Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Hideaki Kadowaki

Toshio Yamanaka

Susumu Murakami

Yoshikazu Harada

Masafumi Sakamoto

Yoshiharu Yoneda

Mitsuyoshi Terada

Yasuji Yamauchi

Yasuo Kitabatake

Tadasu Taniguchi

Naoyuki Harada

Shinichi Takeda

Noriaki Taguchi

Yoshiya Kinoshita

Norio Tomita

Kyosuke Taka

Yasuhiro Takai

Hiroshi Tachiki

Eiichi Kido

Osamu Fujimoto

Ayumu Oda

Toshiaki Ino

Nobuo Manabe

Tatsuya Inoue

Takayuki Yamanaka

Toshiya Mikita

Shinji Nakazawa

Minoru Tomiyori

Takashi Kitagawa

Hideaki Kurimoto

Shohtaroh Okamoto

Yukinori Andou

Takayuki Ohno

Takashi Miyaji

Yoshikazu Nishikawa

Hiroki Kanemitsu

Tomohiko Fujii

Koichi Nakamura

Yuji Sawa

Koichi Yamauchi

Kaori Fujii

A transport roller pair including: a first-side roller provided with a plurality of roller portions spaced apart in a rotation axial line direction; a fixing device; and an image forming device is provided. The first-side roller includes roller portions. The transport roller pair further includes a second-side roller including a plurality of contact areas and a plurality of non-contact areas as areas other than the plurality of contact areas. At least the contact areas are covered with a release layer, and an outer diameter of each of the plurality of non-contact areas is smaller than an outer diameter of each of the plurality of contact areas. The second-side roller includes a shaft member integrally formed to have a stepped shape.

Transport roller pair, fixing device, and image forming device

According to an embodiment, an open and close detection device is provided with a moving member, a first lever, a second lever, and the like. The moving member is held to be movable by a holding member within a planar area including an initial position and a detection position. Each of the first lever and the second lever includes a contact guide section, and moves the moving member in association with a closing operation of an open and close member. Also, when one of the first lever and the second lever is to move the moving member, this movement is guided by the contact guide section of the other lever.

Open and close detection device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus comprises a housing including a resin frame. The resin frame is divided in a sheet feeding direction to include a conveyance frame, a process frame and a fixation frame. Moreover, the image forming apparatus comprises a driving unit and a drive frame. The driving unit is attachably and detachably provided in the drive frame, and applies a rotational driving force to rotating bodies. The drive frame is positioned with respect to the conveyance frame or the process frame, supports the rotating bodies, and has an attaching portion for the driving unit. Moreover, the drive frame is attached to one surface of the resin frame.

Frame body of image forming apparatus and image forming apparatus provided with the frame body

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body and an exhaust unit. The exhaust unit includes a first duct and a separating member. The first duct includes a first duct A forming member and a first duct B forming member provided with a plurality of communication ports which form one side surface of a second sheet transport path through which a sheet after heating and fixing is transported, a first exhaust fan for discharging air of the first duct to an outside of the apparatus body, and a filter disposed on a downstream side from the second sheet transport path. The first duct separates the second sheet transport path from spaces other than the first duct in the apparatus body. Further, the separating member separates the second sheet transport path from spaces other than the first duct in the image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus provided with a duct

An image forming apparatus includes an exhaust unit. The exhaust unit includes a first duct. The first duct includes a plurality of communication ports, and an exhaust fan for discharging air of the first duct to an outside. The plurality of communication ports are each formed such that distances to the exhaust fan are different from each other. Further, the first duct includes an inflow port which is formed on an upstream of flow of air from the communication port formed on the most upstream side of the flow of the air among the plurality of communication ports, and to which the auxiliary air is supplied from a first exhaust fan provided in the outside.

Exhaust device having a plurality of intake ports and image forming apparatus including the same

A detection device according to a first aspect includes a first arm, a second arm, and a detection unit having two states as output. The first arm and the second arm each have a corresponding pressure receiving portion pushed by one of detection targets and are respectively rotatable about rotation axes as rotation centers along the same straight line such that the first arm and the second arm have different positions when the corresponding pressure receiving portion is pushed and not pushed by one of the detection targets. The output of the detection unit is switched to one of the two states in accordance with the positions of the arms.

