to a consumable container installable in an equipment body. The consumable supply method includes removing a refill information storage device storing information on the refill consumable from the refill consumable container; removing an information storage device storing information on a consumable contained in the consumable container, the information being for exchange with the equipment body, from the consumable container; and attaching the refill information storage device removed from the refill consumable container as an information storage device to the consumable container in place of the information storage device removed from the consumable container.

Consumable supply method, consumable container, image forming apparatus, and refill consumable container

An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor, a charger, a charge remover, and control circuitry. The charger is configured to charge the photoconductor. The charge remover is configured to remove charge from a surface of the photoconductor by light and electric discharge. The control circuitry is configured to: estimate a surface potential that the photoconductor has after the photoconductor is charged by the charger, based on a characteristic value of the photoconductor and a value of a current flowing through the charger after the charge remover removes charge from the photoconductor; and control a charging bias applied to the charger, based on the surface potential estimated.

Image forming apparatus that controls a charging bias based on an estimated surface potential

An image forming apparatus includes at least one image bearer; multiple developing devices to develop the latent images with developers including toner and carrier into a toner image; multiple developer supply devices to supply the developers to the multiple developing devices, respectively; and a fixing device to fix the toner image on a sheet of recording media. When one of the multiple developing devices positioned at a shortest distance from an outline of the fixing device is referred to as a first developing device, and one of the multiple developer supply devices that supplies developer to the first developing device is referred to as a first developer supply device, the first developer supply device is greater in percentage by weight of carrier in developer supplied to the first developing device than rest of the multiple developer supply devices.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier, a transfer unit, and a control unit. The image carrier has a surface to bear a toner image thereon. The transfer unit has a transfer member to transfer the toner image onto a recording sheet conveyed in a conveyance direction for trailing-end borderless image formation and duplex image formation. The transfer unit is configured to form the toner image on the recording sheet without forming a margin at a trailing end of the recording sheet in the conveyance sheet in the trailing-end borderless image formation. The transfer unit is configured to form the toner image on front and back faces of the recording sheet in the duplex image formation. When a width of the toner image formed in a borderless image area of the recording sheet in the trailing-end borderless image formation is smaller in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction than a threshold value, the control unit permits the duplex image formation. When the width is the threshold value or greater, the control unit prohibits the duplex image formation.

There is provided a cylinder apparatus consisting of a cylinder, a piston performing reciprocating motion between a top dead point and a bottom dead point with oscillatory movement in the cylinder, wherein the cylinder has an oscillatory distance between the top dead point and the bottom dead point, which is shorter than the oscillatory distance at the top and bottom dead points.

Cylinder apparatus, compressor and manufacturing method of cylinder apparatus

A magnetic tape cartridge has a case including a datum hole into which a positioning pin is inserted at a predetermined position thereof; a reel rotatably supported on the case with a magnetic tape wound thereon and including an engaging gear formed in the outer periphery of the flange thereof; a rotation restricting mechanism disposed in the case and engaging with the engaging gear of the reel to thereby restrict the rotation of the reel; and, an engagement releasing element slidably inserted into the datum hole from inside the case and removing the engagement between the rotation restricting mechanism and the engaging gear through the sliding movement thereof within the datum hole, wherein the positioning pin is inserted into the datum hole from outside of the case and push and slide the engagement releasing element, thereby releasing the rotation restriction of the reel by the rotation restricting mechanism.

Magnetic tape cartridge

The recording medium cartridge includes a cartridge case containing a recording medium and a noncontact-type memory having an IC section for storing information and performing signal processing and an antenna section for transmitting and receiving signals. The antenna section of the memory is placed in a region furthest from metallic parts.

Recording medium cartridge having an accommodation portion for a noncontact-type memory

A magnetic tape cartridge is equipped with a cartridge, a single tape reel, a tape leader pin, and a U-shaped clip. The cartridge case is formed by fastening upper and lower cases of synthetic resin together and has a tape leader opening formed in the upper and lower side walls of the upper and lower cases. The single tape reel has magnetic tape wound thereon and is rotatably housed within the cartridge case. The tape leader pin is firmly attached to a leading end of the magnetic tape, and is detachably held in an upright state between the upper and lower cases so that it faces the tape leader opening. The U-shaped clip is attached to walls near the tape leader opening to fasten the upper and lower cases together, whereby the fastening strength of the upper and lower cases is enhanced.

