Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Junichi Hirasawa

Yutaka Kodama

Yuichi Sato

Kazuyuki Shimada

Hideaki Mochimaru

Takefumi Adachi

Kenya Komada

Toru Iida

An image forming apparatus having an image forming case which is removably mounted on a body of the apparatus and loaded with a photoconductive drum, developing unit and a cleaning unit integrally therewith. A transfer charger unit and a register roller unit are each removably mounted on the image forming case by a holder. The holders of the transfer charger unit and register roller unit are individually accurately positioned relative to the case by a positioning mechanism when mounted on the case. The transfer charger unit is surely grounded when mounted on the case. An upper and a lower guide plate are interposed between the register roller unit and the photoconductive element for guiding a paper sheet. Opposite edges of each guide plate are individually disposed at predetermined positions.

Improved paper handling mechanism in conjunction with image forming

An image forming device for electrostatic recording apparatus which has a plurality of replacement units, and a case holding the replacement units and is integrally removable from the device body by sliding toward one direction, and in which each replacement unit is placed in operable position when the replacement unit holding case is set to a given position in the device body. In the replacement unit holding case, provided is a mechanism for automatically removing the position of each replacement unit further away from each other than the given setting position of each replacement unit, by pulling out the case from the device body.

Image forming device for electrostatic recording apparatus having a

An ozone removing device suitable for use in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, such as a copier, a laser printer or a facsimile machine, includes a container for containing therein a quantity of a volatile ozone removing agent. Thus, the vaporized or volatilized ozone removing agent flows out of the container through its mount and diffuses into the surrounding atmosphere where it decomposes and removes the ozone when encountered. A filter formed with a plurality of through-holes is fixedly attached to the mouth of the container so that the rate of volatilization of the volatile ozone removing agent is properly controlled, to thereby provide a prolonged ozone removing action. Preferably, a seal is adhesively and sealingly attached to the filter to normally keep the through-holes closed. The seal is removed at least partly to set one or more of the through-holes open after placing the present ozone removing device in position.

Ozone removing device

An optical recording apparatus includes an imaging member which is advanced along a predetermined path, an optical recording head for applying light containing image information to the imaging member to form an electrostatic latent image thereon, a developing unit for developing the latent image thereby converting it into a toner image and a transfer unit for transferring the toner image to a sheet of transfer paper. With the imaging member in the form of a belt, a back-up member and a contact member, preferably in the form of brush, are provided on both sides of the belt-shaped imaging member in the vicinity of an image exposing section where the light from the recording head is applied to the imaging member thereby allowing that portion of the imaging member which is located in the image exposure section is prevented from moving up and down with respect to the advancing direction of the imaging member.

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Yokohama, Japan

Junichi Hirasawa