Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Kazuya Kamikawa

Nao Itabashi

Kenta Tosuji

Kazuaki Ooka

Shuhei Hatano

Shoichiro Nishimura

Yusuke Ikegami

Yohei Hashimoto

Wataru Yamaguchi

Hikaru Tamura

Yuichiro Ichinose

Provided is a method for removing a first holder member from a second holder member in a cartridge. The cartridge includes: a housing; the first holder member holding an electrical contact surface; and the second holder member supported by the housing. The first holder member includes a pawl, and the second holder member includes a corner part engageable with the pawl of the first holder member. The electrical contact surface is held at one end surface of the first holder member in a first direction crossing the electrical contact surface. The method includes: disengaging the pawl from the corner part; and separating the housing and the second holder member from the first holder member in the first direction away from the one end surface of the first holder member.

Method for removing and attaching first holder member relative to second holder member supported by housing in cartridge

A cartridge includes: a housing; a storage medium; and a holder. The storage medium has an electrical contact surface. The holder is movable relative to the housing. The holder includes: a first holder member; and a second holder member. The first holder member has a pawl portion and is configured to hold the electrical contact surface. The second holder member includes a corner portion. The pawl portion is engageable with the corner portion. The second holder member has a through-hole. An engagement part of the pawl portion engaging with the corner portion is accessible from outside the second holder member through the through-hole in a state where the pawl portion engages with the corner portion.

Cartridge including holder for holding electrical contact surface and method of recycling cartridge

A cartridge includes: a housing; a storage medium having an electrical contact surface; and a holder movable relative to the housing. The holder includes a first holder member. and a second holder member movable relative to the first holder member. The first holder member includes at least one pawl and holds the electrical contact surface at one end surface of the first holder member in a first direction crossing the electrical contact surface. The second holder member includes at least one corner part engageable with the at least one pawl to provide an engaging portion therebetween. The second holder member has a through-hole that is open at another end face of the second holder member in the first direction. The engaging portion is accessible from an outside of the holder through the through-hole.

Cartridge including holder that facilitates recycling of storage medium

A cartridge includes: a housing; a storage medium having an electrical contact surface; and a holder movable relative to the housing. The holder includes a first holder member and a second holder member movable relative to the first holder member. The first holder member includes at least one pawl and holds the electrical contact surface at one end surface of the first holder member in a first direction crossing the electrical contact surface. The second holder member includes at least one corner part engageable with the at least one pawl to provide an engaging portion therebetween. The second holder member has a through-hole that is open at another end face of the second holder member in the first direction. The engaging portion is accessible from an outside of the holder through the through-hole.

A belt unit includes: a drive roller; a drive shaft having an axis defining an axial direction and rotatable together with the drive roller about the axis; a bearing rotatably supporting one end portion of the drive shaft; a driven shaft; a driven roller rotatable together with the driven shaft; an endless belt looped over the drive roller and the driven roller under tension; a first frame; and a second frame spaced away from the first frame in the axial direction. The first frame includes: a facing section supporting one end portion of the driven shaft; and a bearing holder holding the bearing. The second frame rotatably supports another end portions of the drive shaft and the driven shaft. The bearing holder is positioned closer to the second frame than the facing section is to the second frame in the axial direction.

Belt unit including first frame provided with bearing holder positioned closer to second frame, and image-forming apparatus provided with the belt unit

A first transport unit transports, along a first path, a sheet transported from an image forming unit. A second transport unit transports the sheet along a second transport path branched from a junction with the first transport path. A first cover, when open, holds the sheet transported to an exterior of a housing and, when closed, partially constitutes the second transport unit. A flap is disposed at the junction and, when at a first position, blocks the second transport path and guides the sheet along the first transport path and, when at a second position, blocks the first transport path and guides the sheet along the second transport path. A drive unit moves the flap between the first position and the second position. A moving mechanism moves away from the flap in response to closing of the first cover, and pushes and moves the flap to the second position.

Image forming apparatus having a flap swingable from a first position to a second position

A sheet conveyer, including a first guide with a guide surface, a second guide arranged on a side of the guide surface toward one end in a widthwise direction, a first roller arranged upstream in a conveying direction from the second guide to rotate about a first axis extending in parallel with the widthwise direction, a second roller arranged downstream in the conveying direction from the first roller to rotate about a second axis inclined with respect to the widthwise direction, and a third roller arranged downstream in the conveying direction from the second roller at a position on a side of the guide surface toward the other end in the widthwise direction outside a widthwise length of the sheet, is provided. The third roller is configured to rotate about a third axis inclined with respect to the widthwise direction.

Sheet conveyer and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a first transport unit, a second transport unit, a cover, a flap, a drive unit for moving the flap, a first sensor for detecting opening and closing of the cover, a second sensor for detecting a position of a sheet, and a controller. The controller switches the drive unit to move the flap to the second position, upon determining it is necessary to move the flap to the second position, subsequent to determining that the cover is opened based on a detection result by the first sensor. The controller switches the drive unit to move the flap from the second position to the first position, upon determining, based on a detection result by the second sensor, that a leading edge of the sheet reaches a position downstream, in a sheet transport direction, of a swing end portion of the flap at the second position.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit; a first re-conveyance guide that guides a sheet on which an image is formed in a re-conveying direction; a second re-conveyance guide that guides the sheet from the first re-conveyance guide toward the image forming unit; a side guide provided at one end portion of the second re-conveyance guide in a widthwise direction to regulate the sheet; a side chute provided at one end portion of the first re-conveyance guide in the widthwise direction; and an engaging portion provided on the second re-conveyance guide. The engaging portion is engaged with a first engaging portion extending downward from an upstream end portion of the side guide in the re-conveying direction and is engaged with a second engaging portion provided on a downstream end portion of the side chute in the re-conveying direction.

An image forming apparatus having a duplex conveyer is provided. The duplex conveyer includes a first roller and a second roller arranged in an area closer to a first side surface of a body rather than a second side surface to align along a widthwise direction, a third roller and a fourth roller arranged to contact the first roller and the second roller respectively, an upper guide supporting the first roller and the second roller, and a lower guide arranged to face the upper guide at a position lower than the upper guide. The upper guide has a recessed portion at a position between the first roller and the second roller. The recessed portion recesses from an end of the upper guide on a side facing the first side surface toward the second side surface beyond an axis of the first roller.

Growing community of inventors

Nagakute, Japan

Kazuya Kamikawa