Detection device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body and an exhaust unit. The exhaust unit includes a first duct and a first exhaust fan provided in the first duct. The first exhaust fan suctions air inside the first duct and sends the suctioned air to an outside of the apparatus body. The first duct is disposed at a position adjacent to the fixing unit. The first duct is divided into a plurality of air flow paths.

Duct mechanism and image forming apparatus including the same

A waste toner collecting device includes a waste toner container having an opening at an upper portion, and a shutter mechanism that opens or closes the opening. The shutter mechanism includes a receiving portion including an insertion port through which the waste toner discharging unit is inserted, the receiving portion having an inner space connected with an inner space of the waste toner container through the opening, a shutter member disposed in the receiving portion to be movable between an open position and a closing position, and an urging member that urges the shutter member to the closing position. The shutter member includes a ridge on an upper portion of an outer circumferential surface. The ridge has a protrusion height corresponding to a gap between the outer circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface of the receiving portion.

Waste toner collecting device and image forming apparatus

A waste toner detection mechanism includes a transmission member and a flag member. The transmission member transmits the rotation of a rotation transmission member to a stirring shaft. The transmission member can move between the farthest position and the closest position to the rotation transmission member in the axial direction of the stirring shaft and moves from the farthest position to the closest position with an increase in difference in rotation between the rotation transmission member and the stirring shaft. The transmission member has a locking portion elastically engaged with the rotation transmission member in the closest position and restricts movement of the transmission member to the farthest position. The flag member moves from a retracting position of being stored in the waste toner container to an exposing position of being exposed from the waste toner container with the transmission member moving from the farthest position to the closest position.

Waste toner detection mechanism and image forming apparatus

A collection container is divided by a divider plate into waste developer collection chambers in communication with waste developer reception ports for each color developer and a single waste toner collection chamber in communication with waste toner reception ports for each color toner. Further, the divider plate is a part of the inner wall of the collection container and the part is installed extending in the vertical direction to define a clearance between the divider plate and the bottom plate of the collection container. This makes it possible to collect color waste toner and color waste developer with a simple configuration.

Powder collection container and image forming apparatus including the same

A drive transmission mechanism which transmits a rotational driving force to a roller to be shifted in directions of a rotational axis thereof is equipped with a rotary drive transmission member which is driven to rotate in a predetermined rotational direction, a holder which holds the roller in such a manner that the roller can slide freely in the rotational axis directions while rotating about the rotational axis, and a one-way clutch interposed between the rotary drive transmission member and the holder. The one-way clutch is configured to transmit a rotational driving force from the rotary drive transmission member to the holder, and also to permit the holder to rotate in the predetermined rotational direction relative to the rotary drive transmission member.

Drive transmission mechanism, sheet discharging apparatus, and image forming apparatus

In a developer conveyance device, a spiral screw is arranged inside a spiral coil such that the spiral coil and the spiral screw are both rotated. Accompanied by rotation of the spiral coil, even if waste toner tries to pass through the spiral coil and move in a vertical direction, movement of the waste toner in the vertical direction is blocked by the spiral screw, such that the waste toner is conveyed by the spiral screw. Since the waste toner hardly passes through the spiral coil in the vertical direction, the waste toner is also conveyed by the spiral coil.

Developer conveyance device including spiral coil, and image forming device including the developer conveyance device

An image forming apparatus includes a process unit, an exhaust path, and a positioning member movable between (i) a positioning position for positioning the process unit and (ii) a releasing position for releasing the process unit, the positioning member having an air path, the air path and the exhaust path being connected in a case where the positioning member is in the positioning position, and the air path and the exhaust path being disconnected in a case where the positioning member is in the releasing position.

Image forming apparatus including a detachable process unit and a positioning member

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Osaka, Japan

Hideaki Kadowaki