Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Ntn Corporation

Ricob Company, Ltd.

Hiroshi Adachi

Tamotsu Aruga

Masaomi Sasaki

Tomoyuki Shimada

Chiaki Tanaka

Yuji Ikeda

Juichi Furukawa

Masanori Rimoto

Hiroshi Tateishi

Fumiaki Arai

Tetsuo Tanaka

Kouichi Ohshima

Keishi Taniguchi

Eiichi Kawamura

Shingo Nishizaki

Kohichi Ohshima

Naohiro Funada

Masanaga Imamura

Akihiko Matsuyama

Masanori Hirano

Hiroshi Okamura

Noriyasu Takeuchi

Kengo Tanaka

Norikazu Okada

Masanori Kusunoki

Kunihiro Yamanaka

Kiriko Chosokabe

Eiji Nemoto

Ryo Takenaka

Masashi Hommi

Sumihiro Inokuchi

Taku Itagaki

Yusuke Ozaki

Norio Muraishi

Takuma Kasai

Shunsuke Makino

Jiahua Miao

Hiroshi Murakami

Masashi Satoh

Masaki Karakawa

Tomoyuki Shimida

Makoto Ikki

A powder detector includes a driver to drive a motor, a stirrer to stir powder in a vessel, a vibration plate disposed in the vessel and vibrated by a flip of the stirrer rotated by the motor, and circuitry. The circuitry detects a vibration of the vibration plate, estimates an amount of powder based on a detection result of the vibration, and causes the driver to drive the motor from a starting point, so as to move the stirrer to a preset halt position. The starting point is a rotation angle of the motor on detection of the vibration.

Powder detector, control method of same, and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A tripod type constant velocity universal joint includes an outer joint member including three track grooves having roller-guide surfaces arranged to face each other in a circumferential direction, a tripod member including three leg shafts projecting in a radial direction, and roller units each including a roller and an inner ring for supporting the roller in a freely rotatable manner. The inner ring is externally fitted to a corresponding one of the three leg shafts. The roller is movable along the roller-guide surfaces of a corresponding one of the three track grooves. Each of the three leg shafts includes a region formed into a substantially circular-arc shape in horizontal cross-section that is orthogonal to an axial line of each of the three leg shafts.

Tripod type constant velocity universal joint and method for producing same

A recording medium setting device includes a base plate on which recording media are set; guide members being moved in a width direction of the recording media that are set on the base plate; a contact detection unit detecting a contact between the guide members and the recording media; an approach unit moving the guide members in a direction so as to sandwich the recording media set on the base plate until the contact detection unit detects the contact between the guide members and the recording media; and an additional approach unit moving the guide members, moved by the approach unit, at a predetermined distance in the direction to squeeze the recording media after the contact detection unit detects the contact between the guide members and the recording media.

Recording medium setting device and image forming apparatus

A recording medium placement device includes a placement unit in which a recording medium is placed; a guide member provided along an edge of the recording medium and movable in a first direction orthogonal to the edge, the edge being at a first position; a distance detection unit that detects a distance between the guide member and the edge; a drive unit that moves the guide member in the first direction until the distance detection unit detects that the guide member contacts the recording medium; a gap length calculation unit that calculates a length of a gap between the recording medium and the guide member when a movement of the guide member is stopped using a detection output from the distance detection unit; and an adjustment unit that moves the guide member to the edge at the first position based on the length of the gap.

Recording medium placement device and image forming apparatus

A sheet thickness detecting device for detecting a thickness of a sheet includes a fixed roller rotatably supported by a shaft so that the fixed roller faces the sheet; a movable roller rotatably provided so that the movable roller and the fixed roller sandwich and feed the sheet, and configured to be displaced in accordance with the thickness of the sandwiched sheet; a swing member rotatably supporting the movable roller and including a shaft so that the swing member is swung around the shaft, wherein the swing member further includes a detection target part formed in a manner that a distance between the detection target part and the shaft is greater than that between a position where the movable roller is supported by the swing member and the shaft; and a detecting unit detecting the displacement amount of the detection target part of the swing member.

Sheet thickness detecting device, feeding device, and image forming apparatus

A heater control device includes a temperature detector that detects a temperature of a heated object heated by a heater; an alternating-current power supply for applying an alternating current voltage to the heater; a turn-on ratio decision unit that determines a turn-on ratio of the heater based on the temperature and a target temperature; a turn-on pattern decision unit that determines a partial turn-on pattern, as the turn-on pattern of the heater, which is a pattern of a turn-on ratio higher than the determined turn-on ratio in terms of a control-period, and to which a partial turn-on instead of a full turn-on is allocated on a half-wavelength basis of the alternating current voltage within the control period based on the turn-on ratio of the heater; and a turn-on controller that controls turn-on of the heater based on the determined turn-on pattern.

