Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho

Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Ntn Corporation

Hiroaki Takagi

Kimiharu Yamazaki

Naoyuki Suido

Takahiro Konishi

Keisuke Shimizu

Junya Takigawa

Koichi Kudo

Nobuo Kuwabara

Junichi Ichikawa

Tomoaki Suga

Takuro Kamiya

Masahiro Ashikawa

Yuichi Hirose

Yozo Nishi

Toshihiro Okamoto

Takahisa Koike

Yasuhiro Maehata

Katsuya Kawagoe

Hideyuki Takayama

Katsuhiko Nomura

Kazuo Hirose

Minoru Takahashi

Kenji Tomita

Shogo Sakamoto

Masaru Yamagishi

Hideaki Kibune

Koji Kiryu

Shogo Nakamoto

Tatsuya Watahiki

Kenichi Sakata

Masashi Kasamai

Hiroshi Yanagawa

Nagisa Nakamura

Kanji Ubukata

Jumpei Yamaguchi

Kazuya Nagao

Misao Ishikawa

Yasuo Nihei

Tadahiro Satoh

Takuhei Minami

Takuro Kamiyai

An intermediate transfer unit includes an intermediate transfer belt, a housing, a grip, and a cover. The housing supports a plurality of stretching rollers stretching the intermediate transfer belt and has a downstream plate in a pull-out direction of the intermediate transfer unit. The downstream plate is orthogonal to the pull-out direction. The grip is on the downstream plate. The cover covers the downstream plate and has a hole to access the grip.

Intermediate transfer unit and image forming apparatus

A transfer device includes an intermediate transferor to rotate, primary transfer sections, a tension roller, a first movement mechanism, and a second movement mechanism. Each of the primary transfer sections includes a primary transferor. The tension roller stretches the intermediate transferor. The first movement mechanism causes the tension roller to move and change a position at which the tension roller stretches the intermediate transferor. The second movement mechanism causes the primary transferor of a primary transfer section to move to a contact position at which the primary transferor contacts a latent image bearer and a separation position at which the primary transferor is separated from the latent image bearer. The most-downstream primary transferor is movable between a contact position and a separation position. The first movement mechanism causes the tension roller to move to at least three positions at each of which the tension roller stretches the intermediate transferor.

Transfer device and image forming apparatus

A pressing device includes an intermediate transfer unit, a secondary transfer unit, a presser, and a drive transmitter. The intermediate transfer unit transfers and conveys a toner image. The secondary transfer unit faces the intermediate transfer unit to form a nip portion between the secondary transfer unit and the intermediate transfer unit and transfers the toner image onto a conveyed material at the nip portion. The presser applies a pressing force for pressing the secondary transfer unit to the intermediate transfer unit at the nip portion. The drive transmitter transmits the pressing force and a conveyance driving force to a driven transmitter of the secondary transfer unit, is restricted in position by the presser, and is movable together with the presser.

Pressing device and image forming apparatus

A transfer device includes a belt unit having a transfer belt looped around tension rollers including a transfer roller, a unit support housing including a first support portion to support one end of the belt unit rotatably in an axial direction, and a second support portion to support another end of the belt unit rotatably in the axial direction, the unit support housing supporting the belt unit through the first support portion and the second support portion around a moving direction of the transfer belt, a pair of biasing members, and a driver disposed to rotate to generate rotary driving force to be conveyed to a driven portion provided for one of the tension rollers, the rotary driving force of the driver acting in a direction different from a direction in which the posture of the belt unit is not restricted.

An image forming apparatus includes a body having an opening, a door on the body, a unit detachably attached to the body from the opening, a cover inside the door, a spring, and a lock. The door covers the opening at a first closed position. The unit is disposed at a mounting position inside the body. The cover is rotatable between a second closed position and an opening position in an opening direction. At the second closed position, the cover covers the unit at the mounting position. At the opening position, the cover forms an angle of 90 degrees or more with the body. The spring applies a force to the cover in the opening direction. The lock locks the cover at the second closed position. The cover displaced from the second closed position in the opening direction restricts a movement of the door to the first closed position.

Image forming apparatus with a door on a body and cover inside the door

A transfer device includes an intermediate transferor and primary transfer sections. The primary transfer sections each includes a primary transferor. The primary transfer sections include a most-upstream primary transfer section and a most-downstream primary transfer section. One of the primary transfer sections is a special-color primary transfer section switchable between the most-upstream primary transfer section and the most-downstream primary transfer section. The primary transferor of each of the most-upstream primary transfer section and the most-downstream primary transfer section is switchable between a contact position at which the primary transferor contacts the latent image bearer and a separation position at which the primary transferor is separated from the latent image bearer. With only the primary transferor of the special-color primary transfer section at the separation position, the primary transferor of any other primary transfer section than the special-color primary transfer section is arranged at the contact position to transfer an image.

