Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kenji Tomita

Kimihiro Tanaka

Yohei Miura

Kentaro Uji

Takuya Murata

Toshiyuki Uchida

Hiroaki Nieda

Shogo Sakamoto

Jun Yasuda

Narumi Sugita

Kouji Amanai

Tamotsu Ikeda

Kazuhiro Kobayashi

Keisuke Sugiyama

Osamu Saito

Shigeo Nanno

Joh Ebara

Hiroaki Takagi

Kimiharu Yamazaki

Jumpei Aoyama

Yasuhiro Maehata

Hirofumi Horita

Junpei Kamichi

Hideto Higaki

Yuuki Shiga

Ryohhei Ohya

A drive transmission device includes a drive train including a plurality of drive transmitters, and a container. The plurality of drive transmitters of the drive train transmit a driving force of a drive source to a rotator rotatable around a shaft and a swing member rotatable around a shaft different from the shaft of the rotator. The container contains the drive train.

Drive transmission device, drive unit, and image forming apparatus

A sheet conveyance device includes a first conveyance member, and a drive transmission mechanism. The first conveyance member is configured to convey a sheet toward a second conveyance member. The drive transmission mechanism is configured to transmit a driving force of a driving source to the first conveyance member. The drive transmission mechanism includes a first drive transmitter and a second drive transmitter disposed coaxially with the first drive transmitter. The driving force is transmitted from the first drive transmitter to the second drive transmitter. The second drive transmitter is rotatable relative to the first drive transmitter within at least a predetermined angular range.

Sheet conveyance device, sheet feeding device, and image forming apparatus

A contact-separation mechanism includes a cam to rotate to move a contact-separation member to and from a counterpart member, a detection target to rotate together with the cam, and a detector to detect presence or absence of the detection target in a detection area of the detector, and circuitry. The cam has a reference range. The circuitry issues a rotation stop instruction of the cam after a target time elapses from passing of the reference range of the detection target through the detection area, and sets the target time based on a duration of an immediately preceding passing of the reference range through the detection area.

Contact-separation mechanism, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a driven unit and a drive transmitter. The drive transmitter includes a drive source, a drive gear, and a driven gear. The drive source is configured to drive the driven unit. The drive gear is configured to receive a driving force from the drive source. The driven gear is meshed with the drive gear. The drive transmitter is configured to transmit the driving force from the drive source to the driven unit. The drive gear or the driven gear is a crowned gear crowning-processed and the crowned gear has a crowning amount less than 50 &#x3bc;m.

Image forming apparatus

A moving device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a cam, a moving body, a biasing body, a drive source and a drive transmission device. The moving body is configured to be moved by the cam. The biasing body is configured to apply a biasing force to bias the moving body toward the cam. The drive source is configured to apply a driving force to the cam. The drive transmission device is configured to transmit the driving force to the cam and includes a load applying body configured to apply a load to a rotation of the cam.

Moving device and image forming apparatus incorporating the moving device

A drive transmitting device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a drive source, a drive transmitting body, and a rotary shaft. The drive transmitting body has a press-in target portion. The rotary shaft includes a press-in portion mounted on one end of the rotary shaft in an axial direction of the rotary shaft to be pressed into the press-in target portion of the drive transmitting body. The press-in portion includes a flat face and a plurality of circular arc faces having different distances from an axial center of the rotary shaft and being disposed at a same position as at least a portion of the flat face in the axial direction of the rotary shaft. A radius of curvature of one of the plurality of circular arc faces is greater than a radius of curvature of another of the plurality of circular arc faces.

Drive transmitting device and image forming apparatus incorporating the drive transmitting device

A drive transmission device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a drive transmission body to which a drive force is applied from a driving source, and a rotary shaft having a press-in portion mounted on one end thereof in the axial direction. The press-in portion has multiple planes disposed parallel to an axial direction and configured to receive the drive transmission body. The multiple planes include upstream and downstream side planes disposed downstream from the upstream side plane in a press-in direction of the drive transmission body. The upstream and downstream side planes are aligned along the press-in direction of the drive transmission body and have respective distances different from each other from an axial center of the rotary shaft. A distance from the downstream side plane to the axial center is greater than a distance from the upstream side plane to the axial center.

