Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Hideji Higashimura

Takeru Kinoshita

Satoru Shibuya

Hidetoshi Noguchi

Hideo Yamaki

Yasuo Tanaka

Tomohide Mori

Hideaki Ikeda

Yasunori Nakayama

Katsumi Shirai

Takumi Michibata

Yoshitada Ichikawa

Morihisa Kawahara

Yusuke Ukai

Toner cartridge

A toner replenishing apparatus includes: a toner storage that stores toner for replenishment; an agitation paddle that is arranged in the toner storage and rotates to agitate toner stored in the toner storage; a conveyance member that is disposed in a lower part of the toner storage and is used to convey the toner stored in the toner storage toward a developer; and an agitation member that moves along with rotation of the agitation paddle, wherein the conveyance member is arranged away from the agitation paddle in a plan view, and the agitation member agitates the toner located above the conveyance member, which is a part of the toner stored in the toner storage.

Toner replenishing apparatus with agitation member, developer, and image forming apparatus

An image formation apparatus includes, in an apparatus body, a sensing portion which senses presence or absence of depression by a paper feed unit. The sensing portion includes a slider provided to be slidingly movable along a mounting direction of the paper feed unit, a push switch arranged behind the slider along the mounting direction, and a first elastic body and a second elastic body for elastically biasing the slider toward a direction away from the push switch. The first elastic body is interposed between the slider and a portion which does not relatively move with respect to the apparatus body, and the second elastic body is interposed between the slider and a switch portion of the push switch.

Image forming apparatus having a sensing portion to sense depression by paper feed unit

There is provided a cleaning device for removing residual toner on an image carrier. The cleaning device includes a housing to cover a specified region of an image carrier. A first cleaning section and a second cleaning section are respectively placed in upper and lower parts of the housing partitioned by a partition member. The first cleaning section includes a first cleaning brush and a first regulating member. The second cleaning section includes a second cleaning brush and a second regulating member. The partition member substantially extends in a continuous manner with respect to a horizontal direction from the specified region to at least a position equivalent to an end portion on a housing sidewall side of the first or the second regulating member. A clearance exists between the housing sidewall and an end portion on the housing sidewall side of the partition member.

Cleaning device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

In an image forming apparatus, a toner image formed on an intermediate transfer belt is transferred to a transfer sheet by a transfer electric field generated between a secondary transfer roller and a driving roller. A guide surface of a pre-transfer guide and a flat portion of the intermediate transfer belt form an angle of no less than 13&#xb0; and no greater than 17&#xb0;, and a distance from a tip of the guide surface and the flat portion is no less than 1.0 mm and no greater than 3.0 mm.

Image formation apparatus including guide member for transfer sheet

A secondary cleaning device has a cleaning brush, collection roller, and controller. The cleaning brush is driven by a drive mechanism and thereby rotates in a state that brush fibers thereof are contacting with a secondary transfer belt to collect toner on the secondary transfer belt. The collection roller is driven by another drive mechanism and thereby rotates in a state contacting with the cleaning brush to collect toner from the cleaning brush. The collection roller rotates in such a manner that the collection roller and the cleaning brush move in the same direction with each other at a contact area between the collection roller and the cleaning brush. The controller controls the drive mechanism such that the circumferential speed ratio of the collection roller with respect to the cleaning brush is greater than one and smaller than two.

Cleaning device and image forming apparatus having a cleaning brush and a collection roller that move in the same direction at a contact area therebetween

A cleaning device is provided with a conductive fur brush kept in contact with a transfer belt, a conductive brush kept in contact with the transfer belt upstream of the fur brush in the feed direction, and a single of constant-current d.c. power supply. The fur brush is connected to the constant-current d.c. power supply, and the conductive brush is grounded. A current flows from the constant-current d.c. power supply via the transfer belt to the conductive brush.

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Toyokawa, Japan

Hideji Higashimura