Heater control device, image forming apparatus, and computer program product

To provide an ink set including a recording liquid and a treating liquid capable of obtaining a high-quality-image printed matter. To provide the high-quality-image printed matter by using the ink set including the recording liquid and the treating liquid, where the component and property of the treating liquid and the recording liquid are adjusted, moreover a combination of the component and the property is adjusted. The ink set includes: the recording liquid which includes a coloring material; and the treating liquid which includes a component reactive with a component of the recording liquid. By superimposing the treating liquid and the recording liquid on a record medium, a record part is formed which includes a first layer formed of the recording liquid, and a second layer formed of the treating liquid. The treating liquid has the surface tension &#x3b3; expressed by 10 mN/m&#x2266;&#x3b3;&#x2266;60 mN/m.

Ink set, treating liquid, recording liquid, image recording apparatus and image recording method

It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording ink which contains at least a pigment, a dispersant, a water-soluble solvent, a wetting agent and water, wherein the pigment contains at least one of diketopyrrolopyrrole red pigment and phthalocyanine green pigment in order to obtain a recording ink and ink set which excel in discharge stability with no head clogging during printing and can obtain high quality images with good color tone on the regular paper as well as on an exclusive recording paper; and ink cartridge, ink record, inkjet recording apparatus and inkjet recording method which utilize the recording ink and ink set respectively.

Recording ink, ink set, ink cartridge, ink record, inkjet recording apparatus and inkjet recording method

The present invention provides an ink set which includes a combination of a recording liquid including a resin-coated colorant, and a treatment liquid including a particle which has a reactivity with the resin-coated colorant. The ink set can obtain a high quality image free from feathering and color bleeding, can obtain a high quality image even when used for printing on a plain paper sheet, can obtain a print excellent in wear resistance, can obtain a high image density without causing a deep permeation of a recording liquid in the paper sheet, can perform a favorable double-sided printing with a low image density when the image is viewed from an opposite face of an image print face, can be free from an image stain attributable to drying failure of the recording liquid, and can provide the print with a proper glossiness.

Ink set, ink-jet printing method, and ink-jet printer

An image forming apparatus having a recording head for discharging an ink includes a fuel cell unit and a water supply unit. The fuel cell unit generates power for the image forming apparatus and water when the power is generated in the fuel cell unit. The water supply unit supplies the water, generated by the fuel cell unit, to an ink accumulation area in the image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus having improved capability for maintaining ink delivery

An image is formed by applying a recording composition having a colorant and a treating composition including a component that reacts with colorant droplets so that the compositions contact and mix with each other on a recording medium; and adjusting the pH of the mixture so that the treating composition and the recording composition react to form aggregates while any unreacted component forms aggregates as a simple substance, wherein the component that reacts with the colorant has an isoelectric point at which the zeta potential (&#x3b6;) is 0 when zeta potential (&#x3b6;) change of the component is plotted versus corresponding changes in the pH of the mixture, and wherein the recording composition and treating composition are respectively adjusted to satisfy a&#x3c;&#x3b3; and a&#x3c;c, wherein 'c' is a pH value of the isoelectric point, 'a' is a pH value of the mixture where the zeta potential (&#x3b6;) change according to pH is on the more acidic side than the pH (c) of the isoelectric point, and is about &#x2212;2.5 mV&#xb7;l/mol, and &#x201c;&#x3b3;&#x201d; is the pH of the mixture.

Image forming process and image forming apparatus and ink set therefor

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium by ejecting a recording liquid to the recording medium at a recording part is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a conveyor belt for conveying the recording medium to the recording part, the conveyor belt satisfying a relation of &#x3b3;&#x3e;&#x3b3;c, wherein &#x3b3; (mN/m) is a static surface tension of the recording liquid at 25&#xb0; C., and &#x3b3;c (mN/m) is a critical surface tension of the conveyor belt, wherein the recording liquid contains a color material in a disperse state.

Image forming apparatus, recording liquid, conveyor belt, recording liquid cartridge

A thermosensitive stencil sheet including at least a thermoplastic resin film and an electromagnetic wave absorbing layer which includes an electromagnetic wave absorbing agent and a resin. The thermosensitive stencil sheet may also include a porous substrate and/or a protective layer. A thermal stencil printing method in which the thermosensitive stencil sheet is imagewise perforated with an electromagnetic wave to prepare a stencil plate and then the resultant stencil plate is subjected to a printing operation to form images is also provided. A multi-color thermal stencil printing method using the thermosensitive stencil sheet is also provided.

Thermosensitive stencil and plate and thermal stencil plate making and stencil printing method therefor

Emulsion ink, by which clear images are produced, having excellent drying and fixing properties and preservation stability and does not bleed, strike through or leak. The emulsion ink contains an aqueous emulsified ultraviolet cure compound.

Emulsion ink and printing method using emulsion ink

A heat-sensitive stencil including a porous support, and a thermoplastic resin film laminated on the support and having a surface smoothness of at least 10,000 seconds. The stencil is fabricated by bonding a thermoplastic resin film to a porous support with an adhesive having a specific viscosity and a specific volatile matter content, while maintaining each of the support and the film under a specific tension. The stencil may also be fabricated by applying a coating composition containing a resin and first and second solvents having a specific solubility and specific evaporation rates, and drying the applied composition to form a porous support. A printing master is produced by heating the above stencil imagewise by a thermal head with a heating energy of not greater than 0.05 mJ/dot.

Heat-sensitive stencil, process of fabricating same and method of

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Numazu, Japan

Hiroshi Adachi