Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited

Subaru Corporation

Ricoh Comapany, Ltd.

Katsuhiro Aoki

Hajime Oyama

Takashi Hodoshima

Hiroshi Ikeguchi

Yasuo Miyoshi

Takeo Tsukamoto

Tsukuru Kai

Takatsugu Fujishiro

Katsuaki Miyawaki

Kei Yasutomi

Daichi Yamaguchi

Hiroyuki Matsushiro

Hitoshi Maruyama

Junichi Matsumoto

Noboru Sawayama

Masanori Saitoh

Hisashi Shoji

Hiromitsu Takagaki

Yuichi Ueno

Takayuki Maruta

Koichi Suzuki

Koji Suzuki

Masaaki Yamada

Tomoko Takahashi

Akira Sawada

Yasuyuki Ishii

Noriyuki Kimura

Ichiro Kadota

Hideki Zemba

Naoki Iwata

Osamu Ariizumi

Akihiro Kawakami

Chiyako Kobayashi

Yoshinori Nakagawa

Tetsuo Watanabe

Takashi Fujita

Atsushi Kurokawa

Masayuki Yamane

Masanori Horike

Noriyoshi Tarumi

Mitsuru Takahashi

Nekka Matsuura

Hideki Kosugi

Eisaku Murakami

Satoru Tomita

Naoya Morohoshi

Akihisa Itabashi

Takanori Yano

Tomoji Ishikawa

Yuuji Sawai

Sadayuki Iwai

Yuuki Satoh

Nobuaki Kondoh

Akira Azami

Katsuichi Ohta

Yasuyuki Shinkai

Misao Tanzawa

Tohru Nakano

Yoshihiro Mitekura

Minoru Ameyama

Yuuji Ishikura

Yusuke Komatsu

Tsumori Satoh

Yoji Endo

Shigeki Sawa

Takafumi Matsushita

Makoto Nakamoto

Takashi Shiraiwa

Koji Okabayashi

Daisuke Esaki

Junya Ideguchi

Naoya Kanakuchi

Jun-ichi Matsumoto

This single-shaft combined cycle plant comprises: a power generator; a gas turbine; a steam turbine that is driven by using waste heat from the gas turbine, and is connected to the power generator by a clutch when the rotational speed syncs with the rotational speed of the gas turbine; a steam turbine over-rotation prevention device; a gas turbine over-rotation prevention device; and a control device. The control device sets the power generator to an unloaded state and, whilst maintaining the rotational speed Ng of the gas turbine so as to be higher than the rotational speed Ns of the steam turbine and lower than the maximum rotational speed Nglim of the gas turbine, increases the rotational speed Ns of the steam turbine to the maximum rotational speed Nslim of the steam turbine (time t-t) and tests whether or not the steam turbine over-rotation prevention device operates normally.

Single-shaft combined cycle plant, testing method for single-shaft combined cycle plant, and control device for single-shaft combined cycle plant

A vehicle control apparatus includes a first electric motor, a second electric motor, a power storage device, a first consumption amount calculator, a first saving amount calculator, a saving balance calculator, and a display controller. The first consumption amount calculator calculates a first fuel amount consumed by the engine owing to charging when the power storage device is charged. The first saving amount calculator calculates a first fuel amount saved by the engine owing to discharge when the power storage device is discharging. The saving balance calculator calculates, based on the first fuel amount consumed and the first fuel amount saved, a fuel saving balance for each calculation period. The display controller controls, based on the fuel saving balance, fuel saving information to be displayed on a display.

Vehicle control apparatus

A development device includes a developer bearer to carry developer thereon and receive a development bias and a developer regulator to adjust an amount of developer carried on the developer bearer. Multiple recesses recessed from a reference surface area are formed in a surface of the developer bearer, the developer bearer includes a conductive base in which the recesses are formed, and the conductive base in the reference surface area is coated with an insulative surface layer.

Development device and image forming apparatus and process unit incorporating same

A developing device includes: a first developer carrier that is moved in a same direction as a moving direction of a latent image carrier at a faster linear speed than the latent image carrier; a second developer carrier that further develops the obtained toner image and that is moved in a same direction at a faster linear speed than the latent image carrier; and a bias output unit that outputs a developing bias to be applied to the second developer carrier. The developing bias includes a direct-current component and a non-rectangular alternating-current component whose waveform has a gentle edge at which a direction of an electric field between the second developer carrier and a background portion of the latent image carrier is changed to a direction in which the toner is moved from the background portion toward the second developer carrier.

Developing device, image forming apparatus, and developing method

A developing device includes a non-magnetic rotatable sleeve of a developer bearer to bear developer and a development electric field generator to generate a development electric field between the image bearer and the developer bearer by applying a development bias to the developer bearer. The developing bias is an AC bias generating an AC electric field therebetween. The magnetic carrier includes a plurality of fine particles each covered by a covering layer made of prescribed material having a volume resistivity equal to or more than 10[&#x3a9;&#xb7;cm] having a prescribed particle diameter equal to or less than 100 [nm]. Each of the a plurality of fine particles has a total volume resistivity equal to or less than 10[&#x3a9;&#xb7;cm]. The magnetic carrier has a total volume resistivity equal to or more than 10[&#x3a9;&#xb7;cm].

Image forming apparatus and method capable of obtaining high quality image suppressing edge effect

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit and a re-heating unit. The fixing unit fixes a toner image on a recording medium by applying heat to the toner image with a first glossiness level. The re-heating unit re-heats the toner image, fixed on the recording medium by the fixing unit, to set a second glossiness level lower than the first glossiness level.

