Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp.

Kazuaki Iikura

Kaoru Watanabe

Hirokazu Hamano

Yoshifumi Ozaki

Akihiko Noda

Yosuke Ninomiya

Takafumi Wakai

Yasuyuki Tsutsumi

Masaru Sakuma

Shinji Mitsui

Munenobu Okubo

Kazuhiro Saito

Masaya Okamoto

Lei Yuan

Satoshi Miyawaki

Koichi Tanaka

Shigeru Tanaka

Yukihiro Ichiki

Kazuyoshi Itoh

Hiroki Ando

Atsuna Saiki

Tetsuji Okamoto

Takashi Akaike

Sou Morizaki

Toshiyuki Matsui

Motoyuki Yagi

Satoshi Honobe

Yasutaka Gotoh

Masahiro Akatsuka

Tomokazu Kurita

Junichi Ozawa

Shinya Makiura

Yasushi Nagata

Jouta Kobayashi

Taro Mitsui

Ichiro Kawahara

Takaaki Sato

Hiroshi No

Takashi Anzai

Yasuhiro Warita

Hisashi Murase

Masahiro Andoh

Noriaki Kishi

Hiroshi Shokaku

Takahiro Kimura

Koji Tadokoro

Kazunari Iizuka

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing mechanism and a transfer belt mechanism. The image bearing mechanism is attachable to and detachable from an apparatus body in a first direction and supports multiple image bearing members. Each image bearing member has a surface onto which an image is formed while the image bearing member rotates. The transfer belt mechanism includes a transfer belt onto which the images on the multiple image bearing members are transferred while the image bearing members rotate. The transfer belt mechanism is attachable to and detachable from the apparatus body in a second direction different from the first direction.

Image forming apparatus having detachable image bearing and transfer belt mechanisms

A powder processing apparatus includes a processing engine, a carrying region forming unit, a door, a powder storage unit. The processing engine is mounted inside an apparatus housing. The processing engine includes one or plural processing units each at least including a movable powder carrier that carries powder, and a powder supply unit. The carrying region forming unit forms a region in the powder carrier where powder can be carried. The door opens and closes an opening formed in a side wall of the apparatus housing. The powder storage unit stores the powder. The powder storage unit moves along with the opening and closing of the door. When the door is opened, an insertion and extraction path that is wide enough to insert and extract the processing engine is ensured in the opening, excluding a region blocked by the powder storage unit that moves along with the door.

Powder processing apparatus

An image formation device includes: a first unit for image formation, attachably and detachably disposed in the image formation device, a power source unit configured to supply electric power to the first unit, a second unit for image formation, attachably and detachably, independently of the first unit, disposed in the image formation device, and disposed between the first unit and the power source unit and a power supply path provided in the second unit, and configured to be supplied with the electric power from the power source unit and supply the electric power to the first unit.

Image formation device

A pressure-applying device includes a pressure-applying portion that applies pressure to a pressure-receiving object and a pressing portion that presses the pressure-applying portion toward the pressure-receiving object, the pressing portion having a hardness higher than a hardness of the pressure-applying portion. The pressure-applying portion includes plural projections that project from a back surface of the pressure-applying portion that faces the pressing portion toward a pressing surface of the pressing portion that faces the pressure-applying portion.

Pressure-applying device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a heating unit that rotates and that fixes a toner image on a recording medium, a pressing unit that rotates and that presses the heating unit, and a potential-difference application unit that applies a potential difference between the pressing unit and the heating unit so that a potential of the heating unit is higher than a potential of the pressing unit.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including a potential-difference application unit

A contact member is substantially arc-shaped along an inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical body while being supported in contact with an inside of the cylindrical body, when viewed from an axial direction of the cylindrical body. The contact member has at least one projection projecting from an inner peripheral surface of the contact member.

Contact member, image carrier, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes the following elements. A housing includes a mounting unit. A removable unit includes at least a photoconductor drum and is mounted on and dismounted from the mounting unit. An exposure device includes a light-emitting source and is fixed to the mounting unit such that the exposure device pivots about a pivot point in directions in which it approaches and separates from the photoconductor drum. The exposure device includes a driven portion at an end on an upstream side in an inserting direction of the removable unit. The driven portion is driven to move the exposure device in a direction in which it approaches the photoconductor drum. The removable unit includes a driving portion at the end on the upstream side. The driving portion contacts and drives the driven portion to move the exposure device in the direction in which the exposure device approaches the photoconductor drum.

