Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

S-printing Solution Co., Ltd.

Il-kwon Kang

Hyo-Jin Lee

Byeong-hwa Ahn

Heung-sup Jeong

Se-Hyun Lyu

Gyeong-sun Park

Soo-yong Kim

Jeong-yong Ju

Ki-ju Park

Hyo-jin Lee

Ki-ju Pak

Ki-Ju Pak

An automatic belt tension apparatus of an image forming device having: a tension actuating part connected to the driving unit and operating by a driving force of a driving unit; a tension applying part to selectively apply a predetermined tension to a belt, installed with respect to the belt; and a tension releasing part to operate the tension applying part to not apply the predetermined tension to the belt, installed with respect to the tension applying part.

Automatic belt tension apparatus of image forming device and method thereof

A transfer unit and an image forming apparatus having the same. The transfer unit includes a transfer unit body to accommodate a printing medium conveyor, which makes a printing medium receive an image while moving the printing medium, a body handle used to mount the transfer unit body in an image forming apparatus and to separate the transfer unit body from the image forming apparatus, and a locking and releasing unit to lock the transfer unit body to the image forming apparatus and to release a locking connection therebetween. The locking and releasing unit is disposed to carry out a releasing operation by grasping the body handle.

Transfer unit, image forming apparatus having the same, and method thereof

A multi-purpose feeder (MPF) for office automation (OA) machinery includes an MPF tray installed rotatably on a main body panel so that it can be opened and closed. An auxiliary stocker is rotatably installed on the tray by a hinge. An auxiliary stocker pivoting unit automatically pivots the auxiliary stocker as the MPF tray is opened and closed. Since the auxiliary stocker is automatically opened and folded when the MPF tray is opened and closed with respect to the main body, the MPF has improved user's convenience.

Multi-purpose feeder for office automation machinery

A developing unit and an image forming apparatus having the developing unit are disclosed. The developing unit includes a developing unit main body having a supporting groove that contacts and is supported by the supporting protrusion of a frame when the developing unit is mounted on the mounting frame. A photoconductor is rotatably disposed in the developing unit main body and has ends that form a supporting shaft and are supported by a supporting unit. A driven unit is disposed in the developing unit main body and geared with the driving unit when the developing unit main body is mounted on the mounting frame. One of side surfaces of the developing unit main body includes an interference unit that interferes with the mounting frame and push the developing unit main body into engagement with the driving gear when the developing main body is mounted on the mounting frame.

Developing unit and an image forming apparatus including the developing unit

A driving apparatus includes a driving gear connected to a driving motor, a driven gear engaged with the driving gear, and a driving force coupling part coupling the driving gear and the driven gear to not move with respect to each other. The driving force coupling part includes an axle distance maintaining member to maintain a substantially constant distance between axes of the driving gear and the driven gear. The driving apparatus couples the driving gear and the driven gear to not move with respect to each other when a driving force is transmitted from the driving gear to the driven gear, thereby maintaining a substantially uniform distance between axes of the driving gear and the driven gear. Accordingly, a driven gear shaft is substantially prevented from changing position and deformation of a process cartridge is substantially prevented due to a driving torque of the driving gear and a load torque of the driven gear. Thus, a change in a gap between a developing roller and a photoconductive medium is minimized.

Driving apparatus, process cartridge and image forming device having the same

An image forming apparatus includes a developing unit which develops toner to form an image, a transfer unit which transfers the image onto a printing medium, and a fusing unit to fuse the image transferred onto the printing medium, wherein the transfer unit includes a belt, a plurality of rollers which rotatably supports the belt, and a belt tension applying unit which moves a first roller of the plurality of rollers between a belt tension release position at which a tension of the belt releases and a belt tension applying position at which the tension of the belt applies by the interlocking motion between the belt tension applying unit and a second roller of the plurality of rollers.

Belt driving device, transfer unit using the same and image forming apparatus using the transfer unit

A developing cartridge includes a housing having a photosensitive medium, and a protective cover movable between a first position where the protective cover covers the photosensitive medium and a second position where a part of the photosensitive medium is exposed. A guide unit guides the protective cover to prevent exceeding a range occupied by the housing when the protective cover is moved to the first and second positions.