Image forming apparatus for controlling glossiness of an image

A developing apparatus performs image visualization processing by electrostatically adhering toner carried on a developer carrying member onto an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrying member. In the developing apparatus, the toner to be supplied to the developer carrying member is directly injected onto the developer carrying members after flying inside an electric field generated immediately before reaching the developer carrying member. The electric field has one of a homopolarity and a reverse polarity to the electrostatic latent image.

Developing apparatus and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a toner-layer filling-rate lowering unit that causes a toner layer of toner images to be formed on an image carrier so that the toner layer has sufficient optical transparency for exposing and the toner-layer filling rate is set relatively low; and a toner rolling rate adjusting unit that rolls the toner images at a predetermined toner rolling rate in accordance with the toner-layer filling rate when the toner images are transferred to the transferring/fixing unit.

Filling-rate lowering and rolling rate adjusting image forming apparatus

A rotary-body driving-force transmitting mechanism transmits a driving force from a driving-force source to a rotary body. A rotary-inertial-body driving-force transmitting mechanism transmits the driving force to a rotary inertial body that suppresses a velocity fluctuation in the rotary body. A rotational velocity shift mechanism shifts the rotational velocity. The rotary inertial body, the rotary-body driving-force transmitting mechanism, and the rotary-inertial-body driving-force transmitting mechanism are provided coaxially with a rotary shaft of the rotary body. A satellite frictional gear mechanism is used as the rotational velocity shift mechanism.

Device for driving rotary body with mechanism for dampening fluctuation in rotation velocity

A corona charger includes a case provided in the vicinity of a device to be charged. The case includes an opening facing the device, a discharge electrode, a first charging region, and a second charging region. The discharge electrode provided inside the case and supplied with a voltage so as to generate a corona discharge charges a surface of the device from the opening by supplying the corona discharge to the surface. The first charging region includes no grid electrode at a position upstream of the opening in a surface moving direction of the device. The second charging region includes a grid electrode to which a predetermined voltage is applied at a position downstream of the opening. The voltage applied to the discharge electrode is an alternating current (AC) voltage superimposed on a direct current (DC) voltage.

Corona charger having two charging regions

A disclosed development device includes: a latent image carrier; a conveying member disposed so as to face the latent image carrier, the conveying member having plural electrodes insulated from one another and arranged at predetermined intervals so as to generate an electric field for moving toner on the conveying member; a voltage application unit applying a voltage of n phases (n is a positive integer not less than one) to the electrodes so as to form a cloud of the toner and the toner is adhered to the latent image carrier so as to form a visualized toner image; a toner supply unit supplying the toner to the conveying member; and a height adjusting member adjusting a uniform height for a toner layer of the toner immediately before a development area on the conveying member in which development is performed.

Development device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus that use ETH development, and are capable of forming good multi-color images with a simple construction, and are capable of preventing the dispersal of powder. The developing device is for developing latent images on a latent image carrying member by applying powder to the latent image carrying member, and comprises: a transport member disposed in opposition to the latent image carrying member and having a plurality of transport electrodes that generate a progressive wave electric field to move the powder; a voltage supply device for applying a multi-phase voltage to the transport electrodes; and a transport member surface potential determination device for determining the surface potential of the transport member. The voltage supply device in the developing device according to the present invention applies a multi-phase voltage to the transport electrodes so that the surface potential on the transport member is between the potential of the image portions and the potential of the non-image portions of the latent image carrying member.

Developing device using electrostatic transport and hopping (ETH)

A developing device including a rotating developing roller bearing toner thereon, capable of developing an electrostatic latent image with the toner; a toner layer forming member configured to form a toner layer on the developing roller, and charge the toner of the toner layer at a nip between the developing roller and the toner layer forming member; and a toner supplying device configured to supply fresh toner to the developing device, wherein a charge quantity (q) of the toner on the developing roller varies according to the following equation q(t)=A&#xb7;{1&#x2212;exp(&#x2212;t/t)} wherein t represents a nip passing time of the toner on the developing roller, trepresents a time constant of charging the toner, and A represents a constant, and wherein the time constant tis smaller than a rotation time of the developing roller per rotation; and an image forming apparatus and a process cartridge using the developing device.

Developing device, and image forming apparatus and process cartridge using the developing device

A developing device includes a carrying roller to carry a developer, a storing section to store the developer, a supplying roller to supply the developer to the carrying roller by contacting the developer to the carrying roller, the supplying roller extending substantially parallel to the carrying roller. A conveying unit is configured to convey the developer stored in the storing section to the supplying roller. The conveying unit includes a pump with a stator having a through-hole, and a rotor disposed in the through-hole of the stator and spirally extended such that a cavity to convey the developer is formed. The rotor conveys the developer in the cavity in an axial direction of the rotor. Air is supplied to the developer, conveyed by the pump to scatter and fluidize the developer.

Developing method, developing device, and image forming apparatus including the developing device that minimizes deterioration of developer

A developing device for developing a latent image formed on an image carrier of the present invention is generally made up of a developing section and a developer storing section. The developing section includes a developer carrier for conveying a one-component type developer deposited thereon, a feeding member for feeding the developer to the developer carrier, and a conveying member for conveying the developer toward the feeding member while agitating it. The developer storing section replenishes a developer stored therein to the developing section in a direction including at least a horizontal direction component. The developing section and developer storing section are formed with a plurality of openings in the lengthwise direction such that the replenishment of developer from the developer storing section to the developing section and the return of the developer from the latter to the former are executed via the openings.

Developing device, image forming apparatus and process cartridge including replenishment openings

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Kanagawa, Japan

Katsuhiro Aoki