Image forming apparatus having a removable unit with a driving portion

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier that is rotatably supported, a to-be-transferred member onto which an image that is held by the image carrier is transferred, a driving unit that is disposed on a first end portion of the image carrier in an axial direction of the image carrier and that causes the image carrier to rotate, and a retreat mechanism that causes a second end portion of the image carrier to be separated from the to-be-transferred member while a connection between the image carrier and the driving unit is maintained and thereafter causes the image carrier to retreat by disconnecting the image carrier and the driving unit from each other.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a light emitting element unit disposed at an operating position closely opposed to a photoconductor in a printing operation and having a light emitting element that forms an image on the photoconductor, a support unit mounted in the image forming apparatus to support the light emitting element unit, and an elastic member disposed between the light emitting element unit and the support unit. In a state in which the light emitting element unit is disposed at the operating position, the support unit supports the light emitting element unit with the elastic member being disposed therebetween.

Image forming apparatus having a support unit to move a light element of the image forming apparatus

A contact member is fitted in a cylindrical body that is substantially cylindrical and configurates an image carrier, and is supported by the cylindrical body while being in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body at contact portions provided in three areas in a circumferential direction of the cylindrical body. All angles formed by two of straight lines passing through the contact portions and an axial center of the cylindrical body are more than about 90 degrees in a state in which the contact member is supported within the cylindrical body, when viewed from an axial direction of the cylindrical body.

A contact member is supported in contact with an inside of a rotating cylindrical body, and is provided in a substantially arc shape along an inner side surface of the cylindrical body to have both end portions opposed to each other in a state in which the contact member is supported by the cylindrical body, when viewed from an axial direction of the cylindrical body. The contact member has a gate mark serving as an injection port for a resin material at a position recessed from an outer peripheral surface of the contact member.

There is provided a developing device including a toner holding member that is rotatably provided to face an image holding member and holds and transports a nonmagnetic single-component toner toward a development region to develop an electrostatic latent image on the image holding member, a supplying member that is rotatably provided in elastic contact with the toner holding member to supply the toner from a contact region therebetween to the toner holding member, a toner replenishing unit that faces a replenishment region at a portion apart from the contact region to replenish a new toner, and a regulating member that is provided on a downstream side of the contact region in a rotation direction thereof and on an upstream side of the development region to triboelectrically charge the toner held on the toner holding member and regulate the amount of toner provided for the development.

Developing device, and image forming apparatus using the same

A developing device includes a toner holding member that is rotatably installed opposite to an image holding member which holds a latent image and circularly moves, a supply member that has a rough surface capable of capturing toner, a toner supply portion that supplies new toner, and a restriction member that restricts an amount of toner used for development, wherein the toner supply portion connects an accommodation chamber to a developing chamber via a toner transport path, wherein a developing chamber side opening is located on a lower side of an accommodation chamber side opening of the toner transport path, and wherein a width size in a direction following a rotation direction of the supply member in the developing chamber side opening of the toner transport path is set to be smaller than an outer diameter of the supply member in a projection plane viewed from the supply member side.

A developing device includes a transporting unit that rotates while facing an image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image, the transporting unit transporting developer toward the image carrier; a feeding unit that contacts the transporting unit to feed the developer to the transporting unit; a transport path that connects a containing chamber that contains the developer to a feeding chamber that houses the feeding unit; a supplying unit that retains the developer to be supplied in the transport path and supplies the developer to the feeding unit in a supply region that is separated from a contact region in which the feeding unit contacts the transporting unit; and an attaching unit that is disposed downstream of the contact region and upstream of the supply region in a rotation direction of the feeding unit and that attaches the developer to the feeding unit at a location below the contact region.

Developing device having an attaching unit for attaching developer and image forming apparatus including the same

A rotating body includes a cylindrical rotating member and bearings located at the ends located in the axial direction of the rotating member. In the rotating body, at least one of the bearings includes a metal inner ring portion having a bearing hole and a resin outer ring portion having first and second portions. The first portion is fitted into the rotating member. The second portion protrudes in the axial direction from the rotating member, surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring portion, has an outer diameter larger than that of the rotating member, and is in contact with an opposing object opposing the rotating member so as to maintain a specified size of a gap by which the rotating member and the opposing object are spaced apart from each other. The outer and inner ring portions are integrally molded.

Rotating body and bearing

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Kazuaki Iikura