Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

Eiji Tatsumi

Takahisa Nakaue

Hideki Ishida

Kazuhisa Kondo

Hiroyuki Hirakawa

Satoshi Ishii

Shingo Arimura

Kenshi Matsui

Syogo Usui

Ikuko Uneme

A developer stirring member includes a shaft member and a flexible member. The shaft member is elongated along a first direction inside a container. The film-like flexible member is supported by the shaft member and stirs the developer. The flexible member includes a base portion, a plurality of short piece portions, and a long portion. The base portion, elongated in the first direction, is fixed to the shaft member. The short piece portions, each extending from the base portion in a second direction that intersects the first direction, are juxtaposed in the first direction with spaces therebetween. The long portion is elongated in the second direction, longer in the second direction than the short piece portions, and extends from spaces in the base portion that are in between where the short piece portions are connected thereto.

Developer stirring member, developer replenishing unit, image forming apparatus

An image reading device includes an angle restriction partthat restricts an inclination angle with respect to a document table glass () when viewed from a sub-scanning direction of a flat cable () such that a contact portion is biased to one side of the flat cable () in a main scanning direction when an upper surface part of the flat cable () contacts with the document table glass () with movement of an image reading unit ().

Image reading device

An image forming apparatus includes a mirror position adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting a position of a return mirror. The return mirror is used in a state in which its position is adjusted such that a gravity center position of the return mirror is separated from a rotational axis of the return mirror by the mirror position adjustment mechanism in a sub-scanning direction.

Optical scanning device and image forming apparatus including the same

A sheet conveying device includes a sheet conveying path, a first conveying member, a first guide portion, a second guide portion, a registration roller pair, a third guide portion, and a guide member. A posture of the guide member is changeable between a first posture in which an upstream guide portion retracts from the sheet conveying path into a groove portion of the second guide portion, and a downstream guide portion projects to the sheet conveying path from the groove portion; and a second posture in which the downstream guide portion retracts from the sheet conveying path into the groove portion, and the upstream guide portion projects to the sheet conveying path from the groove portion.

Sheet conveying device and image forming apparatus provided with same

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body with a main conveyance path, a first storage portion including a first conveyance path, a second conveyance path and a joint section. The joint section is a part where an upstream end of the main conveyance path and downstream ends of the first and second conveyance paths join. The first storage portion includes a movable guide at the position of the downstream end of the first conveyance path. The movable guide is displaced to a projecting position where the movable guide projects toward the joint section from the downstream end of the first conveyance path to guide the sheet in a state where the first storage portion is mounted in the apparatus main body and a retracted position substantially retracted from the joint section in a state where the first storage portion is withdrawn from the apparatus main body.

Image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a heating member pressed by a pressing member to form a nip part, an excitation coil generating a magnetic flux induction-heating the heating member, a magnetic core and a magnetism shielding member. The magnetic core is located opposite to the heating member across the excitation coil and provides a magnetic path passing through the excitation coil and heating member. The magnetism shielding member partially shields the magnetic path and includes a rotatable belt member allowing the magnetic flux to pass through, and a magnetism shielding layer arranged on a surface of the belt member. In the magnetism shielding layer, gap parts extending in a width direction of the belt member are arranged along a circumference direction of the belt member. When the magnetism shielding member is located to shield the magnetic path, inner wall faces of the gap part are brought into contact with each other.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including this fixing device

The developing device of the present disclosure comprises a developing container, toner carrier, developer carrier, regulating member, and air outflow channel. The developing container accommodates a two-component developer. The toner carrier supplies toner to an image carrier. The developer carrier rotates so that a surface facing the toner carrier moves in the opposite direction of the toner carrier, and a toner layer is formed on the toner carrier. The regulating member regulates the amount of developer carried on the developer carrier. The air outflow channel communicates an airflow outlet formed in the top end of the developing container facing the toner carrier with the interior of a duct placed above the developing container, and the air outflow channel is inclined downstream in the rotational direction of the toner carrier relative to a straight line passing through the rotational axis center of the toner carrier and the airflow outlet.

Developing device and image forming apparatus comprising same

A developing unit in an image forming device is disclosed in which developer peeled off from a developing roller can be reliably retrieved to an agitation transport member and avoid being directly drawn thereto. A developing unit has a drawing magnetic pole and a peel-off magnetic pole. A first agitation transport member is arranged below a developing roller and agitates and transports the developer in the axial direction simultaneously and supplies it to the developing roller. A guide member has a sloping surface guiding the developer torn off from the developing roller to the first agitation transport member. The magnetic pole is arranged between horizontal positions of the sloping surface, and the magnetic pole is arranged horizontally outward of the lower end of the sloping surface.

Developing unit

A developing unit is disclosed in which replenished toner is smoothly transported and efficiently agitated into the developing unit by an agitation transport member provided therein having a supply region formed upstream from a transport region. A first agitation transport screw installed in a developing unit includes a developer transport region to transport developer downstream thereof, and a toner supply region that is formed coaxially with the developer transport region and upstream of the developer transport region, and supplies the externally replenished toner to the developer transport region. Moreover, a gap formed between the toner supply region and a region of the housing in the toner supply region is smaller than a gap formed between the developer transport region and a region of the housing in the developer transport region.

Developing unit with agitation transport members

A developing unit in an image forming device is disclosed which includes a first agitation transport member, a second agitation transport member, a bulkhead, and a housing. The second agitation transport member is arranged to be parallel to the first agitation transport member in the horizontal direction, and configured to simultaneously agitate and transport developer in cooperation with the first agitation transport member and mix developer with the externally supplied toner. The bulkhead has a partition member arranged between the first agitation transport member and the second agitation transport member, and a guide member that is formed to be integrated with the partition member and guide developer peeled off from the developing roller to the first agitation transport member. The bulkhead can arranged in the housing such that there is no space between first and second ends of the bulkhead and the housing.

Developing unit with a housing assembly

An image forming apparatus is provided that is capable of forming an image with excellent gradation quality without affected by variations in the sensitivity characteristic of the photoreceptor and the light quantity characteristic of the LED print head among individual products. A highest gradation appropriate exposure amount appropriate for the highest gradation is calculated from the sensitivity characteristic of the photoreceptor and the light quantity characteristic of the LED print head. Then, based on the highest gradation appropriate exposure amount, an appropriate lighting time of the LEDs that is appropriate for each gradation is calculated so that the increment of the exposure amount between the gradations including the first gradation, and the lighting times of the gradations are set based on the appropriate lighting times. Then, the LEDs are lit for the lighting time set in accordance with the gradation of the inputted image data.

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Osaka, Japan

Eiji Tatsumi