The recording medium cartridge includes a cartridge case containing a recording medium and a noncontact-type memory having an IC section for storing information and performing signal processing and an antenna section for transmitting and receiving signals. In one cartridge, the antenna section of the memory is placed in a region furtherest from metallic parts. In other cartridge, the memory is mounted in an accommodation portion recessed one step relative to a surrounding portion, in such a way that a portion of an inner wall of a real area for accommodating a magnetic tape corresponding to the recording medium is formed, in such a position as to be exposed when the cartridge is loaded into a drive, or in recess formed in an outer surface of a case. The cartridge label is attached to the cartridge and contains the noncontact-type memory. At least an antenna section protective indication for indicating an information writing area other than the area on an antenna coil of the antenna section is provided on the cartridge label.

A magnetic tape cartridge includes a cartridge casing formed by upper and lower casing halves connected together, and a single reel around which a magnetic tape with a leader pin fixed to the leading end of the magnetic tape is wound and which is contained in the cartridge casing for rotation. The leader pin is removably held in a tape draw-out opening with its axial direction directed in the vertical direction under urging force of a spring member acting on its upper and lower end portions sideways with the upper and lower end portions received in recesses respectively formed in the upper and lower casing halves. An inclined surface directed obliquely downward is formed at least a part of the side wall of the recess formed in the upper casing half opposed to the direction in which the spring member urges the leader pin.

A single reel with magnetic tape wound thereon is housed in a case. A restraining member, for restricting rotation of the reel by moving toward or away from the reel, is urged in a restraining direction by an urging member. The pushing-up portions of a releasing member are inserted into the through holes bored in the reel gear of the reelso that the lower ends can abut a driving gear. The releasing member moves the restraining member in a releasing direction by moving according to the chucking operation of drive-side rotation drive means. In this manner, reel-rotation restraining means allows rotation of the reel when being used and restricts the rotation when not being used. In this construction, each of the through holes is bored between the tooth edges of the reel gear so that the releasing member can perform a reliable releasing operation.

A magnetic tape cartridge includes a cartridge casing and a single reel which is contained in the cartridge casing for rotation. A brake member of the magnetic cartridge is provided with a brake gear and is movable up and down between an operative position and a retracted position. The reel is provided with a reel gear which is brought into mesh with a drive gear of a tape drive mechanism and a through hole through which a push rod extending from a brake release member projects to be brought into abutment against the drive gear of the tape drive mechanism so that the brake release member moves the brake member to the retracted position. The through hole opens in an area which is slightly wider than tips of teeth of the reel gear, wherein the area includes a pair of opposed flanks of the reel gear which form a valley.

Magnetic tape cartridge with brake release push rod extending through reel hole wider than only one reel gear pitch

A magnetic tape cartridge includes a cartridge casing and a single reel which is contained in the cartridge casing for rotation. The reel has a reel hub in the form of a cylindrical member which has a bottom wall and is provided with an opening and a stopper gear formed on the bottom wall. A brake member is provided with a brake gear and is movable up and down between an operative position where the brake gear is brought into engagement with the stopper gear to prevent rotation of the reel and a retracted position where the brake gear is disengaged from the stopper gear to permit rotation of the reel. The brake member is normally urged toward the operative position and moved to the retracted position by a pusher member of a tape drive system which acts on the brake member through the opening in the reel hub when the magnetic tape cartridge is loaded in the tape drive system. A continuous wall portion is erected around the opening in the reel hub, and the brake member includes a horizontal portion and a continuous skirt portion which extends downward from the horizontal portion and is in contact with the continuous wall portion of the reel hub to close the opening together with the horizontal portion. The brake member is moved between the operative position and the retracted position with the skirt portion kept in contact with the continuous wall portion of the reel hub.

Magnetic tape cartridge with rotatably-mounted multi-projection brake release member

A magnetic tape cartridge with an improved reel-rotation restraining mechanism is disclosed. The reel-rotation restraining mechanism has a reel locking member, which is movable toward and away from the reel, for restricting rotation thereof; an urging member for urging the reel locking member in a restraining direction; and an releasing member, which is rotatable integrally with the reel, for moving the reel locking member in an unlocking direction by moving according to a chucking operation of a rotation drive mechanism of a drive unit. The releasing member has three leg portions on the vertexes of a triangular plate portion insertable into through holes in the reel. The releasing member is sized so that with part of the releasing member inserted into a center opening of the reel, and two of the three leg portions positioned near the through holes, the remaining one leg portion can be dropped and inserted within the center opening.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa-ken, Japan

Daisuke Takahashi