Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Junya Masuda

Toshihiko Seike

Yoshinori Shiraishi

Koji Wakamoto

Toshiki Takiguchi

Tatsuya Inoue

Shinji Nakazawa

Hiroyuki Murai

Masato Tamehira

Kouji Wakamoto

Hirokazu Yamauchi

Yoshiharu Yoneda

Shinichi Takeda

Takahisa Narikiyo

Masao Matsui

Toyokazu Mori

Kohichi Matsumoto

Toshio Yamanaka

Hiroshi Kida

Yasuhiro Takai

Takashi Yamanaka

Kazuhiro Matsuyama

Masaru Tsuji

Takahiro Fukunaga

Kimihide Tsukamoto

Tadasu Taniguchi

Sohichi Takata

Toshihisa Matsuo

Yoshitaka Matsumoto

Masanobu Yamamoto

Koji Katamoto

Kaoru Suzuki

Takenori Ohtoshi

A turnable sheet stopper blocks and passes a sheet conveyed on a sheet guide, and includes a proximal portion, a distal portion connected to the end of the proximal portion, and a folding mechanism that connects the distal portion to the proximal portion. The sheet stopper transitions between first and second positions. In the second position, the proximal and distal portions integrally turn to the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction to allow the sheet to pass. The sheet stopper transitions from the second position to a third position when a user draws out the sheet from an upstream side. In the third position, the distal portion folds toward the upstream side to allow the sheet to be drawn out. During transition from the second position to the third position, the edge of the distal portion is located on or away from an outer surface of the sheet guide.

Sheet stopper and image forming apparatus

A paper feed apparatus in accordance with the present invention feeds printing paper stored in a printing paper storage unit. The printing paper storage unit includes: a paper stacking table on which the printing paper is stacked; and an erected member erected along a side of the paper stacking table. The erected member includes a low erected portion formed lower in a height direction than a surrounding portion of the erected member. The paper stacking table has a top face thereof located at a position as high as, or higher than, the low erected portion in the height direction.

Paper feed apparatus and image forming apparatus

A sheet feed device includes: a stacking tray on which sheets are stacked in such a manner as to be capable of being lifted and lowered; and an opening/closing member. When the opening/closing member is open, a sheet stacking surface on which the sheets are stacked is positioned at a position higher, in an upper and lower direction of the sheet feed device, than an uppermost portion of the opening/closing member in the upper and lower direction.

Sheet feed device and image forming apparatus including the same

The elastic force of a springin a direction of an arrow X is applied to an endA of a coil springA in a direction of an arrow Y through a holding plate. The endA of the coil springA is engaged with a holding holeand regulated from moving in the direction of the arrow Y. The elastic force of the springin the direction of the arrow X is constantly applied to the coil springA in a direction in which the peripheral surface of the support postis tightened.

Arm rotating device and image forming apparatus provided with the same

A curl correcting apparatus includes rollers, a motor, and a clutch portion. The rollers are curl correction-use rollers which are arranged in parallel to each other in a pressure-contact state and which are different in hardness. The motor is a motor capable of rotating in forward and reverse directions relative to a correction-amount adjusting portion that changes and adjusts a distance to the rollers as a result of an eccentric cam that integrally rotates in accordance with a rotation amount of a rotation shaft, pressing against the rollers. The clutch portion transmits a rotary driving force of the motor to the rollers during the forward rotation and to a rotation shaft during the reverse rotation.

Curl correcting apparatus and image forming apparatus

To provide an image forming apparatus in which the paper is cooled early by blowing air to the paper in the conveying path so as to prevent a sticking phenomenon on a paper output tray while paper turning, paper folding, paper breakage and paper jamming due to influence on paper conveyance by blowing air onto the paper in the conveying path, can be prevented. At the start of paper conveyance, a gateis turned upwards to a first position to thereby close a sixth conveying pathand establish communication between a first conveying pathand a second conveying pathso that the paper having passed through a fixing unitstarts to be conveyed from first conveying pathto second conveying path. At the same time, air is exhausted from an exhausting mechanismarranged upstream of a cooling mechanism. When a first paper sensordetects the leading end of the paper, a cooling fanstarts to rotate at a predetermined rotational rate to start blowing air at a predetermined volume of cooling airflow.

Image forming apparatus

An image recording apparatus includes a first pullout unit, a second pullout unit, and a first lock mechanism. The first unit is movable along a first axis between a first retracted position where the first unit is fully retracted in the apparatus, and a first exposed position where at least one side surface thereof is fully exposed to the front of the apparatus. The second unit is movable along a second axis, which is perpendicular to the first axis, between a second retracted position where the second unit is fully retracted in the first unit, and a second exposed position where the second unit is exposed to a side of the side surface of the first unit. The first lock mechanism prevents movement of the second unit from the second retracted position to the second exposed position when the first unit is not in the first exposed position.

Unit pulling-out mechanism and image recording apparatus

Image forming apparatus including cooling mechanism with blowoff port

An image forming apparatus capable of effectively cooling down a sheet having been subjected to fixing processing while preventing an apparatus from becoming larger in size and a sheet conveyance failure from occurring is provided. The image forming apparatus () includes a sheet conveyance path (), a fixing device (), a conveyance roller (), an upper sheet guide (), a lower sheet guide (), and a cooling fan (). The conveyance roller () is disposed downstream of a heat-treatment portion in the sheet conveyance path and configured so as to convey a sheet passing the heat-treatment portion to the paper output tray. At a position corresponding to the position of the conveyance rollers (), the upper sheet guide () is provided with a ventilation portion () configured so as to make the cooling air from the cooling device () pass through. At a position opposed to the ventilation portion () of the upper sheet guide (), the lower sheet guide () is provided with a ventilation portion () configured so as to make the cooling air from the cooling device () pass through.

Image forming apparatus sequentially outputting a sheet having been subjected to image formation processing to a paper output tray

The separating part of the separating device receives a reactive force that occurs on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor drum, at the contact point where the separating part and the photoreceptor drum are in contact. The separating device controller changes the position of the rotational supporting point so as to decrease the rotational moment M of the reactive force at the rotational supporting point of the separating device, in accordance with increase of the reactive force that occurs on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor drum as the separating part is worn down.

Separating device

Image recording apparatus with first and second pullout units

At the start of paper conveyance, a gate is turned upwards to a first position to thereby close a sixth conveying path and establish communication between a first conveying path and a second conveying path so that the paper having passed through a fixing unit starts to be conveyed from first conveying path to second conveying path. At the same time, air is exhausted from an exhausting mechanism arranged upstream of a cooling mechanism. When a first paper sensor detects the leading end of the paper, a cooling fan starts to rotate at a predetermined rotational rate to start blowing air at a predetermined volume of cooling airflow.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion that forms an image on a recording medium, a fixing portion that heats and fixes an image on a recording medium after forming the image, a feed path that conveys a recording medium after heating and fixing by the fixing portion, a first pair of feed rollers composed of two feed rollers provided in the feed path, and a cooling mechanism that sends cooling air to a nip portion of the pair of feed rollers or to the vicinity thereof. The cooling mechanism increases a cooling air volume when a recording medium is held between the first pair of feed rollers in comparison to the time when the recording medium is not held between the first pair of feed rollers.

Image forming apparatus including cooling mechanism for cooling heated sheet

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Junya Masuda