Drive transmission device and image forming apparatus incorporating the drive transmission device

A drive device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a drive source, a drive switching device configured to switch between a transmission state and a halting state, a first rotary body having a rotary shaft, a first drive transmission passage through which a driving force is transmitted to the first rotary body, a second rotary body, a second drive transmission passage through which the driving force is transmitted to the second rotary body, a drive transmission body rotatably mounted on the rotary shaft of the first rotary body, and an input drive transmission body mounted on the rotary shaft of the first rotary body and configured to input the driving force to the rotary shaft of the first rotary body, the input drive transmission body configured to rotate together with the drive transmission body as a single unit.

Drive device and image forming apparatus incorporating the drive device

A fixing device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a heater, a heating target body, a biasing body, a pressure body, a moving body, a drive source, and a drive transmitter. The heating target body is configured to be heated by the heater. The biasing body is configured to apply a biasing force. The pressure body is configured to be pressed by the biasing body toward the heating target body. The moving body is configured to move the pressure body away from the heating target body against the biasing force applied by the biasing body. The drive source is configured to apply a driving force. The drive transmitter is configured to transmit the driving force of the drive source to the moving body and includes a planetary gear device and a worm gear.

Drive transmission mechanism having a high reduction ratio for use in a fixing device

A drive transmission device includes a first rotary body coupled to a drive source, a second rotary body that receives a drive force transmitted from the drive source, a coupling that couples the first rotary body and the second rotary body, and a spring that presses the coupling toward the second rotary body. Each of the first rotary body and the second rotary body includes a plurality of grooves. The coupling has axially opposed first end and second end coupled to the first rotary body and the second rotary body, respectively. The coupling includes a plurality of couplers on a circumferential surface of each of the first end and the second end. The plurality of couplers are axially movable into and out of the plurality of grooves of each of the first rotary body and the second rotary body. The coupling has a spherical end face at the second end.

Drive transmission device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A drive unit, which can be included in an image forming apparatus with peripherals disposed thereto and use a control method therefore, includes an inner rotor brushless DC motor, a driver, a rotation detector, and a controller. The driver supplies power to drive the brushless DC motor. The rotation detector detects an amount and direction of rotations of an output shaft. The controller controls the rotations of the brushless DC motor and obtains a target drive signal of the brushless DC motor externally and a detection signal from the rotation detector and outputs a signal to the driver. The controller controls a speed of rotation of the brushless DC motor by varying the signal output to the driver based on the target drive signal and the detection signal.

Drive unit, image forming apparatus incorporating same, peripherals incorporating same, and control method therefor

A clutch mechanism comprises a planetary gear unit including input transmission, output transmission, and transmission stopping members. Torque entering the input transmission member is outputted downstream of the planetary gear unit by the output transmission member when the transmission stopping member is fixed and is not outputted downstream when the transmission stopping member is unfixed and entering a rotatable state. A rotation prohibiting target has an engaging target and is integral with the transmission stopping member. A rotation prohibiting member has a supporting shaft, a swingable portion at its one end and an engaging portion at its other end to engage the engaging target to enable the transmission stopping member to exert the stopping function. The engaging portion disengages the engaging target to bring the transmission stopping member into an unfixed state. A damper unit absorbs vibration caused in the rotation prohibiting member during a switching operation.

Clutch mechanism and image forming apparatus with same

A clutch mechanism includes a transmission element rotatable in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction, integrally including a plurality of projections including a first planar surface and a second planar surface at each side of the projections in the direction of rotation of the transmission element, a rotation restriction device including a first restriction surface and a second restriction surface to contact the first planar surface and the second planar surface, to lock rotation of the transmission element, and a moving device including an actuator to move the rotation restriction device to contact and separate from the transmission element. The first restriction surface contacts the first planar surface while the transmission element rotates in the first direction, and the second restriction surface contacts the second planar surface while the transmission element rotates in the second direction.

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Tokyo, Japan

Kenji Tomita