Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Hajime Nishida

Manabu Nonaka

Jumpei Aoyama

Hideki Tobinaga

Shun Kobayashi

Satoshi Kuno

Junpei Kamichi

Akihiro Fujita

Shinichiro Naruse

Yasuhiro Kawashima

Taku Kudoh

Eiki Yoshimizu

Shoji Asanuma

Kazumasa Ishikawa

Yohzoh Dohki

Shigeyuki Ito

Yasunobu Youda

Yoshikuni Ishikawa

Koji Watanabe

Kenji Kameyama

Shuji Tanaka

Tetsu Morino

Kenji Ueda

Masayuki Ueda

Masatoshi Sakakitani

Hideki Sueoka

Tsugunao Toyooka

Junichi Sugita

Yohzoh c/o Ricoh Elemex Corp Dohki

Shigeyuki c/o Ricoh Elemex Corp Ito

An image forming apparatus includes a sheet container accommodating a recording medium therein, a sheet separating feeder including a sheet feeding body and a sheet separating body, an image forming part, and a bend applier. The sheet feeding body feeds the recording medium along with a surface movement thereof while the recording medium contacting the surface thereof. The sheet separating body forms a sheet separation nip region with the sheet feeding body and sandwiches the recording medium in the sheet separation nip region. The sheet separating feeder separates and feeds the recording medium contacting the sheet feeding body. The image forming part forms an image on the recording medium. The bend applier having a leading end of an elastic material contacts and bends the recording medium before the sheet separation nip region and generates a wrinkle extending on the recording medium in a sheet conveying direction.

Image forming apparatus

A sheet end position regulating device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a first contact body disposed movable on a sheet loading portion on which a sheet is loaded and configured to contact an end portion of the sheet, a fixing body disposed movable between a fixing position at which a position of the first contact body to the sheet loading portion is fixed and a releasing position at which the position of the first contact body is released, and a second contact body disposed movable between a contact position at which the fixing body contacts a contact target portion to regulate movement of the fixing body form the fixing position to the releasing position and a non-contact position at which the fixing body does not contact the contact target portion.

Sheet end position regulating device, sheet loader incorporating the sheet end position regulating device, sheet feeding device incorporating the sheet end position regulating device, and image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet end position regulating device

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit, a paper loading base on which manual-feed paper is loaded, a manual-feed paper conveying unit, and a dustproof cover which covers the paper loading base being in the overhang state. The paper loading base has a lower end rotatably supported on one outer surface portion of the device main body, and is opened from an upper end thereof and disposed at a predetermined oblique angle or in a horizontal overhang state such that an overhang side becomes an upper side in an oblique direction. The manual-feed paper conveying unit is conveys the manual-feed paper on the paper loading base onto a paper conveyance path one by one. The dustproof cover includes a base which engages with the paper loading base, and an opening-and-closing cover which is rotatably connected to the base and is opened upwardly on the overhang side.

Image forming apparatus and dustproof cover

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a sheet container, an image forming part to form an image, a sheet feeding rotary body to feed the recording medium, a sheet separating rotary body to contact the sheet feeding rotary body and rotate with the sheet feeding rotary body with a sheet separation nip region formed therebetween, a rotation adjusting unit to adjust rotation of the sheet separating rotary body, a sheet containing unit to contain the recording media therein, a sheet separating body storing unit disposed at one end of the sheet containing unit to store the sheet separating body therein, and a load resistance applying mechanism to apply a rotational load resistance different from a contact force generated by contacting of the sheet separating rotary body with the sheet feeding rotary body, to the sheet feeding rotary body with no rotation driving force applied thereto.

A sheet feeder, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a sheet feeding unit to feed a sheet, a sheet separating unit disposed opposite the sheet feeding unit to separate the sheet together with the sheet feeding unit, a bottom plate on which the sheet is loaded, a pressing unit having a leading end and movably disposed between the bottom plate and the sheet separating unit, and a support to rotatably support the pressing unit such that the leading end of the pressing unit contacts and separates from the sheet feeding unit.

Sheet feeder and image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet feeder

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a sheet container detachably attachable to the apparatus body and accommodating recording media therein, an image forming part to form an image on each of the recording media, a sheet separating part to separate the recording media one by one, feed the recording medium toward the image forming part, and include a sheet feeding body and a sheet separating body to rotate in contact with the sheet feeding body and form a sheet separation nip region with the sheet feeding body, a sheet containing unit to contain the recording media therein, and a sheet separating body storing unit disposed at one end of the sheet containing unit to store the sheet separating body therein. The sheet container being pulled out from the apparatus body by moving from the sheet containing unit to the sheet separating body storing unit.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming part to form an image on a recording medium, an apparatus body, a sheet container detachably attachable to the apparatus body and accommodating the recording medium, a sheet conveying path through which the recording medium is conveyed toward the image forming part, a sheet reentry path disposed above the sheet container and through which the recording medium having the image thereon is conveyed again to the sheet conveying path, a swing unit to swingably move a bottom plate of the sheet reentry path between a first position and a second position, a lock releasing unit to lock and release the bottom plate with respect to the first position of the swing unit, and a release operating unit to cause the lock releasing unit to release the bottom plate from the first position of the swing unit.

A sheet feeder attracts an uppermost sheet of a sheet stack of a plurality of stacked sheets, and feeds the sheet in a sheet feeding direction. The sheet feeder includes an endless belt, a charging device, and a control device. The endless belt is made of a dielectric material, passes over upstream and downstream rollers, and is disposed above the sheet stack to face the sheet stack. The charging device applies an alternating voltage to an outer circumferential surface of the endless belt to form thereon alternating charge patterns. The control device separately controls the respective rotation states of the upstream and downstream rollers to make a sheet contact surface of the endless belt go slack in sheet attraction and make the sheet contact surface of the endless belt taut with tension into a substantially flat surface in sheet conveyance.

Sheet feeder and image forming apparatus incorporating same

An image forming apparatus includes an engine unit formed by unitizing an engine part configured to scan a carriage having a recording head jetting a liquid drop of recording liquid in a main scanning direction and conveying a recording medium in a sub-scanning direction, so that an image is formed, and a keeping and recovering mechanism configured to keep an operating state of the recording head forming the engine unit, the keeping and recovering mechanism being provided at a rear side of an apparatus main body.

An inkjet recording apparatus provides an improved printing speed and improved convenience of use. A recording head discharges droplets of a recording liquid onto a paper so as to form an image on the paper. A belt conveyance mechanism has a belt onto which the paper is electrostatically attached. The paper attached onto the belt is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to a carding direction of the paper.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Hajime Nishida