Developing cartridge having protective cover and image forming apparatus including the same

Provided is a duplex printer and method of duplex printing. The duplex printer and method of printing includes a paper feeding belt that is vertically installed to form a first vertical surface; a photosensitive drum that is installed to contact the first vertical surface; and a transfer roller that is installed to contact an other surface of the first vertical surface contacting the photosensitive drum to transfer a toner image from the photosensitive drum onto a sheet of paper, which is supplied between the photosensitive drum and the paper feeding belt. A back surface feeding path of the paper is formed at an opposite side of the photosensitive drum in the paper feeding belt, and the paper is conveyed closely adhered to a surface of the paper feeding belt in the back surface feeding path of the paper.

Duplex printer

A color image forming device has an image forming cartridge including a cartridge frame that receives a plurality of image forming units. A movable fixing part supports at least one of the shafts of a plurality of photosensitive bodies disposed in the image forming units so that the shaft is rotatably fixed. The shafts of the other photosensitive bodies are movable and rotatable when the plurality of image forming units are received in the cartridge frame. A mounting frame receives the image forming cartridge, and has a shaft receiving part formed at a position corresponding to the ends of the shafts of the photosensitive bodies. The color image forming device accurately fixes the position of the shafts of the photosensitive bodies when the image forming cartridge is assembled in the mounting frame, thereby producing a high quality image reliably.

Tandem color image forming device

A photosensitive drum protecting device for use in a color electrophotographic printer is provided. The printer, in which developing device cartridges of various colors including photosensitive drums and developing rollers are installed, and a printing path contacting the photosensitive drums is formed, includes a photosensitive drum protecting device that simultaneously exposes or protects each of the photosensitive drums. All of the photosensitive drums disposed at front end portions of the developing device cartridges are covered by just one photosensitive drum protecting device. Thus, the complexity of the printer is reduced and the printer can be made more compact.

Color electrophotographic printer having photosensitive drum protection device and method of operating same

An output paper stacking device includes a tray installed at a position lower than a paper discharge opening of a printing apparatus so that printed paper sheets discharged through the discharge opening can stack sequentially. Guide levers are installed to project upward through respective through slots provided in the tray for guiding both sides of the printed paper sheet, and for aligning the paper sheet at a predetermined position. A supporting unit for rotatably supporting the guide levers is provided so that one end of each guide lever can be balanced by another end of the guide lever in a state in which one end of the guide lever projects upward through the through slot of the tray. Thus, the output paper stacking device according to the present invention guides and aligns a paper sheet with guide levers having simple structures and which do not require any external driving power.

Output paper stacking device of a printing apparatus and method for completing the same

An object insertion and separation sensing apparatus and method is provided for detecting the insertion or separation of a predetermined object into or from a main body. Included is a tactile switch installed on a circuit board provided in the main body, an elastic plate installed spaced a predetermined distance from the tactile switch and elastically pressing the tactile switch by an external force, an elastic member installed to face the tactile switch with respect to the elastic plate where the elastic plate is interposed between the elastic member and the tactile switch, one end of the elastic member is contacting the elastic plate, and a button having one end thereof contacting the other end of the elastic member and the other end thereof pressed by the object being inserted in the main body, so that the elastic member and the elastic plate are consecutively pressed to operate the tactile switch. Thus, the impact according to the collision with the paper cassette which is an object to be inserted and separated is separately received by the compression spring and the elastic plate so that deformation of the collision portion can be reduced. Also, when the object enters, more allowance in the distance of the excessive movement can be secured so that the burden in the manufacture can be lessened.

Object insertion/separation sensing apparatus

A paper feeding apparatus of a printing device is provided. The paper feeding apparatus includes a tray releasably combined to the main body of the printing device for receiving paper. A guide plate is movably installed in the tray according to the page size of the paper, and a link is pivotally installed centering around a hinge shaft provided in the tray, to one end of which the guide plate is connected, which pivots around the hinge shaft according to the movement of the guide plate. Also, a rack is slidably installed in the tray, connected to the other end of the link, which slides according to the pivot of the link. A driving plate which rotates is provided, which engages with the rack and in which a plurality of marks corresponding to the page size of the paper are formed, and a sensor is provided for sensing the marks and the page size of the paper.

Growing community of inventors

Suwon-si, South Korea

Il-kwon Kang