A transfer device includes a belt, a transferor, a holder, a biasing member, and a movement mechanism. The transferor is movable to contact the belt. The holder holds the transferor. The biasing member biases the transferor toward the belt. The movement mechanism contacts the holder and causes the transferor to move in a direction opposite to a direction in which the biasing member biases the transferor. The holder includes a contact portion to contact the movement mechanism and a holder portion. The contact portion includes a material having a higher rigidity than the holder portion.

Transfer device including fastener to fasten a holder portion and another holder portion which has a higher rigidity than the holder portion

A transfer device includes a movable component, a moving assembly, a restrictor, and an operating member. The movable component moves toward and away from a latent image bearer unit. The moving assembly causes the movable component to move toward and away from the latent image bearer unit. The restrictor restricts the latent image bearer unit from detaching from an image forming apparatus. The operating member causes the moving assembly to move the movable component away from the latent image bearer unit and releases restriction of detachment of the latent image bearer unit from the image forming apparatus by the restrictor.

An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor that bears an image and an intermediate transfer device that forms a primary transfer nip between the photoconductor and the intermediate transfer device. The intermediate transfer device primarily transfers the image from the photoconductor onto the intermediate transfer device at the primary transfer nip. A secondary transfer device forms a secondary transfer nip between the intermediate transfer device and the secondary transfer device. The secondary transfer device secondarily transfers the image from the intermediate transfer device onto a recording medium at the secondary transfer nip. At least one support shaft supports the intermediate transfer device. The at least one support shaft supports, on an identical axis, one lateral end and another lateral end of the secondary transfer device in a width direction of the recording medium.

Image forming apparatus

A transfer device includes a pressed unit, a rotatable roller, and a pressing member. The pressed unit is movably supported and includes a first non-rotatable shaft portion and a second non-rotatable shaft portion. The rotatable roller is rotatably supported by the first non-rotatable shaft portion of the pressed unit. The pressing member contacts the second non-rotatable shaft portion of the pressed unit and presses the pressed unit. The second non-rotatable shaft portion has an axial center aligned with an axial center of the first non-rotatable shaft portion.

Transfer device, image forming apparatus, pressing device, and belt device

A rotating device includes a shaft member, a counterpart member, a bearing, and a retaining member. The counterpart member includes a shaft insertion portion into which the shaft member is inserted. The bearing is disposed in the shaft insertion portion and interposed between the counterpart member and the shaft member. The bearing causes the counterpart member and the shaft member to be rotatable relative to each other. The retaining member is disposed on an end portion of the shaft member on one side in an axial direction of the shaft member. The counterpart member includes an opposing portion closer to the end portion of the shaft member on the one side in the axial direction than the bearing. The opposing portion faces the retaining member in the axial direction.

Rotating device and image forming apparatus

A transfer device includes a plurality of photoconductors, a belt, a plurality of primary transfer rollers and control circuitry. The plurality of primary transfer rollers is disposed for the plurality of photoconductors, respectively. The plurality of primary transfer rollers brings the belt into contact with or separate the belt from the plurality of photoconductors. The control circuitry causes at least one of the plurality of primary transfer rollers to press against a corresponding at least one of the plurality of photoconductors to shift a printing mode.

Transfer device and image forming apparatus including photoconductors, a belt, and primary transfer rollers

A drive device that drives a detachable unit detachably attached to an image forming apparatus includes a drive coupling, a rotary shaft, a relay member, a contact member, and a compression spring. The drive coupling contacts and separate from a driven coupling of the detachable unit along with movement of the detachable unit. The relay member transmits rotation force of the rotary shaft to the drive coupling to rotate together. The compression spring has an axial end contacting the contact member disposed away from the driven coupling from the relay member and another axial end contacting the relay member. The drive coupling includes an outer circumferential restrictor restricts radial movement of the compression spring. The relay member includes an inner circumferential restrictor restricts radial movement of the compression spring.

Drive device and image forming apparatus incorporating the drive device

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a writing device, a partition, and a plurality of side members. The image bearer is configured to bear an image. The writing device is configured to write the image on the image bearer. The partition is disposed between the image bearer and the writing device. The plurality of side members is disposed facing and spaced apart from each other at an interval in an axial direction of the image bearer. The writing device is fixed to the plurality of side members and is spaced apart from the partition.

Image forming apparatus incorporating writing device

An image forming apparatus includes a driven unit and a drive transmitter. The drive transmitter includes a drive source, a drive gear, and a driven gear. The drive source is configured to drive the driven unit. The drive gear is configured to receive a driving force from the drive source. The driven gear is meshed with the drive gear. The drive transmitter is configured to transmit the driving force from the drive source to the driven unit. The drive gear or the driven gear is a crowned gear crowning-processed and the crowned gear has a crowning amount less than 50 &#x3bc;m.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Hiroaki Takagi